You Know You're Old in HR When…

Today is Guy Kawasaki’s birthday, and he did a fascinating post called You Know You’re Getting Old When…. It’s a fun read. I even contributed three to the mix. Go have a look. You’ll get a laugh. In that spirit, here are a few HR-related “you know you’re old when” statements.

You know you’re old in HR when…

• You remember when HR was called “personnel.”
• You remember that human capital were called people. (Soylent Green was people, too.)
• Engagement meant that people were getting married.
• You could work your way up, and it wasn’t by climbing a career ladder.
• MBOs were in vogue, and you loved them.
• Stock option scandals didn’t happen because people didn’t get stock options.
• You did what you were told to do because you were part of Generation GET-TO-WORK.
• You doled out twice annual double-digit increases in the 1980s.
• You lived through the rise of self-directed teams, the end of self-directed teams.

What other things let you know you’re old in HR when…?

UPDATE: Guy Kawasaki reads The Best of You Know You’re Old When. Some of them are really funny. Your truly even rates a mention.

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About the Author

Frank Roche

Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.

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