Thursday Thoughts... Seeing Talent

This week’s thoughts are on seeing talent.

As you know if you’ve been reading my thoughts, I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in Florida on vacation with my family. The rest of the story is that my vacation was bookended by work commitments in Frisco, TX, and Minneapolis, MN respectively. In all I spent 13 consecutive days on airplanes, in hotels, driving rental cars, catching Ubers, eating out, participating in hosted meetings, as well as a wide variety of various “vacation type” activities. To say I interacted with a large number of people I’ve never met before would be an understatement. If I separate the company activity from the employee I can confidently say the majority of the interactions were good. Not bad, not exceptional, not memorable in any way but good. Then my family and I visited El Camino in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The food and beverages at the El Camino were great (Mexican soul food that I’d highly recommend), BUT I had eaten at many delicious restaurants during my trip. During our dinner that night the experience was different. Our server Jasmine Gonzalez was very efficient, BUT like the food, I had many efficient servers during the trip. To me, talent isn’t found in simply “good” or “efficient” service. Some intangibles make 1 + 1 equal something greater than 2. This week I want to explain what I saw in the talent of Jasmine and what I look for in seeing talent.

• She made direct eye contact: That feels like the basics, but I always think of the great Vince Lombardi as he began each year of training camp by saying “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Translation – starting points matter!
• She spoke directly to each of my family members and when they asked a question, she gave a direct suggestion: It takes confidence and relatability to offer a direct suggestion. It’s a valuable trait, and it’s one you’d like your sales team to have. When a customer asks for an opinion they don’t want to hear “it’s all good” or “whatever you’d like”. They want expertise and someone confident enough in their product to make a recommendation to capture the sale. Translation – communication skills are a must!
• The next one may seem like a strange observation, but she refilled our water pitcher WITHOUT asking: Water is the most basic offering at a restaurant. We expect to receive the basics that we’ve requested and I get annoyed when I have to ask for basics. In my opinion, the average is when they ask if you’d like more water. Exceptional is when they just bring it. Anticipating needs is how you go from salesperson to trusted advisor. This equation relates to nearly every business in some way or other. Translation – Exceptional is knowing what I need BEFORE I need it!
• When I asked her about her background she explained that she is a first-generation American. She has her license for retirement investing, but likes to work and enjoys the interaction so she does this as a side hustle: She could finish her day and sit at home, but she wants to earn and be active. Translation – she’s motivated!

Now let’s address some truth. Jasmine is not what most of us would normally think of when picturing talent in the agricultural industry in the middle of the US. She dressed (hair, tattoos, shoes, etc.) like a person who lives in Florida. She doesn’t know ANYTHING about agriculture. She didn’t go to K-State, OK State, or TX Tech. She (probably) doesn’t understand diesel or oil. Her current professions are investing and hospitality. Now let’s look at what she is. Jasmine is talented. Jasmine instinctively understands the art of relating to people. She is driven. She is intelligent.

???????????????The truth is the industry is irrelevant. We can teach talented people the products or services we provide. We can’t teach the traits I just listed about Jasmine. So how do you get Jasmine on your team? Honestly, you probably won’t. I tried to recruit her, but apparently, her heart belongs in Florida. However, while Jasmine is talented, she’s not the only talented person out there. Talent is just harder to find and the competition is fiercer than ever. You have to be on the lookout EVERYWHERE you go. You have to be willing to IMMEDIATELY recognize that talent and pursue it. You have to be willing to look past ALL of the “deficiencies” I listed about her knowledge and background. You have to be willing to invest in their development and understand there may be growing pains.

???????????????I admit I have a soft spot for the restaurant world. That’s where I began. One of the first leaders to invest in me was a man named Brad Grecco. He developed me right out of school 20 years ago and I still operate on many of the principles he taught me today. After running my own business(s) for 10 years another series of leaders have taken chances on me. Craig Bollig took me from the restaurant world to energy sales and I was fortunate enough to win our top sales award. Kevin Kalsbeck took me from energy sales to lubricant territory management and I was blessed enough to win the top District Manager award two out of four years. Mike Frame and Mark Biedenfeld took me from lubricants to the place I am today. Each has invested their time into my development and (hopefully) I have rewarded their effort with production. The moral of the story is they spotted talent outside of the norm and found a way to bring it into their offering. This brings me to my challenge for you this week. Look for talent everywhere you go. (Restaurants, car dealerships, clothing stores, gas stations, and more.) Forget your normal expectations and focus on the basics of talent. Find a way to recruit them. You never know… they could one day be sharing their thoughts with hundreds of leaders every single week telling them how they found a diamond in the rough.