Circle of Experts - Brain Food Blog - Career Acceleration

Underleveraged talent pool: the unemployed and underemployed

David Teten — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:55:37 GMT

Lately, I have been thinking about the unemployed and underemployed as a pool of talent. I'd argue they are one of the most undertapped economic segments. Of the global working population, 6.3% is unemployed. In the US, the long-term unemployed are better educated, older, and more likely to be professional workers than the mean unemployed population. These workers are particularly held back by age discrimination and high wage expectation.

I am reasonably familiar with this market because a key component of the Circle of Experts' strategy is to tap the knowledge of people in transition. Working with this community excites me because the unemployed are people facing significant challenges. While they are wrestling with finding a job, we are glad to pay them a competitive rate.

Particularly now as layoffs increase, there are significant entrepreneurial opportunities in creatively tapping the time and talents of the unemployed and underemployed. The expert network business, the fastest growing sector of the investment research industry, is a prime example. Other successful startups working in this market (broadly defined): Accolo, TheLadders, Notch Partners, and ProfessionaLink. Who else would you add to the list?

On Sourcing Deals for Private Equity Funds

David Teten — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:31:42 GMT

I enjoyed presenting a few weeks ago to the Harvard Business School Club of London on "Best Practices in Deal-Sourcing by Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Hedge Funds", generously hosted by McKinsey. You can download my slides here. I look forward to learning more about this area at next week's Capital Roundtable Masterclass on "The Art of Building the Right Deal Flow", in New York. I would welcome your feedback.

The Art of Email Writing

David Teten — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:11:00 GMT

A constant complaint we hear around the office is that emails we receive (and sometimes send) are poorly written or unclear. According to “How to Write a Perfect Email”, when writing an email that warrants a reply, there are four key components to get a quick and valid response:

1. Brevity- Keep it short.

2. Context- How do you know me/where did we meet (Give information that would make a person remember you) and put it in the subject line.

3. Something to Act On- Make the request clear and ask closed ended questions.

4. Set a Deadline- Set a date when you need the information, give one follow-up email and then pick up the phone.

My colleague Michelle Reicher observed that the guidelines set in this blog are a good standard to follow, but, "I disagree with the blanket advice to ask closed ended questions. Keep the request and question clear and concise, but allow the responder to give as much information as is necessary to move forward. When one sends an email with questions, the goal is to solicit a response, but it is important to have a complete, comprehensive, and useful response not just a yes/no answer. Yes/No responses answer the immediate question, but do not allow farther explanation that may answer future questions or give farther insight into the matter at hand."

In The Cranking Widgets Blog: “How to Construct the Perfect Email Subject Line”, the blogger observes that a good subject line is imperative for a successful email:

“There are 3 simple tips that, if implemented properly, will make your email subject (and, subsequently, your email) much easier to read.

1. Use Keywords [to identify the purpose of your email.] All email messages fall into one or more of 4 possible categories:

o Questions (or messages that elicit a response from the reader)

o Responses (messages that are in response to questions or other inquiring messages)

o Informational (or FYI - messages that are meant to inform but don’t require a response)

o Spam (jokes, pictures of your nephew’s baseball game, etc. - as well as actual spam)

2. Briefly describe the subject - This is best done before you start writing your message. Finding the right balance between vague and overly-specific can be tough. Personally, I think it’s like anything else - you get better at it with time.

3. For Pete’s sake, never leave the subject blank - This is something I’ve mentioned before, and it bears repeating.”

The body of the email will never be read if the context of the subject line does not act as an icebreaker or a contextual reminder. If the subject line merely says, “Hi” then it is synonymous to a cold call, but if the subject line identifies the business or how you know this person it becomes analogous to a warm call or a referral, which are generally more fruitful and productive than an unsolicited call.

Secrets of Silicon Alley's Serial Entrepreneurs, Sep. 10, NYC

David Teten — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:52:06 GMT

I’m looking forward to speaking at the monthly New York Software Industry Association meeting on September 10 in New York. The topic is ‘Secrets of Silicon Alley's Serial Entrepreneurs’. Carter Burden, Laurel Touby and I will be sharing our thoughts. (Personally, I think the key secret is fail fast and often.)

Jibber Jobber

David Teten — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:54:11 GMT

Jason Alba at JibberJobber added a JibberJobber profile to the Virtual Handshake social software company wiki. Barbara Safani writes,

A successful job search campaign requires exceptional organizational and follow-up skills. Jibber Jobber provides an easy to use interface that takes the drudgery out of the job search process while improving efficiencies and accelerating search activity.

What I like about Jibber Jobber is that it addresses a clear need among job-searchers: managing their job search and all of the people and companies with whom they interact during the course of their job search. The great majority of people I meet have very primitive personal CRM systems--often as primitive as a shoebox of business cards. So there's a large opportunity to provide people with more sophisticated tools. Jibber Jobber's challenge is that it is so narrowly focused on the job search, whereas every professional needs a personal CRM tool (e.g., Act, Microsoft Business Contact Manager, etc. They may find that they successfully penetrate the job-seeker market, then at some point rebrand and target the broader professional market.

A Career in Hedge Funds and the Price of Overcrowding

David Teten — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:29:52 GMT

I am prone to agree with Robert Frank's argument in "A Career in Hedge Funds and the Price of Overcrowding".

"[The market for hedge fund talent] is what economists call a winner-take-all market — essentially a tournament in which a handful of winners are selected from a much larger field of initial contestants. Such markets tend to attract too many contestants for two reasons.

The first is an information bias. An intelligent decision about whether to enter any tournament requires an accurate estimate of the odds of winning. Yet people’s assessments of their relative skill levels are notoriously optimistic. Surveys show, for example, that more than 90 percent of workers consider themselves more productive than their average colleague.

This overconfidence bias is especially likely to distort career choice because, in addition to the motivational forces that support it, the biggest winners in many tournaments are so conspicuous. For example, N.B.A. stars who earn eight-figure salaries appear on television several nights a week, whereas the thousands who failed to make the league attract little notice....

