I had a good conversation today about a business owner whom we assessed as a salesperson and found some varied results. The owner was strong in some areas but weak in some important aptitudes. This led to the discussion that the owner was one of the best people at actually selling this service so how could they have lower scores in these areas. Some important points about this scenario: Hiring is a complex process with an almost limitless amount of variables. A successful process needs to incorporate objective data and then use it interactively with the candidate. Our approach is to pursue specific topics, in an indirect manner, once we… Read More
Continue ReadingCover Letter Fun
Not the most inspiring introduction: “I need any sedentary job that need no previous experiance, based on hourly wage…”
Continue ReadingFiring the CEO
Last week we posted on the CEO turnover problem both here and here. Today, I caught up to a lengthy CareerJournal.com article regarding How to Fire a CEO: It’s Harder to Sack the Boss. It is an interesting read about the multiple dismissals that have arisen recently. This topic hits home in that the United Healthcare imbroglio occurred in our backyard this year. This is borders on the absurd: Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. dismissed CEO Robert J. O’Connell last year, saying that he padded a retirement account by millions of dollars, misused corporate aircraft and conducted an affair with a female executive. But a panel of arbitrators said last… Read More
Continue ReadingEntrepreneurs and Charity
Inc.com posted this article earlier in the week – Entrepreneurs Twice as Charitable as Heirs. The main thrust of the article: When it comes to charitable giving, self-made entrepreneurs are more than twice as generous as millionaires who acquired their wealth through inheritance, according to a new study. I think many people would have guessed this result. I think there is a principle here that affects lottery winners also. We’ve all seen the follow up stories of lottery winners and how their lives were not as rewarding as they expected them to be. The incredible wealth did not bring them incredible happiness. The difference in donations between self-made millionaires vs.… Read More
Continue ReadingObjective vs. Subjective Hiring
Most hiring managers believe they are accurate assessors of talent. Even when confronted with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they still trust their hiring ability over someone else’s. Why is this disconnect so prevalent? I believe it comes down simply to gut-level hiring. If you rely on your gut to tell you if a candidate is strong, there is no appreciable way to outsource your decision to another. You can’t place your feelings into an HR person, an external recruiter or a different process. You simply have to meet candidates face-to-face and hope you aren’t being snowed over by a disingenuous salesperson. Sounds high risk, doesn’t it? Yet it permeates… Read More
Continue ReadingFull Employment
Well, the latest unemployment numbers are in and they indicate that, as a nation, we are basically at full employment. The new unemployement number is 4.4% – a drop of .2% from last month and a 5-year low. Sourcing is going to be even more of an issue for companies. We are seeing this in our business as we have extended our sourcing times while doubling our efforts. If you aren’t using multiple channels for sourcing, you are going to find long lead times on strong candidates. The second part of the equation is compensation: Workers’ average hourly earnings climbed to $16.91 in October, a sizable 0.4 percent increase from… Read More
Continue ReadingSales Traits Series – Project and Goal Focus
This week we turn our attention to another important aptitude for successful selling – Project and Goal Focus. Most sales managers can relate to the issues that surround this particular ability. Project and Goal Focus An individual’s ability to maintain their direction in spite of obstacles in their path. It includes their ability to stay on target regardless of circumstance. A salesperson with strength in this capacity is able to stay on track while involved in a project or opportunity – even if there are unforeseen obstacles that occur during the process. They will tend to ignore the problems and stay on the path even if some event causes the… Read More
Continue ReadingBenefits Worth Demanding
The Employee Benefits You Should Demand. Wellness Autopilot retirement savings Retirement income security Education and workplace guidance And how do you get them? Well, for starters, don’t try to convince your HR department. That would be preaching to the choir, says Adams. Instead he recommends sending letters to the so-called C-suite – the senior level executives. “You have to appeal to the people who can make those decisions,” he said.
Continue ReadingThe Cure for CEO Turnover
Honestly, I just came across this article – Women CEOs Experience Longer Tenures, Faster Growth – as a follow up to my previous post. This study is from a limited sample of Massachusetts-based companies with an average size of $54M/year revenue and 120 employees. Not huge, but sizeable companies nonetheless. This piece of information from the short article caught my attention: When asked about their priorities for driving that growth, 80 percent of women CEOs surveyed identified expanding customer relationships ahead of aggressively pursuing new products, new geographic markets, or strategic alliances, the study found. Another 77 percent said they sought input into the decision-making process through a participatory leadership… Read More
Continue ReadingCEO Turnover
We first posted about CEO turnover in this post. Now BusinessWeek comes along with an article titled The Great CEO Exodus. CEO’s get a bad rap about their compensation packages, but it is not an easy job. Now consider the pressure being exerted on these leaders: Not so long ago, a new CEO like McComb would have had six to nine months to get his act together. Not any more. Management experts say the newly minted boss has about 90 to 100 days to start implementing strategy. It would appear that there is a drastic candidate shortage even at the CEO level: Gerard R. Roche, senior chairman of leading recruiter… Read More
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