Professional Wisdom of Children II

Kids have a habit of saying things that are so simple and obvious that no adult could possibly have thought of them.

This morning as I was about to let my 2 year old out of the naughty corner, he apologized. He said, "I'm sorry Daddy."

Being the strict disciplinarian in the family (More like being afraid that the disciplinarian might discipline me...) I looked at him and said, "I'm sorry for...," And I honestly expected him to finish the sentence with something like "hitting."

He looked at me and said, "I'm sorry for, five, six." It's truly hard to discipline children when laughing hysterically, and I have a feeling they know that.

Not to be outdone, my four and half year old has been asking questions like, "When I get married will you buy me a pretty dress," and "When will I have a baby in my belly like Mommy?"

But yesterday she really went all out.

"Daddy? why don't Grandma Tammie and Grandpa Art live together like Grandma Shelley and Grandpa Joel?"

This is one of those moments when you wish you could call timeout and check with a child psychologist before answering. I explained that sometimes people who love each other realize that they can be happier when they are not together, so they agree to be apart because they each want the other one to be happy.

To be perfectly honest, I felt like a genius when I came up with that one.

But she had follow up questions.

Two follow up questions.

"If Grandpa and you and Mark and Adam are all out of the house, shouldn't grandma move to a smaller place?"

My mom is never leaving that house- though I've been telling her for four years that it's financially irresponsible to stay there.

"Is grandpa sad that Grandma's not around?"

Honestly- yes.

And it occurred to me that while children haven't learned advanced logic, they intuit basic functions of IQ and EQ at the most fundamental level. They can empathize with others pain, and they can separate emotion from obvious logical conclusions.

It seems that as we learn more complex logic, we also learn to overthink what we intuitively know.

I think the ideal boss may be 4 years old.

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No rundown this week, but I wanted to share a few recruiting links, and one tech link that could redefine the Internet.

Recruiting

• How to tank an interview.
• The Resume Genome Project could mean that we will start writing our resumes to be optimized for business software instead of people.
• Successful Networking.

Tech

• Mark Cuban on the future of the Internet.

And just for fun...

• The worst job ever.
  

Work Life and Salary

I spoke to 3 candidates this week.

• Ex-Consultant #1 ("EX1")- She's made up her mind to leave consulting. It's partly a lifestyle move, and also a professional decision not to pursue the the partner track. She was an undergrad Deal analyst with a VC, and now has 4 years of top tier consulting experience.
• Ex-Consultant #2 ("EX2")- Been at a tier 2 consulting firm for 14 years. No MBA. Associate Partner, and decided it's time to pursue other opportunities.
• Consultant ("CSLT")- He has strong Media experience, and isn't enough lifestyle pain to take the hit. He looked around and decided to stay.

What struck me about the three was the similarities and differences in their decision making processes.

Here's what they have in common:

• Consultants
• A willingness to consider outside opportunities
• Some experience gauging market feedback

And that's where their paths diverge.

For both EX1 and EX2, consulting had run it's course. They had decided to leave and the sooner the better. Each faced with offers that didn't suit their needs (EX1 had an offer from a company with a questionable future, EX2 spent a lot of time in the bureaucracies of the big companies he hoped to penetrate), and that's where there paths diverged.

EX1 is still a consultant, and she feels that she can balance her full time job and the second job of looking for a job. She's entertaining opportunities, and using her current position as her safety net until the perfect opportunity comes along.

EX2 quit. He spent some time seeing what was out there, and after a bit of "Goldilocks interviewing," decided he hadn't found the job that was "just right." So, he founded a new media startup and leveraged his consulting experience to source a a few CXOs, the technical infrastructure and some angel funding.

CSLT is off the market. he didn't see what he liked, and he decided to go for partner track. I called him last week a potential interview, and he said, "I'd have jumped at it three months ago, but I've decided to stay put. Call me again if something comes up in a year or so."

We also had a few offers out last week. And each candidate follows his course.

The Weekly Roundup 7/22

A lot of stuff caught my eye this week, so let's get to it.

