Brain Vs. No Brain

Several things come to mind when someone says “I’m looking for someone with brains” to the question “What are you looking for?”:

• Presuming the person is speaking about intelligence, and if one would engage them in a conversation about “the definition of intelligence”, what would they say? (“thinking out of the box” doesn’t qualify)
• That they immediately presume they are the most intelligent person in the room – which is dangerous and incredibly arrogant, especially when you are the only other person in the room
• That their perception of the world is “People are generally stupid” (which then might necessitate a philosophical discussion of what “stupid” means, if you have sufficient patience at this point)

Most importantly, whenever someone says “I’m looking for someone with brains” the thought of “lazy”, “unimaginative” and “condescending” come to mind.

And these are usually poor indicators for a future partner in any respect.

What’s that smell? Smokescreen.

Some people just need the manual.

With that they can learn to operate sophisticated machinery, concoct amazing creations and delight the world with their new found inspiration.

Some people need others to read the manual, show them the ins and outs of the machine, test the recipe a few times, make the final product, QA it for them, package and put it on the shelf with a nice description card then hand over all the credit as they slink into the shadows on their tippy-toes.

Some call the latter illustration ‘taking ownership’; the few to see through the smokescreen call it ‘insecurity’.

C.A.R.E.

Do you c.a.r.e.?

My friend who last inspired the ‘leadersh*t’ story came up with another golden nugget, but this time he gave the overused ‘acronyms for people who can’t grasp concepts’ a run for their money:

C  Cover

A  A$$

R  Retain

E  Employment

Having had to grind my teeth through another pointless acronym-overdosed, unimaginative ‘motivational’ session some months back I found this refreshing and at least, entertaining. After all, my friend is in the coaching business and this was simply fitting.

This brings me to another interesting observation this week: if you hire an architect to build your house, and by that you literally expect the guy to do it, you can’t be upset if it doesn’t quite get finished on time or if the plumbing doesn’t work. A lot goes on in the synchronisation of a project and its success hinges on the actors who prop up the sound, lights and sell the tickets. It is too easy for a customer – whether internal or external – to say “there is something wrong” but most of the time they can never quite figure out where it went wrong. This is why the gun is never given to the customer, but is usually in the hands of the architect (provided they were actually around throughout the entire project, and not having a pina colada whilst having pushed their responsibilities on to a contractor).

Several years ago I had a customer who would get into the pub early doors, for a couple of pints and light banter. John (let’s call him that) was very unassuming, hardly fussy and always had something interesting to say. In as far as I knew, the man ran several businesses one of which was a modest consultancy. During a conversation about management and running businesses, John gave me advice I’ll never forget (amongst others):

“Anyone can point out problems; people are programmed to look for faults in others, but only a good leader is able to step up to the plate and solve them.”

Inevitably you can identify problems and complain about it – but if you can find a way to solve it, you will earn respect regardless of what your title is for that day, week, month, year. Life will always present you with problems and people will always come to you with them (anyone who tells you “I hired you to do X, don’t come to me with your problems” is a prick – period) so escapism is only going to demonstrate that you either don’t have what it takes to solve it with them, or you just don’t know what to do anyway. Refusal to act reflects apathy and lack of conviction, and therein part carelessness.

So do you and your employees care?

A Covert 360° Assessment Opportunity

Or what not to do at a job interview

We often read articles about “What Not to Do at a Job Interview: 7 Things You Need to Know!”Articles like these are everywhere; and they serve as excellent reminders for those hunting for the next best offer out in this wild working West (or East). Strangely, nobody really writes about what an interviewer should not do at interviews. During a recent animated conversation with a friend (who sadly had to sit through a badly managed interview) I was prompted to write this in the hopes that it will may help one navigate through the interview process better (regardless of which side of the desk you are on).

Let’s start with the basics, shall we?

Location and punctuality

Most interviews are conducted in the office premises of the potential employer. This allows for the incumbent to assess his/her future working environment and put that into consideration during the interview process. Part of this assessment includes feasibility of the location (as you spend 80% of your traveling time to and fro work) and impressions of facilities and general environment. Like a potential tenant, any interviewee worth their salt will attempt to conduct a reconnaissance of his/her future work environment. This means that if you are the potential employer you should ensure that the office is presentable and attractive to not only your clients, but to your intended new tenants – that is your future staff. If this is not possible, a suitable location – usually a quiet restaurant or coffee house – is appointed.

