Help Wanted: Failures

Resume

Job Objective: To obtain a position where I can leverage my significant failures.

Key Accomplishments:

• Lost a major account to the competition because I got too comfortable and assumed that the customer was happy, when they weren't.


• Hired the wrong person for a leadership position and as a result, employee engagement dropped 2% over the prior year.


• Risked $1.5 million on a new product launch that failed.
  

Fastcompany.com recently had a fascinating two-part interview with Sir James Dyson, founder of Dyson, the maker of the best selling vacuum cleaners in the U.S. by revenues. (Article part 1, part 2 ). Dyson describes himself as an inventor, who created 5127 prototypes of his vacuum over 15 years before getting it right.

Dyson says, "I've always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they've had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative."

What a refreshing perspective on failure!

Another Fastcompany.com article by Richard Watson , CEO of Global Innovation Network, talks about Celebrating Failure. In the article, Watson says "Most companies -- indeed, most people -- fail more often than they succeed. It is the proverbial elephant-in-the-boardroom. And yet by being scared of failure, we are missing a great opportunity. The point about failure is not that it happens but what we do when it happens. "

Both Dyson and Watson are talking about failure in the context of invention and innovation. They argue that creativity relies on failure - and learning from those mistakes. I'll go a step further. It's not just inventors and product development specialists that need to embrace failure. Everyone in today's organization has the right, and the need, to fail. Sometimes miserably.

Unfortunately, our society encourages hiding failure. When we fail in a job, career coaches often teach us how to put a positive spin on it...or bury it all together. When politicians or corporate executives make big mistakes, their first reaction is often "I didn't know about it", "I wasn't involved" or "Someone (or something) else was to blame."

I am not afraid to say that I have failed, sometimes miserably. But one thing I can say with confidence is that I learn from my mistakes. Rarely do I make the same mistake twice. And I always use what I learn from the failure to propel me forward in other directions. Sometimes it does take two steps back to take three steps forward.

In job interviews, one of the questions I teach managers to ask is, "Tell me about a big mistake or failure you've had recently that had significant consequences." The responses you get are fascinating. Often candidates claim that they can't recall any examples (the Alberto Gonzalez defense)...or that they haven't made any big mistakes with significant consequences. These candidates are either: a) Fibbing b) Guilty of having a very bad memory (unlikely) or c) Very risk-adverse individuals who always do exactly what they're told to stay safe...and never any more.

In any case, the "I haven't had major failures" answer raises huge red flags about a candidate. I'll take the candidate that smiles and coolly tells me in great detail about a major misstep or failure...and what he/she did about it. The person that turned the situation around and landed on his/her feet, smelling like a rose, is the candidate that interests me most. This is usually the same candidate who has a track record of stellar accomplishments and success throughout his/her career.

Of course, failure has to be balanced with good judgment, forward movement and ultimately success. Here are some of my ground rules for failing successfully, with grace and brains.

• Fail quickly and cheaply if you can.
• Know the risks. When you fail, you shouldn't be blindsided by the consequences.
• Cut and run when you need to (don't hang on too long...which goes with the first bullet).
• Don't be bitter. If you lose a promotion because you failed, accept it and move on.
• Take time to think after failure. Failing to learn from failure is the only REAL failure.

What's the failure you're proudest of...and why? What good came from it?

© 2007. Phyllis Roteman, The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Interview Etiquette for Companies

The WSJ recently had an article about how all the little things you do as a job candidate - from the minute you pull up to the building - leave a lasting impression. It gives funny examples of how everything gets noticed by prospective employers, from what you read in the lobby to how clean your car is.

As I was reading this article, I realized that this is a two-way street. While employers scrutinize everything candidates do, remember that candidates also scrutinize everything employers do. What kind of an image is your company projecting to job candidates?

I thought back to some of my experiences as a job candidate. One particularly disorganized company knew I was coming in but had nothing prepared…including the fact that the suite number to their offices was wrong in their directions to me! After finally finding the right office space, I was shuffled between a few interviewers who looked like they didn’t want to be there. Consequently, I decided I didn’t want to be there either.

In another company, a hiring manager kept sneaking peeks at his Blackberry while I was answering questions— and once his secretary popped in unannounced to let him know his wife was on the line and needed to ask him something! Although I had turned off my mobile phone and cleared my mind of all distractions for this opportunity, he clearly didn’t value my time enough to do the same.

