Blog

September 7, 2022

Banned Books and the Future of America

Banned books are back in the headlines. It’s not the first instance, nor will it be the last, but this time the heat has turned up in Keller Independent School District outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Historically, banned books hold the connotation of book burning, but Keller Independent School District isn’t resorting to matches.  Instead, they limit access to titles parents and community members deem inappropriate for specific age groups. And of the 40 titles under review, many will be […]
August 3, 2022

The Hybrid Workplace: Let’s Fix the Problems, Not the Symptoms

The Partnership for Public Services and Boston Consulting Group recently released the annual rankings for the 2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government. Unfortunately, the results showed a dismal response to employee engagement across the board. Worse yet, employees were only 40.1% certain their leaders would “use the results of the 2021 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to make their agencies a better place to work,” as Drew Friedman explains. Of course, lower engagement is expected, given the evolution […]
July 22, 2022

Burnout: Fighting the Occupational Phenomenon

Burnout is a term we hear a lot nowadays. It’s classified by the World Health Organization as an occupational phenomenon and the direct result of “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It shows itself in a number of ways, from depleting energy and exhaustion surrounding your work to increased negativism or cynicism relating to your job. Given the events of the last two years, it’s surprising we don’t hear it more. Truth is: We’ve all experienced burnout.  […]
July 6, 2022

Employee Engagement is Out, Employee Thriving is In

The hybrid workplace is here to stay; we can’t deny it. Fall is rapidly approaching and 2023 waves to us on the horizon. But we are struggling to measure how well our employees are fairing during these changes. We often focus on employee engagement to ensure employees are meeting their goals, but an article from the Harvard Business Review has us rethinking this strategy.  Dawn Klinghoffer and Elizabeth McCune pose one vital question in their article, “Why Microsoft Measures Employee Thriving, […]
April 21, 2022

May 2022: Dispatches from Memphis*

Greetings from Memphis, TN! As some of you know, my husband Dennis and I moved back to my hometown in October, 2021. After an eventful fall and winter, I’m excited to share some of the exciting things HBE is doing here in the South, and to tell you about the connections being forged between friends in DC, Memphis and New York.   Leadership Memphis Soon after the moving trucks pulled away, I began a three-month Fast Track Leadership Memphis Class, […]
December 16, 2021

December 2021: Gratitude for 2021 | Ahead in 2022: Dan Pink!

Your support of Hooks Book Events in 2021 has enabled us to bring award-winning authors to local communities through Bridge Builder programs. A portion of our profits each year is devoted to producing these events and donating books to support educational programs. We are grateful to you and for our partnership with the Goodwill Excel Center. This year, we produced events and donated books from these stellar authors: Keli Hammond, Craved: The Secret Sauce to Building A Highly-Successful, Standout Brand […]