I help businesses solve people problems.

Solving People Problems. Driving Business Success.At Peoplyst, we help businesses solve workforce challenges with solutions that get it done and keep it done. Whether it's hiring, leadership, compliance, or organizational change, we create and implement strategies that improve performance and simplify people operations.With decades of experience in talent acquisition, workforce strategy, leadership development, and HR technology, I’ve helped companies from startups to Fortune 50 firms build stronger teams, improve engagement, and scale effectively.Where Companies Struggle (And How We Fix It)Talent &amp; HiringFinding and keeping the right people shouldn’t be a struggle. We help businesses align hiring with growth, improve candidate experience, and optimize onboarding to retain top talent.Workforce PerformanceA high-performing team isn’t built by chance—it’s built with strategy. We create engagement, leadership, and accountability systems that turn employees into a company’s greatest asset.HR Compliance &amp; TechnologyHR should work for you, not against you. We streamline operations, implement the right HR tech, and ensure compliance so businesses reduce risk and stay efficient.Change &amp; Growth StrategyGrowth is good, when it’s managed well. We help companies navigate transitions, scale effectively, and align leadership and culture with their long-term vision.If your people aren’t thriving, your business isn’t either. Let’s fix that.Message me to discuss how Peoplyst can help.Want free content on People Problem topics? Click the Connect or Follow button.Want more free content? Visit our Blog at https://peoplyst.com/blogs/Had enough pain and want to discuss making your People Problems disappear?Book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/bryan-howard-mpg/fix-your-people-problem

Bryan Howard

"We need someone who can hit the ground running," he said.

I looked at the stack of rejected resumes on his desk.

"How many have you passed on this week?"

"Twelve. Maybe fifteen."

"Why?"

"Gaps. Job hopping. Overqualified. Underqualified."

I picked one up. "This one?"

"Eight-month gap. Next."

"Did you ask about it?"

"Didn't need to. If they were good, they'd be working."

I set it down.

"Let me tell you about the last 'gap' I investigated."

He leaned back, arms crossed.

"Operations manager. Fifteen years of experience.
Promoted three times at the same company.
Then her husband got diagnosed with cancer."

"Okay..."

"She asked for temporarily reduced hours.
Company said no. 'We need full commitment.'
So she left to take care of him."

"That's different."

"Is it? She didn't leave because she couldn't do the job.
She left because the company wouldn't bend.
Not even a little. Not even temporarily."

He shrugged. "We can't make exceptions for everyone."

"Fourteen months later, her husband recovered.
She started applying for new roles.
People like you looked at the 14-month gap
and said 'Next.'"

Silence.

"Here's what I've seen over and over," I said.

"Companies demand perfect availability.
Then act surprised when life happens.

They refuse flexibility.
Then call the fallout a 'red flag.'

They create rigid policies.
Then blame candidates for not fitting them."

"We have standards," he scoffed.

"No, you have blind spots.
You're filtering out people who've been through things.
People who've adapted. Figured it out. And survived.
You're choosing someone with a clean timeline
over someone with actual resilience."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"If they fit the role requirements,
ask the question. 'What happened during this time?'
Actually listen to the answer,
then choose the best candidate.

Because half the gaps you're rejecting?
Your policies would have created them, too."

The resume gap isn't the red flag.

Your refusal to ask about it is.

_____
If this sounds familiar, DM me.
I can help you rethink what you're filtering out.

Like my content? 
Follow Bryan Howard and click the 🔔 on my profile.

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People problems? Meet Peoplyst solutions. | Recruiting, Leadership & Employee Development, HR Tech and Change Management

Great Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce event and incredible team from Peoplyst, including me, Erica Howard, honorary member April K. of Gentinuity LLC, Tearle Johnson, and Julius Richardson, SHRM-TA, M.S. OrgLeadership.

Life is good! People make all the difference.

Frank Trotter has been involved in the banking business since 1981. In 1998, he became a co-founder of everBank.com, a national direct-to-consumer bank which was acquired by EverBank Financial in 2004. From 1998 through the sale of EverBank Financial Corp to TIAA in 2017, he served in various executive capacities including Chairman of everBank.com, President of EverBank Direct, and Chairman of EverBank Wealth Management. From 1981 through 1997, Frank served Mark Twain Banks in various capacities including Vice President of Commercial Lending, and President of Mark Twain International Markets. In 1986, Frank created the WorldCurrency® deposit product for Mark Twain Banks and operated this business through 1997. In 2000, everBank.com acquired this business from the successor of Mark Twain Banks and operated the product line at EverBank. Frank holds a Bachelor of Arts from St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and an MBA from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Frank Trotter

Edwards, Colorado . . .
 
