Happy Freezing Friday for those of you in the Northeast!  Here are a few finds to keep you cozy.

1. A hiring hack.

I recently posted a classified ad looking for a new CFO (although the folks are big investments for small companies, a great CFO should pay for himself/herself and then some . . . so how can you NOT invest in one?).

Knowing I would get a hundred-plus resumes (177 to be exact), I needed a way to weed out some of the folks that didn’t have the attention to detail I needed.

So, in order for a potential candidate to get to the 3rd round, they had to answer 10 questions ranging from what show they saw last, to what software they were proficient in, to whether or not they ever owned their own business.

But it wasn’t the questions that made it easy for me to filter the responses into keep or trash.  In addition to the 10 Q’s, I also asked the candidates to respond to my email by replacing the subject with “CFO – 2nd Round [LAST NAME]”.

You would be AMAZED as to how many people didn’t do that simple task.  The responses fell in three buckets:

1)  People who did it perfectly right.
2)  People who did it half-right.
3)  People who didn’t even pay attention at all.

And not coincidentally, the 1’s were the best qualified . . . and they got interviews.

If you’re looking for a CFO or an intern, try this trick. Saves you OODLES of time.

2. BroadwayCon is about the Business of Broadway too!

BroadwayCon isn’t just for people who want to dress up like Elphaba.  If you want to learn about the biz of Broadway check out “Industry Day” at this year’s BwayCon on Friday, Jan 11th.  The day is curated by Broadway Thought Leader, Damian Bazadona of Situation Interactive (and my TEDxBroadway co-founder), so expect smart things.  Get tix here.

3. Avenue Q is only “for now.”

Back in 2008 (!), years before Avenue Q downsized from Broadway to Off, I blogged about the concept.

I just blogged about it.  But it took courageous Producers like Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, and Robyn Goodman to actually give it a shot.  (Thankfully they allowed us to General Manage it.)

Boy, did their guts pay off.  Q ran longer OFF Broadway than it did on Broadway.

Other shows have tried this move and it didn’t quite work.  Why? Was it because we GM’ed it?  Haha.  I’d like to think that’s part of it.  But I’m going to blog about the three reasons why this worked so well next week.  Sign up to make sure you don’t miss the blog.

In the meantime, get your tickets now.

4. The Coat.

This year’s in-demand Christmas gift isn’t a toy.  It’s a coat.  Seriously.  If you google “The Coat,” it’ll come up.  That’s some powerful buzz.  Why is it such a thing?  Cheap.  Fashionable.  Useful.  I bought one for my wife.  Check it here.   DON’T TELL HER!  😉

5. I sent Christmas cards this year.

Want one?  Email me and I’ll send you one.

Not too late to get your holiday gifts.  “The Coat” may be out of stock but this and this are, and they’re perfect for the Broadway fans on your list.