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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Brett Blair

Brett Blair is President of Sanford Rose Associates – Brighton. Brett comes from a 22-year corporate career, with prior experience with RE/MAX, 3M, and Alcoa. He enjoyed multiple functional roles over that time, culminating as General Manager of a $200 million automotive parts manufacturing business. Brett holds a BS - Industrial Engineering degree, and an MBA – Finance. He has also studied in Japan and has extensive experience working in Mexico and Europe. Brett is passionate about helping people and through his recruiting business he is able to help people and subsequently organizations.

Articles by Brett Blair

The Business of Recruiting

Personal Discipline – The Path to Personal Freedom and Success in Search

by on Nov. 1, 2011


pathway

Personal discipline. This is a daily challenge for me. We live in a world full of distractions, unhealthy choices, and pressure to do a myriad of things that are not in our true self-interest. Modern culture has created an increasingly noisy, busy, artificial, short-term focused, pleasure-seeking world. The human temptation to slip into the path of least resistance, to seek out safety and comfort, and to avoid risk and hard work is ever present.

I’m writing about this subject in relation to success in the search profession, as I believe that the ability to be incredibly self-disciplined is one of the most important requirements for success in this business. We all know that without doing “the work,” sustainable success as a recruiter will not happen. For the great majority of us, our work is done alone, either as solo practitioners, or in offices or cubicles, as part of a search firm. We each decide, in the “privacy of our own privacy,” what we will do with the hours we are blessed with each day.

Recruiting success, simply put, requires excellent productivity. Since our work as recruiters is primarily made up of our personal actions (phone calls, emails, meetings, letters, research, writing, listening, etc.), the productivity that I am talking about is “personal productivity,” as opposed to equipment, office, or other measures. Sustained personal productivity, or the amount of value-added work done per personal unit of time, over the long run, is one of the most significant indicators or predictors of success in this great business.

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The Business of Recruiting

Recruiting and a “Blank Canvas”

by on Sep. 1, 2011


blank canvas by Chris Palmer

There is endless advice all around about how to become a great recruiter. There are many outstanding “big billers” who have used, perfected, and shared their best techniques, often times here on The Fordyce Letter. I appreciate very much the advice that I receive, and look forward to each publication.

While I’ve been successful in the four short years that I’ve been in the search business, I’m still a long way away from achieving my ultimate goals. I’m driving hard to grow my business to $2.5 million in annual revenue. This will be a journey, and one to which I’m committed.

As I take an honest look at what makes me successful, and what will make me even more successful in the future, it is the extent to which I can control my thinking. There are hundreds of books written on the subject, and countless approaches. Staying free of fear, anxiety, worry, and stress are key to having the energy and focus to perform at a high level, and on a sustainable basis. None of the world-class recruiting techniques are worth a darn if you, the recruiter, are burdened with emotional baggage of fear, regret and worry. These emotions are absolutely paralyzing for the search practitioner. I think it is critical to pay attention to one’s “thinking” and emotional approach to work. Staying away from negative influences (like television) and negative people are critical. Making a conscious effort to read motivating or instructional material, spend time with people who will lift you up, enjoy nature and simple abundance, and in general be influenced in a positive way by the choices you make is very important. Regular exercise is also a key, as vibrant physical health is a prerequisite for sustained positive emotional health and energy.

There are several visual images that I use to set my mindset for peak performance and success each day.

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How-To, Relationships

Bad Search Symptoms – How To Cure Your Business

by on Apr. 11, 2011


image source: Claus Rebler

With just four years’ experience in this great business, I’ve made my share of mistakes. Some I continue to make, even though I know better. I’ve learned, over and over, that it is not wise to get involved in low-quality search assignments. We all know what they look like, and I’m getting a little better at sniffing them out. My short list of signs or symptoms of a low-quality search are:

image source: Claus Rebler

  • Contingency search with multiple recruiters involved
  • Search that has been going on for a long time
  • A client who is in financial trouble (i.e. may not be able to pay your fee)
  • A client who refuses to sign your search agreement
  • Splits with other recruiters, where you are not the exclusive search agent
  • Searches where you have no access to the hiring manager
  • Searches where you are competing against an aggressive internal recruiting department

The list can go on and on. I’ve done work with each of the above, and it was painful!