A second reason for persistent overcrowding in winner-take-all markets is a structural problem called “the tragedy of the commons.” This problem helps explain, for instance, why we see too many gold prospectors, an occupation that has much in common with prospecting for corporate deals. In the initial stages of exploiting a newly discovered gold field, adding another prospector may significantly increase the total amount of gold found. Beyond some point, however, additional prospectors contribute little. The gold found by a newcomer to a crowded field is largely gold that would have been found by existing searchers."

more...

How to Manage Virtual Employees

David Teten — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:35:23 GMT

In our latest FastCompany column, we summarized best practices in managing virtual employees at Evalueserve:

...Daigle observed that the virtual structure eliminates many political issues: "Not only do we not have much of the water cooler, idle time type of communication, and resulting issues -- we don't have time for it. I think there is some truth that the four of us [of the EVS management team] have got by without serious conflicts over 6 full years because we're somewhat forced (by geographic non-proximity) to stay out of one another's way, trusting each other to execute. Despite being geographically dispersed, all four senior managers are actively involved in both sales and operations, in touch via email, instant messaging, and phone daily. However, because we are distant we are forced to act independently and to focus on execution."

Best Practices in Writing Emails--Policy for a Multinational Corporation

David Teten — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 01:55:23 GMT

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Our new parent company, Evalueserve, is highly dependent on email for internal and external communications. They also hire every year hundreds of recent graduates (particularly in India , China , and Chile ) who are usually not familiar with the protocols of business communication via email. The guidelines below, crafted by my Evalueserve colleague Ramakrishnan M., provide guidelines from which many other companies would likely benefit. All new employees at Evalueserve/Nitron are asked to hold by these rules.

Corporate Email Guidelines

Address

-- Ensure that the “To” and “CC” boxes are left blank, while typing the mail content, so that the message is not sent accidentally. Type the client’s mail id the only after the mail has been written, QCed and accepted.

-- It is best to avoid BCCs in business mails

-- Maintain Protocol for “CCs”, i.e., first mention the Client name, and then CE name.

Subject

-- Provide a Subject. The subject should be brief and to the point.

-- Ensure that the subject is changed appropriately when replying to old mails

-- Mention the project charge code in the subject of status updates/deliverables/call summaries etc to the client. This is very important from a tracking perspective. Going forward, please follow the nomenclature given below:

o EVS Deliverable, June 9, 2005 - XYZ-US-B-001 - Brief Project Title

o EVS Call Summary, June 9, 2005 - XYZ-US-B-001 - Brief Project Title

o EVS Status, June 9, 2005 - XYZ-US-B-001 - Brief Project Title

Salutation

-- Mails should start with “Hi XYZ,” (including the comma)

o Choose “Hello”, if the client is based in Europe or if the relationship is more formal

o You could also write “Hello Mr. Last Name” if you do not know the person too well and wish to be extra formal

o The best way to decide how to address the client is to follow the way he/she addresses us

Body

-- Provide a suitable reference or background/context (This is with reference to your mail dated …)

-- Please categorize all the points into appropriate buckets

-- Use “bold” , “italics”, etc. to highlight important points or headings/topics . Avoid using CAPITAL LETTERS. This is considered as angry/rude/arrogant.

-- Ensure that the subject matter is MECE (Mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive)

-- Be crisp, and to the point

-- Especially be clear about action points due from the client’s side, as well as from EVS side

-- Broadly, all project-related mails should cover .

o The objective of the project

o The work done

o Clarifications needed

o Plan of action

o Red Flags (if any)

-- Follow the EVS template for guidance on how to categorize sub-sections in the email

-- Use standard EVS bullets

-- Avoid full stops at the end of bullet-points if it is not a complete sentence

-- Avoid contractions, such as “let’s” , "pls" –use full forms “let us” , "please" etc.

-- Be extra careful when copy/pasting from multiple mails

o Select all the text, make the font “Arial, 10” with color “automatic” or “black”

o Ensure all signatures (from others) have been removed in the final mail

-- Always propose a tentative solution when you need to get the client’s go-ahead; Let him/her get back with an alternative way, if need be

o This way you show that you are thinking on your feet

o You are not sitting idle, waiting for the client to hand-hold you

o This is applicable to time for a conference call as well – always propose a tentative time. Please be sure to add conference bridge details

-- Avoid any form of ambiguity . Indicate concrete time (date, time, with time zone) for all deliverables

o If possible, avoid EoD ("End of Day") India Standard Time; this does not tell the client much (especially if he hopes to work on it). Instead, write 09:00 PM IST

o Monday (June 06, 2005) – no “early next week” or “Monday” or anything incomplete

o 06:00 PM CET – Be clear about timeframes. For assistance, use http://www.timeanddate.com/

o Even if the client uses wrong terms (EST instead of EDT, for instance), be sure that you use the appropriate term

-- Use your discretion on whether to reply to old mails or start new mails

o If client’s chain/previous comments need to be referred, use the old chain

o If it is a fresh mail/deliverable, start afresh

o Please be very careful that no internal mail exchanges are sent across unless necessary

Complimentary Closing

-- Mails should end with “Thanks and regards,” or “Best regards,” (including the comma)

-- Ensure that your signature (with updated extension number) is included

-- Ensure every aspect of the signature is consistent with the EVS standard

-- Mention your first name at the end (even though the signature is right below that)

Last, but not the least

-- Ensure that you run a spell-check before delivery - please activate automatic spell check option in your Outlook configuration.

-- Ensure that you read the mail twice before sending. Think critically and revise suitably. Check not only the grammar and spelling aspects, but also the tone. Ensure that you don't sound rude.

-- Ensure that you check and confirm that the document attached is the right one . If it is a spreadsheet deliverable, ensure you have brought the cursor to the beginning of each page using 'Control+Home' combination. Also, the document should be saved with the cover page active, so that it opens with that page when the client receives it.

Execunet Webinar: Consulting Opportunities with Hedge Funds, VC Funds, and Others

David Teten — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:25:32 GMT

I hope that some of you will join us for the program below.

