It struck me that he was absolutely using the PDCA methodology in his job hunt: Planning for a high-potential career-fit target audience; Doing the work of contacting referral sources that might open some doors for him; Checking, validating what was working and what was not; Adjusting his process based on that feedback – and then doing it all over again. 

Here’s what his cover letter looked like.  Notice the relevant lead-in sentences. Notice his offer of help to me towards the end. And notice the clear and concise target list of companies he’d like to work for. 

Dear Adam,

Hope this update finds you in good health!  Now that the summer is coming to an end, I look forward to the coming fall with some faith that we will all be successful in our ventures.  I am staying busy networking and searching for my next great career opportunity!  Furthermore, I am pursuing a six sigma black belt (quality) certification and Toastmasters recognition.  I wanted to update you on my career search / target companies and ask for any recommendations you may have based upon my skill set.  My best leads and help have come through networking.  For your convenience, my marketing profile as well as target companies are listed below.  My LinkedIn profile is available by clicking on the person hiking above.  As always, please let me know if I can be of assistance to you. 
 

Thank you for your ongoing support.  Please have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!

Sincerely,

Chris
——————-
Marketing Profile

A Global Operations and Continuous Improvement professional with expertise in varied manufacturing environments.  I am experienced in implementing quality and continuous improvement efforts leading to cost reductions and productivity improvements.  
 Target Companies

·         Cleveland Clinic	·         PolyOne
·         University Hospitals	·         Lubrizol
·         PNC Bank	·         Rockwell Automation
·         United States Postal Service	·         Eaton
·         Bendix	·         Goodrich Aerospace
·         Crane Aerospace	·         Alcoa
·         Ford Motor Company	·         ArcelorMittal
·         Parker Hannifin	·         MTD Products
·         Swagelok	·         Dealer Tire
·         Invacare	·         Aleris
·         Sherman Williams	·         Honeywell

 

This guy gets it!  Chris, good luck in your search. I may have a name or two for you.

Adam Zak

We’re looking for an experienced Six Sigma leader with broad business acumen, global perspective and experience, and the ability to drive, facilitate and sustain change in a fast-paced, highly entrepreneurial environment.  

The selected individual will become our client’s Director, Global Six Sigma, and leverage her or his outstanding leadership, communications and technical skills to create significant and lasting impact and value at all levels of this organization.  

And yes, it’s going to take an ambitious, determined and committed “A-player” to reap the rewards of success in this demanding role.  But what business transformation worthy of that designation wouldn’t be a major problem-solving opportunity, and a challenge of such caliber that it rigorously tests the mettle of even the best Six Sigma pros in today’s competitive manufacturing world? 

Could you be up to this challenge?     (go here to download PDF position description)

Adam Zak

Which way out?

Looks like 25% or so of the executives whom surveyed companies have identified as “high-potential” leaders plan to exit their respective companies within the next 12 months. Oops!  (Not sure how they actually got to this number – would you be telling your CEO of your plans to get-outta-Dodge?)  My guess:  the number is probably much higher.

So, is it too late for intervention? Can these organizations salvage the situation? 

The same survey indicates that an additional 21 percent (so now we’re looking at 45% total) of employees today (yes, your employees!) identify themselves as “highly disengaged,” and this percentage has risen, alarmingly, by about 300% since 2007.  Perhaps these statistics would be different today if more companies were doing some basic things a bit better, and if one of the foundational principles of “Lean Thinking,” respect for people, were at the core of their best people practices.

The CEB goes on to describe some tactics which companies might want to implement to re-engage and more effectively manage high-potential employees (though more progressive organizations might actually want to call them associates or team members):

• Stimulate — Emerging leaders need stimulating work, recognition and the chance to grow. If your company doesn’t provide these, they can quickly disengage.
• Test — Explicitly test candidates for internal promotion for ability, engagement and aspiration to make sure they’re able to handle the tougher roles as their careers progress.
• Manage — Having line managers oversee high-potential employees only limits their access to opportunities and encourages hoarding of talent. Instead, manage these high-potential employees at the corporate level.
• Challenge — High potential employees need to be in positions where new capabilities can — or must — be acquired.
• Recognize — High potential employees will be more engaged if they are recognized through pay, so offer them differentiated compensation and recognition.
• Engage — Incorporate high-potential employees into strategic planning. Share future strategies with them and emphasize their role in making them come to fruition.

