MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

Popularized by "mad men" marketing wonks in days gone by, "must be present to win" is the tag line you've seen and heard a thousand times in contest rules. Face it, no one is going to hand you the keys to the pretty sports car in the window based on you scribbling your name on the equivalent of a cocktail napkin - you have to be there when the drawing is conducted with legitimate identification at the ready. With the evolution of online media, being "present" has taken on new meaning. With the a few screen flicks and a little typing anyone can be present on the glorious worldwide web. Cool! Uh, really though? I mean, you can have the prettiest web page or most well-written article but if no one sees it you are the equivalent of one hand clapping. And who wants to be that?! Not so helpful for your career....yes Virginia, you need to be present to be noticed!

Bill Gates Sr. writes about this in his current book "Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime." A quick read written by a gracious and intelligent man, the concept is beautiful in it's simplicity. Early in my recruiting career when internet technology was in it's nascent stage the tools I had as a recruiter to attract a diverse pool of talent were fewer than today. But I often thought it odd to be asked how my employer could attract, for example, more securities lawyers, when those we had in that role did not network among their colleagues who worked elsewhere. It seemed so basic to me. Looking across the desk my question back would always be "who do you talk to, and where do you go where you meet others like you?" The answer stems from the same basic premise: you must be present. Whether it is your career or your kids or your personal life, if you don't show up then you do not have any kind of presence and will lose out to whoever is there and whatever is going on in your absence. Call it what you will, the result is the equivalent of one hand clapping, everyone else moving forward while you stand still, acceptance in silence. Ouch.

Being present can take several forms. My list starts here:

• Listen. Completely, thoroughly, attentively, listen. Multi-tasking while you are on the phone? I bet you are not getting, or giving, that conversation the full attention it deserves. While you tell yourself you are being efficient with your time, you may be easily missing out on important content of the call. Worse yet, whatever else you are doing at the same time isn't getting your full attention either! No need to wonder why laws are cropping up legislating that people just hang up and drive. Focus your attention on hearing every word and observing every expression in a conversation, and engage in it, fully.
• Be in diverse communities. Does your organization have people who actively participate in activities where women and people of color are present? Good, because that is far more effective than the tag line on the bottom of your career page that says you welcome people from diverse backgrounds. Mean and do what you tell others is important to you and your company.
• Interact in person. Oh I love the internet and email, you can reach so many people and quickly. Remember the days before email and VOIP when we were only on the phone during "normal" business hours and live conversation dominated? Trust me, I am happily an email power user these days, but in my line of business particularly there is still no substitute for the in-person interaction. Corporate cultures are not created telecommuting, and you will miss the total experience if you are not there to interact with others.
• Observe and process. Act on the information and knowledge at your disposal. I don't mean to beat up on mobile phone technology, but did you see the online article about the teenager who fell into an open sewer because she was texting while walking down the street? Unpleasant to be sure and dangerous, to say nothing of the liability. Use your senses to observe what is going on in the world around you. Whether it is sidewalk construction in your path or world events, there is so much information available to us that we have no excuse for not paying attention. Scrutinize and absorb what you see and hear. Think about it critically, and act on it. So many people do not do this that you will be ahead of the game by this simple step alone.
• Network. Interested in art? Go to art galleries or a guided gallery tour and I bet you will meet like-minded people. Curious about another industry or market segment? Your local business journal probably sponsors free breakfast-hour talks given by local business leaders. Updating your CLE credits at a seminar? Strike up a conversation with the human sitting next to you or make it a point to exchange business cards with one other person in attendance. Voila, you just expanded your professional network. Easy.
  Be attentive to yourself. How you present yourself sends a message just as important as the words you use. Use spell check when you write. You don't have to spend a lot of money on clothes or grooming products, but be mindful of what your image says about you. Ask someone if you need help finding things that fit or look good. Think of it as part of being all you can be.
  

