Harvey Kanter, President and CEO of DXLG and Author of ‘Choosing to Lead’

How I Hire

Harvey Kanter is the CEO of Destination XL Group, a specialty retailer of men's big and tall apparel. He’s brought his unique and thoughtful approach to CEO, President, and Executive Vice President roles at companies like Blue Nile, Michaels, and Eddie Bauer. His book, Choosing to Lead: Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable, details experiences that have shaped his leadership style and forged his resilience. Harvey will share how he builds outstanding teams, as well as what he looks for in an authentic leader.

Highlights from the conversation include:

• Why good leaders are comfortable being uncomfortable (3:02)
• How Harvey helped shape the hiring strategy at Eddie Bauer (7:42)
• The “hire for attitude, train for skill” mindset (9:07)
• Hiring “failures” (14:59)
• How COVID has transformed the workplace (17:06)
• The importance of communication in leadership (21:33)
• How Harvey interviews and evaluates candidates... (25:32)
• ...and red flags he looks for (29:25)
• Harvey’s thoughts on the future of retail and e-commerce (31:09)

Visit HowIHire.com for transcripts and more on this episode.

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