Anniversaries

My colleague Robyn Greenspan reminded me that today marks two years that she coerced me into doing a blog. Given that my normal attention span is something short of a nano second, I found it hard to believe that I have actually stuck with it, mostly because I still have an uncomfortable feeling in putting my thoughts on electronic paper when no one has asked for them. Just seems a bit presumptuous. I am much more comfortable when people ask me for my opinion rather than my just putting it out there as if it was too important not to.

Still, it has been and continues to me an interesting experience for me, and I have to admit, there are times when I feel better for having written some things down.

Anyway, Robyn, who in addition to heading up the publication of one of our bi-weekly newsletters called the Career Smart Advisor, also gets "rewarded" by being the author of our annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report survey which she is just finishing up as we speak.

In addition to my blog, Robyn also reminded me that this year's EJMIR as we call it, also has an anniversary. Specifically its 15th. Hardly seems possible, but for sure it's true, and in preparing this year's report, Robyn shared a few interesting stats that have developed over the years.

While it won't be published in its final form for another few weeks, for those who are interested, here are a few early headlines:

Back in early 90s, healthcare, medical/pharmaceutical, high tech, environmental and manufacturing were identified by recruiters as the top five growth areas in executive hiring. In this latest 2007 report, three of the frontrunners have shifted positions, and environmental and manufacturing didn’t even make the top five list.

On the other hand, some of the issues that were at the forefront of executives’ job search journeys in 1992 are the same concerns they have today. Age discrimination and the length of time to find a new job are two issues that have been most prominent over the last 15 years. We’re happy to note considerable improvement since 1992.

In 1992 (remember that recession?) a 41- to 50-year old executive could expect a search time of roughly 14 months, but in 2007 this has shortened to 9 months for this age group. Fifteen years ago, executives aged 51 to 60 could expect a 16 to 22 month job search. Now, those in this age range report that it should take under 11 months before they land a new position.

The biggest — and most encouraging — progress lies in what we’ve learned about the 60+ executive. In 1992, this group of senior leaders expected it to take 27 months to find a new position — more than twice as long as what the 60+ group is now reporting on average about their expected time in job search.
I know there are some who would wonder why one would even comment on someone over 60 or even 55 for that matter in terms of making a career change thinking that over 60 and jobs is an oxymoron. Maybe it was close to that 15 years ago, but it isn't now, and certainly isn't given the current dearth of talent in many sectors. It isn't just about "adult supervision", it's about the retention of 'know how' and the passing of knowledge in order to remain competitive both domestically and globally.

If this were not the case, you would not be seeing the surfacing of such sites as: Retirementjobs; Jeff Taylor's new gig Eons, Senior Job Bank or Jobs4.0 which is the most recent of which I have become aware.

And from the more things change the more they remain the same department, every year in the survey we have asked the search world how long it takes them to fill an assignment. Interestingly enough, the answer has not changed over the course of the entire survey. The answer then and now is 3-4 months on average, technology notwithstanding.

It's Not the What, It's the How

I really didn't look that hard to find the current guesstimated number of blogs and even if I had found one, I knew it would be out of date once I closed the page. All of which is enough to underscore what we all know already - there are millions of blogs and if you try and visualize all the combinations of how people can now connect with someone else, I am not sure there are enough commas for whatever that number would be.

Anyway, what got me thinking a bit about this was stumbling across a blog called MarketingProfs: Daily Fix authored by Ann Handley. In a recent post she was writing about what she thought was the best invitation she had ever received asking her to "link" with someone on LinkedIn. If you read it, I think you'll agree that it really is very creative and clever, but beyond the creativity of her friend's communication with her, I also read into her post another message, and one which we talk to our members about with great frequency - that is the process of building both reputations and relationships is always about quality, not quantity.

The point being that while each of us, be it on a personal or a professional level, know either intuitively or by experience that our connections and relationships with others is by far the most powerful business and/or career management tool we have. While in the electronic age, saying you have hundreds or even thousands of "connections" sounds impressive, it is a long way, to state the obvious, from measuring the quality or effectiveness of your network.

In my own experience I have always found that in terms of degrees of success or failure it isn't so much what I am trying to achieve so much as how I go about trying to achieve it that really makes the difference.

Ann's buddy Charlie clearly understands all of that and more.

WEDDLEs Research Factoid

Most of the staffing world would instantly recognize Pete Weddle's picture from his most recent appearence on America's Most Wanted. (Just kidding Pete, but the part about recognition I think would be true.) Pete has been operating in the staffing space since before it bacame a "space" which also might say something about where his hair went.

Okay seriously, his newsletter (which is not just interesting but is also free) is something I look forward to and actually read. The "factoid" piece in a recent isssue, the opening portion of which I have pasted below, immediately caught both my eye and attention I guess because it touched one of my biggest "worry nerves" in terms of not just the future of business in a global economy, but the future of our country in general. Here's part of what Pete said:

WEDDLE’s continuously conducts both primary and secondary research on Best Practices in employment excellence and HR leadership. Among the documents we recently reviewed was a 2006 Towers Perrin survey conducted among HR executives at 250 large and midsized North American organizations. Towers Perrin asked the executives a very simple question: What is talent?.

The data below indicate the percentage of respondents that selected a specific workforce group as talent.

86% identified senior leaders

82% identified employees with leadership potential

76% identified key contributors/technical experts

48% identified entry level employees with leadership potential.
The groups are, by no means, exhaustive or even meaningfully structured, but they do provide an interesting perspective on our work as recruiters.

The article goes on to discuss and more importantly define what Pete feels employers really mean when they use the word "talent" and/or "leadership."
I have no idea if how these terms are described will finally put an end to the eternal debate over these most sought after attributes that continues to support the multi billion dollar industries that produce and sell all sorts of products and services that promise they can help us identify the DNA that produces the talented leaders every business so desparately needss and craves, but they are a good as any I've seen in a while.

We are currently putting the finishing touches on our annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report, a survey now in its 15th year. While it has changed and expanded over the years as most surveys do, one question that has been there since day 1 has been to ask the recruiters who participate what are the top characteristics or attributes they are asked to find. The top three, by far and away have always been leadership, industry specific experience, and functional expertise.

It is always an area that causes a fair amount of discussion whenever I have presented the survey results to varioius groups over the years. Actually, in that presentation, there is a slide we use to try and drive home the point that while we all keep trying, for sure we have along way to go:

Support From The Field

There was one of those cute graphs in the recent USA Today "Snapshots" space that caught my eye even though my own kids are, chronologically at least, well past adulthood.

The subject of the chart was to show the percentage of children who are praised at least three times a day by their mother or father, and as Richard Dawson would say "and the survey said":

Under age 6 - 72%
6-11 - 51%
12-17 - 37%

There were a couple of things that struck me about this when I saw it other than my initial reaction of hoping that it wasn't my tax dollars that helped to fund the study, however, those hopes were dashed when I read the fine print and discovered that the source of the data came via the Census Bureau's "A Child's Day" report.

Okay, so I lost that one, but I could not help thinking as I kept looking over the stats that I would have felt much better had the numbers been reversed. Don't we all care more about positive reinforcement as we get older? Don't we feel the need more as we go through life, or is it the macho thing that since we're "grown up" we don't need that "stuff" that is really for kids?

I certainly don't mean to make a federal case out of this (no pun intended) but it just seems to me that most of the management gurus tell us as senior executives to "try and find something good" even though most of the time it feels like we're being paid to manage the "bad." Yet, if you look down he lists of the "to do's" in terms of what they say a manager should be doing, recognition is always very high on the list.

Kent Blumberg whose blog is almost totally devoted to the subject of leadership, recently had a post in which he suggested readers check out the story that Michael McKinney used on his blog to drive home the importance of providing support and encouragement rather than always feeling like the job is to point out how something could or should be better.

We talk a great deal in this country about our ability to compete on the global stage going forward as well as the fact that technology will only continue to drive productivity for so long. I wonder how much we lose in productivity, creativity, and motivation because of what seems to be a focus on pointing out mistakes.

