You probably already know this, but finding the right talent isn’t easy. If it were, then we wouldn’t need recruitment specialists because any random person can do the job effectively.
To help give you direction in your recruitment campaigns, we’ve compiled quotes showcasing the wisdom of major business leaders who have repeatedly hired the right people to help their organisation succeed.
Lee Iacocca
Known for being a straight talker, American car executive Lee Iacocca is considered as one of history’s greatest CEOs, and with good reason: he played a major role in the development of the Ford Mustang, and revitalised Chrysler during the 1980s.
Iacocca had this to say about hiring:
“I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.”
Lee Iacocca
Iacocca looks to hire smart, talented people. Getting out of the way means he lets his employees learn, improve, and do great at their jobs (i.e. not micromanage). It’s a proven formula for success.
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson is one of the most prominent captains of industry in the world. He founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s, which today controls hundreds of companies in fields such as publishing, hotels, banking, motor sport, and even space travel.
If there’s anyone who knows about hiring employees, it’s Branson – who affirms that bringing in the right people is a challenge.
“Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions and a healthy dose of curiosity. What do you think is the most important factor when building your team? For us, it’s personality.”
Richard Branson
Branson believes that personality takes precedence (over skill) in hiring. Why? Consider this: skill can be taught. Personality, on the other hand, starts developing from early childhood. By the time an adult looks for employment, their attitude and personality have already been developed.
And yet, personality have a direct affect your team and company’s culture.
Guy Kawasaki
Venture capitalist and marketing expert Guy Kawasaki learned a few things from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Here’s one of those lessons:
“My theory is that A players hire people even better than themselves. It’s clear, though, that B players hire C players so they can feel superior to them, and C players hire D players. If you start hiring B players, expect what Steve called “the bozo explosion” to happen in your organisation.”
Guy Kawasaki
Apparently, there are entrepreneurs and business leaders who fear hiring employees better than themselves. But if you want to grow your organisation, you need some humility and hire high performers who are better than you.
For your business to stay relevant, you need people who can replace you.
Otherwise, your business will experience what Steve Jobs calls “the bozo explosion”, which is a tendency of initially innovative companies to deteriorate into mediocrity.
Jeff Bezos
You might already know who Jeff Bezos is: founder of online retailer Amazon, the first centibillionaire, and world’s richest person. Here’s his nugget of hiring wisdom:
“I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.”
Jeff Bezos
Bezos understands the risks of hiring the wrong person – so much so that he’d rather not hire anyone even after conducting so many interviews.
Why not? Because a poor hire will decrease your team’s productivity, drive good employees away, hurt your company’s reputation, and waste precious money.
To avoid all these, see to it that you make your recruitment efforts more effective and take the extra steps if you have to. It’s better to put in more time, effort, and resources in the search than deal with the damaging consequences later.
Ben Horowitz
Technology entrepreneur Ben Horowitz is one of the co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz, a California-based venture capital firm. To Horowitz, business success hinges on having the right people. He even has a formula:
“Take care of the people, the products, and the profits, in that order.”
Ben Horowitz
The quote may sound simple, but it’s profound. Having a great product is important for profits, but Horowitz believes that taking care of people is foremost. And yet, taking care of people is quite possibly the most challenging of the three.
At the very least, you need a professional work environment, open communication, employee recognition, career advancement opportunities, work-life balance, benefits, and competitive pay.
If you have these in place, it’s easier to attract and keep the right people in your company.
Steve Jobs
Apple’s co-founder gets another mention with his own hiring insight:
“The secret to my success is that we’ve gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.”
Steve Jobs
Jobs was the visionary who conceptualised the creation of the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and iPad, but without the right people, Apple certainly wouldn’t have been able to build such technological marvels.
The lesson here is that you shouldn’t cut corners when looking for talent. Having the best people on your team will more than make up for your efforts.
Bill Gates
Rounding out this roster of technology luminaries is Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft. He’s still one of the wealthiest people in the world, and based on the quote below, he’s clearly one of the smartest.
“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
Bill Gates
Work ethic seems to be an essential trait among candidates, but Gates is more interested in people who want to solve problems and make systems more efficient. His quote raises an intriguing scenario:
Who would you rather have on your team?
- A hard worker who stays long hours at the office; or
- A problem solver who devises a means for you to do more in less time.
Our vote goes to the problem solver.
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You can actually choose from our pool of top candidates right away. Simply click the button below to browse a wide range of profiles on our Hotlist page.
