OK – My Feb 16th blog post sucked was way too much of a sales pitch.  Yes, I believe in recruiters- at the right time, however, I also know companies can get great at recruiting & interviewing. You deserved more than me just pushing recruiting firms at you…

Here are some tips:

• The best employees aren’t looking for jobs, you have to know where they are, and go find them.  They work for the top companies to work for in your market, or the INC 500 winners, the Top 40 Under 40, Best Workplaces etc.  A Players work at the best companies.  You’ll find them on FaceBook & LinkedIn too.
• A Level employees change jobs for alignment, culture, clarity of roles, and opportunity.  They aren’t going to jump ship to just any old company, so make sure that you’ve set your company up to really attract them.  Ask your current employees for 5 things (that don’t cost money) that would make your company a best place to work, and put them in place now.  It’s a start.
• Job Ads MUST attract – don’t be boring…  Here is one I used (it fits my culture) and was for an Exec Assistant.  The ad helped me find a person who is a perfect fit.
• Behavioral Traits – Think in advance about the key traits the person must possess.  Make a list of them – like: Leadership, Attainment, Tenacity & Introspection…
• Interview Questions – Once you know the traits you’re looking for, come up with 3-5 questions you can ask to probe for answers on each trait.
• Scorecard – Describe in detail the 10 things the person being hired will have to get done during their first two years in the role.  Then interview them in depth to ensure they have done similar work before.  Hire for Experience and Cultural Fit.
• Group Interview – Use a Group Interview to look for cultural fit.
• Reference Checks – Do as many as 10 if you have to.  Draw out names of people to call during the interviews.  Don’t just call the names the candidate gives you.
• Raise The Bar – Every new hire should raise the average skill set of your group.  Just like a sports team, work to keep bringing awesome employees into your company.

Time management means focusing your efforts to get more important things done, in less time. It’s as simple as that.

There are an infinite number of demands on your time and attention.  Many problems and tasks are new and can’t be planned.  Many are thrown at you urgently by co-workers. The opportunity to use your time effectively or ineffectively is huge.

Time management is a habit that begins with goal setting. Without setting goals, you are merely putting together lists of “stuff” on your plate at that point in time.

Your goals should be SMART:

· Shared

· Measurable

· Attainable

· Relevant

· Time-based
Before the start of each week, month, or quarter, write down all of the goals you want to achieve during that period of time.

• Thirty minutes of focusing will allow you to really plan what goals you want to hit and how to hit them.

• Always think in advance but be focused on NOW.

Years ago I heard a story about filling a jar with Rocks, Sand & Water.

If you took a large jar and filled it with LARGE ROCKS all the way to the top would it be full?

NO, you could then take a bunch of pebbles and pour them into the jar filling up all the space – then it would be full – right?

NO, you could then fill the entire jar with sand, filling all the spaces between the rocks and even the pebbles – then it would be full – wouldn’t it?

NOPE, only after you poured some water into the jar – filling all the spaces between the sand, pebbles, and rocks would the jar be full.

BUT- even then you could pour a bit more water into the jar allowing the meniscus to build and the water level would actually rise above the top.

This is the type of planning your need to do:

· Put the Rocks – important items, or A’s into your schedule in advance.

· Then add the next list of B’s.

· All the C’s and extra stuff that come along will get done, like they always do, but at least by starting with the largest priority items, you know they will get done.
Planning allows you to work on the high priority items BEFORE they get urgent and begin causing you stress. If you tried to put all the water, sand, pebbles and rocks into a jar in the reverse order it wouldn’t work – same with managing your time.

The hardest part of time management is sticking to your plan. The second hardest part is to know when to change part of the plan so that you can hit your goals.

Getting Started

Getting started with time management does require some planning, but once you familiarize yourself with the process, it will become second nature to you.

1. List activities

To get started, list everything that you have to do in the time frame for which you’re planning. Do a full brain dump. Don’t miss a thing.

2. Prioritize

After you’ve listed your activities, put a number beside each of the items (e.g., 1, 2, 3, and so on) on the page. You must number every single item!

Having a hard time figuring out priority? You may find Steven Covey’s Principle of Impact and Urgency helpful. Both are linked in deciding what needs to be done first.  Impact is assessed by asking yourself, “What will help the most towards my end goals?” For example, if you’ve got a deadline looming, organizing your files isn’t going to take top priority.

Next, separate the activities into A’s & B’s.  A’s are considered to be those items which must get done today.  A’s are also usually reserved for items that will help you hit your goals.  B’s are for those items that should get done if possible. Once you’ve done this, order each ‘A’ by importance, like this: A1, A2, and so on. Then repeat this process with the B’s.

Once you are done, start putting each of the activities into your calendar with specific times you’ll do them, for example:

10:00-11:00: Interview Customer Support Rep – (A1)

Remember, when you’re putting the A’s & then B’s into your calendar, be specific with times and leave time open for interruptions like emails and phone calls, because you will get them! You’ll need the buffer time to allow you to stay on track.

It’s hard to stick to the plan.  As humans, we’ve all caught ourselves working on low priority tasks such as cleaning out our desk drawers or checking email instead of working on critical projects.  The hardest part is sticking to the plan.

The second hardest part is knowing when to modify your plan. For example, maybe it’s more important to continue a call you’re doing that is an ‘A’ priority and run over time than to end on time to start a ‘B’ priority item you’ve already scheduled.  A’s have priorities over B’s.  And lower numbers have priority over higher ones.

