Do You Want Young Hires Well-Educated, Adaptable or Self-Sufficient?

Pick two out of three

Now is the time of year when many of you may have higher education on my mind. You might be starting to interview soon-to-be graduates of elite colleges or professional schools for your firm. You may have a young person in your life who’s anxiously waiting to hear from the college or grad school of their choice (and you, the financial aid office).

As Frank Bruni opined last week, “students shouldn’t be blind to the employment landscape. But it’s impossible to put a dollar value on a nimble, adaptable intellect.” He also said this mindset “isn’t the fruit of any specific course of study and may be the best tool for an economy and a job market that change unpredictably.”

Amen.

In fact, you want folks at all levels of your organization capable of changing on a dime and reinventing themselves as your organization “pivots” to adjust to new threats, opportunities and disruptions. That’s probably more important than where they got their diploma, what they majored in and what certifications or licenses they have. Adaptability isn’t something that can be taught, but it’s one of those special intangibles—like selling, leadership, customer support, empathy and insatiable curiosity—that can give you a 10x return on whatever compensation you pay them.

Chandra Chandrasekaran, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, told Adam Bryant the other day in a NY Times interview, “Learning is the most important thing in your career and without it, you’ll go nowhere. Early in life, people tend to think that learning is the responsibility of their parents and teachers. But then you have to want to learn for yourself.”

Our take? Lifelong learning isn’t the employer’s or government’s responsibility, either. We’ve come across math, chemistry and engineering grads who are incredibly creative, non-linear thinkers. We’ve come across plenty of philosophy and English lit majors who are surprisingly good at the numbers, but also pretty set in their ways with a fairly narrow world view.

Conclusion

Don’t waste time and money on HR hiring best practices, personality tests, self-assessment tests or screening services. You’ll know adaptability when you see it. Instead of asking candidates what they know….ask them how they figure out what they DON’T know.

You’ll be glad you did.

Our blog has more, as does the FREE Resources page of our website.

VCRGD6XDXT3T

Notice What You Notice

As the calendar page flips over to August, many of you may be on vacation or stuck in a long airport delay. The kids or grandkids are out of school, and half the people you need to reach at work are either out of the office—or have one foot out the door. Either way, everyone’s out of their normal routine a little and things just aren’t running as smoothly as you’d prefer.

Like it or not, you’re mind’s going to drift and the temptation is to focus on what’s wrong with your practice, business, family, golf swing, tennis stroke or relationships. It’s good to address those issues head on, but better yet, focus on the good things you can make better, not the bad things that are dragging you down.

In a surprisingly pithy op-ed piece today, Times columnist David Brooks suggested that there are two types of people: those who keep a journal (mental or actual) and those who don’t. “People who keep a journal often see it as part of the process of self-understanding and personal growth. They don’t want insights and events to slip through their minds. They think with their fingers and have to write to process experiences and become aware of their feelings. People who oppose journal-keeping fear it contributes to self-absorption and narcissism.

Maybe Brooks is on vacation this week, but we think the point he’s trying to make is that the more your can distance yourself form your own “intimacy with yourself” the more reliable your self-awareness is likely to be.”

You may have to take an exotic trip or put yourself in some kind of social situation that’s way outside your comfort zone. Maybe it’s joining a new networking group or civic organization, taking up a new sport (in which you’re sure to look foolish at first) and striking up a conversation with someone in your building elevator or commuter train that you keep interacting with but never engage. Pay attention to your body language and voice inflection in those situations. Are you listening more or talking more?

Notice what you notice

Back in my triathlon days, I had a great swim coach, the late Doug Stern. Doug had an amazing ability to remember every single person’s name in his aquatics class—even with five or six dozen people in identical swim caps thrashing about him—and he mentioned everyone by name several times during each workout. Don’t think that matters!

But, it wasn’t Doug’s charisma that made him so great, it was how he got you attuned to your body in the water. “Notice what you notice,” he always told us when trying to help us master a new stroke technique.

Conclusion

Sharon Sloane, CEO of the training video company Will Interactive, told NYT interviewer Adam Bryant that she finishes every day with some “chair time.” That’s when she just sits quietly by herself at the end of the day, turns off her devices, and just lets the day “wash over” her. What really happened? What did she not pick up on in a meeting? Which dots didn’t get connected at the time?

Whether you’re in the water, on land, or in the air this month, take time out from the grind and notice what you notice. You’ll be glad you did.

Best, HB

Our blog has more, as does the FREE Resources page of our website.

VCRGD6XDXT3T

TAGS: Doug Stern, notice what you notice, Sharon Sloane, chair time, David Brooks, Adam Bryan, keeping a journal