CONSULTING OPPORTUNITIES WITH HEDGE FUNDS, PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS, MUTUAL FUNDS AND OTHERS

Webinar with David Teten, Co-Managing Director, Nitron Circle of Experts

Friday, June 08, 2007, 1:00 - 2:00 PM EST

Sponsored by Execunet, the executive network for the $100K+ executive.

David is Co-Managing Director of the Nitron Circle of Experts ( CircleofExperts.com ), an independent research firm that pays senior industry executives to consult with professional investors, law firms, and a range of corporate clients. Our clients learn from experts like you through one-on-one consultations, customized surveys, and interactive events. Nitron is a subsidiary of Evalueserve, an offshore research & analytics firm.

Joining the Circle of Experts never costs you a dime. Your benefits:

Interact and learn from the leading institutional investors.
Work on strategic, thought-provoking projects.
Monetary compensation. We pay a competitive hourly rate, varying depending on your experience.
Convenience. Most consultations are over the phone, at times you choose.
Privacy. Your consultations are entirely confidential. Only discuss topics of your choosing.
Earn additional compensation to introduce qualified colleagues.

Among our Circle of Experts are alumni of:

Premier companies:

AIG, Cisco, Dow, DuPont, GE, IBM, McKinsey, MetLife, Microsoft, Pfizer, Shell, Sony, Toyota

Leading universities:

California Institute of Technology, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, MIT

Scientific institutions:

National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Harvard Medical School

Update:

Execunet has posted a recording of the presentation, available free at

http://www.execunet.com/execunet_ondemand/FTBREATETE_tetan_coffeebreak/ondemand.html

REGISTRATION

(Requires membership in Execunet )

https://members.execunet.com/e_membership_alertlogin.cfm?
redirfile=e_network_online_register.cfm&
fmtid=7a56&CFID=9087973&
CFTOKEN=4193b43320a9da58-C37A4E8C-EA68-1A78-C8A40DD1F900B762

Free copies of The Virtual Handshake

David Teten — Fri, 04 May 2007 02:56:56 GMT

The folks at Landslide have figured out a great marketing strategy: If you view a demo of their "sales workstyle management" system, they'll give you a free copy of The Virtual Handshake--Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online.

Alex Salkever of Inc. wrote in Turning Sales Into Science that Landslide "gives sales staffers what they need, when they need it, to close a deal." In other words, Landslide provides salespeople more infrastructure, so that they can focus more on selling and less on all of the other activities that distract them from their main job.

Link: Watch a Landslide demo, get a copy of The Virtual Handshake

The Insider’s Guide to Interviewing

David Teten — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 14:01:14 GMT

Career Hub has just released their third free eBook, “The Insider’s Guide to Interviewing”, featuring articles from 14 top career experts. This book, along with two earlier books, ‘The Insider’s Guide to Resume Writing” and “The Insider’s Guide to Job Search” can be downloaded at http://careerhub.typepad.com/main/2007/04/free_job_search.html. Via Barbara Safani

Value of Soft Assets

David Teten — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:16:53 GMT

The indefatigable and ubiquitous Auren Hoffman, CEO of Rapleaf, posts his slides from a presentation on the value of soft assets ("connections, knowledge, and reputation"). I particularly like his analogy between alternative assets in the hard and soft space.

Compensation at Private Equity Firms and Investment Banks

David Teten — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 05:55:46 GMT

Dealmaker Magazine has a useful survey of 2006 compensation at top private equity firms and investment banks.

They've done their best to make it hard to replicate this data without sharing your own personal data with them.

The page with this data in the printed magazine is written with hard-to-copy formatting, and the online version is presented in graphical form so readers can't just cut and paste it.

Click here and register for the data: http://www.dealmakerdaily.com/magazine/article/4444.html

UPDATE: For another excellent compensation survey, see TheFundBusiness Survey .

Update on Jigsaw, marketplace for business contact information

David Teten — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:46:02 GMT

I enjoyed meeting with Jim Fowler yesterday, CEO of Jigsaw (our wiki profile). Jigsaw is a marketplace for business contact information. It's very useful for salespeople, recruiters, researchers, jobseekers, and so on. Some noteable data points:

+ We know from our (Nitron Advisors') own experience that the problem with most traditional list services is that their data is often out-of-date, whereas Jigsaw has attracted a community who are motivated to cleanse the data on their behalf. 80% of Jigsaw phone numbers are direct dial, in part because of their approach to gathering data.

+ Most Jigsaw revenues come from recruiters and financial advisors. 50% of revenue is from corporate clients, who find the data cleansing service that Jigsaw offers particularly valuable. All of Salesforce's salesforce uses Jigsaw . Only a small percentage of corporate customers upload data, but Jim sees that percentage increasing over time.

+ 1/4 of revenue is from resellers/partners --- you can see a list at http://jigsaw.com/company_information/partners.xhtml .

+ He's identified several competitors: WillyLoman.com, 7 Chinese competitors. Jim claims that he is the only player with significant traction.

+ As with all social networks, Jigsaw has some users who abuse the system. So like all data vendors, Jigsaw has started to insert dummy records to track abuse, resale, and so on of their data.

+ Jim claims that some corporate sales brokers have stopped selling databases with emails, because of their concern that their lists will end up on Jigsaw.

+ Although many people (Michael Arrington, Rafe Nadleman) are critical of Jigsaw on privacy grounds, to date only 200 people have asked to be removed from Jigsaw, and >2500 people have asked to be added to Jigsaw so they can proactively manage their data.

+ The database is used heavily; 70% of all contacts in the system are "bought" at least once a year.

+ Jim claims that the people who are really hurt by Jigsaw are CEOs like him and me, because it makes executive recruiters more efficient---so that they can steal our employees more readily. He says "As soon as we're cash flow positive [this year], I've told all our employees that we're giving free lunches every day. We have to do what Google does, because I know that so many people are working hard to recruit our employees."

