Wednesday, February 28, 2007

The symbiotic relationship.


What do the clownfish and the sea anemone have in common with the technical recruiter and the software developer? Everything. Especially the symbiotic relationship.

The clown fish is like Steve Jobs. It lives an existence where it's survival depends on speed and intelligence. It doesn't really fit in anywhere. It doesn't school with other fish for protection. It is vividly colored which makes it an easy target. It is able to take bigger risks than other fish only because it has learned different survival strategies than other fish. It can see around the reef and from one population of sea creatures to another. When threats mount it can retreat to the safety of the relationship with the anemone for protection. The clown fish protects the interests of the sea anemone because the sea anemone protects the interests of the clown fish.

The sea anemone is rooted in one spot. It isn't able to swim around and see what's going on or what threat is around the corner. Due to it's circumstances it can't pick up and run when an anemone-eating creature is closing in. It relies on the clown fish to defend it from such a peril. Sure the anemone can sense when ocean conditions are changing and move to a new spot, but it takes time to happen. The sea anemone protects the clown fish because the clown fish protects the sea anemone.

I have a candidate now who has been watching his company/department shrink due to the continued telecom turbulence. Developing world-class telecommunications provisioning/ routing/OSS software is hard enough without having to go into work every day wondering if this will be the day they close the office. He's been with the company 20 years and would like to stay until he retires. He's given everything of himself to this company. He's been rewarded and they've made a lot of money from his work (hmmm what would we call this type of relationship?) but he can see the ocean is drying up. His ecosystem is dying.

As his clown fish I need to find him a great company in Central NJ with the desire to have one of the best minds in the world making them millions with his talents. I am checking out all the likely places an anemone would like to settle in that area. When I find the best spot I won't rest until I get him settled there. When he is thriving again I'll be able to attract other great people to his team.

Who is your clown fish?

No comments: