Today I had the chance to do one of my favorite things…provide a reference for a former employee named Melissa whom I truly admire and believe in.
During the conversation with the hiring manager, who was the president and co-founder of a small company making a significant investment in this applicant, he said something that struck me as worth sharing.
He said that out of the over 100 resumes he had viewed, there were plenty that had better “pedigrees” than the applicant, but in speaking with her, none were even close to her grit. I couldn’t agree more, and kudos to him for having the keen eye and the will to keep looking until he found what he wanted. That kind of sense for people is probably a big reason why his company has been successful for over a decade and why they are in a position to expand in a significant way, with my former employee at the helm of the effort.
The flip side of the grit commentary is that Melissa combines her grit with an unusual grace as well. She’s like a high quality emery board with rough grit on one side and a smoother surface on the other to finish things off just right. As we both heartily agreed, you can’t teach character. Add to that extreme acumen and that is what makes a wining proposition.
Give me someone like that over a great pedigree any day!
(And give me more hiring managers who don’t get fooled by smooth packaging on the surface!)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Good, Bad, and Ugly (LinkedIn pics)...
Since Tricendent has a search practice, I often am asked by candidates for interviewing tips. Beyond be yourself, be educated, be curious, I don't give much.
I will give some pointers about LinkedIn pictures here though for people who are seeking jobs. They (the tips) may seem opinionated, but, this is a blog ;-) Also, trust me, they're accurate.
If you are posing with a fish, I may assume that you want to be a fisherman. Since I am typically recruiting sales execs, not a good first impression.
If you are posing with your buddies at a club, I may assume that we will lose you early on Fridays (and maybe Wednesdays, and...)
If your pic on a site where you should be trying to put your best foot forward professionally looks like a mug shot with a firm frown that you refuse to turn upside down that, I may assume that you might (purposely) scare people in person.
If you have no pic, I may assume you at least have the good judgment not to do the three things above. But I'd rather see your face...with a smile on it. If you'd like to read some more about why that may get you a call...
http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/emiliya-zhivotovskaya/200809271036
Of course, if you're looking for a job piloting a fishing boat that makes regular deliveries to the hottest clubs where those uber-cool people who never smile are...please disregard.
I will give some pointers about LinkedIn pictures here though for people who are seeking jobs. They (the tips) may seem opinionated, but, this is a blog ;-) Also, trust me, they're accurate.
If you are posing with a fish, I may assume that you want to be a fisherman. Since I am typically recruiting sales execs, not a good first impression.
If you are posing with your buddies at a club, I may assume that we will lose you early on Fridays (and maybe Wednesdays, and...)
If your pic on a site where you should be trying to put your best foot forward professionally looks like a mug shot with a firm frown that you refuse to turn upside down that, I may assume that you might (purposely) scare people in person.
If you have no pic, I may assume you at least have the good judgment not to do the three things above. But I'd rather see your face...with a smile on it. If you'd like to read some more about why that may get you a call...
http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/emiliya-zhivotovskaya/200809271036
Of course, if you're looking for a job piloting a fishing boat that makes regular deliveries to the hottest clubs where those uber-cool people who never smile are...please disregard.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Customer Centricity = Shareholder Value
Being focused on and caring about your customers is not just about the warm and fuzzy. (See my prior post: What's So Salesy 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding.)
A little experiment I ran shows some definite indications of that. Now, I am nobody's data analyst, I don't even play one on TV. I do know when numbers tell a story however. I also am a big believer in the power of words.
So, I wondered, if a company is really focused on its customers, that would show in the words of its top executives. And if it showed in the words of its executives, would that have any correlation to a company's performance?
In order to do a controlled experiment, I chose the following, using a client as a baseline.
Words:
How regularly did the executives of public companies use the word customer in their latest earnings release call with the street? This is expressed as occurrences of "customer" vs total words in the call. The comparison is off of my client's baseline. So, for instance, Comp 5's execs used "customer" 126% more often than my client, and Comp 1's used it about 1/3 less.
