Last month a CEO client contacted me to evaluate Dean, an executive who had come to him through a referral from a trusted source. The man who referred him knows both my client and the candidate and assured the CEO that the two should meet to explore how Dean could work for him.

Hold on. No job description? No posting for the position? No due diligence? Unthinkable. Absurd. Perfect.

The week before Christmas I traveled to icy temperatures to meet Dean and evaluate him. But evaluate him for what?