Borrowers and Bankers: A Great Divide

I seriously doubt that there isn't anyone over the age of 13 in this country that isn't paying some level of attention to what is going on in our economy. And for those of us who are still paying not only our own bills, but still supporting our kids irrespective of age, to say that oil, housing, and the credit mess doesn't have our virtually undivided attention would probably be a serious understatement.

While this subject may well be consuming much of our waking hours, if you are like me, getting answers that seem to make sense is quite another story. It is for this reason that as a "public service" I would suggest that if you don't regularly read Gretchen Morgenson's column in the Sunday business section of the NY Times, I would take some time to check it out.

Her piece on July 20th called "Borrowers And Bankers: A Great Divide" I thought was pretty cool. The thrust of the column was directed at the notion of not just cleaning up messes such as the product of credit greed but rather preventing it in the first place.

I should confess that it wasn't just because I admire Morgenson's intellect and writing style, that this particular column had so much appeal. It was also because in it she devotes a fair amount of space to the "learnings" of John C. Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group. If you know anything about Bogle, he is one of the very few Wall St. types who actually seem to have ethics.
One of the key points that Bogle makes in this article is that the crisis that we currently face is driven as much or more by the problems we face as a society and an economy as it is simply by stock market forces. Specifically Bogle is, as he should be, concerned about the growing imbalances we have.

Bogle puts it this way:

While the Declaration of Independence assures us that 'all men are created equal', we'd best face the fact that we may be created equal but are born into a society where inequality of family, of education and, yes, even opportunity begins as soon as we are born."

"But the Constitution demands more," he adds. "we the people are enjoined to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, and to promote the general welfare and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. So it's up to each of us to summon our unique genius, our own power and our own personal magic to restore these values in today's imbalanced society."

Gretchen's comment:

"Not a bad idea, bringing a little 18th-century enlightenment to this moment of 21st-century gloom."

Think about it.

Treo Triage

I have no idea what the percentage of Type A personality folks we have running around these days (pun intended) and when email came along clearly that was bad enough, but when they put it all on our hip and gave it names like Blackberry, Treo, and Smart Phones, stress meters had to change their scales and create a new one called 'For Heart Attack, Click Here.'

I don't know about you, but I have been trying for what seems like forever to figure out how to control the guilt I feel when I am not opening and responding to an email within a matter of minutes. Worse, I now find myself now trying to learn how to eat with my left hand so that I can respond while holding my Treo in my right hand while trying to thumb out a response while at the same time holding it up to serve as shield of sorts to ward off whatever it is that my wife is throwing at me at that particular moment.

Okay, maybe a bit overstated, but directionally, I'm closer to that description than (a) I would like to be and (b) than common sense says I ought to be.

It is for this reason that I was very pleased to get a note from my colleague Lauryn Franzoni, our Vice President and Executive Editor, pointing me toward a piece written by Stewart Friedman on the Harvard Business Publishing site called Master the Art of Interruptibility. Stew Friedman is the Wharton School professor who wrote the very popular book Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life. A book by the way well worth reading if you can stay off your PDA long enough.

Anyway, if you haven't read Friedman's piece and you are in need of Treo therapy as I am, the suggestions he has to make a lot of sense.

So much so, that if you have any comments to make on this particular post, don't expect them to be published immediately as I am going to try and only go through my emails between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. so I may not get to it as soon as I normally would.

Don't laugh, it's a start!

Recognizing Richard Rabbit

I have to say that for someone of my age to be putting up a post with a title like this one and still use my real name takes a certain amount of something, I'm not sure what.

On the other hand, for someone with the reputation that Pete Weddle has won over the years to have written a book (booklet?) with this title and sign his real name to it - now that takes courage! But then again, courage is a good part of what this book is about in the first place.

The book jacket tells us that Richard is "A Fable about Being True to Yourself" and having known Pete for 20 years I can well understand that he would have written something like this for this is someone who could have (and for many years did) follow a career path that took him to well repected positions as a leader of a number of different ventures.

That said, however, the fact is that his true passion is writing and with his establishment of WEDDLEs (in 1996 I think) he chose to follow his passion to see where it would lead. You can read is bio for yourself to see how that turned out, but to say that he was once again very successful will hardly come as a surprise.

So, as I read through Pete's latest I was thinking to myself not only is anyone who reads this going to see a lot of themselves in it, but since I happen to know Pete, and what he's been up to over the past 10+ years it struck me as a bit autobiographical as well. I didn't ask him if it was, it just strikes me that way.

In fables, the "learnings" make sense and are not scary. In real life of course "learnings" (most especially about ourselves) are scary and even more so when it comes to doing something that requires change and therefore involves risk and especially the risk is one of following our "dreams" versus the "security" of the status quo.

All true of course but if you are like me and are one of those who liked things like Who Moved My Cheese you will want to check out young Richard.

Kudos Pete.

Circles of Change

Maybe it's a generational thing but I have to say that after having been interviewed so many times over the years be it TV, radio, face to face or via (would you believe) email, I really like radio the best. I think the reason why is primarily because it seems to give you the best shot at really being able to respond in some reasonable depth. In the sound bite world of TV, not to mention the editing that goes on, anything beyond 20 seconds seems to end up as they say on the cutting room floor or worse sometimes, on the air!

So why I liked radio so much surfaced again at the end of June when Zara Larsen who has not one but two radio programs that air on KJLL in Tucson, Arizona contacted me and asked if I could join her on her show called: Circles of Change: Conversations with Dr. Zara Larsen on Change Leadership and Career Fulfillment.

Five minutes on the phone was enough to see that clearly Zara had lots of experience in both the career management and radio show interviewing worlds and that was enough for me to immediately say be it a Sunday or not, sign me up.

After our initial conversation, I went to her website to find out a bit more of what I was getting myself into and specifically to see how Circles of Change was described so I could better understand. The short version was this:

“Circles of Change” refers to an arc on a trajectory, taking all of life’s experiences to bring us full circle to recognize and celebrate who we are as unique individuals. The goal of our weekly conversations is to help you take the right steps to make more of where you are in your current career and life, or how to discover, strive for and achieve “what’s next”.

When the show aired, we talked about a wide range of career related topics, and all in all it turned out to feel exactly as I felt it would after that first introductory conversation we had had - relaxed with an eye to trying to help those who were listening.

Her programs are also streamed to the web, so if you want to get a flavor for both the program and her style and think you might want to tune into future programs, the link to the June 29th show is here.

The Boundaries of Leadership

For sure FastCompany doesn't need me to flog their magazine. I have been a reader almost since day one and despite its going through some ups and downs (who hasn't?) I still like it.

I also should add that the fact that the guts of this post comes from their April 2004 issue is not the result of what you might think (i.e. that I'm a bit behind in my business reading - although there's some truth to that as well). No, I decided to post it because we just passed the half-way point of the year, and aside from eating too much and watching lots of fireworks, I also took some time to reflect on where things stood after the first six months, and more importantly, how I thought I was doing against my "to do" list for '08.

In thinking about this, I came across a list published as I said, in the April 2004 issue which they in turn got from Jeff Immelt,, GE's CEO. Maybe you too saw it, but if you didn't, I thought it a list well worth repeating.

