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UnitOneTRAITSOFTHEKEYPLAYERSDavidG.Jensen1Whatexactlyisakeyplayer?AKeyPlayerisaphrasethatI'veheardaboutfromemployersduringjustabouteverysearchI'veconducted.Iaskedaclient-ahiringmanagerinvolvedinarecentsearch-todefineitforme.Everycompanyhasahandfulofstaffinagivenareaofexpertisethatyoucancountontogetthejobdone.Onmyteamofsevenprocessengineerandbiologists,I'vegottwoorthreewhomIjustcouldn'tlivewithout,hesaid.Keyplayersareessentialtomyorganization.Andwhenwehireyourcompanytorecruitforus,weexpectthatyou'llbegoingintoothercompaniesandfindingjustthat:thestaffthatanothermanagerwillnotwanttoseeleave.Werecruitonlykeyplayers.2Thisispartofapeptalkintendedtosendheadhuntersintocompetitor'scompaniestotalktothemostexperiencedstaffaboutmakingachange.Theywanttohireakeyplayerfromanothercompany.Everycompanyalsohiresfromtheranksofnewbies,andwhatthey'relookingforisexactlythesame.Weholdthemuptothestandardsweseeinourtoppeople.Ifitlooksliketheyhavethesesametraits,we'llplaceabetonthem.It'sjustabitriskier.3It'saneducatedguess,saysmyhiringmanagerclient.Yourjobasafutureemployeeistohelpthehiringmanagermitigatethatrisk.Youneedtohelpthemidentifyyouasaprospectivekeyplayer.4Trait1:TheselflesscollaboratorJohnFetzer,careerconsultantandchemist,firstsuggestedthistrait,whichhasalreadybeenwrittenaboutagreatdeal.Itdeservesrepeatingbecauseitisthesinglemostpublicdifferencebetweenacademiaandindustry.It'steamwork,saysFetzerThebusinessenvironmentislesslone-wolfandcompetitive,sosignsofbeingcollaborativeandselflessstandout.Youjustcan'tsucceedinanindustryenvironmentwithoutthismindset5Manypeptidesandgradstudentshaveatoughtimeshowingthattheycanmakethistransitionbecausesomuchoftheirlifehasinvolvedplayingtheindependent-researcherroleandoutshiningotheryoungstars.Youcanmakeyourselfmoreattractivetocompaniesbyworkingtogetherwithscientistsfromotherlaboratoriesanddisciplinesinpursuitofacommongoal—anddocumentingtheresultsonyourresume.Thisapproach,combinedwithaliberaluseofthepronounweandnotjustIwhendescribingyouraccomplishments,canchangethecompany'sperceptionofyoufromalonewolftoaselflesscollaborator.Betterstill,developareputationinsideyourlabandwithpeopleyourlabcollaborateswithasapersonwhofostersandinitiatescollaborations—andmakesurethisqualitygetsmentionedbythosewhowilltakethosereferencephonecalls.6Trait2:AsenseofurgencyDonHautisafrequentcontributortotheaas.sciencecareers.orgdiscussionforum.Heisaformerscientistwhotransitionedtoindustrymanyyearsagoandthenontoaseniormanagementposition.Hautheadsstrategyandbusinessdevelopmentforadivisionof3Mwithmorethan$2.4billioninannualrevenues.Heisamongthosewhovalueasenseofurgency.7Businesshappens24/7/365whichmeansthatcompetitionhappens24/7/365,aswell,saysHaut.Onewaythatcompanieswinisbygetting'there'faster,whichmeansthatyounotonlyhavetomobilizeallofthefunctionsthatsupportabusinesstomovequickly,butyouhavetoknowhowtodecidewhere'there'is!Thiscreatesarequirementnotonlyforpeoplewhocanactquickly,butforthosewhocanthinkfastandhavethecouragetoactontheirconvictions.Thisrequirementneedstorunthroughoutanorganizationandisnotexclusivetomanagement.8Trait3:RisktoleranceBeingOKwithriskissomethingthatindustrydemands.Acandidateneedstohavedemonstratedtheabilitytomakedecisionswithimperfectorincompleteinformation.Heorshemustbeabletoembraceambiguityandstickhisorherneckouttodrivetoaconclusion,wroteoneofmyclientsinajobdescription.9Hautagrees.Businesssuccessisoftendefinedbycomfortwithambiguityandrisk-personal,organizational,andfinancial.Thiscreatesadisconnectformanyscientistsbecausesuccessinacademiaisreallymoreaboutcareful,studiedresearch.Further,greatscienceisoftendefinedbyhowonegetstotheanswerasmuchasbytheansweritself,soscientistsoftenfallinlovewiththeprocess.Inabusiness,youneedtounderstandtheprocess,butyouendupfallinginlovewiththeanswerandthentakeariskbasedonwhatyouthinkthatanswermeanstoyourbusiness.Puttingyourneckonthelinelikethisisaskillsetthatallemployerslookforintheirbestpeople.10Anotherimportantpieceofrisktoleranceisacandidate'sdegreeofcomfortwithfailure.Failureisimportantbecauseitshowsthatyouwerenotafraidtotakechances.Socompaniesconsistentlylookforcandidateswhocanbewrongandadmitit.Everyoneknowshowtotalkaboutsuccesses—ortheyshouldifthey'reinajobsearch—butfarfewerpeoplearecomfortabletalkingaboutfailures,andfewerstillknowhowtobringlessonsandadvantagesbackfromthebrink.Formyorganization,acandidateneedstohavecomfortdiscussinghisorherfailures,andheorsheneedstohaverealfailures,notsomethingmadeupforinterviewday.Ifnot,thatpersonhasnottakenenoughrisk.saysHaut.11Trait4:StrengthininterpersonalrelationshipsRickLeachisinbusinessdevelopmentfordeCODEGenetics.Leachmadethetransitiontoindustryrecently,onthebusinesssideofthings'.Iaskedhimaboutthiskeytraitbecauseinhisnewbusinessrole,interpersonalabilitiesmakethedifferencebetweensuccessandfailure.Scientistsspendtheirlivesaccumulatingknowledgeanddevelopingtechnicalacumen,hesays,butworkingforabusinessrequiressomethingelseentirely—peopleskills.Thescientistwhoistransitioningintothebusinessworldmustprioritizehisorherrelationshipas