Getting the Job

I was recently visiting a secondary campus where the principal asked me to meet with one of his assistant principles who was beginning to get disgruntled due to his lack of success at securing his next job.  I agreed. When I met with the AP, I asked him what he was thought set him apart from other applicants.  He shared his background, which was solid, and he had some professional experiences that were valuable and unique.  As his principal had attested, he was (and is) a viable principal candidate. 

I then asked him what in his experience was hurting him in the selection process.  He said that in his district a lot of informal hiring power belonged to a specific Assistant Superintendent and his lack of a relationship with that person meant that lesser qualified candidates were being hired instead of him.  This may be an honest assessment, but it was something that I had no knowledge of, so I asked him what about in other districts?  And there was the rub. 

The Assistant Principal told me that he had not applied in other districts and would not be doing so. In fact he had an extensive list of "not's."  He would not move; he would not consider an elementary principalship; he would not transfer his children to a different school in a different district; and he would not entertain the pay cut that would come with a job at a smaller campus/district.

I looked at him and told him that obviously he did not want to be a Principal.  Regardless of how he believed the World should work, here is how it actually works.  There are three ways to get a principalship.

1. Be in the right place at the right time.  This is the Assistant Principal at a campus who inherits the job when the sitting principal leaves.  Though this is not a rare occurrence, you should never plan on this happening.  I suspect it happens less than 15% of the time.

2. Know the right person.  This is the Assistant Principal that has a relationship with someone who has an impact on the hiring decision.  This too is not a rare occurrence, but it is not as prevalent as many AP’s believe.  My guess is that this type of hire occurs about 20% to 25% of the time.

So one could postulate that 25% to 40% of principal hires are because of timing and/or connections.  Thin odds for an aspiring leader.  Which brings us to...

3. Play the numbers game.  Long time blog readers will be familiar with this rule.  Plan on sending out 100 applications, to get 10 interviews, to get 1 job.  Which means if you can expand the geographic territory you would be willing to move to you have a greater pool of jobs to apply for.

Work of all three avenues concurrently and your chances greatly improve.  Purposefully limit your options and the typical result will be that your first principalship is much further off than you want it to be.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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A Reader Writes... (Pursuing My First Principalship)

In response to the post, "Pursuing My First Principalship," a reader writes:

“As I recall from the Hooker rule of thumb, the 100 to 10 to 1 ratio was dependent upon your willingness to move. Some people refuse to look no more than a pre-determined number of miles from their current home. I understand this, and have even stipulated a distance before. The reality is if you are not willing to move, your odds of finding the position you want are greatly diminished. Besides, many districts require senior administrators (principals and higher) to live inside the district.”

SC Response
Just this morning I was talking to an LYS principal who applied for his first Assistant Superintendent position, sat for an interview and was a finalist, but lost out to another candidate. He was a little dejected and miffed and I reminded him that getting an interview on the first application was a gift and that to get over himself and remember the big picture.

Early on (again Hooker) it was pointed out to me that a leadership career is like a double elimination tournament. Relatively easy to get into; just get your certification while you are teaching. But each step above teacher is significantly harder to crack, with the competition gets stiffer and the number of slots rapidly decreasing. Mess up, and you might get a second chance but don’t count on a third one. Here is the basic math.

There are 20 to 30 teacher positions for 1 assistant principal position. Luckily, most teachers don’t want to be an assistant principal so the odds are probably around 10 to 1.

There are 2 to 4 assistant principal positions for 1 principal position. Unfortunately, most AP’s want to be a principal. So there are 2 to 3 leadership candidates vying for each principalship. Of which at least 50% have more experience and better connections than you have.

There are 5 to 25 principal positions for 1 assistant superintendent position. But now the career tournament gets serious. Of those 25 principals, 5 to 10 are actively looking for a promotion and they are aggressive, ambitious and can generally make a good case that they are better than you.

There are about 4 assistant superintendent positions for 1 superintendent position. But don’t forget, there are principals, athletic directors and non-traditional candidates who are also in the hunt. This means that there are at least 4 to 6 solid candidates for each position.

From the top looking down, for each superintendent there are about 1,000 to 1,500 educators at work. And each step above teacher is not only was harder to secure, due to scarcity and the quality of the competition, but the position also brings greater risk. No matter what anyone downstream thinks, the higher the position, the easier it is to get fired (which is one reason why the pay is greater).

