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Mike “Batman” Cohen: Let's stop talking about Diversity & Inclusion as a Strategy Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

Diversity & Inclusion is critical to your company’s success but it is not a strategy. Here’s why... D&I needs to be built into the DNA of your company instead of being treated with kid gloves. Besides, hiring like-minded people is bad for business!

Today’s Quote:

"Our diversity is our strength. What a dull and pointless life it would be if everyone was the same." - Angelina Jolie

About the Guest:

Mike “Batman” Cohen is the Founder of Wayne Technologies, a recruitment training and search firm. Mike has over a decade of experience placing technologists, recruiters, and business development professionals, and has conducted training for Corporate and Agency Recruiters.

Throughout his career he’s learned several things that he’s committed to paying forward:

We can’t make it on our own - we need community
There is no “secret sauce” - we should be sharing our skills, tips, tricks, etc. openly
Data is extremely important
Being a good human is more important than data

He has worked with a diverse group of clients ranging from GIPHY, Spotify, TripAdvisor, Digital Asset, MacDonald Miller, etc.

He contributes articles to SourceCon, has a chair in the Program Committee with ATAP, helps run SourceHouston, and is a Brand Ambassador for ERE.

Mike has spoken at:

Talent42 (June 2019)
TechRecruit Los Angeles (July 2019)
TechRecruit Chicago (September 2019)
HireConf (October 2019)
HRTX Dallas
RecruitCon
ATAP Webinars
TalentNet
SourceHouston
ERE
HR Houston
Scala Up North
Scala.io

Show Highlights:

Why Diversity & Inclusion is not a strategy
How to embed diversity into your Company's DNA while staying true to your company values

Problem:

Why is Diversity & Inclusion such a hot topic?

- Diverse communities are growing and matriculating faster than any other
- Organizations are realizing that diverse thought doesn’t just come from people who went to different schools or studied different subjects, it comes from background, upbringing, etc.
- We all want females, minorities & orientations.
Candidates are placing a large focus on organizations that put a value on D&I - if you want the best candidates - this is one of the things that’s important to them!

Why is this important to organizations?

Are we hiring because of D&I to check off boxes?
Shouldn’t we be looking deeper into diversity of thought rather than physical characteristics?
Hiring people who are different from you and are included in your culture

Shouldn't we just be concerned with hiring the best person?

Just start hiring people who make you uncomfortable
Embrace the differences
Hiring like minded people is bad for business

What about the alignment of core corporate values?

Define corporate culture.

Solutions:

If Diversity & Inclusion isn’t a strategy, how do we accomplish it?

You don't want to hire someone just because they are a certain classification
- It has to go beyond “skin deep” - this isn’t about the way someone looks, it’s about integrating all different walks of life or trains of thought or images into your brand.
- Not to diversify to make things different, but to create a culture where diversity is the norm - that is how you create inclusion
The desire to have different people is not a business strategy
- It is a top-down mind-set as to how the business operates and what it considers important, successful, and a good fit
- Vetting issue- how does one determine who the best person is. Not the values or mission
Grey area- Defining the gray area or you will fail.
Focus for cultural alignment vs skills
Perks that attract like-minded people, like Ping pong and foosball tables & kegerators, reduce D&I.
The Strategies to achieving D&I are merely the execution of a goal.
- Companies aren’t built on strategies - they are built on vision and mission - Strategy is simply how we get there - is your company built on top of a foundation (mission and vision) that doesn’t celebrate diversity, but instead values it as a competitive advantage?
- These values and mission themselves should come with a very diverse perspective.
The more avenues of thought the quicker and higher quality it will take you to that mission.

Rick’s two cents:

What should be your strategy?

