Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

When you come in brand new to a consulting firm, there is priority to get you billable and utilized as soon as possible. As new classes of eager analysts and consultants come in, it's  critical to get them released to the wild as soon as possible.  The thought is that the consultants with tenure have established their reputations well enough to continue to find their own work once they've completed their first engagement.  The big "but" is that the firm has to have the culture and structure in place for a reputation to be established. If there is a lack of connectivity of the consultant to the office or to the company, the consultants that were newbies a project or engagement ago end up falling between the cracks.  This is a problem with many purported consulting companies today -- hire for the immediate need and not for the long term talent and potential of the individual.  The firms that hire for talent don't have this problem. People leave, but at...

When you leave a big professional services firm and go to a smaller, less recognized organization - does your brand value diminish?  Is there a perception in the marketplace that your skill set has deteriorated over time?  Since I grew up in the Michael Jordan era, it's like saying that Michael Jordan's basketball skills worsened when he took some time to play baseball. What we know is that Michael Jordan went on to win 3 more World Championships. For him, the shine didn't wear off. He had to work off the rust, but one would argue he became better and it may be because his hiatus playing baseball inspired him to realize his full potential as a basketball player.  In the world of business, I think the same theory about a person's skill set holds true. It's not like because I haven't done logical structuring in a year it means that I forgot how to structure a presentation.  But I also think that companies would rather hire the person that hasn't ta...

The Heisman Trophy Every basketball team is looking for the next Michael Jordan or Lebron James.  Every company or professional services firm is looking for that really talented individual to make their organization better. When these people come along, you might be doing them a favor by not asking them to join your team.  In other words, give them The Heisman.  I would say when talented people come across your doorstep, take a hard look at whether your organization is ready for these individuals.  The reason is that if your organization cannot meet the expectations of these individuals, they will not stick around to help you get to where you need to be.  As a leader of an organization, you have a few choices on how to handle talented people if you are real about what your company really is: Surround them with people of similar talent, if not more. Michael Jordan didn't reach his full potential without a supporting cast and a great coach in Ph...

Organizations that are in hyper growth mode put the pedal to the medal when it comes to hiring. If you are cranking out widgets, that means you hire more widget crankers.  The more specialized the widget, the more specific the skill set has to be for the widget cranker.  A lot of companies grow their employee base through referrals.  You have friends. Then there are friends of friends. Then you have friends of friends of friends.  But honestly- how many of us can vouch for the friends of friends of friends?  Would you really go to bat for the 1,000th friend on Facebook?  I'm not even sure I would vouch for my 10th closest friend.  I love when companies run referral campaigns without: Vetting the quality of the employee that made the referral; and  Conducting pre screens, screens, and interviews without identifying the standards that are in place What you end up with is a whole lot of people trying out for the NBA...