These facts should make two things clear to the reader. 1) There is a reason Superintendents have egos bigger than battleships. Their egos are built step by step, through years of hard work, personal risk, success and victory. 2) If you want to be a leader, you need to work at it everyday. No one owes you a position and your competition wants what you want. Plus, with every upward move, your competition is better qualified and better prepared.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Submits... Pursuing My First Principalship

An active member of the LYS Nation submits:

“Again, I have to admit that SC is right. If you are looking for your first principalship outside of your home district, it will take 100 applications, for ten interviews, for one job. By my count, I have now applied for 43 open positions. I have had three interviews. I have been the runner-up twice and I am still waiting for "the big chair” job.

What I have gleaned through this process is I am able to learn a lot about the district by how they treat applicants, interview candidates and make their final selection. You really begin to understand an organization in your attempt to become part of it. Clear communication, friendliness, collegiality, and vision reveal themselves from the first phone conversation to the last.

If I do not get a particular job because I am passionate, on fire, enthusiastic and an LYS change agent, then so be it. I will not compromise who I am. I drink the "LYS Kool-aid" and believe in its tenets. The LYS philosophy that has changed my life and the life of my students!!!"

SC Response
First of all, though I wish I could take credit for it, Dr. Richard Hooker (an icon in Texas public education) shared the 100 application rule with me when I was a frustrated teacher trying to land my first AP job. When he told it to me I was skeptical, but like you, over time I have found that it is a good rule of thumb. And it helps to remind you during your search that the rejection is just part of the process.

Second, I glad you are starting to see that the interview process is a two-way street. After all, if a district can’t treat strangers (who they want to impress) with professionalism and dignity and communicate a sense of mission and purpose, how do you think they treat and support their actual staff?

Third, the search process does have a hidden positive benefit. It smoothes off the rough edges of our delivery and makes us focus on the critical components of our message. A skillful leader is able to make and support her case concisely, with conviction, without alienating the audience. A host of skeptical interview committees that holds the keys to your career provides you with multiple opportunities to practice and refine this particular skill.

Fourth, when you are applying for the next level job, there are two candidate piles, with experience and without experience. Those with experience have a significant advantage. So when you are in the second group, it takes a little more time, perseverance and sometimes a break. What it doesn’t take is luck. Luck is just the intersection of preparation and opportunity. This means you have to keep preparing and keep putting yourself out there.

Finally, thanks for the kind words and know that your success is what motivates us.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... A Common Interview Question

A reader asks:

"SC,

In my interviews, I am being asked about team building with teachers. How do I approach that?"

SC Response
In an interview there is a right answer and a wrong answer. But there is no telling what the panel is looking for, so in this case, "right or wrong" can be very subjective. Therefore, I would give them the correct answer and let the chips fall where the may.

Typical team building exercises, in general, are a waste of time. At best they create the illusion of team. I caught you during the “trust fall” so now we are a team. Hooray!

Creating a real team is an on-going process built on creating esprit de corp, a sense of purpose, goal accomplishment, and shared responsibility. And a little shared ordeal goes a long way towards cementing the deal.

So as a leader, I have to set the expectation that working as a team will be the new norm. I have to create time for teachers to work as a team. I have to make it clear that a viable product will be produced by the team. I have to monitor and support the teams. I have to celebrate team wins. I have to conduct blame free autopsies of team failures. And finally, I must repeat this process over and over until it becomes the norm. A true mission oriented team is a powerful entity. But it rarely built by chance.

Whether or not your interview panel will like this answer is a coin flip. But if they don’t like the answer, we both know that you wouldn’t be happy or successful there.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Dress Code and More - Part 2)

In response to the post, “Dress Code and More,” a reader writes.

“To comment on how deep this goes, I was recently at a job interview for a secondary school that was barely above water. Out of the four secondary schools in the district, three of them are Unacceptable and the fourth made acceptable by a just a handful of students.

One of the first questions they asked me was, “What would I do to improve school spirit among the students?”

