If the Shoe Fits: Hiring with Fred Wilson and Me
by Miki SaxonA Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here
A few days ago Fred Wilson wrote about the importance of culture and fit.
Some entrepreneurs and CEOs buy into “hire the best talent available” mantra. That can work if everything goes swimmingly well. But as I said, it often does not, and then that approach is fraught with problems. The other approach is hire for culture and fit. That is the approach I advocate.
That’s the same approach I’ve advocated for decades.
What many forget is that “the best talent available” refers to whoever will perform best in your culture as part of your team and focus on your company’s success.
Too many founders, CEOs, other execs and even lower level managers seem to hire for bragging rights instead.
I wrote about hiring and culture here last Sept and included a link to an article I wrote for MSDN way back in 1999 that explained how to use your culture as a screening tool when hiring.
I’ve always told clients that the fastest way to success is to always hire the right person at the right time and for the right reasons.
Good hiring is like cooking Chinese—80% of the time used is spent prepping and the balance doing.
There really are no shortcuts; especially not hiring other people’s stars.
Not to sound self-serving, but I’ve been surprised at how closely the ideas I’ve always believed in parallel Wilson’s thoughts.
Even Option Sanity™ parallels his ideas on allocating equity.
Option Sanity™ is culture in action.
Come visit Option Sanity for an easy-to-understand, simple-to-implement stock allocation system. It’s so easy a CEO can do it.
Warning.
Do not attempt to use Option Sanity™ without a strong commitment to business planning, financial controls, honesty, ethics, and “doing the right thing.”
Use only as directed.
Users of Option Sanity may experience sudden increases in team cohesion and worker satisfaction. In cases where team productivity, retention and company success is greater than typical, expect media interest and invitations as keynote speaker.
Flickr image credit: HikingArtist
