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March 9, 2010

My Advice - The Bigger Picture

Everything that could be written has been written about managing your career. There are millions of articles about how to assess your company, career trajectory and how to negotiate your compensation package. There is ample advice on crafting the perfect resume, how to network with past colleagues and classmates, and fine tuning your interview skills. Yet, many people are still between jobs or out of work. There are also legions of executives and managers unhappy with their current company, position or even chosen field. With that backdrop, I’m going to switch from company adviser to New Age personal growth guru—if only for a few paragraphs. 

Most career advice is too tactical and misses the bigger picture: happiness, satisfaction, well being, contentment and yes, even peace. The reason we want a job, the bigger job, more money, more opportunity is so that we can have—you fill in the blank. But I’m willing to bet that you want the feeling--happiness, satisfaction and use accomplishment as a way to achieve the feeling.  Some thoughts: 

1.  Go within—push in the clutch. Before dusting off the resume and scheduling the networking lunches, take some time to reflect on your career. What gives you joy? Are you doing something you love? What have you learned about yourself in your current or last position? Come up with a plan or career strategy that will allow you to do what makes you happy. People with the most successful careers enjoy what they do. 

2.  Evaluate your “script.” By this I mean, if you were observing yourself during the course of your career what would you see? Would you see someone who changes positions often because of an abusive manager? Someone whose every position involves a power struggle? Someone who never has enough support to get everything done? Conversely, do you always end up with a mentor or someone who realizes your value and encourages you to be more? Look for common themes. One client, a successful sales executive, found that after two years of bliss with each position, she would end up in a power struggle. Sometimes it was with the CEO, sometimes the General Counsel, and/or the CFO—but it always came as sure as Act 3 follows Act 2 in a play. Until she recognized the pattern, gained insight on the triggers and how she contributed to it, she was doomed to repeat it. 

3.  Work on your Image. How do you see yourself? Spend some time taking stock of the image you hold of yourself. Is it of a successful person? A winner? I once asked an executive who receives 100 phone calls a week from potential vendors, what made him return the call of one or two. He replied “some callers convey in their tone of voice that they expect a call back.  I would call it a vibe for lack of a better word.”  I agree.  I can usually tell in five minutes what type of confidence and self esteem a candidate possesses.  If you see yourself as a winner others will as well. You can’t project an image that isn’t there.   If your image is lacking, do more introspection and work on creating a new positive image.   

4.  Visualization. Visualization for athletes has been common place since Arthur Ashe beat Jimmy Connors, a stronger player, at Wimbledon in 1975; yet only in recent years has it been packaged as mainstream. And even then it is characterized as “setting goals.” Many times I will ask an executive who has had tremendous success if he or she was surprised. More often than not, they will say “I always visualized myself as having this success or this happiness.” The key is to visualize your goals—see yourself living the life you want to lead.

Have these techniques been proven? No. Are they an instant fix to all that ails you? No, again. But a life and career well lived is an exercise in learning, growing and becoming more of who we are.  As one teacher said, “growth is continuous but change can be instantaneous.   

 To post your comments, please send to blogging@thealexandergroup.com  

My Viewpoint: Life as a Road Warrior

   by John Lamar, Managing Director, The Alexander Group 

I travel 150,000 miles a year—three days a week to at least two cities. I plan my trips only one week in advance (if I’m lucky), which means I don't always get what I want in terms of hotel rooms, flights, etc. It’s an interesting life.

I have a love-hate relationship with travel. I get to do what I love. I make a difference in my clients’ businesses. I like the better trappings of travel—a first class upgrade,  a nice hotel room, visiting a new restaurant in town, and the familiar greeting of the flight crews. Now, the downside. Last night was an example. It took me 12 hours to get home to Houston from  Newark. Huge storms, an hour to be de-iced and a two-hour line for take off. Once in the air, the landing gear would not retract so we returned to Newark, circled for two hours, fixed the problem and did it all over again. I missed my son’s baseball game. That hurt.

I don't mind flying, though I avoid small jets. They are not designed for a 6' 4" guy. Like every frequent traveler, I have had turbulent flights, landing gear issues, and the faulty cockpit indicator. But nothing scared me like two separate incidents that occurred two weeks before my 40th birthday. First, my plane flew into the wake of a 757 and nearly flipped. The flight attendant fell in my lap (that was ok). One week later, flying to a Live 8 concert in London, an engine caught fire right after takeoff. The man behind me had a heart attack. I called my family and told them goodbye. Bad things happen in groups of three. One week later, my taxi ran into a tree in Nicaragua at 60 miles an hour.

I have gone through security at every airport in the country. The nastiest and rudest TSA employees by far call Philadelphia home. I've never figured out why. Perhaps they are not proud of their airport, which is the worst in the country. Twenty five hundred miles west and a million miles better in comfort is Orange County Airport, which has rental cars in the airport garage, only one terminal, and a lightning fast security line.

