I’ve
been studying a major piece of research into senior executive
attitudes this week which endorses what the good guys knew already
but it’s nice to know we are in the majority. It conclusively shows
emotion is as important as rationality in forming plans, that
corporate culture is a key issue ignored by too many CEOs and that
positive-minded and engaged managers are substantially more likely to
have a good effect in a business. (Good. I’ve been advising the
mass assassination of cynics for years now).
So how do
we find these “super” guys and girls?
The
Managing Director of Diesel said you had to tear up their CVs and
look at their eyes. Are they really alive and enthusiastic? If they
are, hire them. Then you can sort out the easy stuff they’re
missing.
This
appeared this week in Fast Company.in an interview with Oren Jacob
one time CTO at Pixar – here’s his criteria for hiring the best:
When
Pixar is evaluating potential hires they look for three traits:
humor, the ability to tell a story, and an example of excellence.
These aren’t unique qualities to assess in applicants, but how
excellence is defined is not that common. It doesn’t matter what
you are excellent at, just that you have reached a level of
excellence. It’s important that you know what excellence feels like
and what it takes to achieve it. It could be gardening, jujitsu, or
cooking. The main thing is you’ve had a taste of excellence and
will know how to get there again.
My
two best hires in my career were just like this. They had amazing
hunger and energy and they made me laugh. They’ve deservedly gone
on to be huge successes. But I would have hired neither by just
studying their CVs.
Apart
from people who are colourful-thinkers (www.colourfulthinkers.com)
and my wife and family (who are also bright and smart) I want to have
around me people who joy in life and who care.
So
the protests against the unacceptable face of capitalism and the
anti-banker riots that have now spread right across America - “Occupy
Wall Street” - and all round the world over the weekend should tell
us something interesting. I think I sense democracy waking up.
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