But.... will it make the boat go faster?

I was in an interesting Client meeting last week, getting feedback on a candidate who had been through 2 interviews and had 3 reference checks taken.

‘Craig,’ the client began, ‘We’re not going to proceed with John….. We just don’t believe he makes the boat go faster…’

Did he just say what I thought he’d said? Make the boat go faster?? Last time I looked John was neither a Mercury 150hp outboard, nor an America’s Cup sailing want-to-be….

My obvious confusion must have been pretty… well… obvious. He continued.

‘It’s sort of become a motto around here to make sure we are moving towards continual improvement. Every time we look to make a strategic decision we ask ourselves - Will it make the boat go faster?…’

OK – I’m no Einstein, and certainly no Captain Jack Sparrow… My experience with water is limited to the occasional bath and the ‘slip ‘n’ slide’ I had in the back yard as a kid…. Remember those? ‘slip ‘n’ slides’?? And sprinklers for that matter??? Life pre-water restrictions was pretty sweet! Anyway, I digress…

The client went on to relate the following story to me… Sir Matthew Pinsent is an elite rower from England who competed in four consecutive Olympics, from 1992-2004, winning four gold medals. In the 2003 World Championships Pinsett finished a disappointing 4th. Pinsent and his crew questioned whether they wanted to continue and aim for a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. They were aware of the extraordinary commitment they would need to make and all agreed that they wanted to go for it.

They needed to come up with a way of focusing their efforts towards achieving the single goal of winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. All decisions and efforts had to be channeled to meet this challenge. They came up with a simple, but powerful, question that had to be answered every time a decision or action needed to be taken – ‘Will it make the boat go faster?’ If it didn’t make the boat go faster, it was quickly discarded; if it did, it was implemented.

The beauty of this approach was in its simplicity. The team was basically saying if we can make the boat go faster we can win a gold medal. They defined and refined everything that they believed would make the boat faster. They changed their collective mindsets, their approach and training and took absolute responsibility for their actions and behaviours. They also changed the result from 2003 – they won the Olympic gold medal in 2004.

OK, Recruitment Businesses - it’s pretty safe to say – aren’t boats, but the premise makes sense. My job is to find the best talent in the recruitment industry and present that talent to my clients.

Every one of my clients will have a business plan in place with goals, objectives and milestones laid out for their next financial year – including headcount.

So, for the sake of the metaphor, let’s assume that Recruitment Agencies are boats. Their primary goal is to win the race (increase market share, improved profit and productivity etc.).

As a candidate what skills can you offer them? How can you help them to achieve their goals, objectives and milestones. And…. Most importantly – will YOU make their boat go faster?

As always, I invite comment and contribution.

Comment by Bill Schultz on October 3, 2011 at 7:16pm: LOL, that's a good one. reminds me of a story someone told me about Citibank. Could be any big company though.

Citibank enters a boating race against another bank. Let's say Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo has 12 people rowing and one person calling.

Citibank has 1 person rowing and 12 people calling.

As you may imagine, Citibank loses and immediately forms a committee to see why it lost the race.

After analyzing data for 6 months, the committee comes to a unanimous decision that the fault lies in the single rower and he should be put on report.

Comment by Tim Spagnola on October 4, 2011 at 9:55am: Craig - thanks for the entertaining and good read. I do indeed recall those 'slip 'n' slides'. A great story of simplicity by design. Obviously the human element throws all kinds of things into the mix, but it is best at times to not over think it too much. Back to my calls so I can help my new client win (at least place) in the race.

@Bill - great story as well and tie in

Comment by Walter J. Kowal, Jr. on October 4, 2011 at 12:12pm: Its not all about winning the boat race, but more so enjoying the boat ride..

Comment by Bill Schultz on October 4, 2011 at 5:20pm: This is, without a doubt, the best blog this week.