Hire People who perform
Hire People who bring different perspectives
Hire People who will challenge you

Key Takeaways:

D&I isn’t a strategy, it’s a business mindset
Dissonance is a good thing! Just be respectful
Diversity is a mindset, Inclusion is turning that mindset into the norm

Special Event: Erik Huberman from TiECon SoCal Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

Erik Huberman, Founder and CEO of Hawke Media, Managing Director of Nest Equity Partners, and Operating Partner of Arrowroot Capital Management

Mark Angel: How to Hire, Build Process & Lead in a Distributed Startup Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

What are the biggest challenges in building a distributed team as a startup? Today we discuss how to Hire, build process and lead in a distributed model. We will learn that uncovering the right people hinges on the Individual's desire and their emotional intelligence.

Today’s Quote:

“Completing one another is more important than competing with one another." - John C. Maxwell

Show Guest:

Mark Angel is the CEO and Co-founder of Amira Learning, the company reinventing learning to read with AI. Amira is a rapidly growing, venture-funded startup bringing the first intelligent reading assistant into K-3 classrooms.

Mark formerly served as Chief Technology Officer at Renaissance Learning, where he led the R&D organization and worked on the two most successful reading apps in the United States – Accelerated Reader and STAR. He has worked for 30 years in the Silicon Valley as a CEO, CTO and General Manager for innovators in the realm of Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (Ernst & Young, Nuance, KANA Software).

Mr. Angel is the founder of three successful start-ups. He is a chief inventor on more than 10 patents in the areas of search.

Episode Highlights:

The Story of the Challenges faced when building a distributed company
3 biggest issues you struggled with
Tools & solutions that worked best for your team

Problem:

Challenges in Hiring a Distributed Team:

Hire for the distributed model
- Learn to screen for people who are truly able to function in a distributed environment
- People not really self-aware.
Build process around the distributed model;
- Challenge: creating infrastructure and culture of behavior to help people to collaborate
- Choices in tooling that turned out to be wrong
Have to "servant-lead" for the distributed model.

What issues have we struggled with around hiring?

Where they will Thrive!
- People are not self-aware around work mode…
- The focus seems to be around the technologies they want to use or the comp they want.

Discuss the Model

Need to put the issue up front before people get excited about the rest of the story and fool themselves and consequently us

Core Values alignment

We need to be conscious that some folks like talking/collaborating and for others, it’s not the most pleasant part of the day. We aren't going to change a leopard’s spots.

Creating a situation where there is a balance of work and not having too many meetings. Keeping people in a place where they are getting constructive work behavior. Getting that work done but also helping others to get the work done. People are happiest when you find the “groove”.

Rick’s Challenges

An issue of Upfront Expectations alignment
- Continually ask “Why”

Solutions

What have we done about this?

Put this issue front & center in the interviewing process
- Getting out of the skills-based mindset.
- Screening - needed to find people who are able to cope with the nature of the model.
- Intentional about the need for people who are wired to work in a distributed environment.
- -talk about the distributed issue up front.
Hired a recruiting expert
Learned to screen for being at least somewhat "outgoing" and "opinionated"
"Servant-leadership" for the distributed model.

How do we manage work?

Baking collaboration into everyday environment. Tools like google suite/slack/zoom/github/atlassian -- basically emphasis is on creating the norms around the tools. Understand when they should be using the tools

Slack, Zoom, Gmail suite, Google docs works really well, hangouts did not for them.
tools around design thinking.
Set of heuristics and norms around the tools.

Allow people Flexibility

Work at home or at Wework, Techspace

What went right & wrong in the process?

right -- took a "team experiment" approach
right -- recognized they needed help & hired an expert
wrong -- didn’t push hard enough to create norms

Rick’s first step

Take the time to understand a person’s desires before you “Pitch” the company
People will tell you what they want. You just have to ask.
- "If you could design your ideal company, what would that look like for you?"
- A company where you will Thrive!

