Lessons learned from Charlie Sheen

DISCLAIMER: First and foremost, I don't condone excessive partying under most circumstances and never condone domestic violence or abuse in any form so spare me the moral and judgmental responses. I live in a glass house.

"We are all born originals - most of us die a copy" - Abraham Lincoln

Many consider Charlie Sheen a playboy, a genius, an addict, honest, an abuser, a top actor and in some circles, simply crazy. Perhaps all may true to varying degrees. But by any standard, Charlie Sheen is an original. And being such, he was the highest paid television actor (and seems that will continue...see below), he's sold out arenas...is the top story on every tabloid news channel...has the fastest growing twitter account in history (and commands 5K to simply reference a product in his tweets) and by no coincidence, rumor has it CBS wants to bring him back, with a raise!

Lessons learned:

1) Be an original. Copies can be replicated and as such are cheaper the more you make.

2) Be honest, regardless of the ramifications. You'll sleep better and be more respected.

3) Having the best product will always supersede having the best service. Think Soup Nazi!

4) The squeaky wheel gets the grease. These sayings were made up for a reason.

5) Any press is good press. See #4

6) Focus on "Winning". Based on the above, looks like he's right.

How to parallel this to recruiting?

1) Propose something unique. Saying you work harder, have the best technology, have the best people, and saying you work with the best candidates...just makes you look stupid (to anyone who will fill your pockets)!

2) If you have a superior product, clients will tolerate slips in service. The reverse is not true! Clients can care less about updates and emails about failure and how hard you're working...they want product, results. I recall one of my bosses who would get to work before anyone and leave after everyone. Some would say he worked hard...others would say he worked slow.

3) If a client screws you, tell them so and move on. Otherwise, you've given them a license.

4) Do anything you can to get your name out there. Be memorable and brand, brand, brand. I've met 100's of recruiters...but I only remember one. A guy walking up and down wall street during the recession with a sandwich board with all the wall street jobs he's working on. I remember him!

5) Keep your eye on the prize...MONEY! Don't be so pretentious as to believe this isn't the measure of success. Frankly, it's the only measure. And for those who wrap themselves in the Snuggie with hot cocoa on a Sunday afternoon and catch up on Oprah re-runs thinking the best measure is making the right fit, think again. If you are making the right fit, you're making the most money.

Fill your veins with Tiger Blood, people!

Comment by Christopher Poreda on March 25, 2011 at 2:09pm: @ Paul...your reputation is build on the deliverable, nothing else. As for your Hollywood comment, as I understand, Charlie is being rehired by the president of CBS and the Executive Producer is being reassigned. Does money matter?

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 25, 2011 at 2:15pm: I too was captivated by the Charlie Sheen story. Not so much from any degree of thinking he is indeed winning though. For the most part I've just scratched my head at the idea of this coke snorting ego maniac getting so much attention.

Personally I draw no parallels from the story.

Money is not my own personal measure of success. You can come by money in quite a few different ways - both moral and immoral. My measure of success is being able to look my kids in the eye and know I am someone I want my boys to emulate and my daughter to respect.

Charlie Sheen's personal life deserves no respect what so ever. The man has 2 hookers living with him.

Comment by Paul Alfred on March 25, 2011 at 2:16pm: Guess what Christopher I think the President of CBS is taking a very big risk if what you say is true in placing his bets on an Actor that has some serious problems ... That is a Time Bomb that could go off again ... Wooo really smart business decision...

I have walked away from Heavy duty consultants that could pay me a cool 30/hr because of reputation. My experience in this industry taught me that .... Like I said you must have not been in this industry for too long ...

Comment by Paul Alfred on March 25, 2011 at 2:21pm: I have to agree with you Jerry ... Look I love Charlie Sheen as an Actor ... But how can you draw a parallel with respect to what we offer our Clients in the Recruitment Industry ... How do you grow a long term business on a Bad reputation ... ??? Chris I fail to see how this is not important to you ...

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 25, 2011 at 2:29pm: I have to agree with Chris on quite a few of his points here.

My clients don't care about my process. They only want results. They don't need me to remind them how hard I'm working. Right on Chris!

Where I disagree though is that yes, many of us are not quite as transparent during the business day as we are on the golf course or favorite watering hole. But I believe (and always will) we should keep those two "personas" separate. It's called professionalism. I live by it.

It didn't take much "Hollywood scrutiny" to uncover Sheen's behavior. From my first recollection he had done a few 8 balls (that's street slang in case Maureen Sharib is reading this) and bashed up his hotel room and beat up a hooker.

