StrictlyExecs

I grew up in Hereford, Texas. Yes, there were more cattle in the county than people. We were outnumbered 250,000 to 16,000 and with those numbers it simply did not matter which way the wind was blowing. I recently visited my hometown and was reminded of my first job as a 14 year old. I worked summers in a feedyard to make money to buy a car and the important task at hand for this young man was literally moving piles and they were not comprised of dirt. I bet you can ’smell’ my work right now.

I moved piles from under the big scales they used to weigh the cattle and from around water troughs where they drank. It was dirty hard work and became a great motivation to get a college degree and move to the city. As I reflected on that time I remembered the reward of a job completed, of seeing my work- moved piles. The job did not matter one iota in the scheme of things but needed to be done and I was chosen to complete the task, so I did and I’ll not forget the positive feeling at the end of the day. The ‘67 Camero I bought the next summer was the icing on the cake.

As executives we have important jobs that touch many people and at times we get wrapped in the importance of it all. Take a step back and remember that no matter what you do, you are moving piles. Take a look at the end of the day everyday, no matter the work and find a sense of reward in the completion of tasks. And remember, whoever is moving whatever pile, respect their work and applaud their accomplishment. They are just as important as you…in the scheme of all things that is.

I hear the phrase from my executive friends and clients, ‘these are interesting times’ everyday. The working execs and those looking for work share the same fears and anxieties about our future. We are barraged with news snippets about the market negatives and question why our ’friends in D.C.’ are so fixated on punishing business. We will do what we can but the obstacles to business are real and we will deal with them.

The coral in the rough sea is the strongest and brightest.

My first mentor in business taught me that dealing with the rough seas head on makes one stronger, better and that is what is happening to us all. I challenge and invite all to particpate. I don’t like our situation but let’s take the challenges head-on.

Kneading the Dough. Yep, a number of people need work to make money and the numbers may increase. If you need dough - go to work and knead the dough. If you are unemployed, find a problem - anywhere and go to work solving it - knead the dough. Volunteer to non-profits, help your friends, help your church, help your schools, help your community, do what you do - find answers. The money will come. Great companies will start from ideas created and executed on today. This is a great time to work - on everything.

Knead the Dough? Find problems and solve them…the rest will work itself out.

I am attending a funeral this morning for a friend, not a close friend but someone I spent time with just about every Tuesday morning at Bible Study for the past 4 years. Looking back I wish I would have taken the time to get to know him better. One can’t say goodbye with out saying hello first.

The reality of these times affect us all and frankly now is a good time to say hello. Think about the people you frequently encounter - do you know them? Take the time to say hello by inviting them for a cup of coffee. Take the time to get to know them and in tun they will get to know you.

In the end relationships matter. Say hello today.

The COO of a public company with a valuation exceeding $3.5b stated confidentially this week his company is doing ok today but he is concerned about tomorrow by the uncertainty in the market. The stimulus plan the government has enacted and the budget under consideration, we are learning are full of expenditures, tax increases and rules changes we have not had time to properly digest and understand. Whether the changes are positive or negative, it is the uncertainty that has frozen business expansion. There is just not enough known or understood…yet.

In this climate it is important, very important we focus on what we ‘hope’ to be certain. And we ‘hope’ for economic recovery in the near term. If this is our focus - our certainty, what can we do as executives to ensure success as the market rebounds? We are presented with a window of opportunity to increase marketshare by positively branding our companies and there are many ways we can accomplish. There is one that will and can instantly change how you are perceived in the market. Brand your company with positive, optimistic and gracious messages at your career website immediately.

Steps to take…

1. Check the stats. Ask your web team for the number of unique vistors coming to your careers page. Bet the number has increased over the past few months…and with closer examination you will discover these unique  visitors leave before taking any action. Why? Who are they? They are your customers, your competitors, analysts/pundits and interested parties in your space. Recognize that a number are future talent, strategic technology partners, distribution channel partners, market influencers and clients for your company and how well you treat them today will reflect on your relationship tomorrow.

2. Welcome them like a visitor to your home. People expect to be treated poorly when visiting a career website. Many companies do an excellent job of providing company information, describing culture, etc which is good, but this is an opportunity to build a deeper relationship of value which is accomplished with honest words and a timely response. For example, does your career site thank people for visiting? Does it describe the value you understand and appreciate from their visit? Do you provide a path for ‘conerned working talent’ to enter into a confidential relationship? Are you taking advantage of these times to create a private interactive community?

Project 6 months - 6 years from now and ask yourself the question what if? What if we would have taken advantage of the market downturn to create the private community H. Stringer wrote about in 2009? Where would we be today? Would we have identified, qualified talent, sales leads, strategic partnership leads? What if?

Creating private communities of talent has been a deep passion of mine for many years and as I have written many times was the heart of Hire.com, the company I helped create. With reported unemployment in California exceeding 10% and a 7.5% average across the United States, today is the time, maybe the best time in our history to build valued private communities of talent. Whether talent is out of work or just checking to be prepared, they are coming to your website and they are checking you careers section.

There are companies today strategically focused and executing this branding strategy that will reflect on the positive value of their execution in the near and long term while their competitors will continue to ask themselves what if, wishing they would have. Which are you?

I entered the executive search field as a youngster right out of college in 1979…loved the art of the recruiting process then and still love it 30 years later.

But the business is transforming. The CEO of Heidrick and Struggles, the world’s largest search firm outlines his firms plans (here) to reduce search from 95% to 50% of revenue over the next few years. That’s about a $300m revenue drop to be made up with assessment and retention consulting work.

Based on the fact Mr. Kelley states, that 40% of executives last less than 18 months in an executive role he may have a very valid point. But maybe not. Would it be too far fetched to think we’ve just come out of Internet, Y2K, housing and whatever other bubble and execs just moved from one company to another to increase comp? Or maybe the companies exploded with their respective bubbles and the executives were forced to look elsewhere. Could be wrong, but based on our recent experience as a society and the dollars about to be poured into an expanding government sector, a long career and a gold watch may become the opportunity of high value.

And yes, Internet access and speed transforms the executive search model…in interesting and exciting ways I might add - stay tuned