BroadPeak Executive Forum

Join BroadPeak in Supporting the SuperCop Boxing Tournament

Event:          Super Cop Boxing
Date:            November 3, 2007
Time:            Doors open at 5pm, first bout begins at 7:30pm
Location:      Genesis Center, Gary, IN
      
Please join BroadPeak in supporting Citizens for National Law Enforcement as they host Super Cop Boxing, an event which benefits the families of fallen police officers and through Indiana Concerns of Police Survivors (http://www.indianacops.org/)
                  
After 10 successful years in Chicago the Citizens for National Law Enforcement is taking their successful Super Cop Boxing fundraising event to Gary, Indiana. Expansion from Chicago to Gary is the first step towards elevating the scope of this worthwhile event that raises money for the families of fallen     police officers to a national level.

For More Information Contact:

Tony Martorano
847-741-8394
tmartorano@broadpeak.us

Pam Osmanski
224-623-4900
posmanski@broadpeak.us
                  ..........................................................................................................

Joe Torre's Pay Package Is A Hit With CFOs

The pay-for-performance deal the New York Yankees offered to Joe Torre lines up with executive-compensation trends in Corporate America.

Marie Leone, CFO.com

October 22, 2007

The New York Yankees struck out with Joe Torre, the manager who led the baseball club for the past 12 years until Thursday, when he nixed a new contract offer. There is a raging debate about Torre's fate in New York, but whichever side fans and critics come down on, one thing is clear: the pay package offered by the Yankees is in line with those being offered by many American corporations.

The Yankees offered Torre a one-year contract comprising a base salary of $5 million and $1 million bonuses for each level of postseason play the team reached in 2008, according to reports from MLB.com, the Website of major league baseball.

The incentive component of the deal promised that if the Yankees win it all next year, capturing the World Series crown, Torre could take home $8 million in total compensation. But that won't happen — and it has nothing to do with the Boston Red Sox.

Torre balked at the deal and called it quits. Essentially, the Yankees skipper was being asked to cut 30 percent off his current $7.5 million salary and replace the missing cash with performance-based pay. At a press conference Friday, Torre said he was "insulted" by the offer and "I had been there for 12 years and I felt the motivation wasn't needed."

Not only do the Yankees disagree, though, much of Corporate America does as well. "The Yankees's offer is entirely appropriate and consistent with current executive-compensation trends in which more money is being put at risk," chief financial officer Michael Mardy tells CFO.com. Mardy is CFO of privately held Tumi Luggage and sits on the compensation committee of two publicly held companies.

The Yankees offer, which Mardy describes as "$5 million and a lot of upside," is a package that "heads exactly in the right direction." He contends that if performance parameters are clearly defined and developed with rigor to reflect the proper business goals, then top executives should expect to be paid less if they don't perform. Conversely, the board should not hesitate to pay out more money if performance objectives are met.

"It's likely that a new Securities and Exchange Commission direction is pushing boards to develop more shareholder-friendly, performance-based packages," adds Mardy. That push from the SEC is spelled out in a new rule issued one year ago that requires public-company proxy statements to include a compensation discussion and analysis report. The report must disclose how much a company's highest-earning executives are paid and explain how the package is calculated.

Opening the kimono on executive compensation has the SEC, investors, and board members paying closer attention to the link between performance and pay. "Compensation-committee issues are probably a bigger exposure than audit-committee issues these days," opines Mardy, who is also the audit-committee chair of two public companies. "The SEC has honed in like a laser on compensation issues."

To be sure, the SEC wants more analysis of how and why companies pay their top executives what they do, but it also wants the information presented in a tighter, more concise way, according to a 10-page evaluation the regulator released earlier this month. The document was released after SEC staffers reviewed 350 company CD&A disclosures they collected during the past year.

Even a cursory look at corporate proxy filings illustrates the rise in incentive-based pay arrangements, says Greg Adams, CFO of Edgar Online Inc. He attributes that rise to the new CD&A filings, and says incentive-based pay arrangements have spread beyond the CEO level and are permeating the entire C-suite.

According to Adams, the Yankees's deal is typical, and he suggests that if Torre has not delivered a world championship — clearly a corporate goal coveted by principal owner George Steinbrenner — he needs to be held accountable to the board, investors, and fans. "I also think the players should receive the same pay-for-performance [arrangements], but free agency appears to be their incentive program," adds Adams.

