Fistful of Talent

10 Minutes That Mattered in the Founding of SuccessFactors...

Forbes has been running a piece on "10 Minutes that Mattered", where they ask CEOs and other influencers in the business world to recall a situation that taught them a lot about life and shaped who they are in the business world. 

Every once in a while, you have the big moments in life.  You know the ones - maybe your grandfather imparted some wisdom to you or a mentor taught you a lesson.

Or maybe you just jacked some kids in the face

More from a profile as a part of the series at Forbes:

"Lars Dalgaard didn't pull his punches when it came to coming up with his company's catch phrase. For the $112 million (sales) Successfactors ( SFSF - news - people ), it's "No assholes." Dalgaard's referring to the kiss-ups and back-stabbers inside many organizations who get ahead not on merit but on political elbowing. Successfactors' software aims to reward the truly good by measuring performance. As it turns out, Dalgaard adopted this philosophy young in life.

"I was the only foreigner in an English school when I was 13 years old. That experience taught me just how low a tolerance level there is for anyone who's different. They teased me because of my accent. They would call me "bacon" because--and this I can now find funny--England imports the most bacon in the world from Denmark.

Now, I'm normally an anti-violence kind of guy. But I eventually had to punch a couple of kids in the face. It really wasn't my nature. I learned you fight back when you need to. Don't let someone walk all over you. You're a happy dolphin most of the time; then, when someone attacks, you're a shark.

Oh, I give people a chance. Never judge a book by its cover. But fight for your own place."

LOL.  Now, I can understand the story and I get that part.  Playing devil's advocate, if you need to fight for your own place in an organization, doesn't that mean you might be seen as a a****** by those around you?

Has there ever been an environment more full of contradictions than the American workplace?

Learning to Develop Executive Presence Means Don't Chew Gum on Camera - Live from SHRM 2009

Welcome to the big HR show! Yep, along with Jennifer McClure and Kris Dunn, I'm at the annual SHRM Conference and Exposition in good 'ole New Orleans on behalf of Fistful of Talent.

Now, we know that there are many of y'all at home and work wishing you were here with us crazy kids... so for your enjoyment, we thought we'd do a little something different and bring our video cameras back out to deliver some of the speakers (and little of ourselves) directly to you who couldn't be here in New Orleans. First up? Kris Dunn and I touch base with each other and Dianna Booher who taught a Monday afternoon "mega session" on creating executive presence and communicating with confidence in the C-suite. Dianna is the president of Booher Consultants which is based out of Grapevine, Texas and has written many business books over her 25 year career.

Before you hit that play button though - be forewarned about the video that followers because little 'ole me? Well, I'm not yet C-suite. So, executive presence tip number one, which I obviously haven't mastered yet... do not chew gum while on camera! Doh! Hey. I'm still learning folks. Executive presence tip number two? Don't record video clips after a full day of being around thousands of HR pros. It makes you (or maybe just me?) a little goofy. And the outtakes are plenty proof. But hey, that's what the conference is about. Soak up the knowledge, develop and grow. (Email subscribers, click through to watch.)

SHRM09 - Dianna Booher from Fistful of Talent on Vimeo.

More to come, friends, after other sessions... plus, in case you didn't hear, we'll be streaming our session on Wednesday LIVE! China Gorman, COO of SHRM will be moderating a panel session with fellow bloggers Lance Haun of Your HR Guy, Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR, KD and moi on HR bloggers - who we are, and why on earth anyone should care. The big message? Why HR leaders should be paying attention to social media and the blogosphere in order to be more effective pros. Stay tuned...

PS: You can also check out Jennifer McClure's wrap up on the session on her blog Cincy Recruiter's World.

You're Not Rational. You're Rationalized...

It's one of the cruel ironies of human nature that we are blind to our own rationalizations. We think we're rational, reasonable, logical... but we're anything but.

True, our brains possess the ability to overrule emotions through something called an "executive process," but the power of the executive processing part of the brain, relative to the power of our emotional processing parts, is, in a word, weak.

How weak? Good question. Remember being a teenager? That should give you an answer.

