Passion and Capability - Chapter 8

I hadn't seen him in days and was going into a friendship withdrawal...so I decided that I would stop in at his house and see him on my way home...

I rang his doorbell and heard him yell, "the door is open...come on in..."

I let myself in and found him in his study, working at his PC.

"What are you up to?" I inquired...

"Just updating my resume...there finished!" he declared

The state of the art (at that time), laser printer hummed and spit out a single page.  He reached down took it from the printer and handed it to me.

"What do you think of it?" he asked

Before I looked, I wondered what font it was written in...his resume should cover 20 pages if printed in a readable font...

I looked down and I know that my face conveyed a message that he was not expecting...

The resume simply had his name at the top...

The next three lines...his contact information...

and then a bullet list of ten successful experiences...

at the bottom of the page...the following line...

I am looking to apply, what I have learned from those ten experiences, to your company and take your profitability to a higher level.  Call me if you are interested, and if you are not interested, call me and I will further explain what you are missing.

For anyone but him...I would have to say that this sounded a bit arrogant...

"That is definitely a nontraditional resume," I commented...

"How many are you going to send out?" I asked

"Just one..."

I had to laugh...perhaps at his naivete...perhaps because I knew that was really all he had to do...

"Why did you look like you did?  I was a bit worried that I made some major error."

"I am wondering what you were updating...this doesn't look like the resumes that I am used to..."

"I changed my phone so I put the new number on it.  I also changed my ten experiences to match what I want to do next."

"But let's divert a bit...Traditional resumes are interesting vehicles. They are traditional...and from their use...the best a person can expect...is traditional results..."

"...it is simple supply and demand...if there is more people than jobs...then a resume works poorly...if there are more jobs than people...the resume works well.  The bottom line is that you can tweak them...but traditional methods produce traditional results..."

"Non-traditional resumes work either better or worse than traditional ones...but that depends more on the person than the paper!"


He continued to explain what used to be on his list and how he had leveraged those experiences into his current challenges...

His explanation faded into the background of my consciousness and I mentally traveled back to a discussion that we had many years ago...

"There are two types of people within organizations...people who chase money and position and those who chase experience..."

"My advice to you is that for the next 20 to 30 years you chase the latter...experience..."

"Money and position for those who have not earned the right to it...is for short-sighted individuals who simply need immediate gratification..."

"Experience is an investment...in your future and critical components that help guarantee your success..."

"Some may argue that working in a higher level position gives a person experience...I have really never seen that happen...if a person happens to get a high level job and they are incapable...the experiential part of the job is usually delegated to subordinates..."

"In fact...many of the jobs that you should seek...should be working for people like that...you'll be given and gain more experience than you ever would...if you work for a competent leader!" 

A lot of time has passed and my list of successful experiences has grown...since that conversation...

"Perhaps my resume should start looking like his..." I thought...

"You win some and you lose some...if you learn something from those losses...you win in either case...and both are investments in greater success in your next assignment..."

I liked the way he looked at things...and I was always impressed that he not only talked a good game...it was his game...

"There is a local company that has some problems..." I heard as his voice and it brought me back to the present...

"I have never worked in that industry...So I made this list of experiences that should give the reader the epiphany..."I NEED THIS GUY!  I am going to send it off tomorrow"

"Have you ever done this before?" I asked

"What?  Sought out new experiences...or used a resume like this?" he asked in clarification

"The resume?" I responded

"This is the only way I have sought out the jobs and the experiences I wanted...but that took time..."

"In 10 or so years...you'll be able to do the same...until then...go the traditional route...and use your interviews to direct the obvious conclusions..."

"I want decisions to be simple...complicated documents, lead to complicated decisions...and more often than not...the wrong ones..."

"This is true not only in job searches...but in everything you do...make the documents simple and straight-forward...and let the reader draw the conclusions..."

"...if they can't make the right decision...take the time to work with them..."

 "So how is your half-man doing?" he shifted the conversation without taking a breath...

"He is doing great...Actually, I think he has changed more than his department..."

"His obsession for running really got to my nerves...I wrote him off...because it appeared that he didn't want to be engaged...then I realized that he wanted to be engaged...he just didn't know how..."

"I figured that he didn't start running half-marathons immediately and probably started running a mile or so...and then worked his way up to the 12 miles...so I used the same tactic on him as a manager..."

"I asked for his help in things that he easily could accomplish and built his confidence...then I stretch him little by little...using the techniques that a trainer and a coach would use on a runner..."

"That was when I realized that I was not a professional Process Improvement person...I was a professional manager...aspiring to be a leader...at this point in my career...I am a trainer and a coach...and my goal was to train and coach leaders...I can run their departments...and often have to do that as an interim...but while I am doing that...I am teaching the real leaders how to do that..."

"That is what a professional manager does...I just happen to use the Continuous Improvement Management Methodology as my preferred method of managing people, processes and technology..."

"If I am doing my job correctly...I set the stage for my departure...which I think is getting close..."

"Perhaps I will need to create a resume that sets me up for my next experience..."

"I do not think you'll have to do that...if you do...that organization is absolutely foolish...but if I were you...I would not count on them to recognize who was at the helm...they could get arrogant and make the wrong decisions...thinking that it was their doing...or thinking that they have learned enough..."

"It is sad that organizations tout that they are learning machines...and miss the fact that learning is an infinite journey..." 

"Let's make a list of the challenge that you faced...the successes that you had and what you learned from your failures..."

"An interesting thing about my resume...it is my tactic..."

"For you...I think it is your strategy..."

"Perhaps you are ready to use my resume format...but not like I use it"

"What do you want to experience next?"

"...and let's add a few of the elements that you learned from other experiences..."

"What company do you want to work for next?"

We went entirely through a series of surgical questions that quickly developed a piece of paper that looked like his...but took me down an entirely different path...

"Now what are you talking about with a tactical and a strategic slant to it's use?" I asked...

"Tactically...I send out the short version and keep the traditional resume for the face to face interview..."

"Strategically...you'll do just the opposite.  Send the traditional resume and save the short version for the face to face."

"That is an interesting angle." I observed...

"Until you have made a reputation for yourself...you'll need to use the traditional method...and use contacts to get where you want to go...but you need to know where you want to go...in order to get there!"

"The short version is the map to your destination"

"What a cool thought!" I said in growing excitement
"Perhaps we can mail our next jobs out together..."

"I think that I'll wait on mine...until I know what their decision is," I replied

"Loyalty...that I one of the things that sets you apart my friend...I like that!"  he smiled...

"Have you ever considered teaching that as part of your organizational change package?"

"WOW! talk about shifting gears on me!"

"My opinion is that true loyalty is something that is earned and not taught...and it is a two-way street...with one party making the first move...that's a cliche however..."

"Now that I think about it...loyalty can be taught...my instruction would begin with the real meaning of that cliche...that is the mind set necessery to being loyal...it ends with a behavior set of absolute consistency of behaviors that had the best interests of theirs in mind..."

"Lacking either set...and the effort is fruitless..."

"While we are on the subject of mind sets...let's discuss your resume..."

"A resume...or the CV is a tool that has many purposes...yet most people only use it for marketing..."

"The question that you have to ask yourself is...Am I simply looking for sales...or do I really have something of value to sell?...if you have something specific...then go out there and sell it!  That will differentiate you from the ocean of people who use the traditional vehicle...traditionally...and make your results...non-traditional!"

"Can we print a copy of my short version?"

"I already did!"