Ongoing marketing, with a clear value proposition, is the only way to improve the odds of winning great search assignments. I’m a believer in open communication, and think it is a good idea to share your business goals and aspirations with many people, including your friends. However, this can be a double-edged sword.

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The Business of Recruiting

How to Manage the Roller Coaster Ride of Executive Search

by on Oct. 6, 2010


Huge_Roller_Coaster_5

I love riding roller coasters. I always have, for as long as I can remember.  When I was too short for the really scary rides, I’d put a double layer of socks in my shoes to be just a bit taller, and hopefully my head would hit the measuring bar and I would be allowed to ride. It didn’t help at all that I was a short kid. I’m sure you have similar memories, if you are also a roller coaster fan. As I grew older, and ever after I became a parent, my love for roller coasters has not diminished. I don’t mind waiting in line, and I want to ride as many different coasters across the country that I can get to.

To me, executive search is much like riding a roller coaster. There are ups and downs, and the best rides have the biggest ups and downs. There are scary turns, moments where the ride is very shaky and rickety and downright fearful. Then, there are moments when it’s nothing but a blast. At the top of the long ride up the first hill, you can see all around. Then, sometimes, you go diving deep into a black tunnel, twisting and turning and flying fast into the unknown. A whip and a jerk and up and out of the tunnel, back into daylight you go. As the coaster makes the final turn, the bumps slow down, the speed diminishes, and the car comes to a smooth stop at the place it all began. Your heart is pumping, head a little dizzy, and ears are ringing from all the screaming. Once you get out of the cart, if the line’s not too long, you run back through the waiting area to ride it again.

While executive search is like riding a roller coaster, there are many things that can be done to minimize the ups and downs.

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Entrepreneurship, The Business of Recruiting

How to Set Goals and Stick to Them!

by on Sep. 7, 2010


G-curve-dip

If you are like me, when you hear about “goal setting,” you may want to fall asleep. It’s pretty hard to get excited about a subject like this. I can relate, as I spent most of my previous career without specific goals and had no interest in setting them. A paycheck every two weeks, performance reviews and regular raises and promotions, an office and a desk and telephone and a boss….who needed to set goals in that environment? That all changed when I decided to make the leap from my corporate career (I call it my 20 years in the cubicle) to entrepreneurship.

This was in the summer of 2007. I felt the rush of freedom that came with being my own boss, but I also sensed a need to add some structure to my life and my daily activities. With this motivation, I connected with a life coach, Dr. Tom Hill. Dr. Hill encouraged me to start establishing and writing down my goals. I subsequently read several books on goal setting and found a common theme. It became clear to me, with tons of evidence, that people who set specific goals and write them down are dramatically more likely to achieve their goals and be high performers.

Since this time, for the past three years I have been an avid written goal setter.  I re-write my goals every morning on a 3×5 inch index card and carry it in my pocket. I’m convinced that my success as a recruiter (Sanford Rose Associates – Brighton) has partially been a result of this new discipline. Another element of living a successful life, I believe, is to intentionally work towards life balance. For me, learning, growing and being in balance are the earmarks of true success.

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Uncategorized

Finding People Who Make a Difference

by on Feb. 17, 2009


fordyce-default

My name is Brett Blair, and I am a relatively new recruiter and owner of a Sanford Rose Associates Executive Search firm.

I opened my first office in June, 2007, in Howell, Michigan – a suburb of Detroit. Over the next 18 months, I was able to grow the company to 7 employees, including one in Mexico, and in that time frame completed 30 search assignments with revenues in excess of $600,000. I also opened a second office in Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2008.

I have an unusual background, and one that surprises many when they inquire about my success. I am an Industrial Engineer, and went on to obtain an MBA. I worked for 3M and then for Alcoa, and had a 20+ year career in “the cubicle” at these great companies.

My roles were diverse…ranging from engineering to customer service, Manager of Trade Compliance, Human Resources Director, and ultimately General Manager of a $200M international automotive electronics division.

The automotive slump, coupled with a burning desire in my heart to become an entrepreneur, were things that nudged me into leaving Alcoa in early 2007.

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