What this means for those aspiring to be leaders:

--All those rules and processes you have? They were developed by people who surely did their best, yet who still may have allowed their emotions, egos, or parochial interests to impact their decisions. And the higher you go in your organization, the more you'll need to question the rules around you and work to strip out the emotion in them.

--All those meetings you have? Useless. Not because people are bad, but because in a group setting, the same things that cause rational problem solving abilities to be amplified also amplify rationalizations and other emotional processes.

--You—you, you, you—are just as messed up as everyone else around you. Sorry, but it's true.

And in an ironic twist of human nature, you will be unable to believe it. I mean, you may admit it now, but in the moment, you'll tend to forget that you yourself are subject to the same rules of humanity as everyone else... and in that moment, you'll be the one to introduce rationalization, ego, and emotion into the decision making process.

Count on it...

Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Jason Seiden is a career consultant for professionals and managers (http://jasonseiden.com/). He wrote the best dang career book ever (just ask him), called How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career, and is a master facilitator of the cranial extraction method of on-the-job performance improvement.  And yes, even though we value the intrinsic worth of his writing, we pay him per post.  That makes us part of the problem..

Lessons from LeBron: Are You MVP Material?

Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - - and now LeBron James.  Named MVP of the NBA, LeBron is the 3rd youngest to ever win the award and quickly credited his coach and teammates saying, "Individual accolades come when team success happens".  He had incredible stats on the offensive end and finished second in the voting for defensive player of the year.  Not too shabby.

While LeBron has many "natural" advantages (6' 8", 250 pounds and faster than a Cajun at a crawfish boil) his mental focus, work ethic, knowledge of his competition and commitment to team are the key drivers of his success.  Sound familiar?

So, how does this translate for HR pros looking to become MVPs at their organizations?  Allow me to break it down for you:

--Despite scoring 45 points in the finale last year, LeBron didn't feel he had done enough.  So he went to work.  You reduced health care expenses by 20%, hired the top sales talent and developed your own successor last year.  Time to take a break?  No way.  As a top HR person you get to pat yourself on the back, make sure your self-eval highlights your results, and then move on.  You have to continue to push yourself.  Those at the top of their game compete within themselves and set personal goals to overachieve year after year.

LeBron is continuously cultivating his mental strength in addition to his physical strength - and just like Wilt Chamberlain feeling like he still had points to score after his 100 point game or Tiger Woods feeling he left strokes on the course after shooting a course record, LeBron is always looking to improve.  How do you develop that instinct in HR?

--LeBron also began lifting weights like never before, adding muscle to his frame.  What are you doing to add muscle?  Your workout should consist of reading the latest business books, adding to your professional network, finding mentors inside and outside HR, developing your financial acumen and keeping up with the latest tech trends in talent acquisition.  Remember - the lousy thing about this kind of workout is as soon as you stop working those muscles it takes twice as long to get back to where you need to be.  So, get to the weight room - pronto!

--During his workouts with the Olympic team, LeBron focused on refining his defensive game, often guarding the other team's best player - regardless of position.  Who is the other team's best player?  Do you know your peers at your competition?  In the HR game it isn't about "guarding" but more about understanding what those in your space are doing and making an effort to build relationships.  It is also about honing your skills via learning from others and creating opportunities to share ideas.  A good defensive player is not afraid to sacrifice a bit of him/herself and sweat comes with the territory.  Deal with it.

Bottom line, a true HR MVP knows how to build their own career while at the same time elevating their team and propelling them to derive energy from each other.  By pushing each other to be better, the entire group is valuable.

Time to get out your high-tops and hit the gym - and always remember those who helped get you to a place of importance (expensive gifts not necessary)!

Editors Note- Kathy Rapp is the Managing Director for HR Search Firm in Houston, where she helps progressive companies find groovy HR Talent to drive business results.  Prior to joining HR Search firm, Kathy booked more than 15 years of progressive human resources leadership experience working for such companies as Morgan Stanley and First Data Corporation.  A connoisseur of the intersection between pop culture and business, Kathy believes many talent issues can be addressed via the succession planning lessons experienced by Van Halen (David Lee/Sammy and sadly, Gary Cherone).

HP and Mark Hurd - Why You Look at the Myers-Briggs and DISC Profiles of Your Team...

