Got Anything Smaller?
With the recent recession walloping their ranks, corporate
executives are rethinking their career prospects. Outplacement firm
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. recently found two out of
three laid-off execs preferred to join a small firm.
That's the good news. Unfortunately, you'll have plenty
of company trying to land a financial analyst or operations
manager. "There's more action for salaries over $200,000
at firms with less than $50 million in revenue than at firms with
more than $50 million in revenue," says Wayne Starr, CEO and
founder of executive resume distribution service WSA Corp.
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One of those executives is Dave Van Dyke. A 30-year veteran of
the broadcast industry, including a 14-year stint at Viacom, he
decided to take a position with Finology Inc., a 15-employee Los
Angeles company that funds radio stations and plans to grow to 100
employees in the next 12 months.
"I was looking for a position where I could excel once
again," he says. With expected growth of 20 percent, it looks
like he's found it. Is it any wonder that the right inducement
can win you the big-time talent?
Any Questions?
Brainstorming sessions can become a tedious exercise, usually
dominated by a few individuals. There are moments of silence as
everyone else wracks their brain for one more idea because nothing
on the white board really knocks your socks off.
"You end up with a short list that never gets at the meat
of the issue," says consultant Perry J. Ludy, author of
Profit Building: Cutting Costs Without Cutting
People (Berrett-Koehler Publishers). Maybe you
shouldn't be asking for answers, he says. You should be asking
employees what questions they have about the problem.
Despite brainstorming mantras that there are no wrong answers,
many of your employees are afraid that opening their mouths will
make them look like dolts. Questions, by contrast, show
everyone's ignorance. They are more democratic and make sure
employees are less intimidated. They'll develop a longer list
of questions than they ever will of answers. "Questions become
the fuel for the overall process," says Ludy.
Once you've got your list, assign individuals on the team to
find answers. Have them report back at a regularly scheduled
meeting, say in two weeks. The answers they find can illuminate
solutions never imagined.
Ludy cites the example of a firm that is seeking to reduce the
cost of its employee benefits. A quick fix is to cut the
company's 401(k) plan contribution. If brainstorming
participants question why the plan costs so much to administer,
they might ask whether administrative costs are negotiable and cut
costs that way.
"The more you ask questions--to yourself, your team, your
vendors--[the more] you develop a skill of getting to
details," he says.
To get the ball rolling, Ludy suggests running down your
profit-and-loss statement. Ask questions about each line item until
you've got a list of 10 to 20 questions. If you don't have
many employees, contacts from a chamber of commerce meeting or
networking session will be equally adept at fleshing out your
list.
Business writer Chris Sandlund works out of
Cold Spring, New York.
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