It’s human nature to get away from pain as quickly as possible. As painful as it is to have an open role, it is even more painful to fill that role with a person who brings more pain. And that pain is most often delivered in the form of the Wrong Person in the Right Seat. Today we are going to discuss what this means and how to have the patience to work through finding the right person for the right seat. Guest Bio: Jeff Leitman is the Founder and CEO of Rocksteady Corp. Rocksteady specializes in the production of the Rocksteady Stadium speaker system, renowned for its high fidelity and connectivity, and is distributed across North America. Family, team members, and creating a positive and supportive work environment are the foundations of the organization. As a hands-on CEO, Jeff prioritizes the development and empowerment of his team, partners, and vendors, fostering sustainable long-term relationships. Problem: Right person = Aligns with company values, buys into the mission (value) Right Seat = Skills & capacity to do the work 70% of successful hiring is Alignment …. 30% is skills The focus is on the skills and stopping the pain quickly. 100% focus on skills and hope it works out Finding the patience to hire the strongest person requires discipline. Especially when there is a dire need to remove the work from your plate. Challenge today? In a startup environment, how to define roles to fill first, and how to ensure that role is defined properly and filled with the right person. Roles that need to be done but I can’t support or prioritize or don’t enjoy doing - finding people who enjoy their roles, are capable of filling the role, and who fit within the company culture. Marketing, Sales, Accounting… for me, this was part of the A-team I needed. Creative, fulfillment, and supply chain I love this and thus don’t need a senior person as quickly. Or I need help to do it better, and I can be a positive partner and influence in driving a good result. Remain engaged in the role, even if you hate it. Example: I hated marketing, and hired people to do it for me. It wasn’t until I learned to embrace it that it became effective. Why is this important to the company? Adding the right person is a force multiplier, and allows the company to grow at an accelerated pace. Hiring the wrong person is the exact opposite, so be diligent. Rick’s Nuggets: Skills-based hiring is transactionalLow perceived value Lower engagement Biggest offer wins Narrow focus- “Just fill this role quickly” Missing culture/value alignment Costs the company 3-7X the cash spentOpportunity cost loss Productivity Disengagement How do we solve the problem? Define the position in detail, and be sure the candidate hits all the “has-to-have” criteria. Don’t be lazy, keep going. Interview more people, check references, think of more questions. Be certain. Don’t overplay your emotional position in an interview. Don’t fall in love with them (and see what you want to see), keep them talking. You lose power when selling your company too hard and too soon. Work ethic is as important as knowledge or skills. Expose the elephant in the room. Check references, and ask the right questions - are they biased? Were they good managers? What was the result and reason for the separation? What is their motivation? Can you keep them motivated (financially, career path)? And will they be happy employees? Our process is not overly-formalized. If employees do the first interview, I provide guidance and direction but encourage my managers to also have their own criteria (counterpoint discussion). Rick’s Nuggets: Strongest Person = Positioned well (desire) Core values aligned Accurate Seat =Capacity to do the work and grow Boost performance Increase productivity Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! Adding the right person is a force multiplier, and allows the company to grow at an accelerated pace. Hiring the wrong person is the exact opposite, so be diligent. Hire people who enjoy what they are doing. Remain engaged in the role, even if you hate it. Example: I hated marketing, and hired people to do it for me. It wasn’t until I learned to embrace it that it became effective. Be disciplined, be prepared, have a plan. Guest Links: LinkedIn: Jeff Leitman Company: www.RocksteadyAudio.com Facebook: Rocksteady Instagram: Rocksteady Host Links: LinkedIn: Rick Girard Company: Intertru, Inc. Podcast: Hire Power Radio Show & Podcast Book: Healing Career Wounds (Amazon) Powered by Intertru
Having a need often clouds reason. Especially when it comes to hiring and the interview process. There is work to be done and no one is doing it. So you prioritize filling the gap with a warm body, rather than focusing on the right person in the right seat. How’s that been working out for you?? Short-cutting the interview process is never a good idea because when you do, It will most often bite you in the ass! Guest Bio: Bill Snyder is the CEO of digital health startup Vivante Health, the employee benefit for GI care. Bill works with Fortune 500 companies and large health plans, including Walmart and Cigna's Evernorth, to reduce GI-related healthcare costs. He secured a Series B fundraise in September 2023, which was led by high-profile VC firms Mercato Partners and Health Catalyst Capital. Bill’s success in various leadership roles has been a result of building strong teams and learning each day from those he is fortunate enough to work with. Challenge today? Moving too fast on hiring and not following a detailed process leads to poor hiring. Anytime you negotiate against yourself it never works out well Deviation from the process does not end well either. Never skip steps CultureClear about what they value and answer that they don't. What they are looking for and not looking for Mission-driven organization Why us? Does align with the mission, not a fit Why is this important to the company? Culture is built by people at the company. Strong culture has been driven by the people Engagement (#) Rick’s Nuggets Set people up for success even if it is outside How do we solve the problem? Three things:1) Put process in place early 2) Ensure there is transparency, collaboration, and accountability across the team for all hiring managers and all positions 3) Never settle Plan on recruiting, interviewing, and ongoing cultural engagementHaving one Healthy Job description- core themes, Put together the interview panel Mission and Culture front and centerFormal presentation- evidence of the work Feedback on the work Interview for coachability Holding each other accountable with the processCollaboration with co-workers Full visibility for everyone across the organization Same process. Rick’s Nuggets Job description- focus on them (WIFM) Intense process - determined on what the business needs. Working session. Accountability- the process is a value chain for the candidate- attracts a Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! Start the process early and adhere Always include culture early Guest Links: LinkedIn: Bill Snyder Company: Vivante Health Facebook: Vivante Health Instagram: Vivante Health X: Vivante Health Host Links: LinkedIn: Rick Girard Company: Intertru, Inc. Podcast: Hire Power Radio Show & Podcast Book: Healing Career Wounds (Amazon) This show is Powered by Intertru
People like to join small organizations because they are challenging and fun. There are few rules to follow and very little red tape. As the company grows, it becomes necessary to formalize business processes. With process comes rules and before you know it… Poof someone gets shot in the eye and the Nerf guns get taken away. Some might view this as a good thing, but the high performers who built the business do not. Take away the fun and they will just go somewhere else. Guest Bio: Steven Freidkin is the Founder and CEO of Ntiva, Inc., a full-service technology firm offering managed IT services including cybersecurity, strategic consulting, cloud solutions, and business process automation. Founded in 2004, Ntiva now has over 450 employees who serve over 1400 clients. Steven is an active member of a multitude of boards and organizations including Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He is a big believer in purpose-driven organizations and leads Ntiva with this in mind. Problem: Challenge? The employee was shot in the eye Solving the problem without taking the fun out of the workplace Out-of-the-box ways to keep things light, fun and enjoyable Create cultures and environments that make things fun Why is this important to the company? The people team is to support and keep the company fun Rules cannot be the default- Manage issues as exceptions Decisions made understanding our purpose of growing people and our core values Care Ownership Responsiveness Excellence Original mistakes are okay if made under this framework Rick’s Nuggets People appreciate the small things much more than work When fun is a core value, it must be protected! How do we solve the problem? Existence is to grow people Core values are the framework Keeping the company fun Being intentional Being tolerate of only the outcome you want As you scale, naturally create more structure/rules to limit liability Limit the rock star talent because you are telling people they have to follow rules Other ways to solve the problem The best talent comes from company referrals 114 referrals in 2023 Stories become things talked about and create referrals Retained longer Rick’s Nuggets Retention is more important than compliance Attrition happens when people feel like they start feeling restricted and are no longer growing Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! Question every requirement- what are the other You win talent by differentiating yourself from the competition Aligned motivations around the why & purpose Guest Links: LinkedIn: Steven Freidkin Company: Ntiva Facebook: Ntiva Host Links: LinkedIn: Rick Girard Company: Intertru, Inc. Podcast: Hire Power Radio Show & Podcast Book: Healing Career Wounds (Amazon) This show is Powered by Intertru, Inc.
