Quantifying Grit

A conversation with Ryan Mahan, Director of Talent Acquisition at Black Diamond Networks

Staffing is a tough business, but Ryan Mahan knows what it takes. 

“People are our greatest asset. It doesn’t matter if you have the product, culture, or philosophy. If you don’t have good people, you are not going to go anywhere.” 

Experiencing unprecedented growth, Black Diamond Networks is hiring for dozens of sales and recruiting roles across our Massachusetts, Florida, and Andover offices. Mahan, our new Director of Talent Acquisition, is returning to Black Diamond to help fill these open positions and quantify the grit needed to succeed.  

 

Home team advantage 

During college, Mahan interned with Black Diamond Networks’ sales and recruiting team, and later supported the talent acquisition department. After graduation, he pursued a career in sports management. Most recently, he was Director of Hockey Operations at the University of Massachusetts where he served as a hockey ‘chief of staff,’ coordinating with the marketing, business, and development teams so the coaches could focus on coaching. Earlier this year, UMASS became national champions, winning the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. 

While at UMASS, Mahan and his team were focused on creating a peak performance environment, a place where everyone is moving in the same direction towards a common goal. He sees similarities at Black Diamond.  

“This is an organization that has the drive and the quality of talent. And it shows.” 

 

Recognizing the value of grit 

Mahan understands what a person needs to be successful at Black Diamond. He describes it as a combination of strategic thinking, hard work, resiliency, and grit. Those are qualities you’ll often find in military veterans, people who started working at an early age, and former athletes. 

“In athletics, nothing always goes your way no matter who you are, whether you’re a superstar or a role player on any team. You’re going to have injuries, you’re going to have losses, calls that are going to go against you during the game. And it all centers back on – can you pick yourself back up and continue to move. And athletes have that ability because they’ve done it their entire lives.” 

Quantifying grit is part of Mahan’s job – and mission. He says a key component is a familiarity with failing, recovering, repeating the process, and learning from it.  

“Everyone who is successful has failed at some point in their life. The people who are the most successful are the ones that get back up and keep going at it.” 

Do you think you have what it takes to work at Black Diamond Networks? We want to hear from you.   

Join our Team

Take a look at Black Diamond’s current job openings or send us your resume and we’ll find a good fit for you.