If you want to build a great company the most important facet is who.
How do you know who? That is the question.
The short answer is only hire someone when you can honestly say you have to
hire them. Otherwise you are settling. Compromising the chance your company
will be successful by settling is the worst mistake you can make.
The slightly longer answer, according to me, is look for the key attributes the
person possesses. Avoid the lure of technical skills or a brilliant mind.
The five key attributes are:
Persistent
Smart
Integrity
Responsibility
Communication
Anyone who excels at all five of these attributes will be a great employee and
will make a big positive difference for the company.
Let's go through each of these in order.
Persistent
We covered this in the previous blog. Basically, the person needs to exude
passion for what they do. If they interview for network engineer position I
would want to see they have a network at home, have learned a new routing
language on their own. I want to see them light up when we talk switching.
They need to demonstrate the ability to completely finish the tasks they start.
Ask them behavioral questions like "Tell me about a skill you learned on your
own. What was the skill, why did you learn it, what was the value to the
business, and how did you use it". I like multiple part questions. If they
can answer all the parts clearly and with passion they just might be persistent
enough to be great. Keep looking for many signs of this behavior. If you have
any thought other than this person really keeps on going until they fully
finish a task do not hire them.
Smart
I believe there are two types of smart. First is the ability to understand
complicated concepts. Second is common sense. Every great employee I have met
balances these two types to produce great results. That is not to say the
balance is 50-50. Have enough of each is what matters. I want to see they can
understand a complicated issue, realize the ideal answer, calculate in the
constraints of the situation, and decide on the most practical answer for the
business.
I might ask a question like, "Tell me about a time when you were faced with a
very difficult problem where you knew you didn't have the resources or time to
get it done. Can you describe the problem, hurdles, what you did to solve it,
and the outcome"?
I look for a complete answer (persistence is number one) and one that makes
sense to me or maximizes the chances for the business. Anything less is a red
flag.
Integrity
This is where they must display the highest level of ethics. Insert all the
human values which most companies place in their employee handbook. I want to
see them handle tough ethical issues in a way that makes you proud, not
concerned. The key test is how they view those around them. Do they respect
their co-workers, and customers? Do they respect everyone as a human being
first and foremost, regardless of their status in life?
I may ask them a question such as, "What kinds of behaviors in people do you
have a hard time with"? I listen to the answer to make sure I get at least
one. Then I ask, "OK, please tell me about a time when this behavior was very
challenging. Please explain the situation, what you did, the outcome, and how
you would handle it if you are faced with it in the future".
I want to hear a complete answer and one that exemplifies real respect for
others. Something like, "I have a hard time with people who yell at
co-workers. I remember a time when I was in a staff meeting. One of the key
members didn't complete their task to deliver a new software reporting tool on
time. As a result, we didn't hit our numbers. In the meeting the senior
manager started yelling at the employee about how they let the whole company
down. It was very embarrassing. I chimed in by asking what can we do to move
forward. I suggested we pull some resources from my team, including myself, to
finish the reporting tool and communicate it to all the interested people. we
worked a lot of extra hours but we got it done a week late. I learned that
discussing an alternative behavior which could be more effective in private
with the senior manager would have helped even more. I have done this three
times since that incident with increasing success".
That is the kind of answer I want to hear.
Responsibility
http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2008/02/interview-questions-that-hit-t.html
http://hbr.org/search/hiring
http://www.manager-tools.com/taxonomy/term/22
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Fog Blog
Building a Great Business
A great company is like a brilliant diamond. It is as if the light generates from the core and is wonderful no matter how you view it. Diamonds, like a great company, endure. Maybe a great company is not a girls’ best friend, but she may still appreciate it.
Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry on diamonds:
Because every facet has the potential to change a light ray's plane of travel, every facet must be considered in any complete calculation of light paths.
As in diamonds it is in business. Building a great company is not just focusing on making money or obtaining power because there are so many facets which can change the reflection of your business. Reflection is what makes each diamond or business.
I hope to share my view of these facets as they relate to building a great business. In so doing may it help you create yours.
First is persistence. If your organization doesn’t exude this from every angle, stop. You will fail. For those who desire one answer this is it.
How about a definition?
Persistent[1]:
1. Persisting, esp. in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.; persevering: a most annoyingly persistent young man.
2. Lasting or enduring tenaciously: the persistent aroma of verbena; a persistent cough.
3. Constantly repeated; continued: persistent noise
This is true across the board. From resisting the urge to roll over when the alarm goes off through putting a little less on your plate for lunch to finishing one more task before climbing back under the covers.
The people in this world who are successful share this trait. You cannot be successful without it. Pick any three people who you view as successful. Think about how they became successful. If you are persistent you will make a list. Chances are they share many traits. I challenge you to find one person who is successful who doesn’t exude persistence. Let me know if you do.
You can learn to be more persistent. You can learn how and when to apply it. The control of when and to what degree the skill is applied is required with any skill. Running fast without control just gets you hurt when the first obstacle appears.
How do I learn to be more persistent?
It starts with focused practice. Not just practice but practice with a purpose. Imagine a world class basketball player like Lebron James. He will spend two hours practicing a particular three-point shot from one place on the court in a scenario like the last few seconds of the game. He will repeat this same shot hundreds of times throughout the year, not just during the season. During the season he may get this shot only a few times. When he gets this opportunity he will have a distinct advantage over his opponents. His odds of making the shot to win the game will be much higher than his opponents’ chances of stopping him because he his more skilled. How did he get more skilled? He was persistent in practicing the right behavior.
For an excellent overview follow this link:
For me, I try to improve my persistence with the little things in life and apply it to the large things. For instance, let’s think keys. The ones you keep in your pocket or purse. I try to put my keys in one of two places at home. Never set them down anywhere else no matter the urge. We all know people who lose their keys consistently. They’d lose their head if they could set it down. I believe this is because they are not persistent enough when it comes to keys. If I find myself setting my keys near the couch or on my desk instead of by the front door I stop. I pick them back up and bring them to their spot near the front door. A little compulsion helps here.
In business it is the same.
Those who apply persistence across the many facets succeed more than those who do not.
Figure out the facets and practice them persistently with purpose. That is a lot of p words.
What are the facets? How do I know if I am covering all the rays of light? Those are the topics of the blogs to follow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)