If you haven’t noticed, the market for CFO talent has become very competitive this year, at least in the SF Bay Area. Certain segments such as SaaS are too hot to touch! The bottom line is that top tier talent is scarce. A number of CFOs I’ve talked to recently said they can’t even think about looking at another opportunity because they’re already stretched thin by the opportunities in front of them. So, if you’re a company wondering how to hire a CFO, how to go about it? You need to work on your CFO recruitment skills, and I can help.
As the CEO or an investor, you believe in your heart and mind that your company is the greatest company on earth. The challenge is how to communicate this concept to the CFO marketplace.
Lessons from Your Own Experience
Thinking about the last time you made a major career decision may shed some light on the process of recruiting. First, think about how you came to make the decision. Was it spontaneous, or pondered thoroughly? What did you come to believe about the hiring company? Who made you aware of the opportunity? Now, put yourself in the shoes of the CFO you are trying to recruit. How will the initial outreach be conducted─the critical step to engage the prospect in your opportunity? Why should he/she respond to your siren? What key messages will engage him/her? Who will conduct the outreach? If you’re working with a search firm, who within the firm will make the call?
Executive Recruiting Skills – a Rare Commodity
Having trained recruiters and developed a proprietary process for the art of CFO recruitment, I can say that few recruiters, and even fewer non-recruiters, have the thorough training and expertise required to conduct a successful executive search from clarifying the objectives, all the way through the process to the offer and acceptance, to follow-up.
After working in executive search for over 22 years, I have some insights that many folks in my industry just don’t have. What many professionals don’t understand is that a number of so-called “headhunters” simply bring business in the door, but don’t necessarily fulfill it. My advice on how to hire a CFO: if you hire a search firm to partner with you, be sure to find out in advance how your opportunity will be being marketed, and exactly who is doing that marketing for you, and what are their skills and experience.
How Not to Make a Recruiting Call
Have you received a CFO recruitment call that started out like, “Hi Joe, I’m calling you because I have been retained by this great company that is looking for someone just like you!” Not a good recruiting call in my book. If you want to know how to make a great recruiting call, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned that works. Call me, Dave Arnold at 408-205-7373 or email moc.srentrapdlonra@evad.
Every executive search firm, including my own company Arnold Partners, promotes and emphasizes their executive search process. Having an orderly, standardized approach is the basis for a successful search. Without a well-conceived framework to start the search, the process will certainly fail. However, it has been my experience that once the music has started, it is the art of improvisation that leads to a successful outcome.
I have been studying Jazz and Blues music for the last six years. Each week I take a lesson on the tenor sax and practice a few hours, trying not to drive the household and neighbors too crazy! It has been an interesting journey in humiliation, dedication, and joy. It certainly has expanded my mind in a completely new direction. But interestingly, it has had a positive effect on the business side of my brain too, enabling me to add value to my clients.
What’s Jazz Got to Do with It?
[threecol_one][/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]Like an executive search process, the creation of Jazz and music in general is based on some simple rules and involves a process that when successful, transports an audience.
Jazz starts with a melody written in a certain key that serves as the foundation of the piece. In executive search, the job description is the foundation for the work to be done.[/wpcol_1half_end]When a great jazz musician takes flight into improvisation, he doesn’t completely leave the melody behind. Great improvisation only sounds good if it is played in time and in the chords of the melody, and works with the rhythm section. This is very difficult to achieve as I very well know from firsthand experience. But when done right, it makes for a very successful and moving experience.[/threecol_two_last]
In an executive search process, there almost always comes a time in the process where improvising, the use of creative skills, is imperative. The search consultant must break from the score and think, act, and move in time to help land the desired candidate. This is no easy task and it cannot be taught in a training room; this skill can only be learned through years of experience.
How to Find a CFO? Think Outside the (Music) Box
In thinking about your search process, it is important to consider how your search consultant can bring creativity to the executive search process. Effective search takes more than an analytical approach; it takes a balanced, creative partner to help deliver the talent you need. As I find myself being able to improvise on the sax, my creativity is flowing and ready for orchestration in my clients’ next searches. Let’s get playin’!Contact Dave Arnold at 408-205-7373 or moc.srentrapdlonra@evad.
