To help you along I’ve added a link in the right-hand column to the complete 12 Ingredients of a Fillable Req.
Take the time to think through each step in the order listed (as opposed to the typical order it’s done) and you’ll eliminate better than half of your hiring errors.
For help interviewing I’ve already posted both the InterviewER and InterviewEE CheatSheets; study the former and send the latter to your candidates.
We’ll talk more about reference checking next Thursday.
One more thing; if you don’t believe you have time to do the prep, don’t complain when your hires don’t work out.
It’s a sad commentary that when discussions turn to technical careers so many people immediately assume that means software/startup/consumer product monetized by advertising.
Today, I thought I’d introduce you to Millennial Matt Heverly, who heads the team driving NASA’s Curiosity as it explores Mars.
Yes, you drive by programming, but how much more exciting to work on a team that explores a planet than to build another social app.
And for those who think working for a large, semi-governmental corporation (Jet Propulsion Labs) means an uptight attitude you couldn’t be more wrong.
Bobak Ferdowsi, a flight director who sports a mohawk with red, white and blue streaks…
But it was the group’s esprit de corps that left the lasting impression. A spoof video, “We’re NASA and We Know It,” recorded to the beat of the song “Sexy and I Know It,” now has 2.4 million views on YouTube. Mr. Ferdowsi, now known online as Mohawk Guy, has 53,000 Twitter followers, up from a couple of hundred before the mission. People inside Building 264 here, part of the Space Flight Operations Facility, have long had a sense of humor about themselves — at one rocket launching, a group of scientists wore Spock ears.
It’s great to get kids involved in science and math, but they need to know that there are dozens of career paths out there that have depth and meaning and aren’t necessarily startups.
Just for fun, I’m posting the spoof, but you should also take a look at these videos of Mars.
And be sure to join me Friday for a look at the new, more solid direction of internet and software startups according to Sequoia Capital’s Jim Goetz.
One of the most common complaints I hear about from workers, both new and those who have been around for a while, is the lack of respect from colleagues, subordinates and bosses.
One of the most common complaints I hear from bosses, and not just new ones, is about the lack of respect from colleagues, bosses and staff.
The common theme that runs through most of these conversations is that “they” should respect me (for being me), but “they” need to earn my respect.
At first glance this looks like one of those chicken/egg questions, but it’s not.
While I’m the first to say that people need to earn respect, I’d rather frame this discussion as one of initiative (or leadership, if you prefer).
Since most people tend to mirror those around them if you take initiative and show respect you will be shown respect in return.
If you show disrespect you should expect to receive the same.
If you show neither until you see what the other person does expect neither, which usually feels like disrespect.
And in case you’re assuming a Golden Rule mentality don’t; what I’m recommending is the application of Carl Sagan’s Tit-for-Tat Rule.
Established companies often lust after amateur web sites in which they see commercial value, but looks can be deceiving and due diligence is mandatory.
One thing due diligence should always keep in mind is the old saying, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”
Obviously, Internet Brands forgot that when it purchased Wikitravel in 2005 with an eye to turning it into a paying proposition via ads.
There were some catches, however, that made for an unusual business proposition, starting with the fact that Internet Brands had not bought the exclusive right to the material on the site. The articles are governed by a Creative Commons license, which means they can be copied and republished by anyone as long as a mention is included of where the material came from.
Another catch: workers who do not expect a paycheck may find it easier to leave.
“Forking,” which refers to appropriating content licensed under Creative Content rules, is completely legal, but it’s a two-way street.
This idea paraphrases another old saying that applies, “what is legal for you to do is legal for others to do to you.”
Which is what happened a year later when the Italian and German contingents ‘forked’ the applicable content and created their own site.
Now the volunteers are in revolt, Wikimedia is involved and suites have been filed.
I’m no lawyer, but based on the article I’m not sure what legs Internet Brands has to stand on.
Lila I. Bailey, a former legal counsel for Creative Commons, the nonprofit organization that created the open copyright licenses employed by Wikitravel, said Internet Brands was in a tough spot.
Ms. Bailey, a teaching fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, law school, read both complaints and said Internet Brands faced “a community management problem” and had few options because the people involved were volunteers.
There’s a lesson here for all and it’s best said using another old adage: what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, too.
The conventions may be over, but the rhetoric is still going strong. Did you know it’s a requirement for politicians to have a PhD—which stands for ‘piled higher and deeper’—and that’s no bull. Adams and Lincoln never qualified as politicians, but both made it as statesmen.
Ambrose Bierce starts us out with a wonderful definition of politics, just so we’re all on the same page. “Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”
Over the years I’ve read many descriptions of politicians and Congress, but John Adams provided my favorite when he said, “In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress”
The next quote is from Lincoln, “Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar,” but times have changed and it would be more accurate to say, “Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the dollar before the man.” Of course, it applies just as easily to Democrats.
Andy Borowitz offers our final insight today. I don’t know for sure when he said it, but it’s been applicable since before I could vote, “It would be nice to spend billions on schools and roads, but right now that money is desperately needed for political ads.”
(Did you miss the first two I Hate Politics? You can see them here and here.)
I thought it was time to check back for a snapshot look at what’s happening in terms of people in the workplace.
First, an overview from Boston Consulting Group’s six-part article (free registration required) that presents strong support for the idea that you get more from your people by providing more for them.
Those that excel in leadership development, talent management, and performance management, for example, experience substantially higher revenue growth and profit margins.
I remember the oil crash in the mid-1980s; I was working in executive search (I was a headhunter) and I watched as several recruiting firms devoted to oil and gas closed their doors when the industry crashed, laid off, stopped hiring and adopted Draconian HR policies. Those companies are currently reaping that which they sowed, with the exception of Devon Energy Corporation. (Booz & Company’s strategy + business requires free registration.)
