Simplify Everything

My buddy Chris Ferdinandi and I chat throughout the day about what’s going in HR, social media and the world. Now I don’t know about anybody else but I work from home. So I’ve got a crew of co-workers, colleagues and friends that I keep in touch with throughout the week. Chris is on that list for sure.

We always talk about ways to simplify processes, explanations and solutions. The fight for simplicity is difficult though because you’re not only fighting against people who have skin in making things more complicated, you’re also fighting against your own natural tendency to make things more difficult than they deserve.

So I’ll tell someone that being great in HR is really simple. If you have great talent, get out of their way. If you don’t, fix it or get out.

And then someone will ask me how do they get out of their no-win scenario using these principles. Like it’s a game of stump me or something. Look, if you have a situation that is going to suck no matter what, pick a side and move on.

And people will ask me how to start a blog. So I’ll tell them pick a platform, write and connect with people who write about the same things as you.

Then someone will ask me about SEO and specific platforms and comment systems and how to set strategy?

Someone will ask me the best way to do a resume. I’ll tell them to compel the company to hire you by aligning your traits and skills with their need.

But then they will ask me about cover letters or typos. How many jobs or pages should it be?

Or someone asks me how to use Twitter. So I’ll tell them to start an account, start tweeting and following other people who you think are interesting.

Questions are asked about timing, how often, how much, retweets and…

Step back for a second.

Figure out what works for you and do it. If that doesn’t work, try something else. Or don’t.

There’s no set of “best practices” for your life. Stop over-complicating things and just live a bit.