Unit1TraitsoftheKeyPlayerWhatexactlyisakeyplayer?A"KeyPlayer"isaphrasethatI'veheardaboutfromemployersduringjustabouteverysearchI'veconducted.Iaskedaclient-ahiringmanagerinvolvedinarecentsearch-todefineitforme."Everycompanyhasahandfulofstaffinagivenareaofexpertisethatyoucancountontogetthejobdone.Onmyteamofsevenprocessengineerandbiologists,I'vegottwoorthreewhomIjustcouldn'tlivewithout,"hesaid."Keyplayersareessentialtomyorganization.Andwhenwehireyourcompanytorecruitforus,weexpectthatyou'llbegoingintoothercompaniesandfindingjustthat:thestaffthatanothermanagerwillnotwanttoseeleave.Werecruitonlykeyplayers."Thisispartofapeptalkintendedtosendheadhuntersintocompetitor'scompaniestotalktothemostexperiencedstaffaboutmakingachange.Theywanttohirea"keyplayer"fromanothercompany.Everycompanyalsohiresfromtheranksofnewbies,andwhatthey'relookingforisexactlythesame."Weholdthemuptothestandardsweseeinourtoppeople.Ifitlooksliketheyhavethesesametraits,we'llplaceabetonthem."It'sjustabitriskier."It'saneducatedguess,"saysmyhiringmanagerclient.Yourjobasafutureemployeeistohelpthehiringmanagermitigatethatrisk.Youneedtohelpthemidentifyyouasaprospective"keyplayer".Trait1:TheselflesscollaboratorJohnFetzer,careerconsultantandchemist,firstsuggestedthistrait,whichhasalreadybeenwrittenaboutagreatdeal.Itdeservesrepeatingbecauseitisthesinglemostpublicdifferencebetweenacademiaandindustry."It'steamwork,"saysFetzer"Thebusinessenvironmentislesslone-wolfandcompetitive,sosignsofbeingcollaborativeandselflessstandout.Youjustcan'tsucceedinanindustryenvironmentwithoutthismindset"Manypeptidesandgradstudentshaveatoughtimeshowingthattheycanmakethistransitionbecausesomuchoftheirlifehasinvolvedplayingtheindependent-researcherroleandoutshiningotheryoungstars.Youcanmakeyourselfmoreattractivetocompaniesbyworkingtogetherwithscientistsfromotherlaboratoriesanddisciplinesinpursuitofacommongoal—anddocumentingtheresultsonyourresume.Thisapproach,combinedwithaliberaluseofthepronoun"we"andnotjust"I"whendescribingyouraccomplishments,canchangethecompany'sperceptionofyoufromalonewolftoaselflesscollaborator.Betterstill,developareputationinsideyourlabandwithpeopleyourlabcollaborateswithasapersonwhofostersandinitiatescollaborations—andmakesurethisqualitygetsmentionedbythosewhowilltakethosereferencephonecalls.Trait2:AsenseofurgencyDonHdiscussionforum.Heisaformerscientistwhotransitionedtoindustrymanyyearsagoandthenontoaseniormanagementposition.Hautheadsstrategyandbusinessdevelopmentforadivisionof3Mwithmorethan$2.4billioninannualrevenues.Heisamongthosewhovalueasenseofurgency."Businesshappens24/7/365whichmeansthatcompetitionhappens24/7/365,aswell,"saysHaut."Onewaythatcompanieswinisbygetting'there'faster,whichmeansthatyounotonlyhavetomobilizeallofthefunctionsthatsupportabusinesstomovequickly,butyouhavetoknowhowtodecidewhere'there'is!Thiscreatesarequirementnotonlyforpeoplewhocanactquickly,butforthosewhocanthinkfastandhavethecouragetoactontheirconvictions.Thisrequirementneedstorunthroughoutanorganizationandisnotexclusivetomanagement." Trait3:RisktoleranceBeingOKwithriskissomethingthatindustrydemands."Acandidateneedstohavedemonstratedtheabilitytomakedecisionswithimperfectorincompleteinformation.Heorshemustbeabletoembraceambiguityandstickhisorherneckouttodrivetoaconclusion,"wroteoneofmyclientsinajobdescription.Hautagrees."Businesssuccessisoftendefinedbycomfortwithambiguityandrisk-personal,organizational,andfinancial.Thiscreatesadisconnectformanyscientistsbecausesuccessinacademiaisreallymoreaboutcareful,studiedresearch.Further,greatscienceisoftendefinedbyhowonegetstotheanswerasmuchasbytheansweritself,soscientistsoftenfallinlovewiththeprocess.Inabusiness,youneedtounderstandtheprocess,butyouendupfallinginlovewiththeanswerandthentakeariskbasedonwhatyouthinkthatanswermeanstoyourbusiness.Puttingyourneckonthelinelikethisisaskillsetthatallemployerslookforintheirbestpeople."Anotherimportantpieceofrisktoleranceisacandidate'sdegreeofcomfortwithfailure.Failureisimportantbecauseitshowsthatyouwerenotafraidtotakechances.Socompaniesconsistentlylookforcandidateswhocanbewrongandadmitit.Everyoneknowshowtotalkaboutsuccesses—ortheyshouldifthey'reinajobsearch—butfarfewerpeoplearecomfortabletalkingaboutfailures,andfewerstillknowhowtobringlessonsandadvantagesbackfromthebrink."Formyorganization,acandidateneedstohavecomfortdiscussinghisorherfailures,andheorsheneedstohaverealfailures,notsomethingmadeupforinterviewday.Ifnot,thatpersonh