Lonnie Pacelli's Blog, page 27

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We Found a Rock Star! Hiring the Best of the Best

Colleagues, I feel your pain on this issue.

Scenario #1: You’ve got a critical position that needs to be filled by a qualified candidate, and quick. For every day the position doesn’t get filled, your in-box fills up a bit more with work to be done because your unfilled position hasn’t been staffed. You see tons of resumes and have interviewed scores of candidates, but the rock star you’re looking for isn’t emerging. You refuse to “settle” for a mediocre candidate, but the work is piling up and you’ve got to do something. Scenario #2: Three months ago you thought you had the perfect candidate for a job and decided to hire him. You negotiate a compensation package, relocate the candidate, and do some internal public relations work with the team. Two months after the candidate hit the job, you realize that your candidate was a PURE (previously undetected recruiting error); the candidate had a major issue with responding to pressure and would become rude and angry with peers, employees, and customers whenever the heat was turned up. You’re now faced with either making a massive investment in the person or making a job change. Not a pretty picture. 
Finding the right candidate for a job can be highly frustrating for both managers and recruiters. If you wait too long, the work will keep piling up and your management may start thinking you can get along without the position. Pull the trigger too soon and you risk hiring a candidate that is a PURE. There are legitimate situations where it just takes a long time to find a suitable candidate. You need to minimize the situations where you either hire the wrong candidate or take forever to find the right one. Here are some simple techniques to help you find that rock star for your organization: 

Know what you are looking for - Sounds pretty basic, but I have been amazed at how frequently managers dust off a job description that hasn’t been changed in years to use as the basis for hiring a new employee. Hiring to an out-dated job description can lead to ineffective resume screening and poor-fit candidates. Give the job description a good working over and ensure the skills documented in the job description accurately reflect what you’re looking for. 

Use multiple interviewers who can focus on different skills - Based on the job description, your candidate may need a combination of functional, technical, leadership, and people skills. A candidate who may be a technical wiz may also have the people skills of a head of lettuce. Use trusted interviewers who have expertise in each area of focus and ask them to drill the candidate for their respective area to ensure the total skills package is there. 

Look beyond the obvious - One of my best hires several years back didn’t meet the stereotypical requirements of the job, but had some outstanding core skills that were easily translatable to the new job. Had I stuck with my mental image of what I was looking for, I would have rejected the candidate during the resume screening process. If your job for a procurement analyst requires strong analytical skills, consider looking at candidates from other functional disciplines, i.e. finance, to fill the role. I’ve continually been amazed the number of times “out-of-the-box” candidates have become rock stars. Don’t limit yourself to candidates with stereotypical requirements.

Get a glimpse into critical thinking skills – OK, so you’ve probably heard about the “why are manhole-covers round” type of questions and may be chuckling at the prospect of asking a candidate such an off-the-wall question. The truth is, critical-thinking questions are a great way to understand how a candidate thinks through problems, how they respond to pressure, and how quick-on-their-feet they can be. I’ve changed my hiring decision (both ways) based upon the critical question I asked during the interview. A great approach to this is to think about your own business and create some hypothetical questions, i.e. if you’re an automobile manufacturer ask the candidate how they would design a car that gets 200 miles per gallon. Think about the “tough questions” you can ask and observe your candidate as they wrestle with their response. 

Get a hundred-day plan from the candidate – Wondering what a candidate would do when they land on your doorstep? Ask them! During your final selection process, ask each of your candidates to put together a hundred-day plan of what they are going to get accomplished during their first hundred days on the job. This technique is very effective in assessing how a candidate will take the ideals discussed during the interview process and put them to action if they were to be hired.
Give peers and candidate’s prospective employees a voice – A key aspect of a candidate’s fit potential is how they will get along with peers and, if the candidate will be managing people, his or her prospective employees. You may have a functional and technical maestro but if he doesn’t have the teaming or collaboration skills you might be creating a mess for yourself and the team. Just be cautious to get a cross-section of opinions; you don’t want to base team chemistry decisions on just one person’s viewpoint.
The rock stars are out there and can be delivering value in your organization; just make sure you keep focus on some of these basic hiring strategies and you’ll get the best of the best driving results for you.Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
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Babbling is for Babies, Not Interviews

Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth
Some years back I was interviewing candidates for a financial analyst position.   
One of my interviews was with a gentleman who was already a company employee but was looking for a new job within the company.  I started out the interview with the question, “What interests you about this job?”  The fellow started into a response, and then launched into tangents about his family, prior jobs, and personal interests.  About five minutes into the interview I’d already made my decision to not hire the guy, but I was intrigued by his verbal meandering.
I decided to let him keep going just to see where he would go.  He finally stopped talking 30 minutes after I asked him my original question.  My next question to him was “Do you realize you talked non-stop for 30 minutes?”  Before he could launch into another wandering discourse, I thanked him for stopping by and told him that I didn’t think he was right for the job.  He very well might have had the technical and business skills needed to do the job, but because he babbled on and on without clarity of thought he was declined.

The demonstration of clear, concise thoughts through responses to interview questions is a major factor for your interviewer in deciding whether or not to hire you.  When responding to questions, your interviewer is not only listening to your answers but also imagining you talking with colleagues, suppliers, customers, or executives.  If you, as an interviewee, aren’t able to respond with crisp, concise, thoughtful answers during an interview, imagine how you would come off in a major customer presentation?  You may have some insightful things to say, but if they get lost in long, meandering responses then you’re going to seal your fate as a declined candidate.
Next time you interview for a job, keep the following things in mind:

Target your responses around a key message – When asked a question, formulate your response around a key message or a series of key messages.  State your key message first, and then provide a couple of sentences which support the key message.  Know what your key message is before you start talking, otherwise your response will meander. 

Watch the interviewer for frustration – Look for cues that the interviewer is impatient, confused, or bored.  The best interviews I’ve done have been where an interviewee captured my interest by a stating a key message and we were just able to talk.  Look to capture an interviewer’s interest; if he or she doesn’t look interested, wrap up your point and stop talking.

Keep eye contact with the interviewer – Keeping eye contact with the interviewer will help you to stick to your key message because you won’t get distracted.  Keeping eye contact also demonstrates conviction and confidence.   Wandering eyes feel evasive and can contribute to babbling.

Take a breath before you respond – Let the interviewer finish his question before you start responding.  Take a second after the question, get your key message in your head, then start your answer.   Being too eager to answer the question will contribute to drifting from your key message and will brand you as being rude. 

Don’t argue with yourself – Don’t play point/counter-point with yourself.  When asked a question, formulate your key message and take a stand in your response.  It’s OK to briefly identify the other side of an argument, but make sure you state a key message and don’t give the perception that you are indecisive. 

Provide context to your answers – Don’t just give “yes” or “no” – type answers without providing a bit of context behind the response.  The interviewer not only wants to know what your answer is, but something about why you think the way you do.  Be cautious about drifting on and on with your answer; make a couple of statements that support your key message then clam up.  

Ask your interviewer for feedback – At the end of the interview, consider asking the interviewer to provide some feedback to you on how they think the interview went.  Specifically ask about the quality and conciseness of your responses.  Just be careful not to get into an argument about the interviewer’s feedback; listen politely and thank them for the feedback.  Don’t create a negative impression with the interviewer because you argued or got defensive over any feedback you received.   It’s easy when nervous or excited to babble on and on and lose focus in your responses to questions.  Formulate key messages, keep eye contact, watch your interviewer, and take a stand with your responses.  You’ll better engage your interviewer, captivate interest, and help to secure the job you want.

Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth


Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
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Asking For Help

As a child and young adult I was very independent.  Regardless of the situation, if I was doing something I was determined to do it myself and not ask for anyone's help.  In my eyes asking for someone's help was akin to admitting defeat or somehow showing others that I was weak or incompetent.   My attitude was "If someone else can do it, I can do it".   How Naive.Now I am a Father of two beautiful children.  My daughter is wiser at 19 than I was at that age.  If she is having difficulty with something she promptly asks for help and willingly accepts it.  She's a lot like her mother in that regard.  My son at 17 is a lot more like me; in his mind asking for help is a form of "giving in" and somehow shows him as weak.  We had an incident this weekend which underscored his being a chip-off-the-old-block.  He was in a drama performance at his high school on Friday night.  After the performance many of the kids decided to go out for an after-performance snack.  My son decided to go but got lost looking for the restaurant.  He drove around for over an hour trying to find the place but didn't find it.  He ended up coming home disappointed that he missed out on the social time.

