<![CDATA[ProSource Mgmt - Headhunters for VC-backed Growth - Enterprise Hiring]]>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:13:35 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Remote Work May Now Last for Two Years, Worrying Some Bosses - WSJ.com]]>Sun, 22 Aug 2021 23:41:52 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/remote-work-may-now-last-for-two-years-worrying-some-bosses-wsjcom
]]><![CDATA[What CEOs Really Think About Remote Work - WSJ]]>Wed, 23 Sep 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/what-ceos-really-think-about-remote-work-wsj
By Chip Cutter
Sept. 23, 2020 5:30 am ET

CEOs and other executives say they’ve seen enough to judge whether remote work is working. But the verdict depends on whom you ask.
Here’s what some leaders are saying about working from home and the value of an office:
Reed Hastings
Photo: Manu Fernandez/Associated Press
“I don’t see any positives. Not being able to get together in person, particularly internationally, is a pure negative.”—Reed Hastings, co-chief executive of Netflix Inc., on working from home
Larry Fink
Photo: Alex Kraus/Bloomberg News
“I don’t believe BlackRock will be ever 100% back in office. I actually believe maybe 60% or 70%, and maybe that’s a rotation of people, but I don’t believe we’ll ever have a full cadre of people in [the] office.”— Larry Fink , CEO of BlackRock Inc., speaking at the digital Morningstar Investment Conference on Sept. 17
Rajat Bhageria
Photo: Cayce Clifford for The Wall Street Journal
“We tried it…It’s just not the same. You just cannot get the same quality of work.”–Rajat Bhageria, CEO of robotics startup Chef Robotics, on what the company learned in attempting to work remotely
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTSHave you been working from home? If so, what has your experience been like? Join the conversation below.

Warren Buffett
Photo: scott morgan/Reuters
“The supply and demand for office space may change significantly. A lot of people have learned that they can work at home, or that there’s other methods of conducting their business than they might have thought from what they were doing a couple of years ago. When change happens in the world, you adjust to it.”—Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., speaking at the company’s annual meeting in May
Dana Canedy
Photo: Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press
“We’re all grown-ups and we have adapted to these new work realities. That’s going to produce permanent changes in how we all work. I’m getting my work done, and so are my colleagues. I don’t have an issue with it.”—Dana Canedy, publisher of the flagship imprint of the Simon & Schuster book-publishing unit of ViacomCBS Inc.
James Dimon
Photo: kena betancur/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
“I don’t know the future better than anyone else. I think going back to work is a good thing. I think there are negatives to working from home…We’ve seen productivity drop in certain jobs and alienation go up in certain things. So we want to get back to work in a safe way.”— James Dimon , CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., at a virtual conference session moderated by CNBC in September
Tim Cook
Photo: Apple Inc.
“In all candor, it’s not like being together physically. And so I can’t wait for everybody to be able to come back into the office. I don’t believe that we’ll return to the way we were because we’ve found that there are some things that actually work really well virtually.”— Tim Cook , CEO of Apple Inc., speaking at a virtual conference hosted by the Atlantic in September
Andi Owen
Photo: Herman Miller, Inc.
“That unplanned kind of interaction that contributes so much to how we build relationships with people and how we build culture, those things are what are missing.”—Andi Owen, chief executive of furniture giant Herman Miller Inc., on longing for the chance to stop by a colleague’s desk
Daniel Lubetzky
Photo: Michael Bucher/The Wall Street Journal
“None of us really knows how this movie will play out if it continues like this for much longer.”—Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of snack-bar maker KIND LLC, on the challenge of maintaining company culture in the remote-work era
Laszlo Bock
Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News
“There’s sort of an emerging sense behind the scenes of executives saying, ‘This is not going to be sustainable.’”—Laszlo Bock, chief executive of human-resources startup Humu and former HR chief at Google, on the state of remote work
Ronald J. Kruszewski
Photo: Mark Lennihan/Associated Press
“I am concerned that we would somehow believe that we can basically take kids from college, put them in front of Zoom, and think that three years from now, they’ll be every bit as productive as they would have had they had the personal interaction [of work in offices].”—Ronald J. Kruszewski, chief executive of Stifel Financial Corp., on professional development while working remotely
Heyward Donigan
Photo: mandel ngan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
“We have adapted to work-from-home unbelievably well. I had a philosophy that I want to hire the best and the brightest even if they work from a different location, and now, ironically, we’re all working from another location. We’ve learned that we can work remote, and we can now hire and manage a company remotely.”—Heyward Donigan, chief executive of Rite Aid Corp., on managing remotely
Satya Nadella
Photo: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg News
“Even in the Seattle region, where we have now sent a lot of people home, we’re realizing that some people would rather have workspace at work once the Covid-19 crisis goes away because they want dedicated workspace with good network connectivity.”— Satya Nadella , CEO of Microsoft Corp., speaking at a virtual conference in June
Mark Zuckerberg
Photo: amy osborne/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
“I think we’re going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote work at our scale, for sure, but we’re going to do this in a way that is measured, and thoughtful and responsible, and in phases over time.”—Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook Inc. The social-media giant is also investing in offices. It spent $367.6 million to buy Recreational Equipment Inc.’s new campus near Seattle.
Jim Fish
Photo: Waste Management
“Most of us are not hermits…We need that social interaction, not only from a business standpoint but truly from a kind of personal-development standpoint.”— Jim Fish , CEO of Waste Management Inc., on remote work and a desire for flexibility
Ellen Kullman
Photo: Rachel Bujalski for The Wall Street Journal
“What I worry about the most is innovation. Innovation is hard to schedule—it’s impossible to schedule.”— Ellen Kullman, CEO of 3-D printing startup Carbon Inc., on her concerns about remote work
Arne Sorenson
Photo: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg News
“It’s a much harder way to work for anything that requires a personal relationship. And as a consequence, I think we’re going to find that we maybe not go back to 100% in the office all the time. Because remote work clearly works for many things, but I think we’re going to find that being together delivers value in productivity and creativity and relationships that is irreplaceable.”—Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International Inc., at WSJ’s 2020 Future of Everything event this week
James Gorman
Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg News
“If you’d said three months ago that 90% of our employees will be working from home and the firm would be functioning fine, I’d say that is a test I’m not prepared to take because the downside of being wrong on that is massive.”—James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO, speaking on the bank’s earnings call in mid-April
Jimmy Etheredge
Photo: Accenture
“This is not going to change for quite a while…For probably the next six months, people are going to continue living in their office.”— Jimmy Etheredge , CEO of North America for consulting giant Accenture PLC

