I’ve lined myself up in front of fish tank on purpose for this particular video because the fish are going to be part of the story. I know many of you read the transcript and enjoy following the blog that way and I think that’s great. But I also know many people watch the video, and I’ve heard that you like to see the fish. So, go ahead and watch the fish while I talk if you like. But the other reason is because we talk about putting people into environments that really suit them well. And that we have the right type of person in a job and in an environment that really does match up well with them.

So, I was talking to a candidate about this and how it all kind of ties together and I said, you know, you can be a beautiful fish but if you are a fresh water fish and you are put in a salt water tank, you’re not going to do really well. And if you are a cold-water fish and you are put in a warm water tank you’re not going to do really well. So, it has nothing to do with the beauty and the quality of the fish. You need to put the right fish in the right kind of tank. And you need to put the right type of people in an environment that suits their behavioral nature, and provide them with the kind of coaching and the mentoring that suits their needs.

Yes, there are many different ways to get jobs done and different behavioral styles can definitely be successful in the same environment. But you the manager make the difference because you know how to create the environment that just like putting a fresh water fish in a fresh water tank and a salt water fish in a salt water tank. Hope this makes sense. Thanks for your time, thanks for listening.

I want to talk to you today about when you’re thinking about how much effort you put into what you do, and whether or not anybody actually notices. The reason for this story is because I had an opportunity to talk with the candidate just recently and they said to me, “hey Bob, you really like what you do, I can tell you really enjoy it. And this was a very interesting time for me to learn about myself. I went through this one other time and it was so obvious that the person who was reviewing my profile with me was bored. They just mailed it in and there was nothing that I really got out of that experience.” And it made me realize that people really do see the difference. People can recognize when you’re putting forth an effort to make it special and to make it good.

There are repetitive aspects of everybody’s job. Think about the Broadway actor who is playing Hamlet and needs to read “To be or not to be” six nights a week and for two matinees. But just as every single audience is different, every single candidate is different, every single client is different and you need to look what you do in the eyes of the people that you’re delivering your work for — embrace how they will feel about it, look at how they will view it and you’ll be able to move beyond any aspect of repetitive boredom.

Really enjoy and embrace what you do. There is so much pleasure in what we get to do and how we’re able to work with people. You need to take advantage of that, just like the sign says at my pet store that we visit, Bark Less, Wag More. Thanks for your time.

As I think you all know, I have an opportunity to talk to people every day about their personality style and their personality profile. And many people look forward to the conversations, and many people, especially candidates, are a bit nervous about what the profile is going to say about them. And lo and behold, in the eyes of the beholder the profile is seen as a positive picture of their personality style. And the reason is because it focuses on the strengths of the individual, what the person does well. And if that is what you do well, be it a relationship builder, or create harmony, or create process, all of those things make you feel good about yourself. And so it’s really common, at the end of the conversation, that the individual will say to me, “Gee, I’m not as bad as I thought I was”. I laugh and I say, “Well, yeah. You know, you’re not. In fact, there are a lot of really positive things about your personality and there are a lot of things that you can be very effective in doing.” The conversation turns out to be very much an affirmation of the individual’s strengths and it feels good. It feels good for them. I have to tell you it feels good for me, too, because we’re talking about positive things and it’s very relevant because we can build and grow from our strengths much faster, much more effectively and have a lot more fun doing it, than always worrying about what we do wrong. You know, I think we heard enough about what we did wrong when we were kids. It’s time to move beyond that. And, yes, I know we sometimes have that little boy or little girl on our shoulder telling us that we suck, but you know, there is more to life than that. If you can truly embrace what you do well and what your strengths are, then you can actually take on those things that you’re not as comfortable with, and recognize the need to consciously adapt your behavior to deal with those things, but celebrate the fact that you actually bring a lot of strengths to the table. So it’s true, maybe you don’t suck as much as you think. Did you ever think of that? You should. Thanks for your time.

Even in these difficult economic times, our clients still find it very difficult to find quality candidates that they are prepared to hire. We would like to think that people are just sticking out there, you know, hanging around the telephone booth waiting for the phone call but the fact of the matter is most of us have very, very specific needs and it’s hard to find candidates that really do fit the bill. But every once in a while, you find two.

The question becomes:

What steps can you take when you really have two quality candidates?

That was a dilemma that one of our clients was facing. It was a position for sales and they had two candidates, each had very different personality profiles, both of them could certainly be very effective in sales. But their situations were very different. One person had been out of work for a while, had taken a bit of a sabbatical to deal with some family-related issues which is not at all unusual. The other person was gainfully employed, working for a competitor, and was being recruited by them, so to speak.

Well the first candidate was going full speed all out to get the job. Anything that needed to be done as part of the interview process, they really went overboard and did everything perfectly. The other candidate who was gainfully employed didn’t put nearly as much time into the effort. As a result when it came to presentations and follow-up, they really didn’t measure up at the same level. But the client understood why.

So we talked about it. I made a recommendation to let both of them know that there is competition for the position, and to let them know what your concern is in each case. Give them a chance to see how they would respond and how they would deal with that situation because after all, for sales people, this is going to be a natural evolution and this is an opportunity for you to have evidence of their behavior.

You might likely say, well the person who’s gainfully employed, well they’re not going to put in the same effort and the person who is unemployed is really going to knock themselves out. But the true nature of a competitor will come through when they realize a position that they say they want is on the line.

So the morale of the story is, give your candidates a chance to compete and pay close attention to how they deal with it because the way they deal with that competition will be very much the way they deal with…working for you.

I want to tell you a little story about a meeting that I recently attended. A presenter came up to talk to the group and the first thing he said was, “I am not here to sell you anything.” I thought back to the movie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, where the madam says to her daughter, “don’t trust anybody that ever says, trust me” and I think I have learned that same lesson whenever anybody says to me, “I am not here to sell you something.” That’s the time that you want to reach for your wallet and hold it with both of your hands , because clearly the person is there to sell you something.

It’s so interesting that people take the approach that says ” I am not here to sell you something.” Isn’t the reality that we are all here to sell everybody everything, and its so much better if you can just admit that. When I am talking to my clients about the behavioral profile and the value that we bring to the table, I am obviously trying to sell them on the value . If a candidate is talking to me about why they are a good sales person, they are trying to sell me on that. I really think that you need to be careful if you take an attitude that says I am not here to sell you something . Either its an indication that you are trying to be devious or you really don’t know why you are there.

If you are there to sell something to somebody there is nothing wrong with letting them know that you really believe in what you have got and you hope that after you have been able to talk with them that the value that you see in what you offer they are able to see as well.

Sales is an honorable profession, don’t ever forget that.

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So you as a manager need to understand what you need to be able to do to help the people that you have on your team utilize their own strengths. For instance some sales people have as a natural strength very strong problem solving skills. So if you have good strong problem solving skills the best bet for that person is to take advantage of that and show their buyer how they can help him solve their problems. It is a very different approach and for instance a sales person that has relationship building skills nothing wrong with being a good relationship builder but it is different than being a problem solver. If you can help your sales people that have relationship building skills focused on their strengths and problem solvers focused on their strengths then you are really making a difference as a leader within your organization, thanks for your time.