What is your greatest weakness? 3 smart replies

David Teten — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:25:15 GMT

Annie Fisher quotes Ben Dattner, who suggests: 1. Focus the discussion on how you've improved over time. 2. Talk about how the job you're applying for will help you stretch and build your skills. 3. Describe a valuable piece of advice someone gave you, and how it has helped your career. more...

Ten Ways To Take Advantage of Web 2.0

David Teten — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:52:33 GMT

Dion Hinchcliffe reports on "Ten Ways To Take Advantage of Web 2.0".

One of the questions I get asked fairly frequently is how people can leverage Web 2.0 techniques in their applications and infrastructure today. Now that it's getting more well known, more people seem to be actively interested in making immediate, practical use of Web 2.0 ideas.

On a related note, the new meta-search tool Zuula looks very useful. (via Shally)

Insider Guide to Resume Writing

David Teten — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 04:20:18 GMT

Via Barbara Safani:

Career Hub, a career advice blog I contribute to, recently launched their second free ebook, Insider’s Guide to Resume Writing. The free download is http://careerhub.typepad.com/main/2007/01/resume_writing_.html

Sports and entrepreneurship

David Teten — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 05:18:41 GMT

"For CEOs and CEOs-to-be, sports may be a more effective training ground than any business school, according to both psychologists and entrepreneur athletes themselves." http://trax.inc.com/k/w/mailman/inc_leading/20070117/athletes

Nine Tools for Researching Leads

David Teten — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 09:35:49 GMT

"On the 9th Day of Xmas, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters revealed to me: Nine Tools for Researching Leads." Whether you are looking for sales or job-hunting purposes, there are a vast number of services you can subscribe to for free that will bring information on worthwhile new companies straight to you. This is a useful list.

SeekingAlpha.com: How to increase your consulting revenue and your profile

David Teten — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:27:52 GMT

I had lunch recently with David Jackson, CEO of SeekingAlpha, and a former neighbor of mine.

I thought that many of our Circle of Experts would benefit from contributing to David's company.

Briefly, www.SeekingAlpha.com is the leading blog source of stock market related commentary by money managers and industry experts and a major provider of financial content to Yahoo! Finance.

Articles published on Seeking Alpha reach over a million readers per month, about 17% of whom are finance professionals.

Crucially, each article published by Seeking Alpha (including those syndicated on Yahoo Finance) contains a link to the author’s biography or URL of choice, and can therefore be used to publicize your availability for consultations via Circle of Experts.

If you are already writing any sort of analysis, there's no marginal cost or effort to you. Just send SeekingAlpha your work, and they'll do all the editing and production for you.

You can read about Seeking Alpha at http://seekingalpha.com/about, view a list of sample contributors at http://seekingalpha.com/contributors, and submit an article for publication (Seeking Alpha’s editors will contact you directly after doing so) at http://seekingalpha.com/do/content/submit.php or by emailing Mick(at)SeekingAlpha.com.

(As disclosure, Nitron Advisors does not get any sort of commission or payment from SeekingAlpha if you sign up; we just think that publishing through their channel is valuable to you.)

Webinar: The Great Recruiting Discrimination Debate

David Teten — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:53:09 GMT

(from my friends at Accolo) The Great Recruiting Discrimination Debate - Round 2.5 with sound You are invited to participate in our next Webinar Debate with the EEOC and OFCCP on December 5th from 10:30 am to noon Pacific Time.

For more event details and to register, go to http://www.accolo.com/streets/ .

This is a redo of the debate we held on November 14, 2006 where there were difficulties with the sound.

Thanks to the willingness of the panelists and vastly better technology, we are holding another live Webinar debate.

The great news is that you can now participate in a bigger and better event! The audio will be delivered through the speakers on your computer.

Title: The Great Recruiting Discrimination Debate - Round 2.5 with sound

Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 Time: 10:30 am to Noon Pacific Standard

Time Cost: Free Capacity: Limited to the first 1,500 participants

Link: http://www.accolo.com/streets/ As a bonus, we will be combining all the questions and answers into a web page for easy reference after the December event.

We will send you an e-mail with the web page link when this is ready. If you have any burning questions for the EEOC/OFCCP, you can ask it when you register.

Even if there is not enough time to have your question answered during the debate, we will make sure it is added to the Q&A section on the web page following the event.

Round 1 was held in May 2006, and 94% of all participants wanted to hear more! Round 2.5 with sound will be bigger and contain tougher questions.

The panel not only includes additional senior members of the EEOC and OFCCP, but also a litigator representing companies fighting these agencies.

This content rich Webinar is free thanks to the generous donations from PeopleClick and Accolo, and the tireless volunteer efforts from Daniel Parrillo of Strategi LLC, Karen Mattonen of Advanced Career Solutions Inc. Pre-registration is required.

We know how valuable your time is and hope you will join us for The Great Recruiting Discrimination Debate – Round 2.5 – with sound.

Why Most Small Businesses Dont Work and What to Do About It

David Teten — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:25:25 GMT

An interview with Michael Gerber, Author of The E-Myth Revisited:

"If they don’t fail outright, most businesses fail to fully achieve their potential. That’s because the person who owns the business doesn't truly know how to build a company that works without him or her.. which is the key." - Michael Gerber

Michael Gerber is the founder and CEO of E-Myth Worldwide, and best selling author of The E-Myth Revisited, and E-Myth Mastery. He defines E-Myth as:

1: The entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start a small business are entrepreneurs,

2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does technical work.

Since its publication in 1995, this business classic has sold over one million copies, and is published in 16 languages. Michael observes that most small businesses are started by "technicians", that is, people who are skilled at something and who enjoy doing that thing.

When these technicians strike out on their own, they tend to continue doing the work they are skilled at, and ignore the overarching aspects of business.

Without clear goals and quantification benchmarks, they soon find themselves overworked, understaffed, and eventually broke. They come to hate the work they do. Rather than owning a business, Gerber writes, "they own a job." Click here for the interview.