You know why people spend so much time and money on tests like the Myers-Briggs and the DISC profile?  Because what makes you successful today won't necessarily make you successful tomorrow, and one way to hedge against that risk is to have a balanced team that complements each other..

Case in point - the freakish execution skills of Carli's successor at HP, Mark Hurrd.  In a crazy case of what have you done for me lately "what will you do for me once you're done executing this plan like a freaking master", people are already starting to wonder aloud if Hurd's got the right innovation DNA to drive HP into new products and services once he's done ringing the cash register across the current slate of printers and services.

More on the brass knuckles of Mark Hurd from the New York Times:

"So it took a true outsider, in Mark V. Hurd, to engineer H.P.’s resurrection and to create the world’s largest technology company. Mr. Hurd, hired four years ago in the wake of Carleton S. Fiorina’s tumultuous departure as chief executive, forced a steady, boring diet of performance benchmarks, heavy-handed cost-cutting and data-mining down H.P.’s corporate throat.

“Silicon Valley is not known for creating lean organizations, and he’s as good as we have ever seen,” said Michael S. Malone, a historian who wrote “Bill and Dave,” a book about the company’s renowned co-founders, William Hewlett and David Packard. “He’s taught a lesson in what big-time corporate management looks like.”

But with the most brutal cuts behind it, H.P. faces a fresh set of challenges as the second stage of Mr. Hurd’s tenure begins. Most pressing is widespread concern that Mr. Hurd has built an inflexible, solipsistic giant so obsessed with schematics and data-driven fiscal machinations that it has lost the ability to deliver that prized and perennial Silicon Valley trick: to surprise and astound.

Although H.P. is trying to expand its presence in businesses like personal computers and printers, some critics argue that those markets have little left to give. The company could also use more imaginative thinking to bolster its developing line of software products and services.

In short, what may be missing in the formidable intellectual and strategic artillery that Mr. Hurd brings to bear at H.P. is creative inspiration. Or, as Mr. Malone puts it, “I am not sure Mark has built an H.P. that can go through the natural changes that accompany the technology industry as the company has in the past.”

Only in the crazy culture that is the American Publicly Traded Company would such execution be seen as a potential weakness.  So let's say Hurd's DISC/Myers Briggs shows he's a ruthless executor and nothing more.  At some point, the board's got to evaluate his direct reports and see if a #2 can emerge to complement the DNA that's missing in Hurd.

Interesting is the fact that Hurd's penchant for execution is usually the DNA that is seen in COO's of publicly traded companies, leaving the vision thing for the CEO.  Assuming HP's COO isn't the visionary type, you have to wonder aloud what type of organizational structure could emerge at HP that would allow Hurd to be himself and address the supposed innovation gap. 

A Chief Innovation Officer, perhaps?  Maybe Hurd could just change his image and start wearing a black mock turtleneck to change the perception.

Editor's Note: By day, Kris Dunn is the VP of People at DAXKO, a cool software firm dedicated to providing solutions to the best membership-driven organizations in America. At night, he morphs into a blogger at The HR Capitalist and the Founder and Executive Editor of Fistful of Talent. That makes him a career VP of HR, a blogger, a dad and a hoops junkie, the order of which changes based on his mood. Tweet him @kris_dunn...

What Would You Do If Your CEO Got Swine Flu?

Get Well Soon, CEO!

Finding an executive manager is never easy. And once you do find a fearless leader, myriad cultural, economic and - yes - even personal health issues can threaten to throw the whole situation off the rails.

"The impact of replacing senior managers, especially due to sudden health issues, is even more acute than normal turnover. A study by Deloitte shows that 47% of companies cite their biggest people-related challenge as leadership development and succession planning," says Candie Fisher, Director of Client Development for Generator Group, a talent management firm based in Portland, OR

Steve Jobs' much publicized cancer struggle sent off a flurry of speculation about Apple's readiness to replace him.  Last year, CFOs at nCipher and Servocell resigned due to ill health. In 2004, McDonald's CEO, Jim Cantalupo died at age 60 of a heart attack. Charles Bell, who replaced Cantalupo, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer only a month after being named chief executive. 