I would guess that we have all seen the commercial featuring Peyton Manning in which one person after another is making a mistake or has some accident befall them, yet he just keeps trying to find a positive. The last scene shows him standing in front of his house with a cup of coffee in his hand as the paper boy comes roaring by on his bike and lets fly with the morning paper which promptly goes through the window with a crash. Peyton says something like "It's okay Jimmy, you still have the strongest arm in the neighborhood!"

We need to keep encouraging our Jimmies and well beyond when they are 17.

Getting It

As a recovering HR person, I have to admit that I still get an enormous amount of what they used to call "job satisfaction" from the phone calls, emails, and letters that arrive in one form or another on a daily if not hourly basis.

The subject matter of these communications covers a wide range of topics. To be sure many of them are telling us that that their new gig came as a direct or indirect result of a posting on ExecuNet which while not a surprise is still a source of an extra good feeling. In truth, and as much as I love hearing it, the ones that really make me feel good are the ones where members tell us of an experience where the linkages that come from effective networking have paid off for them in so many different ways.

I guess one of the reasons these are such a source of satisfaction for me is because quite often when someone first becomes a member while they tell us they understand the concept of networking (i.e. the what) where they are really uncomfortable is when it comes to the doing (i.e. the how).

I doubt there are many of us who have not seen the stats that have come from God only knows how many surveys by countless organizations over the years regarding how they made a job change. Networking is by far and away the most named source. Our own surveys put it at 70% of the time which is the reason we invest the time and energy we do in trying to provide members with the knowledge and tools and opportunities that help in acquiring the "how."

What got me thinking about this was an email that was forwarded to me by Judy Rosemarin who has facilitated our networking meetings in NYC for the past 13 years. The email was from David Clarke, who based on what he shared in his email is someone who clearly "gets it" and it certainly made both Judy and me smile. With David's permission, (I have masked the names of the others he mentions since I have not asked them it if is okay to use their names) he is what he had to say:

Judy - just thought I'd keep you posted, not to blow my own trumpet BUT you might be able to use these examples (in the abstract) at future Networking sessions to demonstrate to the attendees what CAN occur if people take the networking seriously......

I have arranged for James to meet with a divisional CIO at McGraw-Hill next week - the guy is a buddy of mine, our kids are in school together and we were colleagues years ago.

I got Mark hooked up with my buddy who is the MD of a gaming software company. They are actually closing down but my buddy connected Mark to a Salomon Bros. contact who needs 'gaming technologists' for something they have in the works.

Hooked up with J. and we will speak on Friday after he has the details of his interview at D&B in the Business Dev./M&A team - he wants my help in that regard.

S. and I emailed and have connected, but nothing specific. Arthur has me hooked up with the Gerson-Lehrman group.

By close-of-play today I should have S. the contacts in the Leadership Council group to get her the "ins" she needs for her target co's.

All this in 24 hours from 1 meeting - that's what is possible if each and everyone attending 'plays the game’

Best Regards,
David

We have been hosting executive networking meetings around the U.S. and Canada now for more than 17 years. Many people have asked us why we would do that, especially in this day and age when people can collect thousands of electronic "business cards", etc. The answer is pretty simple; we do it because the hard data as well as the anecdotal data tell us that this is where the leverage lies. Said differently, the meetings (which have always been open to both members and non-members alike) give people one more venue where on a peer to peer basis they have the opportunity to expand their personal and professional network.

For sure anytime you show up someplace where you may or may not know someone there it can feel a bit uncomfortable (another reason why all the meetings are professionally facilitated) and to some degree it is a bit of a crap shoot in terms of what you might take away from it.

That said, however, those who come to such an event with the right attitude which can come under a variety of phrases starting with "play it forward" up to an including David's "play the game" I believe "get it" and as a result will find what can be a very tough time much easier to deal with, and as I said at the outset, as a "recovering HR person" that really makes me feel good.

Networking II

Networking II is the title of a recent article appearing John Sumser's outstanding daily ezine Electronic Recruiting News whose reputation is such that it long ago became required reading for anyone who has any interest in the staffing world be they candidate or recruiter.

You should be able to find a copy of the entire article in the archive section of John's site. Well worth reading on a number of levels, but when I got to the section I have pasted below it immediately got my attention. Indeed, I went back and read it again. Why did I pause on it? In truth I would guess because like most people when I read something which supports my own point of view or philosophy, it of course catches my attention. I couldn't help but read this and say: "Right on big John!" Moreover, when it is someone with Sumser's reputation, it tends to make you puff up even more and say to yourself "see, even John Sumser says you are not crazy."

Anyway, this is the section that got me to sit up and take notice:

"Also, the theory that solid social networking involves giving without the expectation of an immediate return seemed to be hard for some people to understand.

Of course, social networks produce returns for their investors. People would never participate in them unless that was true. The trick is knowing that credit-taking and the expectation of specific return destroy the network dynamic. Networks work because their members receive unexpected benefits, because being in the network is better (for everyone involved) than being outside of it.

There's no escaping the fact that networks can only achieve effectiveness if the participants are willing to delay gratification. That's where the idea that you have to give without the expectation of return."

When we started ExecuNet way back in 1988, I can recall the conversations I had with each person who called then, and while the technology and times have obviously changed, the message hasn't:

Give first and results will follow.

Effective networking is about giving not about getting.

Help each other.

Every interaction you have reflects on you first and foremost, but it also reflects on your fellow members.

It's about being remembered and referred; make sure you are remembered for the right reasons.

Real career management is a process, not a program. It is not something that you start and stop.

When we began ExecuNet, there was, for all intents and purposes no Internet much less a term like "career-related website." Nowadays, the last number I think I saw Pete Weddle report was that there were more than 45,000 of them.

Over the years, I have been asked again and again, and even more so as the number of career-related websites continue to expand "how do you measure your success"? Reading John's Networking II article reminded me of what my answer has always been:

By reputation,

By the fact that the vast majority of our members still come to us by referral from current or former members, and

By how many search firms and companies keep coming back to post their senior level executive jobs with us

All of which translates back to what John has said in this piece:

"The trick is knowing that credit-taking and the expectation of specific return destroy the network dynamic. Networks work because their members receive unexpected benefits, because being in the network is better (for everyone involved) than being outside of it."

My belief is that this is not only true but is one of the key differences between being a "member" versus a "subscriber."

Thanks for the reminder John.

Information is Power

Is there anyone who roams in or around the staffing industry who doesn't get John Sumser's Interbiznet Bugler? Probably not, which suggests that the piece that ran in a recent Bugler announcing the coming debut of a site called CareerTours is not exactly "new news." In the off chance that you didn't see it, however, here's what was reported:

CareerTours, a national recruitment resource, has developed a new way to recruit called "Frictionless Recruiting" that will provide employers with a revolutionary new way to recruit talent while minimizing the friction inherent in the recruiting process. The innovative process will enable an organization to display its culture using web-based audio, slideshows, and video, as well as sharing a company's organizational structure and management philosophy. The service will launch nationwide on January 15, 2007.

This caught my eye because I thought it was at least one other approach in trying to help both sides of the process help each other as we continue what seems like the eternal and clearly flawed process of trying to find "fit."

I am sure that we all have seen the surveys which seem not to have changed much; at least not as far back as I can remember. Bottom line, the vast majority of those of us who have failed at some point in our careers (i.e. "got carried out sideways as they used to say) experienced that outcome not because of a lack of technical expertise, but fell victim to what has been variously described as "a lack of chemistry," "a personality conflict," or "couldn't fit in with the culture, etc." The story has played out for such a long time that in terms of age it is probably only surpassed by Adam and Eve, and the track record of those that "didn't work" makes Matt Millen's record as GM of the Lions look like Hall of Fame numbers.

