Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
Beware the Graying Workforce
We were recently in for a shock when we undertook a search to find a Vice-President of Sales in the so-called ‘Cleantech’ sector. Though the client organization is a manufacturer of environmental products gaining increasing attention, its roots are ‘old-economy’ building products which are being made sexy by market forces larger than itself…
Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
Selection Update: The Love Patent
A few months ago, the press reported on a system being developed at the University of Calgary called ‘Synthetic Validity’. The system promises a universal selection system for all jobs at all levels. As I am always interested in job-simplifying panaceas, I looked into it, and while it may have some promise, it appears to be a giant shared database of competencies which is a long way from selection prime time, at least in the search world…
Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
Start-Up CEOs Attributes - Hard Lessons
I spent time recently with a prominent venture capitalist who has reflected a fair bit on the talent issue in the start-up game…
Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
Using Polygraphs for Employment Screening - You’ve Got to be Kidding
The National Post recently ran an article titled ‘How they do it at the Precinct’. In it, the writer argues that while police interrogators and interviewers share a common desire to glean information from another party, police have become far more ‘sophisticated’ in achieving their goals. The writer proceeds to provide tips from police interrogators on getting people to ‘talk’...
Robert Hebert
The Talent Jungle
New CEO Data on Hard Skills vs Soft
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article titled Tough CEOs Often Most Successful. The article reports on a study by three University of Chicago professors who examined the assessment data of 313 CEO candidates who had been evaluated by the selection firm ghSmart on behalf of their venture capital and private equity clients.