For sure there are plenty such lists around, including all sorts of Letterman Top Ten's not to mention lots of others from various management consultants, Bschool professors, and all-round gurus of one kind or another. I still think this one is as good as any I have ever seen. See if you don't agree.

Things Leaders Do

1. Personal Responsibility.
"Enron and 9/11 marked the end of an era of individual freedom and the beginning of personal responsibility. You lead today by building teams and placing others first. It's not about you."

2. Simplify Constantly.
"I always use Jack [Welch] as my example here. Every leader needs to clarify explain the top three things the organization is working on. If you can't, they you are not leading well."

3. Understand Breadth, Depth, and Context.
"the most important thing I've learned since becoming CEO is context. It's how your company fits in with the world and how you respond to it."

4. The importance of alignment and time management.
"There is no real magic to being a good leader. But at the end of every week, you have to spend your time around the things that are really important: setting priorities, measuring outcomes, and rewarding them."

5. Leaders learn constantly and also have to learn how to teach.
"A leader's primary role is to teach. People who work with you don't have to agree with you, but they have to feel you're willing to share what you've learned."

6. Stay true to your own style.
"Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. You can use your own style to get anything done. It's about being self-aware. Every morning, I look into the mirror and say 'I could have done three things better yesterday.'"

7. Manage by setting boundaries with freedom in the middle.
"The boundaries are commitment, passion, trust, and teamwork. Within those guidelines, there's plenty of freedom. But no one can cross those four boundaries."

8. Stay disciplined and detailed.
"Good leaders are never afraid to intervene personally on things that are important. Michael Dellcan tell you how many computers shipped from Singapore yesterday."

9. Leave a few things unsaid.
"I may know an answer, but I'll often let the team find its own way. Sometimes, being an active listener is much more effective than ending a meeting with me enumerating 17 actions."

10. Like people.
"Today, it's employment at will. Nobody's here who does not want to be here. So it's critical to understand people, to always be fair, and to want the best in them. And when it doesn't work, they need to know it's not personal."

Pretty good list, no? Hold a gun to my head and tell me I could only pick one, I would frame #7 and maybe tattoo it to my forehead.

Deciding Who Leads

With all the kudos that I have seen surrounding my colleague Joe McCool's book Deciding Who Leads, I keep having the feeling that in a few years I'll be one of those guys who walks around at cocktail parties when they are discussing books that made a difference in specific industry segments and telling my friends that "I knew Joe when..."

I was reminded of this feeling just a day or two ago when I saw an email from the managing director of a UK based search firm you simply said:

"This morning I read through some of the key passages in Deciding Who Leads! superb book - should be on every hiring manager's desk and every recruiter's desk and perhaps every MBA course syllabus!"

The Brits, as we all know are not exactly known for going overboard when it comes to suggesting that something has real merit, so even though I had seen other comments on the book, this one made me feel a good deal of pride yet once again.

Way to go Joe!

The Worse Than Enron Sweepstakes

The piece below is something that I stumbled across back in March when the sub-prime mess was really beginning to build up steam. Now, as we sit here some three months later and the layers of the onion have revealed even more greed-filled headlines, what Mr. Donlon had to say seems even more appropriate.

Even on a topic about which I feel as strongly as I do on this one, I wouldn't normally post another source's entire article, but in this case I decided to make an exception because (a) I couldn't figure out what to leave out because it all seemed to fit together so well, and (b) I thought it important to expose readers to Donlon's intellect if he was someone about whom they had not heard. See if you don't agree that he is voice we could use more of.

Déjà Review

By J.P. Donlon

Here we go again. The fallout from the subprime mortgage mess has led to another burst asset bubble. Led by Citigroup and Merrill Lynch we have seen the financing of real estate get ahead of itself to the point where the banking system has come face to face with a heady balance sheet problem. There is $900 billion (out of a total of $9 trillion in mortgage debt) in subprime paper on the balance sheets of the world’s banks, investment houses, hedge funds, and mutual funds. In total there are 2,500 different subprime bond issues. Not all these have gone bad. But we may not know for some time the extent of the mess. The extent of miscalculated risks has already seen almost $100 billion in shareholder assets disappear. The fear is that falling housing prices will only make credit troubles worse as it reduces any incentive to keep paying the mortgage.

All of this will take time to work out. But in the meantime the finger pointing has begun. Why in a post Sarbanes-Oxley world has this been allowed to happen? Writing the City Journal, former financial analyst Nicole Gelinas, and a past contributor to Chief Executive, asks whether additional regulation makes us any safer or perversely lulls investors into a false sense of security about their investments.

“In the end, Sarbanes-Oxley has just made it easier for ambitious government attorneys to criminalize bad business judgment and complex accounting in hindsight,” she writes. “Further, in their focus on strengthening legal enforcement, the feds have passed up opportunities to create commonsense protections for investors. Worse still, the government has instilled investors with false confidence by implying that they can rely on prosecutors, not prudence, to protect their market holdings. Now the housing and mortgage meltdown—which could hurt the economy far worse than Enron did—is reminding investors that no law or regulation can protect them from economic disruption.”

Just as the bond rating agencies awarded Enron high ratings suggesting that investors could safely lend to the doomed company, critics today believe that the same culprits are likely at fault in today’s credit mess. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office is looking into how the ratings agencies assigned top triple-A ratings to many bonds backed by risky subprime home loans. He wants to know if the firms asked for and received information that would have warned them about specific risks associated with home mortgages. At this point the AG hasn’t filed any charges against the ratings firms.

But the larger question looming over the subprime mortgage mess is this: Will government throw more regulation at the problem in an effort to be seen as “doing something” when the evidence strongly suggests that this will do little or nothing to stave off the next debacle? Despite decades of bitter experiences - from Mexico in 1982 to Asia in 1997 and Russia in 1998 - financial institutions still bow to fads and fashions. They act herd-like in conformity with "lending trends". They shift assets to garner the highest yields in the shortest possible period of time.

The government treated the implosion of Enron as though it were somehow unique when in fact it was fairly routine. When one strips away the Fastow spin, the company overstated the value of its assets and understated the extent of its liabilities. The only difference is that the investment community was only too eager to go along with the scheme because it was in their interests to do so or at least not to look under too many rocks. But as Gelinas points out investors began deserting Enron before the regulators took notice, proving that the market effectively weeds out bad companies and ultimately bad investments.

This begs another question: What is normal business practice in the midst of a bubble? When a company hits an air pocket does it tell its shareholders about the risk of failure or does one say one is merely going through a bad patch and things will right themselves soon enough? If one is a CEO one should have one’s defense attorney close to one’s elbow. The SEC has several investigations into the lending practices at Countrywide Financial, which has become the poster child for the current mortgage crisis. If any charges are filed one can be certain that prejudices will run higher. An Enron juror was quoted as saying, “pure greed motivates all CEOs. Some get caught; most don’t.” Enron was just a flashy energy company. Multiply by 10 the outrage and sense of “payback” at a mortgage crisis trial

Getting From Here to There

ExecuNet is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and as a result, that sort of a milestone event has prompted a number of interview requests from various and sundry media wanting to know how this all happened and the details from ’88 to now.

As I have talked over the past several months with many different reporters and writers of many stripes, it has caused me to reflect frequently about the past 20 years and the transformation that I have experienced in my professional work life. It also got me wondering what the stories might be from others both inside and outside our membership.

