The Recruiter Campus

No One Ever Remebers Who Came in Second Place!

 Who lost the Super Bowl?  Who lost the World Series last year?  You probably don't remember and at best can come up with the answer only by thinking about it.

Well, now that's me!  :-(  I attended a national coaching conference in Dallas last week and I was one of 3 finalists for "Coaching Entrepreneur of the Year".   I had a well prepared (and funny) presentation, and, well, so did the other finalists.  The competition was tough and I came in 2nd by 2 votes to an incredibly worthy individual named Kelly Thorne from http://ibloom.us/.  Kelly has built a great business at a very early age and is quite an inspiration!  She truly deserved the award.

Here's what the experience taught me.  The biggest value of the whole process was filling out the application.  It made me reflect back on my recruiting coaching practice and focus on where I have come from.  It made me focus on what I have built and the mistakes as well as the wins along the way.  It also made the "gaps" very visible as to what I needed to do to develop the business going forward.

How often do you as a recruiting firm owner refelect on where you have come from?  How often have you reflected on your mistakes, your goof ups?  My long time coach, Pat Scopelliti taught me that there is "no dishonor in failure, the only dishonor is not learning from that failure".  This lesson has made me millions over the years.

Do you tend to blame circumstances, the economy, your health, etc for what holds you back?  There is NO learning there! There is NO personal development there! 

The past is over, you can't change it... GET OVER IT! Do, however ANALYZE it.  Ask questions like "What was it in me that brought this outcome?", and/or "Knowing what I know now, what will I do in a similar situation next time?
 

Recruiters- Do You Have Trouble Planning?

One of the first challenges recruiting firm owners and recruiters bring to me as a coach is "Mike, I need help planning" and/or (read a 'whining' sound into this) "I don't plan well or at all!"

Well I have good news and bad news!  This won't be the 157th article you read on good planning, on how to devote a period of your day to map out strategically what you will do next week and tomorrow.  Don't get me wrong, I believe you need to do this, but just between you and me-- please keep this a secret-- I was HORRIBLE at it!  That doesn't mean I didn't plan, but putting together lists, filling in forms made me want to stick needles in my eyes!!

Here is what it took me over 10 years to learn.  Most likely poor planning is a result of the recruiter or recruiting firm owner having a very weak short and long term vision for their business.  You see, "making a lot of money" is NOT a vision and frankly it is not even compelling until you can answer "How MUCH money?" and for "What SPECIFIC purpose?"

Here's a quick question to see if this applies to you:

Recruiting Firm Owners: The Power and Leverage From Masterminding

 I have recently returned from a "mini" west coast tour having spoken at the California Staffing Professionals Retreat (see post below) then flying to Palm Springs, CA for a "master mind" meeting  with a group of about 15 other trainers, authors, speakers and coaches.  None of these were from the recruiting industry.  

You might be wondering what I get from a meeting of people NOT from the recruiting industry.  Good question!  First, Napoleon Hill's research indicates being part of a mastermind group is one of the key priciples of success based on his interviews with over 500 extremely wealthy and successful people.

Second, from these meetings I bring innovative ways