Executive Educator
Below you will find recent articles from the Executive Educator, a bi-monthly publication from the LMU College of Business Administration's Center for Executive Learning. Visit the
Executive Educator Archive to view a listing of past issues.
The Senior Executive Interview: A Rough Guide to Negotiating the Process
By Richard Stafford – March/April 2009 issue of The Executive Educator Congratulations! You have secured an interview for that all-important senior executive position. But how does one go about preparing for this step? There is no secret or best way to interview for a senior level position, but there are certain basics that always hold true.
Getting to this stage of the interview process is generally the most difficult hurdle to get over. At this point in the selection process, the Company has already satisfied itself that the candidate has the requisite background and experience to meet the job responsibilities. In effect, you and your interviewers are trying to assess whether you and the Company are a good fit for each other. The main purpose of the interview will be to see whether your values, temperament and style are a good match.
With this in mind, here are some useful steps that every candidate should follow prior to, during and after the interview.
Before the interview:- You should perform what effectively amounts to “Company due diligence.” Gain an in depth understanding of the Company, its competitive position in the marketplace, and the issues and challenges confronting the industry and the Company itself. Annual Reports can be a helpful source of background information. Search the internet for industry- and Company-related articles and news.
- If you are familiar with anyone within the organization, or know of someone who has had dealings with the Company, contact them and elicit their thoughts, experiences and opinions.
- If you are familiar with anyone within the organization, or know of someone who has had dealings with the Company, contact them and elicit their thoughts, experiences and opinions.
- Obtain an understanding of the position, the duties and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and the key skills and competencies required. If you have acquaintances in the Company, try to find out why the position is open. Match your background and experiences to the position’s key responsibilities. Be prepared to point to actual successful work experiences relevant to the position’s duties and remember - the best predictor of future success is past success in a similar role.
- Have a list of questions prepared that you would like to discuss with them. These should be more than “look good” questions and should be ones that are of real interest to you.
- Grooming and appearance: Those first impressions are critical, so dress in conservative business attire with immaculate grooming and shoes shined.
- Assess your background, weaknesses and potential deficiencies. Anticipate the tough questions by developing a list and craft a response for each. Sometimes a mock interview with a colleague or friend can be useful and provides an opportunity to articulate your views and receive candid feedback.
During the interview:- Nothing kills an interview like being late, so ensure that you are on time. Heavy traffic is no excuse.
- Thank the interviewers for the opportunity to meet with them and discuss the position and your candidacy.
- Be yourself. Be candid, honest and straight forward in answering questions. Be confident, but avoid coming across as arrogant.
- Executive level positions are about leadership. The Company is looking for someone to lead the organization and work effectively as a team player. Functional skills are important, but at the executive level it is leadership, communications, team building and political skills that are more important.
- If asked a question that you don’t know the specific answer to, discuss the general principles that you would use to address the issue/challenge/topic.
- Look the interviewers in the eye when listening and responding to questions. Seek to connect with them on a personal basis through common interests, and experiences. Be prepared to discuss your own career hopes, dreams and aspirations and how the position fits into them.
- Ideally, you should let the interviewers lead the first part of the interview, and then you should take the lead for the second part where you are asking the questions and directing the conversation. At this point, you are effectively interviewing your interviewers to determine whether the position and the Company are right for you. Ask your interviewers for their own personal experiences and thoughts about the organization.
- Compensation is always a troublesome topic. It’s best to talk about the package at a later stage in the process so you should avoid bringing up the subject during the interview. If they ask about your expectations regarding compensation, stick to generalities.
- If, as part of the interview process, a dinner or lunch is involved, order something easy to eat, not messy. Naturally, avoid alcohol if possible.
After the interview:- Send a short, hand written thank you note, thanking them for the opportunity to meet and discuss the position. Indicate that you would be pleased to respond to any other questions or comments they might have regarding your candidacy.
Good Luck!
