U R Unique

Over my career I can not tell you how many times I’ve heard the statement “I’m a people person”. If I had a penny for the number of times I’ve heard that answer to a question or even as a statement I’d be richer than Amazons Bezos. Seriously, I’m not kidding. It’s said as if the person saying it was somehow very, very special. A very real and standout “people person”. Even better is when I’ve asked them to tell me what exactly they mean by “people person” and they say “well, I just like people. I like (fill in the blank here…) with people or for people. Seriously, we’re talking well into the billions of dollars here.

It’s been easy to write those kinds of statements off because everyone says that to a certain degree and to think these interviewees are not unique. That actually though couldn’t’ be farther from the truth. Have you ever been asked what your strengths are in an interview or even just by your own boss? You know the drill right? It goes like this:

·        Task oriented

·        Results oriented

·        Team Player

·        Detail oriented, etc…

There are a whole lot of people though that could probably say the same thing though right? You maybe? So is anyone unique at all? Personally I think it’s how those things are delivered each and every day that sets one apart from another. I have two very well respected plein air painter friends that essentially paint the same things. Both paint outdoors, the kind of painting they do is the same, they use oil paints not acrylics. The kinds of brush strokes that are used are common in the plein air world and what they paint is generally the same. Outside stuff, barns, fields of golden whispy grains, beaches, waves, boats tied up to a dock, etc…Their competencies and skills are the same yet both people are so unique in how they get to that end result. It’s incredible. It’s the same in the typical 9-5 work world as well. I hired two Sr. Sales professionals one time that were both really successful. One was your typical sales pro. They were super high energy, road warrior and knocked on every door and was very successful. The other though was quiet, reserved, seemingly low energy and more about the details but incredibly successful as well.

It’s my opinion that there is not just one ordinary person on the face of this giant blue ball we all live on. Each individual person may not be an artist, sculpture, photographer or a creative in that regard but each is creative in how they deliver themselves every day. C.S. Lewis who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia believed this as well. He once said “There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations, they are to our life as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” He lived this out as well in his own day to day by writing personal, handwritten letters to everyone who wrote to him because he understood the uniqueness, value, worth and dignity of each person. How might the recruiting/talent acquisition industry improve if it treated and made the process more…Human.

The uniquely designed Human being with skills, talents, gifts and creativity will ultimately find their unique expression in building increasingly complex computer systems, data warehouses, A.I, take us to mars, create self-driving cars, hyper loops, better homes, sturdier buildings, walls, roads, better processes and stronger businesses. Perhaps a city in the sky one day? Who knows what will happen next.

Happy Friday !

G

Gordon Collier, Founder; Pipeline Search Solutions LLC