PROUDLY PRESENTS

Dr. Horst W. Schaaf
Resident of The United States and 3-DNET® VIP member
Email contact : horst@exec.org

Interview with 3-DNET®

Listen to sample sound "bites" from the interview:  

Question 1 : Tell me about yourself

Growing up in a family owning a small business in a rural area northeast of Frankfurt, I learnt from a very young age that responsibility and dependability and hard work are key ingredients for being successful in the business world. I also learnt that it is important to stand up for your beliefs and to apply the “Golden Rule” in all my daily interactions with others. I strongly belief in fairness when dealing with others and putting the benefit of the group ahead of my own desires. I am strongly dedicated and loyal to my family and the people who work with me.

Question:  "Tell me about yourself....?"   (30 sec, 14KB)

Question 2 : What can you offer to your next employer ?

An extensive hands-on background in department, project and program management, a proven track record of delivering innovative technology to the market and the ability to “think out of the box”. Having started my own company has exposed me to all facets of business management and rounded out my business skills. In summary: I can offer excellent technical and business problem solving skills combined with excellent people management skills.

Question:  "What can you offer....?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 3 : What are your strengths ?

Out of the box thinking, excellent analytical and creative problem solving skills, strong people management skills. Extensive hands-on management experience born out of hard work. Good leadership skills, I have been consistently able to get my people to attain higher achievement levels then they thought possible. I strongly belief in mentoring people and giving them enough freedom to succeed in their own way. Uniformity and conformity are not my strong suits. Honesty, loyalty and dependability as personal traits.

Question:  "What are your strengths?"   (35 sec, 75KB)

Question 4 : What are your accomplishments ?

At CooperVision LaserDivision I was lead engineer for the first ablative cornea reshaping system. At Spectra Physics I was responsible for the successful groundbreaking research that became the foundation of an entire new line of solid state laser products. At Lexel Laser I was instrumental in turning the company around and putting it back on the map as a viable player. I de facto ran the company. At Cymbolic Sciences I formed an effective R&D department and managed the development and productization of several innovative technologies. I started Technology Imaging and created the product as well as business strategy and made investor presentations, created a business model and was responsible for writing the business plan as well as negotiated partnership agreements and currently am involved in selling the technology.

Question:  "What are your accomplishments?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 5 : What are your limitations ?

Insistence on highest level of quality and perfection possible, make me sometimes come across as stubborn and hardheaded. A certain degree of shyness.

Question:  "What are your limitations ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 6 : How much are you worth ?

Let’s see if I can be of service for the company and then determine my worth for the future of the company.

Question:  "How much are you worth ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 7 : What are your ambitions for the future ?

To be intellectually challenged and contribute in a meaningful way to the benefits of the endeavor with as much operational freedom as possible.

Question:  "What are your ambitions for the future ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 8 : How long would it take you start contributing to the firm? 

I am a very quick study and therefore I have been able to contribute in a meaningful way within a couple of months time frame in the past. However I also acknowledge that there is a break in period, and therefore I will try to get prepared as much as possible beforehand and hit the deck running. However the break in period depends on my familiarity with the industry.

Question:  "How long would it take ... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 9: What is your management style?

I strongly belief in managing by example and applying the “Golden Rule”. I despise micro-management. Clear communication of the desired outcome with frequent informal feedback and problem solving sessions are essential for achieving the desired outcome. I also belief in an open dialog furthering the communication of existing and potential problems is essential for the proactive prevention of product development disasters. It is much more important to hear about problems than knowing the successes. This requires that people are not being chastised for making mistakes when they are taking a risk to drive the endeavor forward.

Question:  "What is your management style ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 10: Why do you think you have a good potention to be a manager?

My track record proves that I am a capable manager who gets the job done according to expectation.

Question:  "Why do you think you have... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 11: What would you look for hiring people?Why do you think you have a good potention to be a manager?

I strongly belief in hiring smart and independent people. I also belief in creating a balanced team, where the skills, temperaments and talents of the individual players complement each other. My job as a manager is to create an environment for the different temperaments to collaborate in a cooperative manner without extensive friction that would be detrimental to outcome of the endeavor. It is also of outmost importance to match the skills, talents and temperament to the requirements of the job at hand, for example, it would be a disaster to put a research maverick in charge of documentation, the outcome would be “creative” and disorganized documentation. To put an “administrator” in charge of research or marketing leads to the same level of inefficiency.

Question:  "What would you look... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 12: As a manager have you ever had to fire someone?

Yes, at CooperVision Laserdivision I had inherited somebody who was talented and industrious, however only for himself and not for the company. After working with him to improve his performance for a couple of months I advised him that he should for an opportunity that better fit his talents because his behavior was starting to affect the morale of the remainder of the team.

Question:  "As a manager have you ever ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 13: What do you see as the most difficult task of being a manager?

To manage the behavior of a group in such a way that the team members are staying productive even under intense pressure to perform against impending deadlines. To shield the group from negative political exposure from outside the team or outside the company, i.e. keeping the team in a productive mode.

Question:  "What do you see as the most.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 14: Describe what you feel is the best work environment?

I strongly belief in an open and trusting environment. People must be enticed to be forthcoming with their concerns. They must be challenged to exceed and perform at the highest level possible. The environment must be such that exceeding the standard is the norm. Treating people fairly, giving them credit and praising them will make them perform voluntarily. However one basic rule must be obeyed, i.e. one must be sincere and credible in all interactions, be it praise or critique, otherwise will consider the manager a phony and the performance will drop to negative values.

Question:  "Describe what you feel..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 15: Looking back how do you describe your past employer?

