
While you dance around the Christmas tree this weekend, read these top five stories from the week of Dec. 15.
1. Overhauling Organizational Design | Video: Consultant Amy Kates from Kates Kesler discusses why it’s important to ditch labels when it comes to organizational design and focus more on creating a structure that’s effective for a company.
2. Make It Personal: Branding is a powerful force in business. Can it help talent managers boost employee engagement?
3. Tips for Conquering Your Office Holiday Party: Instead of focusing on what not to do, follow these tips to show your boss you have a little personality, writes blogger Dan Bowling.
4. Winding Up Performance Management: Reframing the dreaded annual review between manager and employee to a more qualitative and motivating approach is easier said than done.
5. Discomfort Zone: The HR industry is experiencing lots of discomfort and disruption, but many HR leaders are sticking with what makes them feel comfortable, writes editor Frank Kalman.
In Other News …
Guess what: Your employer probably wants you to lose weight.
Just as the holiday eating season approaches — followed by that period where we tell ourselves we'll go to the gym more — The Wall Street Journal comes out with a story telling us that employers are being more proactive when it comes to getting potentially unhealthy employees to get in shape.
From fitness-tracking devices to competitions on social apps, employers seem to be pulling out all the stops as health care costs become a greater percentage of company expenses.
Read more here.
Also, want a lesson in how constructive tension can fuel the creative process? Look no further than the band Aerosmith. Read more here, via Forbes.