Confidence

One of the most admired characteristics is 'confidence'. When people are confident and sure of themselves it makes an excellent impression. In fact, it is one of the traits that makes women attractive. It is virtually required of C-level executives and leaders of all kinds for that matter.

In a job search there is a feeling of ethereal discomfort that makes it difficult sometimes to create structure, which feeds insecurities and can reduce confidence. Situations that really have no meaning can lead to thoughts of inferiority. My personal strategy to combat this is to take on a responsibility for making progress.

An example: I was cleaning up my computer last night and noticed Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office XP so I removed Office 2003 from my system, since I did not need the older version. Bad move. Office 2003 was there because it included Outlook. I deleted it and all my mail, calendar, contacts... SH!T! So I recovered all my files from Carbonite and reloaded Outlook, set up my system back to normal and see an email informing me that I was not progressing on to a third interview. Then my system crashed due to some errors while loading Outlook. Then I got a call at midnight from a stranger across town that she had my lost dog tied up to her fence in the rain. So when I got back from picking up the dog I made a list of things to do to make some new progress on the job search. Progress feels good and reinforces my confidence.

Dependability

Whatever it is that makes us all different includes a "get it done" category. In my observations there are different degrees from "get nothing done" to "get too much done". There are far too many on the lower end of the scale. To my point, how much nicer would this world be if everyone did what they say they'd do?

I like to think that most people have good intentions, and I will assume here that is the case. What I think happens is a some kind of disconnection between reality and desire. Basically, when a person says they will do something they have every intention of doing it but do not take into account reality, things like: time, weather, resources, other people's influence, etc...

What really boggles me is the apparent disregard for lessons learned. Would it be logical to learn from mistakes to become relatively good at getting stuff done by adulthood? This is what I don't understand. Are people comfortable being late, disappointing themselves and those around them? Are people OK with a lack of dependability?

It's an epidemic! It's a simple concept. Do what you say you'll do.

Progress

I feel like I live my life most enjoyably when I perceive progress is being made. It could be my own my wife's, kid's, at work, fitness, spiritually, whatever. As long as I feel like progress is being made then everything in life is better.

So then, I wonder, is there a built in process for a figurative roller coaster so I can make progress that was already made and lost? This might seem self-destructive but I'm not so sure since the key is 'perception' and progress is being made. I've heard a theory that jives with mine. Relationships are all a push and pull cycle where we pull our partner in until we feel threatened and then we push them away.

Anyway, I notice these kinds of things in myself and other people. We really get motivated by progress. Business owners and sales people are almost always doing great when asked by competition or prospects. Sports teams motivate each other with individual achievements. We've all heard the term "Now we're gettin' somewhere!".

So then I ask, where would we be without progress...emotionally?

Corporate Culture

As a corporate outsider (consultant, entrepreneur, etc...) I find it amazing how corporate culture can affect a companies success. Any culture other than open and nurturing can be like a virus or cancer that keeps talent bound up in all sorts of negativity and looking for a way out. It also keeps new talent away. Often these negative cultures are invisible to the insider like a new sickness seeping it's way through the system.

Since I am looking for a place to employ my experience, this cultural phenomenon has a personal stake. I pass it off as an anomaly once or twice but then I start to wonder. I think of ways to disprove the theory by creating a list of activities in order of priority. Since I don't have a lot of time I usually bang it out pretty fast. If the assessment proves true to bad culture then I move away from that company fast.

An example: A medical device company going through some changes has some very interesting business development jobs available. I investigate. I like what I see, so I start networking into that area of the company. The more I try to network the more uncomfortable it gets. People are avoiding contact and seem uncomfortable to talk about the company. It's makes me wonder if they are protecting themselves or don't want to risk supporting efforts for someone they don't know. This all contributes to my suspicion. I ask myself, "Do you really want to work for a company with that kind of culture?"

Advice

There is an art to receiving unwanted advice. I'm not sure I'm an artist.

In an attempt to give everyone the benefit of doubt I am going to assume this is my problem. I've got a sort of annoyance reaction, which I try to internalize, when I receive advice that is not welcome. The kind of advice that usually starts with "You should". It is especially hard when I don't understand the 'advisors' position. My bridled reaction is to ask a lot of questions probing their position. My unbridled reaction is to ask a lot of questions about the 'advisors' expertise on the subject. Interestingly enough, both approaches usually end with the 'advisor' wondering why they maintain that position on the topic. I don't consider myself a particularly good debater but, with my competitive nature, I consider this a win.

