I’ve found that everyone that has put at least some of these techniques into action sees a big difference and that is what has them keep using it.

Here’s the parts that we’re putting into action for the Project:

inbox

sorting all the old scraps of paper etc

set up calendar on phone

set it up so that it syncs from smart phone to Google Calender etc so their data is backed up and accessable anywhere I recommend this as phones are always with you and the applications are so advanced that it is ludacris carrying around a paper diary)

weekly review

review all of the stuff in their inbox once a week

1 project

Do only one “project” completely as it is meant to be done, this is to stop overwhelm

daily /weekly to-do list on phone or paper

from the weekly review, come up with all the actions for the coming week, anything else can be written down as a list and reviewed at the next weekly review

file for notes –> evernote

a file/archive of stuff that may be useful later, i recommend using Evernote on your phone for as much as possible so that it cuts down on clutter

do weekly review

DO the weekly review

This program can be done in 3 months and takes only about 2 hours a week from the participant and about an hour from the leader (as long as they have already read and practiced GTD themselves)

I just got a call from one of our venue managers that refer us for all their DJ services to tell us a funny story.

The week before the gig, the client decided that they no longer required our DJ services as they were going to save money and do it themselves,

Word of warning, just because your speakers at home sound great when your watching movies does not mean that they will survive being cranked up for a 21st birthday party.

$300 on your birthday dress

$3000 on your bar tab

Refusing to pay a professional entertainment company and have your speakers catch on fire at your 21st birthday after 3 hours, priceless.

Big news, WordPress 3.2 is out and they have made it leaner and faster by cutting out all the crap for explorer 6.

If you run a blog then check it out here

Before you update you will want to check to see how many of your users it will affect (ie people that still use Internet Explorer 6). I checked out our analytics for Griffin Alliance and only 1.7% of visitors use IE6, less than a third the number who use their iPhone!

Also check that your web host has the right software to run it by using this plug-in:

So what are we looking for in our staff members?

Excellent Communicators
You must be an excellent communicator, with excellent English verbal and written skills. We are different to other DJs in that we always want feedback from our customers in multiple forms, whether reading the dancefloor, talking to Managers, networking with DJs or taking requests from customers.

Intelligent
You must be smart, able to pick things up and willing to learn new things. The DJ industry is always innovating along with technology, we have used Vinyl, Mini-Disc, Compact Disc, SD Card, Flash Drives, Hard Drives, Laptops and new controller systems are coming out every day. We pride ourselves on using any new technology that will help us to better entertain our customers.

Humility:
It takes a special type of person to be in 100% control of the entertainment of what can sometimes be thousands of people at a time. Some DJs do it for the kudos and others do it for the love of it. In our experience once work becomes about how much better you are then other people, the crowds can feel it. It takes a special type of person to have power and be humble enough to use it to make people have a great time rather than as a power trip.

Reliability
We pride ourselves on not being crack-heads. I know this sounds weird, but in the DJ industry a lot of the time we are literally competing against alcoholics and drug addicts. If you need to be on special substances to perform your job then move you can get a job at pretty much any other DJ company. We pride ourself on being professional entertainers.

Artistic
You need to be a true artist. I’m not talking about someone that cycles to the local coffee shop in their paint speckled smock and talks about things that are ironic/new wave/so 2010.
I’m talking about how people traditionally related to artists, I’m talking about the Dr Dres, Michael Jordans, Jonathan Ives, Picassos, Michael Jacksons, Will Smiths and James Browns of the world.
Steve Martin once gave the advice to “Be so good that they can’t ignore you”, that is the core of the services we provide. The entertainment industry is very fickle, the only way to guarantee job security is to be so good that it is undeniable.

Motivated
As you can tell, it takes a lot of training to make it in the DJ business. Anyone can pop some pills, put a mix CD in a CD player and pump their fist all night. It takes a true DJ to be to bring the party to the people regardless of the circumstances or the audience. This will mean that you will need to do a lot of practice both at gigs with a mentor and at home by yourself. We have made teaching DJing an art form, but it still takes effort on behalf of the mentor and the trainee. If you’re not motivated then you will lose interest half way through and waste both our time.

Transport
You’ll need some way to get to gigs and some of the gigs will be away from public transport or you will have to bring equipment with you. If you dont have your own car or license then a loving family may be able to help you out. If you have neither then you better have a bicycle and large quads.

