Wanted for hire - only the best will do
"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine." - David Ogilvy, Advertising Icon
If you want your business to get ahead, if you want it to be great and if you want to lead the lifestyle you keep dreaming of - then you need people to help you. And they need to be good. Correction. Great!
Maybe you find it hard to get around the fact that you are the boss and therefore the most intelligent, the most knowledgeable and the cleverest. If you're as good as it gets - then your business is now as good as it gets.
To move forward you need the right people to propel you. You'll still be the boss. You'll just have people helping you who know more about SOME things than you do. Knowing a little about everything makes for a good entrepreneur, but you know what they say about a little knowledge - it can be dangerous. So when you're looking for employees, narrow down exactly what role you want them to play and the find the BEST person for the job.
Here are some tips to help you find the people that are going to make you great:
- Recognise talent. Don't judge by your first impressions of the candidate. Look at what they've done, what they're capable of, what their ambitions are. In other words, don't judge a book by its cover - it's what's inside that counts.
- Know what you are looking for. Have a definition for the role you require, you may not possess the skills - chances are you don't; but by defining what needs to be done you can ask for previous examples of work or some thoughts on how your end results can be achieved.
- Leave personal opinions at home. Remember, you are not looking for a friend or a golfing partner, you want someone who can do the job and do it amazingly. Even if that person makes you feel a little jealous, a little awkward or on edge. You'll get over it once you're both getting on with the job and producing the sort of fantastic results you are looking for.
- Empower people. People can't perform to their maximum unless they have power to do so - to make decisions, to work a little longer one day and less another ... to do what's needed to get the job done in the most successful way possible. Give them the power to get on with it.
- Bury your ego. Clever people make clever suggestions and they see room for improvement in your current systems or products. Hear them out, welcome them - improving is growing and that's what it's all about. It often takes fresh eyes to see something that has been staring you in the face for months.
- Lose the negativity. There is nothing that will drown a good idea or an enthusiastic mind faster than negativity. You hired this superstar to be just that - super. So offer encouragement and support, hear them out and see just where their ideas could lead your business.
- Step out of your comfort zone. Surrounding yourself with extraordinary people guarantees one thing: change. And that can be scary. Your extraordinary people will most likely want to take risks that you may not be comfortable with. Weigh them up - no-one ever became incredible without taking a risk or three.
Remember, smart people challenge their bosses. Smart people are efficient and proactive. Smart people don't limit themselves and push the boundaries. Having said all that, it takes a strong and confident person to hire a smart person. So brush up on you self-esteem, throw caution to the wind and put the word out there that you're looking for the best. Now that sounds smart to me!
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