According to the wisdom of King Solomon, "Gray hair is a crown of splendor, attained by a righteous
life--or a 700 point plunge in the Dow".

Okay, maybe he wasn't too concerned about the Dow. NASDQ, maybe, given the high tech innovations he introduced to the Temple-Building industry (such as indoor plumbing).

Warren Buffett's a smart man, but his frost-ringed chrome dome didn't come from fretting about the Dow.

He may not have built his empire by following the wisdom of King Solomon's Proverbs, but he certainly followed the insight of that other great sage, Wayne Gretzky, who once said, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."

Buffet doesn't drop coin where the money has been. He shuffles it over to where it's going--and scores.

Recently Buffett published an article in the New York Times titled "Buy American. I am."

The gist of the article--he's betting on a strong rebound in the U.S. economy.

It's a great article, chock full of historical trends and turn-arounds, from hiccup recessions to the Big
One-the Great D. But what I found most interesting was when Buffett said: "A simple rule dictates my
buying. Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."

In my decade-and-a-half in the recruiting industry I've seen my share of economic downturns. They all
trend the same way in terms of personnel roles and hiring: slash, slash, hold, hold--scramble to keep up
with explosive growth that follows a downturn. Until the next downturn, then start all over again.

However, my peak performing clients, those clients that tend not to participate in anyone else's recession, approach a downturn the same way Buffett approaches investing. They get greedy when others are fearful. By greed, I mean they get greedy in the hunt for talent, using the trough in the business cycle as a time to re-align their organizations with peak performers. They continue skating to where they anticipate the puck will be--where their corporate goals and industry trends tell them they need to go. And it's
during the downturn in which they gain their greatest success in luring these peak performers to their organizations.

I will be sharing with you in up-coming issues the very distinct advantages to re-thinking a hunker-down mentality and switching to an aggressive hire strategy during lean times. Today, I'd just like to say that the dynamics of recruiting dramatically change in lean times. I've written on these pages in the past regarding the impact that the Internet has had on our society, putting us into a point-and-click mentality.

This has turned the recruiting profession (both in-house and outsourced) into a "sourcing" discipline rather than the "sorcery" art form of its origins. I get the call especially during a downturn because my clients know that my approach to recruiting remains the same regardless of the market--involving the time-honored tradition of the true talent hunt that consistently yields the best game. If you haven't already done so, please feel free to visit www.cuberaider.com to see in detail how my clients count on the sorcery in my talent search approach to consistently land  op-performing talent in any market.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the World. But the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the World to himself; therefore, progress depends on the unreasonable man."

While it may seem reasonable to rein in your hiring during a downturn, you're only adapting to a World
reacting in fear. An unreasonable approach sets you apart from your competition--and will ensure that
you skate to where the puck will be--and score.

Also, unreasonable is the epitome of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives this greatest nation and economy in the world. The U.S. will be humming along again soon. Buffett is betting on it. My fastest-growing clients have and always will bet on it.

It's time to start getting greedy while others are fearful. To quote one last great philosopher, Gordon Gecko, from the movie Wall Street, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."