New York County Lawyers Association: Upgrade Your Web Marketing with Web 2.0 Technologies

David Teten — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 18:38:59 GMT

Our COO, Scott Lichtman, is speaking at this event:

New York County Lawyers’ Association’s Cyberspace Law Committee

presents

Web 2.0: Upgrade Your Web Marketing

The Internet is upgrading to version 2.0 and so should your law firm's marketing. More and more lawyers are taking their practices to the next level and this forum should help you do the same. Take an evening to familiarize yourself with how blogging, online referral networks, research-sharing wikis and more can expand your firm’s profile and attract prospective clients.

SPEAKERS

Scott Lichtman

COO, Nitron Advisors

Scott Lichtman is COO of Nitron Advisors (www.nitronadvisors.com), a provider of senior industry executives with specialized backgrounds to law firms for testimony and to investment funds for market advice. Nitron Advisors extensively applies Web 2.0 technologies – including blogs, peer referral networks, online expertise acquisition services, specialized professional search engines and live interactions – to acquire clients and experts as well as build awareness for the firm’s capabilities.

Martin Schwimmer, Esq.

Partner, Schwimmer Mitchell Law Firm

Martin Schwimmer is co-founder and Partner at Schwimmer Mitchell. He represents owners of some of the most famous and soon-to-be-famous trademarks in the world. He focuses on international and domestic trademark and domain name counseling, prosecution and litigation. Martin was General Counsel to an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar and continues to represent domain name companies. Martin was a partner at Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu. Managing Intellectual Property Magazine selected Martin as one of the best trademark lawyers in the United States. Martin writes and speaks frequently on trademark and domain name issues and is editor of The Trademark Blog, www.schwimmerlegal.com, one of the most popular blogs on the Internet in this field of law (and generally ranked #1 by Google in this niche).

Bruce MacEwan

Creator and Host of AdamSmithEsq.com

Bruce MacEwan is a lawyer as well as a consultant to law firms on strategic and economic issues. He publishes the site “Adam Smith, Esq.” providing insights into the business of law firms, which generates 250,000 page views per month. You can read it at www.AdamSmithEsq.com. In his consulting practice, Bruce provides guidance on how to expand one’s business in the legal world. A recent engagement, for example, was a return-on-investment analysis of a knowledge management initiative at an AmLaw 20 practice. He’s also produced empirical studies of the structure of the profession, working with leading law professors. Most relevant to tonight, he has witnessed fascinating situations in which Web 2.0 technologies are being used to the fullest in law and related professional services. Bruce has written for or been the subject of articles in: The National Law Journal, Law Firm, Inc., Law Technology News as well as the Wall Street Journal and Web 2.0 magazine. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s committee on Law Practice Management.

Natalie Sulimani, Event Co-Chair, NYCLA Cyberspace Law Executive Committee;

Ron Katter and Henry Diaz, Event Co-Chairs, Co-Chairs NYCLA Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

NYCLA Home of Law - 14 Vesey Street

(between Broadway and Church Street)

RSVP: DLAMB(AT)nycla.org, Subject: "November 16 Forum". Entrance and facilities for those with disabilities are available. For wheelchair access, a ramp is provided. Please call 212 267-6646 at least one day in advance to make arrangements.

10 Job-hunt tactics you might not know

David Teten — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 15:52:48 GMT

From the "brazen careerist", 10 Job-hunt tactics you might not know:

2. Use proactive recommendations. Instead of waiting for a hiring manager to ask for references, have your reference call immediately. This works well if you have a heavy-weight reference, like a well-known CEO or someone who knows the hiring manager. But it also works well if you have little professional experience.

The many benefits of your star employees leaving the firm (?)

David Teten — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 05:11:49 GMT

Via Wharton's newsletter:

It's always been assumed that when employees leave their companies to join other ones that all their knowledge and experience leave with them.

But new research suggests that, at least in the high-tech field, firms can wind up gaining access to the knowledge being generated at their former colleague's new place.

The results of this research are presented in a paper titled, "Learning from Those Who Left: The Reverse Transfer of Knowledge through Mobility Ties," by Wharton management professor Lori Rosenkopf and Wharton doctoral student Rafael A. Corredoira. ... "Contrary to the view that companies lose something when a worker leaves, the study found that they stood to gain.

Specifically, firms that lost an employee to another firm were 8% more likely to cite that firm than other equivalent firms, Rosenkopf says. The reverse flow of knowledge was particularly pronounced when the employee moved to another region. Then the old firm was 22% more likely to cite the new firm."

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1565.cfm

Job Search EBook

David Teten — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:59:06 GMT

Via Barbara Safani, a no-cost job search ebook from Career Hub:

I'm excited to announce our very first eBook! The book, which features in-depth job search advice from 17 career marketing experts is available for download now.

We put this book together because we know that so many job seekers feel lost when they start out on their search.

Having put all their time and energy into making their employers successful, they've had neither the time nor the need to keep up with the latest in job search strategies.

The Career Hub contributors are career coaches, recruiters, consultants, business executives and resume writers and all have valuable knowledge to share.

So I asked each of them to contribute to this free eBook in order to share what they know with those of you who are working your way through the job search process now (or plan to do so in the future).

Please feel free to share the book. And tell us what you think, either by email or in the comments. We plan to issue more free eBooks and your feedback will help us make them as useful as possible. Download here.

United 93 and Kitty Genovese: Courage in the Workplace

David Teten — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:27:36 GMT

The courageous actions of passengers on the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11 flew in the face of a long-standing contention in social science circles that people won't put themselves in danger to right a wrong, e.g., the famous Kitty Genovese case.

This fact prompted Monica Worline, a professor of organizational behavior at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, and a colleague to find out what was different about this incident.

The result of their lengthy research is a new paper entitled "Capabilities for Organizing Courage: The Story of United Airlines Flight 93."

It is the first academic study to examine the group behavior dynamics aboard the plane on that fateful morning. The chief finding?

"People do things in conversations with others that create psychological resources that allow them to act in difficult situations."

http://knowledge.emory.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&ID=996

Event Sep. 21, Stamford, CT: for CFOs of mid-size/larger companies

David Teten — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 03:21:01 GMT

The event below is targeted at CFOs of mid-size and larger companies (over $50M in revenues). I hope that you can join us.