I enjoyed working at Cymbolic Sciences a great deal until the takeover took place. It gave me a lot of freedom and permitted me to create and develop new technologies. I also felt that my opinion was respected and carried its weight. After the company lost its CEO, the new CEO was not able to provide the leadership required to continue to steer the company to continuing success. He created a very political environment, mainly focused on keeping his position secure instead of driving the company forward. 12 months after his takeover the company was sold. Proofing that good leadership is essential for the success of a company.

Question:  "Describe what you feel..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 16: What have you done to increase productivity, performance, efficiency, etc..?

My department functioned like in-house consultants or thinktank. We created several new technologies and were instrumental in turning around a product line which was suffering from poor engineering execution into a market leader. We also developed a couple of new product concepts that were introduced after the company had been acquired.

Question:  "What have you done to..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 17: Whether you are a "computer wizard", how do you respond to the financial side of your responsibilities?

Clean financials with a solid bottom line are essential for the continued success of an endeavor. I strongly believe in maximizing the ROI of each investment into equipment or personnel.

Question:  " Whether you are..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 18: How many people have you supervised in your recent job?

Technology Imaging is a start-up and we were up to 12 people. At Cymbolic I formed the Advanced Technology Department, with 10 direct reports, however for project work that staff could easily exceed 30 - 40 personnel. At Lexel Laser the Engineering department had up to 25 people however I was de facto running the company of 100 people. I believe in a limited number of direct reports with responsibility for departments, programs and projects. However I also believe in informally walking the floor to feel the pulse of the troops on a daily basis, creating an open atmosphere of communication and trust.

Question:  "How many people have you.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 19: What do you like more working with figures or words?

I have no preference and feel comfortable with both.

Question:  " What do you like more..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 20: How do you think that your subordinates receive you?

Loyal, fair, trustworthy, dedicated and extremely hardworking and demanding. I have been able to receive a great deal of loyalty and trust from all people who have worked with me despite the fact that they had to work harder for me than they had for anybody else.

Question:  "How do you think that your...... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 21: What do you think of your previous boss?

I had the pleasure to work for several “great” bosses, starting my “doctor father” at the university, my engineering manager at Coopervision and my first CEO at Cymbolic Sciences. Common to all of them was that they created an environment that fostered creativity and respect for the individual and stayed away from micro-managing. They also were fair in their dealings with all of their reports.

Question:  "What do you think of..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 22: Describe a situation in which your work was criticized?

During a tough time of one particular product development, my boss criticized me for being too optimistic with my predictions in what the system could deliver. He had to apologize when the system delivered according and exceeding the specs that I had given him. He had been fed some erroneous information from a peer who had failed at the project.

Question:  "Describe a situation ..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 23: If I spoke with your boss what he would say about your greatest strength and weaknesses?

Since I am the boss currently you have to talk to me. Jokes aside, extremely good problem solver and very persistent up to the point of stubbornness. Weakness: Not willing to sacrifice his standards for the sake of fitting in. Very positive person who sometimes is too optimistic with the time estimates. Has improved in this area drastically.

Question:  "If I spoke with your.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 24: How can you handle life under pressure and with tough deadlines?

I do handle pressure well, however become nervy and tough when people start to play games to hide errors and lose focus of the goal.

The type of pressure and deadlines I've encountered in the management world have been far different. Watching a budget closely and managing a large group of people at the same time serve up different pressures and deadlines. You never know where the problem will come from: The people or the numbers. This is where the Boy Scouts have it right. Be prepared. Keep your eye, constantly, on the budget. Most importantly, get to know the people around you. Be fair. And try to head off problems early. In my experience that helps keep the pressure manageable and the tough deadlines a little easier to take.

Question:  "How can you handle life.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 25: What do you think you do better: staff work or line work?

Staff work, through the concerted effort of a team the total is much bigger than the sum of the parts. I enjoy managing people for great results.

Question:  "What do you think you do better.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 26: In your current position, what problem have you identified that was previously overlooked?

At Technology Imaging I brought in a partner who talked a great spiel but lacked on the delivery. He was responsible for sales and marketing. The company therefore suffered in the area of sales and marketing. We separated on a friendly note, since he realized that he was not able to work in a start-up environment without the big company support staff.

Question:  "In your current position..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 27: If you had a choice of job and a company what would you choose?

In general, it is important for me to work with people and produce results and get rewarded for my efforts with the appropriate title. My sense of fairness demands that I am rewarded in direct proportion to the efforts and results that I put forward to the endeavor.

Question:  "If you had a choice of..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 28: Do you have any objection to take a psychological test?

Not at all. I am always eager to learn more about myself.

Question:  "Do you have any objection.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 29: Do you consider yourself as a creative person?

Yes. I have a solid of coming up with creative solutions. In my private I do enjoy designing furniture and do woodworking.

Question:  "Do you consider yourself ..... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 30: How do you describe your personality?

Friendly, open and relaxed in most cases. If there is an issue which is of importance to me I become very intense and demanding.

Question:  "How do you describe your.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 31: What is your outside reading you do?

My son has special needs. I am reading about alternative medicine and bio mechanics. Another favorite subject is History and psychology / philosophy.

Question:  "What is your outside reading.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 32: What are some of your outside activities?

Due to my limited amount of spare time, I am focusing my outside activities on improving my son’s live through the design of equipment and finding alternative treatments for my sdon’s scoliosis.

Question:  "What are some of your .... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

Question 33: Are you continuing your education?

Yes. My jobs demand that I further my education on an ongoing basis. I actually am one of the strange people who does enjoy learning new things all the time. I am voracious reader.

Question:  "Are you continuing your.... ?"   (40 sec, 75KB)

 

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