The next morning, my wife and I talked to him about what happened.  I asked him several times, "Why didn't you call us for help?"  To him, that would have been a sign of weakness as he decided to forge ahead on his own without soliciting our assistance.  We stressed to him the importance of asking for help, that asking for help is not a foolish thing; not asking for help when you really need it is foolish.  As Cat Stevens sings in Cats in the Cradle "My boy's just like me; he's grown up just like me".
As PM's, there is plenty of times where the problems we face warrant us asking for help.  Too often the cry for help either comes too late or not at all because the PM wants to try to work his way out of the jam without admitting he is over his head.  Then there are times when the PM throws up the flare at the slightest hint of a problem and doesn't even try to solve a problem herself.  She immediately dumps the problem at her boss'  footstep expecting the boss to solve her problem for her.  Either way the ask for help was inappropriately used by the PM.
My one nugget to you is this:  when you get into a sticky situation on a project, don't be afraid to ask for help from others that have similar or more experience than you.  Do a quick assessment of the problem, decide if you've got the experience to solve the problem on your own, then either move forward with solving the problem, ask for advice from a colleague on how they would handle the problem, or ask for help because the problem is bigger than you are.   Going it alone just means that there may be a bigger mess to clean up later because the mole-hill you tried to fix yourself has grown into a mountain. Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
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“I’m not on Board!” Embracing Your Team’s Think-Do Cycle

My wife Patty and I purchased a townhome back in 2009. It is in a beautiful area, walking distance to the types of things we like to do. Built in the 1970s, it was badly in need of major renovation. I saw the potential and after one visit was ready to put in an offer. Patty needed to go back a couple more times to look at the townhome, the property grounds, and the neighborhood. She needed more time to think through and absorb what we were considering before moving forward. We made an offer four days after seeing the townhome, when we were both comfortable with the purchase. Then we proceeded with gutting and remodeling, then moved in June 2011. We never regretted the decision.

Our home purchase example was the first time I consciously thought about how quickly I made decisions and moved forward with implementation relative to Patty’s more deliberate approach. At first, I was frustrated with our speed differences, wondering why she couldn’t move as fast as me. As we’ve continued to grow, I’ve learned to respect and appreciate her more thoughtful and deliberate pace as she raises issues that I might not consider. We now recognize each other’s processing speed, or what I call “think-do cycle,” and how our different styles yield a decision-making speed we’re both content with.

The think-do cycle applies to work teams as well. You may have some on your team who are ready to launch on a proposed solution when others need time to process. When differing think-do cycles aren’t acknowledged and embraced, work teams could get frustrated with moving either too fast or too slow. When differences are embraced, decisions and resulting action are made with better team buy-in. As the leader, your job is to balance team-buy-in with the timeliness that a decision must be made. It’s not easy to do; but it’s something that leaders continually need to balance to minimize execution friction.Need better awareness of the think-do cycle and how to implement in your team? Give these five tips a look:

Understand your own think-do cycle speed – Are you someone who typically makes decisions, then immediately embarks on implementation, or do you need more “soak time” to digest the change? Getting real with yourself on your cycle speed will help you better understand the cycle speed of others.
Acknowledge other’s cycle speed – Knowing the think-do cycle speed of team members, stakeholders and others you interact with helps reduce frustration with those whose speed differs from your own. There’s no harm in identifying cycle speeds. Use terms that don’t imply one speed is better than the other, such as “deliberate” or “quick.”Articulate the strengths and weaknesses of each cycle relative to each job function – Someone with a deliberate think-do cycle most likely wouldn’t do well in a position where split-second decisions are needed; conversely, someone with a quick think-do cycle might struggle in a position where consensus-building among a diverse group of stakeholders is required.Keep a balance of both types – The best organizations I’ve seen have a balance of quick and deliberate think-do cycle team members. Teams with a blend of think-do cycles yield a better overall solution than teams made up of people with only one type of cycle.Embrace your counterbalance – You can recognize your and other people’s cycle speeds, but if you don’t embrace the styles different from your own, you’ll just create frustration with your team. Make sure you listen to those with different styles and adjust your own speed when it makes sense. 
Be mindful about the think-do cycles of you and your team. You’ll better secure team buy-in on key decisions and reduce execution friction.
Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
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Movies and Munchies - Finding Connection Points with your Autistic Child

