Executive Recruiting and Executive Coaching

“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” 

Benjamin Franklin

As a CEO or business leader, when's the last time you calculated the cost of your mis-hires? Never! Why is that?

You have reports, systems and metrics for nearly everything else. You are constantly calculating capital costs, ROI and EBITDA for all of your other P&L line items. Why are you not regularly measuring, calculating and monitoring the costs associated with one of your most critical investments...that of making a decision to invest in (hire) human capital?

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I once heard  John Maxwell talk about sending ducks to “Eagle School.”  He said that no matter how hard you try, as soon as you hand them their “Eagle School Certificate,” they’ll waddle right off the stage because they’re ducks. The point is that it’s almost impossible to turn historical underperformers (ducks) into “A Players” (eagles). It’s much better to hire “A Player” “Eagles” from the outset. 

Identifying “A Player” “Eagles” has always been like finding a needle in the haystack. Today, the haystack is considerably larger, and hiring right the first time is even more critical. You can ill afford under-performing employees that cost you valuable time and profits! 

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“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” That's basically what the cat told Alice in the Disney Classic, Alice in Wonderland. The same is true in recruiting and hiring...if you don’t know "WHO" you’re looking for, you’ll take anyone you can get.

 

So, next time you begin a hiring or recruiting project, don't just dust off that same old job description and change the title...step back and "Begin with the end in mind!"

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Decision Making: Utilizing effective processes to make decisions.

Speaking with a CEO recently, I was reminded how important "decision making" is to career trajectory, when he related he would be demoting/terminating a senior executive who struggled with the skill.  A recent Gallup article reaffirmed this stating only 1 in 10 managers possess great decision making skills. They defined someone talented in decision making with the following:

They solve the many complex issues and problems inherent to the role by thinking ahead, planning for contingencies, balancing competing interests and taking an analytical approach. 

Making solid decisions in a timely manner is a trait of great managers and employees. Many who struggle with decision making have a bias regarding certain factors in their decision making process.  They often struggle with admitting they made a mistake too, thus compounding their poor decision making skills.
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Today is Groundhog Day in North America and if I heard correctly, we're in for 6 more weeks of winter, because despite the overcast skies, Punxsutawney Phil was able to see his shadow. Remember Bill Murray in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day where he kept re-living the day over and over again until he got it right? Do you ever feel like your recruiting efforts have a similar theme, that you are stuck in an endless cycle of expensive mis-hires?

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