Know your ‘audience’: The audience could be a customer, team, group or the broader market you are serving. I have learned to never assume I have defined the audience’s needs exactly right (plus needs change), so I use iterative processes that enable me to learn as I am working with the group or team.

As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a large team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Elizabeth Eiss is a results guru who helps others get work done well. She’s a thinker, creator, leader, technology systems designer and an expert in today’s ‘Gig Economy.’ As the Founder and CEO of ResultsResourcing®, an online freelance talent concierge platform, and service, Elizabeth is a sought after expert on the future of work and has redefined talent management principles based on virtual and freelance talent trends. ResultsResourcing® helps organizations scale by leveraging virtual freelancers who are vetted and personally-curated using proprietary technology Elizabeth designed and co-developed.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

My backstory is that I’ve always had a passion and gift for finding great talent. After a successful career as a C-suite executive in multiple industries, I decided to trade it all in for the world of entrepreneurship and become a tech-preneur — primarily because I had found a way to bring technology together with human insights, to curate great talent. It’s been a passion for most of my career.

I believe Thomas L. Friedman articulated it well: While there is growing AI (artificial intelligence) there is a faster-growing need for IA (intelligent assistance) to help people use technology for their benefit. And IA can only be provided by human beings.

That’s what I focus on today: human beings… leveraging technology… to find great talent.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

My whole career has been extraordinarily interesting and most certainly has been an expanding platform for thinking about what’s possible.

So this is not a story per se, but an observation.

I’ve come to learn that scarcity is one of the best drivers of innovation.

Whenever I’ve been resource-constrained (such as funding, staff, systems, professional contacts), it’s caused me to re-think the problem and develop new approaches. The scarcity of resources when confronted by big goals, forces me to question assumptions and invent new ways to achieve objectives — while remaining true to my purpose and principles.

This philosophy drove my intrapreneurial thinking in the corporate world and entrepreneurial thinking today, to build a new way of curating great global talent.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I was interviewing for my first job as a manager, I was quite ‘young’ for the role, and would also be switching companies. I was sure I was the top candidate and was asked how much I wanted to be paid in the final interview. I said ‘Well, at least the minimum” — having no idea what it was except that it was more than I was currently making. Of course, I got the job and my wish — the minimum salary for the job.

This all happen before the days of data ubiquity, but I learned to:

1. Always do my homework
2. Be my own advocate
3. Be bolder in asserting my worth
4. For a win/win relationship, pay should be a conversation about the range for the role and value the candidate brings to the table

To read the full interview, click here.

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