How do you change company culture when the values of the CEO evolve? We all understand that to grow as a company, people need to embrace change. Yet a lot of us fear change because it requires us to work on ourselves. Which is uncomfortable. But here is the truth, when you fear change the business will outgrow you and then change becomes inevitable! Guest Bio: Jason Lippert, President & CEO of LCII Jason has helped grow the company from $150 million in 2003 to over $5.1 billion with over 12,000 team members world-wide. Jason has initiated a cultural transformation within the company known as Everyone Matters. To stress a truly human culture in the business, he implemented a Culture and Leadership team who strives to grow the company’s team members through coaching and working on personal and professional development. Problem: Changing culture StoryDidn't realize there was a problem until he was enlightened by Bob Chapman's Ted Talk (Truly Human Leadership) allocating resources to culture development/change Hired someone to own culture 2013 - 5k people Challenge today? A lot of tenured people resistedProduce good results, I don't need to change Front lines of the business Show up, get work done, and go home A lot more personal transformationOne person was in a bad place in her life and was contemplating suicide. Leadership cared enough to start working with her and demonstrated that they cared. Why is this important to the company? Main driver He was working in a different space, running fast and hard It felt empty Praying to god to discover his purpose. Mentored by the speaker Learned that there is a different way to win Business ImpactMore people decide to show up here tomorrow. Compelling to be here High retention Profitability from $1B-$5B over the 10-year span Rick’s Nuggets Core values are driven by the CEO How you act filters down How do we solve the problem? Push into changeRequired leaders to get evaluated behind core values Teaching becomes Attrition - terminations, resisting and bowing out. Had to exit some high-level leadership positions Didn't want to be coached or change 88% of people work for a company that feels that the company does not care about themIt made sense to execute on culture that has an immediate impact A lot of people bowed out When they replaced the people who did not resonate with the culture did more damage than they realized Every time a person left the company, people rejoiced Fear of speaking up- They are always listening Surprised himWinning more than before but impacting people in the community, people's lives Transformation of people's family lives because they are treated better How devastating bad leadership has on people's family lives Rick’s Nuggets Make the commitment no matter how much resistance It has to be REAL You have to live the values Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! No matter how big, someone needs to own culture and leadership development. As serious as any other function of the business. Telling everyone that this is important to us Take time to goal set with every person in the business- front-line team members Brings passion and energy to the business - competitive advantage, people stay longer because they care more. Guest Links: LinkedIn: Jason Lippert Company: Lippert Components Facebook: Lippert Host Links: LinkedIn: Rick Girard Podcast: Hire Power Radio Show & Podcast Company: Intertru Book: Healing Career Wounds - with HireOS Method Follow the Hire Power Radio Show on LinkedIn. Guest referrals: andrea@stridesearch.com
Core values are powerful. But core values driven by purpose are unstoppable! Today we are going to take a deep dive into an entrepreneur who has built not one but two highly successful businesses by not just living core values but tying purpose and giving back into the daily routines of the company. And their results have been extraordinary! Our guest today: Jay Wilkinson, Founder of Firespring, Bloom Growth & Do More Good Movement Firespring—a Nebraska-based Certified B Corporation featured by Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 50 Places to Work in America. His TEDx talk on company culture has more than 1 million views. Currently, Jay leads the Do More Good Movement —an organization he founded in 2018 to help save capitalism. Jay appears on CNN and other news outlets discussing the important role that purpose-driven companies play in the U.S. economy. Problem: Story: One person- volunteering wasn't their thing. Ended up parting ways Volunteering creates an issue that you don't have someone's back as you defer work to another person. Challenge today? Why is this difficult to do? Aside from core values- tied to their purpose statement. A major part of the company ethos. Candidates lie to themselves Core values (15 years) Bring it every day Have each other's back Give a shit Why is this important to the company? Came from experience as a kid. Spending time volunteering and sharing the value with the people he works with. How it correlates to the business. Servant leadership mindset. They serve mostly non-profits. The could not serve their clients without walking the talk. Rick’s Nuggets Core values are how people naturally operate Purpose is the glue that satiates desire. Validates belonging How do we solve the problem? Let’s start with Interviewing for Purpose Alignment Interview question: Tell me about the last time you donated your time Jay’s Formula: Power of 3 1% topline revenue donated 2% of products and services are in kind given away 3% of people 1 full day a month Volunteer hours- paid time off during work Uplifting community Quarterly conversations The manager asked for advice. Worked through the issue Put the person on a PIP. The conflict was resolved by editing from the company. Cover Anti-values- the act Talk about it A lot of nuance, a lot of gray Part ways as soon as they know How to identify it in the interview Create dialog to get to know beyond the trite responses. Gotten really good at finding high performers who are introverts. Use the culture index, and ask questions to understand who they are. The company is powered by purpose Values hall of fame Rick’s Nuggets You NEED to gain evidence that your purpose is important to them …. Unpeel the onion… dig deeper The purpose of the interview is to “Understand the Truth” Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! - (Values from guest) Vet candidates for alignment with the company’s purpose and vision -- not just core values. People want (and need) to be part of something that’s bigger than themselves. Define clear and precise job requirements - including skill, experience, and personality/attributes. Use assessment tools to understand natural, inherent behaviors and modify questions to get at the heart of who the applicant is. Create a great candidate/interviewee experience. If this applicant is not the perfect fit, but they have a positive experience, they’ll spread the word. Screen to hire Learners, not Knowers. Guest Links: LinkedIn: Jay Wilkinson Companies: Firespring Do More Good Bloom Growth Host Links: LinkedIn: Rick Girard Company: Intertru Book: Healing Career Wound Follow the Hire Power Radio Show on LinkedIn to get the latest episode!
