Ask any biologist and they will be quick to confirm that extreme habitual safety is actually hazardous to living organisms. Many people naturally seek safe and comfortable environments or patterns of living that could be dangerous to their well-being. Here is an example to demonstrate the biological danger. If you plant a tree in an office building, the tree will continue to grow until it becomes too top heavy and topples. It topples because the roots never develop as the tree lives in an extremely safe environment – never buffeted by a rain, wind or snow. Challenging yourself is uncomfortable and often requires some pain and suffering – but it is critical if you want to weather life’s storms.
Embracing Challenge and Change to Drive Success
Successful people ardently pursue their groove in life. That groove is the habitual effort to challenge and thus transform themselves. Everything else is likely a rut. Throughout his career Tiger Woods was working with a coach to refine his golf swing, even at his very peak. Barry Bonds was one of the greatest hitters to ever play baseball and he reportedly spoke daily with Willie Mays about hitting, always in pursuit of the perfect swing/approach. Many CEO’s work closely with an executive coach to challenge themselves despite being at the top of the corporate world. What are you doing to challenge yourself?
Some challenges will be thrust upon you circumstantially. But unlike the tree in my example, humans are the only living organisms that can choose to challenge themselves. We can impact our own growth and strength. The more you are challenged – by choice or by chance – the deeper your roots will go and the stronger you will become.
Find Your Executive Recruiting Groove
The HansenBack Team has continuous refined our approach to create an executive search groove. We help our Clients constantly challenge convention. Convention in the executive recruiting business produces a 60% 18 month new hire retention rate (40% of new executives are gone within 18 months). That statistic is a very bad and very expensive rut. HansenBack has delivered a 97% success rate. How? In addition to challenging our own biases and beliefs, we challenge yours – and candidates as well. Here is one example. The approach used by most search firms is a scientific or academic process. Candidates are assessed, tested, poked, and prodded throughout the hiring process. HansenBack understands the ideal hiring process is fundamentally a human endeavor and not a scientific or academic one. If the process is human, then the approach must be focused on building authentic relationships. When you are in the scientific/academic hiring rut, you will fail 40% of the time. To insure success when you hire your next executive, you must embrace challenge and create the right groove for your process to flourish. If you are curious, please call us – we love to share our approach.
