We have two types of client. One type we really are amazed that they’re not employed. It completely puzzles us. They’re such great people who do everything we tell them to, and, while they do get employed pretty rapidly, we’re amazed that recruiters aren’t lined up around the block to snatch them away for a choice company. Then there are the other kind…
There — we are amazed that they ever got employed in the first place to be laid off. But we completely understand why they were chosen for layoff or termination. After all, if we, as professional career counselors, dread it whenever they appear on the appointment calendar, their bosses and employees must have dreaded working with them even more. Here are some things that the understandably unemployed do that have kept them receiving that miniscule government check each month and paying COBRA.
1). They think they know better. They’ve paid many thousands of dollars for a top-notch career coach and are completely uncoachable. We’ve had several clients like this. There are people from some companies I just won’t work with. They won’t do anything I say, anyway. They’ll be a pain in the ass, and whine about what we’re not doing for them, even if we haven’t said we’ll do it.
You don’t know better! If you’re going to work with an employment or transition coach, or any other kind of coach, it might be a good idea to do what they say. Try it their way first, and for quite a while. If, after a few months, it isn’t working, do something else. Otherwise, keep doing what the coach tells you.
2). They WHINE! Too many executives get whiney when things don’t go their way. I often want to ask them if they want some cheese with that whine. The ones I really despise are those who won’t do anything I tell them (see above) and whine that our program isn’t working. Reality — you’ve got to work before any program will. Wimpy Whiners are like the 97 pound weakling who goes to the gym and hires a trainer, but won’t show up and won’t keep appointments, then complains that weight lifting is useless. I’ve started asking Wimpy Whiners to leave my program, as all they’re doing is taking up valuable space that a useful person could use.
3). They blame, argue and are generally jerks. I had one client who was in the “C” Suite of a major Denver company who I kicked out of my practice. He was supercilious, would consistently argue with my advice, and torqued off almost everyone I gave him as a referral and almost every other client. Bye-bye. One understood why he was kicked out of the “C” Suite. I’ve had others continually question my advice, scream at me on the phone, and many other inappropriate things. These people almost certainly were hell to work for and either a kiss-ass subordinate or a difficult subordinate. Either way, they wouldn’t belong on MY team.
4). Some are dishonest. OK, this is a very small minority. However, I had a CEO level client who was a pretty consistent liar, and would try to make “deals” that were very dishonest. I have told, several times, the story of how he was dishonest with me, generating other stories of his dishonesty from others. Denver is a very small town. He is going to have a somewhat difficult time finding other work now that he is no longer at his previous position, unless he finds it with someone who just isn’t networked at all….which is possible. But, if someone is networked, they’ll hear earfuls about his lying. You’ve only got one reputation. Guard it with your life. (And, along that line, vigorous defend, as I do, any false statements about you or your business.)
5). Some are very, very cheap. I have executives who whine about paying for coffee with a networking partner. This is very short-sighted. Many executives do incredibly stupid things, like refusing to buy a lunch, refusing to buy a new suit, etc. Don’t hoard money. As Deepak Chopra points out, hoarding money will result in money not coming to you in the flow. Stay in the flow. Buy and pay for what you need and what is necessary.
6). Some are very demanding. Little tin gods only wind up being worshipped by little tin worshippers. The days of the tyrant CEO are long over. While an executive shouldn’t take any nonsense from subordinates nor vendors, every executive these days had better know how to “play politics.” If you do not know how to play politics, you will have a very hard time keeping a job. Subordinates have more power than ever these days…and might wind up as your boss someday (I have seen this happen a couple of times in the last couple of years).
Be nice to everyone. Understand that you are not God’s gift to the world and that people aren’t going to drop everything to respond to you. Be humble and be patient. While patience is not my greatest virtue, it is a virtue we all must learn in today’s world. Being humble doesn’t require you to be a doormat. It does require that you treat all others, even the custodian, with great respect, understanding that the worth of a person is not in their title, salary, the house they live in or the car they drive. These things are far too important in America, but this is changing. Perhaps someday we Americans will understand the important things….like, as Martin Luther King said, the content of a person’s character. Character cannot be measured by bank accounts or titles on doors. It must be measured by the heart.
The executives who do things like the above stay unemployed a very long time. If you don’t want to join their ranks, do the opposite. Be gentle, patient, humble, coachable, honest, full of integrity, and don’t whine or think you know better than those who are experts in getting you employed. If you do not want to remain in the unemployment line, act like those executives that are universally respected and revered, not the greedy, overbearing, obnoxious resident of the “C” Suite of this first decade of the 2000’s. That cowboy mentality is dead and cold. Cooperation and humility are the values currently coming into vogue. It is about blanking time.
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Communicate for Heaven’s Sake!
Someone I know has an inability to communicate information in response to questions. For example, I said “How much does that cost a month?” The answer was “Well, I bought it for a year.” “How much,” I asked again, “does it cost a month?” “Well,” was the answer, “maybe I bought it for six months.” Again, I asked how much it cost a month. The response this time was “$125.00” “Well,” I replied, “Is that a month, like I asked for, or is that for the year?” “For the year,” she replied, “I think.” I did refrain from homicide, though no jury would convict me.
Some people, if you ask them “Are you married,” will reply “Ice cream.” Unfortunately, we’re seeing far too much of this in executive interviewing. Job-seekers are refusing to answer simple questions with simple answers. Instead, they’re listening to coaches who tell them to answer questions obliquely. This is a major mistake. Here are some simple tips.
1). Actually listen to the question. Hear what the person is asking. This is the first and foremost requirement to intelligent answering of a question. Sometimes, in interview training, my clients are answering questions I never asked and refusing to answer clear, concise, and uncomplicated questions I ask. This habit is a very, very bad one. It is common whenever the subject of remuneration comes up. If I ask “And how much were you making at your last position,” I often get, “I like frogs a lot.” Don’t avoid this question. It is really making people angry.
2). Don’t rush ahead in your mind to answer the question. People generally hear about 10% or less of what any individual says before they start to frame an answer to it. This is why so few people actually respond to what someone else has said. SHUT UP for heaven’s sake. Close your big mouth and open both your ears, and shut off your monkey mind and actually listen to what the other person is saying before you begin to frame a response to it.
3). Engage your mind before your mouth. Think for a moment before you answer a question or make a comment. Too many people flap their jaws without connecting their brain to them first. Few people use even half of the brains God gave them, so if you use that or more you’ll appear to be one of the smartest people in the world.
4). Answer the question, not what you want to answer. Trying to get an answer to the question that was asked, especially in an interview, is one of the hardest things in the world. Don’t evade. Don’t go around the barn to answer the question. Answer the question!
I see executives stumble and mumble when they’re asked to give an example of something, especially a “team player” question. These folks give their philosophy on being a team player. They say how much they like team players. How important it is to be a team player. The thing that few of them do is give an example. I’ve seen more interviews blown with executive evasiveness than any other way.
