I live, eat, and breathe recruiting. I came into the industry in an entry level role and tried to learn as much as possible through asking endless amounts of questions and watching/listening to recruiters around me. I have done pretty well and have been fortunate to be successful in this world of mine. I am now a Partner and the Managing Director at a fast growing recruiting firm in Austin, Texas (Providence Partners). In addition to my “real job,” I have become a speaker and presenter for SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management), HR.com, as well as speaking to various organizations, conferences, and even individual companies about recruitment strategies, processes, technologies, and how to establish a world-class recruiting environment. As a matter of fact, I have between 1500-2000 HR executives and leaders from around who tune in to my webcasts each month to hear my thoughts on recruiting. SHRM has me rated as one of their top 5 presenters. I told you I live, eat, and breathe this stuff!

When I speak with others about the current ways that most companies are recruiting, and how I feel that a great shift will happen in the next 2 years in the way that recruitment will need to be done (laying out the data and the reasoning behind what I say), they all agree that this shift is coming and that changes need to be made….but then here it comes…EXCUSES!

• “That’s just overwhelming to think about and I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
• “My executive/management team just doesn’t see the value in recruiting.”
• “That would take a lot of hard work.”
• “That would cost us some money.”
• “That would require restructuring so many people.”

Blah, blah, blah….

I heard it said one time, and in sort of a crude way, that excuses are like buttholes. Everyone has them and they all stink! Over the years I have attempted to soften it a bit by using other stinky body parts (armpits or feet), but the original just gives it much more impact! Hahaha!

Sam Ewing once said “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” As HR leaders, as management, as executives, we have been entrusted with leading an organization, and it’s employees, to making the RIGHT decisions, which is not always the EASY decision. An organization has life and it needs to be cared for, nurtured, fed, disciplined, and mentored so that it will grow to be strong and healthy and experience long life. The problem is that sometimes as leaders, we get too comfortable or we get too invested in the status quo and are reluctant to make changes because the outcome is not a certainty or guaranteed. Leaders may be nearing retirement and honestly may just want to leave that hard work for the next person, instead of tackling it themselves. We focus on short-term convenience, rather that long-term health.

Remember when you first started your career and you wanted to change the world, or at least the small part of it that you could see? You were daring! You were courageous! You were willing to take risks and roll up your sleeves and get after it…but now we have matured and we don’t want to cause uneasiness, and my sleeves are freshly pressed and they might get wrinkled. I hope I never tire of challenging the current state of things and looking for better, more effective, more efficient, and more cost effective ways of doing things! How boring would my life be?

Take up your challenges. Do what you were hired to do. Don’t be a butthole, armpit or even a foot!