"Be Prepared To Re-Examine Your Reasoning" - What Robert McNamara Taught Me About Business & Recruiting

Joshua Letourneau — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:01:38 -0400

In a riveting excerpt from "The Fog of War", the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, Robert McNamara, offers the following advice:

"Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning."

Talent Acquisition Bubbles: Lose The Non-Permeable Membrains!

Joshua Letourneau — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:41:58 -0400

Job Seekers, Beware!: Why Job Board Resumes Are Seen As Re-circulatory Garbage

Joshua Letourneau — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:26:40 -0400

Take a good look at the attached image and you'll begin to understand the analogy between Job Board resumes and Re-circulatory Garbage . . .

Take another look at let it sink in a little bit. Many candidates I speak with do not truly understand the ramifications of having their name, address, and phone number, etc. public on a board like Monster, CareerBuilder, etc, for the whole world to see. Think about it: Do you really want your information to be used as wallpaper for every corporate and third-party recruiter out there?

You're Now My 'Mentor'??? Um, Thanks . . . .

Joshua Letourneau — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:39:02 -0400

Rant of the day: Clowns and/or A**holes are self-appointing themselves as Mentors.?. !!!

Yes, yes, this is truly a growing problem . . . word on the street is that in the recruiting and business world, Clowns and/or A**holes (in the Bob Sutton sense) are appointing themselves as Mentors. I had to restate this as just saying it once doesn't let it sink in enough.

STOP Putting "MBA" After Your Name . . . (Unless You're A Clown, Of Course)

Joshua Letourneau — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:01:10 -0400

Ok, 3-min rant on people that choose to put "MBA" after their names:

You're not impressing anyone.

If it's an issue of insecurity, see a therapist, buy a Corvette, or start working out - just do something other than be so transparent as to put "MBA" after your name.

Where Private Equity Collides with Donuts and National Security

Joshua Letourneau — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:38:17 -0400

Pop quiz: What do donuts and national security/intel have in common? Better stated, what do Dunkin' Donuts and Booz Allen Hamilton have in common?

Answer: They may soon both have the same owner, the Carlyle Group. Carlyle purchased Dunkin Donuts for a discount at $2.4 Billion back in December of '05 . . . and now is eyeballing BAH's government contracting business for around the same purchase price, speculatively valued at approximately $2 billion.