Due North Executive Search’s Post

There are a lot of temptations in corporate america. Cutting corners because "No one will know" Slandering others to advance one's career because if the other person is bad, you must be better. Right? Misrepresenting data to fit one's own agenda. And so on. There are many clowns who play these games. And if you do as well, you will end up in the sewer with them. Suffice it to say, it never ends well. So if you find these scary clowns on your team, as a leader you need to get rid of them. Otherwise, you will eventually find yourself with a team full of scary clowns because all the good talent will leave. And this will be terrifying for you, your company and your career. #marketingrecruiting #salesrecruiting #medtechrecruiting #hightechrecruiting

I recently read the book "The Boys in the Boat". It's a story about how a rag tag group of men from the University of Washington comes together to win gold in rowing during the 1936 Olympics. It was the "Miracle on Ice" of the time. Unlike today's college athletes, these men were not supported by scholarships. In fact, many of them were so poor they didn't have much for clothing. And they worked grueling summer jobs to afford tuition. But what they did do is find a way to syncronize their rowing in such a way that they were able to beat the elete rowing teams of their time. And those brutal summer jobs? Those also made them stronger in both body and spirit. So not only did they row as one, they rowed as one very powerful machine. I think this a good analogy for many teams. They may come from many different backgrounds. They may not have all had elete educations. They may have had to sacrifice much to get to their current role. (I actually prefer these people as they know how to persevere.) But if you can get them in sync, point them in the right direction and inspire them... They can do amazing things! I strongly suggest that you look up the The Boys in the Boat book by Daniel James Brown. You can also cheat and watch the movie but as always, the book is infinitely better. #marketingrecruiter #salesrecruiting #medtechrecruiting #hgihtechrecruiting

Friends and Followers Top Guide Posts for this week discuss Pretenders and Shaving. Enjoy! #hiring #toptalent #marketing #leadership https://lnkd.in/gTXR6u4T

Over the past year, I have heard many MedTech startups say that they have a great solution that will become the standard of care. The problem is that funding has become increasingly difficult. Even when a company is commercially available and ready to take the market by storm, investors have been scarce. Just imagine if this always been the case. That terrifying skull saw you see in this post might still be in use. Or the many millions that are alive today would not be without today's medical technology. Here's why investors are so important. Funding Dreams: Just as dreams are free, but the hustle is sold separately, innovating a medical device has its price tag. From the first sketch to its debut in a hospital, there's a lot of cash needed. That's where our financial heroes, the investors, come in. Shouldering the What-ifs: The path from an idea to a real product is like a roller coaster. Investors don't just bring money; they bring in their belief, which means sharing the highs, lows, and the in-betweens. Been There, Done That: Many investors have seen the industry inside out. They're not just checkbooks. They're mentors, guiding lights, and sometimes, even connectors to the right people. The Seal of Trust: When a respected investor believes in a gadget, others sit up and notice. It's like getting that gold star in school; it validates your effort! Making Big Dreams Real: Once the device gets the green light, making it available to everyone is the next big step. Investors help in magnifying the dream – ensuring it reaches from one corner of a room to thousands of clinics worldwide. The Race to Better: With many investors on the lookout, there's this fantastic race - not just to be first, but to be the best. This means we get devices that aren't just cool, but genuinely game-changing. So, while we rightfully applaud the brilliant minds behind medical innovations, let's also give a nod to those who back these dreams with their trust and wallets. Because behind every great device, there's a story of belief and support. Cheers to the unsung heroes! #medicaldevices #innovation #investors #growth

Don’t learn how to shave on my face! As the son of an old school barber, this phrase has particular relevance for me. I remember well the leather belt for sharpening the straightedge razor, the hot towel and the shaving cream dispenser. This simple act that many men perform for themselves everyday gets elevated to a high art form when performed by a master barber. And suffice it to say, the results are dramatically different. So when a client of mine said “This role is so vital to our organization that we need a real pro with a track record of success in this area. In short, I don’t want them to learn to shave on my face!”, I knew exactly what they meant. There is simply too much risk in hiring an unproven person in critical roles. Now more than ever businesses need the steady hands of proven professionals to mitigate risk, achieve their business objectives and build their future success. They need talented, proven marketers, product managers and sales pros as well as other functional areas to get them through the current uncertainties and position them to have explosive growth as the economy recovers in 2024. A mis-hire during the best of times is horribly expensive. In this economy, like an unskilled barber, a mis-hire can literally cut deep into a company’s prospects. In short: Don’t learn how to shave on my face! #hiring #toptalent #marketing #leadership

