Use the "AND Formula" to Hire the Right People

Your company won't be successful if you don't hire the right people. Sometimes people think that by hiring a bunch of smart people, they will be successful. Or they think that by hiring a lot of people who can simply execute the leader's grand vision, they will be successful. Those may seem like good theories, but in reality they just don't work. You need to have the RIGHT people in your company, not just the smart ones or the ones who have the right skills to execute your vision.

There are a lot of components to hiring the RIGHT person, but today I'm just going to focus on the "BUT formula" vs. the "AND formula" for describing an employee.

I've heard managers make excuses for some employees. Those excuses usually fit the following "BUT formula":

There is this bad trait about this person, BUT there is some redeeming trait.

Usually, managers use the redeeming trait to excuse the bad trait. Or they think that they need the good trait, so they put up with the bad trait.

If there is any doubt about whether a person is someone you want to be a part of your organization, then that person probably doesn't belong in your company. When going through a list of potential hires, if you find yourself describing someone using the "BUT formula," the best thing you can do is NOT hire that person. You will spend so much time managing around those bad traits that you won't be able to focus on actually running your business.

Now for the "AND formula." You should be able to use the following formula to describe everyone in your company:

This person has this good trait, AND he/she provides great value to the company.

You need people who don't just execute your vision or people who are smart. You need people who help you understand the direction your company should be heading and who can help point it in that direction. You don't need a group of followers. Followers don't provide value to a company.

You do need people who will rigorously evaluate every detail of your company and who will take action to correct any mistakes that the company is making. You need people who don't require you to manage them or to lead them. You need people who will manage themselves and will help provide leadership to the company as a team. Those are the people who will provide value to your company.

It's up to you to find the RIGHT people. When hiring someone, make sure you can use the "AND formula" to describe that person. When evaluating your existing employees, if you find yourself using the "BUT formula" to describe someone, don't make excuses. Take action. Replace that person with the RIGHT person.


photo credit, clix