In talking with our Executive Editor Lauryn Franzoni about this, she suggested it would probably be both fascinating and fun to learn more about other's “passages” so we thought a blog post would be one place to begin. So, in the interest of the “you go first” custom, here goes:

The short version is that the company I was working for as the VP of International Personnel was bought. For the first time in my life (at age 48), I found myself looking for a job when I didn’t already have one. In about the time it takes one to pull away from touching a hot stove I came to the conclusion that I didn’t like the way this felt at all, and the longer the search went on, the more I felt that the process was broken. What I thought ought to be a relationship based on a win-win outcome was one that felt like win-lose and very adversarial to boot.

After all, it seemed to my (then) naive way of thinking that organizations seeking senior-level talent and executives who were seeking stimulating and rewarding careers had the same goals in mind. Find the right fit for both.

Said differently, I thought that from a job seeker’s perspective, all I was asking for was the opportunity to compete for a real job at a time that was meaningful and to be treated with a reasonable degree of professional courtesy. Didn’t seem too crazy a notion at the time (and still doesn’t.)

Looking at it from the recruiter’s perspective (and having been in HR I thought I had a reasonable understanding of how that world worked), I knew I would want to be able to identify qualified candidates when I needed to, have confidentiality when needed, and not get into a fight with anyone over what “qualified” meant. That too did not seem to be a concept that was too far out of step.

So, how to try and become a Don Quixote lookalike and pick up the pieces of this broken process? The answer over time turned out to be an effort to create a community where both recruiters and senior level executives could come together in a career and business network not only with confidence but when needed, in confidence.

Reflecting on the experience, I keep thinking how very fortunate I was to have stumbled along the happenstance path of career planning and end up being able to make my living from something about which I was and continue to be passionate about to the point of obsession.

There is an old saying that I am sure most of us have often heard: “Luck: where preparation meets opportunity.” As I think about my own experience, that is a fair descriptor. In my case, I know that the 25+ years I spent in the corporate world certainly qualifies as “preparation.” What I didn’t know at the time was the “luck” was that my employer was bought and I was thrown into an uncontrollable situation. I didn’t immediately recognize the event as an opportunity.

So I am wondering what others’ experiences have been as they look back at their career over the past 20 years and what “learnings” or stories they might be willing to share in the comments section of this blog posting.

Where were you professionally 20 years ago?

Was there a pivotal event or person responsible for your leadership track?

Where are you professionally now?

As an incentive, I am willing to do this:

There was an incredibly interesting discussion that went on for several weeks recently in our General Management Roundtable. The discussion came from a member who was about to take on his first role as a CEO. His question to the roundtable was “What advice would you have for me?”

So rich was this discussion that Lauryn and her team created a whitepaper, Lessons from Leaders: Advice for a First-time CEO. Whether you are aspiring to be the CEO or already in the big chair, advice contained in this paper is something that any of us in a leadership position would find of real value.

You can give as many or few details as you feel comfortable, and as long as I have your email address, a copy is yours. If you are too much of an introvert to post it here, you can email it to me at dave.opton@execunet.com

Father's Day 2008

Anyone who follows this blog (meaning mostly my kids and some relatives who might be having a slow day) will know that I think many of the posts by G.L. Hoffman, the CEO and Chairman of a site called JobDig, are pretty neat. Common sense delivered sometimes with a sense of humor and other times with a serious message. His blog is called What Would Dad Say.

While it is still the graduation season and on this father's day, when we are reminded of our relationships with our own parents as well as our children, it reminded me of a quote that GL borrowed in a post some weeks ago in which John Qunicy Adams' mother Abigail wrote to her son explaining why it was important that he go with his father to France. It is powerful message all by itself and knowing what we know today, it becomes even more powerful:

“These are the times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, and animated by scenes that engage the heart, then those qualities which would otherwise lay dormant, wake into life and form the character of the hero and the statesman.”

….from the Pullitzer Prize-winning book, John Adams, by David McCullough [Fabulous book and PBS series by the way]

John Adams lived long enough to see the results of the value system taught his son by Abigail and himself. Tim Russert as we all know by now, didn't.

But for those of us who are fathers, mother's or simply responsible for raising a child, I suggest that if you did not see today's edition of Meet the Press, it's well worth watching if only to hear, in Russert's own words, what it means to be not just a father, but a parent.

You will be better for it.

Hard Roads Ahead

Like many of you, some of what I read on the Op Ed pages of the NY Times I buy into and some I don't, but rarely do I find the columns uninteresting.

Indeed, whether I agree with what I am reading or not, the columns of people like Tom Friedman, Maureen Dowd, William Kristol, David Brooks and Bob Herbert all continually drive home to me the value of education.

The ability of these writers, not to mention thousands of others whose have been fortunate enough to gain an excellent education have been blessed with being able to refine the gift of communication in writing, and not just the ability to "communicate", but to do so in ways that are both very powerful and often equally as persuasive.

A recent piece by Herbert which he called Hard Roads Ahead really caught my attention because he was writing about a subject on which I have commented here on a number of occasions, and probably will again as I believe it is the most serious issue we face, and heaven only knows we don't lack for issues competing for the top spot, but my vote still goes to the state of public education.

In the article, Mr. Herbert quotes from a book by Robert Wise. The book is called "Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation." Wise said:

International comparisons rank the United States a stunningly unimpressive eighteenth for high school graduation rate, a lackluster ranking of fifteenth for high school reading assessments among 15-year olds in developed countries, and an embarrassing 25th for high school math.

The column goes on to point out, again using Wise as the source, that in 1995 the U.S. was second in the world (New Zealand was first) in the graduation rate from four year colleges, and even though as a country, we have increased our percentages, we now rank 15th because of how rapidly others in the world have progressed.

The results? One example pointed to was the fact that the CEO of AT&T, Randall Stephenson, has said that the company has had real problems trying to find enough skilled workers to handle 5,000 customer-service jobs that the company had promised to bring back from overseas.

In a prior life I spent five years working for a city as the Director of Labor Relations. At the time I was too young to realize what the heck I had gotten myself into, but it turned out to be a memorable experience and education on several levels to say the least.

When I left the public sector and returned to the corporate world, I took away two key "learnings." One was the importance of leadership, and the second was a belief that when it came to really solving many fundamental issues facing us all, that it would have to be business not government that would have to lead the way.

Given the track record of both of late, it doesn't feel like much of a choice, but to borrow once again from the column, I thought the last quote from Wise said it very powerfully indeed:

"The best economic stimulus package is a diploma."

The Value of Networks

Kevin Wheeler has another of his insightful posts on ERE today which caught my attention for a couple of reasons: (1) his name was attached to it, and (2) he was talking about what brings real value to a network, the latter, of course, being not only close to my heart, but part of what we feel is a major part of our DNA here at ExecuNet.

Certainly the entire article is worth reading for sure, but as you might well have guessed already, one of the key points he makes is that that all too often people (and in this case he is talking about recruiters, but the concept applies equally as well to anyone no matter what their profession) is that like anything else in life, it really is far more about quality than quantity, or as he puts it in part:

"They judge themselves and others as "successful" by how many people are in their network."

Surprise, surprise? Not!

Of course Kevin is right as I would guess most readers know based on their own life experiences, irrespective of their professional lives.

