5 reasons to conduct your job interviews on a Concept2 rowing machine

Have historical hiring strategies failed you in your ability to identify the right talent?

Have you ever thought you just made the hire of the century only to find out that your hiring process really didn't identify the right characteristics for the position?

In my twenty year career as a Lumberjack (seventeen of which I was a hiring manager) interviewing for specifically skilled tasks that the consistently proper execution of literally kept the applicant alive. These are the top five charactersitics that with acumulated experience and wisdom I settled on in the order of their importance

• Grit
• Character
• Preparation
• Coachable
• Initiative 

Your top five may be different and surely contextually relevant to your business and/or industry, and certainly my chosen list is prioritized by being applied into one of the most dangerous industries in the world? 

Whatever your chosen field, heres a novel idea that I have come to realise as a fitness instructor, could be the key to unlocking the characteristics you're looking for in an employee.

Try this strategy the next time you put out a position vacancy.

"Candidate needs to demonstrate an ability to row 1000 meters on a Concept2 rowing machine"

Radical?

While running is the doyen of exercise options for its convenience, the Bicycle (it could be argued) is the greatest fitness invention ever! The concept2 rowing machine is the rubics cube of fitness equipment. It can literally fit into the back of your car. "Tiny space, big workout". This machine could literally become the foundation peice for your corporate wellness program.

Lets explore each of the charactersitics I ended up trying to find in members of our team...

• Grit

The first thing you know for sure is that the applicant really wants this job.

In her book Grit, Angela Duckworth concisely and accurately describes Grit as "the power of passion and perseverance". Does the person have the ability to endure over the long haul? 

As a Lumberjack you had to work out in all weathers under intense production pressure and commit to handing off the product to the next phase of the production line in a way that constructively contributed added value to not only the quality of the product itslef, but also the superior performance efficiency of the team.

Can the person deal with adversity? How does the candidate behave under pressure? 

For some positions relative to the rowing example I might want to see an applicant go full blast, for others a more sedate pace would suffice as their choice might lead me into recognising traits of point two

• Character

The biggest question you should be seeking an answer to is, can the person fit in with the culture of your team?

If you already have people on your staff that passed the 1000 meter challenge, then the answer is probably a yes. Why?

A team generated common cause, a set of short, medium and long term goals, strategies and innovations that are being striven towards, written down and committed to is a unifying challenge that contributes positively to the process of winning. If this person is prepared to put themselves up for this type of scrutiny to go after an opportunity to work in your company, they are by definition expressing character and independent willpower. 

Undoubtedly the applicant is demonstrating an ability to cope with challenging and unusual circumstances. Lets face it, this is a unique approach! Yet by taking it on, I believe they all show something entirely separate from Grit...

An openness to giving novel approaches and solutions a go. This can often propel your business, product and/or service forward in a way never seen or even thought of before. Nevermind their ability to problem solve. Knowing they had this in front of them going in ticks that box and brings us to point three

• Preparation

Prior to turning up for the interview, did the applicant e-mail or call to ask such questions as, do you have a shower at your office? Will I be expected to complete the distance under a certain time?

Did they bring a towel with them? Did they come in the stipulated dress code if requested, with a kit bag for exercise clothing?

Your answers to these questions among many others that may emerge prior to, during and after the row will tell you a lot about where on a continueum of 1-10 the candidate sits relative to demonstrating an ability to first of all plan for this in a disciplined, logical, professional manner, but also how much ownership they show, or conversely how much leadership and training they may require for the proposed role. Which is the ideal lead in to point 4

• Coachable

Ideally you'd hire on the spot if the candidate answered all other questions perfectly, had done his research on the company and it's key employees, was dressed appropriately, polite and easily engaged around the watercooler, turned up early and blasted out a 3.20.

Healthy body, healthy mind. An applicant that has a fitness training ethic usually has a strong work ethic. This candidate however may have zero experience on a rowing machine.

As a professional person conducting hiring interviews your credibility and leadership are on display and are being scrutinized too. You have to be able to share credible research knowledge for the process and/or be able to demonstrate the technical and performance capability to complete the task yourself. Or of course be able to rattle off a killer time.

In the context of this premise you may even want to outsource this component of the hiring process.

If you go down this road you want to be a able to know in the case of a first time rower, did the candidate do any research at all about rowing a Concept2 prior to the interview?

Is that a deal breaker? Perhaps not.

Maybe they blast it? Maybe they struggle valiantly and excitedly? Maybe they were confident enough to ask the right questions and accurately execute the answers?  

