Integrity counts. Proportionately, it counts far more than technical skill. And Integrity can even smooth out delivery issues. When you have a problem, and you work with someone with high integrity, you tend to partner with them on a solution rather than place blame and wait for the solution. And when things are going well, they go really well, providing the peace of mind that allows you to sleep at night without taking the work home. I’d like to introduce you to two individuals that I was fortunate to have conversations with this week.

Parminder Saini and I sat down for lunch last week at Mimi’s Cafe in Deerfield Plaza. I’ve known Parminder for about 4 years, and to this day I cannot name another individual with higher integrity. There may be a small handful of folks that could equal his integrity…on a good day. I enjoy my conversations with Parminder as he has the big picture in mind and fully understands how to run a business while partnering with his clients. He’s always looking for the win-win, even if, from an outside perspective, the short term for him might look like a loss.

I’ve had first hand experience working with Parminder on some rather large, 30+ resource, offshore/onshore projects developing shrink-wrapped software products. In this case, I partnered with him on a solution, and he never failed to deliver. Ever. Together we delivered the working product to our client on-budget, on-scope, and on the date projected nearly two years prior. This is all fine and good, but I think about some of the difficult positions I put him in as we developed the solution, and the situations where I might have fired the client, he had enough integrity to work with me and stick through to successful delivery. That takes an individual of significant character.

I also had a chance to meet Erin Schreyer for the first time. It took only about 4 minutes to feel like we had known each other for 4 years. Our motivations lined up strongly around helping other people. And Erin proceeded to brief me on her work with Cincinnati Works, an organization that helps folks become self-sufficient by mentoring them, among other things, through the basic skills of interviewing, finding, and retaining employment. They boast an 84% retention rate, and if you get a chance to meet Erin, you’ll know why.

I spent some time recruiting talent for LUCRUM, and I’ve had my fair share of conversations with other recruiters. Erin is the rare individual who chooses to transcend the transactional nature of recruiting, and instead focuses on the big picture. In short, it took me almost no time to develop a position of trust with respect to Erin.

I hope you have an opportunity to work with both Parminder and Erin. They make the IT sector a market worth being in.

- Andy