2009, 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Share Their Secrets to Success

Scenario: Your company is growing fast and you realize you need to hire or replace key executives or managers. You feel the pressure to hire or promote quickly. You want to choose the right people for the job, but expediency is taking priority over the time-consuming interviewing process. In the end, you fill the positions with handy “qualified” people so you can concentrate on other things.As leaders we often forget…we get what we set ourselves up for!We like to blame the environment for our problems and say stuff like “Things are so quickly changing, etc., etc.” No one ever talks about the dirty little secret that SOME RESULTS THAT LOOK LIKE SUCCESS (hiring more staff, outgrowing facilities, rapid growth, etc.) OFTEN BREED FAILURE, and that’s what SETS UP THE CHAOS. It is not the environment . . . the environment can be harnessed. Below you will see how two of my clients have done it.Most executives face the hiring issue as their company travels through The Business Lifecycle™ -- or developmental stages of building a business that can scale. This issue encompasses two of what I have identified as The Top 12 Warning Signs of Success™...1. Hiring & Promoting for ExtinctionAs the company matures, the need for new/different talent becomes apparent. The leadership knows what they want for a key position; perhaps they even have a very detailed job description along with specific expectations. But due to their unknowingly flawed hiring and promoting practices…friends, family members, partners, ‘pedigreed’ executives hired from the outside or long-term loyal employees – who are not qualified for the job – are filling key positions. This leads to the next Warning Sign … 2. Us vs. ThemThis is when the corporate culture comes under attack by frustrated managers and employees who feel like what was once considered an absolute and non-negotiable set of values and way of “doing things” is now being compromised due to “look the other way” deals for special people or brilliant jerks. This unintentionally sets up the start of an underground culture called “Us vs. Them.” It is not clearly understood or explained that there is a difference between non-negotiable core values and a culture that must mature (like a teenager into adult) along with the company’s success and growth.The good news: Because these Warning Signs of Success™ are predictable, they also are preventable. It is my experience that to build a business that can scale, company leaders have to be able to predict the problems before they show up in the results. In this chaotic business environment, if you cannot see around the corners, you are likely to grow you, your team and your company into unwanted train wrecks!If you think your hiring process is flawed, fix it now, before problems (or more problems) arise. By making the proper adjustments, you’ll be able to assemble the right team, which is key to preserving – or improving - your company culture.Brett Hurt, CEO of Bazaarvoice and a 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, has built a world class team by not compromising during the hiring process. I’ve been working with Brett for two years and he and I both believe that hiring the wrong people dilutes a company’s culture.“The higher up you are and you have someone in the wrong role, the more destructive it is to your culture because it is this chain reaction that goes down the whole chain. … How you hire, you promote and how you fire say more about your culture than anything else,” Hurt said. (Texas CEO Magazine)At Bazaarvoice, each job candidate goes through an extensive interviewing process, including a test that simulates the position’s duties. The average candidate spends 12-16 hours preparing for the test, and half fail."It's really about testing their passion," Hurt said (American-Statesman). "It means that we take time to find the right people, even when we are under pressure to add people. But it's worth it."The proof is in the pudding. Bazaarvoice has grown from 85 employees to over 650 employees in four years and was voted Best Places to Work in Austin in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.The benefits of hiring the right people are obvious. Furthermore, I believe another key to building a business that can scale, rather than growing a business through trial and error, is to coach leaders and their teams to become problem-predictors rather than problem-solvers.To quote another long-time client Bill Morrow, CEO of CSIdenty Corp. and a 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year: “The bottom line is that you don’t have to be surprised by surprises. You can manage your way to success by building a team with experienced leaders capable of identifying issues and scouring the company, industry and regulatory bodies for key data. A team with focus will be prepared for the fight”. (abjEntrepreneur.com)With the right leaders at your side - along with a strong company CULTURE that is REAL, AUTHENTIC and drives your team’s DAILY behaviors - your organization will thrive amidst any downturn or crisis it encounters.QUESTION: What hiring practices have you found helpful?