I get to the airport early to visit the Presidents Club, read the Wall Street Journal, and make important calls. My partner in not committed to this neurotic punctuality. I remember one December when we played golf in Los Angeles. We cut it too close and were still on the freeway at 5:20 pm for our 5:45 pm flight. There were no other flights until after Christmas. We pulled into the first airport hotel we could find, left the motor running, threw the keys and a $50 bill at the valet, jumped into a cab, and dashed to the airport. We called Hertz from our cell and told them to come get their car. I had always wondered what happened to people who did stuff like that. Well, we found out. A $500 surcharge. We barely made the plane.

Because I am in the service business, I am particularly sensitive to good service. No one beats Continental Airlines and Chicago’s Hotel Sax. Last February, I arrived at Hotel Sax without my overcoat and the doorman graciously lent me his. It worked great until one of the other guests asked me to get his car.

Celebrity sightings are a regular occurrence on the Acela Express train between New York and Washington, where I have seen Bill Cosby, Bob Woodward, John Edwards (without mistress), and Connie Chung and Maury Povich. I tried to sneak a cell phone picture of Connie and Maury.  Note to self: turn off flash if you are taking a picture on a train in a tunnel.  On one of my memorable train trips I sat in a seat facing a grotesquely obese passenger, knee-to-knee across a table, who was sweating profusely, absorbed in his laptop. The Internet content reflected from the window across the entire car, and all of us could see the most lurid pornography imaginable. As I tell people, you can’t make this stuff up.

To post your comments, please send to blogging@thealexandergroup.com  

February 23, 2010

Any Advice for Tiger Woods?

We are in the advice business--the business of helping clients solve problems. Who to hire? When to hire? How to structure a position and similar questions, both large and small.  I watched Tiger Woods' news conference Friday. Immediately after its conclusion, nearly everyone had advice for Tiger. Indeed, by Saturday morning, a Google search of "Advice for Tiger Woods" yielded 15,000 results. We thought it would be interesting to synthesize the advice and see if there were any common themes. 

The Detroit Free Press tells Tiger to "walk away from the game of golf for 2010." Taking a one-year leave of absence would be the right move and perhaps help him find the necessary answers.

The New Zealand Star Times echoes this advice but puts it in the framework of the legendary Ben Hogan who took a year from golf to rehabilitate from physical injuries and returned stronger than ever.

The Sydney Morning Herald urges Tiger to get to the golf course pronto. ''I'd be back out there and ready to go and face the music and let my golf clubs start doing some talking and answer the questions when you get out there.''

British Golfer Nick Faldo agrees.  The three time married and divorced CBS analyst reckons the best therapy for disgraced American World No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods is to get back on the golf course with Elin and the kids in tow, however reluctant they may be.

The New Jersey Star-Ledger goes a step further and believes Tiger, having asked for forgiveness from fans, should give something back to them. What is it that should be given back? Well, for starters, Tiger should give more autographs.   

An addiction specialist feels Tiger Woods should focus on his recovery. DNA (Digital News & Analysis, one of Southeast Asia's largest publications) clarifies by saying "Tiger must let go and flow into the process." Going from psycho babble to gobbledygook, NBC analyst Johnny Miller says “Going forward, Tiger needs to say what needs to be said.” http://www.sportingnews.com/golf/article/2010-02-18/nbcs-johnny-miller-offers-advice-tiger-woods

Donald Trump, now on his third marriage says “I would recommend Tiger just call his marriage a bad experience, say bye-bye, go out, be a wonderful playboy, win tournaments and have a good life." 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/feb/19/tiger-woods-divorced-playboy-donald-trump

With Woods reminding us that Buddhism is his religion, it was only a matter of time before exiled Buddhist leader Dalai Lama was sought out for advice. Though  the Dalai Lama had never heard of the golf superstar, he said “all religions have the same idea on adultery and self-discipline is important.” http://bit.ly/agMvnX

Not to worry Your Holiness, Tiger now knows only too well that a lack of self discipline didn’t work for him.

To post your comments, please send to blogging@thealexandergroup.com 

Google Alert: "The Alexander Group"

Last week, we “blogged” about Googling yourself to manage your profile and discover what someone would learn by Googling you.

Taking our own advice, we decided to Google “The Alexander Group” (www.thealexandergroup.com). It was an interesting exercise. As we discovered, many other firms, companies, organizations are also fond of the name “The Alexander Group.” Word of advice, if you are looking us up, we are The Alexander Group that specializes in executive recruiting and I am proud to report the first website option given in 576,000 results.