CFO Leadership Team First Alumni Gathering September 21, Stamford, CT Guest Speaker: David Teten The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online Join fellow CFOs of mid-size and larger companies, and learn how to accelerate your sales, recruit star employees, enhance your marketing, or just find your next job by using online networks.

David Teten will discuss blogs, social network sites, virtual communities, relationship capital management software, biography analysis software, and other new tools.

When: September 21, 6:30 to 8:30 PM Cost: $30 including hors'deurves, cash bar

Where: Stamford, CT (location disclosed to confirmed attendees) RSVP: by September 14 to Kevin McEnery, KJMcEnery(at)aol.com, 1-203-348-4435

Who: This event is open only to members of the CFO Leadership Group. Members must have experience as CFO or Divisional CFO in an organization with at least $50M in revenues.

A few select recruiters specializing in CFO searches will also attend. Our members have experience with companies that include Acclaim Entertainment, Altria, Arc, Associated Press, Atari, Barnes & Noble, Calvin Klein, Dover, Gartner, Georgia Pacific, Gerber Scientific, Groupe Danone, Kodak, Labatt, McCann Relationship Marketing, Nestle, Newsweek, Pepsi, Revlon, Rogers, Scholastic, Sesame Workshop, The Reader’s Digest Association, Time Warner Cable, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Nominations welcome for members.

Why: To see old and new friends

MORE ON OUR SPEAKER When you finish David Teten’s program, you’ll know how to:

* create a powerful professional presence online

* attract business in online networks

* meet more relevant clients and potential clients

* start and promote your own blog

* master the email deluge

* analyze and value your community of business partners

* manage your contact database

* ensure privacy and safety online

"We hosted one of David Teten’s presentations at the Euromoney 2004 Annual Hedge Fund Start-Up & Business Development Forum. Out of 40 speakers, David tied for first place for the highest speaker rating." - Diane Higgins, Financial Markets, EuroMoney PLC

BIOGRAPHY David Teten is CEO of Nitron Advisors ( www.NitronAdvisors.com), which provides independent industry experts with consulting opportunities to hedge funds and other institutional investors.

To participate in paid interviews with Nitron Advisors’ institutional investor clients, at no cost to you, join the Nitron Advisors Circle of Experts ( www.CircleofExperts.com ).

David is the co-author of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online ( www.TheVirtualHandshake.com ).

David was formerly CEO of an investment bank specializing in Internet domain names. He has worked with the Bear Stearns Technology investment banking group and Mars & Co strategy consulting.

Advancing in your career without experience

David Teten — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:40:02 GMT

From Harvard Business School Working Knowledge:

The researchers identified four successful tactics for obtaining stretchwork that were common to both groups:

* Differentiate competence. Anyone hoping to advance must distinguish his or her performance on the job. This is particularly true, however, for contract workers—because they are paid for each short-term job, their employers are likely to subject their work to close, frequent evaluation. >
* Acquire referrals. Because high-tech contractors tend to work with a number of clients, brokers, and fellow contractors, they enjoy a broader social network from which to draw referrals than most permanent employees. In the film industry—where most hiring is done based on a production manager's previous experience with an individual—referrals are a vital aspect of getting any job, particularly if it stretches a worker in a new direction. >
* Framing and bluffing. "This is one of the most creative attributes for obtaining stretchwork," O'Mahony notes. "People who are good at presenting their prior experience in a way that allows for an easy translation to the desired job can narrow the gap between their past experience and future capabilities." Adopting a hybrid job title to identify oneself—"director-screenwriter," for example—can also help establish authority in more than one area. >
* Discounting. Accepting pay below the market rate is a temporary disadvantage some contract workers are willing to accept, if it means gaining the experience and exposure that will lead to a new position. One technical writer put it this way: "I turned down solid offers from three companies, all paying over $100K a year…I would take a job at $55K if they're using a totally new technology so I learn something…It's like playing pool…You hit the green ball with the white ball, and the point is to place the white ball to get the next shot. So I take that job in order to learn skills for my next project."

> More...

Smart Pills Are on The Rise. But Is Taking Them Wise?

David Teten — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 03:42:09 GMT

There's a product liability lawsuit waiting to happen here:

Studying with diligent friends is fine, says Heidi Lessing, a University of Delaware sophomore. But after a couple of hours, it's time for a break, a little gossip: "I want to talk about somebody walking by in the library." One of those friends, however, is working too hard for dish -- way too hard. Instead of joining in the gossip, "She says, 'Be quiet,' " Lessing says, astonishment still registering in her voice. Her friend's attention is laserlike, totally focused on her texts, even after an evening of study. "We were so bored," Lessing says. But the friend was still "really into it. It's annoying." The reason for the difference: Her pal is fueled with "smart pills" that increase her concentration, focus, wakefulness and short-term memory.

more at A Dose of Genius

Introduction to Probability textbook---no charge

David Teten — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 04:44:43 GMT

Thanks to the American Mathematical Society, Dartmouth is giving away the much-praised textbook, Introduction to Probability by Charles M. Grinstead and J. Laurie Snell, as free etext. The website also includes computer programs to go along with the book. Link Via http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/03/introduction_to_prob.html

Prescription for Gaining Greatness in Work and Life

David Teten — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 08:11:51 GMT

Dennis Kimbro's Prescription for Gaining Greatness in Work and Life

What makes the great, great? It's a question author Dennis Kimbro took 20 years to research, interviewing leaders from diverse backgrounds from Earl Graves of Black Enterprise magazine to Bishop T. D. Jakes. His findings were eventually culled into a book of the same name and recently shared with aspiring corporate and entrepreneurial leaders of the future at the inaugural Black MBA Diverse Leadership conference at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. Among the offerings, Kimbro advised students to be "driven by your vision. Get a big dream and believe in yourself when no one else will."

http://knowledge.emory.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&ID=979 >

Was Earning That Harvard M.B.A. Worth It?

