ITB Partners is pleased to announce that Jim Lyons has joined our team. Jim has had over 30 years of
leadership experience with major restaurant and franchise brands.
Jim’s expertise in the area of franchising, restaurant operations
leadership, real estate and development has helped franchisers,
franchisees and restaurant operators meet their operational, development
and financial goals. Read more...
ITB Partners is a diverse team of experienced
leaders, project managers, and discipline experts with
an established history of accomplishment, business relationships and
networks. We have direct experience successfully working with public
companies, Private Equity Groups, start-ups, acquisitions and turnarounds
across a number of industries – specifically restaurant, hospitality,
services and retail segments.
For more information contact Jim Weber at: Jim.Weber@ITBPartners.com or by telephone at: 770-354-2817
Monday, November 23, 2015
Ace Your Next Interview
Over the past few weeks I had had some interesting
conversations with employers who told me of poor experiences with Executive Recruiters. One situation was with a current client and
the other a long-time friend and networking contact who I have not worked
for. In the former case the hiring
manager (no longer with the client) hired a candidate who did not rise to my “top
three.” He lasted less than a year and I
replaced him pursuant to my agreement.
In fact, the replacement candidate was among the first group of
candidates I presented and an all around more suitable hire. The original hiring manager was not a part of
the decision process for the replacement and this candidate is working out just
fine.
In the second conversation I was able to ask my
friend a few questions about the company’s selection process. They have no Human Resources Department so
the traditional HR functions are spread between the other Department Heads, if
at all. They do not have job descriptions so it was
not clear as to how the hiring managers made their selections. No one has had any formal interviewing skills
training. They do meet as a group to de-brief
and arrive at a consensus for each hire.
This is a major positive which can serve as a base to build a better
selection process if they chose to do so.
Most managers I have talked with over the years have
not had any formal training in recruiting and selection. While working for one of my Fortune 500
employers prior to entering the Executive Search field I did receive formal
training which I have found to be invaluable.
The biggest problem with the untrained interviewer is that they talk too
much. If the ideal interview is 20%
interviewer talking and 80% interviewee talking, they operate in reverse. Then
at the end of the interview they will say that they did not learn anything
about the candidate. Not surprising if
they are doing most of the talking. So,
the question is; how do you ace an interview with an untrained
interviewer? The answer, of course, is
to help him interview you.
Fundamentally, the candidate must gain some control
over the interview to ensure a favorable result. To help accomplish this I recommend that my
candidates prepare a one page, key accomplishments hand-out which they can
present to the interviewer at the beginning of the discussion. This is a bullet point list of up to ten
prioritized accomplishments, in big bold type, that best demonstrates your
ability to perform the job in question. Of
course the interviewer has your resume, but this hand-out can become the agenda
for the discussion, guiding his questions.
Trust me, they will appreciate the additional information and will be
impressed by your preparation for the interview.
In subsequent interviews I have found that a
hand-out which summarizes your understanding of the employer’s need is very
useful to close the deal. Personally, I
find the following format to be very powerful:
1. Yesterday:
·
2. Today:
·
3. Tomorrow:
·
This is a great way to demonstrate that you understand
where the company has been; where they are today; and where they want to
go. If you are a little off base the
interviewer will point that out and give you something more to talk about. If you are right on target, which you should
be if you have been listening and doing your homework, you will totally impress
the interviewer with you grasp of their needs.
The assumption will be that if you understand their situation, you will be
effective in the job.
So, if you want to do well with trained or untrained
interviewers, help them interview you by the use of visual aids to focus the
conversation.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics
Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Conclusion: Pre-Planning Alignment; The Right Way to Start a New Job
Day two of our consulting project began with a check-in regarding
the prior-day’s activities. The consensus
from the floor was that the process held great value for John’s team and they
were grateful to have the opportunity to share their thoughts in a non-threatening
environment. Also included were introductions
of new participants representing HR, Operations, MarCom, Public Relations, and
Financial Planning and Analysis. Since
John’s team could not operate in a vacuum, these relationships are key to the
success of the team. They were included to
ensure that they understood the Department’s objectives, the needs to execute
those objectives, and generally, to make them a part of the team. Additionally, their feedback and suggestions
during the process proved to be valuable.
After the check-in, Stan provided the set-up to finalizing
the team identity. Stan introduced the
concept of building a numeric value for the objective into their Logo and
tagline. Our experience has been that
doing so would help keep their focus on the primary objective. Then the small groups went back to work.
When the time was up, each team leader presented their work. The results
were impressive. Their thoughts were
much more focused and relevant. It was
evident that there was a lot of talent and creativity in the room. By the
end of the presentations it was clear that they were close to a consensus. It was time to turn their work over to the
professionals and to move on to the next phase of the program, developing the
plan.
