@dealflow_guy Worth noting that anything over 9.3 indicates deep-seated insecurity and need to over-compensate.
Something we try and avoid in our execs
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Mark Delaney
9.8K posts
Mark Delaney
@markbdelaney
Executive Search for mission critical industries. Lead a Port Co at Overwatch- Hold Co of service businesses for the data center industry. Army vet.
Charlottesville, VA เข้าร่วม Eylül 2010
997 กำลังติดตาม2.1K ผู้ติดตาม
After a multi-month engagement with a top consulting firm, we have completely revamped our candidate assessment process for senior leaders.
Here is a taste of what has changed:
- Do they play golf? If not, then they honestly are just not going to cut it as a business leader. This is a really simple filtering mechanism with yes/no criteria that we assess will reduce time spent with unqualified candidates by up to 63%.
- How many times is AI mentioned in their LinkedIn profile, posts, and resume? We are looking for a LLMPWC (LLM Per Word Count) density of at least .08 to ensure that we are only working with leaders who are on the cutting edge.
- What is the color of the background on their LinkedIn profile headshot? Shades closer to #0A66C2 (LinkedIn blue) have a stronger correlation to "drive results" and "move the needle". We found that gray backgrounds were too middle-management (not sure what that says about me?).
- We've replaced behavioral interviews with a single question: 'Tell me about a time you led a transformation.' If the answer is under 20 minutes, they're out.
- After meeting in-person, we will evaluate candidates on the HFI (Handshake Firmness Index). Anything below a 7.4 suggests the candidate may not be ready to "lead from the front' and "take ownership" in a boardroom setting.
We're confident these changes will position TWG at the forefront of evidence-based executive search. Reach out if you'd like a copy of the full 214-page methodology deck (retainer required) or would like to identify candidates using our new and improved methodology.
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@MrStand_Fast If we recruited strictly for PE it would be, but did weigh using that.
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@markbdelaney Surprised "% of days they wear a quarter-zip or vest" isn't in the assessment, honestly.
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Just did a screening call with the guy who was head of Operations for Special Operations Command South (Central and South America), and his timeline was directly aligned with the operation in Venezuela.
So yeah, he's run some high-profile stuff.
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@MrStand_Fast We will find ways to defeat this.
As a former infantryman, I'm always thinking about power for new systems. That's stuff I gotta carry.
Also a very real psychological barrier here. Do shoothouses now start having small drone targets?
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@markbdelaney Block sensors, confuse sensors, destroy mobility.
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NGL
A robot coming in with an assault rifle is freaking terrifying.
Also VERY hard to defeat, especially in close quarters.
Military Arms@MAC_Arms
The development of the machine gun, aircraft and tanks changed the landscape of warfare for decades... however, what AI and robotics are doing is truly crazy. The next peer to peer war will be absolutely brutal.
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@Lawyer4Deals Turns out I do also.
Laid down 20 bags of gravel and paving stones on Sunday. Slept like a dream.
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I don’t know much, but I know that my children sleep a whole lot better when they limp inside for bed covered in dirt, smelling like worms, clothes tattered, having spent 10+ hours outside.
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@BrentBeshore Respectfully disagree on Wagyu.
But don't let me yuck your yum.
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A few months ago, I wrote a long post about why data centers in space were not going to happen.
Maybe I am still right, but people who spend way more time looking into this than I do just bet otherwise.
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If you are making a senior hire soon, let me tell you something you probably aren't budgeting: a bonus.
Not theirs with you, but the one at the current employer.
Here's how to approach this:
At the end of a quarter or the end of the year, the talent I speak with starts to ask:
"What happens to my bonus?"
One executive I spoke with recently was set to lose out on a mid-six-figure bonus if he took a new role.
The reality is that top performers are in positions that pay them for performance. If you want to win them and bring them onto your team, expect they are thinking about their bonus. That's a material risk for them in taking a new role, and it needs to be understood and addressed.
Here are a few options you can use in this situation:
1. Set their start date after their bonus clears.
This may mean delaying a key hire, but it lets them feel safer about the jump. It also prevents them from asking you to cover their bonus they would lose if they left their current company early.
One risk to be cautious of: Especially for senior executives who are making a transfer within the industry, be cautious of burning the bridge with their previous company.
2. Buy them out.
This is obviously the more expensive option, but say you will match the bonus
Especially for an exec set to receive a bonus that is <10% of their base comp, this can be a (relatively) inexpensive way to win the candidate right away.
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And there are options to #2.
You don't have to cover their bonus up front.
Here are a few ideas:
1. Spread out the bonus with retention cliffs.
Let's say you have an exec with a $275k base. They are poised to get a $50k bonus they would lose if they take your offer now.
Here is a way to make them feel whole, while not having to cough up all the cash upfront:
- $15k signing bonus
- $15k retention bonus at 6 months
- $30k retention bonus at 12 months (separate from their performance incentives)
So that's a $60k bonus structure, spread across 12 months.
Now they stand to make an extra $10k, but you can spread that cost over 12 months.
Might be a good way to win the talent.
