Top 100 v1.47 Kris Dunn

Top 100 v1.47 Kris Dunn

Posted on 11. Dec, 2009 by in Blog, Top 100

By John Sumser

At a party the other night, someone said that Kris Dunn is so omnipresent because he never sleeps. Kris’s output is prodigious; he seems to be everywhere. There are very few VPs of HR who hold a candle to his insight and contribution. He is the quintessential next generation HR Leader.

If you’re not familiar with Kris and his work, he’s the Vice President of People (VP of HR) for DAXKO, a Birmingham, AL software as a service provider.

Step back for a moment and consider the credibility of that scenario… influential, HR leader, software company in Alabama. Ten years ago, that would have been strikes one, two and three. Today, in an internet driven economy, influence, innovation and insight can come from anywhere. Even, out of nowhere. If he is anything, Dunn is a man of his time.

The prolific blogger writes at The HR Capitalist and founded Fistful of Talent. The HR Capitalist is a plainspoken near-daily report from the executive front lines of Human Resources. Kris is quick to call a spade a spade. Fistful of Talent, built in a fascinating collaboration with Top 100 Influencer Jessica Lee, is an amazing destination site for HR insight. The team of a dozen or so content generators cover the HR waterfront. The site has a strong regular readership and in itself is a source of amazing influence.

Somehow, Dunn leads a small town life while driving the leading edge of thought about HR and its importance. When they say he never sleeps, they mean that output and consequence on this scale are nearly unimaginable for someone who holds down a regular job. People who generate this sort of impact usually work full time to do it.

Beneath /component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,flypage.tpl/product_id,46/category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,50/”>buy cialis brand the Jimmy Stewart, aw-shucks, I’m a small town guy veneer, lies the heart of a born entrepreneur. On his way to Birmingham, Dunn learned the HR ropes in IBM Global, Cingular, Bell South, Charter Communications (a Paul Allen Company) and a venture backed medical company. He learned big company management and startup styles while getting his MBA. He has experience as a project manager (shouldn’t all VPs of HR) and a rounded generalist.

Don’t look to Kris for the normal HR pablum. His insight is biting and direct. Here’s a soundbite:

“Let’s face it.  Even if you’re one of the best interviewers in the history of that scrum you call a company, odds are you’ve gone through periods where you just didn’t feel like bringing your A-game to the table when interviewing candidates.  It’s OK, it happens to everyone who interviews a lot for a living.  You’re human.”

It’s /component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,flypage.tpl/product_id,46/category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,50/”>buy cialis brand fair to say that Kris is not a cheerleader for any of HR’s professional associations. He believes that administrative work is elastic and expands to fill available space. He sees recruiting as the foundation of great HR.

If you spend some time with Dunn’s blog, The HR Capitalist, you’ll find a bounty of useful ideas built on deep personal experience. If he were just a VP of HR in a software company in Alabama, it would be an interesting story. Dunn is something much more. He’s the archetype of a local player who wields global clout. In doing so, he strengthens his company and the profession.

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9 Responses to “Top 100 v1.47 Kris Dunn”

  1. Twitted by dennissmith

    11. Dec, 2009

    […] This post was Twitted by dennissmith […]

  2. Dennis Smith

    11. Dec, 2009

    three cheers to a guy who hits my short-list of favorite HR people.

    thanks John

  3. Twitted by jessica_lee

    11. Dec, 2009

    […] This post was Twitted by jessica_lee […]

  4. Maren Hogan

    11. Dec, 2009

    Wow. You know, when John wrote about Jason Davis, I really felt compelled to comment because he was one of the first people to reach out to me in this space. But he wasn’t the very first. Kris was.

    Kris left a message on my voicemail asking if I would come write for Fistful of Talent. How he found out about a blog called Big O Recruiting in the middle of Omaha by a brand new recruiter is beyond me. But he left me a message stating emphatically that he WAS NOT a stalker and would I please call him back.

    I googled him. Not gonna lie.

    In the months that followed, I talked to Kris almost weekly, sharing ideas, kicking around theories about marketing and HR and mostly getting to know each other. We’d talk while he was setting up the baseball field and I was watching my kids bike up and down the street. We asked each other about people in the industry and got feedback about new fangled things like twitter. He was a huge influence on my career and not because he taught me so much about HR. What Kris does with countless of people (if you heard Jessica Lee’s speech at SRS, you’ll know it’s true for her too) is invest in their brand, promote them relentlessly and then sort of see what they can do.

    He instills confidence and does it so well, you think that you’re good at what you do when in reality, he’s just talented at making you think so.

    Kris is a HUGE influence and he continues to create and share for no other reason than the fact that he loves to. Kudos Kris!

  5. jessica lee - fistful of talent

    11. Dec, 2009

    obviously, i’m thrilled that KD is on the list and in my book, he should have been the first profiled.

    i’m never shy in saying that i credit Kris with getting me re-engaged in my work as an HR pro because he made me realize that there are HR leaders out there who get it and perhaps see the world in the same light that i do.

    i’m super proud to call KD a friend, a mentor, a manager and partner. i would gladly go with him anywhere and partner with him in anything because i trust and respect him that much. that all being said – y’all ain’t seen nothing yet. what you get on the HR Capitalist, FOT and such is just the tip of the iceberg and the real good stuff from KD and company is yet to be unleashed.

    thanks for profiling KD, john.

  6. Jason Davis

    11. Dec, 2009

    The first blog I regularly followed around HR and talent issues was the HR Capitalist. It’s still first in my reader and Kris truly represents the top echelon of next-gen HR thought leaders.

    Well done John – great selection. Congrats Kris!

  7. Jason Jones

    11. Dec, 2009

    Great piece about a great thought leader in the HR world! I always look forward to reading whatever is hot off the press at FOT or HRC and especially Kris’ pieces. Getting a chance to have a few words with him on the phone always feels like catching the uncatchable fish… dude’s busy, like REALLY busy.
    Unfortunately, the words “Human Resources” haven’t always conjured up notions of strategy, excitement, creativity, bottom line results. The HR space has needed a monumental shake up for years, a real paradigm shift, as the hr capitalist home page reads, “get to the table, stay at the table”. Human resources can no longer be synonymous “personnel administration”.
    We all know that change requires champions and Kris Dunn is truly a champion for HR.

  8. laurie ruettimann

    11. Dec, 2009

    Great job, Kris!

  9. Kris Dunn

    14. Dec, 2009

    John –

    Thanks for the kind words. Honored to be included.

    Dennis/Maren/Jessica/Jason (2)/Laurie – thanks for the props. Really appreciate the connections with all of you.

    KD