All Things Are Possible

Most have heard the occasional motivational saying or two – like “attitude is everything”, “hustle beats talent”, etc. When I was younger, there was a store called Successories in many shopping malls where folks could go to get inspired by the many different motivational products that they sold. I ended-up at some point purchasing a couple of posters – one of which had a woman on it running on some long, lost country road which read, “Persistence – The race goes not always to the swift but to those who keep on running.” The other showed a basketball goal right out of the movie, Hoosiers, which read, “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” My favorite item, however, was a little piece of granite rock that read, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right”. I was working at Ford Motor Company at the time, so an item with a quote from Henry Ford seemed appropriate. Little did I know that this quote would collide directly with my Catholic Faith later in life.

Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser”. Vince knew the old adage, “whatever you focus on is exactly what you’ll get” – which was in the same genre of what Mr. Ford was highlighting — ATTITUDE. We’ve all seen how this affects every single area of our lives and, often, the lives of those around us. The classic movie, It’s a Wonderful Life (by Frank Capra) depicts a “nobody” (George Bailey) from “nowhere” (Bedford Falls) who is down on his luck due to some pretty tough circumstances. “Mr. Nobody” decides that he is worth more to this world dead than alive. [Note: This is the point in the article where one skips to the next paragraph if they don’t want to hear how the movie ends] “Mrs. Nobody” sees her Husband in shambles and asks everyone that she knows to Pray for her down-trodden “Hubby”. Heaven sends an Angel as an answer to everyone’s Prayers to give “Mr. Nobody” the attitude-adjustment of his life.

People often ask me what I love about Executive Recruiting and my answer is always 100% the same – the people. In the Executive Search world, Recruiters are privy to all kinds of questions, dilemmas, attitudes, feelings, perspectives, etc. from themselves and the corresponding Candidates, Clients, and the Firm which they serve (and let’s not forget about the Families affected). The search process brings about the “highest-highs” and the “lowest-lows”. But the people and relationships in life are what’s most important. And great Executive Leaders all have one thing in common – that’s a positive, can-do, and realistic attitude or, better yet, perspective. But, don’t take our word for that, and see what others have to say about people, attitude, and perspective:

• “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.” Red Adair, Famous Oil Well Fighter
• “Leadership is a choice, not a position.” Stephen R. Covey, Author, Businessman, Educator, Speaker
• “A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.” John C. Maxwell, Author, Speaker, Pastor
• “I no longer listen to what people say, I just watch what they do. Behavior never lies.” Winston Churchill, f/ U.K. Prime Minister
• “Leaders spend 5% of their time on the problem and 95% of their time on the solution.” Tony Robbins, Author, Coach, Speaker, Philanthropist
• “Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” Brian Tracy, Author, Businessman, Speaker
• “People are not your most important asset. The right people are.” Jim Collins, Author
• “Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” John Stott, Author, Evangelist, Speaker
• “Dwelling on your problems doesn’t fix them; it just makes you an expert at them.” Tommy Newberry, Author, Coach, Speaker
• “Remember that mentor leadership is all about serving.” Tony Dungy, Football Player and Coach, Author, Speaker
• “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Ken Blanchard, Author, Businessman, Speaker
• “Bet on people, not on strategies.” Larry Bossidy, Cornell Capital Senior Advisor, Retired Chairman and CEO of Honeywell International
• “The challenges in our lives are there to strengthen our convictions. They are not there to run us over.” Nick Vujicic, Author, Evangelist, Speaker

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India, who established the Missionaries of Charity to help the poorest of the poor in the world and arguably one of the greatest, most impactful Leaders of our time, truly lived Matthew 25:35-40. Her “attitude” and “perspective” were that she always “saw Jesus in everyone.” That’s the most Powerful perspective and certainly moved a few “mountains” and people to do great things. Nick Vujicic, founder of the non-profit Life Without Limbs and motivational speaking company Attitude is Attitude, New York Times best-selling author, Devout Christian, and renowned motivational speaker and coach (who was born without his arms or legs) puts his attitude and perspective pretty bluntly in his book, “Life Without Limits“, “I have the choice to be angry at God for what I don’t have, or be thankful for what I do have.”

The book is a tale of triumph over obstacles that would break most people because it took an incredible act of will to become the successful person that Nick is today. The book describes his deep loneliness and how he overcame barriers that others might never even attempt to overcome. His story of overcoming impossible obstacles has been an inspiration to millions and, like George Bailey, can be a major attitude-adjustment for anyone – especially Executive Leaders (who Nick often spends time coaching).

The book also offers a practical framework for fulfilling your destiny by building trust in others, developing supportive relationships, and gaining strength for the journey. Nick teaches others from his own experiences that it’s possible to face challenges head on and emerge stronger on the other side. In a Spirit of Serenity, Nick has been teaching Leaders around the globe to accept what they cannot control and focus instead on what they can do and Who should be helping them to do it. Too often, Executive Leaders get too focused on the numbers; which can sometimes “minimize” the people. Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, used to tell us, “Don’t bring me a problem if you don’t have solutions.” Executives don’t need to be “blind” to the problems – or they risk being “blind-sided” by them. But they should focus most of their efforts on the solutions – and, most often, those come in the form of people working together towards some common goals.

Maccabeus’ Partners “Genesis-ed” from direct industry careers and actual working knowledge.  It’s through that knowledge, experience, and wisdom that we’re able to maximize our own revelations of the Executive Recruiting process and minimize having to replace formerly placed Executives.  We see each and every executive (person) as the Gift from God that they are and Maccabeus routinely works to get to know the Clients, Executives, and Executive’s Families first-hand.  Maccabeus understands what it’s like to relocate for a new career challenge (including move Children and Grandparents) – to be going to a new Company starting a new job in a new town/city possibly in a new state/country (and away from extended Family) with potential new local and national customs and ways of doing business, etc.  We’ve worked across the U.S. States and in many countries in North and South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand.  We know how critical a new hire is and what success and/or failure in that role means first hand.

In addition to elements from “Life Without Limits”, 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.

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 principles found in “Life Without Limits” by Nick Vujicic.

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.

[Note: The article ends here for those who don’t want to know how the movie ends]

At the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart (who played “Mr. Nobody”) gets a copy of the favorite book from his new Angel Friend, Clarence. Inside the cover of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an inscription written by Clarence that reads, “Remember, no man is a failure who has Friends”. A bell rings and Clarence finally gets his Angel wings. If this article finds you, a Friend, a Colleague, a Family Member, or even a Stranger in a tough spot, all of must always remember the Good News that God is in control and He never, ever wastes our hard work, pain, suffering, etc. The end goal in all things in this life is Heaven, so, let’s be sure to change our focus to the Light and fix our attitudes and perspectives about ourselves and those around us. And perhaps one day, someone will say to us from the Other Side (just like George Bailey told his Friend, Clarence), “‘at a boy, insert name here.”

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