[Land O’Spin] What’s YOUR Test Score?

Land O’Spin is an occasional set of writings focused on best practices in coaching and assessment: how do take what you observe, know what it means, and draw conclusions about what outcomes will occur in the future.

Employment testing is (back) in vogue, and with the recession in place it’s likely to continue: the news, similar to an old adage about dogs, is that some employers use employment personality testing for hiring purposes because they can.Read the rest

[Through the Glass Door] Genentech’s Future Looks Much Like Chiron’s Recent Past

From the headline of Tom Abate’s story in the San Francisco Chronicle “Roche-Genentech deal called close, with offer raised”, folks at 1 DNA Way in South San Francisco should take a look across the bay at Chiron’s former campus in Emeryville to see their likely future.

As noted elsewhere (see the “Land O’Spin series on best practices of assessment on this blog), one of the best predictors for future behavior is to look at past patterns of behavior.Read the rest

[Land O’Spin] Paging Jane Higa

The previous post had some initial, basic how-to information on assessing people and teams more effectively. The beginning point was simple: track and note behaviors. This post continues that theme and adds a second element – if you’re assessing, be clear about what (and how) the skills you’re seeking to assess are demonstrated .

We all get asked to make assessments– a more polite word for judgments – and frankly most of us aren’t very good at it.Read the rest

10 Secrets Headhunters (Usually) Don’t Tell You – Part 7 of the series “Choose Me, Hire Me!”

Headlines blare: “Why You Should Hire Me.” While times may be challenged, there is work (and jobs) to be had. I’ve been in the people (and teams) coaching business for over 25 years , both as a coach to managers and teams and also as someone directly responsible for hiring thousands of people through roles running large staffing / recruiting operations.Read the rest