Remember: Plan your work and work your plan.  I find telling at least one other person what you are going to get done in a day will help you stay focused on doing it.

3. Review

Review your progress often, typically daily and weekly.  Are you hitting your goals?  Have all A priorities been complete? This is also the best time to transfer uncompleted B’s to a new day.

Finally, a bit of self-analysis: Did you take too long to do any tasks?  Why?  Were they worth doing?  Is there anything you can do to better manage your time tomorrow?

So, you want to be an expert recruiter ?  You want to get strong at interviewing ?

In all likelihood, this will never happen.  MOST CEOs and Entrepreneurs have far too many things on their plate to get good at this.  I’m not talking about being competent, I’m talking about being awesome at it.

As Malcom Gladwell says in his book Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something.  Let’s say he’s exaggerating, let’s say it only takes you 1,000 hours, or even 100 hours, are you really prepared to put that much effort into getting great at interviewing & recruiting, if you’re not – then it’s easy – outsource it to the professionals.  Especially when it comes to key hires.

I’ve personally spent close to a thousand hours interviewing and working on my interview skills.  I can stack up with the top 2%.  That’s why I finally decided that instead of simply training CEOs on how to recruit and interview their key hires, I’d source 2 TOP Recruiting companies who could do it for them- for the key hires at least.

I’ve found two:

-one focuses only on C-Level roles where the total comp is $300,000 or higher.

-the second focuses on VP, Director, and C-Level where the comp is $150-$250k.

It you’re interested in having them do retained searches for you, drop me an email, let me know what you’re hiring, comp etc., and I’ll happily intro you.

OR, spend a thousand hours, and perfect your recruiting & interviewing skills, and do it yourself…

This is a scary stage in your company that comes after Informed Pessimism, and can feel like you’re standing on the edge of a building needing to jump.  It will feel like all the odds are stacked against you and that everything is going wrong.  It will be hard to get out of bed in the morning.  Sleeping at night will be close to impossible due to worries and fear.  You’ll feel like you’re paralyzed and can do little more than perhaps clean your filing cabinet drawers successfully.

You definitely do NOT want to be talking to the media, potential employees or having team meetings when you’re feeling like this.

When you start feeling yourself sliding into this Crisis of Meaning stage, you really do have to reach out for help.   Don’t wait until you’re out on a ledge to call from your cell phone and say, “Hi, I’m getting ready to jump.  Can you help me?”  They won’t get to you in time!

We all need to really understand the feelings that we’re having as we move down the roller coaster. For women entrepreneurs, this can be a little easier since they know how to tap into that emotional intelligence and intuition from years of practice, and frankly, it’s more socially acceptable for them to do this. They’re also more likely to talk to others about their feelings, whereas we guys tend to think through stuff silently from our little caves. The bottom line? We all need to listen to our bodies and brains more because they actually send out these chemical responses within our body for a reason.

That anxious feeling in your gut is a chemical reaction that your brain is triggering. Realize that your body is saying, “Slow down.” This is the time to call on your friends, business advisers, banker, accountant, and call on people you went to school with –anyone who can lend an ear—and ask them for guidance. Call on organizations likeEO or YPO, and say, “I’m feeling stressed, worried and nervous. I’m not sure what to do or where to turn next. Help!”

And don’t feel ashamed of it because every single business owner goes through this stuff.

When you’re at this stage you should do things like:

·Clean your filing cabinet drawers – seriously.  Doing a few little things can often perk people up.

·Reach out to your support groups like friends, family, your church, groups like the Entrepreneurs’ Organization or similar ones and ask them for help, advice or to just lend an ear.

·Try to set your TOP 5 daily and only work on the most important items each day.

·Write lists – lists about your strengths, lists about what you love – make lists that when you re-read them will help re-build your  confidence.

·Go to the movies. Just a complete distraction.  Two hours of escapism.

·Read an inspirational (NOT an instructional) book.

You should avoid doing things like:

·Don’t talk to people that are depressed or negative.

·Don’t turn to vices: porn, liquor and drugs will destroy you.

·Don’t think that you can “handle it” on your own.  You can’t.

Make sure you have the mental capacity, supportive people, time and resources to get you through rough patches.

And remember:  THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

For more information on this topic, check out: The Emotional Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurs.

This rings true even in recessions.  That’s where the old adage ‘cash is king’ in a recessionary market comes from.  Many companies saw the recession coming and moved into cash.  They were waiting for deals. They’ve been waiting for the market to turn. They’re also waiting to buy from you. Sell to them. They’ve got money – some of it could be yours.

So, how do you get some of that money? A story first…

Years ago, one of my sales teams was working with a large client called Public Storage.  We were doing about $180,000 a year in business with them.  When we asked them how much total spending they did with us and competitors of ours, they said they’d have to check.  The following week they came back and said overall, company wide, they spent about two million dollars.  Wow–and we were only getting nine percent of that! Imagine how the conversation changed at that point to, “How can we get more of your business? What do you need to see from us to spend fifty percent of that figure with us?” We knew they had the money because they told us they were spending it! Now we just needed to work closely with them to have them spend it with us instead of our competitors.

Figure out which of your clients or prospects are doing well. Do your research and really focus on them, and you’ll land them without any problem.  Ask your clients how much of their current business you are currently getting.  Spending time with your top clients to increase revenues is easier than finding new ones.  They’ve got money – some of it could be yours.

Any stories to share ?