My review of "BA to Boardroom"....a no BS review for a no BS book

This post is sort of a testament to the awesome connected world in which we live.  Let me give you the backstory.  I was flying out to San Francisco for a week a Google.  Well, the person next to me was writing while I rocked out to Iron Maiden.  His name was Chris, and he was writing a book about having a great career.  I was writing a blog on “The No Asshole Rule” so we got to talking about his book, his ideas and started to share a few thoughts on having a great career.  We exchanged info, and went off to find our rental cars.

A few weeks later, I get an email from Chris asking for my address to send me a copy of the book.  AWESOME!!  So, after moving cross country and finally getting settled in the Bay Area I’ve had time to read “BA to Boardroom With No BS, Skills for Life” and wanted to take a few minutes to blog about it and share my thoughts.

First of all, it’s a great read.  Very down to earth and practical.  I also think it’s the kind of book that anyone can read and learn a few new things.  You don’t need to be a new college grad to heed Chris’s advice….even a dinosaur like me took a few tips, wrote them down and focused some of my energy on getting better.

Ok, with that, here is a quick summary of a few things I thought were really great about this book:

A Positive Approach - On page 23 Chris talks about approaching all individuals and situations in a positive way.  LOVE this!  Honestly, negative people suck (like that?) and are less successful.  People who can have a positive attitude and approach are well liked and able to leverage relationships more successfully in the workplace.  Chris gets into a little more detail on what this means and it’s all good stuff.

Applying yourself - Page 25 here, same general area of the book but Chris talks about effort.  Obviously, I agree with him 100% here and think honesty and accountability to work effort is critical.  For me, effort is one of the few things as a manager I can’t coach.  Either you work hard and really push yourself...or you don’t.  Developing this skill will serve you well over the long haul.

Making Choices - Right around page 33 Chris starts talking about how and where to start your career.  One quote I’d like to share:

Jobs vary in content but have some common characteristics.  Looking at what characteristics feel best to you will help you select a role that can produce the highest likelihood of being one in which you feel comfortable.

Such a great line.  When you’re starting your career and frankly at any point in your career focusing on a role that maximizes your skills and allows you to be comfortable is a huge step.  It takes time, you shouldn’t expect to just wake up and realize your calling in life but once you figure it out...embrace it.

Managing Up - In Chapter 5, he talks about a lot of skills but one in particular really rung true to me.  Managing up.  It’s not the sexiest skill and some people might call it brown nosing...it’s not and it is sexy.  Managing up means making sure your boss and other leaders know what you are doing and ensuring they are there to help you.  Ever meet someone who complains they can’t get the resources they need...meanwhile you never have an issue getting what you need?  Well yeah, that’s because you’ve managed up well and received the support and faith of senior leadership.  HUGE skill.

Opportunistic Ambition - Chapter 6 talks about opportunistic ambition, having mentors and building a personal plan.  Really great chapter.  As someone who’s had a personal plan for a while, this really jumped off the page at me.  I very much enjoyed Chris’s idea of putting yourself first and then secondly having a contingency plan.  These are extremely hard concepts but really critical for your career.    In my experience, these skills don’t come naturally but once they come...they are like a tidal wave that pushes your skills into the next level.  I’ll stop writing about this now, go buy the book

Learning to Lead - Another fantastic chapter as this skill is another one that really can carry you through your career...even if you end up switching professions.  The big take away for me in the book is when Chris talks about creating a high performing team.  I mean, talk about the holy grail of work.  Being able to attract top talent and put them into a position to perform is literally the difference between great leaders and crappy leaders.  So, again, take some time to really learn how to lead.  You’ll thank Chris for this, it’s so important.  When I look at my team or other teams I’ve lead, I always ask are we a destination for great talent?  If not, how do I fix it.

Ok, LONG blog for me this week but I really enjoyed the book and couldn’t recommend it any stronger.  The link above will get you to Chris’s website and allow you to buy the book...just do it.  One closing thought.  I met Chris on a flight, and I’m the guy who never talks to people on the plane (thank you Bose headphones) but for whatever reason, Chris and I really connected.  There is a lesson here….when you meet people along the way, take time to get to know them….you might just meet someone really cool.

Until next time, good luck out there the job market is still tough so you’ve got to work extra hard.

It's not just a recruiting problem...

I’ve been totally slacking with the blog lately, my bad.  Big topic this week, and it’s one I’ve been wanting to write for a while.  

You hear a lot about companies or hiring managers who complain about their recruiting team and how they can’t find the right people.  Well...maybe, I mean sure..some recruiting departments suck but a lot of the time it’s a company wide issue but its much easier to just blame the recruiters.  Why take accountability when you can just thrash the recruiting folks?  It's easy, that's why. However, the truth is recruiting is a company wide project, everyone needs to be all in or you all fail.  It’s that simple.  Here are my quick thoughts on what each person in the company needs to do in order to successfully recruit...leaving out the recruiters of course because um you guys just do your job.

Hiring Managers -  So, these guys are key.  If you’re a hiring manager you've got a huge job to do here.  You need to respond quickly to resumes and be decisive.  If you meet someone great..hire them..don’t play games, hire the person.  Another key way to contribute as a hiring manager is to help sell candidates and close candidates on joining the team.  The last one, and this is important...hiring managers need to be engaged.  They need to listen when the recruiters push back on the process or decision making process.  Recruiters and managers are partners in hiring.