I will leave you with an example. I will never forget a candidate I interviewed once who I was recruiting for a lobbyist position. Being a Washington D.C. insider does not happen overnight, and requires a great deal of finesse and skill to penetrate and become a member of networks not easily joined by outsiders. It can be a bit of what comes first the chicken or the egg kind of proposition. I wanted to know how he did it, so I asked him what methods he used to subtly gather information and meet people. I won't give away all his secrets, but the one that perked my ears was his choice of cash machine. He made it a point to always use the one near the Senate building so he could increase his odds of bumping into a key staffer or member of Congress. The point was to go where he could increase his odds of being seen by people he wanted to see. He isn't a household name, but he is very successful. I can tell you that some years later when we had dinner together in D.C., our dining booth had more traffic than Grand Central Station. It seemed like EVERYBODY knew this guy. Impressive.

Like everything else in life, it is about striking a balance. Stop for minute and consider how much more you can get out of your career and your life by being present in every sense. Now close your email and get back to work!

Memorable impressions

I was inspired today by the power of a great memory, and it sent my mind abuzz with thinking of all sorts of parallels to my professional and personal life.

I was attending the funeral of Bob, technically my great uncle - he was married to my grandmother's youngest sister on my father's side of the family. Growing up, I simply referred to them as aunt Mary and uncle Bob. Aunt Mary is alive and kicking and pushing her mid-90's. Bob passed a few months ago at the tender age of 95, shortly after renewing his drivers license. These were, and are, active, alert, life loving people, despite their chronological age. Bob was a compassionate and talented man who lived a relatively simple, long, and happy life in rural America.

So I am standing graveside on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon in a tiny rural town in southwest Washington. Few people are in attendance, among them an elderly couple who looked vaguely familiar. I come from a big Italian family and all of us are predisposed to being gregarious and the center of social activity. My grandparents and their siblings were all very social, entertaining people in their homes as long as I can remember. Family, neighbors, friends, a lot of Italian community folks, everybody at some point rotated through my grandparents house for dinner or socializing every weekend. Over the years my big extended family tree has grown smaller, so that attending funerals at this stage of my life (let's call it 50-ish), is not particularly uncommon. My dad, a spry 86 this July, knows everybody, or so it seems to me. I thought nothing of him talking to this elderly couple. Everybody seems to know my dad. He and the elderly gentleman were obviously engaged in a warm and familiar conversation, smiling, laughing, very convivial. A short time later this gentleman approached me and in one breath introduced himself, extended his hand, and asked my name. "Hello, I am Alisa Tazioli" I replied, and nodding in the direction of my dad, said "I am Eddie's youngest daughter." I was greeted with a beaming smile, and words I never expected to hear . . . "Oh yes, I went on a date with your grandmother."

Let me pause here for a minute. Carrying a distinctive last name that is rare in this country, much less the one my ancestors came from, it is not uncommon when I meet someone who has EVER met another person with my last name to immediately blurt out the the question "oh, are you related to . . .?" followed by the name of any one of my aforementioned gregarious relatives. I am no spring chicken either but am among the youngest of my generation, so most people know someone older than me. But my grandmother?! She passed in her mid-80's when I was, well, considerably younger. She would have been well over 100 by now. Who WAS this man?!

He then proceeded to recount to me a story of traveling to Seattle in his youth with my uncle Gino and aunt Alice (another of my grandmother's sisters), who suggested they call my grandmother for a night out on the town, hanging out at a night club where there was music, dancing, and lots of other Italians. It is what people did in that era. My grandmother was a petite somewhat reserved earnest family devoted woman. She was never boisterous or loud. She was an intelligent conversationalist, and loved nothing more than to be surrounded by family anytime anywhere, so a call from her sister visiting from Portland would surely get her attention. My grandfather loved staying at home, and although they rarely were apart, on this rare night apparently my grandmother decided to go out with her sister, her brother-in-law, and their gentleman friend - the man now standing before me. Nothing nefarious, just a fun night out.

With a memory no doubt somewhat clouded by the passage of time, this elderly gentleman nonetheless recounted the evening events with great clarity. They visited multiple clubs in downtown Seattle where Italian musicians were performing, one club had a new Italian chef recently arrived from Lucca (the motherland!), and they stayed out until "after hours" courtesy of one restaurant proprietor. They laughed, drank, sang, socialized, and had a night of fun. Among the remnants of his memory he described with great precision my grandmother's laugh, her smile, and her demeanor. "I'll never forget it" he said with a bright smile and gleam in his eye. This gentleman is easily in his 90's. The memory of this evening had to be at least 60 years prior. It was sweet and clear. Impressive. I can't remember where I put the ear thumps to my iPod and he can remember a few hours out of his vast life like it was yesterday. THAT is what I call memorable. Something so riveting it sears an enduring home in your memory so that you can recall it at a snap decades later. Say what you will about how older people recall memories of events years earlier when they have trouble recalling yesterday's lunch, but the way he described it was obvious and powerful.

