Think Growth, Not Self-Preservation
December 2008
In the most recent Getting to the Top programs, CEOs and executives in Silicon Valley and Southern California shared their advice on what to do in uncertain economic times and the overwhelming message was to take advantage of the opportunity for growth. Read further in this newsletter for additional perspective on this topic.
Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc, is taking the advice to heart and is offering the following services in addition to our VP/Director-level recruiting services for technology and services companies:
1) New line of contingent searches for individual contributor hires in sales, product management and marketing
2) Strategic Diagnostic Assessments on company strategy and executive talent, in partnership with Dr. Cheemin Bo-Linn
3) Introductions to a Private Equity advisory firm of qualified C-level executives looking for deals rather than jobs
4) Career services and coaching on targeted job search and Getting to the Top
For more information, continue reading, call, or send me an email. And, please check out our new searches. Happy holidays to all!
Sincerely,
Kathy
Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc. – Executive Recruiters
650-458-8775
In This Issue
- Feature article: Think Growth, Not Self-Preservation
- Current searches
- News
- Upcoming events
Feature Article
Think Growth, Not Self-Preservation
By Kathy Ullrich
“Self-preservation is the worst mistake a CEO can make,” shared StrongMail CEO Sam Cece at the most recent Getting to the Top program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “The role of the CEO is growth of a business and if the CEO is worried about self-preservation, he cannot be effective at growing the company. Just like the fastest race car drivers on the track, the best CEOs need to go for it. If you make decisions based on keeping your job, you will get crushed.”
The same concept may apply to companies in uncertain economic times. Of course companies may have some belt tightening to shore up resources; beyond that are the strategic moves that can put a company ahead of competitors as the recession dissipates.
A McKinsey Quarterly article, Preparing for the next downturn, a report sharing learnings from the previous recession, stated that despite many companies toppling from the top quartile, “Fifteen percent of companies that had not been market leaders prior to the last recession vaulted into these positions during it.” These companies had several common characteristics entering the downturn: balance sheet flexibility through lower debt-to-equity, operating flexibility from reducing costs, and diversified product offerings, including geographic diversity. All these gave the companies strategic flexibility to take advantage of opportunities.
To set the strategy and execute on it, companies need the right talent. For employees of all levels, self-preservation can mean doom. Employees need to think through how their efforts drive revenue or strategic flexibility for the company.
As Silicon Valley came out of the last tech recession, I was quoted in USA Today. Google had hired Minton Cerf, father of the Internet, and the reporter wanted comments on companies’ use of executive recruiters. That was a time of major companies in Silicon Valley – SAP, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo -- hiring numerous executive recruiters in building toward business growth strategies.
During weaker economic times, many key executives remain in positions rather than face unemployment and are therefore open to a new job for the right opportunity.
I encourage companies to think about not the incremental, but the big move that will propel the company, whether strategic or people changes. In softening markets, it is the perfect time to take advantage of growth opportunities over others worrying about self-preservation.
Current Searches
Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc. recruits C-suite, VP, Director and Individual Contributor level hires across the functions of General Management, Product Marketing/Management, Marketing, Sales and Consulting for technology and services companies.
Our current searches are in marketing, business development, sales, consulting, and finance as follows:
- SVP Manufacturing Operations for a retail products company
- Director of Interactive Marketing for an automotive e-commerce company
- CFO for a San Diego-based resort company
- Manager for the leading global payments strategy consulting firm
- President/Fundraiser for healthcare-focused early state start-up
- Account Executives for SaaS company
Despite the economic situation, we continue to get calls weekly for new searches so check our website periodically for the newest searches. For more information, visit www.ullrichassociates.com.
News
In addition to retained executive search services, Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce new lines of business to help with your company or career growth.
1) Contingent Searches for Individual Contributor Hires. Kathryn Ullrich Associates introduces Coleman Brinckerhoff, a recruiter and researcher with over 10 years of experience with Stanton Chase and other boutique recruiting firms. Coleman is working on individual contributor sales and marketing searches for the firm.
2) Strategic Assessments on Business Strategy and Executive Team. Together with Dr. Cheemin Bo-Linn, former VP Marketing and Sales at IBM, we are offering strategic diagnostics to help companies assess their strategies and people.
3) Partnership with M&A Advisory Firm. We are selectively meeting and introducing qualified C-level executives with general management, sales, turnaround and P&L experience from companies with over $300 million revenue to an M&A Advisory firm for potential Private Equity deals. These are opportunities for senior executives looking for deals, not jobs.
4) Coaching on Job Search and Getting to the Top. For executives needing extra career advice, we are setting aside time on a weekly basis to coach executives on career strategy, resume writing, targeted job search and Getting to the Top.
Upcoming Events
Happy holidays!
The Getting to the Top series continues in 2009 at Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson School, and adds USC Marshall and London Business School to the schedule.
More details on these events will be available next year at www.GettingToTheTop.com
More Information
For more information on Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc. and our executive recruiting services, please call 650-458-8775, email Kathryn@ullrichassociates.com or visit