When it comes to negotiations, there is an old saying that "Information is Power" and for sure I would be the last person to argue with that fact. When it comes to trying to find "fit", I think the same principal applies. The best tool either the employer or the candidate have to use as they try and make a decision that they both hope (individually and collectively) turns out to be a good one is the exchange of information.

If you read what the Bugler piece has to say about CareerTours "Frictionless Recruiting" one would think that they have found a way to electronically inject sodium pentothal into the process. Strikes me as pretty idealistic to say the least, but since they were only supposed to launch on January 15th, I guess we'll have to wait and see what they will be able to do to "keep it real" so that both parties get something other than well crafted marketing hype.

For my money, the name of the game is research, research, research, and that certainly includes talking to people who work there or have worked there. From an employer's perspective you are talking about a big bucks investment that depending on how you keep score is easily well into six or seven figures, and from the candidate's perspective, it's your life your messing around with.

Try putting a price on that.

Quality, Not Quantity

Caught an article in the HR Executive magazine the other day by Tom Starner. It was a piece that took a look at the changes that technology companies in the recruiting space were making in order to try and help employers overcome the nightmare of the tidal wave of resumes that arrive when a job gets posted.

We have all heard about the law of diminishing returns, and for a long time now, the complaint that one hears from all sides, both candidate and client is largely the same. Too much volume to deal with in anything that even approaches an effective and efficient fashion. Time was when an employer put an ad in the Wall Street Journal on a Tuesday and would have to take extra vitamins to get ready to deal the the mail on Thursday. Today, that same job posted on a commercial job board would easily generate several times the number of responses, and that's without counting what would come in from the aggregator sites. Talk about an Excedrin headache.

For a long time I have thought that the strength of the Internet is also is weakness. The strength, of course, is the ease with which is makes communication and the sharing of information, but if you listen to recruiters (or candidates for that matter) to coin a phrase, "speed kills."

Candidates feel that if they don't respond to information within a nano second they don't have a prayer. The recruiter's feel that when one is staring at hundreds and hundreds of responses within a matter of hours if not minutes, it's enough to make your whole body go numb.

Some feel that the advent of "social networks" will fix all that since the "referral networks" logic says, will produce a much higher percentage of "qualified" candidates. I am a long time believer in the quality of employee referrals, so at least on the surface the logic feels okay to me. At the same time, however, I wonder if there isn't a law of diminishing returns that might come into play with this as well. Time will tell.

Over the years, we get asked all the time how we manage the quality vs. quantity issue. Our answer has always been the same irrespective if we are talking to our executive members or our recruiter members - education.

What we mean is that we spend a great deal of time getting both sides to respect each other. We expect recruiters to post "real" jobs, well written so that those seeing the postings can make an intelligent judgment in terms of their suitability for the opening. On the executive side, we spend an equal amount of time if not more so, telling people how important it is to only raise their hands for openings for which they are truly qualified.

When we talk to our members, be they on the executive side or the recruiter side we usually try to boil things down to "so long as you are doing your best to exercise your experienced business judgment, the quality should be there." Seems so ridiculously simple, but most things that drive real quality are.

The Price of Leadership

By now, and given the speed of "life" and the Internet it could be that lots of others have seen this by now, but when it came to me it gave me an uncomfortable pause.

The letter of resignation below from Shutterfly's Bd. Chairman was posted on the blog written by Jupiter Media's CEO Alan Meckler.

Dear Jeff,

Please forward this to the other board members, as I do not have their addresses with me.

After considerable thought over the holidays, I've decided effective today, January 1, 2007, to resign from the Board of Directors of Shutterfly. My reasons are twofold: 1) as a technologist, I feel there is little that I can offer to guide what has become a manufacturing company, and 2) because of the constraints imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley on my having any significant role on the board.

As I understand it, Sarbox dictates that I not Chair any committee due to the size of my holdings, not be on the compensation committee because of the loan I once made to the company, not be on the governance committee, and it even dictates that some other board member must carry out the perfunctory duties of the Chairman. What's left is liability and constraints on stock transactions, neither of which excite me.
It seems pretty clear to me that lawmakers have gone too far in considering a large shareholder to be inappropriate in the roles, but it is equally clear that I have no ability to change this in the near term. My only solution is to become an outsider. I wish to be treated as such effective immediately.

I want to congratulate you and the team for what you have accomplished. You are doing a great job in a very competitive market, and I have no doubt that Shutterfly will continue to do well under your leadership. I will continue to recommend your service to all.

Sincerely,
Jim Clark
Chairman of the Board
Shutterfly

For many of us Sarbanes Oxley is a name we've heard but unless we are at a certain level in the organization about all we know is that most of those who are involved with it do not exactly look upon it as a "perk" of being a senior corporate officer.

Since ExecuNet is privately held, I am happy to say we are still looking upon SarBox as something we hope and pray will never befall us.

So why did reading Mr. Clark's letter give me such pause? Because it sounded to me like the words from a very decent man who had reached the point where he felt he had to give up. That the law written to manage the few had made Board participation so painful, unrewarding, and frustrating that it just wasn't worth it any more. Life is too short.

It is no secret that we constantly hear from almost any segment you can name the cry for leadership, and how it is in such short supply. Our surveys talk about it, the talking heads on TV talk about it, OpEd pieces from coast to coast talk about it.

Sure we need laws, even I know that, but when I read stuff like this it really does make me sad to think that we continue to invest such time, energy and our tax dollars into trying to legislate ethics.

Oxymoron: Work-Life Balance

I don't know about you, but somehow the day on which "24/7" became the buzz word to describe how most of us feel we are "on" just blew by me. Maybe I was too busy to notice?

I have read lots of articles that speak to both the pros and cons of the digital age and cyber communications that drive our existence both on and off the job. Indeed, it seems as if things change so fast that pretty soon through the wonders of modern telecommunications each of us will literally be able to be "on" 24/7. We'll still be able to get some sleep, but while we're sleeping, all the data will be fed to us intravenously at night.

At ExecuNet, we talk to our members about this stuff all the time. Most recently, we did a flash survey and asked members for their feelings about all this, and how they felt it impacted what their employers expected of them given that they can be "connected" home or away.

Based on the results, it certainly would appear that employers are "sold" on the concept. 61% told us that their company expects them to be accessible outside of working hours. 29% said that while being available after hours and on weekends wasn't "mandated" it certainly was "implied." All those who are surprised by that one, raise your hand!

On top of the "standard" 50-60+ hour work weeks, 67% said they have worked remotely and spent an average of 11.4 hours working on business related tasks off campus.

When it came to our love affair with Blackberries and Treos (78% said they have them) only 56% said that they felt these little gadgets actually did something to improve what we laughingly refer to as work-life balance. That same 56%, by the way, said that while they might leave home without their Amex card, heaven forbid that they would head out on vacation without their Blackberry fully charged so they could check email while sitting at the beach bar and practicing their Spanish aka "dos Margaritas."

And even when we're in the office, if it isn't technology driving us crazy, it's the fact that our attention spans are constantly assaulted. At least that's according to a Reuter's article that I ran into on ZDnet.

I really think that we are still working our way though adjusting to the impact of being wired 24/7 and the behavior that seems to go with it versus other surveys I have seen (including a number of our own) in which respondents tell us that work/life balance is very high on their list of things they look for in a job.

It still feels to me like we are a part of a society that puts a major premium on living to work vs. working to live the recent BusinessWeek story on Best Buy notwithstanding.

Anybody else feel that way, or is it just me?

A 21 Adjective Salute

As I saw and took in the images of the past few days on the passing of President Ford, it got me to thinking again about leadership. Our members talk about it all the time as well, and for any of us who have been thrust into such positions or even if we have aspired to such positions, it isn't until you are faced with the challenges of leadership that you really start to develop an appreciation for just how difficult it is.

As I thought about that in terms of the things I have done over the course of my career, and then tried in my mind to extrapolate those experiences to the burdens faced by a president (any president) it is pretty humbling to say the least.