In the TV show Parenthood, one of the characters, Max Braverman, is a child with Asperger Syndrome.  Max displayed many of the classic autism traits, including obsessing over specific topics.  One of his strong areas of interest was pirates.  Max loved to dress up like a pirate and act out his made-up stories.  His TV father, Adam, was struggling to find those connection points with Max that he so desperately longed for, so he decided to dress up like a pirate and enter Max's imaginary pirate world.  The episode ends with Adam and Max running around in their pirate garb having a great time together.  It was truly touching to see them both having fun as father and son.
This scene from Parenthood struck a chord with me as a father of a child on the spectrum. Our son Trevor certainly had things that he obsessed about growing up, including the TV shows Blues Clues and Spongebob Squarepants, puzzles, and drawing. He never got bored talking about his areas of interests and could recall the minutest of details with ease.  He could keep himself occupied for hours on end which in some respects made him very easy to care for.  At the same time, letting him live in his own world without interaction wasn't good for his long-term social skills growth.  Today I know more than the average dad does about Spongebob Squarepants, Patrick , Squidward, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, and Pearl (Mr. Krabs sperm whale daughter).
As Trevor aged, his interests grew with him.  As a youngster his food menu was very limited to a handful of items.  As he got older, though, his interest in food grew to a point where he is now willing to try most anything that isn't spicy.  Now as an adult he not eats a wide variety of food but also loves cooking.  Another obsession of his is movies.  He so loves movies that he graduated cum laude from Arizona State University with a degree in Film and Media Studies.  He has a movie review website Trevor's View on Hollywood where he writes reviews using his own 32-data-point ratings scale.
Now I love watching movies, and I LOVE food.  Given his passion for both, these are two natural connection points that we have together.  One of our favorite movies is Men in Black.  We've seen it many times over the years.  In fact when the third Men in Black movie came out we went to see it together in the theater.  Prior to the movie they had a MIB trivia contest.  Trevor and I nailed the questions and came home the proud owners of black MIB t-shirts.  We also love going out for breakfast, lunch or dinner together at places ranging from The Melting Pot to Costco for hot dogs.  These are things that we both love doing together and as a dad I fiercely protect our time for these activities.
Do you see this as an area to work on? Here's a few pointers that may help you strengthen those connection points as well as help your child with socialization and exposure to new things:
Get into his world - Actively look to see those areas where your child shows interest and actively plot out actions you can take that will let you be a character in his world. Watch reactions - With some things Trevor preferred to be the sole actor, like drawing when he was little and photography as an adult.  He is content (and prefers) to be doing those things on his own and for me to be a cheerleader and admirer.  My role wasn't to draw with him as a child or to take pictures with him now; it's to be supportive of his interests.Look for opportunities to introduce new interests - Trevor wasn't born loving Spongebob Squarepants; he was exposed to it and developed an interest.  Take advantage of time together to explore new potential interests.  For example, we made it a point to eat dinner as a family every night at 6 p.m.  This was where we introduced the "Ten times" rule for trying new foods.  Trevor had to try something ten times before he decided he didn't like it.  In retrospect we should have named it the "Three times" rule because that's about what it worked to be.  Nevertheless, Trevor knew that he needed to try something new more than once before saying he didn't like it.  This was key to him expanding his menu choices.Create routine around interest areas - When Trevor and I did things it was usually after dinner, whether it was watching a favorite show, playing a computer game, or doing some other activity.  He knew when to expect that time together so it was a welcomed activity.  I learned not to approach him out of the blue and suggest doing something, as he already had his activities planned out; my unplanned activity was interrupting his schedule, which is something people with autism generally don't appreciate. Your child isn't you - I loved playing sports as a child.  Trevor wanted nothing to do with sports.  While it would have been great seeing him pitch a perfect game, I couldn't project my interests on him to where he would hate doing something just because I loved it (and therefore resent me). By all means introduce him to new things, but recognize when it just isn't going to happen and don't force it.
I cannot express enough the importance of finding those connection points with your autistic child. While there have been struggles along the way, I am thankful that Trevor and I have those connection points where we are able to enjoy activities together and build upon the great relationship we have. 
Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
See his books on Amazon.