5). Can your corporate jargon. “Well, I’ve always found it vital to proactively apply 24X7, 365 solutions to integral issues within the hierarchical structure to operationally increase one on one customer interface for the enhancement of bottom line, and even middle line or top line equations.” Huh???? Believe me, I’ve heard worse than this. Try speaking English (or Spanish or whatever) rather than Corporatese. Many people, including me, truly hate that hooey. All you’re doing is showing how ignorant you are when you speak like that. Someone with a working brain can explain, to some degree, Quantum Mechanics to a second grader, much less business. Business is not really rocket science, although some businesspeople try to make it seem so. I’m consistently amazed by the lack of common sense that some executives display. Go talk to a second grader or a horse and get some horse-sense in your brain instead of your jargon.
6). Assure understanding. After you’ve answered an interview question, make sure that the interviewer understood. Check it out. Say, “Is there anything you feel I’ve left out there that I could talk about a bit more?” Take full responsibility for any lack of understanding of the answer you’ve given.
7). If they aren’t understanding your answer, it is your responsibility, not their stupidity. If people continually have a problem understanding you, it isn’t that they’re stupid. It is that you aren’t clear. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to speak to the lowest common denominator when you’re speaking. Don’t use a $5 word when a 50 cent one will do. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep your sentences short and in clear language.
Executive interviews are not really that difficult. It is the executives that make them so.
If you want to know more about executive interviewing, call me at 720.581.4301 and I’ll be pleased to speak with you. I offer executives at the Director Level, VP Level or “C” Suite Level a free, one hour evaluation. Part of that eval can certainly be a short, diagnostic mock interview to see where you are. Don’t guess whether or not you’re a good interviewer. Know.
If you’d like to make an appointment, call my partner, Nicole, at 303.480.5484 and ask to come in for an executive eval. She’ll make an appointment for us.
I hope this helped with your executive interview. Good luck!
J.
Some people, if you ask them “Are you married,” will reply “Ice cream.” Unfortunately, we’re seeing far too much of this in executive interviewing. Job-seekers are refusing to answer simple questions with simple answers. Instead, they’re listening to coaches who tell them to answer questions obliquely. This is a major mistake. Here are some simple tips.
1). Actually listen to the question. Hear what the person is asking. This is the first and foremost requirement to intelligent answering of a question. Sometimes, in interview training, my clients are answering questions I never asked and refusing to answer clear, concise, and uncomplicated questions I ask. This habit is a very, very bad one. It is common whenever the subject of remuneration comes up. If I ask “And how much were you making at your last position,” I often get, “I like frogs a lot.” Don’t avoid this question. It is really making people angry.
2). Don’t rush ahead in your mind to answer the question. People generally hear about 10% or less of what any individual says before they start to frame an answer to it. This is why so few people actually respond to what someone else has said. SHUT UP for heaven’s sake. Close your big mouth and open both your ears, and shut off your monkey mind and actually listen to what the other person is saying before you begin to frame a response to it.
3). Engage your mind before your mouth. Think for a moment before you answer a question or make a comment. Too many people flap their jaws without connecting their brain to them first. Few people use even half of the brains God gave them, so if you use that or more you’ll appear to be one of the smartest people in the world.
4). Answer the question, not what you want to answer. Trying to get an answer to the question that was asked, especially in an interview, is one of the hardest things in the world. Don’t evade. Don’t go around the barn to answer the question. Answer the question!
I see executives stumble and mumble when they’re asked to give an example of something, especially a “team player” question. These folks give their philosophy on being a team player. They say how much they like team players. How important it is to be a team player. The thing that few of them do is give an example. I’ve seen more interviews blown with executive evasiveness than any other way.
5). Can your corporate jargon. “Well, I’ve always found it vital to proactively apply 24X7, 365 solutions to integral issues within the hierarchical structure to operationally increase one on one customer interface for the enhancement of bottom line, and even middle line or top line equations.” Huh???? Believe me, I’ve heard worse than this. Try speaking English (or Spanish or whatever) rather than Corporatese. Many people, including me, truly hate that hooey. All you’re doing is showing how ignorant you are when you speak like that. Someone with a working brain can explain, to some degree, Quantum Mechanics to a second grader, much less business. Business is not really rocket science, although some businesspeople try to make it seem so. I’m consistently amazed by the lack of common sense that some executives display. Go talk to a second grader or a horse and get some horse-sense in your brain instead of your jargon.
6). Assure understanding. After you’ve answered an interview question, make sure that the interviewer understood. Check it out. Say, “Is there anything you feel I’ve left out there that I could talk about a bit more?” Take full responsibility for any lack of understanding of the answer you’ve given.
7). If they aren’t understanding your answer, it is your responsibility, not their stupidity. If people continually have a problem understanding you, it isn’t that they’re stupid. It is that you aren’t clear. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to speak to the lowest common denominator when you’re speaking. Don’t use a $5 word when a 50 cent one will do. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep your sentences short and in clear language.
Executive interviews are not really that difficult. It is the executives that make them so.
If you want to know more about executive interviewing, call me at 720.581.4301 and I’ll be pleased to speak with you. I offer executives at the Director Level, VP Level or “C” Suite Level a free, one hour evaluation. Part of that eval can certainly be a short, diagnostic mock interview to see where you are. Don’t guess whether or not you’re a good interviewer. Know.
If you’d like to make an appointment, call my partner, Nicole, at 303.480.5484 and ask to come in for an executive eval. She’ll make an appointment for us.
I hope this helped with your executive interview. Good luck!
J.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
How to Stop the Recession and Save America
The recession is far from over. Yes, yes, I know that people who are “experts” are saying that the recession is ended. Everyone is putting on happy hats and singing Happy Days Are Here Again. They aren’t.
Look, I hate to be a gloom and doomer, and I’m not. Denver isn’t in all that bad of shape. In Denver there are plenty of jobs for those who are working a good and deep network. But the recession is going to be driven for a while yet by several things. And, in the job market, executives had better be prepared for it.
1). Companies are still laying off people. Some of the hardest hit so far as numbers of those laid off goes are those in the executive ranks. This, alone, is going to keep the recession going on for months, and possibly years, more. Executives buy houses, cars, big screen TVs, vacations, boats, and lots of other expensive things. Executives also spend lots more at the grocery store and even at Walmart. Walmart? Sure. Walmart has some stuff no one else has conveniently. And executives, while they’re in there, will pick up 10 or 15 $10 movies on sale, and a few other things that someone on a strict budget won’t buy. These impulse purchases are what give most retail stores a goodly part of their revenues. If Bob Executive isn’t buying these things, Walmart suffers too. Eventually executive layoffs mean Joe Lunchpail gets laid off. Do the math.