David Teten — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 04:57:54 GMT

ABOUT a year before Adam Richman was to graduate from the Harvard Business School in 1996, he took on an extracurricular project. It was long before the Internet bubble inflated and burst, and well before one of the school's graduates landed in the White House. Mr. Richman wondered: What was the real-world value of a master's in business administration, especially one from the iviest of Ivies? Was it, as widely perceived, an ace in the hole, a get-out-of-jail-free card, a ticket to the good life? more from the NY Times...

Senior Media Entrepreneurs/ Executives Manhattan Lunch, 6/27

David Teten — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 04:56:17 GMT

Senior Media Entrepreneurs/ Executives Manhattan Lunch

Tuesday, June 27, 2006>

If you are investigating new businesses to grow; have sold your business and are looking for your next move; or perhaps have just exited a senior level executive position; please join us at our lunch for Media Entrepreneurs and Senior Executives Seeking New Business Growth. Participants typically had C-level responsibility for at least a $50M budget in the media industry (broadly defined).

Due to the overwhelming interest in our topic and limited space, we can only accommodate individuals whom the event is addressing directly. We welcome referrals.

Location:
1345 Avenue of the Americas, 49th Floor>
(Between 54th and 55th Streets)>
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2006, Noon sharp until 2pm>
Cost: complimentary>

Your Hosts:
+ David Teten, CEO, Nitron Advisors>
+ John Adelman, CIMA and Paul Lewis, CFM, Wittenstein Adelman Group>
+ Allan Grafman, President, All Media Ventures; Operating Partner, Mercury Capital (formerly President, Archie Comics Entertainment; CFO, Hallmark Entertainment; Tribune; Cap Cities/ABC)>
+ Claire Delong, Accolo>

Please RSVP with your one-page text biography to Avi Mally, AMally(at)Nitronadvisors.com , 1-212-682-5874 . Pre-registration is required; we will distribute your one-page biography to all the attendees. Please make sure to include your contact information on your biography, and ideally, your photo. Also, please indicate any dietary preferences (vegetarian, kosher, halal, etc.)

(Our thanks to Jeff Meshel of Mercury Capital for inspiring this event.)

Startup Manual by John Doerr

David Teten — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 04:26:44 GMT

John Doerr's Startup Manual is still timely (even though it dates from 1997). Via Marc Cenedella's blog

Younger siblings, better entrepreneurs?

David Teten — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 11:20:48 GMT

Younger siblings, better entrepreneurs?

Which slot in the birth-order sequence makes for the most successful entrepreneurs? Ben Dattner: It's not that cut and dried. There are positives and negatives -- and examples of successful business people -- from all the places in the birth-order spectrum. For instance, first-born entrepreneurs tend to be more extroverted and confident than their younger siblings. In a business where somebody needs to maintain a high PR profile, you could imagine that it might be easier if you're naturally extroverted and confident. Especially if you'll be called on to talk to the media as the public face of your company. First-borns also tend to be more assertive and authoritarian, dominant and inflexible. They're good at executing a plan, following it, and driving others to follow it in a disciplined way. Conformist, task-oriented, disciplined, and concerned with getting things done right -- all these traits are naturally found in first-borns.

more..

Great collection of job-hunting resources for MBAs

David Teten — Fri, 26 May 2006 05:13:43 GMT

From ForeignMBA.com: http://foreignmba.com/area.php?area=1

Advice to Fledgling Consultants

David Teten — Wed, 24 May 2006 03:49:17 GMT

Greg Narain has some sound Advice to Fledgling Consultants.

Master US Job Board Directory

David Teten — Tue, 23 May 2006 05:46:45 GMT

AIRS has a master directory of job boards by geography and industry: http://www.airsdirectory.com/mc/directory_jobboards.guid?oemID=AIRS&siteLive=true

Tricks to Improve Your Memory

David Teten — Mon, 22 May 2006 04:11:59 GMT

Tricks to Improve Your Memory 7 ways to recall your PIN number, the location of your wallet, or other key information. More Via Lifehacker.

Kellogg-Recanati Executive MBA Handbook

David Teten — Thu, 18 May 2006 08:34:27 GMT

The MBAs of the Kellogg-Recanati Executive MBA program have posted summaries of all of their classes at: http://www.kr04.net/ This is a handy reference site---a summary of what you learn in an executive MBA, all on one website.

Executive Recruiter Efficiency

David Teten — Tue, 16 May 2006 04:33:07 GMT

Via Marc, I was led to a blog post by David Manaster on recruiter efficiency. He reports that "It would seem that (on average) the optimal workload for a recruiter is between 11 and 20 open positions. " I'd argue that the main reason for this phenomenon is that most recruiters are using only the traditional toolkit: Excel, Word, email, phone, to keep track of their applicants. Nitron couldn't function effectively if we were this inefficient. John Younger, CEO of recruiting process outsourcer Accolo, observed:

I actually find this research to be right in line with our surveys for the typical recruiter today.

We have found the optimal workload to be between 4 and 18 unique full-time jobs simultaneously.

At 18 or more, the applicant screening, follow-up and tracking take a severe dive.

The astounding part is that this is the same recruiter workload of 1963! Think about it.

What else in our lives has not budged a bit in productivity in over 40 years! This is the time before e-mail, job boards, the internet and Starbucks.

The core reason is that the recruiter today operates in exactly the same model as the early 1960’s. All we have done is pave the cowpath.

It gets worse… the hiring manager service and applicant experience have actually diminished with all the technology noise in the middle.

There are new models emerging, but there is an army of people invested in keeping things the same.

According to a staffing.org survey of 2,294 companies, during 2005, the national average Recruiting Efficiency Index was 12.3%. REI is calculated by dividing total recruiting costs, including recruiter salaries & overhead, applicant tracking, advertising fees, etc. and dividing it by total compensation recruited. Accolo reports an REI of under 7% for clients using Accolo's system. Among the drivers for that efficiency: - much higher per-recruiter workload - use of online networks for recruiting (more on that topic)

Ten Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed

David Teten — Fri, 12 May 2006 10:08:52 GMT

Steve Pavlina's list of 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed is worth reviewing even for the non-self-employed. Via Marc Cenedella's blog

A dozen SUPER-ACHIEVERS tell how they stay ahead in the fast lane.