2. Offer a "make-whole" bonus, tied to performance
Let's say the role has a wider range of variable comp (say up to 50%). So they already have milestones and KPIs to hit to unlock performance incentives.
Structure the buyout according to their performance metrics.
- Grow EBITDA by 4% in the first quarter? You get the EBITDA bonus plus a portion of the buyout.
- Close your first deal? Get a portion of the buyout
- Close $500k ARR? Get another tranche.
This ensures they receive their bonus while also hitting the numbers you laid out.
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The point in all this is understanding that high-level talent is potentially leaving lots of money on the table when they take your offer.
If you want to win them, you have to know what they stand to lose and get creative with your options.
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@mbrown_co My dad grew up in a rural farming community of 2k in KY. Where we would always go for family vacations. He's 1/7 kids and was like "If I'm using a week of OTO, I'm seeing my family."
Freaking love that place.
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Idea that seems too obvious to be true:
The best things in life really are free.
We just spent spring break at my brother’s farm in Kentucky.
I’ll admit when my wife suggested it, I felt a little skeptical.
Last spring break we blew it out at an amazing resort in Cabo. The kids loved it, we had a blast. A part of me was worried that they would feel cheated out of an exotic trip.
And if I’m really honest, it wasn’t about them. A little part of me felt cheated out of an exotic trip.
But 20 minutes after we landed, I realized how silly that was.
The cousins mobbed my kids, ran off in a pack, and didn’t stop for the next five days.
My son (13, the oldest cousin) taught the little kids all of his fishing secrets at their pond. They caught 23(!) fish in a single day, his new record.
They spent all day outside, canoeing, exploring, climbing the waterfall and catching frogs.
My wife and I spent the week having thoughtful, honest, deep conversations with my brother and his wife. The kind that only take shape with space and stillness. We talked about raising children, midlife crises, spirituality, politics, AI, and countless other things. We don’t agree about everything, and we don’t need to.
Here’s the point:
I didn’t miss the resort and my kids certainly didn’t. They’re pretty sure this was the best week of their lives (with a little childlike recency bias).
And this doesn’t mean I’m swearing off resorts for farm life. My fancy side is still alive and well.
The point is noticing the story:
“An expensive resort in a faraway place must be better.”
Once again, I was reminded of a lesson that I’ll likely get to keep learning for the rest of my life:
Everything you could ever want is right in front of you, if only you are willing to look.
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Yes.
This is why we are building the first-ever training program for skilled trades in the data center industry.
Can see the full story in the comments.
webuildnow.ai/delivery-elect…
Business Insider@BusinessInsider
"Just in the next 2 years, 500,000 electricians are needed to build all the infrastructure that's going to be needed just in the United States," Meta's president said of the workforce needed to power the AI boom. bit.ly/4bMq5wh
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@MrStand_Fast Yep.
I had a PSG when I was a PL who served there. Our platoon's uniforms were always perfect come payday activities!
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If you haven't visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and seen a changing of the guard, it's a must- have trip.
100 years straight, it's been guarded. Through blizzards, hurricanes, across political administrations, through wars.
True testament to American values.
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Stars and Stripes@starsandstripes
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia reached a milestone of being continuously guarded by service members for 100 years on March 25. The tomb was established in the wake of World War I, when an unknown soldier who died in the war was interred on Nov. 11, 1921, but did not have an assigned military guard until March 25, 1926. It was a daytime guard until July 1, 1937, when it became guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week in all weather conditions. See more photos: stripes.com/branches/army/…
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@adamislucky I hear you. works better in sales than interviews
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@markbdelaney I used to do this, but ain't nobody got time for that.
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When interviewing candidates, do you tell them right off the hop not to ramble?
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@BillDA Setting up your life so that everything is easy is an underrated life hack.
Every time I visit friends in NYC I’m appalled at their day-to-day life. *Everything* is a struggle.
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3 minute wait at TSA in Charlotte this morning. Meanwhile my colleague’s flight from NYC is cancelled
Line at Starbucks was longer than TSA
Why do folks choose to live in cities where everything is hard?
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@dmbkparker Thanks!
This one also involved coordinating a dinner with the founder while he is gone for the week, skydiving in prep for the D-Day memorial jump in Normandy this year
Love to see it
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@markbdelaney Congrats! Love to see the success stories! You guys are making a difference in giving veterans purpose and community while making a living. The first two are much more important.
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The legends are true. You can hire an operator to run the business.
Just takes years and scale (in this case, $30M+ in revenue).
*Just wrapped up a placement for an Army veteran (non-SOF) into a GM position within a $30M+ government contracting business. Why was this a great deal?
1. We poached him from a F100 organization. He's pumped to escape the maze of a large corporation and step into running an organization that he can truly put his mark on.
2. This business is one in the portfolio of a serial entrepreneur with a wide range of business interests and pursuits. He runs a multi-faceted organization, and this business is the main cash producer. He needs a trusted hand that he can give full autonomy to, so that he can focus elsewhere.
3. The company makes St. Patrick's Day a company holiday. The Irishman in me just gets ticked by that.
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