And while the press might not have noticed that your company's top brass was 'not strong enough' to attend a meeting, that's just the kind of news that makes fine grist for the company rumor mill.  If people are worried about your firm's financial performance, an ailing leader's plight isn't exactly the kind of news that will boost productivity. 

Executives Are People, Too!

Despite their strategic importance to an organization, executive leaders are, in many other ways, just like everyone else. They have bad hair days (case in point, get a load of Bill Gates and the Microsoft crew in this photo)!

They get sick - often due to preventable causes - just like the rest of us.

Sharon McDowell is an exercise physiologist for the Center for Creative Leadership's Leadership At The Peak Program. The program has looked at the overall health of senior executives and leaders with more than 15 years of management experience, in the top three tiers of the organization, with leadership responsibility for 500 or more people and/or executive staff functions. McDowell says that of the nearly 3,000 program participants screened, 58% had high cholesterol; 60% are overweight or obese; and about 50% don't exercise regularly.

Executive managers lead high stress lifestyles and often lack the time for structured exercise. The World Heart Federation and the US Federal Centers for Disease Control say failure to exercise is as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes every day.

Unexpected leadership transitions are costly, says Fisher, "At the top levels, many companies do not have a strong program in place to fill senior leadership positions from within. As a result, fully-loaded recruiting costs of 1.5 times the annual salary are commonplace."

Fisher recommends companies implement a two-pronged strategy of keeping their senior managers focused on both wellness and succession planning. "Executive level jobs can be stressful, reducing executives health risk through wellness programs can increase leadership productivity thus improving their ability to mentor, groom, and retain high potential talent," she states.

Increasing executives' personal well-being might also improve their effectiveness. McDowell's research has shown that executives that exercise are more likely to be perceived as more energetic and effective than their non-exercising peers in 360 degree management surveys.

Editor's Note - It's hard to be humble when you're bloggin' straight out of Portland, Oregon.  Tanya Barham is the Founder and CEO of Recess Wellness, a company where all the staff works like little elves at Christmastime to transform their client's workplaces into healthy, happy, productive places akin to Santa's workshop at the North Pole.  Seriously.  Of course, Santa's fat, so they still have work to do. She's also a core contributor at Benefits Buzz...Catch her bio at Benefits Buzz here...

On New Leaders Who Drop the F-Bomb and Say The Product Sucks...

You gotta like the CEO as change agent when you see it.  Consider the example being set by new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz:

"Bartz provided a more characteristically salty description of the changes she thinks are needed in product development, which will now be headed by Chief Technology Officer Ari Balogh. "We had a lot of people running around telling engineers what to do but nobody was ******* doing anything," she said on the conference call.

Bartz also offered few details on Yahoo's strategy for restoring growth besides asserting that the company would benefit from a turn in the economy by virtue of its size and presence online, and that it would focus on "creating kick-ass products."

Bartz, 60, took over as CEO in January. She said at an investor conference last month that apart from “core” products such as the home page, news and e-mail, “everything is up for examination” at Yahoo. She described Yahoo’s home page as old- fashioned and said she prefers Google Inc.’s maps site to Yahoo’s.  Bartz also said said last month that she created a “wall of shame” for products she isn’t happy with.

But for every wind of bluster for the CEO of a publicly traded company, there's an analyst community ready to measure results.  So, the Sam Zell approach probably works for awhile, but the rock star CEO ultimately gets measured by a different scoreboard:

"I came away with no impression for what the company's going to do," says Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford Bernstein & Co. "We couldn't see the strategy of how they're going to grow the business again."

While the first-quarter performance may have bought Bartz more time to work her magic, it's unclear how much more time she has to get Yahoo stabilized. "Her honeymoon days are numbered," said another analyst.

Yikes - this one, like Sam Zell, might be interesting to watch. 

Goals vs. Commitments, Again... Because Jessica is Committed to Making Us Discuss This Further.