So why do people think it's appropriate to just blurt out unsolicited advice? "You should do this" "You should do that" Wouldn't it be so much better if people created a dialog about their particular point that might convince the other party of their point? Or better yet, led them to make up their own mind in concurrence with your opinion.

My advice: How do you form an opinion?

Business Proposal for Hiring Me

It strikes me that a hiring manager should be responsible for the value derived from an employee hired by them. As a small business owner I had to develop analysis for identifying the value from these options: hiring an employee, outsourcing, hiring a consultant or doing it myself. I assume a hiring manager must do the same on a myopic level based on the breadth of their responsibilities. As a company grows it becomes more and more difficult to assign definitive employee value analysis, but still possible.

I try to put myself in the shoes of the hiring manager and describe the value I think I can provide that company/division/department. Since I have started and built businesses my confidence is relatively high that I can successfully fulfill the expectations of the particular role for which I am applying. I just have to convince the hiring manager.

As a small business CEO/President/Manager develops his/her business, every little piece of the process contributes to the bottom line. Small means nimble and lean with transparent processes that are analyzed continuously...and improvements go directly to the bottom line. Remember, the bottom line = more payroll or more perks or more time for other stuff or less hassle. It is direct indisputable incentive to get it done right, as "right" as possible.

If I could not get a particular task done satisfactorily I figured out how to get it done another way, but it got done. So wouldn't it be logical for a hiring manager to assume I can apply these characteristics to the corporate role at hand? With experience building companies, teams, solutions, products, services, processes, etc. that produced livelihoods internally and externally, these experiences are valuable in any C-level, VP or Director role.

My Challenge

Ok, here's my challenge. I have 15 years of entrepreneurial experience: conceiving, founding, developing, building, running and consulting businesses. Most of this experience is in the health care / medical space. At this point in my career I want to work with an established enterprise. The field I am focused on is "business development", which to me means developing the business; any part of the revenue engine. In this process of finding that perfect role, I am talking to recruiters and networking, among other things. The purpose, of course, is to uncover and align myself with opportunities. In most cases I explain my situation, experience, value, etc... to the contact, give them my resume and hope they can align me with possible opportunities, of which they see many.

Sorry for the long backstory. Due to my broad experience it is nearly impossible to describe all of the details of my entire career to any one contact. So how can I expect them to dissect my resume to identify specific required qualifications for a particular opportunity?

For example, most jobs - like this one - are relatively narrow in scope. "Director of Alternate Care Sales" at a medical device company. This company calls for quantifiable sales results, experience in specific sales arenas, management of sales teams, etc. I have all that experience but it would be impossible to expect every recruiter or networking contact to derive that from my experience. They will definitely not see a perfect fit from my resume. A complete resume, with enough information for every opportunity would be way too long.

The best results I've had so far are from direct conversations with hiring managers, where I can cherry-pick specifics from my experience relevant to the specific role at hand.

How can I leverage my network of contacts and recruiters to sniff out opportunities?

Career Change?

Is it really a career change to take 15 years of entrepreneurial business-building experience to an established company? ...in the same general field? I believe it is not a career change. To me it is a means by which to share the experience, knowledge and expertise. To test my scalability. But based on my experiences with recruiters and hiring managers, I often wonder if they think it is a career change.

Here is an example:
The single most common criticism to my resume is; "I don't see any large company experience". To that I ask "What is the value, in your opinion, of having large company experience?" When I really want to say; "You're right. I'm proud of that. Instead of depending on someone else to do something I had to do it myself or figure out how to get it done. I had to write an employee handbook while selling contracts while planning rates and analyzing performance while hiring staff and training new employees while writing a marketing plan while creating a case for financing while raising financing...all by myself. I had to convince a cog-in-the-machine of a huge corporation, like you, that my companies solution was going to help them impress their boss or make their job easier. And all the while, I had to worry about being able to support, not just my family, but all my employees families - every day."

I cannot wait to test my mettle with the best of them in the "corporate" playing field. To me, it's all about learning and applying that knowledge to make something better or make something grow. My challenge here is figuring out how to position myself for that perfect role in that big business.