SmartBrief is partnering with Big Think to create a weekly video spotlight in SmartBrief on Leadership called “VIP Corner: Video Insights Powered by Big Think.” This week, we’re featuring Gurbaksh Chahal, an Internet entrepreneur and best-selling author.
The key to a flourishing company — whether it’s a startup or a larger, more established business — is hiring the right people who want to see you and the company succeed, said Gurbaksh Chahal, an Internet entrepreneur.
For startups, the first five hires are often the most crucial because they establish whether you’ll even have a company, he said. The No. 1 quality Chahal looks for in the first five is how hungry they are and their willingness to work to see the startup succeed.
For more established companies, leaders should focus on finding new hires who support the company’s mission, but also embrace the company’s core culture. “A company becomes successful when the culture never changes and it stays within the parameters of how it was founded,” Chahal said.
Once a leader has built a strong company culture with dedicated employees who are all on the same page, it’s inevitable that creativity and innovation will follow suit.
“Once you hire the right people and they have all — everyone’s interests are aligned on the same objective — you’ll begin to innovate,” Chahal said. “You’ll begin to execute and you’ll begin to win on the evolution stages of a company.”
Big Think is a forum in which top experts explore big ideas and core skills defining the 21st century. Learn more from its editors, fellows and guest speakers.
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I couldn't agree more! As the owner of a boutique recruiting and career coaching firm, starting my own business was a lifelong dream. I knew however, that in order to make that dream come to fruition it was imperative that I build the right team. It was also clear that if I wanted the right people I had to make sure I knew exactly what I was looking for and where I was headed. I spent many hours developing my Core Values. When those were in place I knew exactly who I needed to look for- those who "hungry" for the same things I was. With each of us starting on the same page, we could meet our professional goals more easily as a team.
Ken C. Schmitt http://www.turningpointsearch.net/about-us/philos…
I have started two companies, and I have also worked in start-ups and established Fortune 500 companies. While I found the article interesting, I do have a slightly different perspective about culture and the alignment of interests among employees.
First, if a company is starting up, the ONLY culture that truly exists is that of generating revenue. One rarely sees a start-up concentrating on building a culture from the outset. However, a few companies have started with that kind of mindset. For example, Sheila Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com, started the internet company built on solid ideals of the culture of the organization. Initially, she spent twenty-percent of her time building the company’s culture based on those ideals. That is a huge investment of time and energy for a start-up CEO. Additionally, profits are great, employee morale is high and turnover is minimal.
As with Care.com, as a CEO builds a company’s culture, one would hope that it is based on a demonstrated concern for the professional development and treatment of employees, service leadership, high ethical and legal standards and, of course, personal integrity. What one sees are companies with misaligned or unstated cultural ideals that encourage behaviors that may fit the culture of the organization for the short-term but damage the operation over the long-term.
For instance, I recently consulted with an insurance company that had been in business for 10 years. The culture of the organization just evolved over time based on the personality of its founder. It was one where employees did not share information and were afraid to talk to one another in the hallways, or recommend best practices to senior management. The CEO was known to have fired several persons because he did not personally like them or they were found talking in the hallways.Well, as one could have predicted, the company now has a huge retention problem not only with employees but also with customers. Key executives with ideas about how to help the company’s growth but contrary to those of the CEO and his executive “yes” persons have either resigned or were fired.Moreover, the company’s top investor also pulled out because of the company’s cultural and strategic direction. Now that company needs an infusion of employees who differ with the company’s core culture.
In terms of employee alignment, the new start-up can only hope that its recruitment efforts are approached using solid, well-stated cultural ideals as a foundation. Certainly the new employee on-boarding process should have those cultural ideals in and on new employee packets, handbooks, web sites, and posters in hallways and breakrooms, etc.
Otherwise, if a company’s core culture is not well thought out and built by the CEO, the majority of the time a company’s long-term viability will be questionable, employees will feel alienated and eventually leave, and customer loyalty and satisfaction will suffer.
So when you write, “A company becomes successful when the culture NEVER changes and it stays within the parameters of how it was founded,” that is not always true.
I agree. We take it a step further, however. By using a team facilitation resource that helps leaders develop team behavior agreements that support cooperation and collaboration in the organization, leaders can use this same resource as a pre-hiring selection tool or for onboarding new employees.
I fully agree that slow to respond is a good indicator of whether a person is fired up and motivated. Once they become members of your organization, the key is keeping them that way where commitment, consistency, drive, good relationships, trust and communication skills are important.
There are a couple of additional comments that we'd make:
1. We generally agree with Edwin, but:
2. The first employees must embrace the founders vision;
3. The first employees should complement the founder, and do things well that he/she doesn't do well.
John Heinrich
Chief Mentor,
American School of Entrpreneurship
John:
I completely agree. No doubt a very important aspect of starting a company and selecting employees. I believe that is really what Gurbaksh left out of his presentation. I feel he would agree with your statement.
Hiring your first employee is indeed the key and the most crucial thing to do for your business. It is where your business relies if it will be successful. Thinking what is lacking in your business and filling it up will also help in your business progress. When hiring employees always keep in mind that it is easy to hire an employee’s but it is difficult to hire the right one for the job. Another is before hiring give a short test related to the job that will test not only their knowledge but also their problem solving skills. Here is an article regarding hiring mistakes that you don’t want to do in your business. https://www.staff.com/blog/hiring-on-seek-a-mista…