Key Takeaways:

Hire people who are self-aware - Hire for EQ & cultural fit first
Experiment with popular tools to find the tools that “best fit" for your team
Recognize you are fighting human nature and hire to overcome

Special Event: Beerud Sheth from TiECon SoCal Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

Beerud Sheth, Co-Founder and CEO of Gupshup

Ernie Basulto: Non-Verbal Clues to Discover the Truth in the Interview Mar 21, 2019

Show notes

Non-verbal communication and digging for clues to get to the root of who people really are. 93% of our communication is delivered non-verbally. Extracting the correct information starts with your openness and then observing how things unfold.

Today we are going to hone your ability to read people better in an interview!

Today’s Quote

"You don't have to tell me what your limits are when the decisions you make, your actions and body language says it all."

― Marlan Rico Lee

Show Guest

Ernie Basulto developed an early interest in cultural and human relations as he grew up in two separate countries. He was inspired by his father to develop the ongoing needs of the Hispanic workforce, and has done so by providing support and guidance to both business leaders and employees throughout his 26-year tenure in Human Resources. Ernie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

Recently, Ernie was a Senior Human Resources Business Partner at the 5th largest retail mortgage lender in the nation, and is currently the Director of Human Resources at Antis Roofing & Waterproofing. At Antis he provides leadership in all aspects of HR including hiring practices, establishes company culture, and guides employees to find their Purpose at work.

Episode Highlights

How to build rapport
Reading verbal and nonverbal cues (body language)

Problem

Focus on “Skills” clouds our vision so we misread people. Why is this such a problem? First, we need to get people comfortable in a manner that is congruent with your environment

Open interaction
Ask a Basic question: walk me through your resume to gather a baseline.
Settle the nerves, get comfortable
Observe & Mirror to build rapport
Listening to them
Experience questions where they tell him stories to evaluate thought process, how the person treats others, react under stress. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they tell a story
Depends on the type of role they are hiring for.. Look for little signs, hints
Example: story- stories focused on complaining about their company throughout the story. Pivot into what did you do to fix the problem. Tone of arrogance. He released him from the process and gave him the feedback.

Solutions

How do we structure the interview and what should we be looking for?

Opening question to behavioral
Company values, requirements of the position, Fit with the team (cultural fit)
Hiring Manager > on occasion they meet with the team.
So important at all levels, especially where you are exposed.
Raising the bar on performance

Reading Body language

What to look for?
Depends on your culture/environment
Positive body language
Body Language flags

Rick's Points

Be Aware of your own body language! Open & Positive
Past nervousness, fear & discomfort
- Important to make people comfortable first
- Get past
Mirroring- Unconscious sometimes
- person trying too hard to build rapport
Shoulder movements communicate emotions
Positioning & movement
Uncertain or lying -slow rise - lack confidence
Extreme behaviors- pay attention

Key Takeaways

Observe & Mirror
Get past the nerves
Shoulder movement tells all!

Special Event: Brian Frankel from TiECon SoCal Mar 20, 2019

Show notes

Brian Frankel, Marketing Consultant of Ignite.Consulting, TiE Charter Member, and Founder, of Mentor Matchmaker

Special Event: Ravi Sharma from TiECon SoCal Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

Ravi Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO of OOtify, TiE Charter Member, Investor, and Mentor

Erik Huberman: Dissecting a Hire Gone Wrong Mar 14, 2019

Show notes

The mistakes we, as entrepreneurs and hiring managers, make when building our companies. Often our need to fill overrides our logic in determining the fit between both parties and as result Core Values are often ignored. Assumptions, unclear expectations, and lack of diligence make for a perfect storm of a disastrous hire.

Today’s Quote

"Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they'll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they'll bring you down." - Jason Fried

Show Guest

Erik Huberman is the founder and CEO of Hawke Media, the fastest growing marketing agency in the United States. Launched in 2014, Hawke Media has serviced over 1000 brands of all sizes, ranging from startups like Tamara Mellon, SiO Beauty and Bottlekeeper to household names like Red Bull, Verizon Wireless and Alibaba. Hawke Media has taken home numerous industry awards including inclusion on the Inc. 5000 2017 list of “Fastest Growing Companies”, Fortune Magazine’s “50 Best Workplaces in Southern California” and Forbes’ “Content Marketing Companies to Check Out in 2018."

