The Power of Ratios

There is a common rule known as the 80-20 Rule that espouses 80% of outcomes result from 20% of the causes or input variables. Formally, this is known as the Pareto Principle, inspired by the writings of Vilfredo Pareto in the late 1800s/early 1900s, who…

Do You Believe in Magic?

I recently binge-watched a show on Max (formerly HBO) called Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. It depicts a dramatized account of the LA Lakers basketball team and their successful run during the 1980s. The fortunes of the team (and National Basketball Association)…

In Principles We Trust

According to the Google, a principle is defined as “a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.” For example, “People disappoint, bacon is eternal.” OK, that is not really a…

Affordance by Design

According to Merriam-Webster, affordance is defined as the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used. A good example is a door handle. The next time you approach a door, take note…

Welcome to the BS Generation

I’m a Tech refugee, having worked in the industry for almost 10 years and more recently, recruiting for early and late-stage growth companies for the past 18 years. This is the equivalent of 55 human business years, give or take. Or so it seems. Innovation,…

When to Challenge Authority

In middle and high school, I occasionally would find myself in circumstances that necessitated a private visit with my teacher or even school Principal, because mischief. I recall the immediate feeling of anxiety, deference, and shame having to face the consequences of my misbehavior in…

College is Not All That…

I am a Gen X-er (yes, I am old-ish) and in my formative years, the prevailing model and answer to “what will you be when you grow up?” automatically included going to college. Many of us have been groomed to believe that in order to…

Find the Signal, Filter the Noise: the most important thing you can do to maximize your life.

A common metaphor and phrase heard in the vernacular of the startup and tech community is to “find the signal.” It’s particularly apt for companies trying to bootstrap their way to success, let alone sheer existence. When a company is small and with limited resources,…

Lead With Love, Not Fear

I once pitched for a SVP, Technology executive search with an established growth company in Seattle. Like many potential relationships, we had explored engaging several times in the past but the timing was just never right for various reasons. For the first time, I was…

""

How Much Should ‘YOLO’ Impact Your Job Search?

Memes come and go quickly on the internet, but there is still wisdom to be gained from one that made the rounds a few years ago. ‘YOLO’ stood for ‘You only live once,’ and it was mainly used to inspire people to try new activities,…

""

Confidence: The Key to a Successful Job Interview

I once told a friend that nine out of ten people will believe what you say if you say it with authority. This was several years ago. Since then we’ve had several politicians and media outlets test that hypothesis in ways it has never been…

""

Getting To the Point in Job Interviews

There’s a news program on BBC called 60 Seconds that runs between their standard shows. It’s like a Reader’s Digest of TV news, with the hosts delivering a synopsis of the day’s news, sports, and entertainment happenings in (you guessed it) 60 seconds. As the Brits would say: “brilliant!”…

""

Career Crossroads: Security or Fulfillment?

A while back I worked with a candidate that was facing a difficult career choice. She was trying to decide whether or not to accept a job offer from a well-known organization. The role itself was a position of leadership, compelling, and overall very promising…

""

No Place for Bullies in Business

Back in 2014, Naomi Shavin at Forbes wrote a terrific piece on corporate bullying and highlighted a compelling statistic: 96% of respondents to a study reported that they had experienced some form of bullying in the workplace. It’s clear bullying persists in the corporate world, yet very…

""

Great (Salary) Expectations Or, How to Answer the Compensation Question

We’ve all been asked the compensation question and there are several schools of thought on how to answer. I believe most candidates sell themselves short and/or handle this question incorrectly (ignoring the question or being evasive), which ultimately results in leaving some money on the…

""

Selling Your “Brand” to Recruiters and Hiring Managers

From McDonald’s to Apple, Coca-Cola to Toyota, the world’s top companies spend billions of dollars to establish and reinforce their identity, subject matter expertise, differentiators, and competitive advantages. That’s why almost everyone in the world instantly knows these brands by name. I am frequently asked…

""

How To Be Top Chef

I recently watched the movie Chef starring Jon Favreau. It is a story of a highly regarded chef (Favreau) who loses his job at a successful restaurant because he refuses to offer the popular menu items that fill the restaurant with customers. Favreau yearns to serve up…

""

Fail in Order to Succeed

Michael Jordan is considered to be the GOAT: greatest of all time. But in order for him to succeed, he had to fail numerous times. In a famous Nike ad he once stated: I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost…

""

When Employers Just Aren’t That Into You

It seems HR professionals and employers are increasingly leaving candidates hanging out to dry without any feedback, closure, or even a “thanks but no thanks.” Based on various forums, blogs, and anecdotal evidence from candidates, this has become a disturbingly common and acceptable trend. We…

""

Job Searching: The Importance of Aiming High

The official motto of the US Air Force is “Aim High…Fly-Fight-Win.” With the exception of the flying and fighting parts, this is easily applicable to your professional life. I learned this lesson early in my career when I had my first sales job. Ironically, there…

""

How to Hire ‘A’ Talent

In every small business, each hiring decision you make can be critical and have a tremendous impact on your success or failure. Unlike the childhood playground, choosing the best talent can have significant ramifications to your business. Besides the ability to move the needle and…

""

How to Work With a Recruiter

If you’ve been around the job-search block, you have likely interacted with a recruiter, for better or worse. Unfortunately, there are simply some bad recruiters out there and, as Bon Jovi might lament, they give the business of headhunting a bad name. The barrier to…

""

Does Improvement Ever Happen From Performance Improvement Plans?

Whenever people write about Performance Improvement Plans, or PIPs, they usually can’t resist a Gladys Knight reference. It’s reassuring that people still remember music when it was good. But are PIPs good? I don’t think so. If you’re new to the corporate world, a PIP…