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| Off White Papers |
Do I make as much money as I could? No, but I can live with my
choices.
4) I’m honest about reality
During the great depression of the 1930’s many suffered their plight
in silence because they did not want others to know just how bad
things were for them. I wonder how many are falling into that same
pattern today. I’ve relocated a number of times in my life but never in
this kind of real estate market. I do worry that things in real estate
could get much worse before they get better or take so long to improve
that it will prove very costly. And my concern that values could drop
even further is precisely the kind of mentality that could push values
down even further. I’m just being honest.
No one has ever accused me of being too slick. A client once called
me a “rock star” after a meeting in which I received very positive
feedback on the presentation and for being so "down to earth." That
evening I did what any rock star would do, I did a bunch of drugs and
trashed the hotel room. No, wait, that wasn’t me.
I am committed to being genuine as a person and honest about
reality. Long ago I realized that for better or worse, I was not a
salesman. I love to design sales plans - just don’t ask me to go on
one of them. Needless to say, it’s critical for me to manage by word
of mouth referral and reputation.
And so there you have it - a hopeless optimist.
choices.
4) I’m honest about reality
During the great depression of the 1930’s many suffered their plight
in silence because they did not want others to know just how bad
things were for them. I wonder how many are falling into that same
pattern today. I’ve relocated a number of times in my life but never in
this kind of real estate market. I do worry that things in real estate
could get much worse before they get better or take so long to improve
that it will prove very costly. And my concern that values could drop
even further is precisely the kind of mentality that could push values
down even further. I’m just being honest.
No one has ever accused me of being too slick. A client once called
me a “rock star” after a meeting in which I received very positive
feedback on the presentation and for being so "down to earth." That
evening I did what any rock star would do, I did a bunch of drugs and
trashed the hotel room. No, wait, that wasn’t me.
I am committed to being genuine as a person and honest about
reality. Long ago I realized that for better or worse, I was not a
salesman. I love to design sales plans - just don’t ask me to go on
one of them. Needless to say, it’s critical for me to manage by word
of mouth referral and reputation.
And so there you have it - a hopeless optimist.
2) I am learning to do more with less
If you embrace austerity, it will challenge your resourcefulness. Making
do with what you have demands creativity and imagination. Don’t ask
me why but one of my hobbies is making wood furniture. I often brag
that I can make any item in the Pottery Barn catalog for twice what they’
re asking. But if I’m being austere, my design constraints change and
the “challenge” can become even more fun. Now, I build furniture that
is much more functional and cost-effective and takes advantage of my
now very limited space. And it’s almost as much fun as when there is
no budget.
One of the things I enjoy most about consulting is the opportunity to be
resourceful. Most of the companies that hire me don’t do so because
of my good looks. Truth be told none of the companies hire me
because of my good looks. Those that do, do so to get the biggest
bang for their consulting bucks. The challenge of working smart and
delivering efficiently motivates me as a consultant and adds value for
my clients.
3) I build my business around my strengths
Building effective models to understand and forecast compensation
costs is one of my passions. I love doing it and know
I’m very good at it. The ability to think quantitatively has always been an
asset for me in the field of compensation. Understanding statistics
and how to approach decision-making with a quantitative mindset is
one of the great satisfactions I have doing comp.
I have great respect for Human Resource leaders but many don’t
share that same passion for all things quantitative. Most have off-the-
charts emotional intelligence and prefer not to be bothered with
something so mundane and tedious. So, they hire someone who is
mundane and tedious to do the mundane and tedious. Hence, my
niche.
I’m not afraid to say no. Never have been. If I’m asked to work on a
project that I don’t think I can deliver on, I’ll let you know up front. I don’
t want to waste your time or money. If I am going to tackle a project for
someone, I want to do well. I’m just not wired to do something just for
the money.
If you embrace austerity, it will challenge your resourcefulness. Making
do with what you have demands creativity and imagination. Don’t ask
me why but one of my hobbies is making wood furniture. I often brag
that I can make any item in the Pottery Barn catalog for twice what they’
re asking. But if I’m being austere, my design constraints change and
the “challenge” can become even more fun. Now, I build furniture that
is much more functional and cost-effective and takes advantage of my
now very limited space. And it’s almost as much fun as when there is
no budget.
One of the things I enjoy most about consulting is the opportunity to be
resourceful. Most of the companies that hire me don’t do so because
of my good looks. Truth be told none of the companies hire me
because of my good looks. Those that do, do so to get the biggest
bang for their consulting bucks. The challenge of working smart and
delivering efficiently motivates me as a consultant and adds value for
my clients.