]]><![CDATA[2020 Enterprise hiring climate has changed...]]>Thu, 21 May 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/april-29th-2020The post-COVID,enterprise landscape has shifted.  Stay tuned on this page for best practices:
  • Motivating and re-engaging your team's Top Performers 
  • Innovative ideas - how to be a valuable asset to your enterprise customers and prospects
  • Build a talent pipeline - the rules and process are different now.
  • Have your plan in place for when the economy re-opens
  • Optimism is crucial - focus on facts and push them out to your tream
]]><![CDATA[MultiChannel Recruiting - What is it and Why for me?]]>Wed, 20 May 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/may-21st-2020
]]><![CDATA[Why not hire from your Network?]]>Sat, 11 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/why-not-hire-from-your-networkFirst degree network; True vetting; Scorecarding; Role definition 
]]><![CDATA[Navigating the Great Pause of 2020]]>Fri, 10 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/vb27/navigating-the-great-pause-of-20203826340
With some of us four weeks or more into a sea change in our business and personal lives, a business check-up might be long overdue (as are haircuts, gym visits and more).  This new normal is evolving rapidly; it calls for a different approach for many Enterprise Software managers.  One role of a Leader or Founder is to show your people how to adapt and thrive with skills and mindsets they might've not known they possess.
 
Enjoy!

 
Mike Perry
1.212.472.5858
mperry@prosourcemgmt.com
 
Navigating the Great Pause of 2020 


Ten and twenty years from now some of us will look back on this event as the catalyst for huge life changes - health, family, societal, our life purpose - some discovered, others permanently altered or rapidly accelerated.  As business leaders, we can be a positive catalyst for our People - employees, customers, prospective customers, partners, vendors, investors.

Some practical tips you might be doing already or worth considering.