My answer was shaped by Cain and my experiences. I told the interview committee that student school spirit would improve when the faculty began to put a value on school spirit. When the faculty shows up in large number to student activities, school spirit will increase. When the faculty cheers kids on in the hallways, school spirit will improve. Until the faculty engages, I told the interview committee, school spirit will remain as it is."

SC Response
Absolutely. I had similar conversations with some secondary principals this week. I pointed out that on their campuses there was no ownership and no “connectedness.” Immediately, everyone jumped on how it was the kids, community, parents, poverty, and the rest of the usual excuses. I told them just watch the halls with me. When the bell rang, they saw the following: Few teachers in the halls; no conversations between adults and students; teachers ignoring kids to talk to other teachers; kids disrespecting each other and adults; AP engaged in ‘yell and tell’ to move traffic; police officers intimidating kids who could be intimidated and patting the “tough” kids on the back.

You can bemoan culture and climate or you can do something about it. And doing something about it means changing adult practice.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Submits... Hiring Decisions

An up and coming LYS Assistant Principal submits.

“Yet again, the LYS administrator was denied a job because the tempo, enthusiasm, and drive to make teachers step up their game and come out of their comfort zones threatened the status quo. I am beginning to see how lost 50% of superintendents are. They are afraid to rock the boat for improved performance. They only want peace, harmony and business as usual.

The sad thing is that this district’s community and student populations are changing rapidly and the district does not have an answer for their diminishing test scores. I gave them a solution to their problem in the form of a fired up, front-line leader. As a finalist for the job, they had a clear cut choice between a young go-getter or a safe, status quo loving, “yes” man. End of the story.

I will not compromise my values and my commitment to students and our LYS practices just to sit in the big chair. Students first and LYS till the day I die.”

SC Response
First of all, we have to remember that we don’t get every job we apply for (thank the Lord). Dr. Richard Hooker taught me that the formula for getting a principalship in a different district than where you currently work is 100 applications for 10 interviews for 1 job. And that is if you interview well. The other significant variable is experience in the position vs. no experience in the position. Right now you have none, so all ties go to the experienced candidate. It might not be fair, but it is less risky for the employer.

I think without realizing it, you hit on a valid point. Campuses look for different types of leaders, sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly. Some campuses need maintainers, some need change agents, some need healers, some need firebrands, and some just don’t know what they need. That’s what the interview is for. On paper, most of us look more alike than different. If you aren’t what they are looking for (in your case, a firebrand change agent), be glad they didn’t hire you.

Also, look at the bright side. You now know of another job opening before anyone else does. Call that superintendent and tell her that it is her lucky day. She gets to trade up. Being the first with a solution to a problem is a sure fire way to advance your career, and a principal opening is a mighty big problem.

I’ll close with a personal story. Back in the mid 1990’s, I was a very young and raw AP in a large urban district. I was trying desparately to get an assistant principal job in a district with a great reputation and a great superintendent. At least three times, I was the runner-up candidate. As I was preparing for yet another AP interview in the district, I got a call back from the long shot principal interview that I sat for. Brezina hired me as a principal and the rest is history. If I had been offered any of those other AP positions, I wouldn’t have applied for the job in Brezina’s district and my career would have taken a much different trajectory at a guaranteed slower pace. Sometimes, rejection is the best thing that can happen to you.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Interview Prep - Part 4)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

“Although you are right, there are things that can be learned in this type of interview, there is danger working in these districts. Remember, you work for who hired you. If the superintendent hires you, that's who you work for. If a committee of teachers hire you, that's who you work for. In general a committee of teachers will try to maintain status quo. Status quo is OK if the status is the school is great. There are very few great schools, especially high schools."

SC Response
You are right about the lack of truly great schools. And here are some of my thoughts related to that fact.

1. It’s not that there isn’t an overwhelming desire to be great. There is. Ask 100 people if they want to be great. At least 95 will say “yes.” But ask those same 100 people if they are willing to put in the work necessary to be great and the number of positive responses will drop dramatically. My guess is that 50 people with a positive response would be a safe bet. But then watch those 50. Less than 10 actually have the discipline, focus and work ethic to be great. If fact, to be great at one thing, you have to be deficient in other things. You can not have it all. Scary thought isn’t it, and one that is completely contrary to what every advertisement wants you to believe. The great one’s obsess and grind. Everyone else goes home and has a life. I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I am saying you will be much happier if you quit lying to yourself.

