With regards to the previous post about my letter published in CRM Magazine, I forgot to mention a couple NY Times (www.NYTimes.com) articles that seem to help to answer my, “Why?” question. They are both by Janet Rae-Dupree.

“Bright Ideas: Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike” (30 December 2007).

“Unboxed: If You’re Open To Growth, You Tend To Grow” (6 July 2008).

The original intention was to do a post on the “Unboxed” article but then bumped into the “Innovative” one as well.  Good stuff, right?
If you factor in the adage, “Birds of a feather flock together” into a hiring situation, an organization could very often take on the characteristics of those minding the hiring gate. Add in that the less adventurous (read: those not really open to growth) can be intimidated by those who embrace growth and eventually that stagnation can become a cancer that can cripple a company from the inside out. One bad apple might not spoil the whole bunch but over time it can fill the bowl with more bad apples.

It’s so nice to be appreciated and acknowledged by those in your field/area of interest, isn’t it? After reading a couple great articles in CRM Magazine (www.DestinationCRM.com) I wrote in to provide some additional AU insights. The editors in turn decided to merge the two letters and publish them in their print version (July/August 2008 issue), as well as post on their web site.

To read the letter in, as well as links to the articles what inspired them (both of which are highly recommended), please click here.

Mr. Lior Arussy’s reply is also on point. His ability to pick up the lead and fill in the blank that my “straight guy” routine left off was flawless. It’s sad that too many hiring managers, decision makers, etc. overlook the fact that history is filled with countless examples where passion, belief and determination defeated the “superior” enemy (e.g., Giants over the Pats, David over Goliath).

Sure an MBA helps but being over-prepared, overconfident and boxed in by rules (when the market knows no rules) is rarely going to lead a team to reaching it’s full potential. But that’s the difference between organizations who are driven to succeed and those who are just trying to mitigate failure.