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Running a Business
The following quote has been attributed to Richard Branson:
“It's all about finding and hiring people smarter than you. Getting them to join your business. And giving them good work. Then getting out of their way. And trusting them. You have to get out of the way so YOU can focus on the bigger vision. That's important.”
This advice has been repeated in a multitude of similar ways. However, issuing advice on hiring and firing is a far easier task than actually accomplishing it.
Great people are hard to find because, likely, they already have great jobs. And, changing jobs is a monumental decision when you are a high-caliber performer because, more often than not, high-performing employees are “anchored” in the community in which they live, they have solid pay/benefit packages, and it is also highly likely that high performers are currently viewed as high performers because they are working on a team with other high performers. These are all considerations to keep in mind as you consider that next strategic hire.
As you are considering recruiting a high-performer onto your team, keep this quote from Nick Saban in mind: high achievers do not want to work with mediocre performers. Imagine that you play offensive center for a good football team. However, there is one player—let’s say the left offensive tackle—who consistently fails to perform at a high level. He jumps offside, he gets holding penalties, and he doesn’t show leadership in the locker room. Basically, you have high performers at every position on the offensive line, except that the left tackle position is mediocre. His ongoing failures in practice, and worse yet, on game day, are keeping the entire offensive line from becoming a high-performing team. Something is going to give.