President Reviews - Page 16

A difficult responsibility for a young executive is managing personnel and a large department of green workers. Before I worked at a Swiss luxury goods company, I had never managed more than a few support personnel at a time. While I had hired many vendors and outside contractors, hiring and cultivating a team of staff to support a department is a very different challenge and one that should be taken seriously. While at my Swiss company, I was challenged with creating their first national marketing department but the caveat was to hire from within. Since the company was fairly new in the US, its workers were also fairly young. It took a lot of patience, structure and listening to bring the new team together to work seamlessly as a unit. My team also appreciated that I took the time to train them while giving them an opportunity to lift their careers and elevate their career experiences. Advice: There is no replacement for good training.

Promote long term achievable goals.

The greatest gap I had after leaving college was adequate interpersonal skills to work with a wide spectrum of people. Many of those people had very little formal training or received their training in the service. I had no knowledge of serviced related culture or training nor training provided for craftsman apprenticeships.

Set a vision for the company and drive people in that direction.

Work less, make WAY more - start your own business.

Be prepared for the weight of the responsibility. This is not a position for a selfish person. You have to give of your time and exhaust your energy as in this position you are now responsible for every employee, their families and their futures.