As chief talent scout for AOL in 2000, Michele James found herself holding a backstage pass to the biggest (and most troubled) merger in corporate history. It was a rough-and-tumble ride, but what she learned made the trip worthwhile, she says.
James, 41, was a top headhunter with Korn/Ferry International, the world's biggest search firm, when she got the call from AOL. She was reluctant at first but decided this was a chance to get experience she would otherwise lack. "I thought, If I make the leap to the New Economy, it will be like getting a PhD along the way."
The learning curve, however, was steeper than she had anticipated. Feeling totally overwhelmed by the scope and complexity of her new position as AOL and Time Warner merged, she says she tried to quit every day for the first six weeks. But gradually, she began building systems for handling the volume of work, which at any given time might involve 1,000 open jobs, 48 staff recruiters, and countless outside search firms. She also came to appreciate how vital a differentiator talent was in the viciously competitive New Economy. "Forget disruptive technology. I learned how truly disruptive the wrong employee can be--in every seat."
In 2002, when the new company began shedding talent instead of adding it, James decided to leave. She set up her own firm, and built her business in those bleak days with a simple message to clients: "Let us do one excellent search. Let us find the one person who will create revenue for you tomorrow."
It worked. In late December, she signed a six-year lease for 7,000 square feet in a prime building in Manhattan. "If you could get out of bed post-9/11, post-boom, and say, 'Today, I am personally going to outperform the Dow, because I believe in me more than the stock market,' then everything will be okay." --Linda Tischler
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