Recruiting/Appointments/Jobs/Worklife-

• CEO reading list; kept private.
• Email etiquette; email addiction; email rehab. Personally, I'm not an addict. I can quit anytime. I just don't want to.
• How can your public profile be used against you in your professionally? Blogging can be hazardous to your professional health.
• Followup on the Ghost Blogger.
• Web 2.0 & the Job Search.
• The challenges of recruiting in an expanding job market.
• A recruiter on salary negotiation.
• FNIB names new head of M&A.
• Ex-Consultant Deborah Eastman named Satmetrix CMO.
• Clear Ink appoints SVP Strategic Planning.
• Viacom taps new Strat Head at MTV; also appoint VP Digital Distribution.
• NetSpend has new Corp. Dev. head.
• New CMO @ TiVo.

And

• Money Magazine names Middleton, WI best place to live. Yes, Wisconsin.

Business-

• Dow crosses 14000.
• Poll: Coca Cola is Best Brand.
• Mark Cuban on Hedge fund IPOs.
• Will the FTC block Google's acquisition of Doubleclick?
• SEC suspends terror investment list.
• Google earnings- Strong but miss the mark. Orbitz down 1% from IPO. eBay earnings up 50%, stock price down.
• MyShape lands "B" round of funding.
• Verizon and Broadcom ink deal to bypass Qualcomm chip ban.
• Starbucks taps new COO; shares up on Pepsi rumor.
• VOIP provider SunRocket suspends operations.
• Vodafon denies Verizon buyout.
• Deutsche Bank sees upside at Motorola.
• Google to acquire ImageAmerica. to control the airwaves too? to launch Mobile Search? offers print-ads only to US companies?
• Bancrofts undecided on Dow sale. Redstone family squabbles over Viacom/CBS succession.
• Sprint, Clearwire to build national WiMax network.
• VC talks about successes it passed on.
• My friends at Giza VC announced a $280MM exit for Actimize.
• iPhone driving flash drive demand?
• Sun CEO responds to Whole Foods fake-name debacle.
• CPAs now required to file supplemental questioning aggressive tax strategies.
• Publishers drop the ball on famous writings.
• Psychologist wins WSOP.

Technology-

• An unorthodox critique of the iPhone.
• A GREAT interview with Robert Cringely on Web 2.0.
• Plaxo launches open source cross-network.
• Ooma to launch 'free' VOIP from normal handset.
• 10 web sites you must use to rule the web.
• Facebook outbids Google for Parakey web OS?
• CNETs tech disappointment list.
• OLPC brings Porn to the third world. I guess market dynamics really are universal.

And just for fun-

• New motivational posters.

Weekly Roundup

I've gotten to exchange roles this week. Hawkes Peers has been growing at an exponential pace, and we've begun to hit tipping points for staffing in sourcing, candidate development, client management, & business development.

That means that in addition to managing my clients, I spent the week interviewing new staff for a broad range of positions. It's good to see this stuff from the other side.

This also has taken all of my free time this week, so I'll leave you only with this week's roundup, and have a new content post next week. I'm hoping to have an important interview so keep your eyes peeled.

And without further adieu, The Roundup...

Recruiting, Jobs, Networking, Appointments, and Corporate Culture:

• Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature.
• A new take on corporate blogging. CEOs who blog.
• Whole Foods CEO caught posing as someone else on Yahoo! message boards.
• TiVo CEO has 6200 mile RT commute to work.
• Mayo Clinic tips on returning to work after maternity leave.
• People are paying people to be there online persona.
• Bad news for spouses and reference checkers.
• Facebook fills top marketing post.
• A great blog post on multi-round interviews.
• A cute post on interacting with recruiters.
• According to Career Distinction my online brand is a "Digitally Distinct, 9." Where do you stack up?
• Comcast Announces Promotions and Expanded Roles in Its Programming and Content Acquisition Groups.
• CACI Appoints Richard Miller as Executive Vice President for Corporate Development.
• Bibby Financial Services Announces Appointment of Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Business & Politics:

