Fresh Mindset
As my firm takes on a new fiscal year, I can’t help thinking of this time as being reminiscent of the start of a new calendar year. You know the feeling… That first-week-of-January-feel, when you have it all figured out how you’re going to improve as a person…You talk about getting in better shape by actually using your gym membership and eating real food that doesn’t come in a cardboard box… You’re going to make a better effort at keeping in touch with friends and family you’ve become distant with, or just flat out earn more money…. All those things are great, and achievable – but what gets you there before all that? A new mindset.
I’m not implying you should become a totally new person, but making minor tweaks to the way you approach your day-to-day life, and sticking with them, can change your personal and professional life. I write this from the point of view of a headhunter, but the following can apply to EVERYONE – including my clients and candidates...
Growth Mindset > Fixed Mindset
What’s the difference? A Fixed Mindset wants to prove it is smart, while a Growth Mindset wants to get even smarter. A person with a growth mindset jumps at any chance to take on additional learning opportunities and upgrade their skills… Are you a sales rep or sales manager that is having trouble getting through an obstacle in a sales process? Instead of approaching this obstacle as a threat, try taking it on as a challenge that’s going to allow you to grow because odds are that you’ll run into a similar scenario in the future. Most software sales are about showing the value of your product. It is mostly not a commoditized industry where you are fighting a competitor on price. Think ROI and interpret the obstacle you’re facing as a way to tell yourself you can ramp up your strategy, effort and resources differently.
CANDIDATES - The Growth Mindset Applies to the Job You WANT
As a recruiter, I like to put candidates into three different “buckets”:
- Circumstantial Candidates: individuals who will only go on an interview if the job is “x” and pays “x”
- One-off Candidates: I contact them and explain a specific job opening, and they’re interested and go out on an interview for it.
- Imperative Candidates: those who hate their current job/company/boss and need to make a move ASAP. These people especially should focus on the job they want, not the job they hate. This is essentially the “law of attraction” theory – everything that comes into your life, you are attracting.
Which type of candidate are you? Are you focused on getting the job you want and the goals you need to achieve in order to get there-- or are you focused on how unlucky you are that your company got acquired, and a whole new management team is coming in just three weeks after you started?
SALES LEADERS/HIRING MANAGERS - Yes, Growth Mindset Can Apply to You Too!
Sometimes I may take on a new search and the client says, “Hey Mike, I’m looking for a VP of Sales in SF to manage nine sales reps, but we are going to pay them $145k base and nothing higher.” This can sometimes be a yellow flag for me because a $145k base for a Sales VP in, let’s say, Silicon Valley is way below market comp average, especially when there is no room for flexibility on pay. Of course I do understand budgets may be tight and you may have your limits of what you can spend on a person. However, it is important to ask yourself if you are doing everything possible to get over this obstacle? Are you talking to the CEO or appropriate people to express the importance of this position and how it seriously can determine the success of the company? Maybe you have the power to adjust or reallocate resources to add spending $$ into your budget for that crucial VP role. Sometimes it is completely out of your control, but try to approach it with the growth mindset before you give up.
So whether it’s the beginning of a new month, new sales quarter or new chapter in life, attack it with a fresh mindset. Figure out what your goals are and assemble a solid plan to achieve them. You have a choice to either create a fixed or growth-based life .... I know which one mine will be!
TELL ME ABOUT THE TALENT OR JOBS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. Get in touch with me today!