1. Show Calm, Empathy, build Resilience
In the face of uncertainty and disruption, you don't have to have all the answers.  Focus on the known, not the models.  The future will reveal itself daily (or hourly as the case may be).  Fearful and anxious people want to feel certainty and control.  Employees want to know that their job is safe - for a while.  Many are unaware of their abilities to adapt and be resilient; you can guide them and encourage them to push through their fear.

2. Re-evaluate Anything
If you've felt that a system, a process or cohort was sub-optimal or broken before, this is the time to scrutinize, reassess and re-tool.  Now, more than ever, your people will be very open-minded and less territorial or resistant to big changes. Especially if they understand the logic and know it is necessary for the company/departmental to survive or thrive.  From work assignments, to pay plans, to silos, informal orgs, WFH, nearly everyone is willing to wear more hats, rethink, and pitch in to help others.

3. Have Plans
As of this writing, the outcome and timing of recovery is unclear.  Therefore, the importance of creating multiple plans, or What-If scenarios.  You’ll want to evaluate the new health of your market – your clients’ individual industry, prospects, persona, competitors, suppliers, employees.  Does this reshaped marketplace really need your product or service?  Should you or can you pivot into a new product-market?  What will your financial condition allow, and how can it be improved?  This is not a static exercise; it will be evolving in real-time and so you want to consider new data as it arrives.   Stay laser focused on your micro-economy, rather than the overall economy. We know recoveries are usually spotty, not evenly distributed.

4. Talk, Talk, Talk to Key People
Leaders, Customers, Key Staff, Investors, Industry Influencers - are more available and accessible now than ever, (as long as you aren’t bothered by babies, dogs, bedhead and other WFH realities).  Customers and prospects will appreciate a collaborative, in-the-foxhole approach. Board members, Industry leaders and others are more open to sharing ideas, identifying opportunities, offering introductions and other tangible support.  For us WFH experts and veteran managers of remote teams, your expertise and management tips could be valuable to your peer department heads and customers who are newbies adjusting to their newly decentralized teams.  

5. Keep them Busy
Most employees still desire the routine and rewards of accomplishing work, almost secondary in some cases to getting paid.  Your WFH staff can be highly productive given cloud-enabled apps. The pivots or re-tooling options mentioned above can be delegated right now.  Salespeople: can reassess territory plans, clean up their Salesforce, rehearse product presentations (Zoom video competition, anyone?).  Marketers can research new markets, enhance and better-segment their ABM systems, redesign messaging and branding to acknowledge The Crisis.  Product management can build and catch up on enhancing product.  Employees are now extra-motivated to show value to their organization.  They know there could be job cuts, and a job market recovery could be delayed.

See who rises up, takes initiative and shows exceptional leadership qualities.  A McKinsey study shows the value of a Network of Teams approach with specific behaviors and mindsets.  Lean on your go-to leaders.  Share as much as possible and encourage your teams to do so.
 
Final words
Adversity reveals one’s true character, including your own. Let it blossom this spring. 

This might sound premature, but I’ll say it anyway:  For the bold believers, this Crisis or Pause will serve as a gigantic reset button, allowing them to leapfrog competitors, gobble up market share and execute game-changing new strategies, products, services.  The World's game board has been reshuffled - stake your claim.  The past means nothing.  Today it’s all about the future. How many Recession Inventions (i.e. iPod after 9/11) will we be talking about years from now?
 
Most importantly, may your family, those important to you, and our fellow humanity be healthy, strong and safe as possible through this unique time in history.

Kindly,
-Mike Perry
mperry@prosourcemgmt.com
1.212.472.5858
I have been engaging with and surveying Enterprise Software Growth leaders throughout this COVID crisis.  For those insights, or as a confidential sounding board, call me or book calendar openings here.  
 ------------
Mike Perry is sought by leaders and founders in venture-backed Enterprise Software early-stage and growth who are unsatisfied with the model and results of their Headhunter choices.  ProSource Management operates a client-centric model which commits to results and deeper level of engagement, without being time-consuming.  His 15 years of Enterprise Software Sales experience inform this solutions-oriented and project approach to magnetizing the best people to your opportunity.  
To discover how this process can benefit your organization, visit www.prosourcemgmt.com or simply reply to this email or call Mike at +1.212-472-5858. 
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