But at all levels of business, we continually hear (and see) the crying need for leadership. (Enron anyone?) So, as I was thinking about this, and watching the pageantry of a presidential passing, where as much of what we see is about respect for the weight of the office as it is about the man I started to think about the images that came to mind as I thought about him? There were, of course, many that crossed my mind as I listened to one of the 21 gun salutes.

It was at that point the thought came to me that maybe I could offer my own salute in the form of 21 attributes I thought he demonstrated. If some of them make sense, then maybe as business leaders we could transfer them to our own situation. Said differently, if he could do it, we should be able to as well.

Here's my list:

1. aspiring: but not to the point of pandering.
2. astonishing: in terms of the issues he had to deal with when he came to office. Some compare them to what faced Truman.
3. befitting: of the office.
4. capable: for sure.
5. comfortable: was how he made people feel.
6. courageous: to have pardoned Nixon, agree or disagree, it took guts to make the decision, and that was just for openers.
7. credible: pretty important quality in a leader.
8. decisive: another key ingredient in a leader.
9. earthy: as in "down to."
10. erect: he carried himself well.
11. feigned: something he didn’t do, he was a believer.
12. gutsy: see #6.
13. honorable: not a word we hear much of these days.
14. industrious: from what is said about him, to say that he was would be an understatement.
15. likeable: both sides of the aisle said so.
16. political: sure, but willing to compromise and listen.
17. sincere: felt that way to me.
18. tough: would sure want him on my team.
19. thoughtful: rarely sounded like he was shooting from the hip.
20. warm: he had that kind of a smile that put you at ease.
21. whimsical: nice sense of humor.

Thank you for your service Mr. President.

New Year's Resolutions

I am embarrassed to say that I do not recall where I found this post or if someone sent it to me, one of my resolutions will be to try and make sure that when I save something like this to make sure that I write down all the details, especially if someone was kind enough to send it along to me because they knew it would resonate for me.

So with that mia culpa, I still want to share it, as there may be some who read this blog who had not yet seen it, and based on the feedback I have had from those who do read my posts I am guessing they would be as moved as I was.

What follows was written at the end of 2001, and even six years later, can't be ignored:

"So what does life expect of you in 2002? Better yet, what do you expect of yourself? Well, here’s the defining truth of 2002: we are all being held to a higher standard. The age of indulgence ended on September 11. It’s been replaced by the age of accountability. The most valuable people will be those who consistently enhance the people and the world around them.

So here are ten of the best New Year’s Resolutions you can make. They are based on The Ten Personal Best Practices formulated by Environics/Lipkin, the specialist Motivation Company in the Environics Research Group. These are the personal strategies and actions designed to achieve maximum impact in a topsy-turvy world:

1. Resolve to stay brutally optimistic. See the opportunity in every difficulty. Anticipate the most favorable outcome out of every situation. Whatever you look for, that’s what you’ll find. We can get better or we can get bitter. It all depends on the lessons we draw from each experience. Optimism is like electricity – very little happens without it. Know this truth: you have all the resources you’ll ever need to handle all the challenges you’ll ever have. It’s in the true emergencies that the true you emerges.

2. Resolve to identify the most powerful benefit you offer to the people around you and then deliver it. “The purpose of life” said George Bernard Shaw, “is a life of purpose”. What’s yours? Where are you investing your personal energy – on self-preservation or adding value to others. Here’s the well-being paradox: if you’re only concerned about yourself, you cannot take care of yourself. Only by helping others, can you succeed. This is not the creed of the Good Samaritan. It’s the primary source of motivation that sustains the Go-To people in tough times.

3. Resolve to pump up your Personal Vitality. In the game of life it’s not about who’s right, it’s about who’s left. Over 60 percent of us are over 36 years old. The real currency of the 2000’s is not cash, it’s vitality. It’s the ability to keep going 24/7/365 with vigor and verve. All you are to the people around you is a source of energy. And you cannot give what you don’t have. Ninety percent of all adults do no physical exercise at all. More than half of us is overweight. A third of us still smoke. So this year, resolve to enhance your physical, emotional and mental vitality. Take just a small step. First you’ll amaze yourself and then you’ll amaze everybody else.

4. Resolve to be Habitually Generous. Success is not something you pursue. It’s something you attract by what you become. The more you give of yourself, the more favors you attract from others. It’s called The Law of Reciprocity. People have a deep-rooted drive to give back. So resolve to proactively search for ways to contribute to others. Live above the line. If the line represents others’ expectations of you, consistently exceed those expectations. You’ll develop what Ken Blanchard calls “Raving Fans”, people who become walking billboards for you, your product and your service.

5. Resolve to go on a mental diet. Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can scar you for life. It’s humans, not elephants, who never forget. So resolve to use the language of Conciliation, not the language of Confrontation. Avoid the temptation to vent your negativity on others. Instead, use words that express your joie de vivre and connection with others.

6. Resolve to be a Global Citizen, fully open to the cultures and influences of others. There is a direct correlation between personal well-being and openness to other peoples’ ideas and cultures. If someone has a different point of view to you, they’re probably right as well. There are no absolutes anymore. No one has a patent on right and wrong. So welcome different opinions. Become a one-person champion for plurality. Not only will you make lots of new friends, but you’ll also gather multiple reference points to help you resolve personal challenges.

7. Resolve to take Control of Your Destiny. Don’t be so busy trying to make a living that you forget to make a life. You’re in charge of your own life, so take charge. Decide who you want to be and what you want to achieve. And then stride boldly towards your vision. The most precious human commodity today is Confidence. Confidence and Control of Destiny are Siamese Twins.

8. Resolve to increase your human connectivity. The person with the best connections wins. The wider your network, the more opportunities you generate. It’s all about trust. And it’s all about profile – your presence in the minds of the people who matter. So invest at least ten percent of your time broadening your sphere of influence. Connect other people to opportunities within your network – cross pollinate their potential. When you are with others, make every encounter a pleasurable one. When you listen, truly listen. And burn your fear of rejection.

9. Resolve to increase your creativity by letting go of the familiar. Nothing is as far away as yesterday. As Salman Rushdie writes, every year is the Stone Age to the year that follows it. See the world through fresh eyes everyday. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. So be ready. Listen to your intuition and follow your instincts, they’ll tell you what to do before your head has had a chance to figure it out. You are a Picasso or Einstein at something. Discover what it is and then develop it to the maximum.

10. Resolve to be you because others are already taken. You and I are at our best when we’re being authentic. We’re at our best when we’re being positively spontaneous because that’s when all our energy is being invested in the person in front of us or the task at hand. In a hyper-competitive world, we cannot afford to second-guess ourselves. Success in the new, new age is all about speed. So act now, because if not now, when?

So there you have it, ten New Year Resolutions to improve your life in 2002. So decide. Fight the Good Fight, stay the course, and keep the faith."

Be Remembered and Be Referred

As we all know, blogs continue to multiply in geometric fashion. I don't know about the rest of the world, but it is all I can do to follow a few. The general criteria I use is probably not unlike how most people make choices about what they read:

1) the subject matter is of interest,and

2) the writing is stimulating and "interesting" to read. In other posts over the past several months, I have noted some of those that happen to appeal to me.

One that I have bookmarked in recent times is Amitai Givertz's blog which he calls Amitai Givertz's Recruitomatic Blog.

I have no clue where he found Rob Robinson's resume, but I'm glad he did.

When it comes to proactive career management, at ExecuNet we talk a fair amount about "being remembered and being referred." Most of us try to accomplish this goal by doing a whole host of things including making sure that our resume makes us stand out from crowd.

Amitai thinks the Mr. Robinson's resume is "One Hell of a Resume" and while I am sure that there are those who might or might not agree, it is definitely different and, especially since Robinson is a "marketing guy" I would be very surprised if it didn't resonate with a number of folks.

Check it out. Would this make you want to pick up the phone?

Networking & Root Canals

Maybe I'm just crazy or am missing something along the way (which if you asked my wife she would say "what do you mean 'maybe'?) but even after roaming around the career management space for all these years, I still hear people (i.e. most) who are interested in making a change say they plan to "work with a recruiter" or use a job board and these are the major strategies that are going to get them to their career goals.