What continues to amaze me however, even after all these years is that even though I think most people understand this on an intellectual level, there are still those who feel that collecting names electronically or physically is as Kevin says about quantity not quality. In some cases it starts to sound like the LinkedIn Olympics.

This, of course, is not to say that LI is not a valuable resource, it most certainly is, but the gathering of thousands of names from the 15 million profiles or whatever it is these days be it on LI or one of the other "social networks" does not translate to a network that is really meaningful on a personal level.

When it comes to the care and feeding of a real network and most especially one which has to do with helping to maintain or advance and enhance one's professional career, it's not about numbers as such, it's about relationships that have been built over time so that when your name comes up, the words that flash across people's minds are descriptors such as: trust, respect, insightful, helpful, bright, responsive, and supportive and/or a long list of other adjectives that any of us could add.

So, if you are going to use numbers as a metric in terms of your network, I would count words, not names.

Easy Come Easy Go?

Easy come, easy go - a phrase most of us have heard all our lives, and there are a number of situations where I suppose it might apply, but when it comes to hiring and retaining talent these days, it is not something most companies want and certainly don't want to encourage.

Yet, if you look at the numbers from any number of sources, including ExecuNet's, the time that employees remain at the same company keeps dropping. Last year in our Executive Job Market Intelligence Report respondents reported they were with their last company an average of 3.4 years. This year's survey dropped to 3.2, and when we asked about industry, this year they said it was 4.2 and that is down from 5.0 in 2005.

The point being that when you come across companies that are doing really innovative stuff that goes well beyond the lip service paid by all too many organizations, it gets your attention for sure.

Bill Taylor is probably a name that is known to many readers, especially if you are a fan of FastCompany. He was a co-founder of the magazine along with Alan Webber. Bill is also the author of a business must read called Mavericks at Work. Taylor also blogs for Harvard Business Publishing.

In a recent post, he waxes ecstatic (as well he should have) over what he found when he went to visit the online shoe superpower Zappos. I am not going to spoil the article for you by parroting back all of the neat stuff they do there, besides, Taylor says it far better than I could anyway.

I will, however, share one tid bit that will give you some idea of the degree to which the company works to make sure that those they hire really want to stay and are as customer service obsessive as the company culture dictates.

The company like many others has an extensive training program for new employees, but about a week into theirs, Zappos offers any new employee $1,000 if they wish to leave the program. Some do, but the company feels that by offering this sort of "bribe" it helps them to retain those who really do "get it." Cool move.

This practice also, I think, does something else. It helps to deliver the message that they want their employees to really feel they are not just a part of the enterprise, but a really important part, and while obviously loyalty to any organization is an accumulation of many factors, including old standbys like compensation and benefits, but step #1 is people need to feel valued.

Executive Tribune

How many blogs are there? Answer: Probably no one really knows, and if you start to pare them down to ones that are "active" versus those that are just taking up a few megs on a server somewhere, it might even seem like a number that we could relate to, but even then I am not sure. All of which suggests that most of us find the stuff we want to follow the same way most of us find our way to anything worthwhile - someone tells us about it. It's another one of the fringe benefits of networking.

There are, of course, exceptions, and in the case of the Executive Tribune Tribune, a blog that launched in early May, this one I knew was coming because it's author, Michael Simon, had called me about blogging before he launched.

After my failing yet once again to convince anyone of anything, he launched it anyway. If you are interested in things of importance to the career management at the executive level, you will be glad he went ahead. The tag line will give you a nice clue as to why: "Career musings and information for A-list, B-school & C-suite residents."

If you check out Michael's background it will become immediately apparent why he would be a valuable resource when in comes to career issues, especially at the executive level.

In the interest of "full disclosure" I should also reveal that when the company I was working for was sold and I lost my job at age 48, I selected Michael and his firm to help keep me focused as I tired to figure out what was next.

Just as I failed to persuade Michael that blogging is harder than it appears on the surface, he failed to convince me to give corporate another chance. The outcome was that I started ExecuNet and Michael and I have been friends ever since.

Even though all of this is true, anyone who knows me will tell you that if I didn't think that Executive Tribune was worth your time.....you can finish the sentence yourself.

America’s Business Elite Embracing On-line Media

Part of the really fun side of cyberspace is that one discovers just how little one knows and the degree to which the world is full of things that are "new to us" grows geometrically by the second.

One of my "finds" recently was a site called http://www.ipsos-na.com . As you can see for yourself, they describe themselves as "a company of inquiring minds and passionate people giving a voice and shape to the thoughts of millions of individuals around the world." Translation: Specialized market research that is focused on "media habits, attitudes, opinions, and business and personal purchasing habits of the highest echelon of America's business community—the "C-Suite."

While the elitist description rubs me the wrong way, the fact that our membership is made up of C-Suite folks, I read with interest the results of a recent survey they did just how tuned in or out of the gadget universe this group is. I was especially interested because of all the stuff one reads about how "un-savvy" they are with 21st century technology.

If you believe, as I do, that the stereotype of the CEO who can barely play the radio is not exactly an accurate portrait, then check out what the survey said and see how off-base perceptions can be:

• C-level Tech Toys: Almost three out of four (71%) own cell phones with cameras and multi messaging, and almost as many (68%) own laptops. More than half (60%) already have HDTV, and almost half (40%) own iPods. Likewise, more than one-third already have Blackberries (36%) or Satellite Radio (35%).

• CEOs TIVO: More than one-third (35%) have used a DVR/TIVO to record or playback a TV program in the past month, with almost one-third having watched video-on-demand.

• Downloading Content: In a month’s time, more than two-thirds of the C-levels surveyed (68%) have downloaded videos or clips from websites or received email newsletters/alerts on their computers. About half (49%) have streamed or watched broadband videos from websites on their computers.

• C-level Internet Commerce: More than three-fourths of C-level executives surveyed are already using the Internet to make their travel or flight reservations (78%), and well over half (57%) regularly buy products or services online.

• Being Tech Savvy is Key: Executives at the top also know that keeping up with the latest technology is vital to the success of their businesses—about three-fourths (72%) agree, with the same number agreeing that a business publication’s website is an important part of its offerings (72%).

• Blogging in the C-Suite: They are into blogs too—almost one-third (30%) read blogs and a small number (4%) contribute to blogs.

One thing is for sure, if you are an executive who is interested in making a move in this or any other environment and are not fluent in "techno speak" you are likely to be a very unhappy camper going forward.

Data Portability: It’s The New Walled Garden

I am so technically challenged that I can't, as they say, "play the radio", but that doesn't mean that I am not interested in such things or that I am not as fascinated as the next guy by the pace of change and innovation. I am also fascinated by the issues that arise as a result.

Case in point: Data Portability: It’s The New Walled Garden, a post on TechCrunch, an enormously popular blog (and deservedly so) headed up by Michael Arrington.

If you read the article, you will quickly see that there is an intellectual tug-of-war going on about the personal data that you and I provide to a site. Does that data remain only in that site (the walled garden) or can it be taken and moved to another site? It quickly becomes an interesting debate about "rights" and "privacy" and who "owns" what.

Arrington is an icon as an observer of all things silicon and so is Robert Scoble who has his own stump called Scobleizer - Tech Geek Blogger. Scoble works at FastCompany and among other things has a cool gig they call ScobleizerTV.

