I Can Smell You From A Mile Away

I had the good fortune of hearing Cameron Herold today while I am in Boston for EO’s Entrepreneurial Masters’ Program.  His topic was “Leadership at 100 MPH” and a lot of the focus was on hiring with predictability and not making mistakes that really could really hurt your company.

For 2010 we’re proud to sponsor Cameron because we agree with what he teaches to Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders around the world.  While I’ve heard him speak a number of times I always get a few new things each time I hear him.  Here’s some quick thoughts from today that hopefully you can benefit from:

1. Culture’s hard to build and easy to destroy.  One of the fastest ways to destroy it is to not fire people who clearly can’t do the job they’re in.  Not only that, you’re doing that “problem” employee a disservice by asking them to live on pins and needles while you’re “too chicken” to let them go.
2. When you’re hiring someone new onto a team, don’t ever let your team’s “average performance” drop.  More pointedly: if you’ve got 6 people on your marketing team and you’re about to hire a 7th, make sure that the person you’re hiring is at least more qualified and better than 3 or more of the existing team members to keep raising the bar.
3. Ensure that you’re very clear on what your needs are when hiring and then make sure you can “smell the right person from a mile away”.  Cameron used the example of going duck hunting with his grandfather as a child.  Early in the morning, as the sun was coming up, small V’s of ducks would appear on the horizon and even as they were just specs a mile away Cameron’s grandfather would be able to tell whether or not they were the right ducks for them.  “Nope, put your gun down” he’d say.  When pressed to explain why he would clearly describe wingspan, formation of the flock and altitude.  The business application isn’t a hard jump to make: it’s easy to get excited when you’re in the thrill of the hunt but you have to be very clear about what you’re hunting.
4. Staying with the aforementioned parable, when Cameron was out duck hunting they’d always bring decoys to go by their blind.  To an amateur, a decoy is a decoy.  However, to the experienced sportsman, the use of decoys will make or break your time on the water.  Choose the right decoys with the proper placement and you’ll have plenty of opportunities but choose the wrong one and you won’t attract a single target to shoot at.  Business application: if you walk outside your office and look at the front door and you’re not impressed with the look, what’s an A-Player going to think?  If your reception area is unattractive and your office sounds like a funeral home, how’s that 28 year-old superstar going to feel when they show up to learn more about your company culture?  The morale of the story: if you’re not using the right bait, you’re going to end up eating really nasty fish or not eating at all.
5. Are all of your Hiring Managers fully aware of the background that you’re looking for in team members 2 years from now?  If you’re hiring for the people that your company needs TODAY, and with the scorecards of the performance targets they need to hit this month, you’re likely not attracting the A-Players who will move your company forward.  Instead, they’ll be the people who will keep your company stable.  Are your Hiring Managers guardians of your culture?  Are they clearly aware of your company goals?
6. Tread carefully during negotiations with top performers and try to avoid including profit sharing as part of their compensation plans.  When you’re growing like crazy, profit-sharing can be a great bonus for people for their work but if your key players rely on profit-sharing bonuses to pay their bills and maintain their lifestyle they’ll bail as soon as the company hits any rough spots – and that’s when you’re going to need them the most.  Build compensation packages that key team members feel is fair for the work that they’re doing and then have any profit-sharing programs be the cherry on top.

And lastly, Cameron shared the matrix of Jack Welch at GE used when evaluating his teams.  Nicknamed “Neutron Jack” for his often rash and emotionally-devoid decisions, he was also widely regarded as one of their very best evaluators and developers of talent.  In fact, Jack was the first CEO to implement executive-level Topgrading.  This simple 4square was his way of slotting and categorizing talent that he already had on his team.  I found it both really easy to understand/remember while also profound.

Here’s the image:

The Definitions:

• F = FIRE THEM.  NOW.
• C = COACH THEM – THERE’S STILL A CHANCE.
• H = HANDCUFF THEM.  MAKE SURE THEY”RE LOCKED UP FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS.

Tags: A-Player, A-Players, Brad Smart, hire better, hiring, hiring manager, Interview, jack welch, job description, recruit don't absorb, Retention, Scorecard, talent acquisition, Topgrading, topgrading methodology