The location is preferably well lit and allows for some privacy so the interview can be conducted in relative peace. I would recommend gems like EspressoLab and Ishin which are located in quiet corners of a busy district, which allow for easy access yet are sufficiently drama-free for those special exchanges.

It goes without saying that punctuality is important, especially for the incumbent. The last thing you want is to be late for your own job interview, which only insinuates that you will be late for work or business appointments. I find however, that a number of interviewers find it acceptable to be late themselves – some up to half an hour. Why is this? Did you think that making your interviewee wait for you enforces a sense of superiority or glamour? Get a clue. Being late for anything smacks of poor time management and selfishness. Unless you intend to hire a person with very low self-esteem, reserve your mind games for your pets.

Introductions and the noisy things

Limp handshakes, wet hands, rushed entrances – I’ve seen it all. Why did you, my didn’t-quite-make-it-future-boss, think it was ok to lightly moisten my hand? Never mind that, those of you who enter the room in a heap of sweat and smelling like a gym – what impression were you hoping to give your potential new staff? That you are incapable of getting a shower or buying decent deodorant? Forget about people coming to interviews looking like trailer trash – I have seen those interviewing looking like they fell off the back of a poultry transporter. If you’re not making an entrance to an interview like you were meeting a client, you have no business being there.

And I know you have the latest iPhone or Android but I’m not here to compare telecommunication gadgets so turn it off, please, and pay me some attention.

Conversation contexts – all you have are words (or is that all?)

This is where it gets tricky – especially when an introvert meets another introvert or vice versa. Ever been at an interview and whilst the interviewer is yabbering away you think “Why am I here, again?” or you’re sitting across a candidate and the silence is so deafening you think “Ok, so what next…”? Anyone can interview a monkey – if you have a banana and a drum, you’ve got a party. But you’re not about to interview a monkey anytime soon (unless you’re a zoologist) so ask yourself:

• Have I sufficiently perused, and absorbed, the candidates resume?

• Do I know what this candidate wants from their career, and from this job? And if I don’t what are the questions that I should ask?

• What are the requirements and expectations of this job that I should prepare the candidate for, and how can I formulate a conversation that allows for him/her to understand them and ask pertinent questions?

• What are the necessary quantifying and qualifying skills and abilities I will need to assess the candidate for?

Suffice to say, you don’t need to be in HR to understand this but if you’re serious about hiring someone to get a job done efficiently this should be at the top of your list and the process should be timed – each topic should be given 10 minutes to discuss so that the conversation is managed.

This ensures that the process does not become incredibly lengthy yet provides sufficient flexibility for there to be conversation, an exchange of thoughts, and not an interrogation. It appears that this area is largely unexplored or well understood, and as a result employers often find themselves frustrated that the new employee takes too long to grasp the essential business needs or fit in, and employees are quick to be disenchanted by what they initially understood to be the culture or job requirements.

I can’t say how many times I had observed HR Managers fail at asking questions necessary to the performance of the job (because well, HR can sometimes be disinterested by roles outside their realm) and direct reports are so busy nattering on about how “challenging”, “exciting” and “fabulous” this job is they fail to identify the pulse of the interview.

Some of the interview boo-boos I have experienced and heard of:

• Not having understood the candidate’s resume, the interviewer asks them questions which are already answered on the resume

• Telling the candidate what you want to hear (really?)

• Gleaning over job descriptions, or telling candidates that the job description is only a formality and “there is more, you should be prepared”. Unless you’re in the business of assassination, arms smuggling or prostitution I don’t think it is acceptable to be vague about job descriptions, expectation or remuneration packages. This is not Rambo, kids.

• Talking about your own achievements, what you have done, your world domination plans (another really?)

• Swearing, being negative (or overly optimistic), putting down competitors, being harsh about the candidate’s weaknesses, play down the candidate’s strengths or insult their expectations. This is an interview – you ought to be on your best behaviour if you are going to convince someone that they should choose to work with you. You’re not here to chastise a complete stranger!