One of the fun things about blogs, as all blog junkies know, is following along when folks get into a healthy debate and start firing word salvos from their industrial strength keyboards. Such is the case between these two guys on this subject, and the last time I looked, there were over 120 comments from readers.

Most of us are probably too torn between the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs and watching the Yankees fall into last place to have the time to read all the comments, but it is worth the trip just to read the dueling geeks comments to each other.

Enjoy.

Survey Said

While it hardly seems possible, the fact is that sixteen years ago we began an annual survey of the executive marketplace which has become known as ExecuNet's Executive Job Market Intelligence Report. The report has expanded each year, as has the effort that our staff expends in putting it together has also grown expodentially. I have to say, however, that the feedback we get from both executives and the recruiting community on the value of the information serves as continuing motivation to continue the investment of time and energy.

This year's survey with more than 6,000+ responses has produced a good deal of commentary in the media both electronic and print.

Among the more stimulating and flattering requests that we got for commentary on the survey came from Peter Clayton, the voice and engine behind Total Picture Radio, the well-respected website whose tag line: "The Voice of Career Leadership"describes the site very well

Peter came over to our offices last week and sat down with Mark Anderson (our President) and me and in his disarming and relaxed interviewing style, Peter really engaged us in dialouge that was more of a conversation than an interview.

While our members have access to the full report, we also have an executive summary of the report which is available to the public on our site as a free download and can be obtained by clicking here

If you are interested in the "conversation" we had we Peter, the link to the interview is here.

Retaining Gen X and Gen Y

Employees have long recognized the rewards of volunteering; the chance to share their skills and expertise with those who really need it is always a fulfilling experience, and certainly providing the ways and means for employees to participate in such activities is not new, but I do think these activities are getting more attention as it starts to feel like we might be getting to the tipping point on issues like global warming, energy conservation, etc.

According to a recent article reported by The Associated Press entitled Companies See Volunteering as a Benefit, organizations are more actively granting employees the time they need to volunteer. Some are even creating company organized volunteering opportunities.

Moreover, companies are finding that they can link these volunteer programs to their overall business objectives. The article, for example, notes how employees of dog food maker Pedigree can volunteer at animal shelters as part of that company’s program. Organizations are also using volunteering as an employee retention strategy, since it undoubtedly improves company morale. It’s also an initiative in which members of our current multi-generational workforce share an interest.

In the article, David Eisner, chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, notes how the younger members of the workforce use volunteering to help achieve their desired work-life balance. At the same time, older workers just enjoy the opportunity to serve their communities.

Volunteering is a positive action for both companies and their employees. Yet, we also can’t forget that the true beneficiaries, of course, are the recipients of this good will.

Sounds like the proverbial win-win to me.

Difference Makers

I think all of us can remember that someone who put us on track for a successful career. Whether it was a college professor who taught the economics class that inspired you to become a financial analyst or the store manager whose words of wisdom sparked your interest in becoming a business owner; someone’s words and actions played a strong role in where we are today.

That’s why I read a recent Harvard Business Review article with such interest. In the piece, Kris Gopalakrishnan, the co-founder and CEO of Infosys Technologies, recalled the influence a physics professor had on his career. At the time, Gopalakrishnan wasn’t sure what direction he wanted to take. But some motivating words by the teacher gave him the confidence to excel and begin a successful career in the IT arena.

“Do what you love, work hard at it, and all will go well.” That’s the message Gopalakrishnan says he received from the professor. But it is a larger piece of that message that truly sticks with Gopalakrishnan today; one that he strives to share with others — and that is the importance of motivating people.

Gopalakrishnan says he uses the words and actions of his professor to inspire greatness in his own employees. In essence, he tries to translate his energy for the business to his employees, explain the importance of their roles and how they can mold the future. “My job remains the same as in 1981: to motivate one individual at a time,” says Gopalakrishnan.

Motivating individuals never goes out of style. Return the favor and help someone else find his way.

New Rules - Old Rules - Our Rules

It is always nice to get a call from a major news network asking you to appear on one of their programs and to comment on a subject about which they apprently think you have some level of expertise. The one this past week however, turned into an unexpected and very interesting experience.

I should quickly add however that having to get there for a live interview at 7:00 in the morning which translated into getting up at 4:00 added nothing to enhance the experience, although it does give one much more respect for those folks like Matt, Merideth, et al who do it every day. Not something I would look forward to for sure.

Anyway, the program is called Money for Breakfast and the segment is what Fox calls The C-Suite Sit Down which is a regular feature on the show.

The unexpected experience came about when I discovered they have a particular question that they always use to close these interviews. They call it Three Rules. I had never heard of it before, but once they told me about it, it reminded me of the monologue that Bill Maher does at the end of his show each week and calls "New Rules as well what they do to close James Lipton's wonderful show Inside the Actors Studio when they ask each guest the same set of questions at the end like "what's your favorite word" etc.

Fox's variation on this theme is to ask the guest to share what they feel are three things that are really important to them when it comes to their business. I have to say, it gives you a funny feeling in your stomach when someone asks you something that important and you are limited in both time and number in terms of responding. The fact that it is on national television doesn't add much to your comfort level either.

Since all of this came up late in the day before the show, it gave me essentially the night before the interview to think about it, something which I can tell you is definitely not conducive to a good night's sleep, especially when you have to get up at 4:00 in the bargain.

The point of the exercise, of course, is to get their guests to share with the audience what at ExecuNet we sometimes characterize as "key learnings" in the hope that they might be of some help or interest to others.

I have no idea if what follows will or won't be of some help or interest to others, but I offer it in spirit of sharing; not the sharing of advice, but of one person's perspective. What I came up were not "rules" so much as they are beliefs:

1. Any relationship that we have, either inside or outside of our business, is based on TRUST.

2. An organization's culture should be about a feeling of working "WITH" not "FOR."

3. Everything that we say or do reflects on us all both individually and collectively.

If others have "three rules" of their own, I would love to see them and others probably would too.

If you wanted to see the entire interview you can click here. It runs around five minutes.

Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct and Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent

If this sounds like it ought to be the title of a book, it's because it is.

Ever since I had known that Joe McCool (a name that is known to almost anyone who follows the executive recruiting world) was going to write a book, I was wondering how I could say something about it here without it sounding too self-serving inasmuch as Joe is a Senior Contributing Editor with ExecuNet.

My worries were answered, as they often are by Robyn Greenspan our Editor-in-Chief who in our Executive Insider newsletter that was published today featured an interview that she did with Joe. In it, she does a far better job than I ever could in giving readers a 10,000 foot view of just a few of the subjects Joe covers in this first book on the executive search industry published since 1986. Here's what she had to say and Joe's responses:

Would I be featuring this book if the author, Joe McCool, was not a trusted colleague and friend? Absolutely, because executives who recruit will find it fascinating and insightful, and executives who work with recruiters to achieve their own career goals will be enlightened to learn the inside scoop. In this Q&A, Joe and I talk about how executives can use the messages in Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct & Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent [Davies-Black, 2008] to their advantage.

Robyn Greenspan (RG): Why should executives read this book? What will they learn about executive recruiting that will help their own career plans?