• A video debunking Global Warming.
• 5 keys to the Steve Jobs presentation.
• Judge bans the word "rape" at rape trial.
• A new medical breakthrough could grow larger breasts in lieu of implants.
• A juror listening to her MP3 player instead of the trial may face jail time.
• Google to acquire Postini, a global leader in on-demand communications security and compliance solutions, signally a desire to compete with Microsoft in the enterprise space.
• GE is up 9.6% in Q2.
• S&P and Dow set new record highs this week.
• Digital Music, Orchard to merge.
• Sprint Nextel under scrutiny for dropping unhappy customers.
• Icahn takes stake in Kraft Foods.
• Sony Ericsson up, Motorola down. Analysts mixed on Apple future after release of iPhone. Google testing adsense for cellphones.
• Warner drops iMeem suit. Viacom sues Google over YouTube.
• China executes corrupt FDA chief.
• Hillary Clinton slams private equity tax rate. The Center for Economic Policy Research is on board. Congress not yet on board. Nor am I, or President Bush.
• Southwest airlines to accept Paypal. Paypal to build Austin, TX development center.
• Mark Cuban to bid on Chicago Cubs?
• MTV Founder Bob Pittman to back online video site.
• 4 investment tips from Warren Buffet.
• 2 insightful blog entries by Guy Kawasaki: Ten Questions With Jeffrey Pfeffer & Nine Best Marketing Story Lines.
• Sony sues the anti-piracy company hired to develop IP software for their CD releases.
• Intel joins forces with One Laptop Per Child initiative.
• Baidu outperforms Google on earnings growth.
• Yahoo acquires Right Media, expects break even Quarter.

Technology:

• EA's CEO is scared of Apple because of iPhone.
• Intel invests $218MM in a 2.5% stake in VMWare.
• Yahoo & Google launch Social Networks.
• Time's top 50 Websites of 2007. The top 5 Internet product launches of 2007.
• It turns out that many humans can be smarter than one computer.
• Companies can pay people to spam contextually on their behalf.
• The page view is dead.
• Cisco, Microsoft, EMC collaborate on security initiative.
• Google launches search based dating service.
• Singer James Blunt sold his sister on ebay.
• Business Week explains why New Yorkers live longer.
• LinkedIn to launch Facebook app?
• Founder says Facebook is a technology not media company; "not for sale".
  

And One for fun:

• 15 things that will get you tossed from a casino.

News From the Front...

I hope you all enjoyed your Independence Day break. Please take a moment to remember that the freedom we enjoy everyday, and celebrate on the Fourth of July would not be possible without the brave men and women of the military, who's sacrifice is the bedrock of our freedom.

Back in the real world... I got two calls this week from now-former candidates.

The first, a 33 year-old former consultant found himself always a bridesmaid in the interview process trying to leave Consulting for Industry with 2 years of experience as an EM. He was calling to tell me that he'd been named president of a key BU within a major media conglomerate, where he has been growing through the ranks over the last 4 years.

The other was from a candidate I had been working closely with. he was calling to tell me he was about to turn down the offers he had received through my efforts, and accept a position with a small start-up you might have heard of which rhymes with "Foogle."

What struck me about the dichotomy between these conversations, aside from the irony of their temporal proximity, is that they represent two distinct experiences in the transition from Consulting to Industry. The former actually benefited from being unable to leave consulting on the timetable he set for himself. The latter was ideally positioned to parlay his consulting experience into his ideal position on his own timetable.

Below is his account of the process:
"I always knew I had no interest in the partner track. Despite ratings of "Consistently Outperforms" and successive promotions at the earliest review, I had no interest in making a career out of consulting.

When I finished my MBA at HBS, I realized that I had a lot of "best-in-class" metrics on my resume, with no hands on experience, and consulting was the best way to gain exposure to a broad array of functions and industries in a hands-on environment. Having spent over a year as a Case Team Leader, I knew that i had no interest in selling engagements, that I had accomplished everything I was going to from a development standpoint, and that I had established expertise in new media, which would serve me well moving into industry.

With marriage on the horizon, I knew that now was the time to go.