Being a startup entrepreneur is a struggle. As some of you know, I recently joined the ranks of a startup founder. In November we launched Intertru and boy, my world has moved to light speed to a totally new dimension. It has become ridiculously exciting! But there is one huge challenge… maintaining operational discipline. My struggle comes from the need to put out fires and execute critical projects outside of my expertise. Making it difficult to stay disciplined in a workflow cadence that produces results. Today we are going to key in on 10 Disciplines that you can implement today in your life to produce consistent results to the benefit of your company growth! Guest Bio: Gino Wickman is the Author of Traction & founder of EOS Worldwide, an organization that helps tens of thousands of businesses implement EOS with the aid of an international team of almost 600 professional and certified EOS Implementers and online support. There are over 180,000 companies using the EOS tools worldwide. Today Gino focuses on helping entrepreneurs and leaders maximize their freedom, creativity, and Impact through his books: Entrepreneurial Leap, Rocket Fuel, The EOS Life, and The 10 Disciplines for Managing And Maximizing Your Energy. TODAY WE DISCUSS: What are the 10 disciplines Discuss the most relevant to startup entrepreneurs PROBLEM: Discipline We are all balls of energy – some burn bright, some don’t You are racehorses (entrepreneurs/leaders) – harness energy Don’t have to motivate/teach basics – eat, sleep, exercise, work ethic Each stands on its own, fully customizable Fast, simple and powerful Challenge? 10-year thinking Take time off Know thyself Be still Know your 100% Say no…often Don’t do $25 an hour work Prepare every night Put everything in one place 10. Be humble How do we solve the problem? 10-year thinking Shift your mind from short-term thinking, to thinking in 10-year timeframes Every decision is a 10-year decision/thinking, not a goal Sam Cupp – 10-year business cycle When you do – time slows, a peace comes over you, make better decisions and get there faster Quote “Overestimate one year…” Les Brown “Good Decade” Shifts energy Action – write date 10 years from now, write age, write goalOther things are ok Now think about everything you are doing today See it every night Say no…often Say no to everything that doesn’t fit in the first 5 disciplines Warren Buffett quote/”No! No!” “…physical discomfort/guilt…” – Essentialism, Greg McKeown Eat a worm? If it doesn’t fit with the first 5 disciplines – say no Turn to person – say “No!” Action – say no to something in the next 7 days/cancel an appointment Prepare every night: Before your head hits the pillow every night, document the next day’s plan Go to bed knowing exactly tomorrow Sleep better Spontaneous – BS, come one, if you’re running a company, you don’t have the luxury Subconscious does the work Wake up with ideas/solutions Get more done As opposed to waking up and figuring it out Use any technology – I use a legal pad Action – do it tonight Put everything in one place Pick the one place you will capture every idea, commitment, thought, action item and promise Let people down/chaos/sticky notes The legal pad Throughout the day write down your commitments, promises, ideas, to-do’s Compartmentalize all at the end of the day Action – pick your “one place” and do it tomorrow Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginowickman/ Website: https://ginowickman.com/ Download a free copy of the 10 Disciplines eBook Visit the10disciplines.com to learn more Read a 10 Disciplines article written by Gino Contact Gino: gino@eosworldwide.com (248) 672-1192 Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
We all understand the concept of right person, right seat. But as the company grows the demands of each seat change. What is required from zero to $5 Million will most likely shift on your journey to $10 million in revenue. So hiring ahead of that curve becomes the biggest challenge. It is important that, in the earliest stages of the company, everyone in the organization identifies as a “builder”. Builders are the people who have a deep desire to problem-solve issues that have not even become identified and create systems from scratch. As the business grows, the need for “improvers” becomes critical as they are the people who can scale to each milestone and beyond. Guest Bio: Dean Stoecker is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board. Dean founded Alteryx in 1997 and led the company as CEO through October 2020, achieving solid organic growth, and a successful IPO in March 2017. Dean’s leadership and motivational skills, along with his ability to create, communicate, and realize a vision, were a driving force behind the company’s 20+ year success. Dean serves as advisor to entrepreneurs, is an active philanthropist, and is passionate about humanizing the world of data science and analytics, which is evident in the company’s culture, extensive resources for continued education, and efforts to influence social change. TODAY WE DISCUSS Right person, right seat, right stage How to ensure you have the right person at every growth stage PROBLEM: Preparation for changing out key employees at different levels@ $10mil, $25mil, Get great alignment with the teams Strategically & tactically- align strategy with tactics Don't be afraid to switch your teams Challenge? Alignment between strategy & tactics People have different ideas about what we need to do as a company Knockdown, drag-outs about who we wanted to be when we grow upKPI’s for each department People knowing why they were building things Why is this important to the company? People need to be rowing in the same direction First hires need to be 9’s 9’s will never work for 6’s Rick’s Nuggets: All about Positioning Value alignment, builder, passion for the mission SOLUTION: How do we solve the problem? Predicated on growth rates Team of 5 did a million in the first year Understanding if they are willing to accept tasks that they never signed up for Focus on the next milestone Build teams that can get you there Keep your 9’s Risk/Reward profile needs to match yours Play any position then go deep Legacy of promoting Leadership is about how many leaders you create Invest in training Who has the best skills at the cheapest price that can last you the longest Biggest worry, Middle management Take stock of your own skill sets Andre Geim- “grazing shallow” Fall in love and go deep Risk reward profile You want someone who can play any position then goes deep Longevity - meandered from generalist to specialist Risk reward profile needs to match yours Rick’s Nuggets: The first team It’s all about positioning Really desire what you are (ie: ground-level startup with no money) Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Make sure you have a time that provides strategic and tactical alignment(first 6 years) Be prepared to swap out the team many times. The team that got you to $5mil won't get you to $20m. Be aware of your markers Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dean-stoecker/ Company: https://www.alteryx.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alteryx Twitter: https://twitter.com/alteryx Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alteryx/ Other: https://www.siteminder.com/ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
Over the past few years talent has been scarce. And when talent is scarce, fear leads hiring decisions. We don't want to lose (what we perceive to be) “good people”, so we shortcut the interview process. Here's the thing, our perceptions are often wrong. Our gut is often wrong. And it is wrong because the data we input is either assumed or circumstantial. Resulting in marginal hiring that hurts your business. So, what if every person that you hired thrived in your company? What would be the ROI if you operated at a hiring success rate over the 90th percentile? It would be pretty f-ing amazing, right? A crucial part of why we get hiring wrong too often is that we don't invest the time to adequately vet people before we bring them in for an interview. This starts with your first call (phone screen). We miss the opportunity to gather true data as to whether a person is positioned well for the organization and their level of performance. That's right, positioning and performance. The most crucial data that help you understand alignment before wasting anyone’s time in a formal interview process. Evidence that is not present on a resume. Guest Bio: Payman Taei is the Founder of Visme, an all-in-one visual communication platform, and Co-Founder of Respona the link-building for SaaS and Agencies to improve google rankings. Payman is an avid technologist who loves new trends and tries to keep up with the ever-evolving internet. His background in Biology has led him to truly believe in the art of evolution. Everything changes in time. You either follow or create new trends or you will be left behind. TODAY WE DISCUSS: The challenges in today's pre-vetting of talent How to properly vet people before they enter your interview process HIRING STORY: Hired a marketing person, a person who was known. Went on a whim and made the hire without involving Assumed that because the person worked for a certain company the person must be good Knew within a 45-day window, the wrong hire Missed clues: a bit of fluff, selling themselves more. Claimed to have done a lot. Exaggerations Marketers commonly take a lot of credit for a lot of company success My post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6999061564083380225/ PROBLEM: Pre-vetting people before they come in for an interview Challenge? 100’s of resumes. More does not mean better Select a handful of people who are worth the time to interview Most of the roles the CEO is still involved with Create an efficient system without automation (Smaller companies) Highest quality with the least friction as possible Why is this important to the company? Made some bad hires Time is a premium personality /cultural fit & skills We Sacrifice lower experience for a better cultural fit Rick’s Nuggets: Judgement should not be made on a resume but on the phone screen/Discovery Call. Great resumes don't equal great people High performers are busy making an impact Great interviewers have had a lot of practice. Understand Pain, Desire & Impact How do we solve the problem? Pick the needle from the haystack Prequalification process The application itself Manner in which the resume is submitted -spammer or researched Passionate - learn and know about the company Not job hopping Interested because of a,b & c Large pool of referrals HR interview Personality & brief technical experience Going through the resume and understanding career history. Gut check - authentic, a nice person, compassionate & caring, wanting to make a difference, Technical interview (2 step) Projects, role on projects Tech stack, where are you comfortable, specific technical questions Deep dive into the technical experience with the team lead Decision Yes- move into reference check 30, 60, 90 day review cycle on kpi and goals Rick’s Nuggets: Operate from a position of abundance Discovery call Positioning Does the person have a good reason to make a move Does the person truly desire what your company is offering Impact High performers become passionate about what they have done Dig into the “HOW” and “WHY” to gather evidence Go deeper than 2 layers down to find the TRUTH Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Eliminate the noise Trust your intuition- What’s the gut feeling? does everything seems to check? Group Decision: How does everyone feel about the person- team assessment Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paymantaei/ Company: https://www.visme.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/visme/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vismeapp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vismeapp/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vismeapp YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VismeApp Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