When the oil price fell, companies stopped hiring, and a generation of geological science and engineering students chose other fields of study instead. Now, as turnover rates rise and competitors lure away skilled engineers, this talent gap means that human capital capabilities have been strained for nearly every company in the industry.
As a result, many Americans who work for companies that embrace flexible hours are confronting a sort of office class warfare. Some employees have come to expect that the demands of their children, in particular, will be accommodated — and not all of their colleagues are happy about it.
Quick; what has changed most since you started work? How ‘bout summertime Fridays?
Everyone leaves work at noon on Fridays, said Ben Morris, 31, a British photographer who was a host of one of the Thompson parties, which start at 3 p.m. “People just leave the office. And Mondays become a write-off because no one’s there on Friday. They’re playing hooky.”
“We used to go out a lot at night, but we’re getting older, concentrating on our future,” said Reign Apiim Artis, 23,
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
Pretty much anyone breathing who has any link to the tech world is familiar with the patent lawsuit that Apple just won (for now) over Samsung.
It reminded me of an episode of Shark Tank when Mark Cuban blew his top over the entrepreneur’s patent contending that it should never have been issued.
I would love to hear his reaction to Apple’s patented rounded corners (that obviously predate not just the iPhone, but Apple itself).
And that train of thought reminded me of something I wrote for Technorati last year about Entrepreneur Magazine; here it is slightly updated for accuracy.
What better way to win the hearts and eyeballs of your target market than by suing them?
Talk about lousy customer service.
But that’s the approach taken by Entrepreneur Media Inc. (EMI), publishers of Entrepreneur magazine and associated properties, such as entrepreneur.com.
The original founder trademarked “entrepreneur,” which seems contrary to the concept of “distinctiveness” (Patent Office info), but what do I know?
Policing the use of ‘entrepreneur’ are the 2,000 lawyers employed by Latham & Watkins who work out of 31 offices around the world.
We’re not talking just about letters; they go after small biz in court and win big judgments.
I had a joint venture with Bun in a Can called Watch Startup Café where we posted videos of entrepreneurs talking about their companies and the passion that drove them to do it.
We almost named it “Meet the Entrepreneurs”—lucky for us we didn’t.
I wonder if I should expect a cease and desist letter for Thursday’s Entrepreneur posts.
There has been much talk about the need to update the US Patent and Trademark Office and how tough it is to get protection for new services, business processes, etc.
It’s probably simplistic of me, but I think the Patent Office should clean up its old messes, too.
One thing that might help is if instead of protesting in comment sections those who move in the entrepreneurial world canceled their subscriptions.
That is what I’m doing.
“Entrepreneur;” “rounded corners;” sometimes I really do wonder what’s in the water in Washington.
Option Sanity™ wins their hearts through fairness.
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation system. It’s so easy a CEO can do it.
Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.” Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.
T. Alan Armstrong said, “If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.”
A good description of why an entrepreneur becomes an entrepreneur and why people join startups.
But it’s your passion that matters, not what the media or your friends/colleagues say your passion ought to be.
Your passion may lean to a more corporate setting, to a more socially responsible effort or to something else.
Living another person’s passion is far worse than living with no passion—because it is a sham and a sham can not sustain your effort, nor will it drive your success.
What faux passion will do is feast on your energy, suck you dry and leave behind a hollow ghost.
So whatever your passion, just be sure it really is yours.
SUBMIT YOUR STORY
Be the Thursday feature – Entrepreneurs: [your company name]
Share the story of your startup today.
Send it along with your contact information and I’ll be in touch.
Questions? Email or call me at 360.335.8054 Pacific time.
While looking for something in my old posts I came across this one and decided it was a good time to post it again.
Choose the Freedom to Change
“The past is the present, isn’t it? It’s the future, too.”
–Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Eugene O’Neill
I recently ran across this quote; it’s been years since I read the play, but that poignant line, with its message that what has been is and irrevocably will be has always left me feeling depressed and angry.
Depressed because it revokes hope.
Angry because it’s the antithesis of everything I believe.
It proclaims that we, whether individuals, organizations or countries, can’t change; that we are locked on our trajectory with no rudder and an endless supply of fuel.
That thought represents a type of MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) I’ve constantly rejected, while embracing the belief that anyone can change if they choose to make the effort.
Not that it’s simple or that it’s easy, but that it can be done.
I’ve done it and am in the process of doing it again.
You’ve done it and can choose to do it again.
Whether you choose an opportunity or pass it by, each one changes the present and alters the future, because your MAP changes with each decision.
Not necessarily large changes, but changes none the less and those changes will impact your next decision and so on throughout life.
You can avoid changes by embracing a rigid ideology that eliminates decisions by turning a blind eye of all divergent opportunities or by allowing someone else to decide for you in the name of followership.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
The Young Entrepreneur Council identified Ten startup hiring challenges with different entrepreneurs suggesting solutions.
One of the most common complaints I hear about from workers, both new and those who have been around for a while, is the lack of respect from colleagues, subordinates and bosses.
Established companies often lust after amateur web sites in which they see commercial value, but looks can be deceiving and due diligence is mandatory.
The conventions may be over, but the rhetoric is still going strong. Did you know it’s a requirement for politicians to have a PhD—which stands for ‘piled higher and deeper’—and that’s no bull. Adams and Lincoln never qualified as politicians, but both made it as statesmen.
I thought it was time to check back for a snapshot look at what’s happening in terms of people in the workplace.
Pretty much anyone breathing who has any link to the tech world is familiar with the 
T. Alan Armstrong said, “If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.” 
That thought represents a type of 
I’ve
