Mr Right, for lack of a better name, had decided it was time to move on to a new job. He had all of the qualifications: education, experience, accomplishments, industry experience and contacts. He was definitely an "A" player in his industry.
So he went about the business of looking, and in short order he had three different companies that were very interested.
Company A interviewed him, set up a second round of interviews with top people directly involved in the position he was being considered for, interviewed him and, after checking references - with his permission, and assessing his fit, made him an offer - albeit a low ball offer to start the process of negotiation. Throughout the process so far he was treated well, with all the steps completed in an organized, efficient manner
Company B contacted him, completed a phone interview with the Hiring Manager and the HR recruiter, and set up an interview schedule with four stakeholder executives for a Saturday, recognizing his commitments to his current employer. The interviews were held, he left feeling good about the position and his own performance. Two weeks later he had not yet had a followup call or letter, even though he had sent thank you letters to the people he had talked to.
Company C contacted him, asked him to come in as soon as possible, and then took him and his resume to eight different people - all who dropped what they were doing to talk to him - with numerous interruptions - and then he was interviewed by the Hiring Manager who said he had glowing feedback and asked what it would take to get him to come to work for them.
Where do you think Mr Right ended up?
He could have ended up at any one of the three companies, although my bet would be that a Company D, that didn't lowball him, that didn't leave him hanging, that didn't rush to hire, probably would be where a highly sought after, A player, would end up.
My point is that in hiring, the applicant is making a decision at least as critical to them as it is to the company. Top candidates look at all the little signals that tell whether their prospective employer is someone they want to work for - and if they find that company wanting, they keep looking. C players are easy to hire - they will often put up with delays, low ball offers, disorganized process, multiple interviews ( as many as 21 different interviews is the record in my experience) and snap decisions based on getting a "warm one" hired as soon as possible.
That's how companies end up with more than their share of C's, D's and F's.
Suggestion: Take the time to audit your own selection process from the applicants point of view. Go so far as to have a "Mystery Applicant" apply with the objective of seeing how things actually go. Chances are there is room for improvement in your process - for selection at every level. Make the changes to give the applicant the best possible view of your organization - as an organization, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. More A players are lost because companies drop the ball in the process of selection than for any other reason - don't let it happen to you.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
The Power of Keeping Track
I am constantly battling my weight. I'm always chasing that elusive "ten pounds" that so many of us just never seem to get around to losing. Unfortunately, that "elusive ten" sometimes balloons to twenty pounds - or even a little bit more.
You know when that happens? It happens to me when I decide I don't want to spend the time to keep track of what I eatand drink. I reach a point where I am convinced that I know - from past experience and from past keeping track - how much I can eat and what I can eat, so why spend the time on recording what I already know?
This last time I made the decision to stop recording what I eat, I gained ten pounds in the following ninety days - ten pounds that becomes more and more difficult to shed as I get older. No big change in eating habits - no change in exercise habits - just a little bit here and a little bit there. I'm back to keeping track, and I see where those little snacks and larger portions that I kidded myself into believing would have no effect did add weight.
Keeping track keeps me honest to myself. It keeps me accountable for my own behavior - for my own choices. I don't have to share the records with anyone else - just with myself. I find when I do that, good things happen - probably because I am dealing with reality, and not with selective memory - that ability to only remember the high spots.
If you're dealing with weight, or any of a thousand other challenges and goals, keep track. Write down what is most important to you and then keep track of how you are progressing toward where you want to be. It doesn't have to be an involved process - keep it simple so you persist in recording.
In my experience, and the experience of many, many succesful people, keeping track is the most important single thing you can do to reach where you want to be. Do it - today.
You know when that happens? It happens to me when I decide I don't want to spend the time to keep track of what I eatand drink. I reach a point where I am convinced that I know - from past experience and from past keeping track - how much I can eat and what I can eat, so why spend the time on recording what I already know?
This last time I made the decision to stop recording what I eat, I gained ten pounds in the following ninety days - ten pounds that becomes more and more difficult to shed as I get older. No big change in eating habits - no change in exercise habits - just a little bit here and a little bit there. I'm back to keeping track, and I see where those little snacks and larger portions that I kidded myself into believing would have no effect did add weight.
