Plato's Cave and 2009

It's been some time since I've posted here. Truth be told, it's been a somewhat turbulent year. Obviously, the economy hasn't helped many recruiting firms out. But we've been very blessed to have a solid group of recruiters who are committed to the cause and have battled their way through these tough times.

But just as we've been forced to battle this entire for every dollar this company has earned, I look back on more important issues like the effect we have on the companies we work with, how we interact with them and most of all, how we've affected the lives of the candidates we've placed this year.

I studied the very the lucrative degree of philosophy while I was in college (much to the chagrin of my in-laws). One allegory learned by just about every liberal arts student and definitely every philosophy major, is the Allegory of the Cave.

A brief synopsis puts a set of people bound inside a cave for their whole lives, while viewing shadows of cut-out shapes that are being cast on a far wall via a fire that is behind them. That's all these people see, that's all these people do and and that's all these people know.

This allegory was Plato's effort to demonstrate various levels of "truth" and "reality." Many have dissected this tale and demonstrated various theories based on Plato's arguments.

This allegory, I feel, offers a great insight on what 2009 has been and what 2010 can possibly become.

During the last number of months we've noticed an awakening of companies to their own senses. They are more aware now of the business landscape around them than they ever have before.

How is this so? Well, without making some laborious philosophical argument, they've freed themselves from the "cave." What does this mean? This means that the world, i.e., their world of business that they reside in, has become "real" to them. They are no longer seeing the shadowy images inside the cave. They are standing in the light of day and can thus, see what really is happening around them.

How did this happen? Their predicament started during the inflated years of economic success (as it always seems to do). Life is always great when you're making money. Few rarely see the stumbling blocks in front of them on their path to success when reaching to grab the dollar bills littered around their feet.

This myopia then led to the protracted landscape of the "cave." We began, especially in the worlds of finance, real estate, mortgages and even technology to think that the business world we lived in was "normal."

An example in the technology sector would be Palm. When they failed to realize that users wanted mobile voice and data coming from the same device they immediately let other would-be solutions take their market share--You ever heard of Apple or Blackberry? As such, since 2005 Palm has steadily declined, with a recent attempt at resurrection via their Pre, and now sit trading at less $12 today. A number which is markedly down from 2000's high of $669.

Why the failure? Palm believed that their products solved the consumers' problems as they were. But what Palm was missing was the empirical information that "being out of the cave" can offer. In other words, they weren't seeing the world as it "really" was--and in this case, missed a huge opportunity to be long-standing leader in mobile voice, data and media consumption.

What 2009 has done for our partner companies is to open their eyes to the world around them. With money for most, if not all, of our clients being a precious commodity, they now are forced to strip off the blinders and free themselves from the cave. They have been forced to try to see what really is going on.

In most cases the transition from the darkness of the cave, and it's scant firelight, to broad daylight, has been an adjustment. But just like going to a matinee movie where you walk outside and are forced to squint hardily without cringing in blindness, your eyes eventually adjust and you soon can see normally.

So to, these companies who have been forced to free themselves from the cave are now fully aware of what has happened over the last 2 years and beyond. They know what they were experiencing wasn't "real," but was simply contrived allusions that were aimed to satisfy our senses in business context.

Sales and marketing are driving this campaign at most companies we see, with engineering also getting in on the action. All parties are looking to find what truly lays at the root of the modern consumers' needs.

One strong example of this recessionary reawakening, as I call it, has been Twitter. Who ever thought 140 characters would offer millions, if not billions, a slice of what is really going on in the world around us?

Not only is the solution functional when talking about reality, but the purpose behind Twitter derives from understanding what people really want and need--connection. They want to communicate and discuss and they want to correspond and correlate. Twitter offers them this in an easy to digest format.

Some might say today's generation doesn't interact anymore, but given the technology available there's more interaction in the world today then there ever has been in the history of the world. And to think about the possibilities of what the world "really" is because of those countless interactions is near daunting to fathom.

Now, I'm not going to Tweet my grandma or offer a status update asking my girlfriend to marry me (although I wouldn't be surprised if that's already happened). But in a business world where information is king, how interesting is it that 140 characters has offered enlightenment to millions on who, what, why and how the world is in reality.

So as we look back on 2009, it might be worth your time to ask yourself, am I seeing the world as it really is? Or am I simply seeing the shadows on the wall in the cave? Can I open myself to the world around me and connect? Can I free myself from the cave?

You might not like the things you see upon first setting foot outside the cave, but as your eyes adjust, you'll see the path that lays at your feet which leads to success. Only when we are taking the time to see the world as it is can we assess our options and make plans that actually impact lives for the better.

Tools to help see the world as it "really" is can be marketing strategies, a sales training, a motivational speech. They might be religion, academia, a heated discussion with a co-worker or simply taking time to volunteer for a local charity. They could be saying hello to that guy in the office that never says hi to you even though you've walked past him 1,000 times in the last year. Or they could be truly listening to a junior subordinate and realizing that she really does have a good idea for the new product launch.