Now, for you Lean Thinkers reading about these “new” insights, the CED prescription doesn’t really sound all that revolutionary, does it?  Maybe different words, yet very similar to what Lean Leaders actually do when they engage in “manager standard work.”   My guess is that Lean implementation, done the right way with people and continuous improvement in mind (not just thinking about tools), still has a long way to go in most North American companies.  Especially in those which will find the the CED survey and Harvard Business Review article revealing to them something which they apparently don’t already know.

The recruiting process to identify your company’s new CFO has been thorough and professionally executed. Your search committee, your retained search firm, and all key stakeholders were fully engaged from the start. It went smoothly, quickly, and in fact, better than you expected, given these turbulent economic times. You vetted the top players in your industry, and a few outsiders who contributed some creative insights and energy into your deliberations.   And now you’ve narrowed your choices down to three, but one is clearly a standout.

It’s time for crafting and extending the offer.  And, as SVP Human Resources, it’s your job to figure out “now that we’ve given the nod to Samantha Pink – by all measures our best candidate – how are we going to convince her to move for this job?”

Oops. Too late. Anything you do at this point to “convince” Samantha will rarely amount to more than just rolling the dice. The “convincing” process should have begun the day she came onto your radar screen as a potential candidate.  Paving the way to structure an offer which your selected candidate will eagerly accept must begin long before you’ve arrived at this moment. And I would argue that it is one of the most critical components of the executive search process.

The simple truth is that candidates today, particularly at the Vice President level and above, are becoming extremely selective in terms of the companies and positions they’ll consider for career opportunities. So many variables now enter into the career-move equation that it’s easy for a prospective employer to get blindsided at almost any turn.  Consider such factors as corporate financial uncertainties, executive personal, family and financial concerns, and dramatic real estate market upheavals across the country, and it becomes even more important that you do a lot of things right along the road to attracting the best new leaders to your organization. Too many mistakes on your part and you’re sunk; it’s not easy to recover with an offer of a big title or promotion, or even a major bump in compensation.

So instead, as my colleague Stephen Covey wisely preaches, “Begin with the end in mind.” Here are some strategic ideas you may want to consider:

1. Clearly define exactly what it is that makes you the employer of choice in your market space.

It’s a major hook for top candidates, and you’ll need this ammunition during your courtship process, and again at offer stage. Identify the factors which the executives and associates who work for you find so attractive that they simply wouldn’t consider going anywhere else.  Share and relate in your candidate discussions.

Also, realistically understand and prepare to address any concerns or perceptions, valid or maybe even not so valid, regarding your weaknesses (financial, legal, market, product, etc.). Johnson & Johnson, for instance, has a factory out there that just isn’t making the grade right now. It’s creating massive recalls of children’s medication and a PR disaster. J&J needs to be openly discussing this problem with anyone they’re recruiting, right from the very start – and describing how they’re fixing the current situation and preventing recurrences.

Above all else, prepare yourself with extensive market intelligence to answer, over and over, the ultimate (and sometimes never directly asked, but always there) candidate question: “I’m happy and well-paid where I am. Why should I leave and make the move to your company?”  Hint: your corporate culture, also mentioned by Groysberg (below) could have a lot to do with it.

2. Don’t write a job description; create a “career opportunity blueprint” which communicates how and why the candidate can, will want to, and will, do great things working in your business.

About 50% of today’s corporate job descriptions are meaningless. For the most part, these comprise laundry lists which somebody long ago downloaded from the Net and keeps on inserting into what should be meaningful strategic tools for business planning and growth.  And the other half, well…  

According to Harvard University’s Boris Groysberg, one of the top three mistakes executives make when changing jobs is believing this stuff. Well, actually he writes: “assuming that the given job title and description accurately reflect the position.” Is it possible that the employer creating such a document is at least partially at fault for this misunderstanding?

