Episode 005: Lloyd Solomon

Introduction:

Lloyd Solomon received his MBA in Finance from NYU and undergraduate degree in Marketing from Boston University. On the business side of life, Lloyd is a co-founder, partner and managing director of Solomon Page, a national provider of staffing solutions and executive search placements across a broad range of functional and industry lines of business. One of New York’s 100 largest privately held companies, Forbes has rated Solomon Page as one of America's Best Recruiting Firms. Flexibility and consistency in their approach has played a starring role in making them a market leader across the United States. Lloyd is happily married to his wonderful wife Stephanie and father to five amazing kids.

Episode Notes:

At 3:03, Lloyd Solomon discusses fusing information with intuition and judgment. At 4:26, he touches upon why one operates most effectively when surrounded by a circle of trust. At 6:04, Lloyd talks about the importance of discerning what you know and what you don't know and mastering your craft. At 8:42, he takes us back in time to when he was a 24-year-old student seeking an investment banking and sales and trading job, and informs us about a relationship he had with a women working in the office of career development at NYU business school. At 10:37, Lloyd describes his “oh my moment” – Solomon Page’s 1994 IPO by way of Stratton Oakmont, the firm depicted in the movie Wolf of Wall Street. At 12:39, he said, “life is a series of calculated risks.” At 13:23, Lloyd speaks about Solomon Page’s culture committee, paying it forward and the company’s charitable initiative for Runway of Dreams, an adaptive clothing company for those with disabilities. At 16:29, he discusses the balance of “me and we” at Solomon Page and at 25:41, explains victims of circumstance(s) vs. masters of destiny. At 27:31, Lloyd said, “It’s very easy to throw beer from the bleachers.” At 29:50, he talks about “playing nice in the sandbox” in a work environment with co-workers. At 33:03, Lloyd informs us that women at Solomon Page make up 63% of leadership team and over 50% of total company population. At 33:39, he notes, “The only thing we discriminate against here are people that are unwilling or unable to produce.” At 39:17, Lloyd stresses aligning yourself with a team or culture that fits your mentality. At 41:17, he discusses ambition, reality and growth. At 42:46, Lloyd touches upon networking and connecting the dots. At 51:53, in regards to one’s job search, he advises, “If you bang your head against the same wall 100 times, that’s not so good.” At 54:50, Lloyd discusses learning from your mistakes, taking chances and not burning bridges. At 57:00, he signs off the podcast with a message on both staying positive and optimistic (i.e., half full vs. half empty).