“Be the change you wish to see in HR.” Ok, so that isn’t actually what Gandhi said, but a nice paraphrasing. Lots of us talk about changing HR, but being the change is a whole ‘nother level of commitment. That was the theme behind HR Reinvention held in Omaha in May. It was a fantastic event with a great group of presenters and participants. I love being around people who inspire me to play bigger!

In addition to the keynote and concurrent sessions, there were the Ignite! presentations kicking off the day. I’ve been intrigued by the format of these very cool micro-presentations for a while so I was thrilled when my proposal was accepted. The guidelines for writing the presentation were very simple: You have 20 slides, each automatically advancing every 15 seconds, for a grand total of five minutes. The theme is “Be the Change”. Go!

I present at several conferences each year and can tell you that these five minutes took more out of me than any 75-minute presentation ever has. It was like switching from running marathons to a 50-yard dash. No time for pacing yourself, no time for recovery from an error, no time to expand an idea. It’s a full on sprint and you hope it goes well. (Imagine if presentations at work had to be so focused!) I loved it and would absolutely do it again – I highly recommend it if you get the chance.

Sooo… here’s my quick take on being the change in HR:

What thinks you?