Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Awhile ago, the  Harvard Business Review  published some great questions that  Gilt Groupe  CEO Kevin Ryan asks when he is checking references. Ryan serves on the board of Yale Corporation, Human Rights Watch, and  INSEAD , and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  He holds a B.A. from Yale University and a M.B.A from INSEAD. His main seven honest-feedback-extracting-questions  (and follow-ups) are: Would you hire this person again?  If so, why and in what capacity?  If not, why not? How would you describe the candidate's ability to innovate, manage, lead, deal with ambiguity, get things done and influence others? What were some of the best things this person accomplished?  What could he or she have done better? In what type of culture, environment, and role can you see this person excelling?  In what type of role is he or she unlikely to be successful? Would you describe the candidate as a leader, a ...

If you are a leader looking for a new job, pick up a copy of Tony Beshara's new book, The Job Search Solution , and pay particular attention to what Beshara discovered when 3,129 hiring managers and interviewing authorities answered his survey about resumes (pages 67 and 68 of the book). What these hiring authorities who ranged from first-line hiring managers to CEO's told him was this: What they like in a resume: Reverse chronological order. Names of companies that the person has worked for and a clear indication of what the companies do. Clear, concise articulation of skills and experience. Direct evidence of success. Written by the candidate (not professionally written) Easy-to-read format Pertinent information that relates to the job being filled. Clearly stated experience that relates to the opening. Stability. No more than two pages. And what they don't like in a resume are the following: Functional resumes. Objectives and Summaries at the beginni...