Jumping off the disaster that is the Federal Budget and Debt for a moment, this little snippet from the “Almost Daily Grant's” newsletter (Grant's Interest Rate Observer) jumped off the page to stun me.
 
“New York City’s $116.5 billion budget for the fiscal 2026 compares to $14.1 billion for Los Angeles and is equivalent to 36% of the state of California’s outlay over the same period. For context, California’s measured population is just shy of 40 million, compared to 8.5 million for the Big Apple.”

And based on my last 100 visits or so they sure didn’t get any value for it. What a *hole (this is a prompt to defend your city if you can New Yorkers 😊).
 
And recall this is before the new city administration took over on January 1st so we’ll see what changes are made.
 
This prompted me to leap headfirst down a couple of deep rabbit holes. 
 
First up, this places the NYC budget ahead of all but three states: California, New York (including some double counting), and Texas while barely besting Florida. 
 
Think of all the roads and statewide infrastructure those places require relative to the city: New York City has about 6,300 miles of roadway, California has 390,000 miles, and naturally Texas has 700,000. And even with that budget has anyone ever mentioned potholes in NYC?

To their credit, NYC is ahead of most states in that Federal funding comprises only around 7% of revenue while states like Texas (41%) and Louisiana (52%) are surprisingly unable to stand on their own two feet, or maybe they are just better at asking for handouts.

Out here in Eagle County Colorado there is a strapping budget of $232 million next year roughly 75% lower than the NYC budget on a per capita basis.

Some (apparently) few of us have concerns about the expansion of government budgets in general, and deficit spending in particular. Unless this turns out to be the first time in human history that everything keeps going up forever, ultimately these gravy trains come to an end, often badly.

I am am the optimist-in-chief and not in the gloom and doom camp, but I’ll still suggest that over the next ten-years these budget and debt factors will become the only factors that will matter and be on our minds. 

And I’ll further suggest that one should begin to accelerate positioning to defend against the next “Minsky Moment.”

Since the new year is a time for reflection on allocations and the future, what are you doing today to insure that in ten-years you are in good financial shape and have weathered whatever storm has appeared?

Jump in and let me know.
 
 
#BattleBank




P.S. Yes, I did make a slight reference to Admiral Franklin there; I didn't become stuck in the ice, and lose two ships with several hundred men.

This has been fun and exciting.

Accounts opened.  A few bugs being ironed out.  

Thrilling to see what the team has built.

We are getting oh so close to "that" day.

You are nearly free to move about the globe.

If you aren't already there join the Waitlist:
https://www.battlebank.com

Picking up where we left off: the internal rollout is live, and the energy is electric—along with a healthy dose of real-world testing.

We’re not just prepping for a national launch; we’re pressure-testing every click, workflow and process to make sure it holds up when it matters.

There are fixes to make and lessons to learn, but the vision is clear and the team is locked in.

We’re building a bank that gives people real control over their money, and we’re doing the work now to make sure it’s worth the wait.

Frank Trotter Rick Rule #BattleBankisComing #BattleForBetterBanking

A few of us have been in shared sessions with shareholders as they open accounts.  It's exciting to watch the progress and see that the Online Account Opening is doing it's job.

There are a few things to fix but that work is being done.

I am personally moving some money: USD into my High Yield Cash Account, and transferring some foreign currency from my accounts at EverBank into the Battle Bank Global Markets. Looking good so far.

A number of clients have transferred precious metals to our sub-custodian.  Others have funded loans against their precious metals holdings.

We're excited that the day when we start inviting people from the Waitlist is almost here.

Headed back to building - stay tuned.

Internal launch is officially underway at Battle Bank—and yes, it’s giving main character energy with a plot twist.

Is everything perfect so far? Of course not.

We’re finding the bugs, tightening the bolts, and improving the process in real time so it’s battle-ready.

From the inside, it feels like a startup with a mission, a megaphone, and a team that’s not afraid to get their hands dirty.

This is the beginning—and investors are up next.

Frank Trotter #WereAlmostThere #BattleBankisComing Rick Rule

Well this was fun to see.

This is a wonderful piece covering the career of our sister-in-law Ree Guyer.

And quite a career it has been.  No matter what your core music home base is you've bumped into one of the songs she's had a hand in.

And maybe a lot.

Along the way we've learned more than we deserve about how the business works.

Way to go Ree - keep 'em coming!!!

https://lnkd.in/gTQwwGxi

Open article: My Music Row Story: Wrensong Entertainment's Ree Guyer by musicrow.com

My Music Row Story: Wrensong Entertainment's Ree Guyer

Edwards, Colorado

Nutrition counseling, market forecasts, financial advice  . . . 