In closing, close with a smile

Ultimately, you are on stage – everyone is. Just because you are interviewing a candidate it does not make you God. Everything that you do, say, insinuate, the twitch of your nostrils – these are all being assessed by your candidate. Up to 80% of communications is non verbal, anyway. If your candidate comes away from the interview feeling positively energized, excited and in awe of you and your organization you would have achieved what most companies fail to understand, that which is interviews allow for the outside world to assess your insides.

Not only would the candidate hope to land a job in your great office and to be learning from a brilliant boss like you, they would tell everyone they know how awesome this place/you are. But if you candidate walked away thinking the interview was a total waste of time and effort, you can be assured that they will let their network know of who not to work for, and with. Part of the WOM process involves interviews and unless your HR and HODs are hermits, they need to be aware that treating candidates with respect, integrity and transparency is necessary. Just as you would manage customers, you should treat candidates in the same manner regardless of the position they are being interviewed for.

You may never know – they may turn you down and get hired by your competitor.

Then what, Sparky?

Are you a seminar JUNKIE? Don’t be in a hurry to join the next one…

I was invited to a seminar last Saturday, in particular a sales and leadership seminar facilitated by what appears to be, a pretty popular sales and leadership guru (as it says on his website). It was a 2 day programme with no itinerary – just a registration time and end time.

I had already RSVP’d several weeks earlier, and notified that I would be late to arrive due to work commitments: 3pm to be exact. I arrived at 230pm to a mass of people waiting outside the ballroom doors and registered promptly. I was told the doors would be open at 250pm, and now was the lunch break. So I parked myself at the entrance, wondering what this was all about (no folder or information was given to me). The doors opened at 3pm, and we entered into a ballroom booming with dance music and people frolicking on stage. Clearly, I was not in the mood to do any of this after a long morning of work running on a week of sleep debt, To be precise my mind was saying “What the hell?” and “Not another one of those kumbaya sales seminars, PLEASE!”

The speaker does a run through on the earlier topics, to which he then opens the floor for questions. A Dutch gentlemen introduces himself, and is told bluntly – and repeatedly – he cannot be heard. We spend 2 minutes mucking around with the sound until the speaker can hear him and he raises his question:

“You said this morning we should call on something if we felt it was wrong. I want to call you on something, Mr Speaker. This morning you stressed on punctuality and its importance. You told us the session would commence at 250pm but the doors were only open at 3pm”

The speaker then asks the querent if that made him uncomfortable; the querent, clearly feeling intimidated and lacking in self-esteem, blubbered something or another and sat down. The speaker then went on about how life isn’t fair, and you don’t always get what you want, get over it etc.

It took a good 5 minutes; no apology except for something about he would ‘pay for the consequences’ and some weak excuse that the hall wasn’t ready for us so it took a little longer to organise hence they were late. He also said ‘it’s no big deal’ and ‘I’m late alot’.

He then asked the querent if he still had a problem to which the querent replied in negative, saying he wasn’t unhappy that we started off 10 minutes late but was just pointing it out.

Yea, right.

Over the next 5 hours, the speaker would exchange some useful information but not without committing the following sins:

• Punctuating almost every other sentence with “Does that make sense?”, “Understand?”, “Yes?”, “Hello?”, “Turn to the person next to you, high five and say…”
• Playing music too loudly during activities which hindered, and hampered delegates from communicating effectively
• Letting activties run for too long resulting in losing participation and interest, which stemmed from having too many people in the game all at once and only 50% of the audience truly participating while the rest were literally lost in translation
• And of all things uttering “Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca’s management style obsolete” or something to that effect, which made a few eyes roll (mind were doing something out of The Exorcist, because it really is blasphemy)

All this resulting in us breaking for dinner at 830pm but not without an assignment: to sell one of his books to a complete stranger. Of course, you had to buy the book first at an ‘incredible value’ then during dinner sell it to a complete stranger. I had decided that I wasn’t here to sell anything for anyone as I was mentally checked out of work; I was here to learn and play, not sell anything. To our dismay, delegates had to pay full hotel prices for food (that’s $65 for my club sandwich and wine) with no facilities or discounts offered. By the time we got back into the hall, it was 950pm and up to 10% of delegates were missing and probably 50% had mentally checked out.

Then it happened.

The point of no return.

