The Case of Dave: Would a Snake Wear Such a Nice Suit?
One could imagine he was arriving for a GQ photo shoot, judging by his smooth, strong, and confident entrance. His suit was very well made, his smile broad, his shirt crisp, and, well, the whole package he presented was one of perfection.
“Hi, I’m Dave. I’m here to see Frank,” he said to the receptionist.
“I’ll ring him, sir. Please have a seat,” she replied. “It’s good to see you again.” She smiled.
“Hi, Dave, good to see you again,” rang Frank’s voice from across the lobby. “How was the trip in?”
“Fine, pleasant,” stated Dave, as he gave a firm handshake.
“We have a couple more interviews for you today,” said Frank. “Just some human resources folks, and a meeting with my boss, our vice president, and then lunch and a tour of the surrounding community.”
“Great, I’m ready to get started,” Dave said enthusiastically.
Garrideb Technologies was one of those high-tech companies, born in a garage in the Midwest, that had skyrocketed to success beyond the wildest dreams of its founders. Because of the company’s incredible growth, it sorely needed changes, not the least of which was the need to hire more staff. The management team sought the best talent available to keep up with the growing demands for their products and services. Few candidates had résumés with the specialized education and experience they needed, but Dave did.
The human resources interviews went better than these interviews usually go. HR types tend to probe more deeply into the motivations of people than do the department interviewers, asking for many details about past jobs and references, but Dave was polite and forthcoming. “I’ll stay as long as you need me,” he said, smiling, “so whatever you need, please, that’s why I’m here.” After they were through, the HR assistant escorted Dave to the senior executive wing.
“Welcome, Dave, I’m glad to finally meet you,” said John, the vice president of new products, noting Dave’s expensive suit and tie. “How was your trip in?”
“Excellent,” stated Dave. “This is a beautiful part of the country. I can’t wait to take a better look around. Your facilities are extraordinary; I’ve never seen such architecture.”
“Thanks,” responded John. “We try to make it comfortable for our staff. Success has its rewards, and we don’t skimp on creature comforts.”
“I’ve heard a bit about your strategic plan from Frank, and I’ve studied the company’s website, but I’d like to get the details from you, as the major strategist of the company’s success. How did you do all of this?” inquired Dave. Pleased with Dave’s interest in the company’s future, John took some slides from a binder on his bookshelf to show Dave some graphs. John launched into his exposition on his plan. “Unbelievable! You really have done a great job orchestrating everything,” exclaimed Dave.
John was pleased to interact with someone who, despite his age, understood so well the intricacies of building a business. He pushed aside the suggested interview questions HR had prepared for him and asked Dave to tell him about himself. Dave obliged eagerly by describing his work history, giving plenty of examples reflecting John’s respect for enthusiasm, hard work, and diligence. The extent of Dave’s experience was—at age thirty-five—impressive, documented by a résumé and a portfolio most would work an entire career to achieve.
As the interview ended, Dave extended his hand, smiled, and said, looking straight into John’s eyes, “Thank you so much for your time. I look forward to working closely with you; I know I can help you realize your strategic vision.”
“The pleasure was mine; I hope to see you again.” John’s secretary escorted Dave back to the lobby to wait for Frank. One could not ask for a better candidate, thought John as he dialed up Frank with his approval.
Frank hung up with John and grabbed his jacket, but as he reached the door of his office on his way to pick up Dave, his phone rang again. “I’d like us all to get together later today to discuss Dave’s candidacy,” said the HR director.
“Oh, Melanie, that won’t be necessary. John and I just agreed that Dave is the best person for the job; I’m going to take him to lunch and make him the offer.”
“But we agreed to get all the interviewers together to discuss each candidate thoroughly; and we wanted to bring back Tom, the guy from New York, for a second look,” she reminded Frank.
“That won’t be necessary; clearly, one could not ask for a better candidate than Dave,” he said as he hung up. Frank was happy to have found someone with the right fit for both the job and the organization, and he didn’t want this one to get away.
Over lunch, Frank made the offer. Dave pushed back at the salary, which was actually high in the range, and Frank agreed to sweeten the pie with a sign-on bonus and review in six months.
Frank was very pleased when Dave accepted the enhanced package. Seeing leadership potential in him, Frank knew that Dave’s style, intelligence, and technical expertise made him an ideal management development candidate in this successful, rapidly growing technology firm. Everyone who interviewed Dave thought he was perfect; one of the managers from the lab even stated that he was “too good to be true.” Dave would start working for Frank in two weeks.
This scene is growing more common as companies accelerate their hiring practices to attract, hire, and retain new, high-potential talent before their competitors do. Gone are the days of the painstaking vetting process. Competition is fierce and qualified candidates are few. Business now moves swiftly, and common wisdom is that those who hesitate lose. However, was Dave a good hire?
We will follow Dave and others through this book, and explore what makes them so attractive, yet potentially so damaging to an organization. We will describe how they get in and how they move up the organization into positions of increasing power and influence, where the damage they can do to the organization and its members can be significant. We then offer suggestions to employees and coworkers who might be potential targets, and to managers and executives on how to secure the organization from unscrupulous manipulation.
Discussion Questions