However please note, we are NOT The Alexander Group who “teaches people with addiction and recovery obstacles to change and grow” (www.tagthealexandergroup.com), nor are we the “design-build firm with over 75 years of construction experience” (http://www.thealexandergroupllc.com/). We are also not a Telephone and Equipment Systems dealer, we do not sell forklifts in North Ireland and, contrary to another namesake, we are not seeking an Ultrasound Supervisor in Phoenix. We have not diversified our service offerings to include Warehouse and Equipment & Material Handling services and we have not achieved TeleVantage Elite Partner status. In addition, while all of us here at The Alexander Group enjoy having a good time, we do not sell adult entertainment --- at least as a new firm service offering.

So, if you see a truck rolling down the motorway in North Belfast http://www.avgs.co.uk/company.aspx , know that it’s not us. And, while we are grateful for our success, we still believe in pursuing new business, unlike the London marketing boutique firm http://www.thealexandergroup.co.uk/aboutus.html , who proclaims “we do not chase new business.”

We ask that you just remember us for who we are: the best search firm in the world, the first firm that pops up on your Google search, and the only The Alexander Group with a fan page on Facebook.

However you want to label it…it ain’t pretty. A series of epic snowstorms have had the East Coast in its crosshairs these last few days.  Many of our clients and friends continue to send us emails updating us on their situation. We think cabin fever is beginning to take its toll…

“Well, I consider myself lucky. We missed the first big snow, since I have been in New York since Friday. My house in New Jersey is okay (according to neighbors and my landscape guy who plowed.) It's beautiful here -- truly winter white. And I am stuck in for a snow day with my newlywed and dog. Could be worse.”

Consulting Firm – New York, NY

“Holding up OK, but I can't take another day of being cooped up in this apartment. I don't care how long it takes me to get to the office in the morning, I'm walking there. I do have work to do, so it's not as if I'm doing it to get out of here. The only thing that has kept me sane is periodically going out to clear the sidewalk and front stoop. I want to shoot my neighbors when they beat me to it. Don't they know it's my job?????”

American Petroleum Institute – Washington, DC

“We are open. However, most worked from home today. Last weekend we had 30 inches. Today there was another 20 inches. It is mess. There is nowhere to put it.  The wind is blowing hard with gusts up to 50 mph. The dog is the big problem. Had to shovel her out a spot or two in the back.”

Unisys –  Washington, DC

“Just came out of a meeting that started at 7 AM and it looks terrible outside....will try to get out of here by 5 PM......luckily I can walk home! I went to the Super Bowl in Miami this weekend and didn't want to leave....get me a job in Miami or Fort Lauderdale....many thanks!”

Hess Corporation – New York, NY

“We’re doing ok. Had our Trustees meeting today and all went fine. Our big annual black-tie fundraiser is tonight, let’s hope people can get there!!”

AmfAR – New York, NY

“Awful. Snow is very heavy, not the light stuff. I live 25 miles south of NYC -- we have 1' to 1.5' feet here.”

Edelman – New York, NY

“We are under the most snow I have ever seen here. I am actually sick of shoveling and hoping to get back to work soon. Our office has been closed since last Friday and we are closed tomorrow.”

World Wildlife Fund – Washington, DC

“We were without power from Friday until yesterday. I'm from Buffalo, so it takes a lot of snow to impress me. Color me impressed.”

Gannett – Washington, DC

“Got out last night, as I have a bank meeting in New York tomorrow. It is BRUTAL here today.”

Alvarez & Marsal – New York, NY

The following is a postscript from our friend at Alvarez & Marsal.  After being informed that the weather at our San Diego office was sunny and 70 degrees he added:

“Two words for you....two words... and they ain't Felix Unger!"

Special: Blizzard Blog

The East Coast is dealing with yet another blizzard--airports closing, flights cancelled, and the government closed for the third day in a row (maybe not a bad thing). We reached out to our clients and friends for on-the-ground reports: Here is a sampling of their replies:

“I hate this stuff, but have closed our office here early (although I am still at my desk.) Our DC office is closed all day. It is wetter than I expected, and the snow is falling quite heavily now, but not really the storm that was expected I think -- at least in the City. This is the time of year when I really wish I lived somewhere with a better climate! SAD (Seasonal affective disorder!)”

Clifford Chance - New York, NY

“Dreadful puts a nice spin on it. Blizzard on top of last week's 2 feet.  Gives me an excuse to get caught up and not leave my apartment office . . . but any day now, cabin fever will set in . . . .”

Consulting Firm – Washington, DC

“It’s been a challenge to say the least. Makes you look smart living in Houston. Getting 21 inches on Friday/Saturday was ok as we had the weekend to get back to normal. Today's icing on the cake with 10 more. Limited staff, but know that productivity will be at an all time low.”

Reed Smith – Pittsburgh, PA

“Never seen anything like it, and I am from Chicago.”

NFL Players Association - Chicago, IL

“Indeed, you did well to make it out ahead of the storm. I have just canceled my trip to Vienna. I was due to fly out Sunday, but even though Lufthansa says the flight is on time, I actually think the incoming flight will be diverted to JFK or Newark. In any event, the roads are not safe for me to get to the airport in the first place.”

