Who (Hiring)

From earlier notes:

Notes from the book

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Method-Hiring-Geoff-Smart-ebook/dp/B001EL6RWY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

General

  • Bar: 90 percent confidence that the person can do the job that only 10 percent of candidates could do
  • Four steps to the hire
    1. Scorecard
    2. Sourcing
    3. Selecting
    4. Selling
  • Scorecard - define clearly what success looks like - Mission - exec summary to clarify need - Outcomes - Specific achievable things - ==Competencies - what’s needed to achieve those things == - Evaluating - what really matters - Heinz: Chemistry, commitment, coachable, ego in check, intellect

    [!note]+ Others

    • ==Can generate penetrating insights==
    • High standards
    • Efficiency of output
    • Integrity
    • Earns trust and maintains confidence
    • Organization and planning
    • Speaks plainly
    • Moves quickly, aggressive
    • Lives up to commitments
    • Learns quickly
    • Proficiently learns new
    • Analytical skills to process and draw insights from data
    • Attention to detail - won’t let things slip
    • Tenacity, willingness to go the distance
    • Brings new ideas
    • Proactivity
    • Coaching
    • Adjusts quickly to new condition s
    • Calm under pressure
    • Strategic thinking and communication
    • Creativity and innovation
    • Enthusiasm
    • Work ethic
    • Listening skills
    • Openness to criticism / new ideas
    • Speaks and writes clearly
    • Teamwork
    • Persuasion

Sourcing

  • Ask people “who are the most talented people you know that I should hire”
  • Your expanded networks are always your best source of talent
  • “==Source __ great candidates” as a requirement for promotion==

Selecting: screens, topgrader, focus interviews

  • Screening call -
    • “I’m going to use the first portion to get to know you, then let you get to know us - sound good”
    • Four key repeatable questions
    • What are your career goals
      • (give them the first word, ==look for clarity and passion== )
    • What are you really good at professionally
      • Push for 8-12 candidates, and push for examples
    • What are you not so good at or not interested in
      • “that sounds like a strength..what are you really not good at” - ” what will your references say”
      • Push for 5-8 real ones
    • ==Who were your last 5 bosses and how will they each rate your performance 1-10 scale== when we talk to them
      • Ask for details and explanation
      • Look for 8+
    • Ask “what, how or why or tell me more” questions to follow up
  • **Topgrading interview **
    • Go through each step in their career (starting with education) with some consistent questions
      • What were you hired to do
      • What accomplishments are you most proud of
        • Get the stories behind the resume statements
      • What were some low points
      • Who did you work with? Specifically your boss (how do you spell that?) What will they tell me are your biggest strengths and weaknesses
        • What was it like working with them?
      • How would you rate the team when you came in? When you left?
      • Why and how did you leave that job?
    • Look for
      • Data points to line up with your scorecard, or not
      • Specificity and awareness of
      • Outcomes linked to goals, rather than just activities
      • Awareness of and respect for previous relationships
      • Did they leave in a way that shows growth or success, or limitations?
    • Conducting well
      • ==Allocate 90 minutes for junior positions, 3 hours on average, 5 hours for senior ==
      • Someone senior (CEO or hiring mgr) conducts to get all the data + someone else joins /shadows
      • “this will be diff..chrono,..for each going to ask 5 questions…”
      • Master tactics
        • Interrupting - have to. It will take too long otherwise. You know what you need to know more than them. move them to it. (Do it well - use reflective listening, positive, and deflect to next / previous thing)
        • 3 PS - to clarify
          • How did your performance compare to previous years , to plan, to peers ?
        • Push vs pull. Don’t hire ppl who were pushed out of 20% of jobs
        • Picture - empathic imagination of details. Put yourself in their shoes and try to fully understanding
        • Stopping at stop signs - look for signs of cover ups or more detail and dig
  • Focus interview
    • Involve other team members and focus on new things
    • Focus on [fill in key competency of outcome to be focused on]
      • What are your biggest accomplishment in this area?
      • What are your insights about your biggest failures, etc in this area
      • Get curious and ask follow-ups on these
    • Look for
      • Clear proof of scorecard alignment
      • Final gauge of cultural fit
  • Interview slate
    • Prep/prebrief (interview team reviews)
    • Intro
    • Topgrader
    • Focus interviews
    • Closing and next steps
    • Review and decision
  • Reference calls
    • Don’t skimp, these are critical
    • Pick your own (from topgrading) and ask candidate to set up, don’t let them choose
    • 4-7 references, mix of peers, managers, subordinates
      • What work did you do with them.
      • Biggest strnghts
      • Biggest areas for improvements (back then)
      • Rate on 1-10 scale. Why?
      • They said they struggled with X, can you tell me about that
    • Can jog their memory with things from topgrading interview and open up new things
    • Read between the lines, connect dots from interview and ask for more

Selecting

==- skill and will decision (can they and will they do it) on each outcome==

  • Rate on each competency required on the scorecard
  • 90 percent confidence in skill and will match
  • Red flags- takes too much credit, not aware of failures, more interested in comp, tries to look like expert, talk poorly of boss/colleagues, too much need to win,

Sell

  • ==show you care about fit for them, and it will differente from those who only attend to fit for us==
  • Other