Comment by Craig Watson on October 4, 2011 at 5:22pm: Wow!! Thanks for the comment Bill! I'll try to back it up next week!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 4, 2011 at 6:31pm: I agree. something new instead of all the recycled stuff for those of us who have been around a while.

Actual thought this morning: "I've got to get this boat moving forward faster or i am going to be caught in the backwash of the recruiting cycle." Never heard the expression and i like it a lot.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on October 4, 2011 at 7:28pm: Blogs like this are why I hang out at RBC. Real world examples that not only spin an interesting story but provide a valuable viewpoint. Well done Craig. :)

Comment by Valentino Martinez on October 5, 2011 at 5:11am: Loved Bill's funny story as it relates to Craig's story & metaphor (I found another version of the story that is equally poignant--see below).

The Americans and the Japanese decided to engage in a competitive boat race. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance. On the big day the Japanese won by a mile.

The American team was discouraged by the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consulting firm was hired to investigate the problem and recommend corrective action.

The consultant's finding: The Japanese team had eight people rowing and one person steering; the American team had one person rowing and eight people steering. After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the American team's management structure was completely reorganized. The new structure: four steering managers, three area steering managers, and a new performance review system for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.

The next year, the Japanese won by two miles!

Humiliated, the American corporation laid off the rower for poor performance and gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem.

http://www.workjoke.com/managers-jokes.html

I like Craig’s story and question because it actually frames the employer's stated goal of finding an Olympic Gold Medal caliber boat rower, in this case, to “make the boat (project, product launch, etc.) go faster”. Sharing the story of preparing for Olympic Game competition says a lot because it suggests that this employer aspires to be the industry’s leader on a global scale. Anything less would have been framed as such, e.g., “Let me share a story about how a company earned the company’s group championship trophy; or that they were division champ; or that they became regional champion; or even national champion. No, they actually and specifically shared the Olympic competition example which is to be the world champion—which is what Olympic competition suggests. And as the story came to a close--they were clear that the whole team was aware of the commitment requirement, e.g., “They were aware of the extraordinary commitment they would need to make and all agreed that they wanted to go for it.” And they were aware

So, Craig, this is no small employer requirement or expectation. Going for the gold, in terms of candidate strengths and potential, dwarfs typical goal setting of going after good and very good candidates. This is a cut above that because this is the ultimate level of achievement awarded in such competitions—a gold medal to be won against very serious and capable world class contenders (unless of course it’s meant to inspire employees rather than have employees aspire to Olympic level performance).

@Walter—enjoying the ride will be the result if a gold medal is attained. Otherwise the ride will be hard work on top of harder work—and disappointment if the gold medal is not won.

@Craig—for me the story suggests that it’s the employer’s challenge to get the proper team members and team alignment (harnessed) to get their boat to go faster. Rather than employment agencies becoming boats, the employer will engage search agencies to help find water-walker ca

Comment by Valentino Martinez on October 5, 2011 at 5:15am: (the following closing comment could not be attached to the original comment above...so I'm attaching it here--apologies for any confusion)

...candidates.

What they want from you is a much stronger boat rower—a Gold Medal caliber rower—clearly stronger than the one that was presented. One that will surely make their boat to go faster. How do you find such candidates? Using the sports metaphor—it’s easy (and not so easy). Track and attract the top ranked contenders in the specialty of boat rowing or whatever the discipline may be.

Personally, as a Senior Olympic Gold Medal contender, and Gold Medal winner myself, in track & field competitions —the elite competitors in any event are aggressively tracked, ranked and validated. Athletes, coaches, sports analysts, marketers, sponsors, family, friends and fans are all networked, particularly through formal and informal channels including social media, to have a fairly good sense of who has the current leading performance in any given sport/event, e.g., best time, distance, lift, height, (etc.) and potential required to take the gold.

Selecting talent to go after the Gold Medal is one thing. Selecting top talent to actually win the Gold Medal is at a much higher level of commitment and focus for employer and/or recruiter.