Here are some blog posts that caught my attention at mid-week. I'm pointing you to the Carnival of the Capitalists and the Carnival of Human Resources, and posts on HR at IBM, a parable of competitiveness, freakishly good customer service, a sense of wonder, and the best way to lose good talent.

Let's start with the Carnivals. They're great places to find great posts at blogs you didn't know about.

The most recent Carnival of the Capitalists is up at Scatterbox.

Gautam Ghosh hosts the most recent Carnival of Human Resources.

From Business Week: Making a Big Impression at Big Blue
"IBM's vice-president of global talent discusses the kind of candidates the company is looking for—and mistakes to avoid in the interview.

From Bob Cenek: A Modern Parable
"Here's something else to think about: Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages. Toyota has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results: Toyota makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses. Ford folks are still scratching their heads."

From Freakonomics: Outrageously Good Customer Service
"For most employees, the only real benefit of great service is the good feeling that comes with making another person happy and the pride of doing a job well. Add to that the chance to be written up in Freakonomics.com. In the last week, I have had two shockingly positive experiences with major airlines."

From Signal vs. Noise: I Wonder
"My son loves toy catalogs. He’ll turn the pages and just imagine. He drinks the koolaid, and loves every minute of it. I love to watch him. I hope he never gets to the point where he thumbs through a catalog and scoffs. Where he reads the descriptions and cynically dares them to be true. I want him to always retain his sense of wonder, his desire to believe the best."

From The HR Capitalist: The Best Way to Lose Good Talent - Be Slow
"Ran into a joint study commissioned by DDI/Monster entitled (brace for cliché) Slugging through the War for Talent.  The primary topic I was drawn to in the study?  Easy choice - "Interviewer Habits That Most Annoy Job Seekers" (see chart to the right for the top choices of the abused."

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