3) I build my business around my strengths
Building effective models to understand and forecast compensation
costs is one of my passions. I love doing it and know
I’m very good at it. The ability to think quantitatively has always been an
asset for me in the field of compensation. Understanding statistics
and how to approach decision-making with a quantitative mindset is
one of the great satisfactions I have doing comp.
I have great respect for Human Resource leaders but many don’t
share that same passion for all things quantitative. Most have off-the-
charts emotional intelligence and prefer not to be bothered with
something so mundane and tedious. So, they hire someone who is
mundane and tedious to do the mundane and tedious. Hence, my
niche.
I’m not afraid to say no. Never have been. If I’m asked to work on a
project that I don’t think I can deliver on, I’ll let you know up front. I don’
t want to waste your time or money. If I am going to tackle a project for
someone, I want to do well. I’m just not wired to do something just for
the money.
Hopeless Optimism from the Comp Guy
by Frank Monahan
Building a compensation consulting business in an historically bad
economy has not been easy. When the critical question is “how many
should we pay?” instead of “how much should we pay?”, companies
can scrape by in the short term without giving much thought to
otherwise compelling compensation issues. Add to that the
considerable distraction related to the uncertainty and complexity
imposed by more than 2,000 pages of new health care legislation and
it’s understandable to see that many companies, particularly smaller
ones, remain in “survival” mode.
But I am a hopeless optimist. While I see some very troubling signs on
the economic horizon (the hopeless part), I remain confident about the
future (the optimist part). True, extremely difficult times loom but if we
can respond to those challenges effectively, we can emerge better and
stronger. How well we manage our response will determine how well
we emerge.
I want to share with you some of my responses to this evolving crisis
as an individual and “comp guy” in hopes that some of the ideas and
insights might benefit you and your situation.
Here are some of my key “hopelessly optimistic” responses:
1) I’ve simplified my lifestyle
Tough times have a way of “encouraging” you to re-evaluate your
priorities. I used to spend money thoughtlessly. Now, I’m thoughtful
about the money I don’t spend. The pleasant little surprise here for me
is the realization that happiness and contentment are really not a
function of how much or how little I spend. I say “little” surprise
because I’m reminded of those financial struggles during the early
days of my marriage and early parenthood. This is not to deny the
stress and the difficulties we encountered then or confront us now. But
let’s face it, as empty nesters, spending less is a lot easier now that
our “it’s not possible to spend too much on shoes only too little on
closets” daughter and our “I know it’s expensive but just listen to how
great this sounds” son are off the budget.
I appreciate how companies are in a mindset to avoid wasteful
spending. In fact, I think the lessons many companies have learned as
they “simplify” is just how much unnecessary spending they can purge
from the business and still manage.
by Frank Monahan
Building a compensation consulting business in an historically bad
economy has not been easy. When the critical question is “how many
should we pay?” instead of “how much should we pay?”, companies
can scrape by in the short term without giving much thought to
otherwise compelling compensation issues. Add to that the
considerable distraction related to the uncertainty and complexity
imposed by more than 2,000 pages of new health care legislation and
it’s understandable to see that many companies, particularly smaller
ones, remain in “survival” mode.
But I am a hopeless optimist. While I see some very troubling signs on
the economic horizon (the hopeless part), I remain confident about the
future (the optimist part). True, extremely difficult times loom but if we
can respond to those challenges effectively, we can emerge better and
stronger. How well we manage our response will determine how well
we emerge.
I want to share with you some of my responses to this evolving crisis
as an individual and “comp guy” in hopes that some of the ideas and
insights might benefit you and your situation.
Here are some of my key “hopelessly optimistic” responses:
1) I’ve simplified my lifestyle
Tough times have a way of “encouraging” you to re-evaluate your
priorities. I used to spend money thoughtlessly. Now, I’m thoughtful
about the money I don’t spend. The pleasant little surprise here for me
is the realization that happiness and contentment are really not a
function of how much or how little I spend. I say “little” surprise
because I’m reminded of those financial struggles during the early
days of my marriage and early parenthood. This is not to deny the
stress and the difficulties we encountered then or confront us now. But
let’s face it, as empty nesters, spending less is a lot easier now that
our “it’s not possible to spend too much on shoes only too little on
closets” daughter and our “I know it’s expensive but just listen to how
great this sounds” son are off the budget.
I appreciate how companies are in a mindset to avoid wasteful
spending. In fact, I think the lessons many companies have learned as
they “simplify” is just how much unnecessary spending they can purge
from the business and still manage.