2). There are tons of houses still on the market that are going for fire sale prices. Exactly who is going to “eat” that? If the government does, and they might if Obama keeps giving away the store, we are going to see hyper-inflation, which means further recession. The government has two ways of obtaining money. They can print it or they can tax collect it. Either way leads to a deepening recession. We’re already in an inflationary cycle because of the printing press. But people in modern times notice these things. So, be prepared for higher taxes. Regardless of what they tell you, even if they say “read my lips, no new taxes,” there will be new taxes.
3). There is still a war going on in Iraq and it isn’t getting any cheaper. There is a war in Afghanistan that is getting incredibly expensive. We’re spending billions of dollars a day in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hate to remind our politicians of this, but their little adventures have to be paid for in dollars and, tragically, the lives of brave young men and women. Where is the money going to come from? Again, printing presses or taxes. And what about the young lives? Do you really think that the kids of the CEO of AMEX are going to go to war? Or the kids of a President? In Britain, the Royals have to send their kids to the military. If the Bush kids had been put on the front line (which would have probably generated a real improvement in the gene pool of America) let’s see how much the idiot would have said “Bring it on.”
4). Everyone is terrified. Terrified people don’t spend money. They hoard. The executives I work with are doing incredibly stupid things around money now, and have been since late last year. These folks have hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars in the bank, yet are complaining about anything that costs them money. One executive, whose salary was over $250K, and who has substantial investments and savings, asked me reimbursement for parking after a free executive networking event. How much was parking? $7.00. I would put this down to a cheap bahstahd if he was the only one who did this. Actually, four executives, all with similar situations, asked for this at a free networking event. One person didn't come to the event because of the seven dollar parking fee.
This is just plain absurd, but I am seeing it all of the time. Executives are hoarding their money and not spending. Until these guys get out of their heads and start earning big dollars again, the recession is not over, trust me. And when the recession is over, we won’t have a boom again very soon. The congenital stupidity of the Bush, then Obama administrations have kicked these guys in the groin. Understand that the groin of executives does not reside between their legs. It resides in their back left pocket, and has the slang name of “wallet.”
5). Corporations are not terribly intelligent. You would think that corporations would have learned something in 2000 when the dot com bubble burst. You would also think that corporate officers would have learned something over the years about the fact that public reaction is going to effect their stock prices.
These people, alas, are operating on very few working brain cells. They still, obviously, believe that, even after Joe Lunchpail’s taxes have bailed these idiots out of their moronic decisions that they can still take bonuses and go on spa retreats. And you’d think the government would have learned to prosecute these congenital idiots and put them in Club Fed where they can’t do these stupid things, both for the public’s protection and their own. Nope. Because these people own and operate the government, they got a little tiny tap on the wrist and “no, no, no.”
Look, in most other countries in the world, both these incredibly dumb and dumber executives and the pols who enable them would be pulled out of their corporate limos and burned alive. We, however, live in America. This means that we meekly put up with people burning through our tax dollars rather than hauling their sorry asses out of their limos and burning them. I’m not sure whether I’m grateful that Americans are like this, or whether I think that makes us the stupidest people alive. I think I’m grateful. But ask me after a few more of these are swept under the rug, and I might have a different call.
The fact that people are getting away with grand theft of our tax dollars, the fact that the Obama administration and the do-nothing Congress and lazy Justice Department are letting them get away with it, and the fact that more Americans aren’t so outraged that they are demanding prosecution of these people argues that the recession won’t be over soon.
6). They didn’t learn anything. “Change we need?” Ptooey! The Obama administration and the Democratic Congress is business as usual in Washington. The corporations are still running America, not the people. The Dems are as bad as the Republicans, just in a different way. Both parties have sold out the American people to the corporations.
And the corporations haven’t learned a damned thing, either. They are still making the same mistakes that got America in this mess. They have not changed one damned thing!
If there is one thing I have learned about top corporate executives is that they are arrogant as all get out. They believe they are above the law. They believe they are even above laws of common courtesy, common sense, and mutual respect. They are not going to change one bit until they are forced to change, either by public outrage that actually stops buying things from them, or by the government passing laws to make it too expensive to keep doing stupid things.
As long as both the politcos and the brain-dead executives keep doing business as usual, not only is the recession not over…it will deepen and unemployment will get worse.
So what needs to be done? Here are a few common sense tips that will probably not be implemented as long as we keep electing Republicans or Democrats to our government. Perhaps a Congress full of Libertarians might make a difference….but I wouldn’t count on that, either.
1). Make executives actually accountable to stockholders. If a company is publicly traded, the stockholders who are the actual owners of the company should have a large say in how the company is run. Now, for those of you who don’t know how corporations work, it may surprise you that actual stockholders have almost no power in most corporations. But it is a fact. The Boards of Directors and “C” Suite executives in most large companies retain almost all of the power. And the Boards, supposedly independent, are composed of the golfing buddies of the “C” Suite. The executives in the “C" Suite sit on the Boards of most of the people on their Boards. If this isn’t a recipe for corruption, I don’t know what is.
2). Force Boards to be truly independent. Prohibit “C” Suite executives from serving on the Boards of the executives who sit on their Boards. Require that at least half of the Directors directly represent the interests of regular (not preferred) stockholders. Require a 2/3rds vote to pass anything which materially effects the company’s revenues or stock prices.
3). End “Sweetheart” perks for executives. This can be easily done with a simple law that requires that everyone in a company have the exact same access to every benefit.
4). Stop rewarding failure on the part of executives. A company can lose millions or even billions of dollars, lay off half of their workforce, and have stock prices tank, and the “C” Suite can walk off with millions or billions of dollars of bonuses. This is not only morally wrong, it is incredibly bad business! Again, a simple law requiring that executives work for a winning company before being paid even one dollar in bonuses would stop this nonsense at once. And make it a Federal crime to give executives cushy retreats or any bonuses whatsoever if the company takes even one dollar of government bail out money.
And don’t get me started on the failure net called “golden parachutes.” These must end. Rewarding a “C” Suite executive for complete failure is both completely immoral and incredibly bad business. If they fail, fire them, take away their stock options and let ‘em file for unemployment. And don’t give me the B.S. that top talent will go to other countries. NO other country permits these kinds of shenanigans. They’ll stay right here, no matter what fear tactics they deliver.
5). Control Executive salaries. No, not by limiting them to a multiple of average salary, but by requiring a vote of all stockholders on executive salaries and perks. The fact is that, in many companies, stockholders can’t even know how much the executives make. Make it illegal for companies to withhold this information. After all, the stockholders are the owners of the company. They have an absolute right to know how much their employees are making.
And then require a vote on the salaries of top executives by the stockholders. That will control executive salaries in a hurry. The fact that most executives hate this proposal simply shows that they know they’re overpaid and underworked. You see, stockholders might actually tie the salaries of the “C” Suite to their making money. Horrors! Executives want their salaries tied to their bulls**t. This is why this proposal gets hatred from most executives.
