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While running for President in 1959, John F. Kennedy said about the impending 60's: "We stand today on the edge of a new frontier ... a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils - a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats." Well, it's October, 2010, and this statement has validity today, as we are coming out of the worst economic cycle in 70 years. So let's take a look at the hidden threats that can impact an executive, and hope that these won't be "haunting" you this season.

Let's start with communication from your boss. Imagine your boss comes into your office and simply says "Ted, how have things been going?" He is not looking to hear about your weekend - he wants to know what you have been working on. There is a potential threat in disguise here: Maybe you have not been communicating enough with him or he is un-clear about what you have contributed lately. Unfortunately, indirect and unclear communication often clouds the workplace, and you need to read between the lines to avoid problems.

Here are some other hidden threats in the workplace that can be harmful if ignored:

Ignoring Politics: Straight shooters sometimes miss the target by not being aware of the political actions of others. Maintain your standards of integrity, AND be politically savvy, watching out for potential harm from colleagues who are working their own angles.

Not Enough Client Interaction: We often assume that no news is good news, and therefore fail to call our best clients regularly. It is 5 times harder to win a new client than maintain an existing one. Stay in touch. This applies to internal "customers" too - your co-workers.

Getting Too Comfortable (aka Complacency): It is easy to assume that you are doing fine unless you hear otherwise. Maybe you even consider your boss to be your friend. Sometimes, disappointment is brewing, and your boss is stewing. Stay calibrated, and ask for validation on how you're doing, if you don't get unsolicited input/feedback regularly.

Forgetting Your Job Description: After 2 or 3 years, people are often setting their own agenda, yet management still has certain expectations. Make sure you are fulfilling even unspoken job descriptions, AND that you are taking enough initiative to go above and beyond.

Not Asking For Help: It is great to be resourceful and do things on your own, as long as you are right 90+% of the time. Great leaders recognize that it is always better to ask for help to ensure success, than to fail on your own.

Flattery: "Avoid flatterers, for they are thieves in disguise" ~ William Penn - Learn to separate the sincere from the false and dangerous. If it doesn't feel good, it probably isn't.

The Old Timer: New executives often discount the old timers as obstacles who are set in their ways and not contributing at full value. Perhaps that old-timer has created a tribal-knowledge culture and made themselves indispensible in the process. Don't marginalize anyone - figure out how to make everyone an asset, or have a fail-safe plan on how to replace them.

The Up And Comer: Fast-rising stars are often impatient, don't listen, and use "ready-fire-aim" as a strategy. But, often they think smarter, more efficiently, and outside the box, and they succeed. Don't condemn or fight what works, or you may get marginalized in the "old-timer" group.

E-Mail Interpretation: A huge source of unintended bad feelings. Misinterpretation of meaning is a real danger in the e-mails you read or send. It is easy to infer a "tone" where none was intended. Be careful about even a hint of cynicism or sarcasm, and don't jump to conclusions about someone else's intention. Best solution: Pick up the phone or walk down the hall to make things crystal clear. Bonus tip: Never hit send unless you are prepared for your message to be forwarded without your knowledge, because people do that even when you don't want them to. Bonus tip #2: If you are writing while angry, wait an hour, and/or show the draft to someone else before you hit send.

Because threats can be hidden, and can arrive "in disguise", a "prepare for the worst" and "hope for the best" mentality can keep you ahead of the pack. Identify threats a mile away and position yourself for success.

It used to be that to get a top executive, you figured out what salary you wanted to pay, offered a bonus that might be discretionary, and extended the offer. The candidate might accept, decline, or counter, and the response was almost always based on the money issues.

Organizational Talent Management experts have learned a lot about candidate motivation, yet offers are still often constructed and extended based on just monetary issues. Candidate turn-downs are often based on many other factors.

Hidden Concerns: There are lots of things you can't legally ask a candidate about, but might be on their mind. What issues could interfere with a move? Does the candidate have elderly parents, or kids in high school? Is the spouse really on board, or being dragged kicking and screaming? The best way to address these hidden concerns is pre-closing, or testing the offer. When you float a dollar range, and ask could they accept that, you will often hear, "Well, I'd have to think about it." Your next question should be, "What will you be thinking about?" Or, "What issues will you be considering?" This will surface many of the hidden concerns, which opens the door to further discussion.

Candidate Motivation: "A" Players are rarely motivated by just the money. Other key motivators include being inspired by your vision, liking your company culture, identifying with the challenges you have laid out for them (performance objectives for the position), feeling they can make an impact, long term potential for growth or equity, etc. If you take care to find out what really matters to each candidate, and make sure you have painted a picture that incorporates these features, the money becomes secondary.

Offer Components: There are many components to offers today that can be important to a particular candidate. Again, it is critical to ask what is really important in the features and benefits you include. One candidate might find educational reimbursement to be valuable, while another might need flex time. We had a candidate this year who needed the relocation package to allow much more for temporary living, and much less for cost of home sale, and that required a change in company policy by the new employer! A key issue for executives today is where they will be permitted to live, with many people wanting to keep their home, and commute twice a month to the job location. Know what is important, and see if the candidate's needs can be met.

A key strategy is individualization. Most companies employ experts that standardize HR policies as much as possible. Candidates are at their most vulnerable when they make a job change. Being treated like a person instead of a commodity will win hearts and minds, and get "yeses." Last year, I had one candidate for whom the money wasn't an issue at all - he was taking almost a lateral. All he wanted was some help getting his wife started on her job search in the new locale. He was jumping for the opportunity, while she was hesitant, and that's what it took to win her approval and consent.

The pool of talent will begin to tighten in the recovery, and getting offer acceptance will become an art and science, and you must master both! As an employer, you need to be creative, intuitive, responsive and willing to customize.