Either way, each instance above begins with you asking the corporate ethereal question: "What is real?" And more often than you'll end up asking the follow up question: "What is really important?" From there, I believe the world of business opens up to a view far greater than anything we could imagine while inside the walls of the cave.

This view gives us optimism in 2010. This view is composed of a worldwide connectivity between people and information and vice versa. And this view is composed of connectivity between one person and another person using technology as one of the main mediums for interaction, despite the grumblings of older generations.

Because of this new found awareness I believe 2010 is going to be a year of "real" growth. Businesses will be leaner, meaner and more adept at reclaiming lost ground. And many will be able to avoid the stumbling blocks that lay at their feet.

I look forward to 2010 and am glad that I've learned the lessons that I did in 2009. It's made me a better person, a better husband and father and it's helped me be a better businessman. I see things a little clearer now that I'm thankfully standing out of the cave.

I hope to remain as such and hope the same for you and your businesses alike. If we do so, then the world will be a much more enjoyable and successful enterprise.

Happy holidays to you and yours. See you in 2010!

Acing the Job Interview: Be Influenced

Tony Beshara recently published a book aiming to assist candidates to do well in their respective interviews ("Acing the Interview", Amacon 2008, 288 pages). I gave it a quick read, since books like that, to be quite frank, don't keep my attention as best as others.

But I wanted to compare what he thought were the keys to candidate's interview success versus what we espouse here at Venator. And in truth I was largely impressed with his advice and critique of the interview process both from a company and candidate perspective.

To summarize some of Beshara's major points he mentioned that a job search in hugely stressful, candidates need to do as many interviews as they can to practice, anticipate questions you will be asked and prepare accordingly and lastly don't think that a job interview is a conversation between equals--you need to sell and prove yourself before you can think that.

But one thing stood out throughout the pages: a candidate's likeability is more important than your qualifications.

I couldn't agree with this more. Why? Don't you have to have basic necessary skills to be able to do the job? Won't a company not look at candidates that meet basic job requirements first?

The answer to both is yes, but that still doesn't get you hired. The end all of any interview process is likeability.

I was listening to a Stephen R. Covey talk (yes, I do "sharpen the saw" every now and then) on my way into work today and he mentioned something in context of helping people with what he calls their own "self affirmation" that holds true to the interview process I think.

He said, "To influence you must be influenced."

When a candidate is sitting in the interview chair and he or she knows that they have the skills to do the job the candidate will often make the mistake to "brag" about their abilities and will oversell their strengths ad naseum.

If a person is to eventually get the job they believe they are so good for likeability will be the determining factor and he or she will achieve that "likeability," as Beshara calls it, by doing what Covey describes as the key to influence: being influenced first.

How does one be influenced in the interview process? Maybe an example is required to answer this question.

Jane is a strong VP of Marketing candidate that is interviewing for another similar role with a strong and viable company. She's very capable, studied at Wharton and Stanford and has an extensively impressive track record at each of her prior companies.

In a final lunch meeting with the CEO of the hiring company it's her goal to get the CEO to commit to offer the job and begin the compensation negotiation phase.

In doing so begins to wax eloquent about her range of skills, her track record, her abilities to lead and motivate as well as her desire to get the job. In most cases this would seem normal, as many say in the interview process that a person has "close the deal" in such circumstances.

But the "be influenced" model that Covey would consult would say she's asserting herself a little strongly and I would agree with this perspective.

What I believe Covey would recommend is that she first seek to understand the CEO's hiring goals, plans and concerns if any. Allow the CEO to lay out his or her concepts on what is important for the role and also ask what will make this role most successful individually and in context of the company at large.

Another phrase useful here would be: "Seek first to understand before being understood."

Instead of opening up her impressive resume in front of the CEO at the outset Jane needs to be first "influenced" by the CEO. She needs to learn what the CEO will ask of her in this role and what she can do to help him be successful. By so doing, she's affirming his role as CEO and her manager while also showing genuine intelligent interest in the job opportunity--both keys to likeability.

If she does this first, don't you think she'll have an even better position to discuss her vast array of skills from?

To influence, Jane must first be influenced in the interview process. In my experience, this is how one gains Beshara's likeability and eventually, this is how a person will get the job they are after.

Blogging & Building

You'll have to forgive us because we haven't blogged in a while, but we've sort of been busy. We figure that those companies that are busy blogging aren't actually doing what their business is...unless of course you blog for a living.

In our case, we blog to keep in touch with you all, but we've been hard at work trying to help our companies and the people we work with. So again, please forgive us if we haven't updated you lately.

But given our recent string of placements, things seem to be going well and we're optimistic that people can still do well in the recruiting world if they work hard.

We went by the new Venator Ventures headquarters building site today and were very excited about the progress. It seems like just yesterday we were looking over the front elevations for the building and deciding on minor floor plan changes.

But the contractor has been true to form and has rushed things ahead of schedule to where the building now stands almost completely framed out.

Today we were able to walk through the almost-completely-framed interior. Walking through we started to discuss which teams would be in which offices and how to make sure our high tech recruiting firm is as high tech as can be for our line of work.

We anticipate completing the office in the late fall of this year and with the move be able to increase productivity and attract higher level talent as we grow in the coming years.

