Blazing Paddles - A Pickleball Podcast

After four seasons and 60 episodes, Elvis is leaving the building. HR Hardball has been a passion project from the time my first blog post, "First Pitch," posted on July 15, 2012 - you're currently r…

We officially live in a day & age when "pickleball celebrity" is becoming a real thing. Who woulda thunk it? Three years ago you couldn't draw attention to a pickleball match if you set it on fire, b…

One of the nice things about having interesting people on your podcast is that you find products, concepts and/or key learnings of which you may have been unaware. But sometimes it works in reverse -…

In today's episode we have a conversation with Janet Livingstone, founder and CEO of Culture is Key, a consultancy devoted to leadership development, executive coaching and team effectiveness. 

What m…

Few people better represent the incredible zeitgeist that is Pickleball. Three years ago Tim was a friendly face we would occasionally run into on the (then empty) public tennis courts that had been …

Meet Jim Stroud, HR Influencer, podcaster, author, "Searchologist," techie, comic...this guy is one lute away from being a full blown Renaissance Man. In this episode of HR Hardball, we hear Jim's "o…

Sometimes an episode names itself. Meet Carol Bowser, J.D., owner and founder of Conflict Management Strategies. Carol, after practicing Employment Law for several years, decided that lawsuits don't …

Okay Hardballers, this pushed me to the ends of my editorial bandwidth, but with the help of our eldest son Jack, I think we have put together a fun end-of-year recap episode for your enjoyment. Fres…

How many times do you get a notification on LinkedIn only to find yet another solicitation from a consultant? Annoying at times, it's fair to wonder "does this ever work?" 

Yep, sometimes it does. My …

It can be a bad practice to judge a book by it's cover. No, I'm not talking about the actual book "Blooming; Finding Gifts in The Shit Of Life" , I'm talking about the book's dynamic author Carringto…

Yep, there's that "P word" again...I don't think any of us believe we have seen the complete fallout from two years of social isolation, lockdowns and mandates. Oh, and a novel coronavirus.

The number…

Are you a Veteran Champion? In a hiring environment where "work reluctance" has taken hold, now would be the perfect time to explore our military branches for talented individuals seeking a transitio…

It's been a minute, but we're back baby! Season 4 will kick-off on November 11th with a special Veteran's Day interview with retired Lt. Colonel Kathy Gallowitz.

Thank you to all our listeners who rea…

People will ask me occasionally, who is the audience for "HR Hardball, " is it just for HR professionals? You might be surprised to know that less than ⅓ of HRH subscribers define their role as an HR…

Listening to podcasts can be entertaining, educational, informational or entertaining ~ sometimes they are all of the above. Meet Amy Lynn Durham, the creative force behind "Create Magic at Work," a …

In the 100 or so episodes we've recorded here at Hardball Central, we have a handful of repeat guests - one of them is my inspiring friend Julie Winkle-Giulioni, the evangelist of employee developmen…

In the world of Human Resources, there's no shortage of available content if you're studying the importance of the candidate experience, the onboarding process, and employee engagement. Find the righ…

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Can you teach this skill set or is it innate in some people that to work for anyone else is a life unexplored. But what happens when the entrepreneurial unicorn …

Here's a scenario: You're 26 years old, your (large) Irish family is a known quantity in the Buffalo area where you grew up, you even work in a family-owned Irish Bar. Life is good, time to punch the…

Heat strokes, pickleball camps, rooftop jams, Hail-mageddon, COVID road trips, a new business venture, way too much politics, birthday parties and general revelry. 

This is 2021, a year in review.

#din…