When I was younger in my career, I had the great fortune of working for three brilliant mentors who taught me many great lessons. I was an assistant coach for Dan Sullivan at Greater Pittsburgh Swim Club and Fletcher Gilders at Ohio University. The third was Jerry O'Neil, the club / YMCA coach at Plum when I was the head coach for the high school varsity teams. All three of these fine friends and mentors died soon after I moved onto other steps in my life. Each are greatly missed in a personal sense -- now, still. Furthermore, in a professional way, I miss them as references.
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- Evacuees from Katrina line up in search of new job, new life Former cook and kitchen manager Austin Diven, 27, of New Orleans, has been turned away from eight restaurants so far because no one can reach his references.
I can't imagine what others from the gulf are dealing with as they try to patch their lives together and embark on new opportunities -- but can't easily lean upon the past and their roots.
Networking can be critical in many instances in life. Now that is nearly impossible.
Pittsburgh is going to open a casino. Other casinos are going to open around the state as well, perhaps even at Seven Springs or some other regional resort location. If we had proactive leaders, they'd be working on the network with interviews and head hunters so as to get a handle on the workers and operators who have been put out of work in Mississippi.
These operators are going to drop $50-million for the license. It would be prudent to do some human capital investments now, while the opportunities are critical for others. And if the network that is built is portable, it could be sold to the eventual winner of the license(s). Human resource managers, take note or give me a call and I'll consult for you on some creative ways to make progress in these areas.
It would make great sense to open the Pittsburgh casino on the day after the Major League All-Star Game in July 2006. That should be our goal. I don't want the casino -- but it is going to come. Let's get it jump started in earnest soon.
Meanwhile, if I'm an employer, I'm saying these words. "Let's see how you do. Come to work for us for three weeks (at this pay and in this position) and then we'll build our own, new references. In the meantime, we'll keep looking for your cerifications and/or background documents. Here is a copy of our employee manual. Let's begin to write a new chapter on lowering risk with creative hiring practices in the wake of a crisis.
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Fletcher Gilders, a mentor, wasn't around in the time of the internet. He was a creative guy -- but not much for typing. More kinetic, more functional, more nature rich.
Snip from an OSU Hall of Fame site:
FLETCHER GILDERS ... diving ... OSU letterwinner 1954-56 ... National champion on the one-meter springboard in 1954 and '55 ... Led the Buckeyes to Big Ten titles all three years he competed ... Combined with teammates Don Harper, Frank Fraunfelter, and Glen Whitten to claim the top four finishes in both the one meter and three meter diving events in the 1956 NCAA tournament ... A competitor as well in track, gymnastics and soccer ... Is the only four-sport letterman in the modern history of the school ... Won a total of 10 letters as a Buckeye athlete, the most in school history ... Coached at Kenyon College, where his divers won 14 consecutive national championships ... Three-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year.
Funny how OSU didn't mention Fletcher's years at Ohio U.
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