David Teten — Thu, 11 May 2006 04:08:46 GMT

Valuable write-up on how some of the most successful people manage their time and their days. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/03/20/8371781/index.htm Via Arash Farin

How Overeager Job Hunters Can Thwart Their Efforts

David Teten — Wed, 10 May 2006 04:47:22 GMT

A jobless marketing manager recently touted his accomplishments to New York search firm Canny, Bowen. He simultaneously sent the same cover letter and resume to more than 150 other executive recruiters -- and identified every recipient on his e-mail's distribution list. The shotgun approach helped chill the chances of Canny, Bowen proposing him for any vacancy. "We get a half-dozen mass mailings like this every week," reports Gregory Gabel, a managing director. "Two years ago, I never used to get these."

more...

Creating Value through Operations at Portfolio Companies

David Teten — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:10:20 GMT

'Early Matters': Creating Value through Operations at Portfolio Companies According to speakers at the 2006 Wharton Private Equity Conference, the most important element of operational performance is getting the right management team, which requires private equity owners to make a swift decision about whether to keep or let go of existing senior executives. After that, they say, private equity firms need to drive returns through management incentives, tight monitoring and forward-focused strategies. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1457.cfm

For Job-Hunters: How to Find a Contact Name Inside a Target Company

David Teten — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:44:45 GMT

For Job-Hunters: How to Find a Contact Name Inside a Target Company

Job-hunters have a number of hurdles to surmount, but one of the greatest is this: how do you get a name inside a target company? When you want to send a letter of inquiry to a company (about a job), you really want to find the right person's name, in order to contact him or her. If you can't find the right person, you want to find someone who can put you in touch with the person you seek. Here are ten ways to find a name inside a company you are targeting.

More...

Phone Interview Etiquette Can Propel You to the Next Step in the Hiring Process

David Teten — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 05:24:41 GMT

Maureen Crawford Hentz writes on Phone Interview Etiquette Can Propel You to the Next Step in the Hiring Process.

Invitation: TiECON East, June 15-17, Boston, MA

David Teten — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 07:24:19 GMT

I hope that some of our readers will join me at TiECON East, June 15-17, in Boston, MA. With over 1,200 expected attendees, TiECON East plans to become the largest Global Innovation conference on the East Coast.

The sponsoring organization is TiE, whose members receive roughly 5% of the venture capital investment in the United States.

Speakers include: -

Howard Anderson, Founder Battery Ventures and The Yankee Group - Nikesh Arora, VP & GM Europe, Google - Clayton M. Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School, Author, The Innovator's Dilemma - Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner Worldwide, McKinsey & Co. - Ray Kurzweil, Author & Pioneer in Artificial Intelligence - Venkat Ramaswamy, Ross School of Business at University of Michigan - Paul Sagan, CEO, Akamai - Mohanbir Sawhney, Professor, Kellogg School of Management - Howard H. Stevenson, Professor, Harvard Business School - Hatim Tyabji, Executive Chairman, Bytemobile Inc.

I'll be participating in two panels, one on innovation in social software and online networks, and one on innovation in investment research.

The keynote speaker is Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (although I somehow doubt he will be talking about innovation, given that's not the UN's strength.) With prices starting at $269 for TiE Members and $100 for student members, the conference isn't expensive. For more information or to register, contact the TiE-Boston office at (781) 272-3875 or visit www.tieconeast.com .

Tips on Writing and Sending Resumes (particularly via email)

David Teten — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:45:38 GMT

Courtesy of Mike Lorelli, President and CEO of Latex Foam International, the only U.S.-based Talalay latex foam producer, and largest supplier of latex mattress components and pillows in North America. (Full disclosure: I edited the first two bullets.)

13 Little Things About Resumes and Emails

Cover Letter File Names: recruiters prefer: Lastname-Firstname-2006-cover-letter.doc
Your resume file name: recruiters prefer: Lastname-Firstname-2006-resume.doc
NEVER send your resume as ‘resume.doc’ If a recruiter downloads ten emails, and half the people use ‘Resume.doc’. . . you’re dead (and should be!)
Your ‘Subject Line’ must signal that this is not a spam message.
Use ‘CEO-NJ Fragrance Co- Mike Lorelli’ to concisely signal your purpose.
Don’t use "PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE," unless you plan to list prostitution or other “NON-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE."
Don’t complicate things with the name of the parent corporation, or division name, or whether or not the firm is incorporated. List the parent only if it’s a recognized Fortune company and thereby enhances the Division name.
Don’t waste space explaining that PepsiCo is “A leading food and beverage conglomerate with operations in 97 countries." If the company is recognized, save the space.
Omit the STATE, if 99% of the readers will know in what state cities like Boston or Atlanta, Indianapolis, Chicago, etc. are. Ditto for Foreign Cities. Paris, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montreal.
Avoid grid-type fill-in-the-box styles. When viewed electronically, you look like a college senior.
Resumes are two pages in length. Anything longer signals that you have poor summarization skills. Alexander Haig’s resume is one page, and he accomplished more than I have.
Over 50? Don’t make the mistake of leaving off your year of college graduation. You look pretty silly when (100%) of the people figure it out. In fact, do the opposite! On my cover letters I add a ps that says:
ps: I am 52, have an MBA from NYU, 1973, and am an active outside director and trustee

It’s my way of signaling “52 and proud of it!"
Have a ‘PERSONAL’ section at the end of your resume. Show some personality and some color. People prefer to work with humans, not machines. Below is my section.
PERSONAL

Married. Two precious daughters. Author of childrens’ best-seller, "Traveling Again, Dad" with profits donated to childrens’ charities. Have traveled to 44 countries. Avid runner. Active private pilot. Excel at no sport. Member Business Executives for National Security. WPO.

I get a lot of comments on the “Two precious daughters" and “Excel at no sport" lines.