As we get ready to pull out of the economic slump, more and more companies that hit bottom are already asking the obvious question: "Who do we need to lead us out of this thing?" While most articles you see are focused on the top slots (CEO, CFO, etc.), the reality is that same question is being asked across all leadership positions. Here's more from a recent Workforce Recruiting article:
"Bank failures, bailouts and the resulting departures of top executives have left many financial
companies struggling to replace failed leaders with rescuers who can set things right.
Although some replacements reach out for these top-level jobs, most have to be found and convinced that the tremendous risks are worth it. Responding to the growing need, executive search firms have developed systematic processes for finding the right candidate to fill executive slots at troubled financial companies."
So your company is in the toliet, and you need pure talent to bring you out, but the talent doesn't want to touch your brand with a ten foot pole. What do you need? It's pretty simple, really. I say you need to do the following three things:
1. Show candidates the money. You're asking leadership people to lend their personal brands to the mission of rebuilding your business which, by the way, might have a certain career-halting stench to it if you're in an industry like financial services. Did anyone really want "Enron" on their resume after all that went down? What about "Healthsouth"? No way. If you want the best talent, you have to show them the money, and I'm not talking about base and bonus, although you need to make those rich as well. No, I'm talking about equity - options, etc., that has the potential to let them buy a beach house. Or three. They're taking a risk, there has to be life-altering reward.
2. The right messaging. Once the candidate has a chance to make their life better via a nice equity chunk, you need to help them get the messaging straight in their minds. You're today's Enron? Fine. They are the guy that helped you rebuild after the bastards took the company down. You have to give the candidate the pitch they can take home to their spouse, their mentors and most importantly, their ego. If you don't help them with messaging in their mind, they're subject to whatever they read off the 10,000 articles on the web about your burning house. Treat it like its own marketing campaign, complete with collateral. It's that important to frame the issue in the candidate's mind.
3. The rubber chicken circuit. You showed them how they're going to retire early for taking this mess on and told them the message. Now, you need your PR people to pitch how you are going to get them out on the speaker's circuit to proactively show that they aren't part of the old guard who burnt the house down - no - they're part of the rebuilding team leading an effort that makes building a strip mall in Baghdad look like child's play.
Do these three things, and you've got a great chance at getting the candidate you want/need. Avoid these things, and you'll end up settling for a lessor talent, and the rebuilding process will be delayed if it happens at all.
Oh yeah, there's one more thing. Here's the real key, beside money, in finding the right turnaround guy/gal from the WF article:
"Weeding out candidates is an essential part of the search. If a candidate is not interested in the challenge, then he or she will constantly ask about areas of risk,” Salveson says. “These kinds of questions are red flags for me.”
Other red flags are questions about work/life balance, travel and working from home. If the situation isn’t right, even a suitable candidate might say no."
Asking about risk isn't a red flag for the candidate the first or second time they ask. If you've done final interviews and the candidate asks about the risk of the plan after you've laid out the equity, message and PR plan for them personally, move on to the next candidate. A focus on risk means that the candidate will never have the chops to do what's required to turn around the train wreck.
It's not show friends, it's show business. Bet on that.
They're taking a risk, there has to be life-altering reward. -- great comment. Nothing is better than PERFORMANCE RELATED PAY - we make our employees do it.. don't work, or do well, one is fired.. and with no golden parachutes..
Can we in America do this? Sure, look at the companies who have performed extremely well when the CEO takes on a personal responsibility not only to the shareholders, but also to their employees ---
It is commonsense that the lower the wage of the CEO the more incentive he will succeed..
It is sad here in America that we have had a hard time recognizing this.. considering American CEOs earned 411 times as much as average workers in 2005, up from 107 times in 1990.
Top executives in the U.S. make about twice the pay of their counterparts in France, Germany and the U.K., and about four times that of Japanese and Korean corporate chieftains. 2007
Posted by: KarenM | Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 10:13 AM