Erica Keswin

Writing

Here are some recent articles from Erica's portfolio of work published in national outlets.

Training Industry

Taking Professional Development Personally: 3 Strategies for a Better ROI

When most managers think of professional learning and development, they think of opportunities for their direct reports to improve skills that will help them in their current jobs. After all, the company’s paying the bills, so it makes sense that managers will want to see results when the class is over or the conference attendee returns to his or her desk.
Quartz at Work

How to tell if your company’s values actually matter

During a keynote at a recent conference, I asked the audience to raise their hands if they worked for a company that has a mission and set of values. All of the hands went up. Then I asked them to keep their hands raised if those values actually meant something. Only about a third of the hands stayed up.
Grow

How to Use Technology at Work the Right Way

Ever gotten a Slack message from someone sitting 10 feet away and wondered why he couldn’t have just walked over? Or been in a meeting and caught colleagues surreptitiously tapping away at their phones under the table? Or, worse, found yourself getting distracted when your phone buzzes during a meeting, then being completely unprepared when your boss asks you a question?
CNBC

5 easy ways to find happiness at work

Let’s face it. Left to our own devices (excuse the pun) we’re not connecting — especially at work. The key to finding happiness at work is to honor relationships — with our colleagues, our customers, ourselves and the world.
Hearth & Home

Workplace Culture

In the Fast-Paced Technology World, Human Touch is Making a Comeback
Real Leaders

Get Real and Become Human

True sustainability is like the marshmallow test for business. I call it playing the long game, and as important as it is, playing the long game is not easy. (1.6MB PDF)
Forbes

Success Secrets From The World’s Best Service Business

Erica Keswin talks with Michael Schein about how technological disruption is not, in fact, what determines a company’s success, but rather whether it is able to integrate new technology with in-person connection, and why one particular Fortune 100 company exemplifies the approach.
Fast Company

CEOs: You’re incredibly powerful–use that power for good

Big business drives so much more than our economy: it shapes our culture and society. And more and more CEOs are acting like the important thought leaders they should be, taking responsibility above and beyond pleasing their investors and boards.
Quartz at Work

Giving employees meaningful development opportunities doesn’t have to be expensive

A millennial, a GenXer, and a baby boomer all walked into a bar. The millennial was talking about how he wanted to find a job where he could have “real impact.” The Boomer rolled his eyes, and actually said, “I hate managing millennials.”
Forbes

Going To The Extreme: Gathering As An Art With Priya Parker

Are you the type of person who obsesses over guest lists for parties, girls’ weekends, or meetings at work? Are you losing sleep over who to invite, worried about alienating new friends or colleagues, but hesitant to mess with the tried-and-true dynamics you’ve grown to love/hate?
Forbes

Finding The Sweet Spot Between Tech And Connect – At My Son’s Bar Mitzvah

In September 2015 Congregation Rodeph Sholom gave me the date for my son Daniel’s Bar Mitzvah — April 14, 2018. At the time, Daniel was ten years old, playing ball in the park, having playdates with his friends and his Bar Mitzvah seemed like a lifetime away.
Forbes

Because Life Happens When We’re All At Work

Work is more complicated today than it was for our parents and in many ways more stressful. Women now comprise up to 50% of the global workforce. Add to that the fact that full-time workers are working more hours than ever, and both men and women are putting in more time as parents.
Forbes

How to Make A Room of Thousands Feel Small

We’ve all been there. The so-called networking event where we’re invited to connect with people, but discover that we’ve entered a ballroom filled with thousands of people who are all craning their necks to listen to one speaker several hundred feet away. I’m here to say: this is no way to connect.
Forbes

The Soft Stuff Is The New Hard Stuff: Why Vulnerability Is Good For Business

I recently returned from a conference where Brené Brown was the kick-off keynote. Addressing 2,800 of us smart, savvy, socially-minded, progressive HR professionals across industries, Brown had an important message: Vulnerability is good for business.