Let’s talk about building an advisory board. I think we would all agree that having strong advisors and mentors in your corner brings huge benefits to every organization. Not just as sound advice in making business decisions but also providing introductions and bringing credibility to the business. So when is the right time to build your advisory board? As soon as you find the right people who will help. This means before you hire your first employees. Building an advisory board, much like building company values, is often an activity to do later. But guess what, later is too late! It is like pouring a foundation after the house has been built. Investing the time to build a board before things get too crazy, is the smartest way to ensure that the decisions you make are solid enough to bring the business to it’s full potential. Guest Bio: Coco Brown is the Founder and CEO of The Athena Alliance. Athena has helped thousands of leaders grow and advance in their executive careers, and has brought over 400 women to corporate boards from growth stage private companies to name brand public companies. Coco has personally worked with hundreds of top leaders, CEOs and boards to evolve modern leadership. She’s served on ten commercial and non-profit boards and advisory boards, and has led two notable companies (Taos, acquired by IBM, and now Athena). She is part of Nasdaq's Governance Insights Council, and is often called on to share guidance to the evolving focus and breadth of responsibility within the Modern Boardroom. TODAY WE DISCUSS: When to build your board of advisors How to leverage your advisors through investment cycles Challenge? Not having the right board in place when the company gets to funding Not building a structure, cadence End up with a board that is forced on you. Not being as strategic as you can be. In a formal advisory capacity Why is this important to the company? If your are not thinking early about this, when funding comes you may not have a strong pool of potential independents for your board Becomes feeder for the formal board Need to balance the power of the board Even without that - maybe you never need a formal fiduciary board beyond the core founder/owners. But not having an ecosystem of advisors around you limits the competitive advantage you get by consulting outside your employee base. Rick’s Nuggets Making decisions on your own, Gut without data How do we solve the problem? Mindset Most of us oriented around the team under - the team we are building You need to orient as well to the team around you Framework -How the team evolves over time Close connections that best approximate the roles you will need to build Lesser known to you, but better known publicly - pool of people to draw on Formalized - work on issues of the business together over time, in a rhythm/ cadence Structure - Individual relationships Experts who are honest with you Think tank - bench for something formal in the future: Mixed group Diverse Formal Advisory to Board Mimic your C-Suite to get ahead of where you are now Give you choices Networking Beyond your usual network Who are the experts Groups like Athena ;) Rick’s Nuggets: Identify “Who”Dream team Reach out- Go for it! Cold call or gain an introduction Ask for help Formalize the relationship quickly Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Think beyond your internal team Build in advance of your needs Consider the competitive advantage Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cocobrown/ Company: https://athenaalliance.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-athena-alliance/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CocoBrown1020 Twitter: https://twitter.com/athenaalliance Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
What are the common characteristics of every successful person at your company? Think of those characteristics and write them down as standard operating procedures. This is critically important because when we operate under the same frequency, pace, and purpose… growth happens. But this can change instantly when a new person is added to the team. Too often we hastily add a person to the mix without understanding how they really operate on a daily basis. Assuming that they will be the answer to all of our current challenges because of the skills they are bringing to the table. There is nothing more critical to hiring success than aligning people first, and skills second. This means investing the time to dig deeper into your interview process. Understanding not just what a person accomplished but the details of exactly how it was done and why it was approached in that manner. Guest Bio: Allan Jones is at the helm of Bambee, a new type of business built on the innovative premise that every small business should have a dedicated HR Manager. This concept was derived from Jones’ previous experiences working with—and growing up around—small business owners. In 2021, Goldman Sachs celebrated Allan Jones as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs at its Builders + Innovators Summit. For three years running, Forbes has named Bambee a top startup employer in the U.S., and in 2022 it announced Bambee as a Top 5 Company in Los Angeles. TODAY WE DISCUSS Understanding your company's unique characteristics How to implement critical characteristics into your interviewing & hiring process Challenge? Getting people who fit a special suite of characteristics Infinite characteristics that are valuable How do you narrow it down to 8? Being honest about who you are Characteristics of leadership values Mastery of communication Broad outcome objectivity: don't care where the right answer comes from Urgency & greatness in tandem Separate leadership & team values High potency friction Hired leader that doesn't fit, Courage to make a change Scoring system & scorecard Why is this important to the company? Looking at blemishes before celebrating wins Continuous loop of how can we be better Continuous improvement is just part o the game 200+ employees Not afraid to say “not every person is right for the company” Companies are Olympic sports teams, not govt service agencies Rick’s Nuggets: How people operate within your company Core values drive the operating characteristics Adding a player to the game, not an ass to a seat How do we solve the problem? Identify that the problem exists Building leadership personas Hired multiple executives and 50% did not work out Right after fundraising Practices did not scale CEO can not make hiring decisions for the company He is not the only sign-off anymore. Interview Structure Hiring committees Only leaders sit on the committee Master of communication Cliff notes version of who you are personally & professionally Go to the resume Listening skills along with speaking Eliminated Leadership savior complex Problems would be solved by our next hire Company already had great people Never let a problem go unowned Realization that already had an A+ executive team From savior to draft pick 90% success rate Rick’s Nuggets: Values drive characteristics Interviewing processStructured & designed to gather evidence to support the correct decision Assign interview questions for people alignment Follow up with what & how questions Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Offsite with sr leadership & build leadership personas’ As a founder ask yourself “ your unique role in the hiring failure” Set up screening committees Make sure you are aligned Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allandjones/ Company: https://www.bambee.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bambee/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAllanJones Twitter: https://twitter.com/BambeeHQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bambeeHQ/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzJhkTm7baY&t=1s Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
Let’s talk about performance metrics for a minute. Do you have performance metrics drawn out for every person before they are hired? Are they clear on the expectations for the first 90 days of employment? If not, you are setting people up for failure because expectations are never in alignment. We're going to leave it to you to “figure it out”. Then we scratch our heads when the person fails, wondering what we missed in the interview. What was missed was the work on defining the role and writing down the company’s expectations of what needed to be accomplished by the individual in the first 90-120 days of employment. I have discovered that companies who just “wing it” have a much higher offer turn-down rate and employee failure rate than companies that invest the time to clearly define what success looks like. Look this is not “too hard” because you don't know what will happen in the next few months of the business. If it is too hard, maybe you are in the wrong business. Guest Bio: Kurt Davis is a technology entrepreneur and author. The first 20 years of his career were spent between Silicon Valley and Asia, working with technology startups in finance and business development roles. Kurt is now focused on Biteline (a startup marketplace for dental professionals) & Recently published a book called Navigate to the Lighthouse: A Silicon Valley Guide to Executing Global Deals. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Performance metrics How to clearly define metrics Challenge? The company is not successful because of people not knowing Gate of allocation of resourcesDeep analysis Gut & instinct drive the decisions Distrust the gut …. Until it is the last variable The team cannot hide now that we are under the microscope Setting expectations:The work is going to be hard Leadership needs to communicate Why is this important to the company? Need to get it right the first time Want people to trust the strategy and thought process Need people to come on board the thinking & the strategyGetting people behind the way of thinking Rick’s Nuggets: Not sure how to clearly define the metrics Out of the scope of their expertise Dont have the time Not sure We’ll let them tell us Hiring failures start with your preparation (or lack thereof) How do we solve the problem? Look at the problem (analysis) Clearly define what you want each person to achieve Clear about what you are investing against Very clear on what you need each person to get done Do they fit the culture, values Measure twice, cut once Can the person get it done Resume checks off Fit value wise Deep details Look at the work, ask for deliverables Working exercise Rick’s Nuggets: First Week, First 30, 60 & 90 days Have deliverables at each milestonePresent to the team your findings on X Prepare a plan for Y Deliver first version of Z Put them in your Job descriptionHere’s what you will be held accountable for in your first 30 days Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Take the time to do your homework. Do your strategy, planning. Know exactly what that person is going to do in the first 90 days. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtdavis1/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/KurtDavisNew Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kdalive/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kdalivetravel/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kudavis Book: https://www.amazon.com/Navigate-Lighthouse-Silicon-Valley-Executing/dp/1544530331 Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