I’ll try to summarise the course of events which occurred in the next 2 hours in the best possible way:

• The speaker asked – in typical elementary school style – who sold, tried to sell and didn’t attempt at all to sell – his books. He then admonishes, again in typical elementary style, the group for not trying (I saw it coming and just watched, this guy is that predictable), told them off for being there and said they shouldn’t sign up for his advanced programme because they wouldn’t ‘like it’. He told them they didn’t do the ‘assignment’ because they were making up excuses not to (which I agree and disagree).
• The speaker coached a lady on the spot about her ability to speak in ‘any language’ (she apparently had a phobia in speaking in English). It resulted in her doing jumping jacks and shouting into the microphone “I am a good speaker in any language” which was really, really annoying and not particularly interesting.
• He invites delegates to share experiences. A young chap makes the mistake of saying he didn’t sell the books because he felt he was too young to sell at 23, saw half the room leave without trying and decided to just ‘follow’. Clearly this displeased the speaker, who proceed to use the ‘F’ word in reference to the boy in regards to making excuses, and then said “Well you shouldn’t follow losers” (yes, he referred to his paying customers as ‘losers’) and then tried to blow the situation out of proportion by guilt-tripping the audience with “This is the example you are setting for the younger generation”.
• Following that, he was running through the audience on earlier exercises and when he didn’t get the response in the manner and enthusiasm he expected – he exploded. In a massive display of emotion, the speaker shouted at the audience: “Hey! Answer my question: did you, or did you not conduct the exercise? What was your score? When I ask you a question, you respond! You are not here to listen! I am not here to entertain you! If you are not interested, we can stop this right NOW! I don’t have to do this!”

I remember turning to the German lady next to me when he spat the ‘F’ word at the young Cambodian chap and said “Did he just swear at the guy?” and she responded with a smile “Well, I suppose that is being X (in reference to a country) for you”. Well, that’s sad – to be generalised as a crass lout by your country of origin. Even that itself is ironic as the speaker would tell the young man that he is “a delegate representing Cambodia and its people” and that “there are people in Cambodia hoping you will learn something, go back and help them”.

You could say my sense of respect, attention span and enthusiasm flew completely out the window by the time the speaker issued his raging diatribe – simply because he was again contradicting himself : that when emotions are high, intelligence is low.

The German lady asked me “Did you sell anything?” to which I replied with a smile “No. I didn’t come here to help someone sell their books, I am here to learn. That is my choice.”

Out of respect and because I have a family, I left the hall when it was dark (videos were being played) at 11.45 pm. I don’t know at exactly what time the session ended and I didn’t bother going in the next day to find out – I am sure there were many who decided they had better things to do on a Sunday that to be shouted at over trivial things. Thankfully, I didn’t pay for the programme but that doesn’t mean the bad taste in my mouth was any less than those who did. And being on the floor I got first hand feedback about the whole shebang.

And I sympathise greatly for them.

The speaker had a lot to share; at times, too much. The programme was engineered as such that he did alot of talking which drained him immeasurably. The constant punctuations were unnecessary, disruptive and at times insulting to the general audience. The delivery was at times just droning: go round this way, then that way, then reversing back before the point is made. The speaker contradicted himself so many times it’s not funny: on punctuality, respect for others, listening skills, being present. He may understand them, but he doesn’t deliver on them and exemplify them as a seminar leader. He came off as arrogant, biting off more than he can chew, disinterested and insensitive to cultural inclinations, emotional, disrespectful and having very poor time management skills. For someone who has ‘done business in this region for 11 years’, his lack of social sensitivities is highly indicative of an individual who has his head so far up his you-know-where he doesn’t grasp that learning is a lifelong experience.

It is a pity he felt compelled to verbally abuse the audience for not doing as he expected – especially the young Cambodian lad who is probably not mature enough to understand that life is a series of choices which comes with taking ownership. The speaker has a tendency of making people feel small, then trying to soften the blow with “But I can see that you are an intelligent person” which is pointless, especially when you have publicly humiliated unnecessarily. To the speaker, this is in line with his statement that “I am not here to be your friend”.