Intercell – Gaithersburg, MD

“It's a winter wonderland here. I got back in town Friday from San Francisco - it took me 1 1/2 days to get home and I'm supposed to leave town Wednesday morning. Our office was closed Monday.  We were open Tuesday, although some of the staff weren't able to get to work.”

American Diabetes Association – Alexandria, VA

“Oh God. Its beautiful, but what a mess! We have no reason to be prepared to move 30 to 40 inches of snow off roads in a week, much less a winter. Thankfully our power has stayed on; some folks have been without power since Friday.”

Patton Boggs – Washington, DC

“We are having a great time. We had sleet this morning. Now it's snowing and very windy. We were out playing in the snow until 10 last night -- hoping it slows down so we can go sledding.”

Ballard Spahr – Philadelphia, PA

“It's miserable out there and it doesn't look like it's letting up anytime soon. Our offices are closed, as is our son’s daycare. It’s hard to work from home with a constant stream of "mommy mommy mommy" interspersed with Sesame Street On Demand in the background! It's times like these I'd like to move back to Houston! Hope all is well!”

Tyco – Philadelphia, PA

And finally, our favorite:

“OY”

Simpson Thacher – New York, NY 

February 9, 2010

Have You Googled Yourself Lately?

According to Online ID Calculator, “if you don't show up in Google, you don't exist.”  “Whether you are applying for a new job, being considered for a board position or trying to get a date, you can count on being googled” they say.

You should know what your on-line persona says about you because it is often the first impression you make.  And unlike your resume, you don’t have total control over how the Internet presents you.  That’s why it is important to actively manage what you can control.

Cleaning up your online image can seem overwhelming.  There are millions of sites in cyberspace, so where do you start?  If someone is looking for information about you, chances are they are going straight to Google.  However, if you have a common name, simply googling yourself can be overwhelming.  Scanning through dozens of pages, trying to figure out which of the mentioned are actually you can take hours.  Pipl, the site that claims to be “the most comprehensive people search on the web,” is an alternative to Google.  You can search by name, email address, username, phone number, and other parameters. The site searches the net for all instances of your chosen field(s) and allows you to take stock of your online presence by presenting its findings in tidy little categories: photos, web pages, documents (Word, PDF, etc.), personal profiles (ex: Facebook, MySpace, etc.) and even professional and business profiles (LinkedIn, Zoominfo, Jigsaw, Spoke, etc.).

What do you do with this information?  Clean up what you can.  You may have long-forgotten accounts on social networking sites or old photos on media sites that you should  delete.  (Most sites will help you recover usernames and passwords if you’ve forgotten them.)  There are credible sites that mine the web for information about people and companies to create profiles compiled from a variety of sources (press releases, company websites and association rosters).  ZoomInfo is one.  While it is not a site on which you can create a profile—such as with LinkedIn—ZoomInfo does allow you the opportunity to “claim” your profile, enabling you to shape what people view.  You can add employment information, education, etc., and attach links to sites that showcase your achievements.  At the very least, it is prudent to take a look to see what information ZoomInfo is attributing to your name.

The next step is to be proactive.  Because you often do not have the authority to remove something that is posted about you, beefing up your online presence where you can is important.  Keep your LinkedIn profile current (if you don’t have a LinkedIn account, it’s time to create one).  LinkedIn is often the go-to site for anyone seeking to learn more about an individual.  If you change jobs, or take on a new leadership role or charitable venture, make sure this is reflected in your profile.  Include a current photo of yourself, especially if you haven’t been active or have a common name.  Reach out to former and current colleagues, classmates and friends via LinkedIn. 

When you are actively seeking a new position, go the extra mile.  Pay special attention to what is being published about you online on a daily or weekly basis.  One way to do this is by using Google Alerts.  Simply enter your name in the “search terms” box along with any other relevant keywords and Google will update you as-it-happens, once a day or once a week depending on your preference.

Stay on top of your online presence.  You never know who’s googling you.

Further reading on how to build a better online persona at CIO.com.

Can You Find Your Next Executive Hire in Your Own Backyard?

“It’s easier to find a new parking spot than it is to find a new house.” I don’t know if you will find that in a book of wise quotes anywhere, but it’s a saying that we at The Alexander Group often evoke with our clients when discussing the question of local versus national (or international) search for a key hire. We typically advise looking in one’s own backyard for the right candidate, when possible, as relocation always throws a wrench into the timing and ease of a search.

On an anecdotal level, we are definitely finding that candidates are more resistant than ever before to relocating, even for a stellar opportunity. And global outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported early this year that the fourth quarter of 2009 saw only 7.3 % of job seekers relocating for a new position, the lowest rate on record. I blame the mortgage industry-fueled Great Recession. Candidates have always faced challenges around kids, aging parents, and community ties when considering relocation. Now it’s not just finding a new house that is a daunting task… it’s the selling of the old one in a suffering housing market that seems impossible. And if they do find a buyer, it often comes with a big financial hit. Adding to the challenges, hiring companies are less forthcoming with the bridge loans and offers to buy unsold houses as they might have been before, given greater scrutiny of expenses than ever before.