Bottom line is. Are they coachable?

• Initiative

Once you've established answers to all of the above, at this stage of the interview process you'll have critical insights into the necessary elements of courage and tenacity and by default the candidate should have demonstrated a level of initiative. How?

They applied for a challenge and thats uncomfortable, yet rose above the eccentricity of the process to take it on in the hopes of landing the job. 

It could be argued that if they neither researched rowing nor asked questions about expectations for this part of the process prior to the interview, brought a set of clothes, a towel, were resistant to technical coaching, nervous and unsure, then initiative has not been demonstrated.

The big question you need answered here is ultimately that with leadership through the induction and training phases do you see the candidate being able to work at a high performance level unsupervised and that if/ when they require assistance are they accurate, decisive and concise in their search for a solution, did they exhaust other avenues before consuming other resources and can they take direct communication? 

My premise challenges the paradigm of interviewing process and posits a new approach that can arguably propel leadership management and hiring process in business franchises into the elusive high performance bracket.

The Ivari life path

While I recognize that the execution of perfect form in exercise and sport looks different for everyone as environment, pressure, modality, physiology, anatomy, injury and exercise history, among other factors influences its performance, as a Trainer, I represent it's aspiration in movement is a noble pursuit, and it informs part of my ever changing philosophy on training.

Specifically (as it relates to this discussion) that there must be strength in mobility, and mobility in strength!

My Grandmother encouraged me to read from an early age and as a result I have a varacious appetite for reading and at any given time have up to five books on the go. One of her favorite sayings was that "there's a world of knowledge in books'. Most of my reading comes from the non-fiction genre in the context of self improvement, business performance, management and coaching.

 Reading 'The Violin Maker' by John Marchese resonated so strongly with me that it lead me to the Life path I now call Ivari and ultimately towards rebranding my business to reflect a new vision and product line. A very exciting and motivational opportunity for my business of in-home personal training, gym design, fitout and programming. 

This particular book appealed to me in the sense that it portrayed artisanal craftsmanship in the context of contemporary Violin making, a centuries old tradition being kept alive in a Brooklyn workshop. In particular the replication by Sam Zygmuntowicz of "an instrument made by the greatest master that ever lived". Stradivarius. For months I had been breaking words down in a search for that perfect new brand name. The word bite Ivari leapt out at me.

The book is exquisitly written, rich and deeply descriptive about the craft of Violin making. From the painstaking deliberation that goes into choosing the perfect piece of wood, the exorbitant price of the piece along with the selection of specialist, sometimes handmade for purpose tools and the ritualistic almost mystical process undertaken before the final suspenseful handing off of the commisioned piece to the artist himself. 

As I came to understand the patience and meticulous attention to the minutest details of the craftsman with the goal of making the perfect Violin, I recognised so much metaphorical symmetry when compared to my own journey as a personal trainer.

Having appreciation for the beautiful raw material and gratitude for the gift of opportunity to work with the commitment and determination of the practitioner by applying the tools and experience built up over many years as a trainer to craft the perfect outcome for the artist him or herself to achieve goals they may never have previously imagined.

In my serach of the word bite Ivari I came to discover that it represents a life path of energy, drive, ambition and independent willpower. Words that resonate so strongly with me and my fitness philosophy. It was an inspiring revelation with strong symbolism.

As I formed a vision for how the word might morph into a Logo I could already appreciate the pillars of the two I's at each end of the word being capped by big red bold dots that could not only represent the birth (beginning) and death (end) of a full life, but also that if a heart rate profile travelled between them that it would represent the ups and downs of that journey whilst also symbolising the experience of a training session, race or contest? 

I feel blessed to have spent a large proportion of my working life as a Lumberjack and use it as theme within my business life and career as a personal trainer. I gained a very unique skill set alongside a deep appreciation for the advantages of building a strong and functional mind and body. You often came face to face with mortality while executing your craft. It's dangerous and you had to have your wits about you. 

Prolonged and intense exposure to that type of environment have inspired me to think hard about what it took to endure and as I started to be lead down this life path I now call Ivari I have come to understand on a deep level the need for a commitment to nurturing and growing the concept I have labelled independent willpower.  

Much like the Master Stradivari himself it epitomizes a commitment to the constant evolutionary process of study, learning and executing your craft with energy, drive and ambition.

Thats the life path as I understand it and as I apply it to the Ivari business. It's my passion. Thats my story.