Keeping track keeps me honest to myself. It keeps me accountable for my own behavior - for my own choices. I don't have to share the records with anyone else - just with myself. I find when I do that, good things happen - probably because I am dealing with reality, and not with selective memory - that ability to only remember the high spots.
If you're dealing with weight, or any of a thousand other challenges and goals, keep track. Write down what is most important to you and then keep track of how you are progressing toward where you want to be. It doesn't have to be an involved process - keep it simple so you persist in recording.
In my experience, and the experience of many, many succesful people, keeping track is the most important single thing you can do to reach where you want to be. Do it - today.
Written by Andrew Cox, President, The Cox Consulting Group LLC
Ph:602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: andycox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website:www.coxconsultgroup.com
Copyright 2006, All Right Reserved
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Beware Of Fair - The Real "F" Word
If there is a single word that makes my hair stand on end - it has to be "Fair". It's a word that has very powerful emotional appeal. How often do we hear "It's not fair", or "You're not beng fair", or "The company isn't being fair".
How often have you heard that reason - "It's just not fair", being used as the bottom line of an argument? Logic may say there is no merit to the complaint, but most people don't make their decisions based on logic and reason. They make them on emotion - and fairness is one of the most powerful appeals that can be made.
Fair, to me, is in the eye of the beholder. Example: That raise in pay that you thought was so generous when you gave it? Surprise - the person getting it feels it wasn't fair. Not fair! How do you deal with that?
Suggestion: Remind yourself that you are dealing with an emotional perception, not logic, and not necessarily a criticism or accusation - although it can be hard not to see it that way. Responding directly with logic usually gets you no where. Asking what isn't fair - in an open way - can result in an answer you can both deal with. You might be surprised - there probably are information and perceptions that created that emotion of unfairness that you can work with. Not addressing the emotion or becoming angry and defensive adds fuel to the fire. " What doesn't seem fair to you?" is a good opening question. In using it you are honoring the emotion without changing your own position - a good start on a productive discussion.
The secret to this kind of dialogue is to realize you are dealing with emotion; and accepting that emotion and trying to qualify it is the very best way to work with it. Try it - today.
How often have you heard that reason - "It's just not fair", being used as the bottom line of an argument? Logic may say there is no merit to the complaint, but most people don't make their decisions based on logic and reason. They make them on emotion - and fairness is one of the most powerful appeals that can be made.
Fair, to me, is in the eye of the beholder. Example: That raise in pay that you thought was so generous when you gave it? Surprise - the person getting it feels it wasn't fair. Not fair! How do you deal with that?
Suggestion: Remind yourself that you are dealing with an emotional perception, not logic, and not necessarily a criticism or accusation - although it can be hard not to see it that way. Responding directly with logic usually gets you no where. Asking what isn't fair - in an open way - can result in an answer you can both deal with. You might be surprised - there probably are information and perceptions that created that emotion of unfairness that you can work with. Not addressing the emotion or becoming angry and defensive adds fuel to the fire. " What doesn't seem fair to you?" is a good opening question. In using it you are honoring the emotion without changing your own position - a good start on a productive discussion.
The secret to this kind of dialogue is to realize you are dealing with emotion; and accepting that emotion and trying to qualify it is the very best way to work with it. Try it - today.
Written by Andy Cox , Cox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4200; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: andycox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: www.coxconsultgroup.com
Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved
Friday, October 06, 2006
Optimists Lead - Pessimists Provide Input
Optimism plays a huge part in success. About 30% of us can be called optimists, and about 70% are pessimists. Put another way, about 30% of us are motivated by opportunity, and the remaining 70% are motivated by consequences - or fear of loss.
When optimists talk to other optimists, all kinds of opportunities flow - some crazy, some not. When optimists talk to pessimists, they both come away frustrated unless they value the input of their very separate beliefs, and if they do, synergy can do great things. When pessimists talk to pessimists, better bomb shelters to protect from the inevitable nuclear attack are designed and constructed.
So where do you want to be? To answer that question, start with where you are now. Question your own self talk. How do you look at opportunities - as opportunities or as something that has the threat to be screwed up and cause you a loss.