And I hear it so much that I wonder how the heck it is that most of us got to where we are. Indeed, when I'm talking to members about stuff like this, especially when they are lamenting over the fact that they answer ads and never hear anything, or call recruiters and get no call backs, or generally don't understand why the world is not beating a path to their door, I often will ask them "tell me something, how did you get the job you have now or jobs that you have had in the past?" I haven't kept score over the years, but my finger in the wind survey tells me that probably at least 75% of the time, the answer comes back "oh, I got it through networking."

As I said, I don't keep score when I'm on the phone or just talking with someone at a meeting, but we do keep score when we hear from members when they come back and tell us they have made a change, and have been keeping score for several years. Interestingly enough, the number turns out to be 70%, and interestingly enough, that number doesn't seem to change very much no matter what the economy is at the time.

All that being said, we still can't deny that we live in an instant gratification society, and the more technology advances, one that on many levels becomes even less and less personal and requires more investment in hardware and software than in building real relationships.

This is in no way intended to be a rant against the "social networking space" indeed, there is no question that technology has made electronic networking easy and in many cases very productive on many levels.

Should be interesting as we follow the continuing evolution of "social networking" to see if and when it becomes the 21st century's version of "personal networking" as in people's willingness to put their personal reputations on the line.

Am I just splitting hairs, or is there a difference between "social" and "personal"?

Grace Under Pressure

Grace Under Pressure was the title of an Op Ed piece by Peggy Noonan that appeared in the weekend edition of the Journal on December 2nd.

Yes, that Peggy Noonan, you’ll remember her memorable words typically uttered by Ronald Reagan and later for the first George Bush campaign in ’88.

If you haven't read it, I commend it to your attention, but not because I have decided to shift the focus of these commentaries from the human capital management space to the political arena (heaven help me!) Point being, that just because Ms. Noonan is the author, don't be concerned that the piece is written to sway you to a particular point of view. In actuality, I found it to be a pretty profound commentary on relationships be they inside or outside of the business world and as such, it had some pretty powerful "learnings" that any of us as managers of people and/or an enterprise would do well to reflect upon.

When things are not going well, it creates, as we all know, high levels of stress. The stress is born of many factors not the least of which is fear of failure. As we all know when that happens, human nature is to become defensive, and one of the first outcomes of falling into defensive mode is to "open mouth, insert foot, close mouth and chew." We've all been there.

One of the key points that Peggy makes in this piece was the degree to which she feels the impact of interviews and so called discussions as they are heard or seen as they air on radio and/or TV. Specifically she talks about not only the physical volume levels of people's voices, but more importantly the degree to which people interrupt one another before thoughts are completed and as important, the 'tone' of superiority and judgement the interruptions take.

I wonder how many of us recall the communications exercises from Management Skills 101 in which we were taught to not only listen to what the other person had to say, but before we were allowed to express our counter-argument (which we knew and had composed in our heads well before they had spoken 10 words and we were sure would blow away anything they might have to say that might, by some miracle, approach something that could be viewed as a legitimate point) we had to reflect back to them what they had said and we were not allowed to state our point of view until they confirmed to us that "yes, that is what I said, and you know understand what I was trying to say.

I don't know about you, but when I have done this, what I discovered was that by the time the other person gave me the go ahead to state my position, I realized that what I thought were opinions separated by light years were, in fact, much closer to my colleague's point of view than I thought.

Of course, the self-discipline that it takes to stop me from saying things like "I hear you but...," or "let me tell you about...," or "wait a minute, I think you are missing the point," etc., for most of us takes the patience of a saint.

They also say that one of the key skills needed by successful executives are communications skills. I would argue, and I think this is part of what Peggy was saying too, is that maybe we ought to put more emphasis on the skill it takes to LISTEN versus TALKING.

It if takes the patience of a saint, then I guess we're also saying that it takes a fair amount of courage because you feel forced to go against every instinct you have to defend yourself. If I don't defend, won't I lose?

To keep from immediately traveling down that road is not an easy behavior to acquire. In other words, it does, as Peggy has noted take "grace under pressure." Apparently Hemingway agreed with her when he said "Courage is grace under pressure."

The NCO Creed and Servant-Leadership

I have mentioned Kent Blumberg's blog here on other occasions, and as long as he continues focus on issues of leadership and the importance thereof, I guess I will likely be trying to bang his drum again from time to time.

Over time, Kent has embraced the concept of "servant leadership." Can't say I blame him. If the term is new to you, you can certainly read Kent's post on the topic, but as he put it most recently, "a servant-leader is a steward of the resources under his care, and seeks to serve those he leads while still getting bottom-line business results."

Kent also pointed out that he added to his knowledge on the subject after having ready and being impressed (and rightly so) after reading a post by Bill Waddell which made the argument that NCO's in the army were, in fact, servant-leaders and suggested that people check out the NCO Creed to further underscore his point.

After reading the creed, Kent pulled out some key phrases which if you were to ignore the references to the military would indeed be a pretty darn good starter set for any manager anywhere. Here are the one's that Kent selected:

"I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety."

"Competence is my watchword."

"My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind -- accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers."

"All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership."

"I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own."

"I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed."

"I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment."

"I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage."

It should not come as a big time surprise to anyone that when it comes to the topic of leadership that there is much for us to learn from the military. Talk about an organization where leadership is the do all and end all when it comes to crunch time. Indeed, for those who follow the subject closely, they would tell you that some of the most comprehensive studies on leadership have been fostered by the military, especially when it comes to the chicken and egg debate of whether leaders come by nature or nurture.

In a former life I did some consulting, and there was a program that had been developed by The Center for Creative Leadership in conjunction the the Navy called Looking Glass. CCL still uses it. I thought it was the best and most powerful management simulation program to which I had ever been exposed.

If you or your organization is looking for a program to help you really understand and "reflect on" (no pun intended) your leadership style as well as the leadership culture of your organization, you might want to check it out.

$50 Dollar Tips

Several years ago I was fortunate enough to run into and become friends with Dave Morris. When I met Dave, he was with WTW Associates Executive Search. To say that he was a very engaging personality would be to understate the case. Among other traits, I was drawn to his sense of humor that went along with a "directness" that was in-your-face, but in a "nice" way in order to help make a point. As a long-time professional he had also been the past Chairman of IACPR - International Association for Corporate & Professional Recruitment) and in a prior life had been with Citibank.

Over the years and as we got to know each other better, I had asked Dave to be a speaker at ExecuNet's New York networking meeting which he did on more than one occasion to rave reviews. Aside from the fact that he had well honed communication skills, he also had the experience to translate to listeners the do's and don'ts of executive career management, including job search. One of the highlights of any presentation he would make would be what he called "$50 dollar tips," and as I was looking over some of the handouts Dave had from some of those meetings, I came across some of them again, and as I read through them, even though some of them are things we have all heard before, it still seemed to be a pretty powerful list and worth sharing, even in a digital age:

Dave Morris: $50 Dollar Tips

There is no right or wrong way, only the best way.

Dates on the right

If you keep doing what you've been doing, you're likely to get what you've always got.

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. (Henry Ford)

You are as good as you're afraid you are.

Resumes empower the reader not to see you.

In so far as possible, resumes never precede you.

Reading a resume is a negative experience.

Face to face meetings are always positive.

Eliminate "no" from your vocabulary.

When you expect less than the best, you often get it.

Networking isn't about Christmas card lists.

You only know you get where you got when you know how to go.

Nothing happens that you don't make happen, or what to have happen, you’re in control.

Interviews are not just conversations.

Nobody cares about you like you!

If the world made sense, men would ride side saddle.

I know in the end timber grows not with ease, the stronger the wind, the better the trees. (Wm. Marriott)

Only the mediocre do their best all the time.

Dave, if you're listening, these are under-priced.