Love for Music
You must have a love for music of all types. Trends change and music evolves, one year you may be DJing R&B and the next you may be DJing at House clubs. We look for people that have a love of great music regardless of genre. If your focus is on the dancefloor then the genre won’t matter.

Love for People
You need to have a love for people of all types. You will come across people from all walks of life throughout your career as a DJ, most of whom you would never associate with in your normal life. What sets us apart is that we are happy with our own lives and don’t feel the need to judge others to feel better about ourselves. Plato said “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”

Work Weekends
You need to be able to work and train on weekends, not every weekend, but most. If you’re not DJing on the weekend then you will be expected to be training or looking for your own gigs.

Still here? Excellent.

So what are the upsides if you are this kind of person?

Intelligent
You get to work with other smart people. If you have ever worked with stupid people you will know why this is good.

Training
We supply the initial DJ training and also have ongoing training in other areas of business such as Leadership as well as business skills that are transferable into other jobs and life skills.

Leadership
We give you the ability to learn and use real leadership skills in the real world, with the backup of a safety net if things dont go the way theyre planned.

Fun
We have a lot of fun. ’nuff said.

Integrity
We operate at a high level of integrity, you would be surprised how much difference this makes in having a drama free work environment that also comes across into your personal life. Things just work.

Opportunity
We expect a lot from our staff, but also pay the top of market rates, provide free training and have a lot of opportunities for the right people.

Still Reading? Wicked.

What is the next step?
If you havent sent your resume in yet then do it here:

http://www.griffinalliance.com/employment

If you have been sent to this post after the resume screening then send me an email and we’ll get you out to meet the crew in person and then go to the interview stage!

1. Everyone has an opinion based on their personal feelings and they’re not afraid to share it.

At least in a nightclub they’re drunk, so at least thats an excuse.

2.People assume its easy.

After pirating a cracked copy of Photoshop/Virual DJ and spending half an hour messing around on it they decide that they have become experts in the field and they’re not afraid to spread their knowledge.

3. The context is decisive.

There is no point making recommendations unless you know the context of the situation. The number of times that I get told by clubbers in nightclubs to “play dubstep” or “music you love, man” when that would literally kill the venue and make 50 people leave is ridiculous.

“Why do we need a contact form on the website?”

“Um, because we want customers to contact us?”

4. They all have “The Friend”.

The Friend is the person that is a wicked SEO wizard/Club DJ that is so awesome at their job that they are currently unemployed. Thankfully this proves to be a godsend because they are willing to work for us for a special price. No doubt their work will consist of regurgitating ideas and theories they misinterpreted on a blog or playing crap music that is MASSIVE in underground Berlin Clubs. Or at least that’s what The Hype Machine says

5. They focus on short term goals.

Website development and DJing is a long term proposition, black hat SEO and 15 minute DJ sets work in the short term but they don’t build long term profits. Anyone can burn the top 10 songs in half an hour, it takes a great DJ to play them over a whole night.

6. They’re out of touch with the customer.

Britney Spears and Internet Explorer are both crap, but if thats what your customers want then give it to them god damn it. Most people don’t care about obscure 80s ska bands or the latest Opera build.

On the upside there are a lot of positive similarities too. Both are an iterative process where you get feedback from every step, through looking at the body language on the dancefloor or the analytics on the website. Both are about creating relationships with your customers and finding out about their wants and needs and solutions to their problems, then giving it to them.

Whitehat SEO is very similar to the way that you build other communities in nightclubs. Creating value for people is still the number one thing that will work regardless of external competition and economic circumstances.

A few more of the things that I noticed that would make a big difference:

1. Did you read the job description?
2. See 1.
3. If you upload a CV then put it in a PDF or Word format. Don’t use RTF, ODT, etc.  I’ve even received WPD documents… I love DOS as much as the next person, but it’s not going to convince me that you know how to use Word, Excel etc which is a pretty common skill set these days. If you want someone to read your documents then use an open standard, even if it is just a text file.
4. Be specific. Don’t send me a resume for sales if you’re applying for a different job. If you’re not going to take the time to change your resume for the job then don’t bother.
5. Figure out what you are passionate about and go for jobs that are in that area. I’ve had my fair share of crappy jobs too, but at least show what you are passionate about in your resume. It helps me to know if you are a good Core Value match with my business too.
6. Use a spell checker.
7. Be searchable. If you block all your social media then I’ll think the worst. These days if you are doing cool and interesting stuff then your name should be all over the web. I can learn more about the type of person you are from what you have been Doing over the past few years then I can by a short resume.