Dr. Richard Stafford is Executive in Residence and EMBA faculty at the College of Business Administration, Loyola Marymount University. He is founder of Human Capital Management, a firm dedicated to helping organizations develop and implement leading-edge Human Resources strategies.Embracing the Challenge of Change
Observations of Marty Lopez and Kelly Watson, EMBA Class 2006 – From the January/February 2009 issue of The Executive Educator It is often remarked on by both LMU EMBA current students and alumni that the caliber of students the program attracts is of real significance when they come to measuring the true value of their EMBA years. The make-up of each class is the result of a very careful and personal recruiting process that places emphasis on the compatibility and character of potential enrollees. Coupled with a strong focus during the program on participation and teamwork, this ensures that students enjoy a stimulating and caring learning environment in which to identify and develop new skills and talents.
In the case of Marty Lopez and Kelly Watson, EMBA Class 2006, this meant re-examining their career goals and then embracing a new role as entrepreneurs. They are now managing partner and Acting COO respectively for East Los-Angeles-based Herbs of Mexico, a national leader in Herbal and Health products. The Executive Educator caught up with Marty and Kelly and asked them to explain the role the EMBA program played in their decision to take on the challenge of Herbs of Mexico, and how the lessons learned are helping them to progress the organization on a daily basis.
“My relationship with Herbs of Mexico was a long-standing one through family contacts, but the idea of buying a controlling interest in the company was never on my radar before starting the program,” says Marty. “I’d been coming to the store since the age of 10 and had fallen in love with it. Something about the whole ambience and the smell of the herbs really impacted me.” Marty struck up a close friendship with Robert Cervilla, the son of George Cervilla, a Costa Rican immigrant who had bought the store in 1965. George was a master herbalist and ran the business until 1980, when he retired and handed it over to his sons. “I began advising Robert on various business aspects as my EMBA progressed, and actually bought a controlling interest during my time in the program,” continues Marty. “I can honestly say that the Executive MBA was a life-changing experience for me. I began my EMBA with an idea of what I thought I could learn from the program and came out with so much more.
For Kelly Watson, her road to Herbs of Mexico was a similar voyage of personal discovery. “I came to the LMU EMBA program believing I was well versed in business and possessing a strong corporate resume that included Fortune 500 companies. I was primarily looking for an opportunity to expand my knowledge base and sharpen my strategic skills, but like Marty, my EMBA experience was responsible for dramatically altering my career trajectory. I had never considered myself as an entrepreneur, but the program made me fundamentally re-examine my goals.”
Marty continues, “Although I had spent six years in HR for a large Latino retail organization, I had an underlying feeling that I didn’t have a true understanding of how all the pieces fitted together. Nor did I have a great deal of faith in my own business acumen and realized that I lacked a solid grounding in critical business fundamentals.”
For Marty, his first year proved to be pivotal in developing a real clarity and understanding of his own capabilities, but it was the second year that proved to be the real personal and professional turning point. “There’s no doubt that I personally benefited from the inspirational teaching and backing that I received from my Executive Coach in the program. It opened my eyes to the possibility that there could be more than just rising to the top of the corporate ladder and gave me the self-assurance to aim higher.”
Both believe that the classroom experience and strong focus on participation and teamwork were fundamental in taking their leadership skills to the next level. “If you were to ask many of my fellow graduates as to the single most important lesson we learned from the program, the answer would be ‘I realized just how much I didn’t know,’ says Kelly. “It takes real self-confidence and self-awareness to admit that we can’t possibly know everything and that the answer is to actively embrace the ideas of others.”
Kelly believes that the bonds that grew between the students allowed them to break free from the idea that it was somehow a weakness to ask for help. “During the program, we recognized that we were in a period of real transformational change. We came together to form this group, ‘Change Asylum,’ to provide a forum where we could hold each other accountable on career matters and act as our own change agents.” Since graduation, Change Asylum has evolved into an important support network for a number of EMBA alumni. “It’s relationship based so the foundation is very strong,” says Kelly. “We sit down and tear apart each other’s financials and I think for us to be able to show up and say to one another “no, what you’re doing is wrong” takes a lot of love and courage!”
Both of them freely admit that they use the lessons learned in the EMBA program on a daily basis. “I’m the accelerator and she’s the brakes,” says Marty. “Our talents and strengths are very complimentary and overall we feel a lot more sophisticated in our decision making.” Laughs Kelly, “there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t catch myself wondering out loud ‘what’s the opportunity cost of this?’”
