The Fine Art of Procrastination

In my first blog of the year I suggested that one of my new years resolutions would be to write a new blog entry once every two weeks.. unfortunately I have failed towards the end of the first quarter but as my colleagues and long suffering wife will testify, I have been clocking up more air-miles than a BA pilot this past month. Lots of inspiration for future blogs from these travels though on subjects that include traffic in Southern California, why the Bay Area has such a great talent pool and a depressing comment on the state of the (practically non-existent) service culture in the UK.. all related to Executive Search, of course.. But for the first entry it would seem that Procrastination is an apt subject!

Now, I lead a bit of a double life when it comes to procrastination.. a kind of Jeckyl and Hyde. Professionally, and in my industry, I feel that procrastination is a career killer. The last thing you ever want is a client to call you asking for an update. You always want to be ahead of the game so regular status updates are essential, even if bad news has to occasionally be delivered. It better to over-communicate to a client than leave them wanting. On a project you always want to be working at least a few days ahead of deliverables and keep close to time-scales.

Keeping the whole assignment on track and the various parties engaged is always a challenge and the skills in doing that and, ultimately, "making it happen" is part of the value that a good headhunter brings. Sometimes this involves doing a lot of the less glamorous grunt work first (writing long Assignment Briefs, Interview Reports, pouring over stacks of candidate resumes) but "eating that frog" is good conditioning and keeps the discipline that makes delivery a predictable outcome on every project. (Eat That Frog is a book by Brian Tracy which talks about ways to eliminate procrastination in ones life.. the idea that doing the thing you least want to do first "Eat That Frog" is part of the answer http://www.amazon.com/That-Frog-Great-Ways-Procrastinating/dp/1583762027)

The non-professional side involves the large pile of my vinyl collection that has been sitting in the lounge gathering dust months since my last visit to Amoeba records in LA (one of the worlds best record stores for any fellow record collectors) and that squeaking door in the kitchen that needs to be fixed. Nobody can ever accuse me of letting a domestic chore get in the way of a shortlist though!

Procrastination can afflict many recruitment projects in ways that are outside the control of the headhunter.. Sometimes we are engaged in a project at the 11th hour when the client has their backs against the wall with a role to hire that is now truly critical... This can sometimes cause people to try and cut corners and the investment of time in a "proper process" can seem daunting. Now I am definitely one for employing smart process but to do a quality job you need to invest a certain degree of time.

My advice to somebody responsible for thinking of making an executive hire: get your trusted search partner involved early in the process. Even if you ultimately decide to make the appointment internally or restructure, their insight will be valuable. Also, allow longer for the process than you think. However tightly you manage the process there are often unavoidable delays and, like my mantra of being ahead of the game, it would be a nice surprise and bonus to get the person on board before you needed them right? (how often does that happen!). The earlier you involve a the headhunter the more value they can bring in scoping the role, advising on the market and sometimes challenging your view on the candidate profile. While, to be fair, procrastination is often not the route of the issue (and calling the recruiter may be "eating that frog" on that particular days agenda) it will save you a lot of time in the long run.

So acquiring a taste for frogs is definitely good in this profession.. not just because you have to eat them.. but in finding the dream shortlist we certainly have to kiss a lot of frogs too!