"Prior to Hawke, Erik founded, grew and sold two successful e-commerce companies. Huberman is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes “30 Under 30,” Inc. Magazine’s “Top 25 Marketing Influencers,” and Best in Biz North America’s “Marketing Executive of the Year.” A regular contributor to major publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur and CS Q. Huberman is also a well-known keynote speaker.

Episode Highlights

Break down one of your early hires and talk about the decisions that were made and why
What we learned and how you can avoid making our mistakes

Making a wrong Hire: Walk through the story

Hired an executive, all-star, great background
“Why would you buy a dog if you're the one barking on the corner”
Discussing expectations, but not the HOW.
Had a budget, revenue numbers, really clear…
Takes time for executives to ramp up
Hired from a large company- a different mindset
Taking people through a more formalized process.
Properly frames the mindset as a professional environment
You are taken more seriously
*Onboarding Process
Didn’t have a process. Throw people to the wind
Unprofessional entrance + people didn't view it professionally
Made the mistake of selling perks
Hired 7 people in the beginning, only one stayed past 6 months.
Bridging the gap with the business.

* Post hire, you are not done once you made the hire. Once someone is hired, real-time investment into their success.

Rick’s Hiring Mistake

Hiring Friends without clear expectations
created an expectations document

Key Takeaways

Stick to a hiring process - It must be Professional
The more senior the hire, the more time investment to align expectations - May take up to a year to come up to speed

Tevis Trower: Re-Humanizing the Interview Process By Shifting Our Language Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

We don't hire for human competency but for skill set. Our language is inhuman in spite of the very real experience of working with HUMANS. People want Connection and Authentic Interaction. We need to understand What makes you, you?

Today’s Quote:

“Learn everything humanly possible about everyone you do business with." -Harvey Mackay (Swim with the Sharks)

Show Guest:

CEO of Balance Integration Corporation | Advocate for Corporate Culture & Employee Engagement

Tevis Trower is a pioneer in optimizing corporate cultures. Heralded in bestselling Megatrends 2010 as “corporate mindfulness guru for the new millennium”, Tevis has assisted powerful organizations ranging from Disney to Morgan Stanley in optimizing their most precious assets: human beings. She has created and facilitated global executive immersions for prestigious organizations including Harvard Business Review Events, Young Presidents Organization, PWC, Bloomberg LP, Viacom, Google and The Economist on issues including mindfulness, executive lifestyle, personal mastery, innovation, and the role of consciousness in creating radical success.

You can find profiles and expert advice from Tevis featured in respected media outlets including Forbes, Fortune, BusinessWeek, Glamour, YogaJournal, CIO, Pink, RealSimple, Crain’s, New York Post, Financial Times, WWD, New York Observer, MSNBC, FoxBusiness, NY1 and Martha Stewart. As NYU Faculty teaching Business Creativity & Personal Mastery, Tevis has also served as worklife expert to WebMD and Huffington Post. Tevis lives what she teaches spending time in NYC, Montauk and Woodstock, enjoying surfing, snowboarding and entertaining friends at home with her dachshund, Ruby.

Episode highlights:

Why it is important to re-humanize your hiring process
Changing the mindset by shifting the language
The formula for a successful shift

Problem:

Why is this important?