An interview with Laszlo Bock, Google’s Sr. VP of People Operations, recently appeared in The New York Times “Corner Office.”The purpose of the interview was to find out how Google is using Big Data in their hiring practices. There were a number of interesting points that are right in line with my recent blogs on how to find a CFO.
Laszlo Bock: “Part of the problem with evaluating [sic] leadership is that it’s very driven by gut instinct in most cases – and even worse, everyone thinks they’re really good at it. The reality is that very few people are.” He explained that they had done a study of Google’s hiring practices and found zero relationship between how people scored candidates in the interview process and how they later performed. This is at once amazing to me and not surprising at all; it is one thing to interview for an individual contributor, another for a manager, but at the top, interviewing for executive leadership is an entirely different art in which few are well trained.
Expanding on Mr. Bock’s thoughts about leadership, we have to once again talk about what executive leadership is, what are the key elements we look for in an executive, and how to evaluate leadership. The truth is, relying on your gut won’t cut it, and very few people are trained to conduct effective behavioral interviews to ferret out if someone’s exterior qualities match their true interior character.
Leadership According to Google
Mr. Bock talked about some of the elements of leaderships they look for. “Leadership is a more ambiguous and amorphous set of characteristics…We found that, for leaders, it’s important that people know you are consistent and fair…In terms of leadership, success is very dependent on the context. What works at Google or G.E. or Goldman Sachs is not going to be the right answer for everyone. I don’t think you’ll ever replace human judgment and human inspiration and creativity [in the interview process], because at the end of the day, you need to ask questions like, ‘O.K., the system says this. Is this really what we want to do? Is that the right thing?’”
Don Draper: Gravitas or Groveler?
In my last blog about Gravitas, I chose the picture of John Hamm in the role of Don Draper from the hit TV show, Mad Men. Because if you met Don in a real live interview, you’d probably think, “Wow, has that guy got Gravitas.” While on the surface he appears to be a confident, capable ad guy, once we dig deeper, Mad Men fans know how messed up he really is!
Putting Big Data in the Big Picture
Certainly for a corporation like Google, which receives thousands of unsolicited resumes every day, Big Data may play a role in searching for engineering talent or even line managers. However, Big Data will never replace the human skill to deftly evaluate the “ambiguous and amorphous set of characteristics” you need in your CFO. This is where Arnold Partners comes in. In today’s connected world it’s not hard to find a CFO, it’s hard to find the right CFO. Let me show you how I can help ─ contact Dave Arnold at 408-205-7373 or moc.srentrapdlonra@evad.
There are many qualities that my clients look for in a CFO. Obviously, significant experience and domain expertise in all things financial are high on the list. Some clients may focus on public company CFO experience or a specific industry may be more important at times. However, one quality EVERY company should demand in their executive leadership is gravitas. But how do you go about determining if a candidate has it?
Gravitas Defined
Last week I attended a workshop on personal branding sponsored by the San Jose Business Journal and led by Karen Leland, principal of the Sterling Marketing Group. (Please see her contact information below.) Karen laid out six specific attributes that make up gravitas. Here’s how I describe it: gravitas in the corporate world is like statesmanship in the political world. It’s having the confidence and consistent performance that commands respect, and inspires others to move forward together. Some people have it, some don’t, and others can develop it.
Who’s Got It?
CEOs may say that they feel the gravitas of a person on an instinctual level. I have heard the phrase: so and so fills up the room with his or her presence. But it is much more than just presence; it entails several distinct attributes that can and should be evaluated in detail throughout the hiring process.
In a recent study by the Center for Talent Innovation, author Sylvia Ann Hewlett presents some fascinating findings on executive presence. Almost 70% of those surveyed respondents hold gravitas as the top quality they are looking for in their leaders. This calls out for a deep dive into understanding what it is, and what one do to strengthen this intangible and somewhat nebulous quality. If you are a CEO, CFO or aspiring C-suite professional, not only should you read Hewlett’s report, I recommend you take a personal inventory of the three key qualities identified in the study which lead to ideal executive presence: Communications, Appearance, and Gravitas.
Finding Gravitas
I believe what holds back most people from the C-suite is oftentimes the lack of gravitas – not technical ability or political acumen. It can be evaluated by an expert interviewer if he or she knows what to look for, and what questions to ask.