Stan’s setup up for the Department’s final assignment included
six buckets for consideration:
Staffing/Resources; Leadership and Strategy; Culture; Tools and
Processes; Opportunities; and Results. Each
group was responsible for brainstorming each of those buckets, listing each
idea on a single 3” by 5” Post-it ™ note.
When the allotted time had expired, group leaders placed their ideas in
the corresponding buckets, (flip charts placed around the room). Stan spoke to each bucket list, putting
emphasis on the number of common thoughts in each category. The results were striking. It
was revealing to note the high volume of thoughts around Staffing/Resources,
Leadership & Strategy, and Culture, all three categories being closely
related. Tools & Processes,
Opportunities, and Results had less than half the volume of Post-it ™ notes. My takeaway was that the group was sending a
clear message that John’s leadership was vital.
They seemed to believe that the Department’s objectives were realistic
and attainable so long as they had a Champion leading the way. I am certain that John viewed this as very
favorable.
To wrap up the meeting, Stan recapped the process and
talked about next steps. John summarized
his take-away to ensure that the Department knew that he “got it.” He made a commitment to immediately address
some of the more pressing issues and to factor remaining issues into the plan. As a side note, the next week John gave Stan additional
work that included facilitating the Quarterly follow-up meetings, and a few
coaching assignments.
The result of this assignment was a win-win-win. For a new Executive it is wise to bring in an
objective third-party to facilitate team alignment as we come without biases
that could taint the results.
Additionally, it is more realistic for the Department personnel to speak
freely in front of outsiders who are not in a position to influence their
careers. If you are looking to develop
alignment and buy-in, a non-threatening environment is a good place to start.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics
Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Pre-Planning Alignment: The Right Way to Start a New Job
Last month John called on our group to help him kick off
the annual department planning and budgeting process. John is an Executive well-known to me and my
colleagues. I placed him in a C-level
position about 10 years ago, and my colleagues have worked with him since. He recently landed an important job with a
well-established brand, which represents an excellent career opportunity. Achieving success will be a difficult slough,
however. The Brand has suffered from a succession
of owners, leaders, and strategies. Now under new direction, John and his team are
responsible for critical strategies to rebuild the brand. My colleague Stan got the lead on the project
with me in support.
John envisioned a full department off-site meeting, so
Stan built the appropriate agenda. Stan’s
goal was to help John build alignment and ownership around the department’s
four key objectives. The agenda included
a heavy dose of fun to encourage participation and creativity by the
attendees. By the end of the off-site John
wanted to ensure that there was enthusiasm for the plan; that the team took
ownership; and that the stage was set for an effective change-management
effort.
The first exercise Stan facilitated, after the appropriate
set-up, was what he calls “deep dive introductions”. It was an ice-breaker, ‘getting to know you’
exercise. Everyone had the opportunity
to introduce themselves, speak to their job function, indicate their
expectations from the meeting, and to tell something personal the group may not
have known. This included John, Stan,
and me. They also provided their tenure with
the company and within the industry segment.
The whole point of the exercise was to begin building trust in a
non-threatening environment. John and
Stan distributed prizes for the best idea, the most interesting disclosure, and
the lamest personal disclosure. This was
a great way to begin the meeting.
It was interesting to learn that the average tenure with
the company was 6.5 years, with 15 years in the segment. 15 people had less than one year tenure with
the company. On balance, the average
team member had not seen a stable, consistent direction from this
employer. Clearly, the culture had been
battered.
The next exercise was a mini-assimilation. Whereas the first exercise as entirely
personal, this was a group exercise.
Each group was defined by table, six team members per table. The exercise included some administrative
functions like appointing a scribe and a spokesman. Their
task was to determine 1) what they wanted to know about John, and 2)
what they wanted John to know about their team.
After that task, John told his team what he thought they should know
about him. It was another good exchange
that reinforced the team’s desire for leadership and direction. They told John that they were ready and eager
to execute but craved a champion to lead them.
After lunch, the final exercise of the day, another small
group task, was to begin the process of establishing an identity for the Department. The goal was to establish a name, a tag-line,
and a logo for John’s team. The small
groups put a lot of energy into this activity, developing some very creative
ideas. It was a good start, but more
work was required. The evening was a
planned event for the team which Stan and I respectfully declined to attend.
The first day was a big success. The Department took a measure of John’s
commitment to them and their needs. John
began to identify his leaders and problem children. Stan and I found some points where John
needed some coaching. We were very
optimistic about the prospects for the next day. To be continued…
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so please leave a comment.
Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics
Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com
Friday, October 30, 2015
LEADING YOUR NONPROFIT – almost – LIKE A BUSINESS:
By David Shavzin
Bringing in some of these “business” concepts and experiences, married to a mission, can be extremely powerful. When I discuss working on growth with a nonprofit organization, I inevitably get a response something like this: “It sounds good but that only works in a business. “We are a charity/agency/government department/professional association and we are not like a business.” ReadMore...
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