6). Completely eliminate corporate income tax. I know this doesn’t seem to fit in with the other proposals, but it does. Think about it. Corporations don’t pay income tax. Their customers do. So eliminate it. Then also eliminate any tax deductions for people making over $1M per year in salary, bonuses and disbursements. This might have taxes actually collected from those who actually utilize corporate profit.
7). Allow individuals to contribute unlimited amounts of money to candidates, but prohibit organizations, groups, corporations and companies from contributing one thin dime. It is the right of individuals (free speech) to endlessly support any candidate they please. Corporations and groups have no rights guaranteed by our Constitution. People do. Put the government back into the ownership of people and take ownership of politicians away from corporations and interest groups altogether. Sure, individuals have certain interests. But that is the way our government is supposed to work. Not having a Congressperson completely owned by an industry. And if a thousand people are allowed to donate all they want, and they happen to oppose the interests of the billionaire that is donating, there is some chance that the people themselves will be able to get the politician’s attention. It is easier to compete with a person than a group.
8). Require the children of everyone elected to public office at the Federal Level to serve in the military in a combat role if physically able. If the children won’t serve, remove the politician from public office immediately. This would certainly make the government much less eager to beat the war drums, and save the country billions. If it’s important enough to risk MY kid and yours, it should be important enough to risk theirs. This is one British idea that should have survived the American revolution. I’d also love to see the requirement that everyone running for Federal office be a veteran. If they love America so much, let’s see if they were willing to put their lives on the line for America’s ideals. If not (or if they deserted or didn’t finish out their term of enlistment, etc.) they shouldn’t be serving in public office. Someone who truly cares about America, if physically able, will put his or her life and the lives of his or her loved ones on the line for America. If not, they are all BS and not worthy of American public office.
I know these proposals won’t totally end the recession nor fix the epidemic of corporate corruption that exists in America. But they might help.
If you are in the Denver Metro Area, join us October 12th (Monday) for Executive Structured Networking at the DAC in LoDo from 12:20 PM - 4 PM. Information is at http://www.heckersdevelopmentgtoup.com/. Limited to Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level executives only. No vendors and nothing is sold nor promoted.
Look, I hate to be a gloom and doomer, and I’m not. Denver isn’t in all that bad of shape. In Denver there are plenty of jobs for those who are working a good and deep network. But the recession is going to be driven for a while yet by several things. And, in the job market, executives had better be prepared for it.
1). Companies are still laying off people. Some of the hardest hit so far as numbers of those laid off goes are those in the executive ranks. This, alone, is going to keep the recession going on for months, and possibly years, more. Executives buy houses, cars, big screen TVs, vacations, boats, and lots of other expensive things. Executives also spend lots more at the grocery store and even at Walmart. Walmart? Sure. Walmart has some stuff no one else has conveniently. And executives, while they’re in there, will pick up 10 or 15 $10 movies on sale, and a few other things that someone on a strict budget won’t buy. These impulse purchases are what give most retail stores a goodly part of their revenues. If Bob Executive isn’t buying these things, Walmart suffers too. Eventually executive layoffs mean Joe Lunchpail gets laid off. Do the math.
2). There are tons of houses still on the market that are going for fire sale prices. Exactly who is going to “eat” that? If the government does, and they might if Obama keeps giving away the store, we are going to see hyper-inflation, which means further recession. The government has two ways of obtaining money. They can print it or they can tax collect it. Either way leads to a deepening recession. We’re already in an inflationary cycle because of the printing press. But people in modern times notice these things. So, be prepared for higher taxes. Regardless of what they tell you, even if they say “read my lips, no new taxes,” there will be new taxes.
3). There is still a war going on in Iraq and it isn’t getting any cheaper. There is a war in Afghanistan that is getting incredibly expensive. We’re spending billions of dollars a day in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hate to remind our politicians of this, but their little adventures have to be paid for in dollars and, tragically, the lives of brave young men and women. Where is the money going to come from? Again, printing presses or taxes. And what about the young lives? Do you really think that the kids of the CEO of AMEX are going to go to war? Or the kids of a President? In Britain, the Royals have to send their kids to the military. If the Bush kids had been put on the front line (which would have probably generated a real improvement in the gene pool of America) let’s see how much the idiot would have said “Bring it on.”
4). Everyone is terrified. Terrified people don’t spend money. They hoard. The executives I work with are doing incredibly stupid things around money now, and have been since late last year. These folks have hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars in the bank, yet are complaining about anything that costs them money. One executive, whose salary was over $250K, and who has substantial investments and savings, asked me reimbursement for parking after a free executive networking event. How much was parking? $7.00. I would put this down to a cheap bahstahd if he was the only one who did this. Actually, four executives, all with similar situations, asked for this at a free networking event. One person didn't come to the event because of the seven dollar parking fee.
This is just plain absurd, but I am seeing it all of the time. Executives are hoarding their money and not spending. Until these guys get out of their heads and start earning big dollars again, the recession is not over, trust me. And when the recession is over, we won’t have a boom again very soon. The congenital stupidity of the Bush, then Obama administrations have kicked these guys in the groin. Understand that the groin of executives does not reside between their legs. It resides in their back left pocket, and has the slang name of “wallet.”
5). Corporations are not terribly intelligent. You would think that corporations would have learned something in 2000 when the dot com bubble burst. You would also think that corporate officers would have learned something over the years about the fact that public reaction is going to effect their stock prices.
These people, alas, are operating on very few working brain cells. They still, obviously, believe that, even after Joe Lunchpail’s taxes have bailed these idiots out of their moronic decisions that they can still take bonuses and go on spa retreats. And you’d think the government would have learned to prosecute these congenital idiots and put them in Club Fed where they can’t do these stupid things, both for the public’s protection and their own. Nope. Because these people own and operate the government, they got a little tiny tap on the wrist and “no, no, no.”
Look, in most other countries in the world, both these incredibly dumb and dumber executives and the pols who enable them would be pulled out of their corporate limos and burned alive. We, however, live in America. This means that we meekly put up with people burning through our tax dollars rather than hauling their sorry asses out of their limos and burning them. I’m not sure whether I’m grateful that Americans are like this, or whether I think that makes us the stupidest people alive. I think I’m grateful. But ask me after a few more of these are swept under the rug, and I might have a different call.
The fact that people are getting away with grand theft of our tax dollars, the fact that the Obama administration and the do-nothing Congress and lazy Justice Department are letting them get away with it, and the fact that more Americans aren’t so outraged that they are demanding prosecution of these people argues that the recession won’t be over soon.
6). They didn’t learn anything. “Change we need?” Ptooey! The Obama administration and the Democratic Congress is business as usual in Washington. The corporations are still running America, not the people. The Dems are as bad as the Republicans, just in a different way. Both parties have sold out the American people to the corporations.
And the corporations haven’t learned a damned thing, either. They are still making the same mistakes that got America in this mess. They have not changed one damned thing!
