EDITORIALS

Perhaps it all started with the telegraph. (Hey, they were charging by the word.) Or, was it the CB radio? Somewhere along the line we have all come to believe that brevity, even when not entirely correct, is somehow okay.Today’s communication formats such as the various smart phone tools ...

Life is made up of a lot of endless details. And, as financial people, the endless details are where we shine.I have said from time to time that eating an elephant is best done one bite at a time. (Mustard would probably also be a good idea.) Most tasks, no matter how enormous they may see...

I am always amazed and astounded how frequently the resumes I see are missing vital information. What I am not clear about is WHY the individual in question thinks that leaving off important data will benefit him or her.Let me start at the top of the list and mention missing home addresses...

In the past week, it is clear that spring is finally here in Connecticut. As you all probably know, I work out of my home office, and I am fortunate that it faces a heavily wooded area. During the winter, I can see my neighbor’s property off in the distance and sort of notice when there is...

I don’t know about you, but there are lots of things in this world that I wonder about. At one time I wondered about why the sky was blue, but that was before Google. I guess there are lots of things we don’t need to wonder about anymore. We can just look them up.The above topic wasn’t one...

From time to time, I write an editorial that generates very thoughtful responses from our members.I hope that all of you appreciate those individuals who write in as much as I do. It is an important part of The FENG, that we each take the time to share our knowledge with one another on top...

The executive search business isn’t what it used to be, but then what is?I hate to bore those who already know the primary difference between recruiters, but I hesitate to assume. Retained recruiters typically have an exclusive right to find a particular candidate for a firm and they get p...

I suppose it is hard to believe, but those on the receiving of networking calls actually experience more stress than you do.Yes, I know that picking up that 400 pound phone isn’t easy, but neither is responding to phone calls from those who have been trained in the NFL approach to networki...

One of the most over-rated things in this world is a fair fight.I suppose the belief in a fair fight is to a very large degree all part of the American Western heritage of the gunfighter. Two men armed with six-shooters (the great equalizer) standing 20 paces apart face each other in the s...

The resume format is sure constraining. If only the world was willing to listen to us rattle on.Unfortunately, they aren’t.The “standard” acceptable resume format is either two or three pages. Anything more tells the reader that you don’t know how to communicate. Perhaps I should also ment...

A very long time ago, President John F. Kennedy was holding a news conference. After he concluded his prepared remarks, he opened himself up to questions from the assembled reporters. The first question was: What had he and his administration done to further the equality of women in this c...

The urban legend out in the world is that the most recent 10 years of your career are all that anyone is interested in. True, but I think this idea is more correctly stated as “really” interested in.The primary rationale I hear for leaving off your early work history is to appear younger. ...

A few weeks ago I was doing a pretty good job of keeping up with my email. This past week or so, not so good. I must admit that from time to time I have fallen very far behind. (My personal record is 600 or 800 unanswered after one of my vacations, but that was a long time ago.)Sure, I kno...

One of my favorite “sayings from the Chairman” is: I try to make things so easy that anyone can do it. That way if I try hard, I can too!KISS or “keep it simple stupid” is one of the most often violated principles of job search and part of the reason that we fail to communicate our true va...

If getting up in front of a large group and doing your elevator pitch isn’t bad enough, giving it over the phone is worse. At least in front of a group, large or small, you have some visual feedback as to whether or not it is going over well.Add to this that many folks call you from cell p...

One of the problems with being a senior financial executive is that we have all the answers.We have, for good or bad, “been there and done that.” Frankly, it is hard to conceal that knowledge and experience in an interview.Call it “overqualified” or whatever name you like, but it is diffic...

I do tend to rattle on. Some night I will tell you the FULL story about how I removed my own home heating oil tank from my property. (It is a long story with many fascinating twists and turns.)The problem is that most folks really don’t want to hear about it. And even those who have intere...

The changes that have taken place in the past 25 years in our ability to communicate are truly remarkable.What with personal computers, email, cell phones, texting, voice mail, iPads and iPhones you can use just about from anywhere and now Zoom, you would think that those of us engaged in ...

Many years ago in the movie “A beautiful mind” about John Nash, the mathematical genius, one of the things that made him brilliant was that he could see patterns in numbers and words that no one else could see.Detecting hidden patterns or reading between the lines is one of the skills that...

One of the themes that I like to present from time to time is the idea that each of us can make a difference.For those of us who live in these United States, it is all very easy to fall into the accepted American concept that everything in this world is actually someone else’s fault. Hence...

One of the many concepts I learned when I worked for a large corporation (that will go nameless) was “just in time budgeting.” When I worked for this firm I thought it was a bad idea, but as life has gone by, I have come to appreciate some of its finer qualities and applicability.You see, ...