Joseph Daniel McCool (JDM): I believe it offers today's executives a lot of perspective about how their career plans might eventually marry with the organizational leadership agenda of a new employer. I think executives will come away from the book with a fresh view of the role so-called "executive headhunters" play in management recruiting and also about how the process is still plagued by dysfunction. I hope it also informs their own interactions with executive recruiters and offers some rationale for why they should enter the career courtship process with their eyes wide open and with the utmost discretion, since it usually only proves successful for one or maybe two of the dozens of executives who might be contacted during the course of any search assignment.

RG: What's the most significant change you discovered in the executive recruiting business in the period since John Byrne's book, The Headhunters, was published in 1986?

JDM: Actually, the thing I was most struck by was just how little has changed since Byrne's 1986 assessment of the executive recruiting business and the state of corporate management succession. Perceptions about executive recruiters haven't moved one iota since his book was published, although it is important to point out that the practice of executive search has really been institutionalized across corporate America. The bottom line is that many companies need to start getting smart about management succession and become better consumers of the executive search business. The status quo isn't serving the best interests of employer organizations or of executive job candidates, and Deciding Who Leads really identifies the kind of sophistication employers and executive candidates need to bring to the process.

RG: You make a strong case as to why on-boarding is essential for executive success in a new position. What should a newly hired executive do to get acclimated if their recruiter or new employer does not offer on-boarding assistance?

JDM: I think smart executives are insisting on some form of performance feedback relatively early on in their tenure in a new leadership role, so they'll have some actionable intelligence to plot a course correction if they got off on the wrong foot or failed to make a really positive first impression. The fact is that management churn costs companies a lot of money, and failure in a new role can have dire consequences for any executive from a career advancement point of view. Organizations need lifelong learners in key executive roles, and I believe today's best leaders are those who will be willing to learn from their new environment and learn how their performance is perceived within it.

It's Not a Program, It's a Process

For quite a while, I have followed a blog written with wonderful wit and sensitivity by GL Hoffman which he calls What Would Dad Say.

Maybe I like it so much because our sense of humor seems in sync or his philosophy regarding career and/or life management seems to be very much in the same ballpark as my own. I am not sure, but it also could be because somehow he finds the time to post stuff daily if not hourly. Not only is there volume, but it is well written and worth reading. No wonder I like it.

Anyway, he had a long post today which he called This is a Story about Networking and Not about Ohio State Football. It was an apt title and if you are curious enough to see how one connects to the other, I would suggest you check out the post. I think those folks who have the perception that networking is only something one does when they are looking for a job will find it particularly instructive.

I have been talking about effective networking being a process and not a program for so long now that I often think that I have worn the phrase out, but in reading about coach Tressel's actions in Hoffman's post, I think that he serves as the best example I have heard of in a long time that proves that real networking much more about giving than it is about getting.

Don't Let The World Happen To You

At this stage of the game, I don't think that even Pollyanna would be that bullish on the outlook for our economy. Economic forecasters, at least some of them, are still deciding if we are officially in a recession or not. Time will tell if the economic sky is really falling or if it’s just passing summer storm.

Since we our marking our 20th anniversary this year, ExecuNet has been around long enough to have gone through economics downs and up, so I guess it isn't surprising that we get questions from members on how they should approach the management of their careers when things are looking the way they are now. The short answer is that while the instinct for most of us is to hunker down, dodge the raindrops and ignore the old axiom "the best defense is a good offense." Instead they just hope for the best and wait for the world to happen to them.

Anyone who hasn't internalized by now that when it comes to your professional work life, no one cares about you more than you I would have to wonder if anything approaching a heartbeat would show up on their EKG. I come from the school that believes that proactive beats reactive every time. Point being that in good times or bad, the need for talent, especially with the factors impacting the executive market these days, is intense to say the least. Frankly, I think it is even truer in a down economy when the challenges to an organization both inside and out are even tougher to manage.

I doubt that any of this would come as a big surprise to anyone, at least on an intellectual level, but when it comes to what people actually do, it if very often a different story. Indeed, over the years, countless people have said the same thing to me: “I just can’t believe that I didn’t do something about this sooner.”

Don’t let it happen to you.

The Name of the Game

A couple of days ago, I returned from attending ERE's Spring Expo in San Diego. While I have been to the Left Coast many times, this was my first time to visit San Diego.

The fact that I came back at all was a major test of self-discipline and will power, and for those readers who have been to San Diego, you will know exactly what I mean, especially after living in the Northeast in January through March. Just kidding, I love it in New England, but I have to say, the weather out there was something to treasure for sure.

Anyway, back to the ERE experience. This was my first ERE Expo, although as a company we have been to several. At this particular event, in addition to exhibiting, ExecuNet was asked to help do a summary of the "learnings" that participants were exposed to over the two days that came from a variety of well-known experts such as:

Lou Adler, CEO of The Adler Group , Jeremy Eskenazi Managing Principal Riviera Advisors, John Leech Director of Recruitment at FedEx, Shally Steckerl, Founder of JobMachine, Dr. John Sullivan and Penelope Trunk Boston Globe Columnist aka The Brazen Careerist, and this is only a sampling.

Trying to cover all the of the workshops and tracks that were offered was a challenge to say the least, but there were five of us out there, and while it made for some longish days, we got to almost everything, and as this is written, are preparing a white paper executive summary that will be sent by ERE to all the those attending since one of the toughest things about attending a conference such as this is making the difficult choices regarding what tracks you are going to go to when there are always things going on at the same time that you want to hear.

The purpose of the closing summary that we were asked to sponsor was to try and quickly summarize what the key learnings were while things were still fresh in people's minds. So, with conference chair Trudy Knoepke-Campbell Director of National Recruitment for Minuteclinic we tried to lead the group through what we felt were the key points that came out of the conference.

At one point, there was a question asked that really helped me to focus and express what the most important takeaway was, at least for me. The question went something like this: "If you were to summarize in one word what you felt expressed the key headline message over the course of the conference, what would it be?"

I wasn't sure if this was asked to make sure that I didn't go on too long, or if it was asked to help the group focus. I elected to assume it was the latter, and my response was: TRUST.

Some very smart people had spent a lot of time talking about ways and means to recruit and retain in a market place that, despite an economy that was contracting, going to remain very competitive both home and away for some time to come.

As I thought about it, it really didn't make a lot of difference if an organization was recruiting or working to build a culture in which people would want to stay once the "selling" was over, if they did not fundamentally trust the organization’s leadership, the brand, their boss, or their colleagues the relationship was doomed.

A company can have the best technology going and all that good stuff, but if they do not have a culture and values that actually support all the "copy" of a mission statement or the letters to stockholders from the CEO will not stem the departure of people in search of something/someone in which to believe, and judging from where things stand at the moment (think sub-prime debacle for openers) we still have lots of work to do.

What You Are Is Where You Were When

Even with all the doom, gloom, and general depression surrounding the state of education in this country, one of the the things that helps me to feel there may still be some hope is the quality of the writing that I continue to stumble upon in many of the blogs I come across.

One of these that I have followed with admiration for quite a while is What Would Dad Say? which is the domain of GL Hoffman, who describes himself as follows:

A baby boomer dad rambles on about the workplace, recruiting, jobs, startups and anything else mildly amusing.

I know I am probably well behind the learning curve here in terms of those who have already discovered Hoffman's musings, but in case you haven't, add me to those who would suggest you are missing something if you haven't check him out.

