Geoff Smart

I've been thinking a lot about hiring lately. In particular, I've been wondering: 1) how do you hire people into an industry that didn't formerly exist (so they can't have a "proven track record"), and 2) how do you "hire" people in the context of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, where it's no longer really hiring?

Three CEO's mentioned this book, so I thought I would take a look.

As the subtitle notes, it is about a "method." The downside here is that methods only work as long as your context is the same as the context in which they were developed. For example, the method talks at length about what former bosses will say about the person you're interviewing. I work in the Web3 space, and a fixation on bosses will not win you top talent. But this is just an example; depending on your context, you will have different dissonance.

Although the book does talk a lot about finding the right person for the role—a framework I agree with—they undermine this narrative with a framing they have created of placing humans into three grades: A, B, and C. So-called "A Players," are the ones you want on your team, and B and C Players should be discarded. Whether they mean to or not, this approach degrades people that aren't the right fit for a role. In Daniel Chait and Jon Stress' "Talent Makers," they point out—the vast majority of people you come in contact with during the hiring process will not end up at your company. In other words, a lot of your company's PR will occur through people that interview with you and you did not hire. What kind of PR will you be creating if they come away from these interviews feeling as though they've been thrown in the "B" and "C-grade" buckets? Likely not great...

Another jarring aspect of the book is that it seems to assume that everyone that plays a significant role in your company will be an employee. In my founder experience, their is a spectrum of contribution, from employees, to contractors, to partners, to community members. All of these people add value to what you're creating. It seems odd that the authors of this book speak extensively about their approach to hiring, without touching on the fact that some of your largest contributors might enter the company via other means. Maybe again this just comes down to the narrow-mindedness of a "method-based" approach.

Another issue to the approach described in the book is that it says that roles should be filled based on the "scorecard" developed for the role, rather than having candidates inform a job position. In my experience in hiring, the best hires we've made have been people that have brought aspects to the role that we hadn't even contemplated as a hiring committee until we met the candidate. If we'd stuck to our scorecard, we'd have ended up with a solid team member, but would have had a company less creative and innovative than what we actually achieved by letting our hiring process have more dynamism. Now this approach can be taken too far—where ever hire changes the org chart of the entire firm. But that said, for key hires, I would suggest a hiring committee be open-minded and be willing to take a stand-out candidate who will help co-create your venture even if they're a little different than what you'd first envisioned for the role.

This book doesn't say anything about employee development. I'm of the opinion that people can grow and develop over time. Actually, at one point the authors come out and directly say that they don't believe this; they think that people are static entities who will behave in the future how they have behaved in the past. This belief makes me a little wary of the rest of their work, as it suggests that they see humans as some kind of machine or something.

If you're developing a hiring process, is it worth taking inspiration from the method described in this book? Yes; if nothing else, it is thorough. But I would advise against implementing it whole-cloth, and suggest that it more serve as a starting point for discussion rather than a ready-to-implement framework.… (más)

I immediately connected with the authors of this book. Their initial statement that the success of a business is not about what you make or sell but about WHO is involved has always been my philosophy. Great products or services will always suffer from less than stellar people behind them.

The book focuses on populating your employee base with only “A Players.” For companies to excel, they need to set the bar higher in their hiring practices to the point where they select from only the top 10% of those candidates that have a 90% chance of achieving the desired outcomes for a given position.

To meet this goal, the book defines the “A Method.” You create a scorecard to define the ideal candidate, use appropriate sources, select the right person then sell the heck out of the position to the selected candidate.

I was impressed by the simplicity yet effectiveness of the Scorecard. It defines the outcomes and competencies that define a “job well done” so the candidate has a clear picture of what they need to accomplish to succeed. When making the selection, the “Skill-Will Bullseye” ensures that the candidate is aligned with the scorecard. One important aspect in the evaluation of the candidate is the application of the Topgrading interview method which the authors cover in great detail.

The book also provides numerous examples of how the principles of this hiring method have been applied at successful companies. While not imperative, they are interesting and do provide some validation of the methods it includes.

The most important point of the book perhaps is that a truly successful company will expect their managers to build teams with only “A Players.” The methodology provided is so easy to apply that the goal is well within reach.

[As a side note, my company uses this hiring practice and it makes me feel even more privileged to have been hired by them.]… (más)