When candidates add up the risks of moving to a new employer where they don’t have a history, plus a significant financial hit on the real estate front… well, looking for neither a new home nor a new parking spot starts to sound like the most reasonable choice.

So as a hiring executive, when should you cast the net beyond your local area, even as relocation challenges rise?

1. The position you are hiring for is located in a part of the country that doesn’t yet have a wealth of this expertise. As an example, this could be because your company is a growing high technology company in Columbus, Ohio, needing someone with Silicon Valley experience and credibility. You might get lucky and find someone who has already made the move, but you’d be wise to stay flexible with relocation.
2. Your industry in your area is robust and very tight-knit… maybe too tight-knit. We’ve definitely had clients ask us to look beyond the usual suspects that they have been running into for years. If they believed one of those players was the right fit for the position, what do they need us for? In this case, we might advise trying to stay local while being flexible on specific industry, or to focus on finding that up-and-comer who will have a fresh approach. But if that’s not possible, relocating someone from another city might be the ticket.
3. The position is so specialized that only a small handful of individuals in the country, or the world, have the right skill set for the position. This tends to happen with very senior level leadership roles in highly technical areas, such as compliance, or an emerging industry like bio-similars. In this case, the wider the net the better.
4. You have the budget and time to find the right person, no matter how long it takes or how expensive the relocation. It’s a general rule of thumb that national or international searches that will take more time, both to find the candidate, as well as getting the candidate moved and settled, and ready to be productive. Given the pressures that all companies face in an increasingly competitive economy, it’s very rare that a client will have this sort of luxury.

Au Revoir—Some Insights into the Transfer of Power Upon Retirement

We’ve had numerous opportunities over the years to conduct searches for executives who will be replacing a retiree, or soon-to-be retiree.  The process of retiring can be awkward for both the retiree and the company.   As is true with most things in life, there are no absolutes, and every organization must determine the best plan for everyone involved.   

Not surprisingly, when exiting executives can’t wait to hit the door—whatever their reasons—it creates the most crisp transitions.  Conversely, when retiring executives don’t have a plan for their new life in retirement, or worse, they don’t want to retire, the change of control can be difficult for everyone, at both a professional and a very personal, emotional level.

Timing

No two clients handle the setting of an executive’s retirement timetable in the same way and we hear strong opinions about timing formed through experience in the trenches. 

Two weeks? Too fast.  Executives tell us that there simply is not enough time to even learn what questions to ask, much less absorb the knowledge dump in that amount of time, even when those leaving remain available. 

Two quarters-to-two years? Too slow.  Many times, an extended transition, while seemingly well-intended, creates more problems than solutions.  For one, the retiring executives must continue to find ways to remain relevant to the organization and validate themselves and their (usually large) paychecks.  Perhaps more critical is the impact such delays have on the troops who are uncertain about to whom to look for directives and leadership.  Despite everyone’s best intentions, employees will most often pursue familiar routes of problem solving and communications until forced to do otherwise.  That said, a longer transition can help, especially when the outgoing executive is able to manage certain matters while the new executive deals with bigger issues, like getting up to speed on the organization, its business strategy, its people, and its potential needs. 

Worst case? Undefined transition schedules that leave the organization in a state of limbo.  A mandate for change can be made especially difficult when the creator of those policies and procedures is still around.  If the trains are running on time, installing a new leader doesn’t imply wholesale change.  Either way, the ambiguity creates a tightrope upon which the entire organization is perched, trying to balance potentially competing loyalties, questions about authority and chain of command, and employees’ uncertainty about their own future vis-à-vis the organization and their new manager.

We have found some consensus around a preference for one- to two-month transition periods.  This seems to allow for both the outgoing and incoming executives, and the people on their teams, to implement an effective, efficient, and respectful change of control that honors the contributions of those leaving while conferring credibility on the new leader. 

Announcing the transition

How an organization handles the messaging of retiring executives and their replacements seems to play a significant role in how smoothly the transition occurs.  One major corporate client begins planning at the highest levels six months before the selected retirement date, makes a formal announcement two months out, and then the retiree is gone.  Some organizations prefer to ease the executive into retirement, being careful to not offend anyone or intimate anything less than a stellar performance by the retiree, and a longer overlap is often viewed as more appreciative of their contribution. So much seems tied to the frequency with which an organization may deal with these situations.  Generally speaking, larger organizations have standardized procedures and smaller organizations almost have to reinvent the wheel each time.