As another comparison, I compared how often the execs used the word "account" (controlled for versions such as accounting, etc) vs using the word "customer". Comp 1's execs used "account" the most. Three companies' execs only used the word customer...not account.
Performance:
Set against the words analysis, is the 6 month stock performance of the companies. Also, several market indexes are included for comparison.
As you can see, there is a fairly clear correlation.
Is this the do-all end-all of analyses? No.
Is there enough here to warrant looking further into it? Yes.
Has anyone done any research that contradicts this? Not yet!
A little experiment I ran shows some definite indications of that. Now, I am nobody's data analyst, I don't even play one on TV. I do know when numbers tell a story however. I also am a big believer in the power of words.
So, I wondered, if a company is really focused on its customers, that would show in the words of its top executives. And if it showed in the words of its executives, would that have any correlation to a company's performance?
In order to do a controlled experiment, I chose the following, using a client as a baseline.
Words:
How regularly did the executives of public companies use the word customer in their latest earnings release call with the street? This is expressed as occurrences of "customer" vs total words in the call. The comparison is off of my client's baseline. So, for instance, Comp 5's execs used "customer" 126% more often than my client, and Comp 1's used it about 1/3 less.
As another comparison, I compared how often the execs used the word "account" (controlled for versions such as accounting, etc) vs using the word "customer". Comp 1's execs used "account" the most. Three companies' execs only used the word customer...not account.
Performance:Set against the words analysis, is the 6 month stock performance of the companies. Also, several market indexes are included for comparison.
As you can see, there is a fairly clear correlation.
Is this the do-all end-all of analyses? No.
Is there enough here to warrant looking further into it? Yes.
Has anyone done any research that contradicts this? Not yet!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Yes, Hope Is a Strategy...and a Good One Too...
A common phrase bandied about by sales leaders, as well as the title of a best-seller on large account management, is "Hope Is Not A Strategy."
That's wrong though. Hope is a bad tactic. It's a great strategy, when properly executed by visionary leaders.
The first definition for the noun "hope" that popped up for me online was: "A desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment."
To have Hope be an effective strategy, there are two foundational requirements:
Desire: Has to be to reach an achievable goal, even if it is tough...super stretch. It also has to be authentically communicated to the team.
Confident expectation: This only happens if you've already put in the time to build the team, tools, and pipeline to execute against the desire.
So is Hope A Strategy? Absolutely...if you've built the foundation to make it so!
That's wrong though. Hope is a bad tactic. It's a great strategy, when properly executed by visionary leaders.
The first definition for the noun "hope" that popped up for me online was: "A desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment."
To have Hope be an effective strategy, there are two foundational requirements:
Desire: Has to be to reach an achievable goal, even if it is tough...super stretch. It also has to be authentically communicated to the team.
Confident expectation: This only happens if you've already put in the time to build the team, tools, and pipeline to execute against the desire.
So is Hope A Strategy? Absolutely...if you've built the foundation to make it so!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ship the Copier. But Have a Scorch Protector!
Was amazed to read this article about the original Xerox machine. http://bit.ly/hGUFdI
It was a stunning achievement in 1959, yet had such a tendency to...burst into flames...that it came with a "scorch protector"...otherwise know as a fire extuingisher.
Some would take a dim view of such a risky approach, but what a great corrolary to innovation in the workplace.
Many leaders have groundbreaking ideas that would benefit their orgs right now if they "shipped" them to use Seth Godin's term. Yet their hope for the benefits is outweighed by fear of "fires" that may flare if it isn't perfected.
I say go now, ship the copier.
But have a scorch protector!
It was a stunning achievement in 1959, yet had such a tendency to...burst into flames...that it came with a "scorch protector"...otherwise know as a fire extuingisher.
Some would take a dim view of such a risky approach, but what a great corrolary to innovation in the workplace.
Many leaders have groundbreaking ideas that would benefit their orgs right now if they "shipped" them to use Seth Godin's term. Yet their hope for the benefits is outweighed by fear of "fires" that may flare if it isn't perfected.
I say go now, ship the copier.
But have a scorch protector!
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