Turning the Tables – What Do You Foresee for the Next 12 Months in Your Business?
August 31st is the fiscal year-end for Caldwell Partners. As such, I have always considered the Tuesday after Labor Day as being the “New Year’s Day of Executive Search.” Clients reengage after Labor Day, and there is a notable pickup in new assignments and search activity.
Some of the reasons for this have to do with the business calendar. With two-thirds of your company’s results “in the bag” for the 2023 calendar year, companies know what has worked and what has not.
Your organization may not be able to pivot quickly enough to change the direction of your results in the 2023 calendar year, but you can certainly get a jump on hiring the talent you need to ensure that you have a return to solid performance in the calendar year 2025.
That I write that as “calendar year 2025” is not a typo. Executive searches started in the third quarter of 2023 will conclude later in the fourth quarter of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024. By the time the candidate collects their bonus for 2023, it will be February or March of 2024. Add another 2 to 4 weeks for the time needed to leave one company and start the new job; add even more time for a relocation; add even more time if the person is waiting to relocate until after the end of the school year…
All of a sudden, you are into June or July of 2024, and the new executive will need 90 days to formulate a new strategy…and another 90 days to implement that new strategy…and another 90 days to see if the new strategy is on course.
All of a sudden, you are watching Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen at the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop in Times Square with all the flashing lights and the sign that says “Happy New Year! Welcome 2025!!
This is not to depress you or discourage you. It is just a reminder that everything usually takes twice as long as you think it does, and you can’t just turn on a dime when it comes time to create change in your organization through the recruitment of new and improved talent. As the saying goes…”Good things take time.”
What I would like to do is to get a jump on your executive search needs for 2024. Let me know if you’d like to schedule a phone call or a visit to discuss these questions that relate to your talent needs in 2024:
What are the top three strengths of your organization?
What do you see as the three greatest weaknesses of your organization?
What do you see as the top three opportunities to increase revenues, improve service, or heighten the impact of your organization?
What are the top three threats to your organization? What talent are you at risk of losing because of their readiness for a new role?
What is the vision for your organization – i.e., its “endgame” over the next 3 to 5 years? How will it be different in size, scope, scale, products, footprint, corporate culture, and operating priorities?
Given the answers to questions 1 through 5 above, what do you believe are the skills, experiences and personal attributes of leaders you need to hire in order to achieve your 3 to 5 year vision for your organization?
Or…just write me! I am interested in hearing your perspective, no matter where you are in your organization – you don’t have to be the CEO to have a perspective on these topics! In fact, it is often interesting to compare and contrast multiple perspectives to these questions within the same organization.
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