The Old Fashioned Way: One Person at a Time

If you believe the stats, there are currently more than 45,000 career related web sites, and the last time I looked blogs were being created by the thousands every HOUR! There is so much talk and hype around "Web 2.0"
MySpace,YouTube,Facebook, YourSpace, HisSpace, Everybody's Space, and God only knows what else that one would think that anyone who ever has a conversation f2f (as they say in the text messaging world) was in need of therapy or should simply be admitted to the local home for the bewildered.

Okay, maybe that's a tad over-stated, but nonetheless, as I was checking out another of my favorite blogs (Dave Mendoza's Six Degrees from Dave) I found a post by Steve Levy (post date: Nov 13th) entitled One Brick at a Time. Steve's article, which was the third in a series that he had written on different aspects of recruiting, was totally focused some of the techniques and tactics he uses to identify potential candidates and clients. Talk about a good use of your time! But even so, nothing totally revolutionary here just lots of common sense based on experience from someone who has been at the game long before email was a glint in Ray Tomlinson's eye.

What struck me, however, was that no where in the article did one find links to LinkedIn or Ryze or Spoke. What you did find were tips not just for recruiters, but tips which if followed by any proactive executive would work just as well for the to expand their network and there wasn't a bit or byte in the bunch.

So what were Steve's suggestions? Here they are:

1. Business card bowls. Ah, ol’ reliable. Do you know where your competitor’s HQ or other locations are located? Do you know where their employees eat breakfast or lunch? Have you ever seen those business card bowls that seat up by the register offering free meals if you toss in your card? Absolute goldmines. Ask the manager what they do with the cards at the end of each week. If you have to, offer them $10-$20 for the contents of the bowl. Then call the ones who seem to be on target. Classic brick and mortar recruiting.

2. Airports (or really any transportation hub). These are like open directories on the Internet with one great difference – real live people. When traveling, I always make a point of walking past telephone banks or people on cell phones – and listen (well, okay, eavesdrop but it’s a public place) to the conversations. More specifically, I listen very carefully to the details of the call hoping to catch a juicy tidbit that gives me an idea of who the person is, what they do, or for whom they work. If I do, the first chance I can I walk over and say, “Hello, my name is Steve Levy. I’m quite sorry for bothering you but I overheard your phone call and…” Classic brick and mortar recruiting.

3. I’m still at airports. This time sitting amongst other travelers waiting for my flight. Here’s another “must have” skill for all recruiters – the ability to read from the side or upside down. I mean it – and you can practice to develop this skill. So I’m waiting for the flight to be called and I’m severely exercising my eyeballs – left, right, up, down – spying the contents of laptop screens and paperwork of travelers. Eavesdropping? Darn right. But to the naysayers, it’s all public. Just as the telephone example, I use the same approach… “Hello, my name is Steve Levy. I’m quite sorry for bothering you but I caught a glimpse of what you’re working on and …” Classic brick and mortar recruiting.

4. Field Trips to Starbucks. I consider these to be the mainstays of brick and mortar recruiting. Don’t like Starbucks? Pick any gathering place in your area that offers beverages and Wi-Fi. I once took the recruiting team from a West Coast client to a local Starbucks and had them sit at different tables and listen to conversations or exercise their eyeballs for five minutes. Next was to introduce themselves according to the model and go from there. Sure it was difficult at first but in time it does become easier, more sincere, and more effective.

But here’s the one inherent problem with this approach to brick and mortar recruiting: It isn’t easy. And it has vexed most normal people practically their entire lives. Do you remember your junior or senior prom (or really any social event before you were an “adult”) especially if you went solo? Do you remember girls on one side and boys on the other, neither side approaching to ask someone to dance? Brings back some interesting memories, right?

Finally someone takes a chance and pops the question; soon enough, most are dancing and thanking the person who reached out their hand. Classic brick and mortar recruiting will always be like this with the risk-taking first-responders who recognize its value receiving the greatest accolades and the best candidates. At its core, recruiting really is just one hand shaking another, a human interaction versus a technological one.

Here are a few more brick and mortar examples to consider:

5. Commuting. If you commute to work via mass transit, do you just sit there cuddled up to your favorite newspaper or exercising your thumbs on your Blackberry, or do you introduce yourself to others? Do you sit in the same seat every day? For shame - your next hire is in the next car!

6. Conferences and Trade Shows. While attending trade shows, do you walk around collecting pens and squishy toys or do you show up early during set-up time with coffee and donuts and offer these to the people assembling the booths? Trade a treat for an introduction!

7. The Internet. I’m quite sure that searching User Groups is part of most of your sourcing strategies. But do you attend these groups’ monthly meetings? Or better yet, what I recently did for a client was to survey the landscape and realize that there wasn’t a dotNET User Group in their area and having recruited dotNET Developers, I knew who they were and where they worked. So I created one in an area that was in desperate need of one (in fact, others had failed to successfully create one in the past). The result was 62 dotNET Developers at the kick-off meeting and I strongly suspect at least 25% to 30% more attendees the next meeting. The group meets at my client’s office; however, the single most important goal is not recruiting but brand and relationship building – a staple of brick and mortar recruiting. The result will be that my client’s brand will be bolstered by this show of professional goodwill and in time, so will their talent pipeline.

8. Chapter Meetings. Hold as many meetings of the local chapters of the professional or technical associations in which your employees belong. You know all these groups from searching the Internet so my not really make this information useful? Why not build your company’s brand and expose your employees to new and fresh ways of thinking? Incidentally, when consider The Internet and Chapter Meetings one of your most critical tasks is to train your people how to network, how to introduce themselves to others, what to say, and how to offer and ask for business cards. Finally, you’ll have to debrief them afterwards and even give them homework to follow-up with the people they met. Now your employees are part of brick and mortar recruiting.

Ultimately, recruiting is all about building and building requires significant investments to ensure the building is solid and meets the needs of its occupants. We’ve invested in technology to the point where entire conferences focus on HR technology. But are there specific conferences that focus on recruiting at the point of the person? Sadly not. We’re so enamored by the technological solution that I think our eyes have come off the ball. Hard to believe but the politicians may actually have it right: Elections are won one vote at a time, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Talk about being on the "bleeding edge." Way to go Steve.

Not Just The Big Picture, The Total Picture

I am sure that I am no different than most in terms of trying to keep up with the information overload that comes from the 24/7 world in which we live. I am also sure that like most, it doesn't take long before you stop adding to your "favorites" list and start culling it down to those sites and blogs that you find meaningful in terms of whatever your particular area of interest might be.

In my case, there are number that I follow as closely as I can. Among them are blogs such as Joel Cheesman's, Cheezhead, Steve Levy & Maureen Sharib's The Recruiting Edge, Jeff Hunter's Talentism, and Jack Hayhow's Pig Widom just to name a few.

The other day I noted a post on Talentism in which Jeff was thanking Peter Clayton, the engine behind Total Picture Radio for helping him learn more about Podcasting. Given the quality of thought that is evident in what Peter has done and continues to do with Total Picture Radio, not to mention the positive spirit and energy he brings to the career management arena, that he would offer his help came as no surprise. If you know Peter, you know what I mean.

At ExecuNet we have had the pleasure of both "learning" from Peter as well as contributing to some of his broadcasts. He is, in our opinion, doing outstanding work, and if you are someone interested in keeping "tuned in” to what is happening and important in the world of careers, you would do well to set your Internet dial to Total Picture Radio.

The Age Police

Britain cracks down on age discrimination was a story that recently found its way into the pages of the Christian Science Monitor. It made me wonder if the UK "age police" were going to be any more effective at the age game than our sad record here in the U.S.

The average age of ExecuNet's membership is 49, so we hear a good deal from our members on this subject. We also have done surveys on various aspects of the senior level executive market, including this subject for many years, the most recent of which was just a couple of months ago. The results were hardly a surprise:

According to the survey of 168 executives with an average age of 50, nearly three-in-four (74%) are concerned they will be discriminated against on the basis of their age and more than half (58%) believe their age has disqualified them as a candidate for opportunities in the past.