All too often, job descriptions share a common problem: They lack strategic focus. They concentrate on the tasks the manager is expected to perform and the activities he or she must engage in. There are lists of specific duties, responsibilities, personal characteristics and so on. But these descriptions are severely lacking in the most critical element of all: the performance objective.

To attract dynamic, performance-driven executives to your organization, position blueprints must focus on desired outcomes for your company, not on the tasks required to get there. Each position must be defined in terms of how it contributes to your company’s success. This is what allows the executive to understand how he or she contributes to the business unit. It strengthens the commitment between the executive and the company, empowers better decision making, and aligns the executive as a true stakeholder in desired outcomes.

And it communicates how and why the candidate will be able to do great things by working with you in your business. Could be the tie-breaker that lets you win over your next “A player.”

3. Treat each candidate as you would your best customer, and serve her well.

How much do you think Zappos.com knows about each customer?  About their best customers?  I’d bet it’s a lot more than name, address and shoe size.  And how does Tony Hsieh utilize that information to make each customer’s experience more personal, more memorable and more valuable?

Strive to make each candidate’s experience personal, memorable and valuable as well, at each step of his or her interaction with you. Well before that offer stage, you need to understand the individual’s decision factors which will play into offer acceptance, and reduce the possibilities of turn-down. The professional and personal factors, the intellectual and emotional ones, those which are clearly communicated and obvious factors,  and also those so deeply hidden they  rarely surface out into the open. But they’re all there, and they’re all very real to each and every candidate. Make them real for your recruiting team as well.

So how many school-aged children do Samantha Pink and her spouse need to worry about in case of a relocation? What’s his career like and how do his plans fit in with the couple’s long-term personal and financial goals? How will they manage his career transition?  Of course they own a home, and most likely in a top neighborhood where other C-level executives choose to reside.

Have you already begun to do some advance networking with your C-level contacts and your local HR colleagues in anticipation of confidentially introducing Johnny Pink around before he begins his own job search?  Have you had someone on your team dig into the details of how difficult it will be for them to sell their home, and determine what neighborhoods near your corporate HQ would provide a similar lifestyle experience  (including schools) for their family?  Or, have you explored potential temporary residence options in Samantha and Johnny’s home town, as well as in yours?  Have your prepared to discuss executive commuting options for one or the other, or even both, as an alternative to full immediate relocation for the family.  And how about yet other alternatives in the event their high school basketball star adamantly resists relocation before finishing out his senior year?

It’s never going to be possible to anticipate every scenario which could potentially block your number one candidate from accepting even the best and greatest compensation and lifestyle package you can put together.  But the degree to which you’ve effectively listened and understood, researched and prepared, from those first moments of your executive candidate interactions, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Finally, to actually address my colleague’s question which prompted this mini-essay: No is the answer.  There is no magic. We’re all Muggles here. If your top candidate needs to sell her home and will not take a loss on the sale, which therefore requires you to subsidize the cash deficit with a sign-on bonus or stock options or restricted stock, then that’s what you’ll have to do.  Trust me: she will walk away from your “the best we can do” compromise offer. Move onto candidate number two.

And that’s the way I see it.

In his role as CEO of Adam Zak Executive Search, Adam Zak recruits “A” players.  Then, in their new executive roles, these talented individuals go on to make their new companies simply excellent. Adam has been using his uncommon expertise to help clients improve their businesses operationally and financially for almost 20 years. Find him at http://Twitter.com/LeanThinker.

Adam’s new book, Simple Excellence: Organizing and Aligning the Management Team in a Lean Transformation, will be available in November, 2010, from Taylor & Francis/Productivity Press, publisher.

The first three paragraphs of this article appearing in today’s San Francisco Business Times caught my attention because of how seriously inappropriate it is to “dub” any initiative which will result in the elimination of 538 people as an operational excellence plan.   Who did the “dubbing?”

UC San Francisco, which faces a daunting budget deficit in this and coming years, is envisioning a restructuring that could slash up to 538 jobs over the next three years.

