Today we work on the term “Ascend.” We seek the absolutely simple. In this, we attempt and attempt until we succeed. What is the definition of our success? It is that our minds ascend.
Recall, Rene was deeply moved by Copernicus and Galileo. His mind was filled with visions of spinning planets, orbiting their great star in the heavens. He could see our earth in what was most likely, for him, the shape of an absolutely perfect sphere – the simplest possible shape – rotating on its perfect axis, and orbiting in a perfect circle. It was his heirs’ work to discover the power of the ellipse and the law of gravity to complete the multi-millennial search for comprehension of the heavens. He didn’t have elliptical orbits in his mind.
But, he did see our earth’s spin resulting in the visual experience of the sun rising, ascending in the heavens and crossing the dome of the sky. Also, for all of his rejection of vast swaths of ancient learning, he too was able to appreciate the immemorial power of the heavens in lifting the mind of man toward the light above. Remember also, light was his most important metaphor. The light of the heavens, the light of comprehension, the light of God’s love; these things were the very forces that most moved his soul.
As a devout Catholic versed in dogma and liturgy, the word “ascend” was certainly tied, for Rene, to the celebration of Christ’s Ascension. The search for truth was precisely the act of mentally following Christ’s Ascension and return home, to the very throne room of God.
Where, oh recruiter, I ask; where is your ascension? What is your higher purpose? What heavens hold the star of your glory, and the light of your comprehension and mastery over your art?
Allow me to boldly offer a place it is not. I say that your ascension is not in the work of finding work for the unemployed. Should you wish to make a philanthropic contribution, you might wish to offer, free of charge, career counseling and even placement help for the unemployed. Philanthropically, this would be fantastic. But, philanthropy is not capitalism, and it should not be.
No, along with all the old authorities in our field, I say you must steal the employed away from their current employment and place them with their current employer’s competitors. Aha, do you see how tricky I am? There we rediscover the capitalistic gravity of competition, all over again!
Your ascension, oh recruiter, I say is in the rise in the level of play in the area you serve. Contemplate this with me.
You must specialize. We’ve worked on that, and not one of you has expressed any disagreement; I hold your silence for assent.
As a specialist, you don’t just serve a player, or even a few players, you serve an entire field of play. Let’s use a sports metaphor. Picture that your job is to place pitchers in major league teams. The ascension you must serve is therefore a LOWERING of the number of hits and runs per game and in sum for the season. You serve the ascension of the pitchers over the hitters. Yes, you’re paid for each pitcher you place, and as you hit your goals, you’ll grow rich regardless of higher outcome. But, to ascend, truly ascend, you have to care about more than placements or goals; you must dream a dream of the state of play you serve. Then, you must make that dream come true.
No, we’re not talking tactics here, now, are we? We may have surpassed strategy and found ourselves in the land of spiritual purpose, but clearly, you’d have to be good at strategy – not just tactics – to ascend in this manner.
So I say, move the players so that the state of play rises. This can only be done by finding the best and improving their condition.
We’ll follow out the economics and some of the tactics of this tomorrow.
[originally posted August 9, 2011 at my Recruiting Tactics & Strategy LinkedIn Discussion Group]
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