If there is one thing I have learned about top corporate executives is that they are arrogant as all get out. They believe they are above the law. They believe they are even above laws of common courtesy, common sense, and mutual respect. They are not going to change one bit until they are forced to change, either by public outrage that actually stops buying things from them, or by the government passing laws to make it too expensive to keep doing stupid things.
As long as both the politcos and the brain-dead executives keep doing business as usual, not only is the recession not over…it will deepen and unemployment will get worse.
So what needs to be done? Here are a few common sense tips that will probably not be implemented as long as we keep electing Republicans or Democrats to our government. Perhaps a Congress full of Libertarians might make a difference….but I wouldn’t count on that, either.
1). Make executives actually accountable to stockholders. If a company is publicly traded, the stockholders who are the actual owners of the company should have a large say in how the company is run. Now, for those of you who don’t know how corporations work, it may surprise you that actual stockholders have almost no power in most corporations. But it is a fact. The Boards of Directors and “C” Suite executives in most large companies retain almost all of the power. And the Boards, supposedly independent, are composed of the golfing buddies of the “C” Suite. The executives in the “C" Suite sit on the Boards of most of the people on their Boards. If this isn’t a recipe for corruption, I don’t know what is.
2). Force Boards to be truly independent. Prohibit “C” Suite executives from serving on the Boards of the executives who sit on their Boards. Require that at least half of the Directors directly represent the interests of regular (not preferred) stockholders. Require a 2/3rds vote to pass anything which materially effects the company’s revenues or stock prices.
3). End “Sweetheart” perks for executives. This can be easily done with a simple law that requires that everyone in a company have the exact same access to every benefit.
4). Stop rewarding failure on the part of executives. A company can lose millions or even billions of dollars, lay off half of their workforce, and have stock prices tank, and the “C” Suite can walk off with millions or billions of dollars of bonuses. This is not only morally wrong, it is incredibly bad business! Again, a simple law requiring that executives work for a winning company before being paid even one dollar in bonuses would stop this nonsense at once. And make it a Federal crime to give executives cushy retreats or any bonuses whatsoever if the company takes even one dollar of government bail out money.
And don’t get me started on the failure net called “golden parachutes.” These must end. Rewarding a “C” Suite executive for complete failure is both completely immoral and incredibly bad business. If they fail, fire them, take away their stock options and let ‘em file for unemployment. And don’t give me the B.S. that top talent will go to other countries. NO other country permits these kinds of shenanigans. They’ll stay right here, no matter what fear tactics they deliver.
5). Control Executive salaries. No, not by limiting them to a multiple of average salary, but by requiring a vote of all stockholders on executive salaries and perks. The fact is that, in many companies, stockholders can’t even know how much the executives make. Make it illegal for companies to withhold this information. After all, the stockholders are the owners of the company. They have an absolute right to know how much their employees are making.
And then require a vote on the salaries of top executives by the stockholders. That will control executive salaries in a hurry. The fact that most executives hate this proposal simply shows that they know they’re overpaid and underworked. You see, stockholders might actually tie the salaries of the “C” Suite to their making money. Horrors! Executives want their salaries tied to their bulls**t. This is why this proposal gets hatred from most executives.
6). Completely eliminate corporate income tax. I know this doesn’t seem to fit in with the other proposals, but it does. Think about it. Corporations don’t pay income tax. Their customers do. So eliminate it. Then also eliminate any tax deductions for people making over $1M per year in salary, bonuses and disbursements. This might have taxes actually collected from those who actually utilize corporate profit.
7). Allow individuals to contribute unlimited amounts of money to candidates, but prohibit organizations, groups, corporations and companies from contributing one thin dime. It is the right of individuals (free speech) to endlessly support any candidate they please. Corporations and groups have no rights guaranteed by our Constitution. People do. Put the government back into the ownership of people and take ownership of politicians away from corporations and interest groups altogether. Sure, individuals have certain interests. But that is the way our government is supposed to work. Not having a Congressperson completely owned by an industry. And if a thousand people are allowed to donate all they want, and they happen to oppose the interests of the billionaire that is donating, there is some chance that the people themselves will be able to get the politician’s attention. It is easier to compete with a person than a group.
8). Require the children of everyone elected to public office at the Federal Level to serve in the military in a combat role if physically able. If the children won’t serve, remove the politician from public office immediately. This would certainly make the government much less eager to beat the war drums, and save the country billions. If it’s important enough to risk MY kid and yours, it should be important enough to risk theirs. This is one British idea that should have survived the American revolution. I’d also love to see the requirement that everyone running for Federal office be a veteran. If they love America so much, let’s see if they were willing to put their lives on the line for America’s ideals. If not (or if they deserted or didn’t finish out their term of enlistment, etc.) they shouldn’t be serving in public office. Someone who truly cares about America, if physically able, will put his or her life and the lives of his or her loved ones on the line for America. If not, they are all BS and not worthy of American public office.
I know these proposals won’t totally end the recession nor fix the epidemic of corporate corruption that exists in America. But they might help.
If you are in the Denver Metro Area, join us October 12th (Monday) for Executive Structured Networking at the DAC in LoDo from 12:20 PM - 4 PM. Information is at http://www.heckersdevelopmentgtoup.com/. Limited to Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level executives only. No vendors and nothing is sold nor promoted.
Watch for John's new Book In Transition: Rapidly Finding Your Next Executive Job (Even in Difficult Times) sold through the Internet, radio and TV shows and John's speaking engagements. Available by November 1st, just in time for the Holidays.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
We're Doing Something Right!
The unemployment figures Friday are, indeed, frightening. When the number of people who are unemployed and underemployed are added together, an astounding number, 15%, of Americans are unemployed. This is hitting the Executive Sector especially hard.
However, I want to give you a ray of hope. Our clients, even those who are very difficult to employ, are getting employed very rapidly. Our average for "C" Level clients is less than 7 months. The national average for "C" Level client is at 24 months and climbing. Our average for VP Level Candidates is less than 6 months. And our average for Director Level executives is slightly more than 4 months.
One of our "C" Level clients is 70 years old, and worked in non-profit...and is employed. He entered our program in November, and the date of his employment was in February. Another CFO client is trying to decide between which of his opportunities he should take. And we have similar success stories for VPs and Directors.
What we're doing right is hooking people into our extensive network of alumni and current clients to get them employed in this economy. Everyone who is being hired at the executive level is being hired through networking at a very high level. Our network is second to none, since Nicole and I are lifetime residents of Denver and the Front Range. We have even helped numerous out of town clients get jobs in the Denver and Front Range areas.
While I don't like to use this blog space for advertising what we do, we're doing many things right and our people are getting employed. We limit the number of people we take and we are not cheap, We cost between two weeks' and six weeks' salary for executives. Considering, however, how many months we cut off of the job search, can you really afford not to talk to us?
