For 2020, I have settled on “read”. Up until a few years ago, I was what many would call an avid reader. Starting in childhood, including reading 22 Hardy Boys’ books during a 21 day stay on Cape Cod, I was rarely found without a book nearby. However, that has changed in the last few years and I have found myself missing the joys of a good book in favor of time in front of a screen. I want to make that change in 2020.

So, my word is “Read” and I am taking a few steps to help myself do better in this realm. Today, I bought 6 books of various genre and have them ready to go for the new year. If I devote 30 minutes a day toward reading that is not on a computer or smartphone, at a minimum I will have 183 hours done before the end of 2020.

While my external presence remains more limited than in years past, I will be at WorkHuman Live in San Antonio this May and at least one other event which is yet to be determined. Other known excursions will include a #StateLineCrew meetup with some of the great HR pros of Illinois and Wisconsin and a family vacation (minus one ): ) to Mallorca.

As always, the future is unknown but I remain positive about the possibilities that we all can embrace in the days, weeks, months, and yes, years ahead.

In his opening keynote this morning at the 2013 Illinois SHRM conference, Dr. Daniel Crosby cited some frightening statistics related to reading.

First, 27 percent of population of the United State holds a bachelor’s degree.  Of that 27 percent, a full 42 percent never read a book again after their academic careers are over.  This leads to the most disturbing statistic of all for me.  A full 80 percent of US households do not either buy or check out a book in any given year.

Dr. Crosby summarized by stating that means that 4 out of 5 households are more likely to get their learning from Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo Boo than from a good (or even bad!) book.

This folks, is frightening!

What does this mean for our workplaces and what we do in HR?  

Think about this as you plan for that next big workforce initiative or new innovation.  The decision about how we communicate something can become even more important than the something we are talking about.  Perhaps we are moving toward a future where reading will not be as fundamental.  As an avid reader, that bothers me a lot!  However, it can mean a shift to recorded messages on video, using social media effectively (although that still requires reading!) or even face-to-face conversations.  The media matters more than ever!