Alas, the time has come for me to bid adieu to Dangletech, and these blogs (although I will still write on occasion for The Canadian HR Reporter & Technology Industry Newsletter “ConnectIT”). When I started writing, some 54+ articles ago, I had no idea as to how these would be received, and am thankful for the constructive and positive feedback that I’ve received from those who’ve faithfully read what I had to write.
While the topics varied from week to week, I never deviated from the philosophy I believed in. Namely that: a) the articles should contribute something to the body of knowledge of the reader (drawing upon my experiences); b) the articles should be constructive; and c) the articles should be respectful of all since we all as individuals can get caught up in finger pointing based on organizational events, and the reality is that employees at all levels of the organization, come to work each day, to try to be productive, engage positively with colleagues, and feel valued.
In a few week’s time, I am leaving Toronto to join Electronic Arts in Burnaby, B.C., as Head of Human Resources, for EA Sports, Canada. In my articles you will have noticed that I have often talked about building organizational effectiveness and success through creating a strong and enduring corporate culture. Many things go into building this, including the right people; the right guiding principles; high organizational trust; a compelling employment value proposition; open and honest two way communication; and fair and respectful treatment of employees at all levels and in all situations.
Well, for the past while, I have been searching for such an organization to be a part of , and am now excited to have found this in EA. No organization is perfect, however there are those that work tirelessly towards achieving organizational effectiveness greatness, and then there are the others. EA strikes me as the former, and the many people I have met in getting to know EA’s culture reflect openness, creativity, integrity, high intelligence, and high skill. They are also extremely nice.
So, I will be heading west, and intend to focus my energies on helping EA to be even more successful.
In ending my relationship with Dangletech, I’d like to acknowledge and express my thanks to Robert Hebert, who encouraged me to give writing a try and who provided this forum for me to do so. I’d also like to leave my readers with these thoughts.
1. The economy is improving and with growth are coming and will come more great career opportunities.
2. Since announcing my joining EA, several of my peers have acknowledged that they too may be looking, prompting me to believe that they have in part “stuck it out” in Companies where they no longer feel valued/able to contribute/grow.
3. Organizations need to be worthy of you as a talented individual with great potential. If this is not the case, you owe it to yourselves in terms of fulfillment and happiness, to seek out such a place.
4. The good news is that there are many great companies and leaders out there, as I have come to know over the past many months (and indeed years of working).
Be happy! and thank you for reading.
David
David, as a Dangletech collaborator, I followed your blogs with interest. Congratulations with EA, I know they are a HR leader, I remember their
introduction of a tool in Redwood that I have licensed in Canada: a 360 degree HR Business Acumen Assessment. Good luck