I had this back and forth conversation last week with Laurie Ruettimann over at Punk Rock HR on this notion of goals versus commitments. Let's rewind and revisit the chat:

• Microsoft has employees establish commitments rather than setting goals.
• Me? I like the positioning of it - commitments seem to tie back to an employee's values and therefore, it feels deeper. More meaningful. Goals are transactional. They're set, then accomplished, then you get another one.
• Laurie? She feels that work is a transaction, and commitment is something she's made to her husband and the cats she has adopted. Employees aren't paid to commit, and companies don't make commitments to you as an employee, Laurie feels.

It's an interesting discussion. And Kris Dunn jumped in the conversation too last week. First, I get that it's hard to make the argument for commitments over goals as an HR pro, especially when you think about having to lay someone off, for example. You take an employee who is committed, deeply committed. Then you have to make financial decisions for your organization and let some staff go. Particularly for individuals who have demonstrated commitment to your organization - it's heartbreaking, right? And if you've done R.I.F.'s, you know what that's like. ("I've given so much to the company." "How can you be doing this to me?" And to think I had to answer those questions in my first HR job - at age 20! What were they thinking? That's another post for another day.)

But on the flip side, I also know what it's like to not be committed. Me. Yes. Let's not be naive about this - I've had bad days, and bad runs. And you won't get the best out of me when my mentality is that I'm just showing up and doing what I need to do to earn a paycheck. I promise you I'm ineffective when I'm not committed and distracted (including with wandering eyes). You can't have an organization full of noncommittal Jessica's - trust me. There's no moving forward. There's no progress. So let's talk about commitment a bit further...

I'm not normally an academic human resources wonky type - but this article landed in my lap right after Laurie and I took our different positions on goals versus commitments. And, I was interested in reading the piece just based on this one line: studies have shown a positive correlation between employee commitment and job performance. And then it got better as I read on. The study breaks down five different forms of commitment at work:

• work ethic endorsement
• career commitment
• affective organizational commitment
• continuance organizational commitment
• job involvement

The journal piece went on to discuss commitment as one of the key factors for organizational survival and growth, and a key factor to become a learning organization. And I buy it. 100%. Think about it - without commitment - how does an organization innovate? How does it pull itself from the trenches? Organizations are made up of people - and when one has a tough day or tough week at work - isn't it going to take a commitment to bring them back the next day to try it again? Breaking down AIG, and Wells Fargo, and untangling Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns, and salvaging GM and Chrysler... none of that is going to happen overnight, nor easily. It's going to take some serious commitment - to your given craft, to a product or industry, or simply out of a desire to be part of an effective organization - and really, to bettering America. (Sorry to pull that card!)

Commitment, we need. When you make a commitment, it's closer to your core. And when I'm recruiting people, I want someone who is committed in any of those five ways, to the values of my organization, and not someone who is just there for a transaction - create a widget, then earn a paycheck. Goals are transactional. Commitments are lasting. Commit not to an organization - fine. Commit to their ideals, mission and values. Commit to being a certain kind of person. Just commit - because now is definitely the time for commitment.

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is an Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

Can You Finish This Sentence: "...Teach a Man to Fish, He..."? I Betcha Can't...

"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he..."

Do you know the next line?

The way I learned it, it goes: "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." But that's wrong.

The way it really goes is, "Give a man a fish, he'll wonder what's wrong that you're giving away the fish. Teach a man to fish, he'll laugh at you and sneer, "What do I look like, a schmuck? *I* know how to fish. My problem is just I don't have any fish." Tell a man he's a great fisherman and the problem is with the pole/lure/boat/bait he's using, then tell him the guys giving stuff away and teaching stuff are frauds, then charge him a bunch of money for the pole/lure/boat/bait you're selling, and he'll be your friend forever."

You need to know this corrected version, it's critically important. Because when you try to develop someone in your organization, unless they're ready for it or asking for it, this is what you're up against. Here's how the fishing metaphor translates into organizational development speak:

• Offer to help someone with a tough situation (give him a fish), he'll tell you to MYOB.
• Offer to mentor someone (teach him to fish), he'll get mad at you for not using your skills to just handle the situation for him already. Sheesh!
• Suggest someone buy your 1-2-3 methodology for handling the exact situation they're facing later today, certify them in your process and tell them not to trust anyone giving anything away, especially including knowledge (sell a man a fish), and they'll gladly pay you.

