“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”
-J.C. Watts

Always doing the right thing is hard; whether we are on the road, at the office or just going about our day. I can tell you, though, that doing the right thing is much easier than not doing the right thing. I’ve been learning that lesson the hard way recently. You see, I speed. I’m a habitual speeder and I’ve been pulled over plenty of times for it and talked my way out of more than my fair share of tickets. I’m not proud of my speeding, but I managed to justify it to myself until recently. Now my oldest son just turned 16 and started driving—and speeding! He learned it by watching me and now when I’m at home worried about his safety I can trace that back to my own integrity lapse.

I had no idea when I was speeding along that it would have that kind of consequence, but that’s what I mean about doing the right thing being easier. Doing the right thing means you don’t have to keep up with your lies, doing the right thing means you don’t have to worry about getting caught or other negative consequences and most importantly, doing the right thing actually feels good. Although it might not seem like it at any given moment, living with integrity is the easiest, most enjoyable way to live.

As a young professional, living with integrity means leading your life now in ways that make you a leader before you are one—and being aware that you’re an example to others, just as I am to my son. Integrity starts with the little things we do each day because as Annie Dillard said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
-Warren Buffet, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Warren is a great success and it’s obvious by the above quote, he has surrounded himself with people of integrity. I’ve heard often, “You are who you associate with.” In my experience, this couldn’t be more true. Are you associating with people at work who are where you want to be and doing the work you want to be doing? I’m lucky. Here at Ingenuity, everyone I associate with makes me take my game to another level. I respect and learn from everyone here and it is the first job in my long career where I felt everybody has my back. Seek out the people at your firm who make you play your “A” game. Warren had it right – those three character traits are powerful. Associate with people who have them, live those traits yourself and the rest will take care of itself.

Question: What are you doing to ensure your integrity is in tact and your character not compromised? Who do you want to be?

Finding good talent is hard; keeping good talent is even harder. Firms are scrambling to fill desks and are finding that what worked in the past to attract and keep talent doesn’t work now.

I recently had the chance to hear Rebecca Ryan of Next Generation Consulting, Inc., (www.nextgenerationconsulting.com) discuss the five mistakes that firms make in recruiting and retention. The managers and leaders in the audience could not take notes fast enough, clearly an indication of how critical this topic has become in the industry. Rebecca has surveyed thousands of people and has consulted with some of the largest corporations in the nation. This is what she said:

1. People don’t leave firms. They leave their managers. Managers who don’t support or communicate effectively with their employees are destined to lose them. Managers who don’t recognize success, don’t treat employees equitably and don’t provide appropriate feedback might as well walk the employee across the street to their competitor. Hire managers who attract instead of repel good people.

2. Measure the right indicators and ignore out of date metrics to gauge success:

• How many associates have I recruited to the firm this year?
• How many of my direct reports have I retained for six or more years?
• How many of my direct reports have taken on greater levels of responsibility?

Those will be your indicators of success, not some spreadsheet
with graphs and charts.

3. You will not find your best talent at career fairs, through online employment sites or newspaper ads. Only 10 percent of people who come through these recruitment efforts will actually stay. They are simply employees taking their first job to get to their second job. Your goal is to be the second job. You need to network, talk up your firm, ask around and remember that talent attracts talent — get your talent working for you.

4. Establish company rituals. Your holiday party, end of tax season party or company summer picnic is not a ritual; that is expected. Here at Ingenuity, we take a trip to the Minnesota State Fair as a “company retreat.” Instead of strategic planning, we start the day by deciding what each person wants to do, eat or see. Wendy wants to head to the education building; we all act interested. Rachel wants to outsmart the carnies at their own games; we are laughing firing water guns at clown faces. Kristin wants to see the art building and we are astounded at the local talent. We all want cookies, corn dogs, fries and malts. We all happily oblige each other. When fair time rolls around, we have another great reason to work at Ingenuity.

5. Have curb appeal. If a friend tells you about a great company that is hiring, the first thing you want to do is visit the website. The career tab on the company website should entice you to explore further, not feel like a scream for help or business as usual. Companies that are doing a great job of attracting talent are going after it, making a great impression and getting people excited about joining the team. Here are a few examples; check these out:

www.amllp.com – Great recruitment video showing iPod casts of employees talking about the firm.

www.choate.com – Videos of their summer associates and the odd, albeit interesting talents they bring to the firm.

www.reznickgroup.com – Offers great volunteer and charitable opportunities, a pay-it-forward program and matching charity contributions of their employees.

Attracting talent is a little like finding a mate. You need to put your best foot forward (not deceive the prospect about what you have to offer) and then make good on your promises.

Your talent is what differentiates you as a firm. You want to build a culture that attracts and then keeps that talent. “People First – Profits Follow” is the ideology you need to adopt.

Look at the companies that are growing with profits soaring and you can be assured they are also the companies with the best talent and the best working environment. Read about Google if you have any doubts. Your recruits are approaching life differently. They aren’t trying to find work/life balance; they simply won’t take or stay at a job that doesn’t offer it.

Remember, your firm isn’t the name on the door. Your firm is the people inside.