It got me thinking about what creates enduring impressions. In the modern day we are bombarded with media, music blaring in every retail outlet, billboards that spin with graphics and neon, cell phones ringing everywhere all the time, televisions in airports with pundits and spin doctors loudly espousing their controversial views, even advertising placards in restrooms! We are all so drenched with this stuff it is lucky we can remember where we are going, yet advertisers are assaulting our senses every waking moment. On a planet inhabited by billions of people in this media overload era, how do we distinguish ourselves at all? Has life has become so busy and crowded in the 21st century? Is it harder because there are so many more people? Are we numb to it all now, or just not paying attention? Or are we so oriented to the masses that we lose sight of the individual that is right in front of us?

I linger on that last question a lot. It is part of what I think about every day. I am an executive search consultant for the worlds' largest search firm devoted solely to recruiting lawyers for our client law firms and corporate legal departments around the world. Our firm serves hundreds of clients, large and small, and individually I easily speak with hundreds of lawyers and the people they work with every year. Over a recruiting career that is a little shy of 20 years, that equates to a lot of people. I talk to employers and candidates alike who are as unique as their individual fingerprints. So what makes others stand out among the rest? Part of what I do for a living is help my client distinguish themselves to attract top talent, and to help that top talent distinguish themselves from other talented and capable people. Especially in the current economy, whether you are a candidate or an employer, you better stand out too. Look at your odds if you don't. But with all the sensory overload, it isn't a numbers game or who shouts the loudest. It's about the impression you create.

I have noticed a fair amount of trade chatter recently around employment branding. Admittedly I have not read much on the topic yet, but seems to me it relates to distinction. A few observations:

Employers:
Honestly define yourself. Hold up the mirror and inspect the image, warts and all. That which defines you is what others see, so if you are candid about it you will attract the right people. The most intelligent employer brand marketing describes a company's corporate culture and values consistent with what employees experience and what the company or firm expects from their employees routinely. Expect long hours and reward with generous bonuses? Say it! An egalitarian structure where every fee earner is a partner and has a truly equal vote in major decisions? Spell it out! Mo matter how big of a company you are, the truth is you don't want everyone to work for you. The people you want are the ones who have the attributes necessary to succeed in your unique organization. It does no good to stand in front of the mirror and say that you look like everyone else when you don't. "We hire the best and brightest" . . . like your closest 100 competitors say anything different. Employers who appeal to the masses will get exactly that = masses. Don't appeal to a ,mass audience expecting to net specifically oriented highly talented individuals. In the legal profession, yes there are hundreds of great lawyers out there. Not all of them are going to be great in your organization. Focus on finding the few who will excel in your unique culture, and don't spend your time on the hundreds who might because you are afraid of missing someone. You will never make a decision, and you will alienate good people in the process because you cannot show them who you are as a company.

Candidates:
Know thy self. Yep you have smarts, experience, maybe a few things that aren't your strength but you can you do it all, right? Well, not really. Even if you graduated summa grand pooh-bah, you really are not all things to all people, nor do you want to be. That jack of all trades master of none guy was never the king of anything, much less his own career. Where's the destiny and accomplishment in that? You do want to be memorable for the right opportunity at the right time. I am a big fan of "the list." Start with a pad of paper and a pen, one column for what you like, one for what you don't like, and one very short one for items you are willing to compromise. Make your list without distractions, without regard to specific employers. Don't be trite or gimmicky. Do be honest about your strengths so you can maximize them, your weaknesses so you can minimize them, and what truly motivates you so that you can find it. Be true to your list in your search. Gear your questions around it when you explore opportunities with a prospective employer. Evaluate it again when you get an offer. Enjoying your work will bring the best rewards. You will be happier in the long run, and when that happens you will be more productive, your employer will reward you, and in it you might actually have fun.

Distinct candidate, meet the perfect employer. It should be so much easier, shouldn't it? It can be memorable, real, and powerful. And maybe it will put a gleam in your eye.