One-in-three executives surveyed (33%) believes age becomes a significant factor in a hiring decision at or below the age of 50, 34% say it starts between the ages of 51 and 55, and another one-third (33%) report it becomes an issue after the age of 55.

Nearly half (47%) of those surveyed say that the stereotypes suggesting older workers are inflexible and lack energy are most responsible for putting executives at risk of being discriminated on the basis of age. Thirty-seven percent blame corporate cost cutting, 10% point toward rapid changes in technology, and 6% say increased health insurance premiums are the primary reason older executives encounter age discrimination.

The survey also found that while nearly half of all executives (47%) expect to retire after the age of 65, 24% are concerned they may be forced into retirement sooner due to their age.

Obviously, none of us are so naive as to think that discrimination based on age is going to disappear any time soon, but one would think that with some 76 million boomers heading to traditional retirement age, companies who are already more than mildly concerned about slots going unfilled due to a significantly reduced labor pool would start to realize that retaining and capitalizing on the experience base represented by this cohort would be something to creatively court rather than creatively cut.

Shameless Promotion

I have known Sheryl Spanier the lady you see here for a long time, and it was not until some years ago that I discovered her talents went well beyond being one of the most accomplished and well respected executive coaches and career management professionals around to also becoming aware that she was a Broadway vet and had a voice to match.

I also knew that Sheryl, had been continuing with her avocation, but it wasn't until I got an invitation to her appearance at the Skylight Room Cabaret on Dec. 6 and Dec. 12 (show time is at 7:00) which arrived by email today that I became aware that she was taking her show on the "road". Okay, maybe not on the "road" but to the West side, 346 W. 46th between 8th and 9th to be precise. If the name of the location is not familiar to you, here's just a little of what the New England Entertainment Digest had to say:

"Danny's Skylight Room remains one of the best locations nationwide for audiences to discover the magic of cabaret. Whether one's personal taste leans more towards jazz, Broadway standards or pop, this little jewel box on Restaurant Row in New York always sings with joy."

If you are in the City and are looking for a relaxing time Sheryl would make it a fun evening. (212) 265-8133

Asking for the Order

I am not sure if we get more questions about age discrimination or negotiations but both are major topics that ExecuNet members talk about all the time. While there are no magic formulas for either, there is certainly no shortage of folks who have opinions or profess to have expertise. The question is do they or don't they?

To that end, I was very pleased to learn that we were able to have Dr. Michael Watkins join our team of FastTrack experts. If you have not seen the term here before, the short version is that FastTrack programs are 90 minute web based programs we offer our members on a variety of career related subjects. Indeed, most of them are also available "on demand" as well.

We had been looking for a long time to try and find someone who can talk on the subject of negotiations at a level where it is really useful for senior level executives. Not just in terms of their own compensation packages, but in terms of the art of influencing in general.

Michael, who is a professor of Practice in Management at INSEAD is, as many already know, the author of many books including The First 90 Days, and Predictable Surprises which was named best business book of 2004 by Strategy+Business.

The "live" program he is doing this week SHAPING THE GAME: NEGOTIATING YOUR NEXT SUCCESS (Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4:00 Eastern) is going to be open to the public as well. Those attending not only will have the chance to hear and interact with him "live" but also get a copy of Dr. Watkins' newest book Shaping the Game, The New Leader's Guide to Effective Negotiating along with a written executive summary of the program as well as a copy of the presentation slides. All is included in the price of $89.95.

Michael is a busy camper, so if any readers here are interested in the topic, or want to find out more about the program and/or register to attend, all the info you would need is on the ExecuNet website.

Executive Leadership - Whatever That May Mean

We hear stories about leadership all the time. Some of them inspiring (Washington, Lincoln, Truman, Kennedy) and some of them despising (Hitler, Stalin, Ebbers, Lay). There are literally thousands of people and heaven only knows how many companies who for eons have made a very handsome living trying to understand what leadership is and how it is acquired, how to grow it, nurture it, develop it, implant it, copy it, manufacture it, buy it, sell it, define it, and you name it.

Over the last fourteen years , we have asked recruiters to tell us what the key characteristics or criteria are that they are asked to “find” when given a search assignment. We have always ended up with a list of ten to twelve items, but the top three every single year have always been leadership, industry-specific experience, and functional expertise. You look at the list, and the only one that sounds like rocket science is leadership. Given the current tenure of the corner office these days, it sure feels like the search continues.

I am sure that I, like many of us, have thought about this question for a long time. I am also sure like many of us, that I don’t have an answer. I do, however, have an opinion, and like most opinions, it is based more on “feeling” than “fact.” While I don’t know what leadership is, like pornography as they say, I know it when I see it.

That said I also have a theory which may speak to leadership per se or may just address managing, but it goes like this:

When it comes to judging the performance of a manager, they really get paid to do three critical things: Hire, Fire and Evaluate.

At the risk of being overly simplistic, the rest you can learn from books and on-the-job experience. Said differently, leaders are judged by their ability to make judgments which are subjective which means they are always open to interpretation and argument. And who is to say what’s right or wrong, but they have to make the judgment nonetheless and then be able to take the heat from those who disagree. In short, they must take a stand for a belief.

Not easy stuff.

P.S. In case you don't recognize it, the "post office" picture of some of our more well known "leaders" was in BusinessWeek a year or two ago, I just don't remember exactly when, just thought it was cool.

Plan Ahead aka Ready - Fire - Aim

Remember those old Plan Ahead signs? I was reminded of this as I was following an interesting discussion amongst several of our members who participate in our Sales & Marketing Roundtable. This is a recent ListServ discussion group that got started on the member side of our site.

The subject under discussion was around the issue of what Sales says they want from Marketing and vice versa. If you have been around the business world for any length of time, you don't need me to tell you that there were some fairly strong opinions being tossed around. Sort of reminded me of a former life where such "discussions" often took place between Manufacturing and Sales which could easily have developed into a contact sport.

In any case, one of those contributing to the dialogue was Jim O'Shea. Jim has been and continues to be a very active member in these discussions, and always has major contributions.

In summing up the issue of making collaborative sense out of the importance of Sales & Marketing working together, Jim put it this way:

"Strategic planning provides a great opportunity to bring together sales and marketing, design and operations, and all other key functions in order to build not just a plan but a stronger team as well. The outcome is what's most important, but the process itself also pays dividends in building a culture of teamwork and collaboration.

You've all no doubt heard the saying, "those who fail to plan, plan to fail." I don't believe that failing to plan necessarily leads to failure. Many businesses succeed despite missteps. What I do believe is that the failure to plan leaves a lot of money on the table!"

Well said, I thought. It also brought to mind an issue that we at ExecuNet have seen repeat itself time and time again when it comes to how executives (and this includes very senior level executives, i.e. C-level folks) approach the management of their careers.

Maybe it's because so many of us fall into the type "A" personality group or maybe it is just a result of the "instant gratification" society in which we live. Not sure what the answer is, but I do know what the result often is, and that is people who head out into the marketplace following what I call the Ready-Fire-Aim approach and then lament the fact that they seem to be getting nowhere fast.

The more I think about it, the more it seems logical that all of this could come under the general heading of Sales & Marketing (or to use today's buzz words "personal branding") since in its simplest form, effective career management really is about both. We stumble when "we" are both the product manager and the sales force.

But if we think about career management in these terms, it makes sense that one needs to have a plan first, and not just any plan, but one that has been carefully thought through in terms of both target market and positioning within that market. Why? Because in more cases than we imagine, the buyer "doesn't know what they don't know" and they need the marketing and sales teams working together to help them see that we are, as we like to say here, "the aspirin for their headache."

Talent Management Right & Left Coast

Time was when you heard the phrase "R&R" people thought you were talking about getting a little "rest and relaxation." I think it was a phrase that came out of WWII when troops were sent to the rear to try and "recharge."