The game plan, dubbed “Operational Excellence,” could eliminate up to 35 central administration positions, up to 225 jobs in IT, 100 in human resources, 95 in finance and 83 in research administration, for a total of up to 538, according to a report sent to UCSF’s senior management in early April.

The proposed three-year plan aims to re-engineer internal organizations and processes, “transform” the IT department, integrate “service teams” in HR, finance and research administration, and create or save additional revenue through efficiency.  Read more: Restructuring at UC San Francisco could chop 538 jobs – San Francisco Business Times: 

(Note: I’m not an SF Business Times subscriber so I asked a Bay Area colleague to read me the rest of the story this morning; it didn’t get any better).

Why do some today still persist in equating business and operational improvement efforts with personnel cuts?  In a truly operationally excellent environment it’s all about continuous improvement and respect for people.  This way of thinking is just, as my Lean colleague Mark Graban puts it, L.A.M.E thinking!   We saw some of the same previously when the Wall Street Journal published a front page story about Lean apparently gone wrong at Starbucks. Why won’t this misguided thinking just die?

In his report of March 24, 2010, An Update on UCSF 2011: A Focus on Operational Excellence, UC San Francisco Chief Business Officer John Plotts sets a much clearer and more accurate tone regarding the true meaning of improvement efforts:

It is important to note that while the challenges in front of us demand immediate attention, it is in the University’s best interest to view these challenges as an opportunity to commit to a new way of doing business that encourages the continual examination of what we do and to ask, “Why do we do this? Is there a better way?”

By dedicating ourselves to continual improvement – this year and in the years to come – we can be sure that UCSF is well run and that our resources are supporting our top priorities:  patients and health, discovery and education.  Committing to excellence in all we do will allow UCSF to be the best university we can make it.

Bravo, Mr. Plotts, for being a Lean Thinker, And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak

Shingo Silver Medallion:
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company– Lawton, Oklahoma
HID Global – North Haven, Connecticut
Hi-Tech Gears Limited – Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Valeo Sylvania Iluminación – Queretaro, Mexico

Shingo Bronze Medallion:
BAE Systems – Samlesbury – Blackburn, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Baxter Healthcare – Los Angeles, California
Fleet Readiness Center Southeast - TSRS Shop – Jacksonville, Florida
Letterkenny Army Depot, Patriot Missile – Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Red River Army Depot, Up-Armored HMMWV/HEAT – Texarkana, Texas
Ultraframe UK Ltd. – Clitheroe, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Visteon Interamerican Plant – Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico

Congratulations, and  may your journey of Lean continuous improvement be a long and sustainable one.

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak

Later this evening I’ll be attending the welcome dinner prior to the opening of the Lean Leadership Summit at the Hyatt in Irvine, CA.  I’m looking forward to visiting with some long-time Lean colleagues and meeting many new ones.  The weather’s great (though the locals say it’s still a bit chilly for them) compared to what we’ve been experiencing in the Chicago area, and so took advantage of this to get in an early morning jog.  And maybe came up with a new and innovative business improvement idea for Cintas, the global specialized business services provider.

My exercise route initially took me past a Jiffy Lube store just around the corner from the well-manicured residential Westpark section of Irvine, where a Cintas competitor was dropping off freshly laundered uniforms and picking up a batch of greasy ones.  A few minutes later I found myself alongside another one of the many Southern California tech-styled business parks, where a Cintas Document Management division mobile shredding unit (large semi rig) was destroying buckets of confidential documents for one of its customers. And that’s when I came up with my Lean Innovation of the Day.

What if Cintas decided to build and deploy a fleet of travelling laundry units, similar to the mobile shredding vehicles which currently work so well for them?  I questioned the driver/operator about my idea and he told me that he wasn’t aware that Cintas might already be doing this, or had any plans to do so.   

Well, there may already be a (small-scale, tested?) business model for doing something like this. Perhaps you’ll recall the P&G commercials which aired on the broadcast networks and cable a few months after the Katrina disaster. P&G’s Tide organization helped provide relief (and generate advertising opportunities) by sending out washer/dryer crews to Katrina-affected areas to provide just-in-time, on-site clothes laundering.  Would Cintas customers be interested in just-in-time laundering?