Consider the future

Interestingly, one other issue consistently surfaces as we speak to both outgoing and incoming executives; that of treating people with respect and the importance of remembering this is just one piece of a continuing story.  They express it in various ways: what goes around comes around, karma, the Golden Rule.  Call it what you will, the message is clear; we would be wise to keep in mind that we’ll all be the retiree someday.

Today's Social Media Frenzy: A Dissenting Voice

We have all been inundated with ways to use the social media to hire, improve our brand, and market. But are we missing something? The Alexander Group's Beth Ehrgott takes a different view. ,

While the hype of social media keeps populating, I hope that the impact generated from in-person conversations is not forgotten. Nothing takes the place of human contact and discussion, whether it is a formally scheduled meeting with a potential client, a walk down the hall with the boss, or having dinner with the pretty girl in class that you finally had the nerve to ask out!

Cutting edge technology certainly makes available other forms of communication and provides avenues to open doors to the desired audience. Data gathering search engines, information sharing and networking sites are essential tools in today’s communications toolkit that can be extremely effective in helping to achieve the ultimate goal: fast access to the target audience. However, winning the business or the pretty girl will never happen unless there is an opportunity to build a relationship with that individual. The foundation of business and personal transactions starts with earned trust, mutual respect and friendship, all of which are derived from shared experiences where individuals bond…..face time.

Last week, I was in a Manhattan Starbucks and observed the following: business colleagues sitting together, yet all in action with their particular technology of choice, Blackberries or laptops, and kids sitting with friends, all in deep thought as they were texting away. Not a single person was having a conversation with any of the people he/she was sitting with!

How will today’s young generations, tomorrow’s leaders, learn how to build relationships or even basic conversation skills when much of their time is spent texting messages and updating their Facebook page? The irony is that venues like local coffee shops were created before this social media technology era to be casual meeting places where friends could socialize in person.

I am a mother of two boys, and from the time our two boys could speak, they were taught how to politely answer the phone, take messages, look people in the eye and engage in conversation. They are now grade school and middle school age and I have ample opportunities to observe their interactions with friends.  It is shocking to see how many kids truly appear uncomfortable with face to face interaction and struggle with core communication skills.  However, they are all technology wizards when it comes to downloading music for their IPODS, playing computer games and of course, texting, Facebooking and Tweeting. Even my fifth grader’s teacher encourages the class to follow her on Twitter.

By the time these kids graduate from college, will these generations ever speak on the phone? Will phones still exist? More and more universities are offering on-line classes. Will students and teachers still believe there is a need for in-person discussions?

Technology has helped corporations operate more virtually. Employees working remotely coupled with scaled down travel budgets doesn’t facilitate in-person face time with colleagues and/or customers. BIG MISTAKE!!! Building and cultivating relationships is an art and requires practice just like anything else.

Let’s all certainly bring our technology toys to the playground but not hang ourselves on the monkey bars by forgetting how to make friends in the sandbox.”

The Road Warrior: Avoid Hotels with Police Tape in the Lobby

Executive search professionals don’t always have the luxury of a long time-line when planning business trips – often schedules change and re-change, resulting in last-minute flight and hotel arrangements…a recent trip to Detroit provides a good example…

It started to hit me right after I exited to the street and closed the cab door. Tires screeching, the driver bolted down the road, away from the desolate area and into the night like a stock car racer.

It dawned on me a bit more as I turned around to face the hotel and saw the reels of yellow “POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS” tape cordoning off a substantial area of the parking lot. But it didn’t become crystal clear until I entered the lobby and checked-in with the front desk clerk via intercom – three inches of plexiglass separating the two of us and ostensibly shielding him safely from my fellow hotel guests.

By the time I got to my room, secured all three locks and latched the deadbolt, I wasn’t even surprised to see the sign on the back of the door: “HOTEL WARNING: Do Not Open Room Door to Any Unfamiliar Visitors!” 

Yes, perhaps there was a reason this hotel still had last-minute availability when every other place in the city was booked.  

People who don’t travel much for work frequently assume that the “corporate jet-setter” lifestyle is glamorous – flying all over to world-class cities, experiencing culture, and discovering new places – and sometimes it is…but sometimes, reality can be far less captivating...

Time is always of the essence and on many occasions, as veteran business travelers know, the routine consists of trip to the home airport, flight (hopefully direct), cab to the hotel, meetings, cab back to airport. Perhaps if there isn’t a Starbucks or equivalent in the hotel, you might take a short walk around the block to find one.

I’ve had many enjoyable business excursions from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South, but I can also testify that Detroit, DC, and Des Moines all look incredibly similar during a midnight cab ride to-and-from the airport.

In the interests of saving time, I’ve become a practitioner of the occasional cross-country redeye – grabbing a quick 3 to 4 hour nap on the overnight San Diego to NYC  (or DC, or Boston) route, tearing through a morning and afternoon of back-to-back-meetings, catching the return flight that same evening, and getting back home without losing a day.

