Tag: Malcolm Gladwell

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[Life Back West] October 2013 – Kismet?

“Kismet” the CEO asked?shutterstock_139117229

“Yes, kismet,” I said. “The not-so-accidental fact that I’m working with someone who has some of the same strengths and challenges that I have. The good news? I know them well.”

The CEO’s direct report was the client, someone I’ll call “Bob,” did indeed have a skill set that reminded me of me; hardworking, a nose for the business, great rapport with people below him on the corporate pecking order, broad interests and knowledge, smart (well, maybe not that part) and the ability to be too candid when greater diplomacy was in retrospect warranted.… Read the rest

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(Mere) Talent Takes a Beating

Malcolm Gladwell had Sandy Nininger. I have March Madness. The results are the same.

Mere talent is taking a beating.

Gladwell’s writings – built in part on the work of people like Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth – have shown that raw talent – smarts as we like to say in the business world – is overrated.

Gladwell demonstrated in The Talent Myth that hiring by collegiate pedigree – shorthand for smart – gave us the Enron fiasco (with McKinsey & Co’s significant backing).… Read the rest

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Dirty Secrets and Hiring Managers Tips: Beware the Interview Audition

Many managers dread hiring people.

It’s a dirty little secret, and one of the things that causes people to realize that they are not cut out for management.

There are things you can do to help avoid that dread; they aren’t elaborate, and with a little practice you can make the hiring process easier (dare I say “enjoyable”), hopefully less painful, and more reliable.… Read the rest

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The 3R’s of How-to-Job-Network: Small Town, Big City

Garnerin releases the balloon and descends wit...
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Research supports that networking is the best way for most (people like you, as Richard Nelson Bolles of What Color is Your Parachute fame and I would suggest) to find your next job.  It’s estimated that 80% of job openings are unlisted, which means that most jobs will be filled through networking, not tossing a resume into a company’s applicant tracking system or even having coffee with your favorite executive recruiter.… Read the rest

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How to Avoid the Interview Trap

There are a lot of ways for hiring managers to foul up their interview process, and the easiest one is to fall into what I call “the interview trap.” It doesn’t have to be that way, and with a little thought, and a little modesty to offset any natural hubris you carry, you can miss that trap and get more accurate data when you interview.… Read the rest

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[Jerry Rice] The (Simple) Secret to Your Success

There is a secret to your success.

It’s on page 9 of the Sunday, February 9, 2010 print edition of the San Francisco Chronicle’s article about American professional football player Jerry Rice.

It’s the same secret that Malcolm Gladwell covered in Outliers, when he reported on the work of K. Anders Ericsson.

It’s the same secret that the research that Stanford professor Carol Dweck uncovered and reported on in her book MindSet in which she identifies two types of approaches: a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset.”… Read the rest