Several years ago, when I worked for another firm, I had been asked to sit in on an intake call for a senior sales leadership role. The recruiter whose client it was knew little about these roles. At one point the client said that they wanted to be sure the candidates were proficient in SPIN selling. The other recruiter said “Oh, I love SPIN classes. It’s my favorite workout.” I quickly jumped in and said that my colleague was just being funny. I went on to state that I was actually certified in SPIN Selling and had trained UPS account executives in it during my time there. So, we were uniquely qualified to determine who really knew how to effectively use this powerful sales approach. I still wonder why this client didn’t investigate whether or not this recruiter knew much about the role before retaining them. So, what is SPIN Selling? SPIN Selling is a sales technique and methodology developed by Neil Rackham in the late 1980s. The term "SPIN" stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff, which are four types of questions used to guide the sales process. The methodology is based on extensive research conducted by Rackham and his team at Huthwaite, where they analyzed thousands of sales calls and identified patterns of effective sales behaviors. Here's a breakdown of the four types of questions in SPIN Selling: Situation Questions: These questions aim to gather basic information about the prospect's current situation. They help the salesperson understand the context and background of the prospect's business, needs, and challenges. Problem Questions: These questions focus on identifying the problems or challenges that the prospect is facing. The goal is to uncover pain points and issues that the salesperson's product or service could potentially address. Implication Questions: Once the problems are identified, implication questions delve deeper into understanding the consequences of those problems. These questions help the prospect realize the potential negative outcomes or impacts of not solving their problems. Need-payoff Questions: These questions shift the focus to the positive outcomes and benefits that the prospect could achieve by solving their problems. The aim is to help the prospect envision how their situation could improve with the salesperson's solution. The SPIN Selling methodology emphasizes that by asking these types of questions in a structured manner, salespeople can guide the conversation, build rapport, and better understand the prospect's needs. It also helps in aligning the features and benefits of the product or service with the specific problems and needs of the prospect. The core idea behind SPIN Selling is that by focusing on the prospect's problems and needs rather than simply pushing the features of the product, salespeople can create a more consultative and customer-focused sales approach, leading to more successful sales outcomes. #sales #spinselling #recruiter #toptalent

In honor of my favorite season Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson In the other gardens And all up the vale, From the autumn bonfires See the smoke trail! Pleasant summer over And all the summer flowers, The red fire blazes, The grey smoke towers. Sing a song of seasons! Something bright in all! Flowers in the summer, Fires in the fall #fall #toptalent #recruiter #changeofseason

While it is the Halloween Season and pretending you are something you are not is common, it is not ok to do so during the interview process. For employers, this means being true to your employment brand as it is. For example, if your current environment is one in which employees are really expected to be on site Monday through Friday, don't say that you have a flexible work environment. Or at least detail what the flexibility is. Does it mean flexible hours? Or is it something else? For candidates, this means being honest about what your actual achievements have been and what exactly your contribution to those achievements was. Believe it or not, early in my recruiting career, a candidate actually tried to pass off something I had done at their current employer as their own accomplishment. Suffice it to say, when I confronted them on it, they blushed and tried to explain it away. It didn’t work and they were not presented to my client. In either case, not representing yourself or your company honestly never works out. Either the employer finds out that the new employee can’t do what they said they could. Or the new employee finds out that what they were told in the interview process is not reality within the company. In either case, there will be a separation between the parties. Usually, with a considerable amount of animus. And let’s face facts, when that happens people will talk about it. So, don’t be a great pretender. Be honest and be yourself on either side of the hiring process. You will be glad you did in the long run. Employers, if you want some tips on how to determine who’s a Poser versus a Pro, click the following link: https://lnkd.in/gHGtvQmx Candidates, if you want a humorous story on employment branding, click here: (5) Post | Feed | LinkedIn #toptalent #recruiting #marketing #marketingrecruiter #employmentbranding

Marketer, Market Yourself! What is the best product that many marketers appear to never want to market? It’s themselves! Picture this, a CEO named Jesse hops into an elevator with a marketing manager named Jane. Recognizing her, Jesse says “Hi Jane. What’s new?”. Jane says “Not much” or talks about her new puppy. Either response is unlikely to impress Jesse although I am sure she would ask to see a picture of the puppy. Now imagine instead that Jane says “You may have heard that we had a very successful product launch. We expect to beat our planned first year revenue by X%”. Jesse would undoubtedly be more impressed by this news and perhaps ask to learn more about it. When she does, Jane should be prepared to tell a brief impactful story. Have confidence in your marketing accomplishments So, what is the solution? I suggest that people be prepared to interview at any point. Much like networking, so many of us do not do it until absolutely necessary (otherwise known as needing a job). All it takes is a few moments to write up your latest success in a STAR response format when it is fresh in your memory. For more on that, see this recent post on STAR responses (Be A Star!). In over a decade of marketing executive recruitment and during my prior marketing career, I have seen many exceptional marketers get passed over for promotion because they fail to promote themselves. Conversely, I have seen some marginal marketers promote themselves relentlessly. This includes one who tried to pass off a solution that I had created at a prior employer as his own. Suffice it to say, I did not present that candidate to my client. To be clear, I am not talking about relentlessly bragging about yourself or fibbing about your accomplishments. I am merely stating that many times we miss opportunities like this simply because we are either too humble, too reserved or are just unprepared to tell our story. You need to think about yourself as the best product you have to promote. And taking credit for the successes you have had is smart career management. In short, Market Yourself! #marketing #career #promotion #management

Today marks the beginning of the Halloween Season. I thought that this was a good time to write about fear. We all have fears. Some fears are very rational and based upon self-preservation. Like fear of injury or death. Others are irrational such as my fear of wooden popsicle sticks (seriously terrified I will get a splinter in my tongue!) But the thing about most fears is that we often make something out to be far worse than it really is. Like public speaking or interviewing for a job. Our fears can hold us back from opportunities for growth. So, the next time you feel fearful of a situation, ask yourself "Is it really that scary?". Then let your energy propel you forward instead of backward. Now, I'm going to go muscle through a popsicle. However, if they are being sold by a clown, I am out! #marketingrecruiter #salesrecruiter #medtechrecruiter #hightechrecruiter