If any recruiter did that I'm guessing the client might not be so inclined to overlook it. Would they? Should they?

Comment by Paul Alfred on March 25, 2011 at 2:37pm: You know if we lapse on Professionalism then wonder why our Industry is painted by a bad name Chris has provided some great reasons ..

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 25, 2011 at 4:18pm: I'll relate a story i heard this morning from a recruiter in LA. There is one of the big recruiting chains who use a sales trainer to do his thing at their national meetings. Many of their larger offices bring him in for smaller group sales training. The recruiter i was talking with said he had met him at one of the national meetings thought he was great but it flashed through his mind when he met him that he was pretty ruddy complected. Sort of a passing thought and ignored because the guy is an ourdoorsy type.

Seems there was a big ole conference last weekend for the top producers in the chain at some fancy resort. As there always are there were big parties each night. The word has hit the airwaves this morning from the folks who were there that Mr. fabulous sales trainer got a snoot full at the party and proceeded to drop his pants and yell, "WINNING is what it's all about".

The word is that he was quickly escorted out of the party told to pack his shit and was taken to the airport for the next flight back home. Anybody want to guess how much money his WINNING performance cost him or when he will be doing the next sales training for anyone in that organization?

There may be lots of other idiots who think because this messed up actor has gotten so much attention that they can do some of the same and get the same attention or press. I know for certain that not all press is good press in the real world. Recruiting ain't Hollywood!

Here's a thought. Real people in the real everyday world of work will in fact be fired, lose their reputation as a sane human being, loose their kids and end up in the drunk tank at the local jail or the psych ward if they act like our boy Charlie.

I agree with Chris on the point that my clients are not interested in why i can't if i can't or any daily updates that do not include a good resume. They don't give a tinkers damn what i did over the weekend or last night unless it makes the papers or i am stupid enough to share many details of my personal life that i would not share with the most proper of PC folks. I am far from politically correct but it's my observation that business for the most part operates on a PC level if one wants to hang around long. It seems to be better not to offend anyone than take a risk that the ones you do offend don't sign the front of your check.

I know a couple of ex recruiters who thought it was cool to take the younger internal recruiters to titty bars and get loaded then nudge elbows the next day. Notice i said ex recruiters. The internals are no longer with us either. They are selling cell phones and talking about the days they used to "do deals" in recruiting. I've watched a lot of young female (some older ones too) recruiters start dating or make the beast with two backs with candidates or clients. Most of them are either working at car dealerships or hopping tables somewhere at this point.

My take is , if you are a high rolling, hot shot who wants to act like Charlie Sheen or the girls at the Triple Triangle Hog Ranch, you better have high rolling clients who are at the C level and can't get fired or divorced. Or you have a burning desire to sell cell phones or work at a car dealership.

I have been known to drink too much champagne at a wedding and end up in the fountain at the country club in a long dress. Thank God it was very dark, very late and none of my clients were there and my escort had the good sense to jerk my silly butt out of the water and get me out of there fast.

I was very, very quiet for a long time and was delighted that my reputation as the "Diving Diva "did not get outside the circle of a few close friends. I did not think i was nearly as cute when the sun came up. There were a few clients and/or candidates who would have thought it was pretty funny, given my fees for image consulting. There were a lot more who would have dropped me off the radar in a heartbeat. Right wrong or indifferent it would have happened.

Thank God i still had enough sense not to take that dress off before i went into the fountain. If nothing else it would have tranished my reputation as a serious animal cruelty advocate the next time i testified in court. There are other areas of our lives that can be wrecked by stupid behavior, not just business.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 25, 2011 at 4:28pm: WEll that was a whole damn blog. I need to go back to work and shut up.

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 25, 2011 at 5:03pm: I would like to add that Charlie does not need to make another dime for the rest of his life.

I do.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 25, 2011 at 5:26pm: Or let's put it this way Luke. Unless one already has 20 million bucks invested in gold and blue chips that is paying you a ton of money a year, your kids are grown and already know and love the fact that you are a flaming nut case, you have a trust fund or know that daddy's will can't be revoked. It is probably more prudent not to be a drama queen or king.

I suspect there is going to be a lot of "Tiger Blood" in the streets from a lot of "paper tigers" before this one is relegated to ooze from which it sprang.

One can be an "original" without being an obnoxious ass in the process. I stay a long way away from fountains when there is champagne in the area.