Lean Connections

OK Lean Leaders.  Last year is over and so is that first, often still-slow week of January. If you are actively engaged in a search for a new position, NOW is the time to get aggressively active again.

Our friends at EMC have put together an excellent collection of tips and suggestions  that you’d be well-advised to review and, perhaps, incorporate into your job search strategies and activities.  Below is the introduction to the eBook (PDF format) written by Jack Mollen, EVP Human Resources, for EMC.

PS.  As you might surmise, all of the recruiters are from EMC Corp., but hey, they’re really solid tips and some of the recruiting war stories are funny, and sadly, true.

The rules and norms of job searching and career mobility have changed.

For job seekers, gone are the days of creating a great résumé and actively following job boards as a way to be sure you’ll find—and ultimately land—a job that meets your needs.

The world is just as different for recruiters.

This book contains 100 real-time tips and stories from FORTUNE 500 recruiters that will inspire and motivate you, provide insights, and identify traps. The recruiters come from diverse backgrounds and geographies, and they have experience recruiting at all levels. Don’t miss the last two pages. They are filled with links to the top career and job search resources and social media sites.

Talent search doesn’t have to be a mystery. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Putting people to work faster is good for you, good for families, good for the global economy, and good for business.

If you are looking for your next job, if you take note of just one piece of advice, this is it: Don’t give up. Don’t take it personally. Be persistent and be a master of the new rules of search.

With sincere wishes for your success,

Jack Mollen, Executive Vice President of Human Resources, EMC Corporation

Last week’s published numbers indicate a national unemployment rate approaching 9.5%.  Bad news, right? Or, maybe not as much as the the nightly news would have us all believe.

If you happen to be an executive or manager with strong Lean or Lean Sigma expertise (in other words, someone who can demonstrate the ability to make Operational Excellence happen in Corporate America), dust off that resume and get ready to take advantage of  the developing talent war for professionals just like you. Oh, and if you’ve also had a chance to help incorporate a Green focus into the Lean equation, then we should probably talk right away…

And the message for all you hiring executives -  CEOs, Presidents, and Vice Presidents of Human Resources  -  start planning now how you’ll go about filling your talent pipeline with the people who can bring these strategic and tactical principles, processes and techniques into your organization.  Because that’s what your competitors are doing right about now.

Way back in May, 2009 this ominous news from  BusinessWeek:  ”In the midst of the worst recession in a generation or more, with 13 million people unemployed, there are approximately 3 million jobs that employers are actively recruiting for but so far have been unable to fill. That’s more job openings than the entire population of Mississippi.”  No statistics, unfortunately, on how many of these unfilled positions were at the executive or managerial level. 

My own unscientific research project over the weekend, focusing on Lean Leadership vacancies, turned up these well-known corporate names in search of Manager, Director or Vice President level candidates:  Genzyme; Medtronic;  Tyco Electronics;  Florida Power & Light (FPL Group);  Siemens Energy;  Pentair Corp;  Textron Systems;  B/E Aerospace;  Johnson & Johnson;  Cooper Industries;  Accenture;  Merck;  Ecolab;  Baxter.  

And of course Marvin Windows & Doors, for whom we seek a new Vice President of Manufacturing.

Whether as a potential new job-seeker or prospective hiring executive, will you be ready for this rapidly-approaching and dramatic shift in the American executive recruiting picture ? 

I am.

This is Adam Zak, and that’s how I see it…

“Respect for people: Very few businesses start up only on the backs of the sole founder. It takes a team.”  Jamie Flinchbaugh 

Just a few days ago Jamie blogged over at LeanBlog about the Lean Entrepreneur. With layoffs mounting at even the Leanest Thinking companies, he argued that this might be just the time for “lean-minded” individuals to strike out on their own and start new businesses. In fact, some quick research I did indicates that 16 of the 30 DJIA (Dow Jones index) corporations were launched during past recessions, among them Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Walt Disney, for example. Jamie makes a persuasive point. 

And he’s also on target writing that Lean Thinkers’ clear focus on “customer obsession,” “direct observation” and “respect for people” can add tremendous value to the new venture.  But I might have changed the order a bit and put “respect for people” first. So here’s some additional perspective on the importance of the team – people – to the success of your new business undertaking.

In my earlier days I spent some time in Silicon Valley helping start two companies, one which turned out moderately successful and was sold to a strategic buyer, and one which burned to a crisp and was eventually abandoned.  These two experiences qualified me for a very small seat at the venture capital table, and I found myself assessing the viability of entrepreneurial ventures as they were brought to our attention. 

I learned that, without question, the start-up team is absolutely the most critical element in the success or failure of a new company.  Analyze carefully your own strengths and weaknesses and recruit others who can balance and complement these.  Sure, it may be your brilliant idea for a phenomenal product or service, and you may be hesitant to share decision control, execution responsibility and eventual profits with others.  But unless your business is high-powered consulting (think Deming, Drucker, Ram Charan, or James O. McKinsey – well, you get the picture) you are not likely to make the big time on your own. read more »