Happy Friday
I hope you have a great Turkey Day.
That is, unless you are a turkey.
Quote I am Considering
I keep coming back to this quote. I have been working on this myself. Maybe this is a Zen thang, I don’t know.
If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future—and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life. ~Thich Nhat Hanh (Book: The Miracle of Mindfulness [ad] https://amzn.to/49o7FjB)
Sammie Says: Hire Right
Eulogy Traits vs Resume Traits
I recently read David Brooks' book, The Road to Character. In it he writes about resume virtues vs eulogy virtues. He defines them this way.
"The resume virtues are the ones you list on your resume, the skills that you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. They're the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your being--whether you are kind, brave, honest or faithful; what kind of relationships you formed."
His point is that eulogy virtues are what make the difference in the long run. And guess what? People with great eulogy virtues make the best employees.
I am a recruiter and a staffing professional. As I read Mr. Brooks' book, I got to thinking about these virtues in terms of the interviews I do. I asked myself what am I looking for in an interview. Obviously the first thing is this: Does this candidate the resume virtues to do the job? As Lou Adler in his book Hiring & Getting Hired calls them the things you need on "day one" to survive the job.
Behavior vs. Performance
But as research indicates and study after study has shown, most terminations, whether the employee is terminated or quits, are for behavioral reasons and cultural fit...not performance. We know from Daniel Goleman's writings that a person’s emotional quotient is a better predictor of success than their IQ. So if the reason for separation is not for performance then I surmise we do a pretty good job hiring for resume virtues and not eulogy virtues.
Then the question is how to improve our assessing the eulogy virtues in the hiring process.
It's a two-part process.
Part one, do the reference checks. Do them. Find the people the candidate has worked for or with and ask them the EQ type questions. What were they like to work with? How did they work with others? Do they collaborate? What role did they play in a team environment? Can they solve problems? Do they have listening skills?
Part two is your interview with the candidate. I have sat in many interviews with other hiring managers where they have spent nearly the entire time validating the resume virtues and have spent little if any time assessing the eulogy virtues. They often make comments afterwards, "He seems like a nice guy." As if that seals the deal.
As the hiring decision maker, you want to understand the candidate's past performance. Past performance is a good predictor of future performance. And while I am asking performance based questions, what I am really trying to get to is what is their EQ and how have they had to use it. Show me, don’t tell me, how well did it work. When I ask a candidate to tell me about their biggest accomplishment (you might call it a performance based question), what I am really trying do is get them to show me how they used their EQ. Did their accomplishment require them to bring a team together? To what level did it require them to communicate, negotiate, collaborate, and cooperate with others? Did it require them to build a coalition? To what level did they understand and anticipate their customers’ and/or employees’ needs and how well did they respond? What decisions did they make and what informed their decisions?
Add eulogy questions in your interview process and do the reference checks. You will be happy with the results.
Next week I will share with you what this process looks like from the candidate’s side.
Mike’s Friday Funnies
There are a few criminals in my town that keep stealing wheels from parked police cars. The cops are working tirelessly to catch the suspects. What do you call a snobby criminal walking down the steps? A condescending con descending. Did you know that the vast majority of convicted criminals are married men? It's the only way they get to finish a sentence. A young lawyer who recently hung out his shingle, was retained by a criminal with $50 and a very poor defense. "Well, you finally got a case, son," said his proud father. "Yes, dad." "And what advice did you give your client?" "After listening to his story, I collected what money he had and advised him to retain a more experienced lawyer." What do you call a criminal who laughs at everything you say? Jimmy Felon. Police detective: 'What can you remember about your mugger?' Victim: 'He was slim built, with dark hair and wore a cap.' Police detective: 'Anything else you remember?' Victim: 'He had a moustache, about 6 foot 2.' Police detective: 'That's one hell of a moustache.' A police officer pulled me over and said, "Papers?" I said, "Scissors, I win," and drove off. He must have wanted a rematch because he has been chasing me for 45 minutes. Police officer: "So I'm writing you a ticket for driving alone in the car-pool lane." George: "You're going to feel really stupid when you look in my trunk." I don't have a criminal record. Not since the fire.
Books Lovers
This is only for my book-loving peeps out there. This book did not change my thinking about anything. However, it was like eves dropping on a conversation between two smart people who share the same love as I. The two men are Jean-Claude Carrière and Umberto Eco. You may remember Umberto Eco as the author of, The Name of The Rose. Jean-Claude Carrière was a screenwriter, actor, and novelist. Both men are/where book collectors. Both men are/where curators of not only of their large book collections but also the history of how books came into being.
This is actual conversations between these two over a period of time. Yes, it rambles and wanders but it is delightful wanderings that leave you wondering. If you love books, you will love their take on what it is to be addicted to books.
Friday Twain Is Leaving the Station
The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.
M. Twain
Chick here to the GoodEnough Podcast
Haiku
Mounds of leaves line the streets a great brown parapet guarding the front lawns Leaf blowers howling In the dusk corralling nature's Autumnal harvest Fallen leaves blowing Cartwheeling across the lawn Dancing in gutters The parapet in front of my hourse...so far.