Like most people I have been to numerous seminars, but I have also had the opportunity to sit in conversation with experienced trainers and training companies to better understand the different perspectives of training and seminar management. Aside from watching Ps and Qs, the best rated speakers are often:

• Very good with time management because punctuality in all sense is important: begin, break and end on time. Your training is not so important that people should be made to stay for more than 30 minutes, and heaven forbid 2 hours more (as per this seminar) than they should.
• Clear, linear delivery with varied but relevant examples. This means understanding your audience and applying the right techniques – not just your techniques. Keep the draining, derogatory punctuations to a minimum or only with your dog (even).
• Neutrality, openness and humility is important. An excellent training session occurs when information is given and received – this is called communications and the best trainers get this. When asking for feedback, accept and chew on it. Ask for permission to correct, always. Ask questions regularly to know you are on the same page as your audience, but not so forced that they feel they are developing hemorrhoids just by being there. Apologise when you make a mistake or contradict yourself, there is no victory in looking like a complete <insert insult> especially when you are in the capacity of leadership. Address personal or selective issues separately and away from the show so attention is not focused on one problem that may be irrelevant to the rest.
• Lead by example. Nobody cares how many raving reviews you have on your website, we all know that’s stuff you filtered and probably made up. What’s important is the here and now: how you are treating me, your audience. Your credibility is being assessed with every step and breath uttered, with every word spoken, every twitch and inference. We get that no one is perfect but the less empathetic you are to your audience the less engagement and respect you will have. Belittling their choices is also a giant no-no.
• Circumstantial behaviour and interaction. Have you ever heard of speakers who are nice as pie in public seminars but become insane drill sergeants when hired as personal coaches? This is not a method to dupe you into buying personal coaching classes – it is just selective circumstantial behaviour and interaction. We are all called to behave and communicate within existing parameters at all times, dependent on where we are and with whom. Just because you have a raging, hard-as-nuts coach that made you cry does not qualify you to behave in the same manner to a room of 280 international delegates – that’s immature. You could possibly do that with a small group or with individuals where the emotional and mental pulse of each individual is understood, but even that is optional. I understand that aggression may work with certain audiences who are so keen (or desperate) to get information but I don’t know many emotionally stable people who will respond positively to rage in training.

All said and done, the speaker is an intelligent and enthusiastic individual (see now I am applying his methods already – it must have been successful on some level right?). I did get some useful information and tips, even though the organisers failed to provide me with a seminar folder (kudos on a job badly done for running out of materials despite my RSVP several weeks ahead). I may purchase some of his books because they appear useful, although this is greatly in opposition of my stand on not supporting what is to me, bad speakers. And this guy rates pretty damn bad in my list (although he’s so arrogant he might think that it is cool being labeled ‘bad’).

It is unfortunate for him as well, that WOM is a powerful tool – especially with the availability of digital and social media. I can be sure that myself along with a good handful of delegates will not be supporting the speaker the next time he steps into this country, lest this region. There won’t be many good words to say, and even less sales of books to be had as a result of the rippling effect from this experience.

For a salesman like him, that is really not a good sign.

Latest update: I couldn’t help but scan Amazon.com for reviews of one of his books – I was not surprised by some of the reviews which included:

“This was a cute book with really great pictures. If you looking for real sales information don’t spend the money on this book.”

“Disappointed again. Surely he sells books – lots of them. But he probably ran out of stories. Not worth the money.”

“Well written with some interesting theories and ideas. But there is nothing here that will help you do your job better, serve your clients and customers better or most importantly go to the bank more often. Some of the ideas and analysis about personality types may be useful to sales managers, but that’s about it. If you’re looking for good nuts and bolts stuff that you can put to use tomorrow look into Schiffman or Sandler.”

and one that hits particularly hard…

“I probably read 100 or more books each year, including a significant number of business and sales books. I enjoyed some of Robert Kiyosaki’s other advisor books, but this one really [is bad].

It is full of vague analogies to whatever kind of “dog” you are -the point that you do not have to be aggressive to be in sales is also foolish and false. You can certainly bring your own personality to sales or any other profession, and you SHOULD, but all this psychobabble about “being your own dog” or whatever is just that – silly psychobabbly designed to seperate you from your money and put it in an author’s pocket who really has nothing useful to say.

If you really want to learn something about selling that you can actually USE, read Zig Ziglar’s “Sales 101” or Donald Moine’s “Ultimate Selling Power”.”

Yea sorry dude, guess I’ll save up for another Jack Welch winner.