This article was originally posted on LinkedIn

Over the past year, I’ve written articles that speak to the strategies that significantly help when searching for C-Suite executives. I’ve discussed looking for CEOs and CFOs, the difference between Marketing and Sales Leadership, and have even tried to demystify what a VP of Business Development is actually supposed to do. The point I always come back to is that to manage a successful search, to find the best executives for positions, real heavy lifting must be done before candidates are interviewed. This part of the search is called “discovery,” and without it, the search can go astray and drag on.