We don't take everyone who comes to us. We do not work with "linear" in-the-box, concrete thinkers, so if you're one of the hide-bound dinosaurs of Corporate America, please don't bother. But we'll be happy to speak with you and see if we can help in any way for those holistic, organic, out-of-the-box thinkers that America needs now. Our number for a free evaluation is 303.480.5484, and we welcome your call and look forward to coffee with you.
If you're tired of daytime TV, we'd love to help.
Please note, we work only with Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level (CXO Level) Clients. We are a fee-paid service, and require a portion of our fee before beginning our program. We do not work with people "pro bono," nor "on contingency," and we are not recruiters. For more information on us, go to www.heckersdevgroup.com or www.heckersdevelopmentgroup.com for the HTML site.
J.
However, I want to give you a ray of hope. Our clients, even those who are very difficult to employ, are getting employed very rapidly. Our average for "C" Level clients is less than 7 months. The national average for "C" Level client is at 24 months and climbing. Our average for VP Level Candidates is less than 6 months. And our average for Director Level executives is slightly more than 4 months.
One of our "C" Level clients is 70 years old, and worked in non-profit...and is employed. He entered our program in November, and the date of his employment was in February. Another CFO client is trying to decide between which of his opportunities he should take. And we have similar success stories for VPs and Directors.
What we're doing right is hooking people into our extensive network of alumni and current clients to get them employed in this economy. Everyone who is being hired at the executive level is being hired through networking at a very high level. Our network is second to none, since Nicole and I are lifetime residents of Denver and the Front Range. We have even helped numerous out of town clients get jobs in the Denver and Front Range areas.
While I don't like to use this blog space for advertising what we do, we're doing many things right and our people are getting employed. We limit the number of people we take and we are not cheap, We cost between two weeks' and six weeks' salary for executives. Considering, however, how many months we cut off of the job search, can you really afford not to talk to us?
We don't take everyone who comes to us. We do not work with "linear" in-the-box, concrete thinkers, so if you're one of the hide-bound dinosaurs of Corporate America, please don't bother. But we'll be happy to speak with you and see if we can help in any way for those holistic, organic, out-of-the-box thinkers that America needs now. Our number for a free evaluation is 303.480.5484, and we welcome your call and look forward to coffee with you.
If you're tired of daytime TV, we'd love to help.
Please note, we work only with Director Level, VP Level and "C" Level (CXO Level) Clients. We are a fee-paid service, and require a portion of our fee before beginning our program. We do not work with people "pro bono," nor "on contingency," and we are not recruiters. For more information on us, go to www.heckersdevgroup.com or www.heckersdevelopmentgroup.com for the HTML site.
J.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Retaining Great Employees
I get fairly disgusted when a CEO says “Our people are our most important resource” and then commences with laying people off. I’ll bet that the CEO who says this doesn’t go to the IT department and throw computers out the window! The reality is that people, for many companies, are to be used to obtain what they want. And this attitude is a large part of the reason these companies are losing money and prestige.
If you want to thrive during recessionary times and kick butt during boom cycles, start with your people. The time and aggravation that goes into replacing one loyal and competent employee that company policies have torqued off one too many times is enormous, not to mention the financial cost of Churn. So start with some basic principles in your business and you will find that you will be a sought-after company to work with.
1). Understand that if your employees ar unhappy, nobody is happy. This includes your customers. Employees who are treated well and are happy help you keep customers. I know this is new and interesting information to some employers out there.
2). Kill bureaucracy. The piling of rules upon rules is unnecessary. The reaction of many companies to something going wrong with ONE employee is to write a rule about it. Kick out he rules-based people at once. Handle the problem with the one employee rather than making it global.
3). Make things easy and employee oriented. There is no real reason why an employee should have to fill out 5,942,853 forms in triplicate to go to the bathroom. It is some idiot on a power trip that puts these things in place. Make it simple as possible to access benefits, take care of family emergencies, and so on. If you have a desire to control other people, you don’t belong in management at all. Go be a prison guard or something where being a control freak might actually be O.K…though I doubt it, even in that situation.
4). Pay your employees as well as you can afford to. I am absolutely disgusted by companies where the difference between the lowest paid employee and the highest paid employee is 9000%. Let that CEO make less, and the people in the trenches make more.
5). Let everyone have the same benefits. Our employees get exactly the same benefits as my wife and I, the principals, do. Exactly.
6). Put management in the trenches. Grease Monkey is a great company. Executives at Grease Monkey have to lube cars, and every other job that everyone does before they can make even one executive decision. Imagine what it would do for morale if the CEO of GM worked on an assembly line a few times a year.
7). Share the pain. If things have to be cut or reduced, make sure that management has AT least as much pain as the lowest paid worker.
8). Share the success. Companies where the employees get a slice of company profits or bonuses based on what the whole company does have employees who really understand the concept of “teamwork.” Many companies talk about “everyone is part of the team,” but what they really mean is “you’re my slaves, now go make me money.” DOGBERT’S MANAGEMENT SECRETS is the most honest management manual on the market. Buy it and do everything the opposite of what Dogbert recommends. Make your employees truly a part of the team. Share the winnings with them.
9). Don’t treat them like children. Most people are honest and want to do a great job. They just discouraged by the office politics, the power-hungry managers, low pay, and gross inequities. Companies that have remedied these things have loyal employees who will do anything for the company. Treat employees like responsible adults and they’ll usually behave that way.
10). Involve them in decision making. Companies who involve their employees in decision making have much happier, and much more reasonable, employees. No one likes to be ordered around or have something forced on them from the top. I’ve found that employees will do things to their own detriment if they’re involved in the process and see it is for the company good.
11). Give them detailed information. In the companies I’ve run, the books are completely open to every employee. When I make a job offer, I run a spreadsheet showing the prospective employee exactly what I’ll make or lose on them, and how much he or she has as total cost to the company. Companies are generally too paranoid and security conscious. While trade secrets should be kept quiet, finances should be generally available to all employees. This will eliminate lots of arguments, unless, of course, employees are getting shafted so management can enjoy undeserved benefits. The more information you give employees, the more involved they feel in decisions that effect them. Be open and above board in every piece of information possible, including what everyone is making in the company. If you’re ashamed to do this, maybe you should evaluate what you’re making a bit.
12). Be generous. Do things for employees that are generous acts of kindness. Google and other companies that do this have very productive employees who never leave.
13). Throw “do more with less” out the window. It is insanity to have employees working 80 hour weeks, or all weekend long. It is also very bad business. Well-rested employees with balanced lives are more competent and more productive than exhausted and burned out employees. Whatever idiot keeps telling companies to make their employees do more with less should be knee-capped.
14). Pay employees for giving back. Hourly employees should be paid their hourly rate for giving back to the community. Companies that have programs like this have very high employee retention, and excellent PR. Pay employees for 25 – 40 a year working for charity, their religious institution, or community service work. This doesn’t cost, it pays. And give them time during the business day to do this community work.