These days, you hear the same phrase and it seems like what they mean is "recruitment & retention." Not surprising given the issues facing corporate HR staffs in general and organization and management development professionals specifically.

In this conference time of year, it was nice to see that ACP (Association of Career Professionals International) is sponsoring a series of Forums both here and abroad. One is in NYC on Nov. 8th at Pfizer's headquarters, and another in San Francisco on Nov. 16th

In most programs, it is frequently a case of "experts" telling those on the firing line what to do and what will happen to them if they don't. Aside from the expertise that both of these programs include, one of the things that make them unique is that conference planners have gone out of their way to make sure there is an excellent balance of resources from inside corporations, industry experts, and career management professionals.

Said differently, access to technology and money has leveled the corporate playing field. The unique productivity difference comes from people, and with our data revealing that executives change companies every 3.3 years, recruitment and retention is even more critical than ever. As an executive or career management professional your role in the career management process allows executives and organizations to better collaborate, thereby extending tenure and strengthening corporate advantage.

There is no better way to learn than by the sharing of experiences, and these Forums offer a unique opportunity to do just that. Different perspectives produce powerful learnings

P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, ExecuNet has been a member of ACP for many years and while we are sharing some data from our annual survey during the luncheon at the NYC event, we would have plugged the meeting in any case.

The Maya Angelou Effect

People have talked about "effective" networking, relationship building, being remembered and being referred, giving before getting, helping without strings, and probably at least a dozen other phrases for what feels like eons. Indeed, maybe there's an argument to be made that the oldest and most famous (?) networking axiom might be "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Who knows?

I guess what we do know, however, is that our lives, both personal and business, really are about relationships. Maybe this is why when I read a recent post by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval on The Huffington Post it reminded me of all this. Their post was called How We Discovered The Power of Nice. It is well worth the read if for no other reason than to give renewed hope to those of us who believe in the philosophy of pay it forward.

Indeed, when ExecuNet was started nearly 19 years ago, our first tag line was "The Power of Cooperation." While the tag line has changed over the years, for sure our operating philosophy certainly hasn't and reading about Linda and Robin's experience served as a very nice reminder, and while it wasn't necessarily a "perfect" fit, it also reminded me of a well known quote of Maya Angelou's that I always thought was very powerful:

“People do not remember what you say or what you do, over the years, but they never forget how you made them feel.”

One Size Does Not Fit All

I can't imagine anyone who is a part of or has even a passive interest in the world of recruitment who isn't familiar with Interbiznet.com. If you don't subscribe, I would urge you to do so. John Sumser's tagline for the site is Daily Newsletters and Professional Toolboxes. It's a very apt description.

In a piece he ran today called Not The New Big (JJ-IV he gives one real pause for thought in terms of the impact of "size" on the individual and quality.
You should really read the whole piece, but if you don't have the time, the excerpt below will give you a flavor:

If you look at Craigslist and Google, it's clear that getting big has erased some (or most) of the original charm. We think it eliminates much of the effectiveness as well. When volume and money are the only discriminating factors in audience reach, there is no community. When permission based marketing no longer requires asking permission, providers will get resentful. When the act of creation is ignored in exchange for reliance on search, something critical is getting lost.

People ask me all the time if when I started ExecuNet way back in the dark ages (i.e. 1988) if I had a "vision" of turning it into a Monster type site. My immediate answer was "God forbid!" I had a tough enough time once the Internet came along allowing new members to join online before we had the chance to talk with them. I finally relented, but only after we had systems in place to make sure that we could communicate directly, and most importantly individually.

So maybe this is why this article made such an impression on me. The operative word here is "me". When I go somewhere I am not looking for something for everyone else, I am looking for something for me. When I ask for help, I am looking for someone who not only has the information I need but who actually shows me they have a genuine interest in whatever problem it is that I am trying to solve.

If one takes that notion and translates it to career management at the senior executive level, it becomes clear why most people move around the executive world (and most of the rest of it as well) by the relationships they build with others.

It is also one of the reasons why we continue to be a membership and not a subscription.

Breaking News From The About Time Department

Over the almost nineteen years as we at ExecuNet have talked with members and asked them about their feelings about interacting with the recruiting community, with very few exceptions, the responses range from "lousy" to "what relationship"?

Over the same period of time as we have talked with recruiters about their feelings about candidates and shared the candidate's feelings with them, with few exceptions, their responses range from "Yeah, I know and I don't blame them" to "If I had the time I would try to do something about it, but I just don't" to "tell 'em to grow up, my obligation is to the client."

So, if you are one of those who can relate to the foregoing, below you will see the guts of a press release that I saw today, and once you have read it, maybe it will bring a smile to your face as well.

CHICAGO, October 2, 2006 – Chicago-based executive search firm Slayton Search Partners has recently launched a formal quality assurance program. This program will ensure that client and candidate expectations are being met during every phase of the executive search process.

“Client satisfaction surveys are not new in our industry, however, we believe that the inclusion of candidate perspectives is,” said Bob Benson, Slayton’s Chairman. “What candidates think is a critical dimension in measuring the success of a search. And most importantly, the views of the candidates are central to helping build our clients’ image as an employer of choice. Our clients engage us to represent them in the best possible manner. How we accomplish that has a major impact on the attractiveness of a company to executives in their space.” That is why Slayton is taking the lead in the search industry to determine how candidates feel about their experience – setting the industry standard for providing candidates with an outstanding experience.

Slayton wants to ensure that each candidate is given an opportunity to provide his or her views concerning the way they were treated – both by Slayton and by the client. This will ensure that the candidates are treated with professionalism, courtesy, fairness and that they receive regular updates on their status during the course of the search. All responses to the quality assurance surveys will be carefully considered and the results will become an important element in the determination of Slayton’s consultant compensation related to quality. Slayton has also committed to regularly reporting its candidate survey findings, favorable or not, back to their clients.

I also should say that for those who are readers here, and you say to yourself, I think I have seen Benson's name here before, you would be right. A month or so ago, I posted a piece called Why Do You Work? If you read it, then you, like me, would not have been surprised to see Bob's leadership reflected in what Slayton has committed itself to do.

Kudos Bob et al. I hope it starts a trend.

The Myth of the Puritan Work Ethic

Over the years, I have talked to lots of executives who, like myself, back in the early 90's were around when IBM announced to the world that they too were going to have RIF's. That event came as a bit of an epiphany to many executives who finally realized they had to face the reality of the fact that the Puritan work ethic notion with which most of us had grown up was really a myth. We wanted it to be true, but in our hearts we knew it was wishful thinking.

Once that reality had set in, management gurus of almost every stripe wondered out loud and in print how the loyalty which had been the currency of the implicit contract between employer and employee for so many generations, could, if ever, be replaced in the psyche of the executive workforce.

Sometimes, I suppose, when we read Fortune's list of the 100 best companies to work for, etc. we think there actually are organizations who understand that the biggest competitive advantage any company has really resides in the hearts and minds of its employees. One would hope this is the case.

Then again, we are reminded when we read articles such as the recent AP story that Radio Shack, which had previously announced they were going to cut some 400 jobs had implemented the reduction and in an "interesting" utilization of modern technology, informed the 400 employees via an email that apparently read: "The workforce reduction notification is currently in progress, unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."

Even though a company spokesperson told the press that employees had been told that the RIF notices would come via email, the story went on to say that a management professor at the University of North Texas, Derrick D'Souza, commented that handling the communication in this way could be seen, as "dehumanizing to employees." (A great candidate for the understatement of the week?)

Not that I would offer it up as scientific proof, but the last time I checked ExecuNet's membership stats when we asked members employment status, 70% indicated they were currently employed.

Message recieved.

I think all of us at this stage of the game understand the implications of a global economy, etc. We understand that the "contract" never really existed. We can live with that, but when I read articles such as the Radio Shack piece, and I think about the management process and the responsibilities of leadership, it also reminds me yet once again that it is always much more about the "how" than the "what."