You would never hire me as your next executive director, regional manager or even marketing director. It would be totally logical, based on traditional metrics . . . and it would be huge mistake. I better back-up just a tad . . . I am not job hunting. Between publishing Senior Housing Forum and my responsibilities at Vigil Health Solutions I work about a 70 hour week and I am having the most fun I have ever had, in my whole work career. I AM NOT JOB HUNTING.
Why You Would Never Hire Me
There are two reasons why you wouldn’t hire me:
- I don’t have the traditional experience you are looking for. I have never been an executive director or regional manager.
You would be scared to death to hire me because I have no track record. Hiring me would be high risk based on traditional metrics; if I failed, my fault or not, it would make you look bad to be the one that hired me. On the other hand if you hire someone with the right pedigree and it was a disaster, you would be protected. (Just another application of the old saw, no one ever got fired for buying IBM.)
Even worse, if I were exceptionally successful, you would at best, only get only a little more credit than if you hired someone who was just average but safe. The bottom line is that the risk reward equation presents terrible odds.
- I don’t have a license. It doesn’t matter that it would take me just one week to go through a California Assisted Living certification class (my state). And while if I needed a skilled nursing license, it would be more complicated because someone who is licensed, would need to hang their license in my community for a significant period of time, but not an impossible problem.
Why You Should Hire Me . . . even though you won’t
I am a senior housing expert. I am not tainted by a particular corporate or institutional bias or cynicism. I have been in hundreds . . . no thousands of senior housing communities. I understand the thinking and benefits of both for profit and not-for-profit organizations. I have been a developer, operator and vendor. I can tell the difference between great and good and terrible senior communities. I have talked to hundreds of residents, staff members and dozens of families. I am bright, I am curious, I am friendly, I am empathetic. I know how to motivate people. I am creative. I can look at a problem and work with the team to create solutions and get staff buy in. People like me. People like being around me. I can make decisions. I can be tough when needed. You might not think so, but learning the nuts and bolts of operational, and regulatory systems is not that big a challenge, and not because I am particularly bright.
The Bottom Line
Hiring the right leader has a lot more to do with that person having the ability to lead than having a proper pedigree. The hiring process needs to put more emphasis on personality, in other words someone who can genuinely play the part.
Have you taken smart hiring risks with spectacular results?
Steve Moran
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Finally: If you know anyone who is looking at emergency call systems I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with them about Vigil Health Solutions.