Not many boutique recruiting firms such as Venator Ventures think of a brick and mortor home to be crucial, but given our business plan and brand of recruiting we believe we can't succeed unless we have our own home where we can develop and grow the Venator Ventures company identity.

In this way we become better able to serve the people and companies that we work with. In the end its all about the relationships we have and being able to service those relationships better by being the best recruiting firm we can be. We'll offer some more updates in the coming months.

The Recession I s Over

I don't know if you all heard, but the recession is over.

Well, not really, but I thought it might cheer some of you up to hear someone say that. 340+ points in one day on the DOW is fun to see, but it would nice to see those gains every day over a fortnight.

Now that I have your attention, I wanted to give you an update on Venator, the merger with Momentum Search and some recent news.

Thus far the alliance of Venator with Momentum has proved to be a smart call. Both teams are working well together and many of our candidates and companies are seeing positive results.

In fact, just yesterday we were able to set up a dozen first interviews with a dozen different companies and a dozen different candidates. For an economy that is facing some of its worst moments the work ethic and experience of both Momentum and Venator seems to be aptly offering candidates and companies alike value.

We'll be doing all we can to help you and any of your friends find the role that will get them back on their feet.

Bottom line, we're not going anywhere and we are seeing success in spite of the economic situation.

Give us a call if you have any questions and if we can help you out in any way.

Merger Update...

For those who have been losing sleep over how the merger is coming with Venator Ventures and Momentum Search, we wanted to try and help you get some sleep.

With the relative inactivity in the market, the merger has actually turned out a number of new and exciting opportunities that we've been able to work on and represent. In other words, the more people in the office working together towards the same goals has turned out to be very productive.

We are seeing more companies still looking despite the down economy and we're seeing a lot of strong candidates that are trying to keep their eyes open in case something goes wrong at their current company.

All in all, with more hands on the job here at Venator we're seeing a lot of things going on in the job market.

Plus, the other guys from Momentum are actually good guys and do a great job at what they do, so it makes for a "funner" work environment.

Hopefully you'll be able to sleep now...because we know it was keeping you all up at night...;-)

Venator Ventures Merges w/ Momentum Search

January 7, 2009

San Bruno, CA--Venator Ventures is excited to announce the merger of two recruiting forces in Momentum Search and Venator Ventures, effective immediately.

After months of deliberations and meetings executives from each company felt an alliance between the two firms will benefit the companies long term outlooks and clients they each serve.

Momentum Search is a technology recruiting firm focused, like Venator Ventures, on the Bay Area of Northern California. Momentum has operated since 2004 and has been highly successful in placing candidates in numerous publicly-traded and privately-held companies.

While Venator's areas of expertise range in largely sales and marketing professionals for high tech companies, Momentum's expertise largely falls within the array of engineering and finance professionals.

With the merger and by joining the specialized expertises the new company, which will maintain the Venator Ventures name, will be able to serve the needs of any company and client in the high tech space with ease. The combined company will have the strength and reach of any large firm while maintaining the boutique service that both companies have been known for.

With both companies using similar business models the team recruiting approach employed by all staff at the new Venator Ventures will increase coverage for both candidates and companies and such the effectiveness of the recruiting efforts in all will be increased.

Venator Ventures and Momentum Search look forward to uniting their efforts and offering a stronger and more able company that will help both candidates and companies find what they are looking for.

If there are any questions, please forward those on to Managing Principal Recruiter, Kimball Kjar at Venator Ventures at kimball@venatorventures.com or Co-Owner and Principal, Greg Olson at Momentum Search at greg@momentumsearch.com.

Top Ten New Year's Resolutions

Here are the top ten according to Albrecht Powell, About.com

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Fit in fitness
3. Tame the bulge
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organized

I hope everyone is off to a good start with their New Year's Resolutions. Remember to approach each goal one day at a time. It's all about baby steps, while keeping the end goal locked in your sights.

I'm sure there are a few of us out there that are looking for a new job/career as part of their New Year's Resolutions. To all those people I would like to offer a few words of wisdom:

1. Take a close look at your resume
Do not under estimate what a well written resume can do for you. Your resume is your chance to make a great first impression. Make sure you spend some serious time making your resume as good as it can be. Please refer to the post on November 19th for tips on how to write a quality resume.

2. Make a few trusted recruiters your best friend
This is especially valuable if you are passively looking and do not want your current employer to get wind of your wandering eyes. A good recruiter can get your information out to potential hiring managers in a discreet and effective way.

Also, recruiters are usually only good for presenting opportunities for companies they are actively searching for. I would suggest you take this one step further and find out if your recruiter has contacts in companies you have hunted down yourself. Submitting a resume to HR can be less than effective and your resume may or may not be seen by the correct hiring manager. Let your recruiter use their network to get your resume directly in front of the decision maker.

3. Over prepare for your interview
Hiring managers always love when a candidate has done their homework. Being prepared aids you in your ability to articulate your value add and should be an overall confidence booster. For more tips on interviewing please refer the post on November 19th.

I wish everyone the best of luck this 2009!