Tweet

Hiring the right people

Written by: Seth Godin

Article Overview: Bought some stuff at the Container Store yesterday (this is a true story, btw).

Hiring the right people

Bought some stuff at the Container Store yesterday (this is a true story, btw).

The clerk bagged the items.

Then decided she had used too big a bag.

So she took the items out, carefully refolded the bag and grabbed a smaller bag.

Bagged the items.

Decided that this was good, but that new bag might not be sturdy enough.

So she took a second bag and put the first bag into the second bag to reinforce it.

I finally had to grab the stuff out of her hands, stifling her screams for more time, more time, and ran out of the store, even though she was concerned that the 'paid' sticker on the oversize item was a little crooked.

Sure, she was an annoying nut. But she was passionate about containers, certainly. Smart hiring goes a long way.

Related Articles
  A Reliable Predictor of Job Performance
  The Pros and Cons of Hiring Green Salespeople
  What are you hiring for?
  Free Sales Hiring Mistake Calculator
  Avoiding Inappropriate Interview Questions

Article Tags: container store, containers, screams, true story



Related Forum Posts
Re: looking for experienced affiliate feedback - Hi Nancy, Hiring an experienced firm to market and sell your products is certainly a viable option. It all depends on whether you want to spend more of your time or money. Hiring a firm is going to cost a good bit I imagine. On the flip side, to do most of the work yourself and attract affiliates to sell your products for you will require much less money but a lot more time and effort. Do you have a budget to work within? Or perhaps maybe you have a loan to get things moving?
Re: Search Engine Optimization - Hi Thomas, So what would you recommend? Hiring an SEO expert or simply trying your hand at doing it yourself?
Hiring freelancers - Hi John, Hiring freelancers is a great way to reduce some of the burdens on your time before you hire full time. The first person I hired came on for an hour a day until we were able to take more time from him. I have always first looked to people I know for hiring freelancers. If there was someone in my immediate network who I think could help I approach them about it. If you have to go outside, look at references from your network. I have hired a number of people who have worked out well based on a reference from a friend. You can also try the elance route. I have had mixed results here. Some of the people I have brought on have been fantastic while others have been duds. My best advice here is to be very specific with what needs to be done because you are not meeting the people you hire face to face - everything is online. Try hiring more than one person if you can to test them out and look at the references and rankings they received from previous employers on elance. Good luck!
Dropping out of school - I remember Dave Thomas, a man who dropped out of high school to found Wendys and turned into a millionaire, saying to people who pointed to this fact.... "Just think what I'd've been able to do if I HAD gone to college." In other words he was thinking he could've been even better if he'd gotten that extra education. Although in this day and age where young guys - and gals - with computer smarts can provide an invaluable service at a young age... they might not need to go to college to learn how to do what they already [i:ckavbg5w]know [/i:ckavbg5w]how to do... but do they have the business knowledge to run the [i:ckavbg5w]business [/i:ckavbg5w]end of their business? Hiring people, doing accounting, making sure your accountant isn't diddling you, etc. etc. Although it's not necessary to go to college to get those skills - a votech will do.... some education in those areas is necessary, I would think.
Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Unharnessing Creativity in Business

Selling What Sizzles vs. Delivering Real Value

Leading from Authenticity is a Beautiful Thing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.