What might be the potential advantages for them as well as for Cintas? Would faster turn-around time help reduce the required inventory levels of uniforms? Could the number of trips required for pick-up and delivery be reduced, particularly given the nasty Southern California traffic issues?  Might this result in savings of time for customers or Cintas or both? How about a reduction in fuel costs, and not just in California?  And what about environmental impact, especially if Cintas were able to significantly down-size or even shut down a number of their central laundry processing sites?  Hmmm.

I’m going to give Cintas CEO Scott Farmer a ring this afternoon to pass along my idea. I hope he takes my call.  And if he likes what he hears I think I’ve got three potential Lean Six Sigma-trained executive candidates who could get such a project off the ground for him. But, for now, sushi lunch at my favorite Newport Beach hole-in-the wall, where they actually have Japanese sushi maestros creating edible masterpieces.

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak

Please remember that there is no cost to any employer choosing to recruit NUMMI alumni utilizing this site.

http://nummitalent.ning.com/

A Lean Connections Community Service project from Adam Zak Executive Search, the Lean Enterprise Institute and others…

And that’s the way I see it.  Adam Zak

Did things get a little tight for you as well?

Is it official?  Is the “Great Recession” over? Should we be launching new executive leadership hiring initiatives now? Are we sure? When will we be sure?  

1. Turn your competitors’ mistakes to your advantage. There indeed are exceptions to every rule and there’s always an exception for why someone might be an executive “in transition” (see above). Voluntary departures, particularly from your competitor companies, may have the potential to become attractive executive hires for you. Put together an intelligence network and do some sleuthing. Figure out why they left, turn it around, and make it a selling point when you go after these individuals.  A common concern I’m hearing is that many companies simply did not communicate effectively about belt-tightening measures. This had the effect of blindsiding mid-level leaders to the point where they unintentionally misinformed and misled their rank-and-file, and lost “face” and trust with these team members. Demonstrate how this will never happen as long as you’re in charge and you’ll win their commitment.
2. Do even more to become the employment brand of choice. Start thinking about your prospective executive candidates as you would of potential customers for your products and services.  Customers have unique feelings and attitudes about what they buy from whom. Chances are very strong you spend tremendous marketing resources figuring this out. Do the same kind of analysis for the executives you want to hire. Explore why they choose to work where they currently do.  Assess and define what they would find in your organization that would make you a potentially attractive company to work for – for them. Translate this information into a message that is in turn appealing and unique to each individual you want to recruit (no batch mass-marketing here; this is tailored one-piece, just-in-time communication flow).  Hint: strong leadership is something which most executives and line workers absolutely crave. Find a way to communicate that this is part of the foundation which underlies your corporate culture. You’ll attract the world-class winners you seek.
3. Plan for the Expected. Visualize for the Unanticipated. It’s hard to maneuver a decelerating aircraft carrier even if you prepare to dock well in advance. But just think how incredibly demanding it must be to turn one around on a dime.  Similarly, preparing an executive recruiting and succession plan is difficult enough in a stable and orderly business environment. Now imagine reacting to an out-of-the blue marketing threat from a major competitor, or responding to a newly discovered technological innovation, or perhaps a particularly attractive acquisition opportunity.  It’s only with deeply concentrated forethought and almost prescient insight that any organization could possibly hope to be thoroughly prepared for such scenarios on a moment’s notice.  And there are very few SWOT oracles around anymore these days.

But visualizing such unanticipated events, and building “executive talent supply chains” or pipelines around them, is a strategic investment which makes a lot of sense for the market leaders of tomorrow. Become just such a strategic talent thinker. Create virtual “Dream Teams” for existing and anticipated leadership roles within all of today’s major revenue-generating business units, as well as those with the potential to eventually supersede them. Fill the pipeline with names and dossiers of “A-players” who will be eager to take your phone call on the day your CEO comes to you and says:  “I want you to ramp up a critical recruiting effort for this deeply hush-hush business venture I’ve been covertly negotiating for months. Let’s get started now!”