I get at least 300 applications a year, so I have learnt to look for certain indicators in applications. It’s a pity because I’m sure that some of the applicants would make great staff members but their applications let them down!

Hopefully Some of those people will do their research and come here first

I wonder if this was the key to them changing their interviews to have less “problem solving” tests in their interviews?

Obviously Google is a special case as far as businesses go, but what I found most interesting was that technical skill was actually the lowest trait on the Top Eight Behaviours, something that I have always held in high esteem.

Looking at the list, most of it seems quite obvious and simple. Then again, pretty much everything in business is quite simple when you get down to it. The hard part is getting all the simple bits right and working together at the same time. Easier said then done and I think the search for the next new thing is generally because we all want to think that there is a magic way to get what we want rather than having to put in the hard yards.

Its easier to look at the outliers like Zuckerberg for inspiration, but for 99% of successful managers and CEOs its consistent action and alignment that builds great companies regardless of whether they are in the right place at the right time.

This is especially relevant to people applying for jobs where you are required to be in the top 10% of performers for creativity, communication, integrity, honesty and humility which are some of our requirements at Griff, so may not apply to other jobs that require a body with a pulse.

1. Write a specific cover letter about why you think you would be a good fit for the company. Dont write what you think they want to hear as you will be wrong. You dont want to work for someone who doesnt have the same goals as you anyway (or you shouldn’t!).
2. Keep it succinct,1 page will do for most resumes unless you are totally awesome and then you get 2 or 3. Send links to things you have accomplished in life. Dont write a laundry list of skills like “filing documents”, if you regard filing as a skill then god help you. Every sentence has an underlying meaning. Cull anything that doesn’t move your case forward.

3. Know your mark. Working in an industry filled with crackheads doesnt mean that we are crackheads. We run our business as a business, not a hobby. Yes we DJ on the weekends and have a great time, but that is the product of years of hard work, skill and determination. If you applied for a job at a bank you wouldn’t tell them you take drugs. You may think it makes you cool, we think it makes you look like a r’tard. On the flip side it’s great to see that you list some of our competitors as current employers, looks like you are working for us anyway…

4. Follow the proceedure. If it says attach a resume then attach a resume. I’m not going to get in an arguement with you about whether our hiring methods are sound or appropriate. If you cant follow simple instructions before you get a job then I have little faith that you will afterwards. It’s almost like this is part of the selection criteria…

5. Formatting. Word or PDF is fine. Make it look nice if you like, but dont go over the print margins or try and get creative by putting white writing on a dark background.

6. Spelling. L33t speak or txting may work in some situations but not in resumes unless you are applying for a job that requires virgins. Use a spell checker ( I can’t believe i need to even say that) and if you failed English in primary school then please get a friend to proof read it for you. I realise that schools are teaching less English now then in the past, but that is no excuse for laziness.

7. References. If you have been working for more than 3 or 4 years and dont have an ex-boss as a reference then a Red Flashing Light goes off on the top of my monitor. Put relevant references for the job. Don’t put “references available on request”, period.

8. Where are you going in life. And how does that compliment the business and vice-versa?

9. Just be awesome. You could just not bother with a resume and just point to all the awesome things you have done in the past that show you have a track record for actually embodying what we are looking for.

10. It’s not you, it’s me. We look for a great fit between us and our staff for what we need to complete our 12 month and 5 year plans. That means that you may be an awesome hire, just not for us, just not now. Feel free to apply again later, it’s nothing personal.

11. Determination. If you really want the job and you are willing to put in the work then you’ll find a way.

“If we take man as he is we’ll make him worse. But if we take man as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be”

So many venues and businesses are going for the 5 stars, 5 hats, 100%, putting Advertising and Billboards to tell people they are better than everyone else!

But do your loyal customers care?

I like what Greg Doyle is doing because he knows where the sweet spot in HIS demographic is. People that go to a restaurant because of the number of Hats aren’t evangelists of your brand, they are tourists who may stick around or they might just alienate the people that have gone their every week and paid your bills for the last 10 years.

The other upside is that with staff leaving he can greatly reduce his staffing and shareholder structure to decrease costs, decrease food prices and increase his profitablility and provide a better quality of service for the people that actually like going there.