Read the entire article at CFO.com

Free Sample Thank You Note Book from Ultimate Resumes

Awhile back I wrote a post about an ebook of sample thank you notes that I wrote. I have received numerous requests for the ebook so I have decided to simply make it available for download on the Ultimate Resumes website.  I don't seem to be able to put downloadable files on the blog so you need to click here to get to the page where you can download the ebook on Ultimate Resumes. Please let me know if you find the booklet helpful. Feel free to email me your comments or post a comment on this blog.

Some of the sample notes in the book include:

Business/Professional Thank Yous:
Thank you for a professional courtesy
Thank you for a job interview
Thank you for providing a lead, contact, or information
Thank you for doing great work (for a subordinate)
Thank you for your support
Thank you for dinner, lunch, or tickets
Thank you for your business

Personal Thank Yous:
Thank you for a gift (wedding, shower, other)
Thank you for hosting a meeting or party
Thank you for an introduction
Thank you for a kindness
Thank you for your sympathy card or flowers
Thank you from a houseguest
Thank you to a vendor

Happy note writing.

Liz

Congratulations to University of Chicago Professor Roger Myerson, Winner, Nobel Prize, Economics

University of Chicago Professor Roger Myerson awarded Nobel Prize in Economics

Oct. 15, 2007

Roger B. Myerson, the Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics Monday “for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory.” Myerson earned one-third of the prize along with colleagues Leonid Hurwicz of the University of Minnesota and Eric S. Maskin of Princeton University.

Myerson is the author of Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict (1991) and Probability Models for Economic Decisions (2005). Myerson has published computer software programs related to his work and more than 70 papers on game theory and other topics concerning his research. He has been both a Guggenheim fellow and a Sloan Foundation research fellow.

Professor Myerson joins an all-star lineup of Nobel Laureates from U of C.  Other winners include:

An extraordinary number of Nobel Laureates have been faculty members,     students or researchers at the University of Chicago at some point in     their careers. Some of the laureates whose work is closely associated     with the University of Chicago are Milton Friedman (Economic     Sciences, 1986), Subramanyan Chandrasekhar (Physics, 1983), Saul     Bellow (Literature, 1976), Charles Huggins (Physiology or Medicine,     1966), and Willard Libby (Chemistry, 1960).       

In addition to these Laureates, Alexei Abrikosov of Argonne National     Laboratory (which has been operated by the University of Chicago for     the U.S. Department of Energy since the laboratory was established in     1946) shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering     contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids."

 

The University of Chicago's first Nobel Laureate was Albert A.     Michelson. The first American to win the Nobel Prize in any of the     sciences, Michelson was recognized in 1907 for his measurements of     the speed of light. Robert A. Millikan (Physics, 1923), did both of     his prize-winning experiments on campus in the Ryerson Laboratory.

 

Of the 79 laureates who have Chicago ties, 27 have won in Physics, 23     in Economic Sciences, 15 in Chemistry, 11 in Physiology or Medicine,     and three in Literature.

 

Chicago Urban League ProjectNEXT - The Next Big Thing for Minority Entrepreneurs

Earlier this week, in my capacity as Vice President of Marketing for BroadPeak Collaborative, I attended the kick-off luncheon for the Chicago Urban League's forward- thinking new project called ProjectNEXT. The last time I felt that much energy and anticipation in a room was when I kicked off Money Smart Week at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - and it felt great!

Under the high-energy and progressive leadership of CEO Cheryle Jackson, the Chicago Urban League is shifting from a social services provider model to an economic development model which, I think, is a stroke of genius on the part of Ms. Jackson. Project NEXT is a unique program in which minority entrepreneurs are mentored and given resources that will jump-start the growth of their companies. The program is highly competitive - 150 entrepreneurs applied for 16 spots in the program. And the program is only in its first year. I wonder how many business owners will apply next year or the year after? Seems to me that there is a huge demand for this program and I would guess that applications will increase exponentially over time.

A few professional service firms, including BroadPeak, have been selected by the Urban League to offer accounting, finance, analytics, management training/coaching, and other key services to the selected business owners. We are extremely honored and excited to have been chosen to participate in this program and we anticipate that the success in Chicago will lead to a nation-wide rollout.