“People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. - Simon Sinek How does this translate to your hiring? The simple answer is that your company's WHY is the one thing that differentiates whether a person joins for the paycheck or something bigger. Because it is important to them. It is the WIIFM (what's in it for me) Right person, right seat needs to happen, every time. Your company depends on it! When we hire solely for skills. We experience the Wrong person, Right seat more than 51% of the time. When we hire for values first, and skills second, it moves us closer to a 75% success rate of Right Person, Right Seat. In addition, when we are in alignment with the “WHY”, the probability of successful hiring skyrockets over the 95 percentile. This is how everyone wins. Right person, right seat every time. Guest Bio: Ted Bradshaw is an Expert EOS Implementer™ & Community Leader at EOS Worldwide. He served as an executive with Xerox and IBM, then left the Fortune 500 world to explore the thrills of entrepreneurship. What he found was a long string of success that looked great on the surface. But underneath it all, he felt anxious, exhausted, and stressed, chasing money wherever it led and wondering why he never felt fulfilled. Along his journey, Ted gained valuable insight into how a person can achieve fulfillment in all aspects of life and he shares those insights with his best-selling book, Stop Chasing Squirrels. Today, Ted lives his passion in helping others find theirs. A leading proponent of the Entrepreneurial Operating System®, Ted is a speaker, author, Expert EOS Implementer™, and the Community Leader for EOS Worldwide TODAY WE DISCUSS The importance of aligning WHY How to hire the person that aligns most with your WHY Challenge? Organizations need to change their frame Purpose alignment Company helps the person achieve their purpose Right people, right seat Understanding how to develop or bring in people to scale How does the mission complement their people Not selling on the company purpose Employee’s mission/purpose Rick’s Nuggets: Core values are the foundation of your company WHY Values drive purpose (WHY) & mission Align with values, adopt the why as your own Align with purpose but not the values? Passionate about the “work” Disruptive to the organization Operate in a manner that is counter-productive to the rest of the organization? Wrong person, right seat How do we solve the problem? Clear on Core Values Mission to mars exercise Culture of the organization Founder or exec team often generates Jim Collins - Built to Last This is the definition of right person for the company Right people on the bus Hard look a the company mission Look through the lens of the employee Why does this matter to them Understanding the employees purpose Leaders need to understand their why first Help theme to get there Or find it Rick’s Nuggets: Core Values Define what they mean in terms of how we operate, make decisions and treat others Measurables to avoid being subjective Getting to the WHY Attract & repel people “Everything we do is to help entrepreneurs to build the strongest companies. Starting with the roots of effective interviewing to hire the strongest people” Proactive Interviewing Listen first Why open? What is desired (positioning) Candidate ownership of the process (do they WANT it?) “What would you like to do?” “What value would you get from moving forward?” Working session (Capacity to do the work) Real-life working scenario Solving a real problem Understanding: technical skills, problem-solving abilities, communication style, presentation skills, team interaction, passion for the work Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Look at your own personal purpose. Ist it aligned with the company purpose Ask leaders what their purpose is and how does it align with the company Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tedbradshaw/ Website: https://www.tedbradshaw.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pura-vida-coaching/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ted_bradshaw?s=20&t=Ol9g6VgvRaF9UWRV0EpOpw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tedbradshawco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tedbradshawco Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre HireOS inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsors: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
Referrals are most often your most potent source of talent for your organization. So investor referrals must be the holy grail of all referrals. After all, there is a vested interest in your company's success so why shouldn't the referrals be outstanding? Here’s the thing to consider. Yes, these referrals are gold but it is dangerous to assume that this person will automatically thrive in your unique company. We cannot forgo a formal interview process based on a strong voucher from a trusted source. The only way we discover if they will in fact thrive, is to be diligent in the interview process to really understand if the person desires the value your organization brings to the table. . The decision needs to be made through evidence and buy-in rather than confirmation bias and assumptions. Guest Bio: Robert Whalen is the Co-founder and CEO of PTO Exchange, the first benefits platform that allows employees to self-direct the value of their unused paid time off for other needs and causes. He is a serial entrepreneur that has over 25 years selling and developing software and hardware products for the world. Under his leadership, Rob and his co-founder, Todd Lucas led PTO Exchange to “Cool Vendor of the year” by Gartner in 2017 and awarded “Awesome New Technologies" at the Health and Benefits Leadership Conference in 2018. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Investor referrals: The value & challenges The importance of proper diligence in your interview process for referrals HIRING STORY: When we first started the business with 4 founders, 2 of us were working on the project constantly and the other 2 were not putting in the time so prior to vesting we bought the other two out. We had to do this to keep a clean up the cap table so that we could raise capital. Going through this process we realized having that right person at the right time joining the company is really important. So we put a simple process in place What the company needs or needs to know in our case. 3 things we are looking to have them accomplish - alignment 3 interviews at minimum Gut check - (culture, willingness to learn) Reference checks PROBLEM: Challenge? When you raise capital you hope those investors will bring value and relationships. But investors aren’t there day in and day out managing the business and they sometimes associate a person's success at another of their other companies to the value that individual could bring to yours Most of the time the investors' relationships are with the other executives and most of the time you aren’t looking for a high paid person. An example is when we were hiring a VP of Sales as a small company. VC wanted them to hire a particular person Expensive No skin in the game Not a known entity to you - getting dirty Not the highest paying company Get to do things they wouldn't be able to do at a large company Mission-driven people - passionate about the mission Do they care about what we do Why is this important to the company? People have to fit in with the culture They are a large % of the population They need to be able to learn, be curious, and take on responsibility Rick’s Nuggets: Value in referrals Cannot rush or fast track the process. Work within your timeline No skipping steps How do we solve the problem? Knowing when to say no to the investor This is sometimes tough to do when they are looking to help your business and they don’t see their input being considered When people try and help you, you need to understand that those suggestions or introductions come with emotions attached. Having a process that to hiring helps facilitate your decisions and reasoning. Which helps take the emotions out of the decision In an early-stage company where you might not have the money or benefits to attract the top-top tier individuals. we look for those candidates who are trying to grow into the role. Candidates that have the experience but do not have the title and maybe they are looking to have more responsibility because that comes with being in a small/agile company. They have the ability to solve problems and are open to new ways of thinking. Look for the hidden value in the person The individual needs to have the willingness to learn and take on responsibility Finding the intangibles that they can bring to the team. Usually this is in comes from their personal experiences and not their career experiences Personality fit We look for candidates that have similar passions but different problem-solving skills This brings diversity in developing our company’s ability to be more agile when confronted with roadblocks. Rick’s Nuggets: Values fit firstDoes the person operate to the expectations of the rest of the organization? Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Create a process - simple is best but a process that works for the size of your company. I have made great hires and bad hires. The difference in those decisions was not following the process and being in a hurry to fill the role. Taking things slowly, stepping back, and following a process would have shed light on what later became an issue. Culture fit is the most important piece. I have a rule of thumb.When making a big purchase, walk away and reflect on how this purchase is going to impact your life. Because making a wrong purchase can have a very negative impact on you. I have found the same rule applies when hiring employees. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-whalen-1287077/ Company: https://www.ptoexchange.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pto/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptoexchange Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ptoexchange Blog: https://www.ptoexchange.com/blog Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
