Managing Leadership^®

I was telling someone a story about the unexpected and unbelievably poor customer service I had received from a local franchise of a major international hotel property – even before my stay there had begun. It was so bad I cancelled the reservation, and wound up in a less well-known but much better hotel.

“Oh yes,” he replied, “it’s very bad; I know from my own experience: we stay there every time we go to that town.”

Somewhat puzzled at his response, I asked why he continued to stay there if he knew the experience would be so poor.

Equally confused by my question, he objected, “But, it’s a five-star hotel!”

Last week we spent some time discussing this sort of thinking in the context of the MBA and the hiring/promotion process. It just seems so difficult to turn away from so plausible an indicator, no matter what the objective or even personal experience there may be that contradicts its putative reputation.

In a comment to Friday’s post, Gannon Beck, an entrepreneur and author of The Art of the 3 Disciplines, described three strategies of particular interest in this context. We will look at each of them over the next few days, beginning with the first, under this heading:

Know the skill sets that you are hiring for and screen applicants for those skill sets regardless of credentials.

In my business, illustration ability of a particular style is an indicator of a good fit. The portfolio, not the resume, is the tool of the trade in terms of interviewing. Even there, because I’m an artist myself and have a good understanding of the skill sets that will make a person successful in the business, I don’t evaluate applicants based on how well their portfolio is put together, (whether it’s leather bound etc.). I’m looking for solid fundamentals, like an understanding of anatomy, perspective, and so forth. No amount of polish on the resume, or smoke and mirrors with regard to presentation will hide the fact if an applicant is weak in these areas.

One of my best hires was an artist that was working as a welder whose mom saw the ad in the paper. I interviewed him over the phone and found out enough to realize he was a good candidate to interview in person. Since he really wasn’t looking for work he didn’t have a good portfolio or resume put together. I told him not to worry about it, and that as long as he had a few sketches to show me, I would be able to evaluate his potential to contribute to the business. He stopped by with a sketchpad and I saw enough to hire him. He has proven himself to be a fantastic employee and has raised the bar of the products we produce.

Since the employee was not skilled in the job search dance that is typically played out, I feel that a typical human resources person not trained in art would not have been able see past the surface. Understanding what would make a person successful in a job is essential. Fixating on the presentation of the resume, impressive credentials and the like can distract an employer from the skills that really matter. Look for the attributes that will make the business successful and ignore all the rest.”

In another comment in this discussion, Gannon ran down a list of famous Americans who had no 5-star indicators of their promise, from Benjamin Franklin to Michael Dell. He concluded, “I would rather hire talent like this than compete with it.”

Wouldn’t you – even if you had to persuade them (rather than they, you) of the logic of it?

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Today’s tips: Speaking of supposedly counterintuitive approaches to preparing for competition, please see this excellent illustration of one of William Edwards Deming’s cardinal principles, posted by David J. Anderson at Agile Management.

And speaking of jumping to conclusions and seeking quick answers based on them, please see this penetratingly insightful post by Michael Wade, author of Execupundit. This one is about the real secret to motivating employees. While you’re viewing it, be prepared (or, at least, willing) to find yourself looking back.

Here’s another one on misleading indicators: a fascinating look at what may be the real precursers of poverty as explained by Charles Karelis, nicely outlined by Drake Bennett of The Boston Globe.

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