There are a couple of reasons to sort all of this into a Top Ten list. 1. Whether it is David Letterman or Moses, we have a cultural sense that ten points, ten-commandments, ten anything pretty much covers the waterfront. For all senior management jobs, but especially those where one of the major search firms is involved, the scoring is like the Olympics. Unless you score in the mid to high nines you're not in the game. Your competition will have most of these factors going for them. The final selection will be between the 9.85s and 9.65s. So you have to make sure that you can score in all these categories.
Reason 1. You have demonstrated the ability to get results. Your record is of tasks completed over and above the ordinary. Your career is marked by a pursuit of challenge, responsibility and opportunity. When you describe your jobs, the end of each sentence is a result, a change. You say "We earned ..." "We achieved ..." "We beat..." Your effort is linked to something the shareholders or customers felt was better and different. You do not say, "I did," and then list activities or processes. There is evidence that you are drawn to and enjoy leadership. As early as grade school, you had jobs. You were a student leader; you mastered new skills. This pattern was constant as you grew older. It is the doing, the trying and the achieving that motivates you, not the money, or the things that come with it. You have made mistakes, recovered, and come back for more. You know mistakes don't kill you. To you, hiding from accountability is slow suffocation.
Reason 2. You come well recommended by your peers and competitors. Your impact and the things that you have done are obvious. Competitors know who you are and why you're effective. You have mentors among the previous generation and you are a values tutor to the generation behind you. Search firms and hiring companies live in fear of making a flawed judgment based on relatively short interactions when everyone is on their best behavior. They take great comfort from the opinion of people who are in the position to judge you over long periods.
Reason 3. You understand who the search consultant works for and what he is trying to do. You understand that it is not the search firm's job to get you a job or visibility. You recognize they are working for clients with specific objectives. You look to find the win-win solutions. You understand that these are long-term relationships and it is important that you play fair. You are candid and maintain credibility. You have the confidence that the only circumstances that make sense for you are those that make sense for the clients. You understand that you have the ability to say no at anytime in the process. As a result, you use the time of the search consultants and their clients wisely.
Reason 4. You are likable, presentable and your ego is in check. You understand that no matter how many of the other nine factors you have going for you, no search consultant is likely to take the time and the risk of presenting a candidate for whom he has to make excuses. Phrases like "You'll like him once you get to know him," "He seems a little unfriendly at first but he warms up," "He doesn't really look the part, but..." are not used by search firms. You are not an egomaniac, or arrogant. Search consultants and boards of directors want those who can handle all kinds of social interactions; who handle themselves in front of a crowd, and are self-effacing. They know that egotists only get worse under day-to-day pressure.
Reason 5. You can think strategically. You demonstrate this by the questions you ask. You know your job is to institute change in an organized direction. You know you must envision it before you can make it so. You describe your career in terms of the strategic situations you faced, decisions you made, and results you achieved. The questions you ask demonstrate that you understand strategic issues and the major levers that influence how fast and in what directions organizations can change. As discussed in Chapter 2, you ask about why customers pick one competitor over another. You ask about the themes that summarize competitive differences. You think "outside the box" and continually educate yourself. You look for analogs and comparisons that allow you to build strategic visions. That means you ask how the environment is changing and which other industries have encountered similar changes.
Reason 6. The results you have achieved have been because of the way you treat others, not in spite of it. You don't look at the list of the ten toughest bosses and think, "Boy, someday I'll be in that group." You don't believe that fear is an effective motivator. You understand that, over time, people do their best work when they feel good about the work and good about the relationships with the people involved. You know people are more productive and creative when they are inspired, not defensive. People want to work for you because they end up feeling connected, stretched and encouraged to see the bigger picture. You encourage them to develop their own skills. You impart a sense of urgency, but radiate confidence that candid communication about both problems and opportunities can benefit both parties. In other words, you have a reputation for not shooting the messenger. Coworkers and subordinates don't fear hearing your voice on the other end of the phone, or face appointments with you with dread.
Reason 7. You can sell yourself concisely. You figure out what they need to know about. You don't rely on the other person's questions. You anticipate that in most steps of this process you have maybe an hour to demonstrate these ten capabilities, and you accomplish it. But you also know that a little goes a long way. In particular, you ask questions that demonstrate that your focus is on solving the company's problems. You ask what measures would indicate success, not what prerequisites go with the job. You do a lot of the selling by asking questions.
Reason 8. You have at least some of the key specific experiences that the job entails. You may not be in the same industry, but you have had general management responsibilities at the same level. Or you may be a level below but you bring a strong track record and understanding of the front-edge of the industry. Or you understand the key technology that is increasingly important in the new position. You are realistic about your profile as a candidate. You are not someone who thinks you could do the job, even though it is a different discipline, a different level and a different industry than the one you are in now. You understand that people are not going to take the risk that a candidate can bridge in one move more than one or two gaps between the current profile and the job's specifications.
Reason 9. You are honest, fair, a good source, and you help search firms do their job even when there is nothing in it for you. You take your time when somebody calls you as a source. You give them other sources and you think through the issue. You don't casually give them names that either are not high potential or where you are running some other agenda.
Reason 10. You know who you are and what you want. You understand the kind of environments that suit you best. You understand the kind of corporate style that makes you feel productive. You understand that it is being successful in a new job that is important, not just getting the job. You understand that taking a new assignment that's a bad fit is worse than not being considered at all. And you don't let either side get too far down that chain of events. You understand that if you are good, and if you follow the lessons of the search firm files, there will be many trains coming down your track.
