Good to Great: The RIGHT People

I just finished another chapter of Jim Collins' book, Good To Great. I have to return it to the library soon but will definitely be buying my own copy; it's just much too valuable a resource and should absolutely be on the nearest bookshelf of anyone running a company (or thinking of starting one) or anyone managing a group (or considering doing so).

The overriding theme of this chapter is that the old adage "people are our greatest asset" is a bunch of B.S. What is quite correct though is that "the right people are our greatest asset". Walter Bruckart was VP of electronics retailer, Circuit City, when it made the transition from mediocrity to a truly excellent company. He was apparently once asked what the Top 5 factors were that lead to the company's success. His response is very telling: "One would be people. Two would be people. Three would be people. Four would be people. And five would be people. A huge part of our transition can be attributed to our discipline in picking the right people."

One part of the Chapter Summary should be drilled into the heads of every business student:

We uncovered three practical disciplines for being rigorous in people decisions:

1. When in doubt, don't hire - keep looking. A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough of the right people.
2. When you know you need to make a people change, act. But first be sure you don't simply have someone in the wrong seat.
3. Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems. Note: If you sell off your problems, don't sell off your best people.
   

I must confess that it was very painful for me to read these things, for it brought back many less than pleasant memories of bad mistakes I've made in the past. Some of the people I've hired in times past were just great, but others were clearly on the "wrong bus" from Day 1. Yet I didn't have the courage and foresight to "kick them off my bus". My failure to do so really hurt morale and undoubtedly made my good employees question my leadership abilities. In the end, I do believe that this was the #1 reason my previous company folded.

I've often heard it said that it takes 3 attempts to make your first $1 Million. The litmus test now will be to see if I've learned from my past failings and will make the right decisions in a timely manner in the future. Regarding people, Collins asserts that in order for each of us to be happy & successful in both our personal & professional lives we need to have only people around us that we care about and respect. If you don't then they just drag you down, sucking all the energy out of you. And make no mistake, this is very much vice-versa. We must also take a close look at ourselves to ensure that we are living up to our own expectations of others. Do we deserve to be on the bus with them?

I know for the last while that I haven't be ready to get on the proverbial bus with anyone but I'm near the end of that period in my life. When I do launch my new product and it starts to soar, I will be ready to grow a company again - this time properly. Hiring the first few people will be scary as hell but once I have the first few seats of the bus populated with the right people then the trip ahead is going to be absolutely fantastic!