In the movie of your life, don’t lose sight of the reasons you work so hard, warns Neville Aitchison. We often let business priorities take precedence over personal time, yet personal time is just as important. Make sure nothing interrupts it.

Diversity in nature is a strength and a protection. If a species is homogenous and it suddenly encounters a potentially fatal virus, the entire species is at risk, says Terry Williams. And it’s the same for organisations. Worth thinking about if your executive team is made up entirely of one ilk.

Amanda Sterling is a woman with a vision. In 2013 she co-founded the online community NZLEAD. This year, she published her first book, The Humane Workplace. Raewyn Court talks to her about telling stories and the future of work.

It’s middle-class people, not the rich, who lead the way to growth and prosperity, says US commentator Lynn Stuart Parramore. She argues that a prosperous economy requires long-term thinking and high-quality careers to bring value to society as a whole.

Organisations have never been better placed to leverage the diversity of thought and innovation of their workers to create sustainable business solutions. But are they making the most of this diversity to encourage new thinking, asks Carol Brown.

The EEO Trust recently celebrated the work of organisations across New Zealand which are leading the way in workplace diversity and inclusion. Bev Cassidy-Mackenzie tells us how the continued increase in the number and quality of entries is a positive reflection of how much the diversity landscape has changed in recent years.

Goal alignment should be key to any effective talent management strategy, says Paul MacRae. And organisations need to come up with new, out-of-the-box ideas to make themselves relevant.

You can invest hundreds of thousands into a compelling employer brand, but when all’s said and done, it’s the personal interactions that make or break the candidate experience, says Jason Marra.

Given the choice, most people will avoid conflict, but when conflict does occur in the workplace, it’s important to get the issue into the open and move towards a positive resolution. Denise Hartley-Wilkins has some tips on how best to do this.

To take advantage of the 90-day trial period provision it is crucial for a business to have all its paperwork in order, says Paul Robertson. He looks at a recent Employment Court decision which proved to be costly for a Christchurch company found to have unjustifiably dismissed an employee.