2. When you visit “great” schools you quickly notice one of three things. Either the campus is focused on “stuff and things,” and it is the stuff and things that they do exceptionally well that people consider great. For example, the high SES school that has earned blue ribbon awards yet does not academically outperform its peers. Or, it is a niche campus that is bragging about the “success” of the niche. For example, the early college high school that hangs its hat on the fact that 95% of its graduates go on to college. Or it is the low SES campus that is consistently outperforming its peers, but will not concede that it is great because they recognize that their kids haven’t even begun to reach their potential.

But to tie back to the premise of interviews and who to work for, you have to know who you are. If you are a regular reader of the blog and a koozie carrying member of the LYS Nation; go for great. We work too hard, our students’ needs are too extreme, and life is too short to just be ordinary.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Interview Prep - Part 3)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

"I disagree with the last suggestion, (if the interview committee has 12 people just leave). Better advice for the LYS’er is to meet the committee face to face, be you, and engage them in the interview process. What you learn from their questions, opinions, the way they phrase things, how they respond and their subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) body language in response to your statements, etc., etc., etc., will give you invaluable insight into the mind-set of ‘weak-leadership-organization’.

Those organizations represent the overwhelming number of districts in education and therefore represent what you are almost guaranteed to face for the rest of your career. In order to survive, the more you understand about their flawed paradigm, the better prepared (and more successfully) you are able to play the role of change agent.

If it helps, think of ‘THEM’ as the enemy, you have a golden opportunity to get to know how ‘THEY’ operate. Do not squander it.

“Know the enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril…”Sun Tzu, 400-320 B.C."

SC Response
And people think that I won’t print a contrary opinion. I like your take on this. Observe the weak and flawed organization up close, in order to better understand it. I have to admit, my impatience with blatantly ineffective practices blinded me to pure academic novelty of the exercise. Now, I honestly want to find a huge interview committee to engage with.

I tell principal all the time that there is value in visiting schools; any school, bad to great. And that often times it is easier to find things that can immediately improve your craft at the bad school. The “broke” practice usually is very obvious. I can see the correlation with the bad interview process.

For me the enemy is the inefficient use of effort. Thanks for the reminder to continuously study that and its causes.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Interview Prep - Part 2)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

"I certainly must agree on both points. If you represent yourself to be anything less than who you are and what you believe as a proactive, innovative, outside the box, inside the heart learner-centered instructional leader who embraces mutual accountability of all stakeholders (is that a fairly good description of a LYS'er?), then you might get hired and survive long enough to regret it. I did.

Of course, in hard economic times, it is tempting to fall back, play the game and get "a" job, but at what price? You could move your family into a troubled-water transition that simply stresses everyone to the brink of disaster only to find you will have to do it all over again because your convictions to do what is right and best simply will not be pushed into shadowy corner to fallow. You will have to then do what is right and move on. It is best to lay it on the line and promote that positive strategy and educational leadership philosophy and let the truth speak for itself. If you don't get the job it isn't about rejecting you but rejecting the truth. Better to be a live prophet with principles than a dying principal with little profit.

As for the warning of about the size of interview committees, I have to agree with SC on that as well. It is hard to get a working relationship with a larger number of people. There are too many eyes to keep focused and too many wants to supply (or is that appease?). Unless you are up close and personal it is always better to use a singular shot than buckshot and hit the bull's eye dead on."

SC Response
First, yes I think you nailed the basic attributes of the LYS educator. And I agree, if you misrepresent yourself in the interview, it will be you who suffers the most. Each organization has its own DNA. Be selective when selecting a job. Find the one that is a match for your skill set and philosophy.

Next as the writer points out, with the current economy, being picky might not be an available option. If you compromise your principles to get the job, the ethical and honorable course of action is to work to fulfill the mission of the organization that hired you. That doesn’t mean that you sacrifice students, but in the short run it was you who agreed that your beliefs were negotiable.

