Friends and colleagues,
It has been just over a week since I announced the launch of my new business venture, Fringe Professional Development. My goal with Fringe is to provide the critical skills needed to help talent succeed in this new modern workplace and to provide organizations with insight into how they can be leaders in managing and developing the people who drive their business. I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic and supportive messages I have received.
Many of you have asked what led me to this decision. What prompted me to leave a wonderful position in a top law firm and take the leap of starting a business independently? When I started my career in talent management the field was very different; no one even used the term “talent management” at that time. The job was very transactional and process-oriented, particularly in the professional services world. I feel grateful, however, to have come up in this field during a time of rapid and progressive growth. I have seen, not only an attitude change, but a shift in the way we think about the people who drive our organizations.
With advances in technology, we have said farewell to the days of clocking in and out of work completely, and at prescribed times. Work comes home with us, and home comes to work with us. Thoughtful organizations realized that they needed to start thinking about their people as “talent” and their talent as a complete package of work and life, career aspirations and personal ones as well. The quote that sums this up best for me is “Organizations used to hire hands and now they hire hearts and minds.” The development needs of our organizations have quickly morphed beyond accreditation and practice expertise, to holistic and ongoing development plans. Employees at every level want more professional development than ever, and they want to see their organization investing in that development – investing in them.
In addition to the changes in technology, we are witnessing a rising workforce larger and stronger in voice and expectations than many expected, the millennials. When I first started delving into research on millennials in the workforce, I will admit that I was ashamed of my millennial birth date. This quickly changed when I realized that, beyond all the hype on how lazy, entitled, overly-idealistic and coddled millennials may be, there is a lot about this generation that I proudly identify with. We are extremely hard workers; we crave connection to a greater goal, we welcome opportunities for growth and development, and more than anything, we are using our voice to affect change. This group has entered the job market in full-force and is rapidly ascending corporate ladders, launching new products, thinking about everyday solutions in new ways, and starting their own businesses in hopes of adding a new voice to business across industries, platforms, and continents.
So, here I am. A product of a rapidly changing organizational development landscape, a proud millennial, and someone who is truly fascinated by the way organizations can thrive or fail based on the way they manage all the hearts and minds they hire. My efforts to combine all of these passions and place myself in a position to help organizations and individuals manage the fast-paced world of talent management led me to start Fringe Professional Development. Fringe, because we are thinking about things in a new way, with a fresh perspective and outside of the mainstream. I look forward to going on this journey and invite you to stay in the loop on our activities by following the Fringe PD LinkedIn page.
Onward!
