Most executive searches fail before the first candidate is ever contacted.

Not because the talent isn't out there. Not because the process breaks down. But because the foundation wasn't right when the search began.

Here's what we've learned after 500+ placements, and what I wish more companies understood going in.

INSIGHT

The mandate matters more than the job description.

A job description tells you what the role looks like. The mandate tells you what the company actually needs right now, given the market, the team, the board, and the next three years.

Those are rarely the same document. And when they're not aligned, the search drifts.

I've seen companies hire a steady-state operator when they needed a change agent. Hire a builder when they need someone to stabilize. Not because they weren't smart, but because they never got specific enough about what the moment actually demanded.

Before you write the job description, write the mandate.

TIP

The best question to ask before any C-suite search:

"What would need to be true for this hire to fail?"

Most clients have never been asked this. The ones who answer it honestly, specifically, without deflecting, are the ones I do my best work with.

It's not a negative question. It's the most practical one.

Because if you know what failure looks like, you can build the search to prevent it.

STORY

A few years ago, a PE-backed client came to me frustrated.

Two searches in 18 months. Two failed hires. Different firms, different candidates, same result.

Before I touched the search, I asked to spend time with the board and the leadership team separately.

What I found: the board wanted a builder. The leadership team needed a stabilizer. Nobody had ever put both groups in the same room to reconcile that.

We paused the search for three weeks. Had the hard conversations. Got alignment.

Then we ran the search.

That hire is still there. Three years in. Best performer in the portfolio.

The search wasn't the problem. The foundation was.

That's it for this week.

If you're heading into a search or thinking about one, I'm always happy to have a straight conversation about whether the foundation is ready before we start.