Seyka Mejeur’s Post

Have you ever gotten an email or slack message that gave you a pit in your stomach? Even though you knew the other person meant no harm? What about an email that made you actually smile or chuckle at your desk? I think about that a lot when sending messages. I /reallllly/ like the people I'm messaging, usually, and if I'm able to add a little sparkle to their day I take that as a major win. I have chosen to completely ignore the research that came out years ago that said smiley faces and exclamation marks are read as unprofessional. The people I am more impressed with and respect most in business use smileys, exclamations, jokes, and other forms of fun to connect. Life is also just more fun that way. Agree?

Here’s a clip from a recent conversation Brian Mejeur and I had with Justus Kilian back in June. Recently, we've moved from a hiring war with a lot of resources dedicated to hiring into a more restrictive environment where companies are dedicating fewer resources to hiring and relying more on network hiring. Justus poses the interesting perspective that it can be concerning to rely on internal and referred hires only, given that this can lead to a homogeneous team. We’ve had lots of fun hosting these online sessions, and we have received very positive feedback from all of you, so expect more of these cool collaborations to come in the near future! Check out the full webinar recording: https://lnkd.in/gNsQk8HE

My nerdy brain loves it when a client or partner asks us whether to hire talent from legacy companies or startups to lead their teams to success. It’s fascinating how often this question comes up during our advisory calls. It’s a fundamental aspect to consider when you’re building a founding team! Brian Mejeur posted an article about this a while back, and Sarah Staeck, AdAstra’s branding magician, created this infographic chart that’s really useful for synthesizing our main observations on this subject. When you’re considering your next key leadership hire for your startup, make sure to keep this in mind. You’ll thank me later! Check out Brian's full article here for more insights: https://lnkd.in/gaSX6McG

Boeing pleads guilty to felony for misleading investigators about the 737 MAX. They accepted the deal right before midnight when the offer would expire, which will keep them away from a highly public court trial, as long as the judge accepts the plea deal. It is very unique for a company to take on criminal charges like this. The families of the victims of the 737 MAX crashes are disappointed in this agreement and think it is a sweetheart deal that is too lenient on Boeing. After the 2021 agreement following the 737 MAX crashes Boeing was put on probation and reporting to regulators to keep them in check with safety during the probation. Right before probation was over a door flew off of a Boeing aircraft. “Under the original 2021 agreement, Boeing had agreed to pay $2.5 billion. But about 70% of that amount represented payments Boeing had already agreed to make to its airline customers as compensation for the 20-month grounding of the planes. Another $500 million was a fund to compensate crash victims. Only $243.6 million represented a criminal fine to the government, which would be doubled after the new guilty plea. Boeing has also agreed to spend $455 million on its compliance and safety programs over the next three years, which the government said will represent a 75% increase over what the company was spending annually on those programs. The company’s various problems have caused deep financial losses since the second fatal 737 Max crash. It has posted core operating losses of $31.9 billion since the start of the 20-month grounding. It is also at risk of losing its investment-grade credit rating for the first time in its history. The company now has nearly $47 billion in long-term debt, and if its debt rating is downgraded to junk bond status, its cost of borrowing money will soar. But an additional fine in the hundreds of millions, rather than the billions, is still affordable for the company, despite its financial woes.” - cnn

Top talent spotlight

If you have a really unique name, how do you suggest it to be considered for the name of a rocket, @Elon? Asking for a friend…

Hey LinkedIn friends! I'm running a little experiment and would love your input. What's the best job interview question you've ever been asked, or one that you've asked yourself? I'm curious about your experiences and insights, so please share your favorite or most memorable interview questions in the comments.

My daily journal prompts, outlined below, keep me focused on what matters. I've curated these from years of coaching, therapy, intuition, personal and professional development education. What are your favorite prompts?

Last week, I shared my thoughts on the importance of selecting the right CEO for Boeing amidst its current challenges. Recent news has only highlighted the urgency of this decision. Boeing is reportedly negotiating a plea deal with the US government regarding the fatal 737 Max crashes, a deal which includes a fine, probation, and independent safety audits. This is in addition to Boeing's acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, despite Spirit’s recent quality issues. These developments make something very clear to me: Boeing needs a CEO who can manage public trust and regulatory scrutiny, because these problems don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. The next CEO must possess a technical background that leaves no room for doubt in their capabilities, while at the same time leading their crisis management efforts. Talk about a handful! It's clear that Boeing's future depends on strong, visionary leadership to address both internal and external challenges. Here's to hoping they find the right person for the job. To me this all just seems like an executive leadership course and, rest assured, I’ll be paying close attention, taking notes and hopefully hearing your insights as well. Someone please pass the popcorn!