Back to the luncheon.  I got to sit next to John Rogers, CEO of Ariel Mutual Funds and a member of the Board of the Chicago Urban League, a man I have admired for years. In addition to founding a hugely successful business John created the Ariel Community Academy in Chicago which is teaching kids about investing, thus developing hundreds of young minds who think that financial smarts are cool. (In contrast to popular singers, actors, and rappers whose conspicuous consumption can be enticing to youngsters.) Needless to say I was excited to get to talk to Mr. Rogers, in fact I was a little star struck. He didn't disappoint - he was modest, intelligent, and thoughtful in his remarks and he is clearly passionate about his work. It's always exciting to meet someone you idolize and, somehow, I managed not to spill food on myself or say anything stupid during lunch.

The keynote speaker for the event was Jim Reynolds, founder and CEO of Loop Capital, a Chicago-based investment bank. Mr. Reynolds was a dynamic, funny, and interesting speaker who managed to share some valuable advice about how to start a successful company. The difference, he said, between entrepreneurs who want to be successful (who doesn't?) and those who really "get it" is twofold: vision and focus. Vision and focus are the essential ingredients to success when starting your own business.

Mr. Reynolds discussed the fact that successful entrepreneurs, no matter what they are doing, are always promoting their businesses. His point was that as a successful entrepreneur you should always be thinking about your business and selling yourself. If you meet someone new, join a club, or speak at an event, you should always be ready to talk about your business, sell a product, or promote yourself, if only by behaving with class and dignity.

I learned a lot from Mr. Reynolds comments at lunch but it also occurred to me that as he described what it takes to succeed in business he was also describing Cheryle Jackson. Ms. Jackson has been at the helm of the Chicago Urban League for only a year but in that short time she has completely reshaped the vision of the organization, energized a talented staff, and has maintained an intense focus on the new mission that she set. She is a successful entrepreneur within an established organization. Like I said at the start of this post, it has been a long time since I have felt that much energy in a room and since I have been that impressed with a program.

I am thrilled that BroadPeak is part of ProjectNEXT but I am also excited that a project like NEXT has been born. It's rare that a not-for-profit can attract a leader who really understands how to create lasting and meaningful changes in the community. Too often organizations take the easy and non-controversial path of offering bland and impactless programs that don't offend, don't take risks, and don't have an impact.

Ms. Jackson and her team have put their reputations on the line with Project NEXT - if it were to fail then the naysayers in the world would be happy to armchair quarterback her mistakes and to say things like, "We never should have strayed from our original mission". ProjectNEXT won't fail, of that I am sure, but my point is that it takes a lot of guts to change the direction of an organization and to create programs with metrics and deliverables and the possibility of truly creating positive change in the world.

If you haven't heard of ProjectNEXT, the Chicago Urban League, or Cheryle Jackson click here to check out the Urban League website.

Finding A Great Job

Clients often ask me how they should start their job searches. Many of my clients have never had to look for a job because they are talented senior executives or senior technical experts who have always been recruited from one job to the next. One day something happens like a layoff, a failed start-up, or a difference of opinion with the Board of Directors/VC/CEO and suddenly these talented folks have to figure out how to navigate a job search. Following are some of the tips I share with my top-tier clients.

1. Use the internet to research companies that have job openings.
There are many ways to search the internet to find out what companies are hiring. If you know the name of companies in your field or the geographic area in which you want to work you can just do a Google search using company name in the search field. See what jobs are listed on the site. Most senior executive jobs or senior technical jobs don't get listed on company websites because they are filled by recruiters or through networking. So if you don't find a job that fits your background on the site don't despair. You just want to find out if the company is hiring at all (see tip #5). If a company that you are interested in working for is hiring you can always write a targeted letter accompanied by your resume and send it to a key individual within the company (see tip #6 below).

You can also try going to Monster.com, type in your town or zip code, and look to see what companies have jobs posted. It doesn't matter what the jobs are because all you want to know is what companies have the money to hire. Then, open up another tab on your browser and start Google searching companies in that you may not have heard of but sound interesting. Maybe you will find a company you hadn’t heard of before but for which you think you would be a good fit. Send a resume and cover letter to that company by finding the company contact information on their website; don't send your information through Monster.com because it may get lost in the shuffle.

2. Use LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) to search for companies in a specific geographic area and to network with folks who might be able to give you information about jobs that interest you.
LinkedIn is built to facilitate networking so when you do a search the list that comes up will be of names of people. Individuals who use LinkedIn often write blurbs about their companies on the site so you can find out a lot about interesting companies in your geographic area from reading personal profiles. From there you could Google search companies and apply to ones that look interesting. Or you could make contact with individuals whom you find on LinkedIn and talk to them about their employers.