Because we focus upon skill development to get into the roles we aspire to, we buy into the notion that work and life are separate. But the reality is that we are only one person, one being.
Through this buy-in to self-abnegation, we leave ourselves out of the workplace and all but guarantee to burn out and disillusionment. When we approach interviewing that way, we’re bound to forget that the person across from us is first and foremost a human being.
Impostor syndrome of the interviewers (hiring managers!)
IS-is there a place for me here? Everyone feels a little like a fake/fraud.
Myth: This person is only as good as their resume.
- Truth: Most of the best people, have the worst resumes

Mindset

Creating a corporate culture happens one conversation at a time. Talking about what you are passionate about, what matters to you.
Work is home
It is a demand market.
* we forget we are hiring a human being… not filling a seat.
Bring an entire life into the company

Rick’s Thoughts

Stay away from “stinkin thinkin” - Transactional thought
Judging people based on a piece of paper
Restructuring the recruiting department to touch those who apply

Solutions:

By shifting the language we begin to shift the mindset.

Changing the language - humanize

What does it mean to be human at your company?
Don’t talk headcount, filling a seat
- life count, heart count.
Talk about finding the “right new colleague”
- Not filling a seat or role, rounding out our community
Shift to human terms

The breadth and depth of this person.

Talk about the eulogy and not the resume
Think of everyone in terms of a peer
Values -
The framework is in the questions, not the answers

If the adage is that people leave managers, not companies, they probably refuse offers from managers as well. Foster a culture that supports the value for success. Are they Google-ly? And what happens when being googly becomes a weakness? Homogeneity can be a downfall.

Rick's Plan

Cut out words like “candidate”, Job Description, industry terms

Key Take Away:

Tune into your own Humanity
Humanize the language
Slow down the interview process to give more room & space

Greg Toroosian: The What & Why of Your Job Description. Understanding Who You Really Need to Hire Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

Before you hire, you need a clear understanding of what you need and Why. What is required needs to be focused on the work that needs to be accomplished. And that’s Why it helps to prioritize the level of importance.

The most crucial part of the recruiting process is understanding why this is really needed. It is often overlooked.

Today’s Quote:

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." -Colin Powell

Show Guest:

Greg Toroosian has spent the best part of a decade recruiting for technical positions across software, IT, and hardware verticals. He also has experience building non-technical teams including finance, marketing, business strategy, legal and operations. His career started in the UK as an agency recruiter working with companies in various industries and at different growth stages. He’s currently the Director of Talent Acquisition at sweetgreen where he oversees the team that manages all corporate hiring for technical and non-technical teams. sweetgreen is set to grow rapidly this year due to their focus on technology and the recent large round of investment they received.

Episode highlights:

Defining what is needed and why
Our Methods for defining and prioritizing your roles

Problem:

Hiring managers don’t really know what they need
Understand the gap, skillsets, and planning for growth
I need another one of this person
Job description we used last time
Factoring in lead time to make the hire and then bring someone up to speed.
Realistic Timelines
Inefficient time spent on the wrong people because the hiring manager is really not
Sitting down and outlining the work that needs to get done
- Prioritizing the work
- Setting performance benchmarks

Solutions:

Focus on the What and then the Why

Greg’s Intake Process to define the What & Why - Request Greg's Intake Form: andrea@stridesearch.com
Prioritization: is this really needed?
What will the person be doing?
How will that add value here?
How is the work being done right now? (light bulb of urgency)
Forward-thinking- hiring ahead of the plan
Hire toward the body of work

Rick's Input:

Write down the actual work that needs to be done with a timeline
Define the expectations by setting at least 3 Performance metrics for the first 90 days
The Problems that need to be solved help to gain emotional buy-in
Tie the work to Growth - Impact

Key Take Aways:

People are attracted to the problems you solve
For hiring managers: Upfront time spent configuring the process and fleshing out then real need is crucial to a successful, smooth and efficient process. Give your recruiting partner adequate time, think through the real need and purpose of the role, and be clear on what the success criteria is.
For recruiters: Know that this is where you can add a lot of value as a partner. Be confident in the questions you ask, be inquisitive, think about what you need to align on and focus on unearthing that information. This document and the information it contains will be what you refer back to throughout the process to make sure you’re on the right path and to push back when necessary.

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