
Managing Editor Frank Kalman bids farewell to Talent Economy’s readers as he embarks on a new career journey.
by Frank Kalman
January 22, 2018
It is a cliché that the only thing constant in life is change. Certainly in business, such thinking is right on the money.
Who would’ve thought a few short years ago that Bitcoin, a virtual currency long coveted in the deep corners of the internet, would become a worldwide mainstream sensation? Or that Donald Trump, a reality TV star businessman, would become president?
Or that regular, seemingly normal people would think eating Tide detergent balls would be better than eating regular candy? We live in a crazy world.
Jokes aside, when it comes to change, most people typically have two options: you either run to it or run away from it.
Well, I’m running to it.
This is my last column for Talent Economy. Starting Feb. 1, I will be embarking on a new opportunity. If you’ve connected with me on social media or have interacted with me over email or any other channel, I’m happy to share the details of my new venture with you one-on-one.
But, for now, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on my time at Talent Economy and, more importantly, its parent company, Human Capital Media.
I started at Human Capital Media on August 15, 2011, as an associate editor, a role that gave me a crash course in the human resources industry. A little more than six years later, I end my time with HCM as a managing editor. Throughout that span, I learned a lot; more than I could ever describe in this writing. I met and established relationships with some highly talented people — people that I will consider my friends long after I leave this office. I made a lot of mistakes too. Luckily, I think I learned from most of them.
One of my proudest projects at HCM was the role I played in starting Talent Economy. Having the opportunity to build a publication from the ground up was an amazing experience. If you’re reading this column, you’ve likely become an important stakeholder in Talent Economy’s success — either as a reader, contributor or otherwise. Thank you. I encourage you to continue on as a reader and influencer after I’m gone.
I also encourage you to continue to listen to Talent Economy’s podcast, Talent10x, another pet project of mine. Lauren Dixon, Talent Economy’s associate editor, who you’ll likely recognize from the countless stories she’s written over the past two years, will be taking over as host. She’ll also be leading much of the vision behind Talent Economy moving forward. Your ears are in good hands.
Thank you to all the sources, contributors, columnists and freelancers who’ve worked with me over the past six years. I learned more from you than you realize. To every conference organizer of the events I’ve attended, thanks for the information you provided during those long days and the free beer and good company you provided at night.
To co-workers past and present, thanks for all your support. When you spend most of your time at work, it’s nice to get to spend it with great people. To my bosses at Human Capital Media, thanks for the opportunity. I thought I wouldn’t last six months; I ended up staying six years.
Finally, to anyone who’s found value in reading my weekly columns, thank you. I’ve enjoyed your engagement. Forcing myself to write something weekly, even when I didn’t think I had anything insightful to offer, proved to be a challenging but beneficial effort. It’s something that I hope to keep doing down the road, perhaps in a less official capacity.
Until then … cheers.
Frank Kalman is Talent Economy’s former managing editor. To comment, email editor@talenteconomy.io.