Paranoia Strikes Deep 3

• Someone randomly steals your identity and ruins your reputation (credit);
• You are fooled into giving someone the ability to steal your identity and they ruin your reputation (credit);
• People who you wish didn't know a lot about you actually do know a lot about you;
• A great giant database (owned by the government or some large company) correlates facts about you and draws conclusions you don't like;
• Some mistake is made in the data collected about you and you have no recourse.

There are probably others, but these are the fundamental boogeymen. They boil down to identity theft or privacy invasion. Almost anyone reading this article will have had some bit of experience with one or more of the scenarios. Most often, the real problem is inaccurate data entry.

We've been writing about the problem for years. For one case, some pretty simple measures can provide all of the protection you need (Don't give out your information, don't walk alone in bad neighborhoods). The other case, privacy invasion, is something we've been writing about for years:

In an earlier life, part of the dress code was hand-tailored suits. (It seems so long ago.) In order to get a good fit, many standards of "privacy" were violated in the intimate relationship between tailor and client. Hands ventured to places reserved for spouses. Physical oddities (this leg shorter than that, this eye bigger than the other, this shoulder slightly more developed, and so on) were cataloged and accounted for. Macho fantasies were dispensed with the wave of a measuring tape while inseam lengths were identified with precision.
On a physical level, anything hidden from the tailor resulted in a lower quality fit.

The relationship, over several dozen suits, expanded to cover other areas. A spouse's favorite color; fabrics suited for war; colors that brought peace; the hesitant movement to a more formal, three button look; a pattern that easily absorbed baby food stains; tricks for hanging a coat in a car; subtle intimidation of a boss; one-upsmanship among work colleagues; cross-cultural considerations. The initial intimacy in the relationship, forced by the mechanics of the problem, created a foundation for a very personal relationship with a kind of coach available only to the wealthy in a different era.

Those suits fit like nothing else!

That's the thing about privacy.
(ERN 9.10.02)

From our perspective, the spread of information and its rapid integration is going to be like anything else....pros and cons. The truth is that the pros will outweigh the cons.

Must Reads from Today's Bugler:

• "The Coming Knowledge Drain". This is an article you'll want to circulate to clients, customers and your team.
• "A Recipe for Newspaper Survival in the Internet Age" The plan for the embattled managers of media properties on the sales block.

- John Sumser © TwoColorHat. All Rights Reserved.

Referrals from trusted associates, on the other hand, have always been the safer route. Unfortunately Employee Referral Programs tend to limit the scope of your search. The solution, devised by companies like H3.com, is in developing a Talent Scout Network-a small group of good people, both inside and outside your company, who know lots of other good people.

Talent scouts are a breed of people who keep their ears to the ground, who know your industry, and who always seem to know who's coming and going before anyone else. They're people who don't just connect you to a good candidate. They connect you to an entire community of good candidates. Like having a squadron of headhunters, but without the high headhunter fees.

A free white paper from H3.com discusses the new phenomenon of talent scout networks. And the success that HR directors are having with them.

To get a copy, visit H3.com.

• Learn how to cultivate and maintain a talent scout network.
• Learn how they're helping HR work more efficiently with hiring managers.
• Learn how they're helping to slash recruiting costs.

At H3.com you can also experiment with the system by launching a risk-free search.