It was in reading one of GL's recent posts that he sang the praises of a twentysomething blogger named Jacqui Tom whose blog is called The OfficeNewb. Jacqui describes herself thusly:

Jacqui Tom (aka “The Office Newb”) is a young professional working her way up the corporate ladder. A graduate of the University of Washington - Seattle, Jacqui launched her career with internships at AOL (America Online) and Amazon.com, Inc. Currently a web editor at an internet publisher, Jacqui has been moving steadily through the ranks to become the company’s youngest supervisor.

Typing furiously from her cubicle, she shares lessons about life, business and everything in between.

This young lady has a way with words as well, and "listening" to her and "Dad" exchange views on the differences between the boomers and the Gen Y world I found interesting as well as entertaining; two things that don't always come packaged together.

It reminded me of a guy named Morris Massey who in the 80s (I think) produced a series of videos called What You Are Is Where You Were When. In the age of PPT and streaming video, etc., watching Morris make magic with his white board marker was still pretty effective as he helped people understand why your parents might not see things quite the way you do. Of course the fact that one really couldn't relate to the differences until you were an "adult" yourself was a bit of a bummer, but still it was good info to have.

As a manager, all of this also reminded me an answer that I gave in an interview some years ago when I was asked what area of the HR function did I think was the most important? My answer was something like "Well, if you told me I only had a $1 to spend and I could only spend it on one thing, I would spend it on communications."

I haven't changed my mind.

Talk About Teamwork

I usually post on business and leadership related topics, and maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but when you think about it, the ability of the rider and horse to communicate team up with each other as they clearly do here speaks volumes about the power of communication and the building of trust. When those two things come together, excellence results.

As business leaders I think each of us knows on an intellectual level the degree to which it takes commitment and discipline to get to and achieve our goals. We also know how important it is for us to be able to communicate both plan and execution to our teams. And when we are able to accomplish this well, we all have a vision of what the outcome will look and feel like.

When a friend sent me this video it made me think that this was as good a way to visualize the result of teamwork as anything I had seen in a long time.

To be honest, I really don't know what the name of this sort of competition is, but the fact that the announcers are Brits suggests that it is certainly something that is popular in the UK and probably in Europe as well, but whatever it's called, it's impressive to say the least.

Check it out:

Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?

I guess with the title of this post I am showing my age, but what the heck, if you didn't see the movie (i.e. The Graduate for those who might not recognize the line) , it's well worth it no matter what your age.

I picked the line from the Simon and Garfunkel song because it is a line that laments the loss of ideals and values and seeks guideance from a "leader." Even in the context of the movie, it isn't that much of a stretch to translate the message to the corporate and/or political arena and the headlines we unfortunately see all too often.

If you asked around our office here at ExecuNet, anyone will tell you that I am not a Yankee fan, but when our days become as filled with Bear Stearns and Spitizer as they have recently, it is understandable that there are indeed lots of folks who are wondering where Joe D went.

With all that in mind, maybe that is part of the reason I was so struck by a quote attributed to Jeff Immelt of GE that I have had tacked up on my bulletin board ever since I found it.

When I see it, especially after hearing about some other CEO taking a "perp" walk, it helps to remind me that as disappointing as all that stuff is, there are far more leaders who understand what Immelt is saying and do all they can to build organizations where what he suggests represents the cultures they believe in.

If you have not seen this quote before, if it resonates with your value system, maybe you'll find a spot for it on your bulletin board too.

Manage by setting boundaries with freedom in the middle.

“The boundaries are commitment, passion, trust and teamwork. Within those guidelines, there’s plenty of freedom. But no one can cross those four boundaries.”
Jeff Immelt, CEO, General Electric

Realizing an Organization's Potential

One of the most gratifying things for me in being a part of ExecuNet is the chance I have every day to learn from other members. You can say what you want to about "senior managers" but the fact is that experience is indeed the best teacher and when you get a lot of people willing to share those experiences with their peers, it can be very powerful stuff. It is not only intellectually very stimulating, but on a practical level "learnings" that we all can use as we manage on a day to day basis.

We get these "learnings" from members in a number of different ways but one of the most potent is the online roundtable discussion groups. In the past week or two, we have had a fascinating discussion going on amongt our General Management group on the subject of what one can do to help an organization realize its potential. Pretty important topic since that is usually the charge when management changes are made.

Andy Kankula is one of our members who has been participating in this discussion and in adding his two cents he shared a list of 12 "learnings" that he felt were the keys his succeding. In his case, it was in turning around a major business unit in South America.

If you were looking for a one page list of how to go about managing the kind of change it takes to move an organizaiton forward, what you see below is as good a list as I had seen for a long time. I asked Andy if I could share it here, and I hope that readers here will be as grateful to him as I am for his willingness to let me use it. In doing so, he was quick to point out that his list was not original to him but rather his summary of things that he "learned" from others over the years, all of which just makes me all the more gratified to be part of a group where helping each other is what the roundtable groups are all about in the first place.

Andy's List

1. Brutal honesty and identification of the problems and why the problem exists. This needs to be done without blaming anyone.

2. Simple messages that create a vision and path forward. These messages should define the discipline and should be easy for people to remember.

3. Consistent metrics that relate to tasks that need to be achieved and the goals of the business.

4. Continual feedback about performance expectations.

5. As a leader be confident in your direction and your communication of expectations.

6. Recoginize where and what your peoples capabilities are; define their strengths and exploit them, identify their weaknesses and minimize them. Develop and improve competencies right down to the production floor.

7. Understand your customer and why they buy from you; position your products and services to maximize profitability.

8. Keep asking questions about why we do things the way we do until you get to the point no one can give you a good logical answer. It is at this time people are ready to ask the question " what's the best way to do this...?"

9. Once the discipline is established stick to it and do not waiver unless someone can demonstrate logically why we should detour.

10. At every milestone poor on the praise for the successes and identify what we could have done differently for future revision. And always keep the expectations high.

11. Create good succession plans so that people understand the possible rewards for good performance and development of their capabilities.

12. Plan your own departure to give those that have contributed to the success the opportunity to lead in the future.

Andy closed out his remarks to the other members of the roundtable with this:

After reading all the excellent input its appears very easy to write what makes each of us successful in our own situations. Living it and fighting your doubts and or the doubts of others as they wait for the results of your efforts is the hard part. You always have to ask yourself " am I doing all the right things for the right reasons?..." I think that if you can answer yes to that question you can trust your own direction through many Shakespearean "dark nights".

Any executive knows exactly what he means!

I Care Therefore I Am?

I have noticed over the past few weeks that Kent Blumberg has started to post more frequently after pausing for a bit as he ramped up his coaching practice. Glad to see it.

Last week he had an entry titled: Teasing out core values in an interview in which he cited Phil Gerbyshak who co-authors a blog called Slacker Manager and Steve Roesler who blogs at All Things Workplace. As Kent said, and I would certainly agree, both are URLs well worth putting on your list of favorites.

In any case, this most recent post caught my attention because it was focused on one of the most if not the most significant challenge facing every hiring manager - how to really try and identify what an individual's value system is all about.

How important is value system when it comes to bringing someone into your organization? In my mind, the word critical only scratches the surface. Skills as they say can be taught, attitude can't, and attitude is driven by value systems instilled in us all by our parents with life experience added for good measure.

