Are you a Builder, Fixer or Maintainer?
Roger Lumpp
I help companies find Controller level talent on a permanent and/or interim basis. If you are a Controller (or aspire to be) we should know each other. I also love helping people find more fulfilling work.
My job is to connect the right talent to my client’s needs as quickly as possible.
Before client’s reach to me, I am spending a ton of time meeting and getting to know the talent pool that can serve my client’s needs.
Over the past 15 years in the space, I’ve spoken with thousands of experienced professionals about their career goals and desires.
One gentleman I met 12+ years ago shared an insight that changed how I evaluated and served candidates in the market. He said:
“I like to build or fix the bus, I don’t like to maintain it.”
It was a lightbulb moment that helped me classify people I was meeting in a way that better served them and the market.
BUILDERS are those who love the greenfield opportunities. These are often in the start-up space where there is a build-the-plane-while-flying vibe to the operation. Another place these workers thrive is in carve out scenarios where the mandate is to build a new corporate layer to an existing business line.
FIXERS love the messy scenarios and have a stomach for uncertainty. This could be a true turnaround situation or a PE platform company roll up where multiple companies are mashed together creating a bit of chaos across people, process, technology and data. Their career battle scars are their ticket to entry.
MAINTAINERS tend to gravitate towards stable businesses and are great at continuous improvement. They are happy to tweak and find ways to make 10% improvements on top of the work the Builders and Fixers did as the company scaled.
The great part about the workplace is there is room for everyone.
The key is to make sure we are matching the right skillsets (can they do the work) AND the right company environment factors (build, fix, or maintain phase).
When this happens, teams thrive, turnover goes down and sh*t gets done…
So, which one are you?
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If you are company struggling to find the right talent for your team, shoot me an email and we can chat: rlumpp@gravityts.com.
If you are a candidate looking for more fulfillment in the work bucket of your life, let’s find time to connect: rlumpp@gravityts.com.