3. Find websites for professional associations that relate to your field of interest or expertise.
Many associations have job boards or networking events that are great places to start a job search.

4. Target job search websites that have a narrow focus.
Savvy employers who utilize job boards use those with a narrower focus than the huge catch-all sites like Monster.com. The Ladders (www.theladders.com) offers jobs that pay $100,000 or more. Six Figure Jobs (www.6figurejobs.com) also lists jobs that pay in the 6-figure range. Bridgestar (www.bridgestar.org) has a job listing service for not-for-profit jobs and board memberships. Ivy Exec (www.ivyexec.com) is a website for individuals with graduate degrees from top-tier schools. You can also do a Google Search to find job posting boards or specialized websites for jobs in your area of interest. Even if your salary isn't in the $100K range you can use The Ladders, for example, to find out which companies are hiring in your area and then use that information to conduct further research using corporate websites.

5. Target companies that interest you without regard to the jobs listed on their "careers" page.
Have you always wanted to work for the Federal Reserve? Or Kraft Foods? Or for City Hall? Don't worry about whether or not they have a job opening when you apply. Many companies have been known to create jobs for top talent. If you find a company that you think you would like to work for, research the company and any senior individuals in the firm.

6. Research company culture and find out about the executive team before you send in a resume or interview.
There are some great online resources to help you research companies, corporate culture, and executives. ZoomInfo (www.zoominfo.com) is a great website for researching individuals. The site pulls articles, speaking engagements, employment history, and educational background from people on the web. It's a great way to find out if the CEO of your dream company wrote a book that you should read before your interview or that you can reference in your cover letter. The Vault (www.thevault.com) and WetFeet (www.wetfeet.com) offer company profiles and information based upon interviews with former employees. Those sites are great resources for finding out more information about a company before you interview or accept a job.

7. Apply directly to the CEO.
If you are a either a senior level executive or a non-traditional employee like a professional/executive female who is trying to return to the workforce after raising a family you may need to be a little more creative in your application process. Simply sending a resume and cover letter to a human resources department may not be enough to get you invited to the company for an interview. When you start a job search you need to understand that HR professionals are extremely busy and, often, not terribly creative when it comes to thinking about how an individual with a non-traditional background might fit into an existing job opening.

When you find a company that interests you I recommend that you write a targeted letter to the CEO which explains why the company interests you and what your value proposition is. Stay away from generic statements like, "I have good people skills", or "I am looking for a job". Replace generic and meaningless statements with high powered statements that show that you have done some research about the company and that you have given thought to how your background could add value.

For example, "I am interested in working for Company X because of your record of environmental responsibility. I have a degree in environmental policy and I believe that my background at the EPA could enhance your already strong governmental affairs team." Fax or mail the cover letter and your resume to the CEO. There are no guarantees that you will get a call but I have found that if the CEO sends a resume to HR it gets more notice and consideration than if it comes to HR by way of the internet.

8. Use Venture Capital websites to search for openings at start-ups.
If you are interested in working for a start-up which has already gotten funding this is the best way I know of to find out about job openings. The other nice thing about searching through VC websites is that you can find out about their management philosophy which will become very important to you should you go to work for a start-up in which they invest. I believe there are a few thousand Venture firms in the
U.S.  A few of the well known Venture firms include: Austin Ventures (www.austinventures.com ), Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer (www.kpcb.com), Maveron, (www.maveron.com), and Oak Investment Partners (www.oakinv.com).

9. Research and interview recruiters until you find one you want to represent you.
There are a lot of recruiters in the world and it is best if you can find one or two that you trust to work with. Treat recruiters like sports agents: they should be representing your best interests because they stand to get paid a lot of money when you take a job with one of their clients. Granted someone else will be paying them the fee but since you and your hard-earned skills are they key to a recruiter's payday I think you need to do your homework and find a recruiter you're comfortable with. The time to network with recruiters is before you need to search for a job. Retained search firms and boutique search firms generally employ more talented and knowledgeable recruiters than the multitude of "body shops" that advertise on Monster or Career Builder. 

This is one of the ways that BroadPeak distinguishes itself from the competition...all of our candidates are treated like partners in the search, not like commodities.  If you are ready to start your job search contact Tom Hrinowich or Denise Martorano at BroadPeak and let us help you find the job of your dreams!