Attracting A Players
How to Attract and Hire, "A Players."
"First WHO, then WHAT, then HOW this is the way to build upon your WHY." - Amar Virk
It's about people. One of the biggest barriers to scaling isn't fully understanding how to attract A players (top talent). Companies that don't have great people, can't grow effectively and provide the value to stay relevant regardless of economic conditions. The numbers don't lie, despite high inflation, employment uncertainty, and another looming recession, affluent consumers still spend money on luxury goods, why? Price is often irrelevant in comparison to value. That's what good products or services do when backed by great talent.
- Hire high-calibre individuals (Make a great team)
- Systems, strategies, process & execution (Repeatable & Replicable)
- Profit = Freedom (Can't have one without the other)
A is for Animals
In his essays on start-ups, Y Combinator founder Paul Grahm mentioned people who are animals as the top factor for start-up success. I couldn't agree more, and here is what Paul stated "Someone who does what they do so well that they pass right through professional and cross over into obsessive. What it means specifically depends on the job: a salesperson who just won't take no for an answer; a hacker who will stay up till 4:00 AM rather than go to bed leaving code with a bug in it; a PR person who will cold-call New York Times reporters on their cell phones; a graphic designer who feels physical pain when something is two millimetres out of place. Almost everyone who worked for us was an animal at what they did. The woman in charge of sales was so tenacious that I used to feel sorry for potential customers on the phone with her. You could sense them squirming on the hook, but you knew there would be no rest for them till they'd signed up."
Hiring A Players: The context is to make each new hire count, from the most junior to the most senior, regardless of role. (Listen to his 50:1 ratio for software)
“A players attract A players. B players attract C players.”
- Steve Jobs
Consistently Be Recruiting For The Next Hire
Keep a posting up at all times, and interview each week to find that ideal individual. If it's financially viable you would likely make space for the right individual and it keeps a pool of contacts to natural attrition and turnover.
Let's reverse engineer to find the ideal team member
- Hiring is a systematic, reoccurring process (Business Process)
- Create an Ideal Candidate Profile (Avatar)
- Targeted Recruiting Ads (Measure: Effectiveness & Efficiency)
Ideal Candidate Profile
Clearly define who you are looking for, which has values that align with your mission & culture. Assess what the individual looks like for the desired position you're trying to fill. Understand the person, before trying to attract them. People take action from either pain or inspiration so speak specifically about their needs and what they care about by speaking to both points.
Your Ideal Candidate Profile Requirements
What you are looking for:
- Thier Skillset
- Their Strengths
- Their Weaknesses
- Their Attitude
- Their Values
Candidates' Needs & Desires
To help attract someone, it's wisdom to understand their needs:
- Results of their Values assessment
- Working Style
- Goals
- Fears
- What they want from work
“Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
- Jim Collins, Good To Great"
Summary
People don't show up to work for a job. They show up to work to fulfill a certain set of intrinsic values. Just as an entrepreneur would sell his business, you are not loyal to people, you are loyal to your values. Get clear on yours and care enough to understand theirs and sell to them by addressing what matters most. "A Players" like working with "A Players" as we naturally radiate towards life and that's the essence of light, its' authenticity and luminance. Just as every living plant and animal awakens when the sun shines on it. Doing meaningful work is infectious, and it's hard, it doesn't come easy, and it's worth doing. Find out what people want and care enough about them to communicate it to them. That way you can get what you want and they can get what they want.
If you need assistance on this, feel free to connect with us on the following so you can take the greatest action that can deliver you the most impactful results.
- Community Workshop: Traits of the Great $
- Private Coaching: 1-on-1 $$
- Corporate Training & Development: Employee Engagement Program $$$
Call to Action
How many of your problems would go away if your team was full of A-players?
Choose what kind of leader you are, remember that Gladiators win battles, and Generals win wars. Your job isn't to be liked, it's to be respected. Early in one's career decisions are based on emotions, as time passes those decisions are made with intellect. Now is the time to make a balanced decision with heart and mind. The greatest leadership failure is doing nothing, so choose one of the following:
Consider getting coaching for your team. As A-players desire to produce results, appreciate metrics, and seek learning.