How often have you hired the right person for the wrong seat? Here’s how that happens. A person is identified and it is assumed that because of their background that they crush it for you. After all, they are already doing it for someone else. Perfect logic, right? Nope! The reason this logic is so dangerous for your company is that current skills are just a small part of success. As we have all experienced, by going above and beyond to land that “rockstar” from a name brand company. Only to have them crash and burn within the first 90 days. To avoid this dilemma in the future, we simply need to understand the person’s desires and level of accomplishment first. Interviewing to understand, not to sell. This produces much stronger evidence to predict of success of your new hire in your unique business. Guest Bio: Tom Brunskill is the co-founder and CEO of Forage which is changing the world of career discovery and skill building. Before moving to San Francisco, Tom was a corporate lawyer at a multinational law firm in Australia. It was during his own career journey that Tom discovered that an education and a degree doesn’t necessarily translate to knowing how to do a specific job role. He also realized just how inequitable the education-to-workforce pathway is. After observing the unfair advantage those with access to connections or educational opportunities had, Tom made it his mission to provide anyone the ability to learn skills through virtual job simulations produced by the world’s top companies, By breaking down barriers to gaining workplace-specific skills. Tom hopes to level the opportunity playing field and empower anyone to pursue their dream career. TODAY WE DISCUSS Why your company might be the wrong seat for the right candidate How to avoid wrong seat hires HIRING STORY This isn’t a story about a hire we did make, but a hire we wanted to make and didn’t pull off. We were building out our leadership team between our Series A and Series B. Obviously in an early-stage company, getting the right leaders into your organization is crucial. Leaders in early-stage environments have a disproportionate influence on the ultimate success or demise of a company so the stakes are high. On this particular search for this VP role, I was finding it really tough. It was the middle of 2021 when start-ups were sitting on a record amount of capital and there was a real pinch finding exceptional talent... Challenge? Too many people end up in the wrong seats. Education on what the roles look like Gap between the candidate's perspective and what the role really is Realistic depiction of what it is like to work in the company Attract the right people Le Companies use the wrong signals when they hire Schools, companies Don't predict future success Why is this important to the company? High attrition 73% failure rate SHRM reports that the cost of replacing an employee is approximately 33% of that employee’s salary But that’s just the direct cost of having to find and replace that employee. It doesn’t take into account the indirect costs of a disengaged, non-aligned workforce. My broader take is that recruitment processes traditionally focus on getting bums on seats rather than the right bums on the right seats. Until you figure out how to design a process that gets the right people into the right roles for the long-term, employers will continue losing millions in direct costs and lost productivity. Rick’s Nuggets: What a person desires needs to be discovered in the 1st conversation! Do they get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it How do we solve the problem? Educate the candidate pipeline The recruitment process has typically worked as a ‘hire then train’ model. I believe that in an age of software employers should be training their candidates first then hiring. And this needs to start at the top of the funnel. This is a great model for both candidates and employers. If you take the time to educate your candidate pipeline on who your company actually is and what the roles truly entail, you are going to attract the right type of candidates rather than a large pool of applicants who have no real idea whether they truly want to work for you or not. Volume has become the enemy of quality. Too many HR tech companies and employers have focused on removing friction from the recruitment process in the pursuit of getting the maximum number of candidates. That’s dumb. I would argue that it’s actually far better to introduce positive friction - and education or a ‘try before you buy’ model is a great example of positive friction. What does education actually look like? What are your values? Who are your people? What are you building? And why? What does this specific role look like? Be authentic and realistic. Don’t sell a candidate a lemon otherwise you will end up with lemons. You don’t want your hires to turn up on day 1 and realize they’ve signed up to something which didn’t fit their expectations. Employers and candidates don’t win in that situation. The other great consequence of spending time educating your candidate pipeline is that you’re more likely to attract candidates from broad and diverse audiences. Better hiring signals: So educating your candidate pipeline is the first crucial step towards getting the right person into the right seat. But then you have to look at the hiring signals you are using to hire candidates. My view is employers do a very poor job of what hiring signals they use to make a hire. I do a lot of work in early-talent recruitment where employers over-index your GPA, what school you went to, and other signals which statistically just don’t correlate to long-term success in a role. If they were indicative of success, you wouldn’t see 70% attrition. But even in start-up land I see this happen and I have fallen into the trap of this myself. The classic hiring signal trap in start-up land is over-indexing where someone was an early employee at a successful company. You will often hear a founder say ‘We just hired employee no #25 from Salesforce’. I have found out the hard way that the connection between being an early employee of a successful company and going to be a great hire at your company is tenuous at best. One of the most underrated hiring signals, especially for more junior employees, is intent. Does the candidate exhibit demonstrable intent that they are deeply interested in your work, your people, your values and your brand? My bet is that if you truly vetted for intent during the recruitment process, 9 out of 10 hires you made would become exceptional hires. And compared to the mean, that’s a pretty good strike rate. Simulations / case studies: So you’ve educated your candidate pipeline and vetted that candidate pool using better hiring signals. What’s the final step? I strongly believe in the use of simulations or case studies during the recruitment process. When you get down to your final few candidates, you want to give them an opportunity to road test working with your team and the problems your company is focused on solving. And vice versa, you want to be able to see the candidate in action before you commit to hiring them. This is undoubtedly the most interesting and illuminating part of any recruitment process. Understanding the way a candidate thinks, communicates, builds in a live setting can’t be replicated. It’s obviously crucially important for the employer to see them in action, but equally important for the candidate to see their new potential team and company in action. So any great case study or simulation requires active participation from both sides. Rick’s Nuggets ValuesOwn who you are & your environment Does the candidate “get” your values. If not, let them go Evidence over “feel” Train interviewers to extract evidence to support their decisions Discovery call & Interview Record and document the data Desire it Does the person want what you offer Is there value in your opportunity for the individual? Does the candidate recognize and feed back the value “ What's in it for me” Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Educate your candidate pipeline. Figure out how you can adopt a ‘train then hire’ model so that you’re attracting high-intent candidates who truly want to work at your company. Look for better hiring signals. Stop and think about whether the signals you are currently using truly connect to long-term success. Instead of pedigree, college, GPA, who they know, look for signals such as motivation, demonstrable intent and true capability. Use case studies and simulations for your very best candidates. It’s a super illuminating exercise for both you and the candidate to figure out if you are truly a good match. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombrunskill/ Company: http://www.theforage.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theforage/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theforage1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/theforage_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theforage_/ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS® inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com www.intertru.ai
Amazon’s leadership principles (Core Values) have been the most critical element in their unprecedented success. Value alignment first, and skills second. So why is this not a standard practice among all up-and-coming startups? The reason I believe is that leaders then become accountable for their actions when they misbehave. Without values, it is easy to hide. It is easy to rationalize bad decisions and easier to deflect blame when the shit hits the fan. This is why 9 out of 10 startups fail. Without the right people, your company will not be able to execute. And the right people are attracted to more than just money. They want growth, structure, and purpose. When your company demonstrates that none of these elements are present, the A-players run! And what you are left with are the people who are willing to take the job. Guest Bio: Steve Anderson is the CEO of Catalyit. He has spent decades shaping the insurance industry through a deeper understanding of emerging technologies and how businesses today can best integrate and leverage them. Steve is a sought-after speaker and influencer. He is also the author of the widely-anticipated book The Bezos Letters, where he reveals 14 principles for business growth based on the ideas and patterns that emerged when he examined Jeff Bezos’ 21 annual letters to Amazon shareholders. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Balancing need with patience to get the right hire How to put the right structure in place to land them HIRING STORY: Hired an operations manager, who seemed like a good fit. Terminated after 3 months. Hired too fast! Pressure to move fast from start to offer in 3 days. The person already had an offer. He didn't follow his own advice. Challenge? Balance need with hiring the right person Miscasting a hire Don't hire when you rushed to fill a position The interview process is not intentional. Not having a hiring process, hiring questions (winging it) Rick’s Nuggets: Problem: Pacing is determined by the candidateClue that the person just needs the money Mitigated by disclosing your hiring process & timeline Intention: purpose of the interview? How do we solve the problem? Structure Have a good job description Have a good hiring & interview process Intentional interviews Amazon Will you admire this person? Will this person raise the average level of effectiveness of the group Along what dimension might this person be a superstar Don't cave into the pressure Candidate pressure Own need pressure Find short term solutions while the interview process is moving along Be willing to fire fast Not fully committing or fully focused Not understanding urgency Rick’s Nuggets: Evidence trumps assumptions Pacing determined by the process, not the person No need to fire, when you have hired the strongest person Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Process is key to success Need a place to start - Use Amazon’s hiring questions Culture fit might be more important than skills. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevetn/ Personal: https://thebezosletters.com/ Company: https://catalyit.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/catalyit/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveTN Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveAndersonNetwork/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveanderson/ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS™ inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.intertru.ai www.stridesearch.com