Finally, my take on interviews is that I’m interviewing the organization as much as the organization interviews me. As a school employee, I went through four significant leadership changes. I didn’t survive one, but the organization didn’t survive the other three. After my first job, I always chose my boss.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Interview Prep - Part 1)

In response to the posts on interview prep, a reader writes:

“As a twist to Cain's excellent advice, there is yet another scenario. You interview and the school thinks it needs a Brown / Brezina / Cain type leader because it is in deep trouble. The school may have earned an unacceptable state rating, missed AYP, or most likely both. As Cain often reminds us, this type of school trouble is the final sign of total system failure.

The school hires you and district leadership and campus staff tell you they will do anything to get out of trouble. So you fix their school for them. But once the school “leaders” who hired you can breathe a sigh of relief, very likely they will allow the district to creep back to its old, total system failure way of doing business. In this scenario, you are the cancer and they will do everything possible to hasten your exit.

SC Response:
Spoken like someone who has been there, more than once. I wish I could tell the LYS Nation that this is never the case, but often it is. Many in our profession honestly believe that it is possible to “arrive,” and in the short-run they are willing to do the things necessary to facilitate that forthcoming “arrival.”

The most difficult part of what I do is when I break the hearts of hard working educators in struggling schools. These are the staff that have been there for a long time. They are vested in the students, the school, and the community. They know that they are in trouble. They will look at me and say, “We will do whatever it takes. We will work after school and on weekends. Just tell us when we will be done.”

And I have to answer, “You won’t be. There will be some of you who will be motivated be the constant change and will embrace the journey into the uncharted territories of teaching and learning. And some of you will quit. Our profession has changed, somewhat for the worse, but mostly for the better.”

If you find yourself as the initial change leader in a turnaround situation, here is your survival checklist:

1. Go in with your eyes wide open.

2. Remember Brown's law - The only pure advocate for all students is the principal. You volunteered for the role, so you have to step up – no one else will.

3. Know that the more imminent the crisis, the more likely that the required leadership skills required to save the organization will not translate through the transition to sustainable operations (See: Churchill).

4. Know that part of your job is to make sure that the next principal is set up to take the campus to even higher levels of performance.

There are “Bad to Good” principals, sustaining principals, and “Good to Great” principals. Their skill sets are dramatically different. Know who you are and embrace it.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…

A Reader Asks... Interview Prep

A reader asks:

"SC,

I have an interview for a principalship next week. As part of the interview process, they have asked me to outline my plan for the first 90 days, if they hire me. Since I’m going to get this job, I don’t want this to be an empty exercise. Any ideas on what I should really do?"

SC Response
Here is my 80% plan for any principal stepping into a new school. But the same plan is useful for a sitting principal. If you are a sitting principal, just start the plan the day after the last state assessment test is completed on your campus.

1. Benchmarking and Campus Assessment. First, collect the most recent short-term and long term relevant objective data available and post it where it is visible to those inside the system (such as a semi-private conference or war room). The purpose is not to cast blame or embarrass anyone. The purpose is to visibly post the new starting line. Then have an outside set of eyes come in and give you an objective picture of what you are dealing with. Unfortunately, in your first days, you can’t trust the reports that you get from those close to the situation. It is not that anyone will outright lie to you, but you won’t be able to distinguish from those trying to be helpful and those who are trying to further their agenda. It is also a good idea to have an annual outside assessment of your campus operations (even your district undergoes an annual external financial audit). It is a simple fact that the longer we are embedded in a setting, the larger our blind spot becomes. I always had an annual external assessment of my campus (and later, campuses). I wanted to know where my deficits were before my boss pointed them out to me.

2. Purposeful Communication and Alignment of Vision. You have to know what your want your campus to accomplish and why. Then edit that vision to its concrete core and repeat it like a broken record. Next, look at look at systems and practices of your campus. Any of those that aren’t in alignment with what you are attempting to accomplish, quit doing as soon as it is feasible. To paraphrase Jim Collins, for the great organization, the “do not do” list is easily more important than the “to do” list.

3. Make the “Science” Non-negotiable. There is both a science and art to campus improvement. The science is made up three components: A non-negotiable common scope and sequence; Short-term common assessments; and the frequent and objective monitoring of classroom instruction (PowerWalks). If these three components are not in place, you will be busy doing a lot of stuff and things but you won’t be making much progress.

