VC Minute – quick advice to help startup founders fundraise better
Click below to listen. 2m 12s duration.
Subscribe to your podcast platform of choice.
Jeff Gardner:
You are not going to get the right people 100 percent of the time. That should be your goal, but just know that it’s not going to happen. I’ve hired thousands of people at this point, and we will still get it wrong from time to time. The studies out there show that they range from getting it right 40 percent of the time to some saying you get it right up to 80 percent of the time. But think about it: you’re getting it, let’s call it 50 to 60 percent of the time. So how do you increase the probability that you are going to hire the right people?
The methodology that I love and I have found works so well is actually written by a gentleman named Geoffrey Smart, and the book is called “Who.” I recommend it to people all of the time. It provides a very disciplined approach to hiring people. It starts with getting a scorecard together. One of the things we’ve talked about previously is setting expectations, setting the big three, knowing what each person needs to deliver each quarter. If you sit down and say, “Listen, I’m going to hire a head of sales, and the goals for this person are they need to be able to take me from 5 million to 25 million in the next 3 years. They need to be able to hire an A team.” You have very specific goals. And so when you’re interviewing them, you’re not interviewing for some abstractness. You’re going very, very specific and finding out, has this person done this? Have they taken a company from 5 to 25? Have they hired the A team?
Part of the process is you’re continually peeling back the onion and asking deeper and deeper questions to be able to get to the answers to understand the way this person ticks. And then you score it up, and you lay side by side all the candidates you’re considering for the position. I have found that when you are this disciplined with this process, we have pushed our hiring the right person up above the 90 percent mark. I highly recommend this book; it’s called “Who: The A Method for Hiring” written by Geoff Smart. It takes time, but if you think about the time and energy it takes when you hire the wrong person, it is a huge time saver in the long run.
About “Love Your People” by Jeff Gardner
Love over fear is the key to exceptional leadership. ‘Love Your People’ shatters conventional wisdom by advocating for a love-based approach that sparks unparalleled organizational success. Through gripping narratives, bold insights, and disruptive guidance, this manifesto redefines love as a strategic weapon, unleashing innovation, autonomy, and transparency. It challenges fear-driven leadership paradigms, igniting empowerment and championing personal growth and collaboration.
Pick up your copy of Love Your People – An Entrepreneurial Leadership System at Amazon
About AVL Growth Partners
AVL Growth Partners, founded in 2009, is the leading fractional Finance and Accounting firm supporting organizations in pivoting from growth to scale. AVL brings an experienced team of CFOs, Controllers, and Accountants to your organization, delivering transparent, strategic actions for short and long-term success. Transform your financial approach affordably with AVL, supporting companies coast to coast – get to know AVL Growth Partners at avlgrowth.com. (Sponsored)
Visit the VC Minute homepage for more episodes and more ways to subscribe.
