Maccabeus Insights – Q3 2021

Perspective Is… Everything

We’ve all heard the saying, “Perspective is everything.”  While many folks will tell you that this saying is basically a form of “perception is reality”; which has been attributed to political strategist Lee Atwater who was best known for his work on George H.W. Bush’s U.S. Presidential campaign in the late 1980’s.  Atwater used the phrase when talking about the importance of public relations to campaigning and was said to be “ahead of his time” with this idea.  But, Lee Atwater was really borrowing from an Eternal Truth that has been taught, shared, and discussed for over 2 millennia.

In his book, “The 4:8 Principle“, New York Times and The Wall Street Journal best-selling author Tommy Newberry focuses Executives about thinking differently, about thinking in a way that maximizes an executive’s and their company’s and team’s potentials for success – a success that can only be found in true, unobliterated joy.  To Newberry, because most people are oblivious to their habitual way of thinking, they experience less joy, success, and a less-abundant life than God intends for them.  While this may seem obvious to many, it’s often missed even though negative and positive thinking and leadership are metrics that are critically important to Companies, Executive Leadership Teams, Boards of Directors, Employees, and bottom-line results.  While there may be many ways to win the Superbowl (U.S. football), Olympic medals, and the World Cup, there is only one way to sustainably be successful – and that’s been proven time and time again through positive thinking and leadership.

This focus on positive thoughts and ideas is not a “new” way of thinking.  In fact, it’s Scriptural and comes from the Christian Bible.  In St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians (in chapter 4, verse 8; per the New International Version (NIV) translation), he shares, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  God knows us better than we know ourselves – after all, He created each of us uniquely.  Newberry basically applies this Scriptural edict to our companies, teams, employees, suppliers, customers, etc. by starting with our own individual perspectives.  Behind everything we do is a thought, per Newberry, and each individual thought contributes to our overall character.  He recognized (like St. Paul) that how well our minds work dictates how much joy we experience, how successful we feel, and how well we interact with other people.  There isn’t a single area of our lives that isn’t affected by our thoughts.

By leveraging this concept and related approach found in “The 4:8 Principle”, we can improve the one thing in life over which we have complete control: our thinking (which profoundly impacts every other aspect of our lives – including other people, personal and business results, etc.).  Per Newberry, “all lasting change is preceded by changed thinking. Any other type of change will be only temporary. The place where real change begins is in your thought life, with a revival of your mind.”

While all of this seems obvious, it is alarming that more Executive Search Firms don’t leverage this approach – both in who and how they recruit, as well as how they interact with their Clients.  The worst thing that can happen in “search” is for an Executive placement to fail – it hurts the Client, the Executive and their Family, and the Executive Recruiting Firm.  That’s why Maccabeus brings a unique approach to search.  We leverage a “blue-collar” approach to what can seem mostly to be a “white-collar” end-result.  Built upon Judaeo-Christian Principles, Maccabeus puts Clients and Executive Candidates ahead of the Firm.  By utilizing a “player-coach”, “servant leadership” approach and process, we become personally-invested in both our search work, as well as in our overall relationships with Clients, Executives, etc.

Maccabeus knows first-hand what it’s like to be on a product launch, to process chemicals, assemblies, and tires, to participate in design reviews, to meet affordable business targets and quarterly business deadlines, etc., because we’ve “been there and done that”.  By complementing that working knowledge across all functions and industries with the expertise of Top 5 Search Firm experience and relationships, Maccabeus is exceptionally different in experience, approach, and results.  The Maccabeus difference is clear to all who we’ve been Blessed to have worked with through the years as all of what we do is built-upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.

The highest integrity is key to all that we do at Maccabeus.  We report first and foremost to God and then to our Clients and Executive Candidates.  We are 100% transparent in our approach on all fronts.  We tell everyone what we know and don’t try to “force” deals to take place.  We fundamentally Trust that, if we are Faithful in working as hard as possible on our parts, that the outcomes that are meant to happen will.  Maccabeus leverages many different approaches; including the 5 Steps of “The 4:8 Principle”:

In addition to “The 4:8 Principle”, Maccabeus leverages the “1.5-3 Principle”.  By being straight-forward and honest with everyone, our Clients and Candidates typically meet each other within 1.5 – 3 weeks of starting a search project.  Clients should also expect to complete searches with Maccabeus within 1.5 – 3 months.  While our “shock-and-awe” approach in the market is industry leading, we continue to run “through the finish line” continuing to bring more Candidates to the Client throughout the process.

Maccabeus doesn’t believe in any hidden, indirect, or uptick costs.  Clients pay Maccabeus a fixed fee for an Executive search project.  The fee is divided into a working retainer on the front end of the search (billed in multiple installments) to support our efforts in the market on Clients’ behalf(s); virtually eliminating surprises.

Maccabeus believes in God, our Firm, and our process. We will continue to work on the search as long as it takes and will replace Executives should something change on the Client’s end(s) for up to the replacement terms needed by our Clients. Finding the right Operating and Board Executives takes a tenacity to see through the surface of experiences and to look into the intangibles behind who a leader really is as a person.  Maccabeus is committed to and has a strong track record of recruiting and placing to top Executives (for all functional areas) and Board Directors and Chairs across a diverse landscape of industries.  We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you and your Board.

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