The above are some of the “best practices” that proactive and successful companies are taking. Companies following these best practices have great employee morale, unbelievably low Churn, and higher productivity per employee. If you are still operating in the 19th Century and treating employees like recalcitrant children, get over yourself. Time to come up to the 21st Century and succeed!
J.
If you want to thrive during recessionary times and kick butt during boom cycles, start with your people. The time and aggravation that goes into replacing one loyal and competent employee that company policies have torqued off one too many times is enormous, not to mention the financial cost of Churn. So start with some basic principles in your business and you will find that you will be a sought-after company to work with.
1). Understand that if your employees ar unhappy, nobody is happy. This includes your customers. Employees who are treated well and are happy help you keep customers. I know this is new and interesting information to some employers out there.
2). Kill bureaucracy. The piling of rules upon rules is unnecessary. The reaction of many companies to something going wrong with ONE employee is to write a rule about it. Kick out he rules-based people at once. Handle the problem with the one employee rather than making it global.
3). Make things easy and employee oriented. There is no real reason why an employee should have to fill out 5,942,853 forms in triplicate to go to the bathroom. It is some idiot on a power trip that puts these things in place. Make it simple as possible to access benefits, take care of family emergencies, and so on. If you have a desire to control other people, you don’t belong in management at all. Go be a prison guard or something where being a control freak might actually be O.K…though I doubt it, even in that situation.
4). Pay your employees as well as you can afford to. I am absolutely disgusted by companies where the difference between the lowest paid employee and the highest paid employee is 9000%. Let that CEO make less, and the people in the trenches make more.
5). Let everyone have the same benefits. Our employees get exactly the same benefits as my wife and I, the principals, do. Exactly.
6). Put management in the trenches. Grease Monkey is a great company. Executives at Grease Monkey have to lube cars, and every other job that everyone does before they can make even one executive decision. Imagine what it would do for morale if the CEO of GM worked on an assembly line a few times a year.
7). Share the pain. If things have to be cut or reduced, make sure that management has AT least as much pain as the lowest paid worker.
8). Share the success. Companies where the employees get a slice of company profits or bonuses based on what the whole company does have employees who really understand the concept of “teamwork.” Many companies talk about “everyone is part of the team,” but what they really mean is “you’re my slaves, now go make me money.” DOGBERT’S MANAGEMENT SECRETS is the most honest management manual on the market. Buy it and do everything the opposite of what Dogbert recommends. Make your employees truly a part of the team. Share the winnings with them.
9). Don’t treat them like children. Most people are honest and want to do a great job. They just discouraged by the office politics, the power-hungry managers, low pay, and gross inequities. Companies that have remedied these things have loyal employees who will do anything for the company. Treat employees like responsible adults and they’ll usually behave that way.
10). Involve them in decision making. Companies who involve their employees in decision making have much happier, and much more reasonable, employees. No one likes to be ordered around or have something forced on them from the top. I’ve found that employees will do things to their own detriment if they’re involved in the process and see it is for the company good.
11). Give them detailed information. In the companies I’ve run, the books are completely open to every employee. When I make a job offer, I run a spreadsheet showing the prospective employee exactly what I’ll make or lose on them, and how much he or she has as total cost to the company. Companies are generally too paranoid and security conscious. While trade secrets should be kept quiet, finances should be generally available to all employees. This will eliminate lots of arguments, unless, of course, employees are getting shafted so management can enjoy undeserved benefits. The more information you give employees, the more involved they feel in decisions that effect them. Be open and above board in every piece of information possible, including what everyone is making in the company. If you’re ashamed to do this, maybe you should evaluate what you’re making a bit.
12). Be generous. Do things for employees that are generous acts of kindness. Google and other companies that do this have very productive employees who never leave.
13). Throw “do more with less” out the window. It is insanity to have employees working 80 hour weeks, or all weekend long. It is also very bad business. Well-rested employees with balanced lives are more competent and more productive than exhausted and burned out employees. Whatever idiot keeps telling companies to make their employees do more with less should be knee-capped.
14). Pay employees for giving back. Hourly employees should be paid their hourly rate for giving back to the community. Companies that have programs like this have very high employee retention, and excellent PR. Pay employees for 25 – 40 a year working for charity, their religious institution, or community service work. This doesn’t cost, it pays. And give them time during the business day to do this community work.
The above are some of the “best practices” that proactive and successful companies are taking. Companies following these best practices have great employee morale, unbelievably low Churn, and higher productivity per employee. If you are still operating in the 19th Century and treating employees like recalcitrant children, get over yourself. Time to come up to the 21st Century and succeed!
J.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Making It Through The “Financial Crisis”
Sorry for the hiatus --- my wife and I have been moving from one side of town to the other. We had sold a loft we owned and lived in about 3 years ago. This was at the advice of our “C” Level clients and a banker friend. We, therefore, didn’t wind up losing tens of thousands of dollars on it, as we would have if we waited any. Developers have been building literally hundreds of new lofts in the Denver LoDo area, many of which are standing empty.
We then, again with the advice of some very money-wise people, moved into a cracker-box (and rented three storage sheds for our “stuff”) to wait out the housing crisis, which, three years ago, everyone assumed would be over in a year or so. Right. Well, to make a long story endless, when it was clear that the housing crisis wasn’t resolving anytime soon, we decided not to camp out any longer in the cracker box, and got a house that we could actually put our furniture, hundreds of books and other treasures in. And therein lies a column…
No one can predict what is going to happen in a financial crisis. I am very against “Wall Street Welfare.” We are, at least for the time being, capitalists, or, to be more accurate due to decades of encroaching government regulation and meddling, socialistic capitalists. Capitalism means that there will be winners and losers. It also means that, while there are winners and losers, no one has to be a permanent loser.
The alternative, except in a utopia, is either that everyone but the government winds up in mediocre circumstances (Socialism) or that everyone but the government is kept in poverty (Communism) or that everyone but the government and the favored corporations is kept in loss or mediocrity (Fascism…look at the actual definition of Fascism, not how it is currently used by demagogues trying to get your vote…and see why there can never be such a thing as “Islamo-fascism.). Now, call me idealistic, but I am a laissez-faire Capitalist (as well as a Libertarian, but that is a whole other Oprah). Let the free market be free and let it decide. Let there be winners and losers, and let that be determined, not by government collusion or regulation, but by hard work, serendipity and wisdom in investing. Unfortunately, my opinion is in the minority in this country of ours — which became great by the majority of those with influence being of the same opinion I am now…both as a pure Capitalist and a Libertarian.
Back to this current “financial crisis” and executive employment, however.