For both of these new converts to the life of the entrepreneur, the experience gained from the LMU EMBA program and the continuing support and advice from EMBA faculty and friends is proving of immeasurable value to them as they implement their vision for Herbs of Mexico.
Marty Lopez and Kelly Watson can be contacted through Herbs of Mexico at 323-261-2521. To find out more about the Company, visit the website at www.herbsofmexico.com
This article appeared in The Executive Educator a bi-monthly online newsletter produced by the LMU College of Business Administration. Click here to subscribe to the publication.
Partnering With Prophets: Alumni Learn Through Contributing
By Bill Lindsey – From the Special Spring 2008 issue of The Executive Educator What is the relationship between alumni and their Alma Mater and why is it important? That depends on one’s perspective. Alums immediately think of networking opportunities, social and sporting events, continuous learning, volunteering—mainly programs that the institution provides to its alumni. Schools strive to develop strong alumni associations that keep alums engaged with the institution. This is as it should be and is undeniably important.
There is however a different perspective: what the business school can learn from their alumni. If the school sees the relationship as a mere quid pro quo—alumni programs delivered in return for financial giving—an important component of the relationship is lost. There is an unfortunate reality that academics often miss the opportunity to learn from alumni. This notion was recognized two thousand year ago as Jesus began teaching in his hometown of Nazareth. The Bible says “they were astonished and said, where did this man get this wisdom…is this not the carpenter’s son…and they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and his own household…and he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” (Matt 13: 54-58). Unfortunately, too many business schools seem to be in Nazareth, viewing the relationship as “we are the teachers, they are the students. They came to learn from us so what can they possibly teach us?” At Loyola Marymount University, our EMBA program recognizes that our alums are prophets in their own country and we welcome the opportunity to learn from them.
Faculty do not have all of the answers and at times, alums are frequently in a different position to offer a unique perspective on program focus. After all, they are in the firing line and using in real-time, knowledge gained from our program. Traditional academic research takes time. Often, by the time an academically-derived theory is developed and tested, it is no longer applicable to current challenges. Practicing managers in the field understand what works and what doesn’t work. Properly channeled, their work experience can not only confirm the relevance of our teaching focus, but more importantly provide input for new and innovative content.
Let’s take a look at the alumni side of the partnership. LMU’s EMBA program invites our alumni to continue their learning post-graduation by directly participating in the program – to paraphrase Peter Drucker, “if you want to learn something, then teach it.” For example, EMBA alumni serve as consultants on real-life company business consulting projects. They also act as guest speakers and instructors, while having the opportunity to audit courses provided by the College of Business Administration. EMBA alumni are also invited to attend the program’s international and Washington, D.C. trips.
During a recent EMBA program curriculum review, alums from different graduating classes were asked to participate. They voiced their opinions and ideas directly to their former professors. At first the dialog was strained, but soon faculty realized that our “prophets” had important feed-back that could be useful for re-assessing program content and flow – what works, what doesn’t work, identifying skills and competencies needed, confirming skills and competencies learned in the program. In return, our alums were impressed that we valued their input and by getting an inside view, gained a better understanding of the program’s overall objectives. This positions them to contribute and provide more
informed feedback during future program reviews.
Our objective at LMU is to build a partnership that benefits alumni, current students and the EMBA program. This can only be accomplished through an important feedback loop connecting alums, students and instructors to the Executive MBA program. In this partnership we are all learners. We have the formal training and “expert knowledge,” they have the practical experience. It’s not either-or, it’s both. The partnership enables theory and practice to converge. Strengthening the partnership benefits everyone. Through real-time feedback from alumni, we are able to update and refine program content. This improves learning through better, more targeted objectives. In turn, participants gain knowledge and develop skills that will make them better leaders and managers.
So, in addition to providing traditional alumni programs and support, we are forging a much more productive partnership that actively contributes to program improvement. Alums continue their learning by focusing on how their experience and knowledge can be applied more productively in the workplace. We receive real-time validation of curriculum and are able to more effectively target update and program revisions. Through our EMBA-Alumni partnership, everyone benefits.
Dr. William Lindsey is Director of the Executive MBA and Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration at LMU. He can be reached by email at wlindsey@lmu.edu.
This article appeared in The Executive Educator a bi-monthly online newsletter produced by the LMU College of Business Administration. Click here to subscribe to the publication.