Hiring the Right Team
New entrepreneurs have the task before them to hire the right team to launch a successful venture and then to keep the venture a success. When choosing a team, how does one begin? What are the basics?
Eric Herrenkohl, in his book, How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team- Even If You Don’t Have a Recruiting Department, discusses the need to hire a quality team that he calls “A-Players.” Recruiting the right team to build your business is essential. In order to be able to build the team needed, entrepreneurs must trust their team with a certain amount of control, which means that giving up some control will be necessary (Herrenkohl, 2010). My first blog, Control vs. Wealth, covered the need to make decisions regarding this issue. Some entrepreneurs have a hard time giving up control. Giving up control and trusting your team will be an easy task if you hire “A-Players” to begin with. Taking the time to interview numerous people for positions will allow you to choose the correct person (Herrenkohl, 2010). If you get into a hurry in the beginning stages of your new venture, you could hire the wrong people which will not be beneficial to your business. Founders must take the time to interview and select the very best. Do not settle for just anyone, keep looking until you find the perfect fit. Your business depends on it!
Homogeneity: One Consideration
Hiring a Team with Homogeneity. Homogeneity is “the quality or state of being all the same or all of the same kind” (google.com). Taking this point into consideration, one can see how new entrepreneurs could view this as a positive element for their team. However, there are benefits and there are risks according to Noam Wasserman’s book, The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Wasserman (2012) mentions the following benefits and risks:
Benefits of Homogeneity Include:
Easier communication, easier decision making, similar tolerance for risk, mutual appreciation, and alignment of thinking are all considered benefits (Wasserman, 2012).
Risks of Homogeneity Include:
Skills may be missing due to similar overlaps within the team, diversity may be limited, and you may not having the proper counterbalance… all are risks to be considered (Wasserman, 2012).
Much to Think About
Starting a new business is so exciting and multifaceted. Taking the time to recruit the best team members to help launch and keep your business successful takes targeted time and effort. Considering candidates that have the best qualifications, as well as, characteristics is imperative. Knowing that the stakes are high, doing your research, and delegating enough time is essential in developing the best team possible. May you have every success in developing your team. Go Team!
Further Resources:
An interesting 60 second video on building your team. More to consider!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbJaEM-yDtw
References
“Elon Musk’s 60-Second Guide to Hiring the Right People.” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbJaEM-yDtw.
Herrenkohl, Eric. How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team- Even If You Don’t Have a Recruiting Department. John Wiley & Sons, 2010.
Wasserman, N. (2012). The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Decisions….. What to do during a startup can be daunting. The founder has to develop the right team in order to push forward. Both forms of teams have some great benefits though. After researching, I believe it is wise to take the benefits of both a homogenous team and heterogeneous team and form them into one if possible. Reevaluation as the project moves on is also a good idea. At first it might be good for an entrepreneur to pursue a homogenous team and then reevaluate and develop a more heterogeneous team as time goes on. I think that is how I will be going forward in future ventures. Have a good week!
Thank you for your response to my blog post. Building a great team is imperative. Spending the time needed to hire just the right group of people is key!
Your statement “Founders must take the time to interview and select the very best. Do not settle for just anyone, keep looking until you find the perfect fit. Your business depends on it!” is so very true. In the beginning when starting a new business it may make sense to hire a homogenous team, but over time that team might hold back your business growth. I have come to that conclusion in the last month or so. Now is the time to “Hire Slow, and Fire Fast”. Find people with the appropriate human capital and try them out within your business structure. But if it is apparent that they are not going to catch on, cut them loose and do it quickly.
Thank you for your comment to my blog post. I like your quote “Hire slow, and Fire Fast.” When it comes to one’s business, action is important!