In addition to developing a short list of recruiters I wanted to work with (experts like Noah, who's recent placements matched up with my aspirations), I began to actively leverage my network. I went to the Bain's Alumni network, and began to seek out Alumni in my target companies for informational interviews. I used LinkedIn extensively, and searched HBS's alumni site as well. And I began to spend my time talking to people who could help me.

It wasn't long before I was interviewing for multiple positions, and, ultimately, choosing between three offers, each with it's own set of geographic, lifestyle, economic, and professional pros and cons to weigh against each other. So I went into consultant mode, and ran an engagement evaluating my options, and recommending a course of action.

With the process behind me, I couldn't be happier."

The Roundup

Feedback to the links on the right hand side has been pretty favorable, so each week, in addition to my regular blog post, I'll publish "The Roundup." It's a list of Links about the job market, business, or technology which caught my attention this week. Feel free to submit links I may have missed that other readers should see.

Recruiting:

• A fun story about workplace dress-codes and tattoos. I'm sure it's relevant to most of the consultants out there. :)

Business:

• Dow Jones sold to NewsCorp.
• Google Acquires Grand Central.
• Jajah provides low-cost international calling on the iPhone.
• Big News from T-Mobile that got lost in all the iPhone hype.
• Blackberry OKd for sale in China.
• NBC sponsored study finds that commercial messages are received on fast forward.
• The new ten richest tech tycoons.
• Google loses the right to Trademark "GMail" in Germany.
• Microsoft will open a development center in Vancouver
• Walmart collected life-insurance payouts on employees who did not die in work related circumstances.

Technology:

• An idea that would save us networkers tons of time.
• A way to Compare the adoption of Facebook Apps.
• Google Earth spots classified Chinese Submarine docked.
• What is Google planning in 2008?
• What is Google *NOT* planning in 2008?
• Is Google the next Microsoft?
• The garage that built Google.
• Interesting idea- The Start-up Stock Exchange.

And one that can't be categorized:

• A controversial video created by the EU, surfaces on YouTube.

Location, Location, Location, right?

I'm actively working on three searches right now...

1. A Corporate Development position for a junior i-banker with media experience located in New York metro
2. A position for a strategic marketing professional with SSD experience for a position in Boise
3. A Corporate Strategy role for an elite consultant with telecom experience located in suburban Denver

So which is the easiest position to fill?

I bet most of you would say #1... It's a junior position, and it's in a major metro area, so there are more available qualified candidates. Right?

As a recruiter, the added value which I bring to clients comes in one of two forms. For the clients in Boise and Denver, the biggest draw is the ability to quickly identify qualified candidates amenable to their geography. In a major metro area, most companies can get thousands of carbon copy candidates through LinkedIn, job boards, or corporate alumni networks. I have to bring them candidates who can separate themselves from the pack.

The job in Boise is the toughest because it's the least generic. Though they are flexible on location (Bay Area and virtual locations are possible), the successful candidate must have significant experience from of the company's competitors to have enough industry knowledge to qualify. There are somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 such people in the world, and all of them are currently employed in metro areas bigger than Boise. Talk about a needle in a hay stack.

Denver is a tier 2 metro area, with no shortage of people willing to go there, and a not-so-small population of ex-pats looking to return "home." The must haves in the job description are extremely specific, but the pool of candidates who meet the checklist is not nearly as limited as the Boise pool. Additionally the spec leaves a spectrum of qualifies candidates, and I can bring value by presenting only the top 10% of the candidates.

What all of these jobs share is the demand for industry exposure as opposed to a generalist background. The New York i-banker has to have deal experience in Media/Telecom. The Boise strategic marketer needs to have hands on experience with the specific product, or two years as a management consultant dedicated exclusively to semiconductor marketing. The Denver Corporate Strategy position requires 2-4 years of Management Consulting with Telecom experience, and preferable an undergrad degree as an Electrical Engineer.

The moral of the story? There are jobs out there for the smartest kid in the room, looking for an MBA from HBS and 2 years of generalist consulting. But for most positions, location is not as important as industry specific engagement exposure which will allow you to distance yourself from the generalist pack.