There is nothing more disappointing than a hire that does not work out. Especially when the person hired was someone you were convinced, would be a great hire! Conventional wisdom says “hire slow, fire fast” but this almost never happens. Because we are too concerned with filling the role fast. Triaging our pain. Maybe if we really hired slowly, the interview would produce much stronger results. To break the hire, fire cycle we must ignore our assumptions about the person's resume and start by gathering evidence. Evidence that supports a proper decision that ensures a successful hire. Guest Bio: Jason Sherman is a successful innovator, award-winning filmmaker, published author, tech startup expert, and the co-founder of the video friendship app Spinnr. Jason’s methodologies on entrepreneurship and data-driven decisions are his main source of education for those he helps worldwide. His startup book Strap on your Boots is the culmination of his life’s work to help other entrepreneurs succeed with a podcast of the same name, and is the focus of a class he created called Startup Essentials. Jason is fluent in Spanish, is a classically trained violinist, and was a featured speaker on FOX’s Emmy award-winning Futurist TV Show: Xploration Earth 2050. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Breaking the hire, fire cycle Challenge? Finding people who are excited about the company vs just looking for a job Care about being part of something where your creative input matter Just there for the paycheck Uninterested, unenthusiastic, easy remote work paycheck A lot of time onboarding Time differences Why is this important to the company? Bad hires impede growth Rick’s Nuggets: Positioning Time How do we solve the problem? Finding the excited people in the interviewInstall the app, try it out, and tell us what they think Give feedback website & social media content Smiling happy Have questions about the business Not focusing on payment/ paycheck Excited to learn they can earn stock options Ownership Get through the process to find the 4 people who worked What to do before the interview Share pitch deck to understand the company mission Have everything ready in a package for onboarding What have you done; share your work Filming content event Content creation hiring day Gig hiring Rick’s Nuggets; Positioning Get it, want it, capacity to do it Do they really desire what you offer? A, B, or C player? Don't be the destination for a JOB (ie: paycheck) Interview with purpose Get to the truth Not sell Interview design Truth fast Empowered decision-making - Keep your people productive Evidence trumps gut Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Finding the excited people who want to do what you do. Fully read & understand what your business is. Come with questions Don't discount onsite parties to hire people. Compensate people who show up Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonsherman76/ Personal: https://jasonsherman.org Company: https://spinnr.app/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/appspinnr Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/appspinnr Twitter: https://twitter.com/spinnr_app Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spinnr_app Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre Startup: www.intertru.ai HireOS inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com
Every interview that happens in your company needs to have a purpose. There is a specific purpose for the phone screen, which is positioning & quality of the individual. The onsite interview’s purpose, does this person align with our company values and finally, the skills interview’s purpose is to determine if the person has the capacity to thrive in the role. Too often the directive is given to “have a conversation to find out if you would like to work with this person”. And it is in this non-structured format that bias and discrimination fester because the interviewers don’t understand the interview’s purpose. Guest Bio: Robert Hudock founded Hudock Employment Law Group in 2015 to deliver tailored legal services to California companies that thrive in vibrant, creative work environments. His clients are often companies looking at new markets and competitive opportunities, that want to recruit the best talent available while avoiding distracting workplace issues or lawsuits. Robert is also a competitive triathlete, which requires careful planning, attention to detail, and dedication. He uses those characteristics in his professional life for his client's benefit. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Employment law issues in the hiring process you may not know–but should. Challenge? The 3 most common recruiting and hiring functions in which employment-related issues can arise are: (1) job posting/advertisement, (2) interviewing, and (3) assessing fitness for a position (e.g., any criminal history, drug screening, physical capabilities, psychological health). California’s anti-discrimination laws explicitly apply not only to employees and termination of employment, but also to applicants and “refusing to hire” based on a characteristic protected under the applicable antidiscrimination laws (e.g., age, disability, gender, race, etc.). Why is this important to the company? Consider a scenario where your company spends significant time and resources on employment law compliance and protecting itself from lawsuits, only to be subject to an employment-related claim that could have been prevented but for a gap in general knowledge and available preventative strategies relating to recruiting and hiring. Today we’re going to introduce you to the topic and some possible preventive measures. How do we solve the problem? Interviewing: any non-job-related inquiry that "expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to” any protected characteristic is prohibitedCommon implicated categories: age, disability, national origin Some examples may surprise you - you may have been asked such questions and you answered without a second thought, the questions are relatively common, or are common topics of conversation: SUBJECT ACCEPTABLE UNACCEPTABLE Age Virtually nothing - but allowed when law requires it Birth date Date of attendance or completion of school Any question, the answer to which may have information indirectly revealing or suggesting that applicant is 40 or over (e.g., “how old are your children?”) National Origin Inquiries re verification of legal right to work in US Where born (applicant or applicant’s relatives) Where applicant grew up Applicant’s nationality or nationalities (e.g., Polish, Iraqi, Mexican) Marital Status/Family Virtually nothing Whether applicant is married Whether applicant has children; or number or ages of children Religion Statements re regular days, hours, or shifts of the position Applicant’s availability to work on specific days or during specific hours (could reveal religion if unique religious days or times are observed) Can be anything relating to religious creed (all aspects of religious belief, observance, and practice, including religious dress and grooming practices) Identify and define, BEFORE interviewing, any legal justification for discriminating with respect to a protected category As with job postings, antidiscrimination law does not categorically preclude any and all inquiries into matters relating to protected categories, or lawful discrimination. For example: AGE: When a law specifically requires a certain age for job, or requires keeping records re employees’ ages or related information RELIGION: When an inquiry directly or indirectly relates to any religious belief or practice does not have any “exclusionary effect” DISABILITY: An inquiry re physical capabilities legitimately related to ability to perform an essential job function Proper education and training of all interviewers How to respond when applicant volunteers information Let’s say an interviewer and interviewee are discussing where the interviewee obtained his/her undergraduate degree The interviewee, making friendly conversation, says tongue-in-cheek: “...that’s hard to remember for an old guy like me, but I’ll never forget these seemingly endless stairs going up to where I met with my “Campus Christians” group. It was like running a marathon once a month because of my knee injury” → just that short aside references three protected categories (age, religion, and disability) In these types of circumstances, the interviewer should (1) steer the discussion away from references to any protected category, and (2) and at some point identify the company’s commitment to equal opportunity E.g., “Interesting. That story makes me think about how this company supports equal opportunity and has a strong policy against discrimination.” Let’s move on to your work experience.” Rick’s Nuggets: Teach your people the purpose of each stage What data are they expected to gather during the conversation Provide a script to each person Behavioral interviews Tell me about a time when… How did that work? Walk me through that… What steps did you take… Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): Develop job descriptions and use them as a foundation for interviews; this can help interviewers remain focused on job qualifications and duties Education/training of anyone who will be conducting an interview; e.g., covering the topics we’ve been discussing today Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hudockemploymentlaw/ Company: https://hudockemploymentlaw.com/ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre HireOS inquiry: rick@stridesearch.com | www.intertru.ai Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com