The rest of HR - The rest of HR play a huge role in recruiting.  The biggest, and frankly the hardest is attrition.  HR absolutely needs to focus on making sure people are leaving out back door as fast (or faster) than the recruiting team can hire them.  A lot of HR teams don’t like to hear that but it’s true.  If you have high attrition, you could have greatest recruiting team on earth and you’re still screwed.  HR also can focus on compensation, benefits and all the cultural stuff to make a company attractive.  Like I said above, it’s a team effort and HR/Recruiting are the essence of team so make sure you’re truly supporting each other.

Interviewers - Ahhhh, the interviewers.  Honestly, probably the most unappreciated piece of the recruiting puzzle.  Hiring Managers, HR and Recruiters can all do their job but if the interviewers are late, disrespectful, uncalibrated or just plan bad…….everyone fails again.  As an interviewer you've got pretty clear responsibilities.  Be prepared, be positive and make sure you give the candidate a great experience.  When you’re done, give prompt and decisive feedback to the recruiters so they can hire great people.

Executives - For senior leadership it’s pretty easy.  Stay engaged.  Don’t float above the fray and assume hiring will be easy.  Get into the process, talk to candidates, review resumes and generally do the things you’d have done before you became an Exec.  A lot of exec are “too busy” to interview or give timely feedback….I call BS.  If hiring and recruiting is a priority...get it done or delegate the authority to someone who can and will meet the companies hiring objectives.

The moral of the story here is simple.  Recruiting and hiring is a company wide project.  It’s not just the recruiters who are responsible for hiring...sure, we carry the heavy load but if the rest of the company can’t convert the pipeline to hires….you lose.  It’s that simple.

Should you move for a job? Maybe....

As my loyal readers know, I recently moved out to the Bay Area for my new role with Google.  Honestly, a year ago if you told me I’d be living in California I’d have said you were crazy..no way.  Well, things happen in life that make you change plans.  Sometimes its easy, sometimes it’s not so easy.  Regardless there ARE times when it makes sense to move for a job.  Let me explain a few times when packing up and moving is the right call:

The opportunity - This is reason #1 and #2 you move for a job.  You move for opportunities.  If you can’t find a job that’s even close to as interesting as the one you’d move for….take it and go.  You know how I feel about having a “career” as opposed to a job so if opportunity knocks get it done.

The adventure - This can go hand and hand with the point above, but the location matters.  For example, moving to California or Europe or some other moderately exotic location can be a great adventure….whereas you could have a great job but if it’s in Timbuktu you might want to think twice before taking the job.

The team - Sometimes a team is worth moving for and uprooting your life.  If you can find a “Dream Team” that will really grow your career and teach you all kinds of Jedi skills...do it. The team is the most important part of any opportunity so honestly this can make the whole thing worth it.

The cash - Now, you’ll notice this is pretty far down the list.  Moving only for the cash is crazy, bad bad idea because money can’t truly buy happiness.  Yeah, yeah, it can come close but it’s not the only factor in life.  That being said, I’m not stupid and neither should you be when it comes to moving for a job.  The cash matters.  Can you afford to live there?  Will the comp move you into that next level?  Again, it matter but it’s not the only thing.

Well, there you go..a few quick thoughts on relocating for a job.  You know how I feel about having a career, but the it’s bigger than that.  Life is an adventure and every once in awhile it makes sense to spice it up.

More soon, but good luck out there...the job market still sucks so try to keep focused on your longer term goals.

Recruiting lessons from the Elvis Dumervil fiasco

The story of Elvis Dumervil, has gotten a lot of press lately...but no one has really discussed it as a great example of a few things you can learn during your job search.  You can find a full description of what happened here, but basically the came to a verbal agreement with the Denver Broncos but didn’t get the paperwork to the NFL league offices in time...so they cut him, making him a free agent and likely costing him several million dollars.

So, what can we as job seekers or recruiters learn from Elvis Dumervil?

Get it in Writing - I’ve said this for years and I’ll say it for as long as I recruit.  Until the deal is in writing....it’s not a deal.  The old phrase “It’s not worth the paper it’s written on” comes to mind as people say things all the time, at the end of the day, a verbal agreement won’t hold up.

Deadlines Matter - Apparently the team and Dumervil’s agent were supposed to come to an agreement by 2pm EDT.......that didn’t happen, the paperwork was like seven minutes late and the deal expired.  When a company or recruiter tells you a deadline, stick to it......if not, you could find yourself wondering what happened to your offer.

Brinkmanship Fails -  The biggest lesson for me is that both parties here, the Broncos and Dumervil played a game of chicken and both of them lost.  Rather than sitting down and hammering out a deal, the waited until the very last minute and the whole thing fell apart over logistics.  When you’re negotiating an offer, just suck it up and get it done.  Games of brinksmanship end up being a lose-lose and that’s not way to start a new job.

Keep an eye on this story, it will be interesting to see how it ends.  This move has cost the Broncos about $4M.....what will it cost Dumervil?  Stay tuned as it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

More soon and good luck out there....