One Reason Interviewing Candidates is So Difficult
July 13, 2010
I was browsing in my local bookstore on the weekend when I came upon a small book titled ‘Toughest Interview Questions'. Always interested in this subject I quickly leafed through it and put it in the pile to buy.
Strategies for those wanting to make a career or sector change
June 23, 2010
Many transitional executives contemplate career changes. It may be a career auto or general manufacturing sector executive questioning its future, or a large-company type who covets the chance to work in a smaller organization. Often, it is simply individuals longing to shed unfulfilling careers for exotic destinations as yet unknown.
Executives in Transition- Why a rifle beats a shotgun in nabbing that perfect job
June 21, 2010
As a headhunter I am an obligatory stop on the networking circuit of many executive job seekers. I hold the promise of a barometer on the employment market, contacts, ideas, and even suitable ongoing searches. I am always happy to participate in courtesy interviews as I neither envy the job seekers' circumstances nor take lightly their courage in reaching out to me.
The Perils of the Successful Matchmaker
June 14, 2010
What is a successful matchmaker?
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Patti Stanger who runs The Millionaire's Club, a Los Angeles-based "elite" matchmaking service and reality television program.
Interviewing: The Quest for Patterns and Themes
May 14, 2010
Last week, two seemingly unrelated articles caught my attention. The first was a magazine obituary on C.K. Prahalad, the management thinker best known for his work on core competencies. The article spoke extensively of his ‘big ideas' and noted his habit of traveling the world "prying useful information out of everyone he met…always looking for connections and patterns, hoping to predict change".
Checkers vs. Chess: Why Candidates Play The Wrong Interview Game…and Pay the Price !
May 4, 2010
I often join my clients when they conduct candidate interviews. I moderate, participate, listen and learn. They are fascinating glimpses into how candidates and companies alike play the complex game of talent acquisition.
The superhero hiring game and why everyone loses
April 5, 2010
When it comes to recruiting leaders, companies continue to search for those Steve Jobs-like characters that can single-handedly turn around a company's fortunes, blaze paths of innovation and market their wares like no other before them.
Why candidates should expand and prep their references
February 3, 2010
As headhunters scramble to match candidates with their shapeshifting clients, process and painstaking due diligence rule the day. To some candidates such rigor may feel intrusive or simply unnecessary. It shouldn't. In fact, rigor should be embraced and used to all candidates advantage. Consider the use of references as an illustration.
The Unwanted CEO Job …and the one individual who thought otherwise
January 8, 2010
Several recent articles have lauded the success of Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems. With skyrocketing revenues, a growing market, and money in the bank, the firm's prospects have never been better and the street appears to love the story. It was a much more difficult story to sell in 2003, with one notable exception.
Hiring Executive Talent: The Sheepish Canadian Startup
December 26, 2009
Much is written about the state of the Canadian tech startup sector and why it lags the US, Israel and other countries in producing a richer community of world-class companies.
While I am not qualified to comment on many of the contributing factors I am witness to how Canadian startups hire and lever talent at key points in their growth. I would argue that for many of these firms the bar excellence is set so cautiously low that to expect anything but mediocrity is laughable. Let me provide a recent example.
The Talent Game in Venture-Backed Firms
November 13, 2009
Last week I met the CEO of a recently funded tech firm (yes, it still happens) who described at length his plans to build his business. As he spoke of his young executive team, its successes to date, and his plans to lever the new funding round to conquer the world, he exuded the sense of invincibility that comes with youth and the validation of funding. Afterwards, as I reflected on our meeting, part of me hoped that underneath the bravado was an individual who was as least a little frightened, for if he bothered to peruse his new venture partners’ playbook, he would know that he is anything but invincible.
Venture firms assess technologies, markets, and management teams for the likelihood that they can come together to generate returns on their investments. Home runs are the hit of choice and these require, at minimum, aggressive swings. While strikeouts are expected, make no mistake that firms receiving venture funding will swing, and they will swing hard. Venture firms are also mindful of the timelines in which they must generate returns to their own investors and thus the clock is always ticking, always compressing the business cycle for everyone involved.
Racing against time, venture firms have limited patience to indulge their investee companies in countless cycles of trial and error learning. While they value the innovation and energy of founders, they much prefer the sure hands of proven executives who can take their ideas to the marketplace, scale the enterprise and stickhandle it to a profitable exit. Serial CEOs are especially in demand for they bring not only the wisdom of experience but also a network of proven executives who can be called upon for specific tasks as the business grows. Since both the marketplace and pool of proven talent is far larger in the US, not to mention the venture capitalists who matter most, the gravitational pull for Canadian firms and their CEOs is always from the south.
These realities have several implications for the founding CEO and his or her team. First, it means that the length of rope with which to make mistakes is cut short on the same day that the investor cuts the cheque. It also means that the math is simple for the founding team: you either learn as fast as your company grows or you will die. In other words, the founding team members must be cognizant of what they know now, what they need to know as their business grows and they must be committed to somehow bridging the gap. Venture capitalists are not insensitive to the problem and may inject operational wisdom at the board level or even encourage company leadership to find mentors. But they will make it clear that this is not elementary school. At the end of the day it is the executive team’s responsibility to assess themselves as the context changes, and adjust (dare I say grow) as their business changes. It is their responsibility to figure out what they have to learn, and either learn it, hire it or get out. Few CEOs and founding team members understand this responsibility and even fewer are up to task, especially in the limited time given to them.
Venture funding can be a powerful accelerant for a company seeking to grow. But as with many catalysts it is also extremely flammable and must be handled with care. Early stage CEOs who are too cavalier and ignore the warning label are sure to get burned.
Robert Hebert is Managing Partner of Toronto-based executive search firm StoneWood Group (www.stonewoodgroup.com). He can be reached @ rhebert@stonewoodgroup.com or at 416.365.9494x777