Most of us all seek to eat in a way that allows us to continue to be healthy. At dinner on Saturday night a friend was describing his (long overdue) meeting with a nutritionist after his second and third heart attacks ten days apart, complete with helicopter rides, a few years ago.

After much discussion he was able to convince the health professional to accompany him to the store and pick out good food. After 30 minutes reading labels in the bread aisle she said “none of these”, and exited after another 40 minutes in cereal without being able to make an appropriate selection.

This is not a statement against the nutrition professional, having read a lot of labels I am pretty sure there weren’t any qualifying items there.

But it does speak to providing practical advice that people can follow.

This is the time of year for prognostications. The {insert market measure) will be up/down X% in 2026. The price of oil will fall/rise/skyrocket . . .

No one expects these to come true. But we all need some context to make decisions. There are a lot of ways to gain this knowledge: follow one or more gurus, just look at the Wall Street Journal, do your own research, hire a financial advisor.

Getting more formal, utilizing an Expected Value Array can provide an answer based on your own assessment of the future. Good context but do remember to evaluate those lower chance negative outcomes more carefully than the upside.

Giving financial advice, as many of us propose to do mixes the science of nutrition with the alchemy of forecasting to attempt to construct something that is diversified, durable, and actionable.

As long as we recognize that it is a mix of science and alchemy and disclose it to ourselves and our clients we can do good.

By March I hope to complete our Battle Bank context of the markets thesis. In it I don’t plan to forecast specific outcomes: like gold at $10,000 or a 90% crash in the stock market. 

But we’ll attempt to lay out what we consider the financial equivalent of table of elements and their interactions over the next decade to provide some context to interpret what we say from day to day.

The world is changing ever week these days – old alliances torn to shreds, new ones proposed; there’s a lot being thrown up against the wall to see if it sticks. So wish us luck on writing the tome.

BTW – While friends and neighbors from across the country are bemoaning the weather over the past weekend, out here in Colorado the mountain communities are dancing with joy as a little new snow fell.

In our valley the mountains only registered around 10-inches Friday and Saturday so at least the roads were clear and the traffic moving smoothly.

I popped over to Breckenridge for a few turns with some friends from Saint Louis and a Hunting Beach interloper. It’s a good thing Dennis Sullivan had mirrored goggles, so I didn’t have to take a selfie. 😊

Kurt Hibler

Last I checked the news, there are changes under way.

In your retirement account maybe a traditional 60/40 portfolio is the right thing.

Or maybe it's not.

There are many potentially diversifying investments that you can undertake in an IRA that are not-ineligible under IRS rules (trust an agency to come up with that scrambled term).

If you want to control the alternatives for your IRA, take a look at our Checkbook IRAs where you make the decisions without the constraints found in the financial supermarkets.

Come on over to Battle Bank where innovation and access to alternatives are the norm.

You’ve managed portfolios, negotiated deals, survived market cycles, and probably explained compound interest more times than you can count. 
So why would your retirement account suddenly assume you need permission to act? 

A Checkbook IRA puts you in full control—no bottlenecks, no hand-holding, no process or committee slowing down your decisions. 

Real estate, metals, private placements, crypto—if it’s not deemed a prohibited transaction by the IRS, you can allocate capital with the precision and confidence of someone who’s navigated more than a few market cycles. 

Your retirement shouldn’t run at a custodian’s pace. It should run at yours. 

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gVSyspU2 

Frank Trotter #RetirementPlanning #CheckbookIRA #SelfDirectedIRA

We have been focusing on retirement recently.

After all that's in the back of our minds during our entire working career.

Can that 60/40 portfolio take care of your needs - maybe.  It's had a great run recently.

But Congress and and IRS didn't limit your investment alternatives to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs.  Your broker-dealer does.

Get ready to head to Battle Bank where a Checkbook IRA will allow you to take control of your own allocations, within the rules.

There's a lot of opportunity out there.  It's time that you sit in the drivers seat.

You’ve dealt with enough red tape in your lifetime to wrap a small office building. Traditional retirement accounts slow you down with fees, delays, and administrative gymnastics—none of which help you and your portfolio. 

A Checkbook IRA lets you move quickly when opportunity knocks, using your own financial judgment instead of waiting for someone to “approve your request.” 

When you do your own due diligence and control your investments, external friction should never be part of the model. 

No Per-Transaction Fees. No Delays. No Bureaucracy. 

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gVE8ytEM

Frank Trotter #SelfDirectedIRA #FinancialIndependence #BattleForBetteringBanking

Open article: Checkbook IRA - Battle Bank by battlebank.com

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