"What are the two worst business decisions you've made and what was their impact on the company's profit statement or balance sheet?"
One of our clients posed this question to finalists on a C-level search we handled more than fifteen years ago and we've used it ever since. On searches that don't involve P&L roles, it can be modified to "your area of responsibility?". We look for two things in the answer:
Authenticity & Objectivity. It's amazing how often we hear people skirt this question with "Gee, I can't think of any really bad decisions I've made". Meaning he/she is (A) uncomfortable talking about his/her past mistakes, (B) a low risk taker, (C) lacking in awareness or (D) way overdue for a doozy of a mistake. Pick any of the four options and it's safe to say you probably don't want that person joining your team.
A Proportionate Response. Is the answer proportionate to the candidate's past level of authority and responsibility? A C-level candidate should cite a much more significant example than a mid-level manager and vice versa. If it doesn't match up, then the four reasons above are probably at play again.
A prime example of this surfaced from a candidate we interviewed for the search above. He told us about a large project he bought for his company several years earlier. It was going through a lenghty entitlement process and the front-end investment was growing each day. It was clear the project would be a home run once it cleared entitlements but with a difficult township involved, it was uncertain when that would occur.
This candidate was pressed by his CEO to make a decision on staying the course and hope the project cleared entitlements (or) selling it now with partial entitlements and get out. Either way, it was clear his future with the company was on the line if things went south. His gut told him to stay the course, but logic told him to play it safe and sell the project. He went with the latter and while not a home run, his company still made several hundred thousand dollars profit.
So, where's the grand mistake? Our candidate went on to explain that soon after the sale, the township elected a new mayor that was more pro-development. The project cleared entitlements on the next pass and went on to become the #1 selling project in the state for several years. As the candidate put it, the "lost income opportunity" was in the multi-million dollar range. In the interest of "playing it safe" he cost his company millions of dollars and recognized that.
Point: Many candidates might not have considered this a "bad decision"; after all, the project still made a profit. However, this candidate saw beyond the short term profit to recognizing (and admitting) the missed long term income opportunity. We found his candor insightful and refreshing. So did our client, who hired him as their new President.
OK... your turn. Tell us about your favorite interview questions and we'll share them in a future post.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay abreast of new opportunities.
The Talon Group
Bob Piper, Rodney Hall, Tony Cleveland & Jean Mason
Authenticity & Objectivity. It's amazing how often we hear people skirt this question with "Gee, I can't think of any really bad decisions I've made". Meaning he/she is (A) uncomfortable talking about his/her past mistakes, (B) a low risk taker, (C) lacking in awareness or (D) way overdue for a doozy of a mistake. Pick any of the four options and it's safe to say you probably don't want that person joining your team.
A Proportionate Response. Is the answer proportionate to the candidate's past level of authority and responsibility? A C-level candidate should cite a much more significant example than a mid-level manager and vice versa. If it doesn't match up, then the four reasons above are probably at play again.
A prime example of this surfaced from a candidate we interviewed for the search above. He told us about a large project he bought for his company several years earlier. It was going through a lenghty entitlement process and the front-end investment was growing each day. It was clear the project would be a home run once it cleared entitlements but with a difficult township involved, it was uncertain when that would occur.
This candidate was pressed by his CEO to make a decision on staying the course and hope the project cleared entitlements (or) selling it now with partial entitlements and get out. Either way, it was clear his future with the company was on the line if things went south. His gut told him to stay the course, but logic told him to play it safe and sell the project. He went with the latter and while not a home run, his company still made several hundred thousand dollars profit.
So, where's the grand mistake? Our candidate went on to explain that soon after the sale, the township elected a new mayor that was more pro-development. The project cleared entitlements on the next pass and went on to become the #1 selling project in the state for several years. As the candidate put it, the "lost income opportunity" was in the multi-million dollar range. In the interest of "playing it safe" he cost his company millions of dollars and recognized that.
Point: Many candidates might not have considered this a "bad decision"; after all, the project still made a profit. However, this candidate saw beyond the short term profit to recognizing (and admitting) the missed long term income opportunity. We found his candor insightful and refreshing. So did our client, who hired him as their new President.
OK... your turn. Tell us about your favorite interview questions and we'll share them in a future post.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay abreast of new opportunities.
The Talon Group
Bob Piper, Rodney Hall, Tony Cleveland & Jean Mason
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