Here are some tips on what you can do to leave a lasting positive impression on the candidates who interview YOU:

1. Treat the candidate like you would a client. Would you keep a potential client waiting around for an hour? Do you make an announcement that a big sales prospect is coming in and everyone should be on their best behavior? Whether they are hired or not, remember that all candidates are walking billboards for how your company treated them during the selection process. You never know who they might know!

2. Orchestrate every minute of the interview. Do you know where candidates will be at all times? Who is taking them to the next interview appointment? Is anyone meeting them downstairs to get them through security? Make sure you coordinate with other selection managers in advance so that you are not wasting anyone’s time by “winging it.”

3. Pay Attention to the candidate. Are you subtly glancing at your Blackberry or your open email inbox on the computer screen? Have you asked for all calls to be held unless it’s an emergency? Treat the interview seriously to show how serious you are about finding the right person for this job.

Finding the right job means “finding the right fit”— and that definitely goes for both candidates and employers. What other tips or ideas do you have to help hiring managers make a positive impression on all job candidates?

©2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved. www.TheLoyaltyGroup.com

How to Select Job Candidates with Integrity (Pay Attention to Clues)

In the film Meet the Parents, Robert DeNiro's character is a parent/ex-CIA agent who is known as a "human lie detector." Although he had a real polygraph machine in his basement, he didn't need it. He could just tell when people were lying by talking to them. He would have made a great interviewer.

It seems to be getting harder to find job candidates who have strong integrity. Candidates who are "integrity-challenged" don't necessarily have criminal records, shifty eyes or sweaty palms. They may be normal-looking (even highly skilled) employees who hide mistakes or blame others, take credit for other people's work, violate copyrights intentionally or sabotage others when upset.

In our company's Selection in Action training, managers often ask us, "What can we do as hiring managers to select for integrity and weed out those who lack it?" The easy answer is...there is no easy answer.

The best we can do is set up an effective selection system that has validated, built-in assessments for integrity, including psychological testing, behavioral interviewing and simulations.

However, even the best selection system can suffer from human error. Think about it. Well-built cars don't have accidents. Drivers have accidents. The same goes for selection systems. Well-built selection systems rarely make mistakes. Hiring managers who use selection systems have accidents. The biggest "accident" a hiring manager can make in the selection process is ignoring the objective data that a strong selection process provides.

If your selection system is set up properly, candidates who lack integrity will give clues throughout the selection process. They won't come out and tell you that they lack integrity - they probably won't admit to lying, cheating or sabotaging others. Here are some examples of what you might see and hear during a selection process, that are clues to a candidate's questionable integrity:

- Denying that they've made mistakes in the past or that they've had failures. When candidates consistently make comments such as, "I haven't ever had a big failure or disappointment," or "I haven't had a conflict at work. I always get along with everybody," you know they're not telling the truth. If you hire them, don't expect them to own up to mistakes in the workplace.

- Showing up late for phone calls and interviews, rescheduling appointments, not following up as promised...and making excuses. No matter how much you love these candidates or how "perfect" they are for the job, don't ignore how they behave during the selection process. This is your best clue as to how they'll actually behave when you hire them.

- Telling stories about how they achieved a positive result, but cut corners or "fudged the truth" to get the result. As hiring managers, it's easy to be blinded by candidates' stories of making customers happy, saving the company money or making a sale. Don't ignore how they got those results. For example, a sales candidate who closed a million dollar contract at her last job may make a sales hiring manager salivate. But don't forget to ask how the candidate got that million dollar sale. Did she have to overpromise deliverables to get the sale? Did the sale actually cost the company money because the margins weren't high enough? Did she exaggerate her company's capabilities, or sweeten the deal with unauthorized "freebies", to close the sale? Dig deep and pay attention to the whole story.

Of course, none of this is a guarantee that you'll hire the perfect candidate with impeccable integrity. Like motivations or personal values, integrity isn't something you can see easily. But you can become more like DeNiro's "human lie detector" by engaging your integrity radar and paying attention to the clues candidates drop during the selection process. Chances are, candidates who are lacking integrity will subtly reveal themselves if you pay attention to the signs.

And remember, most people are good. Assume that people have integrity until they show you otherwise. Try to be smart and objective when hiring...without being cynical or prejudging.

©2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved. www.TheLoyaltyGroup.com