The Identik of a Point Collector

Did it ever happen to you—that strange first impression that something is off with a new colleague? 🙃

Acting (too soon) too rapidly. 🏃‍♂️‍➡️

Already on the road. 🏃‍♂️‍➡️

Frenetically 🕐 wanting to visit customers or scheduling meetings without even asking for basic details (“let’s just go…”). 0️⃣ desire to learn the new product or simply to (actively) listen🎧😶‍🌫️ .

Week1️⃣ in their position and straight onto an event booth🏬 or a back to back agenda 📅 full of meetings. Did it?

(I recently conducted some interviews around this subject, here what it came out!🌋)

💺🩴🙃☕🚀

Every company has them, unfortunately.

Those always "on the move", without agenda. Boarding planes✈️, checking into hotels🛌, “dropping by” customer sites or in every meeting, flashing event badges like trophies🏆. Every week they are somewhere—everywhere—except where they should be: at their "desk", in front of their laptop, with customers, in (less) meetings creating something valuable for their employer (and themselves). Their calendars are a blur of travel, meetings and dinners. Their expense reports are thicker 👻than their quarterly reports.

At first glance, they look energetic. Connected. Sensationally busy. 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

But scratch the surface, and you’ll discover their real nature: Point Collectors. 🤡
They are not generating value. They are collecting points, 🎯for what? Who knows, maybe for their own purposes, their next vacation, their next free flight, their next dinner to show off... definetely not for the companies. 💳🗂️🃏

The Point-Collector’s Playbook

The point-collector thrives on optics. Their strategy is simple:

• Look smart 👔 and sharp 🪒 in interviews
• Act frenetically in the first days and weeks
• Sound relevant in all-hands 🎶and major weekly meetings
• Pretend to be busy in front of others
• Create a fog 🌁 of movement

Success is measured in:

• Flights✈️ or 121 taken, not deals progressed
• Dinners 🍽️ or meetings hosted, not problems solved
• Selfies 🤳with customers, not customer impact
• Buzz 🔊 generated, not business outcomes

They are masters at sprinkling smoke 🌋 in the eyes of colleagues and managers: “Look at me, I’m everywhere!” Except nowhere it matters. Usually, they operate as lone knights🥷🌃🌉, so as not to be exposed too soon. Their real objective? Last another 10–14 months, (maybe 18 including severance) then jump onto the next Ride.

Less than Zero Value

Math doesn’t lie. Here is why:
Point-collectors are not harmless. They drain resources, time, money, patience, and trust. 😶‍🌫️

They confuse managers into mistaking motion for progress (unless those same managers are enjoying the Ride 🚲with them 🤣 ). They flood organizations with noise that eventually drowns 🤿 out the quiet execution of those truly delivering results (or maybe too busy and diligent in creating value).

Colleagues and teammates, naively (or because they were told to), invest their time, hope, and energy to support them. The most attentive within 2 hours (or 2 minutes 😁 challenge for you dear Reader) , most of the others within 3 months, recognize their real nature and start avoiding them. 🤡

And customers? They see through it fastest of all. A shallow visit with no agenda, no preparation, no follow-up is not engagement, it’s theater 🎭. They arrive with their shiny smile, jokes, coffees, and general chit-chat, then rush off to the next “visit.” No meaningful questions, no plan, no credible next steps. After the second meeting, more often than not, they are asked not to come back. ⛔🫷

Zero value for the customer. Even less for the company.

“Yes, last week I visited that customer… we agreed to meet again next quarter.”
“Yes, I spoke to them two weeks ago… we promised to reconnect once the project is over.”

Empty updates. Empty impact.

The last ones to recognize them?!🤔 ....wait for it.... their managers‼️, of course (maybe because it is hard to admit your own mistakes ?!?🤷‍♂️).

Hiring, What a Tough (but Strategic) Task!

Hiring people is one of the most pivotal missions in any company—and should be treated as fundamental. Unfortunately, it is often underestimated. 🪫

Think about the time you spend (or wasted ?!?🚮) trying to force a square 🟥 into a circle 🔴: Onboarding, HR paperwork, intros, training sessions (if they even exist), meetings, 1:1s, reviews, endless chats… all invested in a Point-Collector.

At first you believe: they’re getting it 💪, they’re growing into the role 🪴, they’re trying 🦵, maybe I didn’t make a mistake 🪳. 🤥👺
But time passes. Nothing happens. Things keep turning in circles. Rumors start creeping onto your desk.🫠

Then comes the painful realization moment: Did I make the wrong choice? 🤔

And what most managers do? Exactly what humans nature programmed us to: self-defend (🧠 or🦕). Hide the problem🙈. Push it down the road. Hope nobody (publicly) calls it out.🎺🗞️

Until you finally admit: there’s no way to fix it 🧑‍🏭.

And our P.C. friends? they have made it again🥇. They survived another leg in their journey. On to the next...

Only if, dear manager–exec🧑‍💼utive–director… only if you had taken the right time. Been more patient. Done proper due diligence. Injected more effort into questioning the smart👔, 🪒sharp-looking candidate. Only if.

Or are you one of them? 🙈

The Identik Is Clear

How do you recognize a point-collector?

• Always moving, rarely delivering.
• Always busy, rarely impactful.
• Always loud, rarely accountable.

Movement without meaning is noise🪈. The identik is there for all to see, if you dare to look past the fog. 🌫️🌫️🌋🌫️🌫️

Have you ever met a Point Collector🤡?🙃 - If YES🫡then sign in and share your stories in comments 🧑‍🎨⬇️