Innovative Ideas – Opportunity Lost?

Are companies allowing themselves to become too “in-bred” by hiring only the candidates that fit best on paper in lieu of potential “game-changers” with new and innovative ideas?

I keep hearing from recruiters and people in job transition that companies are only hiring people that match their qualification sheet exactly, and dismissing any resumes that are not a perfect match, despite the notable skills offered by the rejected candidates. “If you haven’t worked with System X, don’t bother to apply”. But doesn’t this lead to a very homogenized pool of candidates for the position and a lack of diversity for the hiring employer? What about candidates that may not be a perfect fit on paper, but offer new perspectives and ideas that can help drive a company to the next level (and overtake their competitors)?

Let me pose a few hypothetical questions:

• If you’re hiring a CIO/CTO who “must know System X”, aren’t you likely missing out on candidates that have stronger vision, leadership, and management capabilities? A top-notch IT leader can learn a company’s systems in a matter of weeks – but you can’t teach vision and leadership.
• If you are only meeting with candidates that have worked exclusively within your business vertical, aren’t you asking for the same, recycled ideas and excluding candidates who could bring new, innovative ideas from their industry to yours?
• Are you only filling positions that you have, or are you looking at opportunities to bring great talent into your organization and create new positions that could enable your organization to leapfrog the competition – especially during a time when your competitors are probably in a bunker waiting out the recession? Blow up your org chart and find a place for people who will change your organization.

It is worth noting that poor economic conditions have historically produced surprising winners when the smoke cleared. Conversely, a recent McKinsey study on high-tech showed that about half of the companies that entered these downturns as leaders—the top 20 percent—ended up as laggards when the economy regained momentum. While the risk-averse try to cling on to what they know best, new and exciting businesses spring up by using the down period as an opportunity to gain on the market leaders – and in the past, many times have overtaken market leaders. Perhaps the best example of a company rising from the ashes of a serious downturn is Google, which flourished in the wake of the “Internet Bubble Burst” in 2000-2002. During those years, while most other companies were trying to figure out what hit them, Google released AdWords, Toolbar, Image Search and News, signed search deals with Yahoo! and AOL, and opened their first international office. Google emerged from the down market with a market capitalization of $35.7 billion in 2002, then continued to grow during the recovery – 89% in 2003 to $67.7 billion. Whatever firms emerge victorious from this downturn, it is likely they will be firms that have great agility now, are able to easily experiment with new business models, and are able to bring new ideas to the market more quickly than their more risk-averse competitors.

There is an unprecedented level of brilliant talent on the job market right now. People who have achieved remarkable accomplishments have never been so readily available. This is the perfect time to hire all-stars whose company could no longer afford them, despite their talents. And, in this depressed job market, companies will likely pay less for extraordinary talent than they are currently paying their mediocre performers.

Now is not the time to sit still and wait out the recovery. Now is the time to make bold moves and position your company to be a leader after the turnaround. And there are people with very unique talents ready to help, but unfortunately, too many companies would rather play it safe and “in-breed” ideas rather than bring in people with original thoughts.

In times of both prosperity and recession, companies that are most innovative and forward-thinking tend to come out ahead. It would serve companies well to take a hard look at the available talent pool, not limit themselves to specific job requirements, and use the down market as an opportunity to bring intelligent “game-changing” people on board who enable them to innovate and will position the company to hit the ground running during the recovery.