However, as I learned the hard way during a trip to Atlanta, a shorter redeye – say a four hour flight – is a recipe for disaster. Just as you are finally nodding to sleep, the plane lands, jarring you awake into semi-consciousness. Worse, you’re out of the airport too early in the morning for a coffee shop or any other comfort of civilization to be open (and far too early for meetings to begin) and need to endure the pre-dawn hours alone until the rest of the world catches up.

My Atlanta experience convinced me to avoid the redeye for the trip to Detroit, which had all come together at the last minute. Never having been to the city (and with almost every hotel improbably booked at the time) I put my trust in the rating system of a certain major travel site. Whoops.

Needless to say, I spent that night in Detroit in my clothes, lying on top of the bedcovers, after debating whether to just sleep sitting up in the chair. The next day, the candidates I met had no idea that I might as well have stayed at the Greyhound station the previous night.

Despite the wonders of modern-day video conferencing technology, there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings, and thus there will always be cause for the – sometimes exciting, sometimes exhausting – phenomenon that is business travel.

Last Look at 2009

We got quite a few comments as a result of our Holiday card which allowed our friends to select one of three charities for us to make a donation in their name. 

Many of them liked the card:

 “That is one of the best and most thoughtful Holiday messages I have ever seen.  Well done”. 

“Many thanks for the kind holiday greeting and the chance to select a charity.  This is the right message for our times”. 

“Awesome card.  Whoever managed to put this together is a creative genius.”  

Others commented on the production of the card:

“Tell John Mann he makes a great animated character.”

“I thought John Lamar’s hair was a little out of place in the video which is uncharacteristic.”   

Still others emailed us to tell us of their holiday plans:

“Frank and I are going to have Christmas with the grandkids.  It is really hard to buy presents for so many grandkids but I have gotten advice that little boys like cars, trucks, planes and such so I am off to Target”

“Diane’s dad passed away last week so it will be hard to get Christmas shopping done.” 

Seeing the name “The Alexander Group” reminded some that they had more pressing matters on their mind.

“Did you ever complete the search for the HR executive in Atlanta? Just curious”

“Thank you for the holiday wishes.  Please find my resume attached.  I am interested in an opportunity with a private equity fund covering the Korean market.” 

“I think your card missed the mark because I am unemployed.” 

Finally we got many emails telling us why the recipient chose a particular charity:

“I have always loved dogs and am happy to give to any charity benefiting animals.”

“Our soldiers deserve support.  Thank you for recognizing this.”

But the one that will stay with us for a long time as we enter the New Year was as follows. 

“My son was diagnosed with cancer of the eye as a baby.  By age six he was legally blind with his eyesight continuing to fade.   It was devastating for me to think of him losing his eyesight as a result of the radiation treatments.  I wrote to Make A Wish who sent my son and our family to Disney World in Florida for a trip none of us will ever forget.  Make A Wish is a wonderful charity and it’s great you are donating to them.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

A few weeks have gone by and we are still overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback we received. Here’s one last look at the Holiday Card of 2009

http://www.thealexandergroup.com/holiday/

Seasons Greetings from Rock Springs, Wyoming: How did I end up here?

Not “a-nice-hot-chocolate-would-just-hit-the-spot” kind of cold, but a “somehow-I-fell-asleep-and-woke-up-on-the-Moon” cold, a “Southern-Californian-found-frozen, gnawed-to-irrecognition-by-wolves-and-identified-by-dental-records” cold.

If you’ve ever been up at dawn, in the dead of winter, in the heart of Big Sky country, chiseling through an inch of ice grafted to the windshield of your 4-cylinder rental car, desperately trying to get out of town before a blizzard hits, you know what I’m talking about. 

Gloveless and wearing the same suit and woefully inadequate coat from the day before, I thought back to last night’s weather report: this morning’s -2 F (which might rise to 4 F by the end of the day!) would feel like -20 F with the wind chill. I figured I had about 15 minutes to get the car into driving shape before I permanently lost the use of my hands.

As I frantically chipped away at the windshield with the – gratuitous but shoddy – ice scraper the hotel provided, two enormous moose wandered by on the other side of the dirt parking lot. The essential human question: “what am I doing and how did I get here?” occurred to me.

It began innocently enough.

It was late December, just before the holidays, and I was managing a search for a field operations executive for an energy client with large-scale facilities in the Rockies. With a slate of candidate interviews lined up, I boarded an early evening flight from San Diego to Denver, then took one of the two daily commuter flights (capacity 20 people – tops) out of Denver, 350 miles northwest to Rock Springs, Wyoming.

After touching down in the darkness onto the single runway, and locating my bag at the bottom of the exit-ladder, I remember looking around and thinking “wow, this is like landing at the North Pole.” The total absence of city lights, or apparent civilization, meant that the entire sky was filled from horizon to horizon with improbably-bright stars. Peaceful, tranquil – a Robert Frost poem come to life.  

