I hate braggards.

I don’t know about you, but I really hate reading blogs & posts where people are bragging about themselves.

But I am going to do it anyway.

Let me set the stage. Back up a week. I was on a zoom call with a director looking for solutions to prevent expense hiring mistakes.

“Define expensive,” I asked.

“Let’s just say this VP left a trail of destruction we still haven’t recovered from.”

A few questions later, I learned why this person didn’t work out. They couldn’t make a decision without a full blown committee, they were completely disorganized, they had no followership and never seemed to complete anything. They always had a zillion excuses and never took personal responsibility.

“In short,” I asked, “it wasn’t what they knew or didn’t know, it what they did and didn’t do?”

“Exactly. And I am hoping you can help us from making the same mistake again.”

“I can,” I said,

“Great, what do I need to do and how much is going to cost?”

“For starters, it isn’t going to cost you anything.”

“Really? That would be wonderful.”

“Here is how I work. I really hate selling so I prefer to let my process sell itself. We will use this job as proof of concept. If I prove my ability to solve your problem then we can talk about what a formal agreement would look like.  Sound fair?”

“I’m in! When do we start?”

“Now. Step 1 is to make sure all the key stakeholders agree on what success looks like for this role. Typically, everyone has their own opinion and that is what we have to resolve first.”

“Makes sense, how do we fix that?”

“Easy. We are going to ASK. People will be invited to complete a job assessment that takes 8-10 minutes. It kind of answers the question, ‘if the job could talk, what would it tell you it needs to be successful’ and we will compare what everyone thinks.”

Oh, I like that. I think I see where you are going.”

“And that is why I want work with you, you are smart.”

“Anyway,” I continue, “its brilliant really, people love sharing their opinions. And depending on the data, depends on whether or not we need to get everyone on a call to come to an agreement.  But at the end of this process you will have an objective profile for the type of person you need who will meet the expectations you as a company have decided. And since everyone had a say in it, they are bought in.”

“I like that,” she said.

“While that is happening we will assess your candidates and compare them to the completed profile and the data will speak for itself.”

She answered, “that’s why I called. We only have one and we are split.”

“Then we better get started.”

So, our call this morning was to review the data.

The leadership team is split and the candidate is being flown back in for another round of dinners and interviews. ($$$) They are anxious to see their outputs.

Rarely, and I mean rarely, will six people agree on anything, much less job expectations. I’ve been doing this 13 years and it is the first time everyone was hands down in agreement. It gave me a chill down my spine. What cohesion!

When I reveal the comparison between what everyone is looking for to what they are seriously considering, my contact sat back and exhaled audibly. After a moment she said, “this isn’t going to work is it?”

“I can’t say with 100% certainty, but the odds are, No, he won’t. You will be in the same situation in six months, or less.” 

She was looking at me and I could almost hear the gears in her head grinding. I gave her a minute and then asked, “if that were to happen, what would be the cost?”

She gave me the side eye, and I knew, she knew; and she knew, I knew.

That is when I said, “saving you from disasters like this is what I do. And I promise you, my service costs a fraction of what I just saved you.”  

“Send me a contract.”

“My pleasure.”

Not to brag, but I bet I could help you, too.