Like I said, this doesn't apply to everyone; some people are true learners. These people are rare and to be treasured. You know this, because you probably recognize a bit of yourself in the true learner—the person able to see past the BS—and so you have an easy time spotting it in others.

Which reminds me: if you find yourself telling someone else to mind their own business, or if you're mad at your manager for not just stepping in to solve your problem, if you go into someone's office and demand their help rather than ask them probing questions to see what you can learn from them, if you read all the latest 1-2-3 methodologies and swear by them because they make it so you don't have to think...

...see where I'm going with this last part?

Leadership development starts with being open to learning. We all think we do it... but when push comes to shove, not so much. So the next time you think about that fishing metaphor, rather than cast yourself in the role of the giver of fish and wisdom, cast yourself in the role of receiver, and make sure you're open to receiving the right stuff.

You need to want to learn to fish. Then the teacher will appear—from right in front of you, as if out of a computer-generated 3-D image—and will teach you everything you need to know.

Editor's Note: Jason Seiden is a management and communications consultant (http://jasonseiden.com/) who helps organizations hire, manage, and develop top talent. He boosts clients' results by targeting teams' interpersonal dynamics and by motivating individuals (at all levels) to take greater personal responsibility for the success of the whole.  And yes, he manipulated me into writing that about him.  Damn.  I'm changing it next time to sound like a human wrote it, unless he gets in my head about that too...

Communication. Is. Everything.

Everything you do is part of your communication to the world.

Everything.

Even when you're walking alone, you're communicating. Your clothes, your gait, the expression on your face... they are all being read by others... at all times. If I tell you a story about a client who found himself in a political fight because he had unintentionally walked by someone without saying hello, leaving the other person feeling snubbed, would you be surprised? Or would it remind you of a story you've heard a thousand times before, from coworkers, from family, from TV, from sitcom writers.

Look, you know the story, and you know how it ends, so guess what: you have the power to change it if you don't like it. You can anticipate others' likely reactions and proactively change your approach to get different, better, reactions.

I ran into the CEO of a client organization the other day at a restaurant. He didn't acknowledge me. I could have been offended or worried, but why? He wasn't acknowledging anyone. In fact, he was making quite a production of folding and refolding his newspaper. He wasn't being rude, he was being... a CEO. Who wanted to be alone for 30 minutes.

OK, that was him. But what about me? What if he saw me, and I wasn't coming to say hello...? Maybe he'd think I didn't see him, maybe that I was being respectful, maybe that I was too nervous to approach him, or maybe that I was ignoring him. Who knows? But one thing was for sure: he was going to think something! I couldn't stop that fact that one way or another, because through action or inaction, I would be communicating. And I knew all the possible endings of the story.

In that moment, my choices were: (1) go about my business, hope he would come to the right conclusion about me, and blame him for misunderstanding me if he didn't, or (2) take my own destiny in my own hands and communicate purposefully and unambiguously.

Yes, there would be risk in interrupting him, but far less risk than of being perceived to snub him. So I said hello, kept the conversation short, and got him back to his paper within 30 seconds.

How hard does that sound?

(Actually, it's very hard. When communication is everything, you have to be "more perfect," as one of my other CEO coaching clients likes to say. It's a royal pain in the butt. The learning curve to get over your own ego is steep, the frustrations when you put forth the effort and still get misunderstood are significant, and the effort required to figure out the best communication strategy for a situation—including the message, channel, frequency, direction, and presentation—and not from your perspective, but from your audience's—is daunting. At least, at first it is. As you get the hang of this new approach to communications, you begin to find it quite liberating. But for a long while, it's not liberating, it's tough. Very tough.)

Communication is everything. Communication means everything.

Take ownership of your message... in all of its forms.

Editor's Note: Jason Seiden is a management and communications consultant (http://jasonseiden.com/) who helps organizations hire, manage, and develop top talent. He boosts clients' results by targeting teams' interpersonal dynamics and by motivating individuals (at all levels) to take greater personal responsibility for the success of the whole.  And yes, he manipulated me into writing that about him.  Damn.  I'm changing it next time to sound like a human wrote it, unless he gets in my head about that too...