An example: In our seminars on selection of talent in organizations, one of the beliefs we ask participants to talk about is the belief that "every opening in your organization represents an opportunity to make your organization better." It's amazing how many people, when you really listen to what they believe, do not share that view. Many really think hiring is a pain in the ass - taking way too much time away from what is really important, or it is an opportunity to screw up, or they really don't want to be involved - the "just send me a body approach."
Two events motivated me to write this particular blog. The first is the TV ad that shows the guy perched on a bridge spanning a river with a pair of homemade wings strapped to his arms. It's set in what appears to be 1700's Europe. He screws up the courage to jump off the bridge and he glides. The crowd gasps and says " He flies". An old man passing by says, "Yes, But he can't swim!" And the next thing we see is the man crashing into the river. Bummer. Wish he had thought of that before taking the "plunge" over open water.
The second event is an ongoing one for me. A writer named Jon Talton is the business section op-ed writer for our paper - The Arizona Republic. He has to be the most pessimistic, dismissive writer I have ever experienced. There isn't a good piece of news about the local, state, or national economy that he can't dismiss, discount or minimize. Reading him must be some form of perverse pleasure for me - I always come away with less enthusiasm than I had before reading his latest attempt at throwing cold water on good news.
My point in both of these events is to show how varied pessimism can be , and how draining it can be as well. Think about applying for a job where the hiring manager thinks selection is a pain in the ass. Maybe you've been there. Think about having someone rain on your new promotion with an observation that the company is going to hell in a handbasket and is close to failure. The effect - energy drained, passion smothered and a promise to avoid this negative influence in the future.
Listen to your own self talk - do you see the glass half empty or half full. Is your first instinct to define why something won't work, or is it to greet the idea as valuable and worth more thought? As a salesperson, are you more concerned with meeting quota and keeping your job, or with finding that next possibility that will keep you on the road to success?
Give it some thought - value both pessimists and optimists - we sure need both. Just make sure you look for your share of opportunities.
When optimists talk to other optimists, all kinds of opportunities flow - some crazy, some not. When optimists talk to pessimists, they both come away frustrated unless they value the input of their very separate beliefs, and if they do, synergy can do great things. When pessimists talk to pessimists, better bomb shelters to protect from the inevitable nuclear attack are designed and constructed.
So where do you want to be? To answer that question, start with where you are now. Question your own self talk. How do you look at opportunities - as opportunities or as something that has the threat to be screwed up and cause you a loss.
An example: In our seminars on selection of talent in organizations, one of the beliefs we ask participants to talk about is the belief that "every opening in your organization represents an opportunity to make your organization better." It's amazing how many people, when you really listen to what they believe, do not share that view. Many really think hiring is a pain in the ass - taking way too much time away from what is really important, or it is an opportunity to screw up, or they really don't want to be involved - the "just send me a body approach."
Two events motivated me to write this particular blog. The first is the TV ad that shows the guy perched on a bridge spanning a river with a pair of homemade wings strapped to his arms. It's set in what appears to be 1700's Europe. He screws up the courage to jump off the bridge and he glides. The crowd gasps and says " He flies". An old man passing by says, "Yes, But he can't swim!" And the next thing we see is the man crashing into the river. Bummer. Wish he had thought of that before taking the "plunge" over open water.
The second event is an ongoing one for me. A writer named Jon Talton is the business section op-ed writer for our paper - The Arizona Republic. He has to be the most pessimistic, dismissive writer I have ever experienced. There isn't a good piece of news about the local, state, or national economy that he can't dismiss, discount or minimize. Reading him must be some form of perverse pleasure for me - I always come away with less enthusiasm than I had before reading his latest attempt at throwing cold water on good news.
My point in both of these events is to show how varied pessimism can be , and how draining it can be as well. Think about applying for a job where the hiring manager thinks selection is a pain in the ass. Maybe you've been there. Think about having someone rain on your new promotion with an observation that the company is going to hell in a handbasket and is close to failure. The effect - energy drained, passion smothered and a promise to avoid this negative influence in the future.
Listen to your own self talk - do you see the glass half empty or half full. Is your first instinct to define why something won't work, or is it to greet the idea as valuable and worth more thought? As a salesperson, are you more concerned with meeting quota and keeping your job, or with finding that next possibility that will keep you on the road to success?
Give it some thought - value both pessimists and optimists - we sure need both. Just make sure you look for your share of opportunities.
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