So how does one ferret out values? Read Kent’s post and I think you'll pick up a couple of good hints based on the insights that Kent has pulled together.

No time? Okay, then the one word answer is passion. If I am passionate about something the argument is that the passion is tied to my values.

Works for me. Does it work for you?

Organizational Potential: Real or Imagined?

One of my favorite parts of the day is when I get my summary of what discussions are taking place in our member executive roundtables. The roundtables were set up to provide with members another channel to exchange ideas and information on business issues and challenges and get to know each other better in the process. In reading over the exchanges, not only do I always learn something, but I am also reminded of just how powerful the sharing of ideas and experience really is.

Over the past week or so, there has been a fascinating discussion going on started by George Bradt, founder of Prime Genesis and author of The New Leaders 100-Day Action Plan. He began by saying:

My working premise is that transformational leadership is about inspiring and enabling people to do their absolute best, together, to realize a meaningful and rewarding shared purpose...So, how have you done that? What advice do you have for others seeking to turn their organization's potential into something meaningful and rewarding?

George clearly touched a nerve as the responses poured in from all points of the compass and as you might expect with observations and comments ranging across a broad spectrum. One of those who put in his two cents was member Kerry Bensman. I thought what he had to say was not just powerful, but powerfully put, so I asked him if I could pass it along and he generously said I could. For the sake of space, here are a couple of the highlights from Kerry's post:

Your question presupposes a couple of basic assumptions. One is that the organization has unrealized potential. Another which is more important is that it has the ability, experience, and expertise to embrace a vision and drive towards it. (Of course, how often have any of us listened to the newest twist on a vision statement only to have the organization driven in a different direction.)

Working harder and smarter is not always the answer. In the computer business, we had this saying: "It always works well in Powerpoint"

There is real buy-in and there is "fake" buy-in. Your top performers know the difference and they also know where the weak links are. Unless the organization believes you are being realistic and is not being set up for failure,the entire effort is DOA.

I worked for a general manager who had an interesting philosophy. He set the goals so we could over achieve. Why, I queried? "We all feel better being 102% of goal rather than 98% of goal. Does wonders for everybody." he responded.

I have never forgotten that. No one likes to feel they are pulling an oar they are chained to in the galley along with Ben Hur.

Both George and Kerry are right of course, but I was particularly struck and with Kerry's reminder that what "works well in PowerPoint" really doesn't matter unless those who are tasked with making the vision come alive are committed to and led by leaders who understand that while words can inspire, they need to come with the investment in the training and tools to really make it happen.

Communication: The Key to Everything

Traits I have always admired: Intelligence and a sense of humor. Maybe the reason is because I don't exactly lead the pack when it comes to either, I don't know.

What I do know is that the Editor-in-Chief of our Growing Business Link partnership with The Economist and resident consumer electronics groupie Robyn Greenspan has both in abundance, and since I am guessing she bought neither of these things online like she does almost everything else in her life, they must come from the Greenspan genes. Lucky her.

Anyway, Robyn does a lot to make not only me smile on a daily basis, but most of us in the office benefit from both her intellectual insights as well as her sense of humor all the time. Today's example I thought would be fun to share here.

She tells me that her mom sent her this stellar example of the importance of effective communications. Where her mother found it we know not, but I'm glad she did and that Robyn knew I would love it.

Career Flak Jacket

For those of us who are career management junkies, the name Peter Clayton is very well known. Peter is the force behind Total Picture Radio which he morphed from his original venture called Landed.fm. His tag line now is "The Voice of Career Leadership" and if you explore the information and interviews that you'll find at TPR, I think you will agree, it is a very apt description.

One of Peter's recent interviews was with Kirk Nemer who heads up a website called CareerProtection.com which provides legal and HR consulting services. Given some of the horror stories many of us have heard (or worse still experienced) over the years, it is a site and service whose time has come if not overdue.

Anyway, Nemer's company conducts a survey each year that forecasts layoffs and the forecast for this year is certainly not encouraging. Bottom line, the forecast is for a 37% increase.

Time, of course, will tell if the economic sky is really falling, but whether it really is falling or is just cloudy, Peter's interview with Nemer is very much worth a listen not so much for the reading of the economic tea leaves, but for his insights into the issues facing those who might see the writing on the wall.

In my experience, one of the strategic mistakes that I think many of us make when it comes to trying to protect ourselves in these situations is that rather than following the old axiom of "the best defense is a good offense" people choose to hunker down hoping that the bullets will pass overhead.

We have told our members for years that like it or not, no one cares about you more than you, and when it comes to managing your career, proactive is always better than reactive.

Another way of looking at this sort of thing is to understand that the degree to which you give yourself more time, the higher the probability that you will have more options available to you. Hardly a surprise.

What still surprises me, however, is how many people still don't act but continue to keep their heads down and wait for the world to happen to them. It sad to say, but over the years I have talked to more people than I can count who have said to me in one form or another "I just can't believe that I didn't do something about this sooner."

Nice Way to Start the Weekend

I come from a generation where it was a major "no no" to blow your own horn. That said,however, I would by lying if I didn't own up to the fact that when others blow it for you that it doesn't feel good because as we all know, it does. So when I opened my email today and found the announcement that ExecuNet was once again a winner of the WEDDLE's User's Choice Award it was a nice feeling to say the least.

It isn't that we haven't had our share of recognition over the years, including all the cards and letters I got recently from members, colleagues, and friends offering their good wishes on our 20th anniversary this year, but when the kudos come outside one's circle of friends, it can't help but bring on a smile.

Addiing to the warm feelings was when I read more of the background information such as, the awards are, to quote the press release, "...the only recognition in the $6+ billion global online employment services industry where actual users-job seekers, employers and recruiters-get to pick the winners."

In addition, the release also went on to say "... that there are now over 40,000 employment-related sites operating in the U.S. alone and an equal number operating elsewhere around the world."

My math skills ended in the 8th grade, so I stopped there, but knowing that there are just 30 sites on such a big list, it was a nice way to start the weekend.

The Straight Poop

When you ask leaders where they actually learned their leadership style, a typical response is “from other leaders.” We have been taught to emulate the qualities and styles of those we wish to resemble. If that is called role modeling, I'm on board with that, but I think sometimes many of us stop there rather than realizing that other input is pretty important too. To that end, in recent times, attention is turning toward employees as individuals from which leaders can learn a lot.

I recently read an article in The Wall Street Journal that suggested that leaders turn to their organizations’ lower-level employees — or followers — for guidance. The article notes how such a strategy has worked for well-known businesses as Best Buy, United Parcel Service and Hewlett-Packard. It also cites two recent books on this subject: Followership by Barbara Kellerman and The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom.

The authors suggest that companies turn to these employees and listen to their ideas to create new ways to drive growth and continued organizational success. They should know what’s happening within the company and be allowed to make solid contributions.

The argument of course is because these individuals typically work in the trenches, they can be more knowledgeable about day-to-day operations. They likely know much more about customers since they have more direct contact. They probably also know what the competition is doing. I sign up for that too, and have to say that this has been my experience as well.

I have always thought it important to gain a fresh perspective, especially when faced with a challenge.

When you are faced with a need for answers, where do you turn?