I picked up the rental car (as far as I could see, the only car at the airport) and drove 15 miles down the road to the town’s hotel. Meetings the next day went like clockwork, and in wrapping up the last one, I remarked to the candidate that I had enjoyed my time in Wyoming and was soon headed back to San Diego.

“You’re supposed to fly out today?” he inquired.

“Yeah, to Denver, about two hours from now.”

“Hate to tell you, but no one is flying into or out of Denver anytime soon – they got three feet of snow since last night, and more is headed this way!”

Almost from the moment I had touched down in Rock Springs, a blizzard had blanketed the Denver area. It would leave 4,700 travelers stranded in the Denver airport and result in more than 2,000 flight cancellations in a three-day stretch.

I concluded the meeting and hurried to the front desk clerk who confirmed the news, as did my assistant, Victoria, on the phone moments later.

Of course, the remaining flight into Salt Lake (the only other destination serviced out of Rock Springs) was overbooked that night and the next morning, and chances were by tomorrow afternoon the Rock Springs airport would be snowed-in too.

Clearly a precarious situation, compounded by the fact that in 48 hours I was due to depart from San Diego on a flight back East for the holidays…previous experience told me if I missed THAT flight, I’d be on standby till New Year’s…

Victoria valiantly tried train, bus – and I’m sure horse and sled – options, but, unbelievably, the best and most realistic solution to get out in the next four days was to drive the rental car 390 miles north to the airport at Billings, Montana. Rather than attempt the drive overnight, through the vagaries of the Wyoming/Montana badlands, I elected to crash at the hotel for one more night, wake at dawn, and make a break for it.

During the night the snow started, ice formed, and thus I found myself in the parking lot with the moose.

Eventually I got the two-wheel drive machine on the road and with the storm at my back, sped north into the grey morning.

It would be nice to say that I appreciated the uninterrupted, seven hour drive through some of the country’s most majestic and striking landscapes – circumnavigating Yellowstone, driving by Little Bighorn (site of Custer’s “Last Stand”) – but mostly I alternated staring at the hypnotically uniform frozen road, speedometer (can this thing go any faster?), menacing storm clouds, fuel gauge, and odometer (380 miles to go, 378, 372…).

As I transversed into and out of cell phone coverage areas, my thoughtful friends at the firm began calling to break the monotony, asking how I was holding up, how far I had gotten – I think they had a map in one of the conference rooms tracking my progress. I like to think that they were being supportive, but the laughter coming through on the end of the speaker phone as they hung up each call made me wonder…  

Eventually I reached the airport at Billings, amazingly before any snow had even fallen on the city. I flew from Billings to Portland, Portland to Seattle, and then Seattle to San Diego (with a layover in San Francisco). It had taken about 24 hours but I had made it home – with a few hours to spare before catching my flight back East for the holidays. 

One of the great philosophers of our time once said – and I’m paraphrasing – the day you stop learning in life, is the day you should hang it up. In my escape from Rock Springs, I learned that while nature (and especially winter) is a force to be reckoned with, human ingenuity – desperation? – and the support of friends is enough to overcome any obstacle. And also that I will never leave home without a good set of winter gloves. Never. 

What does Alexander Hamilton have to do with The Alexander Group?

Ten Random Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The Alexander Group… The Highs and Lows

The Alexander Group, founded in 1983, is proud of its long term client relationships, innovative fee structure, and creative and tenacious research-based approach to executive search. Okay, you can learn all of that from our marketing materials, but how about a few fun facts that you won’t find in a glossy brochure. We present to you ten random things that you probably didn’t already know.

1. There is no Mr. or Ms. Alexander, and there never was. Our firm was named after Alexander Hamilton, the father of modern banking, in honor of our first client, a bank. (The Hamilton Group was already taken.)
2. Back in the very early days, a client asked us if we could find 25 TV repairmen… and we said yes! The title was changed to the much more prestigious “Field Service Technician”.
3. We’ve been holding annual bowling parties since before the time bowling parties were cool. (We realize that bowling parties still aren’t very cool, but at least they are cooler. And they have always been fun.)
4. Former employees have gone on to become an investment banker, a newscaster, a stand-up comedian, an executive with one of the largest adult video companies, and a rabbi.
5. Another former employee has been on the cover of Wired Magazine and had his pixelated image on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
6. The firm’s first letterhead was printed on the highest quality Crane’s paper. Unfortunately, it was so heavy it took three stamps to get a simple letter through the mail.
7. Our first office in San Francisco was in the Mancini Building. We thought the name alone would give us an air of importance and stability. We soon learned that locals described it as “that ugly mustard colored three-story building on the edge of town.”
8. Years ago, an associate in the Houston office brought in a batch of cookies to share with colleagues that had a secret ingredient: mealworms. Unfortunately, they looked a lot like chocolate chips, though they were certainly higher in protein.

Houston     New York     Park City     San Diego     San Francisco