LOCATION: Istanbul, Turkey
CLIENT: Global 500 company
 |
The secret interview up at the Ritz Carlton had gone well and
turned into a long, multi-stop lunch as the candidate and I wandered through town
to the water talking as we went. Editing down the recorded sections of the conversation
for the client was going to be a complex chore back at the hotel, when my head cleared.
And it definitely had clearing to do thanks to some very strange raki and ouzo based
concoctions we had consumed as we wandered around while I got to know him.
“That’s my ride,” the candidate said pointing from the shore
to a white speck racing across the straits directly toward us.
“So, what’s your secret?” I asked watching the approaching, cigarette-style
boat. It was hard to judge its speed but I figured we had about two minutes. I could
already hear its big, meaty engines.
The candidate turned on the bench to face me. “Secrets?” he said
laughing. “I have no secrets. What makes you think I have secrets?”
“Your effectiveness,” I said simply. “What makes you so effective?”
He thought about it a moment. I noticed this habit earlier. He
didn’t just flip out an answer like most candidates hoping to impress. When I tossed
a question mark at him it was as if he would catch it and examine it carefully for
a moment before answering. It was refreshing to watch.
He finally said, “I guess it would be my ability to recognize
how well a person uses his or her stirrup.”
Now it was my turn to pause, trying to figure it out. “You mean
as in a, horse?” I asked, baffled.
“Right. Every successful manager has a stirrup. The question
is what is it, and how well do they use it.”
“I’m still not following you.”
“It’s simple. A big reason Genghis Kahn conquered so much of
the world was because of his expert use of horses. The horses were, in effect, the
terror weapon of their day. Even better than the earlier chariot which was expensive
to build. But until the invention of the stirrup, the horse as a weapons platform
had a serious flaw. The rider was so busy hanging on for dear life he couldn’t accurately
aim his distance weapons which were heavy crossbow arrows. The stirrup changed that.
Now the warrior could not only move fast but could accurately aim his weapon at
the same time. Combined with Kahn’s tactics it was a key advantage and a game changer.”
We both looked over at the approaching speedboat, which now appeared
to glow red in the setting sunlight.
I looked back at the candidate. “You’re describing concentration
of force and that’s a great thing if you know where to focus it.”
“And a good manager does,” he said as we stood up. “That’s part
of their job.”
“Of course,” I said as we walked toward a stubby little pier
where the launch had pulled up. “But I’m still waiting for you to relate your success
to stirrups.”
He laughed as he took a long, steady step down into the rocking
boat. “Very simple. As we discussed at lunch, in business it’s hard to do something
truly meaningful entirely alone. You need a great team. So when I’m thinking about
hiring somebody I look to see if they have a stirrup. And if so, can I use it to
help change the game to the sustainable benefit of the ownership. Keep me posted,”
he said looking up and waving goodbye. With that, he leaned into the powerful boat’s
acceleration as it roared off to his shoreside home across the straits.
I watched as the boat got smaller, then could hear the engines
change note as it started a wide sweeping turn to the left and head back towards
me. My phone buzzed signaling a text message.
“We’re coming back to pick you up. I’m having dinner with somebody
you should meet.”
This will be interesting,
I thought to myself waiting for the approaching boat.