Do you ever wonder why only a small percentage of people respond to your recruiting emails? The answer is that there is nothing in it for them. Especially if the person you are trying to recruit is already working. Let’s be honest, selling people on what we NEED only attracts people who are actively looking, and 99% of messages all sound the same! Here's why we are great… What we need… What we offer… Skills you must have… Ending with the hurdles you have to leap, to talk to us To gain higher response rates, and attract the people you need to respond, we must first change our positioning. Starting with answering the question, “what’s in it for them” above and beyond just a paycheck. Guest Bio: Dustin Riechmann, owner of Simple Success Coaching, is a strategic marketing coach who helps mission-driven entrepreneurs rapidly increase profits and massively grow their network using a Partnership Marketing System. TODAY WE DISCUSS: Recruiting messaging How to write a solid cold email Challenge? Low response rates to outreach Viewed as a spammer Ineffective or confusing communication Why is this important to the company? Effects reputation Need communication to grow Every missed communication opportunity costs money Lost opportunity Rick’s Nuggets No value, no response How do we solve the problem? Perfect Pitch Email This template has proven to be highly effective at getting positive replies from potential partners in a single cold-pitch email. It consists of 5 key components: Direct email address Hunter.io, Chatterworks, Swordfish Social media profiles, Google search Bypass gatekeepers Avoid filters Curious subject line Something Personal (reference an episode number for a podcast) Job is to get someone to open the email From field matters Sample: dog poop Relational Anchors (beginning) Not a random weirdo from the internet Find the point(s) you have in common Demonstrate you’re familiar with their work/interests/passions Flatter them! Clear Win for the Person You’re Pitching (middle) Demonstrate how you will add value to them Compelling bullet point summary Eyes may go here first so make it super interesting Clear Ask (end) Call-to-action that’s an easy yes “Are you interested?” Simple signature with a single link to your site Rick’s Nuggets Craft messaging toward the people that won't normally respond Target the top 10% Subject Line Subject: Real quick or How’s my Telepathy? Opener Thought-provoking, laugh or cry I know you have been eagerly anticipating my email but just received your telepathic message so I apologize for taking so long to get back to you ;-). Acknowledge the Pain (Pain) Reason to not ignore “I understand you are pretty good at your job but your talents in XXXX (personalize) may be a bit underappreciated (or underutilized, under-challenged, or over-managed) in your current role. Obviously, I am not sure about your situation but I wanted to find out if you are open to hearing about a situation that could provide more impact on you both personally & professionally.” Call to Action (Benefit loaded) I'm here to listen…. “The signals I received from you were strong and I get your urgency. We should talk as I may be able to help alleviate your pain! Let me know your availability for a quick phone conversation this afternoon. If the timing is off, please respond “Not Interested” so that I do not fill up your Inbox with additional messages. (- for LinkedIn) I look forward to your response.” Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): How to craft compelling emails that get an 80% response rate when sent to “cold” prospects, recruits or partners. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustinriechmann/ Company: https://simplesuccesscoaching.com/ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre HireOS inquiries: rick@stridesearch.com Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com
It has been decided that we want to hire a person who made it through our interview process. Yay! Now we invest the time to have the “offer conversation” about what it is going to take for you to join us. Eagerly, we present our case, discuss our benefits & perks, and divulge our rationale behind what we would like to pay our hot new employee. The only problem is, that having this conversation now, is too late. When the stakes are low, people are the most open and truthful. And the stakes are lowest at the beginning of the relationship. The first conversation is the most important time to have the offer discussion. Before the interview even happens! Today we’re going to discuss: The 3 most common offer mistakes How to remedy them for offer acceptance Challenges today? Gathering information too late The end of the interaction is the worst place to start developing the relationship with the person Candidates feel like they are being sold- which they are “Now that I passed your tests, you want to know me better” Candidate is now totally focused on the money Highest offer blinders Offers based on general assumptions Shallow focused interview I've demonstrated I can do what you need One sized-fits-all Offer acceptance Shop your offer to other suitors Time to think about the offer means: I don't believe what you are trying to sell me! Why is this important to the company? Excessive interviewing & offer turndowns are a tremendous waste of time How do we solve the problem? Gathering information too late Discovery call - First Contact Understanding the Pain, Desire (Positioning) Legitimate reason to move The type of company the person will thrive in Size, Role, Domain Impact A, B, or C player? Main Criteria for Decision Elements that NEED to be present for an offer acceptance Salary expectations What do you need? Offers based on general assumptions Everyone likes our benefits Benefits & perks do NOT attract or retain people Allow the individual to share what is important to them Discuss expectations What makes this important to you? Offer Acceptance Feedback Engage in conversation about VALUE Are they sharing with you “why” they would like to join? Pacing Pacing too soon, too slow Only make an offer when there is obvious alignment They tell you: what your company offers is what I desire from my career Verbal acceptance Discuss and agree on terms Address anything that does not fit into desire Start date Formal written offer Autograph Start onboarding Key Takeaways -Value: Gather information as soon as possible during the Discovery Call. Based on your first conversation, tailor exactly what's going to attract that person into your company to the content they gave you at the Discovery Call. Offer acceptance: make sure you pace it out, continuous feedback throughout the process, and get verbal acceptance first before you extend the written offer. Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.stridesearch.com/hire-power-radio Authored: Healing Career Wounds (Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094TL14CD/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Startup - Intertru Inc: www.Intertru.ai Technology: HireOS™ Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com
How do you hire people when you have no money? While this may seem like an impossible task, the truth is that it is not as difficult as you might think. It starts by understanding what is important to the individual. Then connecting their desire your the value of your opportunity. Compensation comes in a lot of different forms and money is just one piece of the equation. Professional growth, challenging work, strong leadership, mission, purpose, mentorship, and equity are also forms of compensation. The most powerful form of compensation you can offer is the one thing that is REALLY important to the individual that you need to hire. William Glass is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ostrich, a financial habit-building app that uses community and social accountability to help people achieve their financial goals. In addition, William is the host of the Silicon Alley Podcast which focuses on telling entrepreneurs’ stories & learning from their experiences. His background is in software sales leading sales teams at Gartner and opening up a new vertical for an AI startup, Remesh. In 2014, Will was awarded a Fulbright scholarship through the U.S State Department where he taught English in rural Thailand. Glass has his B.A. in International Relations from Rollins College in Winter Park, FL. Will is originally from Alabama and now resides in Queens, New York. TODAY WE DISCUSS: How to hire strong people without money Outline steps to take to compensate with limited funds Challenge? Not in the financial position to bring someone on full-time. Almost outsourced everything during the pandemic but would’ve spent all of the little money we had. Both wanted to work together but could not afford a salary Set financial metrics Funding challenge Found someone through referral Why is this important to the company? No other way to build the MVP Rick’s Nuggets: Take your time Really understand a person's desire Does your opportunity fill that desire? Solution: No code Built using no-code and hacked along the first version of the app Couldn’t do all of the key functions so sought a full-stack dev familiar with the no-code tool Referral Found developer through a referral on the no-code forum. Brought them on to extend the no code version. Liked working together, but after the no code tasks were completed no budget to bring on full-time. Mission aligned and interested in working together. Neither of us is in a financial position to pay a salary nor to not take a salary with 5 kids. Created a unique way to solve both needs. Agreed to bring Stephen our developer on full-time when we were in a position to do so. In the interim: Banking hours Tracked hours worked as a contractor but rather than billing us, he banked them. Those hours are paid back on a revenue share basis. Equity vesting Equity vesting began when the engagement began. Revenue share A small percentage of revenues goes to paying off the banked hours. Triggering mechanism for salary Once the company hit certain financial milestones, Stephen to come on board full-time. Life changed Altered the agreement before hitting financial metrics. Rick’s Nuggets: ResourcefulIdentify people you want to work with Reach out and have conversations Ooze Value Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! (Value): If there is alignment in mission & desire to work together, and you can find creative solutions that meet both the company's and individual’s needs. Ask the tough questionsOnly through strong communication were we able to determine the solution and it meant both parties sharing openly the financial situation. TransparencyTransparent with the financials of the company, runway, and salary from the get-go. Buffer model of transparent salary. Guest Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williampglass3/ Company: https://getostrich.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theostrichapp/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theostrichapp Twitter: https://twitter.com/williampglass Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theostrichapp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theostrichapp/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrPUxyTASwW71P5ahxD5VzQ Host Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-girard-07722/ Company: https://www.stridesearch.com/ Podcast: https://www.hirepowerradio.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeEJm9RoCfu8y7AJpaxkxqQ Authored: "Healing Career Wounds" https://amzn.to/3tGbtre HireOS inquiry: rick@intretru.ai Show Sponsor: www.stridesearch.com