One thing that you never read much about unless you dig is the fact that many more people became wealthy during the “Great Depression” than lost everything. Unfortunately, my grandfather, who was an attorney and heavily invested in stocks, wasn’t one of them, or I’d be sipping Mojitos under a Caribbean sun right now instead of writing to you. But the fact is that economic conditions do not determine whether or not you’re going to be wealthy. Many other factors do.
One of those factors is making wise choices. For example, our company is actually dong quite well right now. We produced the same amount of revenue by the end of the third quarter as we produced all of 2007. And we expect another record year in 2009. The reason is simple. We have set up our company so that it does well in a boom, in mediocrity or in a recession. We’ve deliberately stayed small enough so that we can swap out “modes” in which we’re working in about a month. And I am a “news junkie” and “policy wonk,” so I have a pretty good idea what’s going on in our country and how it is likely to effect our business, at least in the short-term.
But no one can predict the long-term with any degree of accuracy. Hence, our housing odyssey.
Executives need to remember this and make a personal employment plan similar to the way we run our company. Choosing a company to run wisely is, of course, the best way to assure that your position is safe. If you are currently a CEO or COO, or have influence with these folks, it is a little late, but there is still time to ask what you can do that is counter-recessionary. Virtually any company can make money in a recession, or even a depression. While the time to plan this is during a boom, just like it is best to start networking while you’re employed, it is better to start late than never.
Our clients do quite well in a recession (and, regardless of government figures, there have been several over the last 25 years). They also do well in a boom. There is no great secret here — just good planning and a recognition that economic conditions need not be frightening if you are prepared to prosper from them.
If you are unemployed now, you are probably a little terrified. Relax. There is no reason to be. If you are well-networked, know where the unadvertised (or even as-yet-not-open) jobs are, and can get someone to introduce you to their fellow board members or executives, you will be employed again rapidly. If you are not well-networked, look at a well-connected Executive Transition Coach who can introduce you to the people you need to meet. If you’re in the Front Range/Denver, Colorado area, I’m happy to meet with you and give you some direction. If you are not, ask around to your friends and golfing partners and find a coach who is well-connected, successful, and experienced in dealing with top executives. Even the best coach will run less than a couple of weeks salary for top executives, and is the best investment in your career you can make — so long as you recognize that there are plenty of scams in this business and choose carefully.
All in all, however, don’t “buy into” the panic and fear that the media is generating. This is how they sell newspapers and news shows. Everything is always a crisis. There is always “breaking news” about some disaster somewhere. The media loves the crisis “flavor of the week.”
Getting through this “financial crisis” is not difficult. It just requires a bit of paying attention, managing attitudes and making wise decisions. As always, please feel free to give me a call if I can be of any help.
To a prosperous year,
J.
We then, again with the advice of some very money-wise people, moved into a cracker-box (and rented three storage sheds for our “stuff”) to wait out the housing crisis, which, three years ago, everyone assumed would be over in a year or so. Right. Well, to make a long story endless, when it was clear that the housing crisis wasn’t resolving anytime soon, we decided not to camp out any longer in the cracker box, and got a house that we could actually put our furniture, hundreds of books and other treasures in. And therein lies a column…
No one can predict what is going to happen in a financial crisis. I am very against “Wall Street Welfare.” We are, at least for the time being, capitalists, or, to be more accurate due to decades of encroaching government regulation and meddling, socialistic capitalists. Capitalism means that there will be winners and losers. It also means that, while there are winners and losers, no one has to be a permanent loser.
The alternative, except in a utopia, is either that everyone but the government winds up in mediocre circumstances (Socialism) or that everyone but the government is kept in poverty (Communism) or that everyone but the government and the favored corporations is kept in loss or mediocrity (Fascism…look at the actual definition of Fascism, not how it is currently used by demagogues trying to get your vote…and see why there can never be such a thing as “Islamo-fascism.). Now, call me idealistic, but I am a laissez-faire Capitalist (as well as a Libertarian, but that is a whole other Oprah). Let the free market be free and let it decide. Let there be winners and losers, and let that be determined, not by government collusion or regulation, but by hard work, serendipity and wisdom in investing. Unfortunately, my opinion is in the minority in this country of ours — which became great by the majority of those with influence being of the same opinion I am now…both as a pure Capitalist and a Libertarian.
Back to this current “financial crisis” and executive employment, however.
One thing that you never read much about unless you dig is the fact that many more people became wealthy during the “Great Depression” than lost everything. Unfortunately, my grandfather, who was an attorney and heavily invested in stocks, wasn’t one of them, or I’d be sipping Mojitos under a Caribbean sun right now instead of writing to you. But the fact is that economic conditions do not determine whether or not you’re going to be wealthy. Many other factors do.
One of those factors is making wise choices. For example, our company is actually dong quite well right now. We produced the same amount of revenue by the end of the third quarter as we produced all of 2007. And we expect another record year in 2009. The reason is simple. We have set up our company so that it does well in a boom, in mediocrity or in a recession. We’ve deliberately stayed small enough so that we can swap out “modes” in which we’re working in about a month. And I am a “news junkie” and “policy wonk,” so I have a pretty good idea what’s going on in our country and how it is likely to effect our business, at least in the short-term.
But no one can predict the long-term with any degree of accuracy. Hence, our housing odyssey.
Executives need to remember this and make a personal employment plan similar to the way we run our company. Choosing a company to run wisely is, of course, the best way to assure that your position is safe. If you are currently a CEO or COO, or have influence with these folks, it is a little late, but there is still time to ask what you can do that is counter-recessionary. Virtually any company can make money in a recession, or even a depression. While the time to plan this is during a boom, just like it is best to start networking while you’re employed, it is better to start late than never.
Our clients do quite well in a recession (and, regardless of government figures, there have been several over the last 25 years). They also do well in a boom. There is no great secret here — just good planning and a recognition that economic conditions need not be frightening if you are prepared to prosper from them.
If you are unemployed now, you are probably a little terrified. Relax. There is no reason to be. If you are well-networked, know where the unadvertised (or even as-yet-not-open) jobs are, and can get someone to introduce you to their fellow board members or executives, you will be employed again rapidly. If you are not well-networked, look at a well-connected Executive Transition Coach who can introduce you to the people you need to meet. If you’re in the Front Range/Denver, Colorado area, I’m happy to meet with you and give you some direction. If you are not, ask around to your friends and golfing partners and find a coach who is well-connected, successful, and experienced in dealing with top executives. Even the best coach will run less than a couple of weeks salary for top executives, and is the best investment in your career you can make — so long as you recognize that there are plenty of scams in this business and choose carefully.
All in all, however, don’t “buy into” the panic and fear that the media is generating. This is how they sell newspapers and news shows. Everything is always a crisis. There is always “breaking news” about some disaster somewhere. The media loves the crisis “flavor of the week.”
Getting through this “financial crisis” is not difficult. It just requires a bit of paying attention, managing attitudes and making wise decisions. As always, please feel free to give me a call if I can be of any help.
To a prosperous year,
J.
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