“Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. Impossible is a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary.”
– Muhammad Ali
In business and in life the word impossible gets thrown around way too frequently. In today’s hiring market it is a fact that it is exceptionally difficult to find qualified candidates. We are currently near full employment, companies are profitable and skilled professionals are already well compensated. Entry level employees and unskilled labor are enjoying inflationary increases of nearly 3% in 2020, and again in 2021. This is a pace not seen in decades. At The Headhunters we take tremendous pride in filling difficult and critical searches. Below is a little snippet into a facet of the personal drive that sets us apart.
A Statistical Miracle
My father Bob Wednieski has never really talked much about his childhood growing in St. Sault Marie in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Dad grew up dirt poor, and was orphaned before his 7th birthday. Taken in by relatives he suffered more tragedies than I’m sure I know about, including a house fire that left him so severely burned that he spent over a year in a hospital, and had to learn how to walk again.
Eventually, my dad ended up in the foster care system and in Flint, Michigan with a nice foster family. Dad went on to become a mechanical engineer, and provided a very happy middle-class upbringing for my brother, sister and I. My mom and dad recently celebrated 61 years of marriage.
Whenever I am personally faced with something difficult or feeling sorry for myself, I think about what my dad had to overcome to become such a successful businessman, husband and father. I think about the determination it must have taken with severe burns over 30% of his body to not only walk again but to play varsity football, basketball and baseball. Dad was a lefty and pitched two no-hitters in high school. What are the chances to achieve an outcome like dad did? A statistical miracle.
Our values
One of our four core values as a company is tenacity. We are tireless and believe complacency kills. We hustle! For us it means we place stellar candidates in important positions, even when others have failed to do so before.
My father’s story is one facet of my upbringing that contributes to tenacity being in my blood. I can’t help but go out and do what others deem impossible. The challenge calls to me, like it did Muhammad Ali, my father, and so many others who’ve beat the odds.
Bill Wednieski is the Managing Director for The Headhunters. Learn more here.