Source: www.talentmgt.com
People who are out of work and looking for jobs would benefit from focusing on their audience — in this case the interviewer/employer — and asking themselves the question, "So what?"
"The competition is fierce," said Mark Magnacca, author of So What? How to Communicate What Really Matters to Your Audience, "and those who are hiring want to be certain that the candidate can provide value to the organization. With so many candidates from which to choose, job seekers need to be able to stand out from the crowd."
These principles also work for self-employed individuals and small business owners. "In today's unpredictable market, prospective buyers are being more careful about their purchases. You must land your key points and answer the 'so what' question with confidence, clarity and speed if you want to win more work and build new business opportunities," Magnacca said.
"The reality is that the people you are trying to communicate with and sell yourself to don't really care about what you have to offer," said Magnacca. "They will only start to care when they know how it will benefit them. If you challenge yourself and constantly apply a 'so what' filter to your thinking, you will catapult over your competitors and realize true success in what you do."
While it may seem harsh for job seekers to hear that prospective employers don't care about what they have to offer, the basic message — focus on what's important to the hiring organization — can make all the difference. Job applicants should dig deeper than just learning about the company; they should understand how the company serves its clients or customers and develop an appreciation for what is important to those people.
If a prospective candidate can prove value in terms of how he or she can contribute to the company's success, that will make an impression on the interviewer and increase the chances of being hired.
‘So what’ thinking involves putting the needs of your audience first, no matter what the product or service is. According to Magnacca, the “so what” filter is like polarized lenses that can help job seekers and other business professionals see what others may miss, even if it's right in front of their eyes. In a tight job market, the candidate who can identify the needs of the hiring organization will have a definite advantage.
Rather than coach on a one-to-one basis, Kets de Vries says he prefers group coaching or intervention as he sees leadership as a team sport. “Leadership style in Russia is very different from the leadership styles in Sweden or Singapore. They’re different things but it’s usually a team sport and I think the only important thing is to look at complementarity (of the different roles within a team).”
“It also means you have to build trust and in the process people have a tendency to break down the silos – because particularly at the top management level, people have very silo-oriented behaviour. So people start to understand each other better and virtual teams start to work much better. It’s a very simple thing.” 
In books such as Coach and Couch and The Leader on the Couch, Kets de Vries suggests that organisations should be, what he calls, ‘authentizotic.’ Based on the Greek words authenteekos (‘authentic’) and zoteekos (‘vital to life’), he says these are organisations in which “you really feel alive” and are a “flag to show these are the best companies to work for.”
In The Leader on the Couch, Kets de Vries outlines a variety of different character traits or dispositions ranging from the abrasive to the antisocial. He also examines narcissism and leadership, singling out Jean-Marie Messier, the former CEO of Vivendi Universal, who turned a 150-year-old utility group into a ‘glamorous global media and telecommunications giant.’ 