I welcome your comments: what’s your take on gravitas if you are thinking about how to hire a CFO? I would love to converse on this capital topic.
To find out more about the process I use to evaluate a candidate’s gravitas and other qualities that constitute idea executive presence, please contact me, Dave Arnold at 408-205-7373 or moc.srentrapdlonra@evad. You can also learn some great interviewing tips from my blog post How to Interview a CFO Candidate
Also, please look for a guest blog by Karen in the weeks to come here at Arnold Partners.
Most professionals (and many recruiters!) are never really trained in How to interview a CFO candidate. They learn from trial and error how to hire a CFO, or perhaps they learn anecdotally. Unless you find yourself in a huge corporation, there may not even be a resource to help you get better at interviewing. I have hired and trained many recruiters over the last 22 years as well as interviewed hundreds of CFOs. As VP of Operations in a national recruitment practice, I co-developed a very detailed process for conducting effective interviews. Here I’ll share some insights I’ve gained on how to hire a CFO.
My Muse: Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose is the most impressive interviewer in the public domain today. He has conducted thousands of interviews with the most highly placed figures in all walks of life including heads of state, politicians, rock stars, movie stars, and business heavyweights. I don’t know how many CFOs he has interviewed (probably a few), but I do know that his style is one that ALL interviewers should learn from. Part of what makes him unique is his ability to truly listen.
The old adage in sales is to listen twice as much as you speak. This holds doubly true with interviews. If the interviewer is doing all the talking, how can he/she learn about the interviewee? Charlie is a master of this. His follow-on questions are sublime. He has a script of questions at the onset of every interview, but depending on the answer, he is quick to change gears and ask an appropriate follow-on question. He can only do this by keenly listening. He is also a master of getting people to answer the question. Many of his guests are good at not giving a direct answer, but Charlie won’t let them off the hook. Watch his interviews with the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for inspiration, such as:
The New York Times has a twice-weekly column, “The Corner Office.” Each article is an interview with a CEO. Excellent information is exchanged, and in most cases the CEO is asked about his interviewing style. I am fascinated by the lack of consistency in how CEOs interview (which supports my point that people aren’t trained to interview), and the excellent questions CEOs ask candidates. This column is no substitute for interviewing training, but can help you formulate probing questions.
I recently had the pleasure of spending some time in Paris and took a class at the Alain Ducasse School of Cooking. Monsieur Ducasse has built an empire and amassed numerous Michelin stars at his restaurants around the world. One of his protégés actually taught the course I took─conducted 100% in French! While my primary interest was acquiring skills in technique for the kitchen, I was surprised that as I julienned and sautéed, I gained fresh insights on the executive search process for hiring a CFO.
Preparation is the Key in Cooking and in Executive Search
The French say that before you start cooking you must be in a state of “mis en place,” loosely translated as “having everything in its place.” The course was Bistro cooking, meaning a simple meal well prepared. Of course, nothing could be simple in the world of Ducasse. Just as no hiring process is simple; whether you are hiring a junior accountant or a CFO one thing remains true: you need to know what you are looking for BEFORE you start looking. Mis en place! Mais oui, Chef!
An important part of my process when hiring a CFO for a client is first, to truly understand what they are looking for, and second, to help the client understand what they should be looking for. The discovery in this phase of the process goes beyond identifying the obvious skills of a CFO; it gets to the heart of the culture of the company, its growth plan, where the blind spots of the CEO are, how dynamics at the Board level affect the CFO hire, and more. This deep dive is the necessary prep work before any cooking can start. It is not trivial and must be approached systematically so when the real work begins the result is a timely, targeted, and effective search.
Three Hour Prep for Two Course Lunch Pays Off
We spent about three hours prepping a two-course lunch consisting of a white and green asparagus salad followed by a veal tenderloin with a green pea sauce. All the heavy lifting was in the prep. Once we got to “plating” and then the enjoyment of the meal, it was clear to me why we spent so much time in the prep.
When you are hiring a CFO and are presented with a slate of candidates for consideration, you are going to be happy with the results because the prep work goes on every day of the year at Arnold Partners, and the customization for your specific needs will not be short-changed. Prep, prep, prep. Mais oui, Chef!
Let’s get cookin’ on your CFO hire. I’ve got the recipe for success. Contact me at moc.srentraPdlonrA@evaD.