4. Continuous Improvement and Knowledge Building. Use the science of improvement to impact the art of improvement. Quickly identify what works. Celebrate it and replicate it. Just as quickly identify what does not work and replace that with something different. Keep observing, coaching and adjusting. As a profession, we abhor change but we love it when our students improve.

Keep your eye focused on student performance and don’t slow down.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Good Idea, Marginal Execution

I have a friend who was applying for a principal position. For the interview she was asked to do the following:

“You have just been appointed as principal to an academically acceptable campus. During a 7 to 9 minute PowerPoint presentation, outline your focus and activities during the first 30 days in this new position. Include the three key things that you will do during this time to prepare your staff to accept the challenges and opportunities that face the campus.”

I’m all for adding a performance piece to the interview process, but it needs to be meaningful and thought out. However, there are a couple of issues with the above instructions.

1. The academically acceptable status of the campus. This is a landmine. The correct answer is that an academically acceptable campus is often closer to the bottom than it is to the top. As such, it is important to quickly assess campus strengths and weakness, and then take aggressive action to improve. Unfortunately, in this East Texas district, they are satisfied with their acceptable rating. The blame for academic failure is placed on “those” kids, instead of adult practice.

2. A 7 to 9 minute power point presentation? Are you kidding? This is not a venue for power point. The first reason is that a 7 to 9 minute power point presentation is one slide. By that I mean that you should allow about 10 minutes of talk for each slide. Second, this is your initial meeting with your staff. They need to be reading you, not the screen. If all you have is 7 to 9 minutes, and you are the leader, then you best be the whole show.

Here’s how I would have used the performance piece (this is free advice):

"You have been appointed as principal to a campus that is not meeting its potential (this covers every campus). "

1. In a one page memo to the Superintendent, outline your action plan for the first 30 days in the position (this is the working rough draft, if the candidate gets the job).

2. Prepare and present to the interview committee, your five minute introductory address to the staff (again a working draft, if the candidate gets the job and a chance to see how he or she communicates and responds in a high stress situation).

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Chef Wayne, or How Do You Interview?

First, a disclaimer. In general, living on the road is a combination of the mundane, punctuated by random irritation. After the first two weeks, all illusions of glamour have disappeared. However, sometimes there are perks…

Recently, I the was guest of Chef Wayne, the Executive Chef of the Chart House, in San Antonio, for a tasting menu dinner. The Chart House is one of the top three restaurants in the city and the whole experience for incredible, but that is not the point of the story. Here’s the point. We were test subjects.

Chef Wayne was in the process of hiring a new chef for the kitchen and we were part of the try-out. So what is a chef interview like? At a 5-star restaurant, with a boss like Chef Wayne, it goes a little something like this. The interviewee is provided with all the fresh ingredients to cook a meal (it this case: appetizers, soup, salad, side dishes, main course, and dessert). The chef then tells the candidate, “Impress me.”

The interviewee then begins cooking. The Chef is judging him on organization, timeliness, taste and presentation. If the Chef is impressed, the interviewee is hired. If the Chef isn’t impressed, the interviewee hits the bricks.

Talk about being results oriented. What if we were able to hire teachers in a similar manner? "Here’s the class, here’s the lesson plan and resources, now teach a mini-lesson and impress me."

I would ask, what if we could hire administrators the same way? But, in some places we already are. The Leadership Development Academy (LDA) in San Antonio is a one year interview for aspiring assistant principals and principals. These aspiring leaders are working everyday with the toughest kids in San Antonio, with this mandate: teach the toughest of the tough and show that you have what it takes to move to the next level. And it works.

Some staff are being plucked from the program to fill leadership positions as they open up, some staff are on the “A” list to move up soon, and some staff have shown that though they were willing to talk the talk, they are either unwilling or unable to walk the walk.

Bob Brezina, taught me to hire based on potential, retain based on performance. Chef Wayne and the LDA take this to the next level; hire based on performance, retain based on performance.

So what happened to the chef who was being interviewed? In a unique turn of events, he was asked to come back and interview again the next night. As those of us in the dinner party can attest, he nailed the crab stuffed mushrooms, pear and goat cheese salad, lobster bisque, potatoes, grilled sea bass and chocolate soufflé. However, he fried the spinach. Evidently, you don’t fry spinach in Chef Wayne’s kitchen.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your Turn…