The Intoxicating Magic of the Rolodex
By Steve Eddington
Having been a headhunter these x years, I have had the opportunity to be on a fascinating playing field. I talk to companies about what they want and I go and get it for them. They pay me for my skill and tenacity, perseverance and pain, in the relentless search for the “perfect” candidate. What does “perfection” really mean? Well a good dictionary says:
“flawless knowledge or conduct. Many philosophies and theologies have formulated theories about perfection.”
Wow! As I get to thinking about this I ask myself, “is this really philosophical in nature?”
When my client says, “The perfect candidate will have a Wharton MBA, a PHD from Harvard and 35 years experience in developing multi-billion dollar text message advertising strategies,” is this really a philosophical request best left to Plato, Francis Bacon, or the 17th Earle of Oxford to execute in the real world?
Before I share the answer, let’s take the most common request from big companies about what they want their sales executives to have.
It is, today, a great Rolodex.
Many of my headhunter brothers will say, “Oh yes, I agree. A great rolodex is crucial, and don’t worry, I will get you a guy with a great rolodex.” This great rolodex, it is assumed, will blossom into immediate sales and bottom line profits and everything good and wholesome for the business.
Being 100% irreverent, I would ask the client, “Why?”
They would say. “Because if he has a great rolodex, we will inherit all those names and contacts and we will be able to parley those names and numbers into SALES FOR US, in quick order.”
“Really?” I would ask.
Not really answering, they would say, “Well, it doesn’t really matter what you think, because without a great rolodex, we won’t give him an offer.”
Blah blah. On and on it goes. So like I am supposed to, I go and get them what they want, and they hire the guy. But 89 days later, they call and say the guy “overstated his rolodex and has been fired.”
Wait a minute. So the rolodex itself must not be just a rolodex of names and numbers, it must actually be a representation of actual relationships with people who will, factually and with no reticence, answer the guy’s call when he calls? And then maybe BUY something from him?
Oh. That’s a different story.
That’s not perfection.
That’s not philosophical.
It’s actually the wrong place to focus one’s attention.
Who was the philosopher who said, “Give the man a fish and he will eat today; teach him to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime?”
Well, the way I see it, if the guy has a rolodex, he better be able to keep it current, grow it, network it like crazy, and then he better be able to do his job WITHOUT it if he has to.
In the old days, we used to fling a phonebook at a sales guy and yell, “START.”
Guess what? They did it.
Today, without the intoxicating magic of the rolodex, great sales guys don’t make the short list. Unfortunately, some of the best rolodex owners out there don’t make it past 90 days on the job
Go figure?
No, go fish.