How to Find the Right People and Build the Best Team

Today, I want to dispel an all-to-common lie we tell ourselves:

"If we can get the best talent, we'll dominate the industry."

How do we find the best talent? Well, résumés, of course...right?

Any schlub with a laptop and ChatGPT, or willing to spend $100 on Fiverr, can get a world-class résumé.

So, maybe we need to look at something else.

Today, I want to discuss the sorely abused and never-used company core values.

Why are Résumés Unreliable?

We've all heard the joke – how would you write that you changed a light bulb on your résumé?

"Single-handedly managed the successful upgrade and deployment of new environmental illumination system with zero cost overruns and zero safety incidents."

I'm not saying not to look at résumés altogether. I think they are a great means of filtering down 100 candidates to 10-15.

All I'm trying to communicate is that if you put your eggs in that basket, you'll likely hire a nitwit who has gotten really good at looking busy.

I remember at an e-commerce company I co-founded about 15 years ago, I was looking to hire a Director of Shipping and Fulfilment.

After painstakingly reviewing dozens of résumés and spending half a week's worth of time interviewing, my team and I convened and agreed that one applicant stood out.

I mean, this guy's résumé was glowing. 🌟

So we hired him.

Then we fired him – 1 month later. Why?

I didn't know it then but later realized that he didn't fit our company values (which we didn't formerly have – but absolutely existed).

It wasn't until a few years later that Core Values began to make sense to me.

A Better Option – Core Values.

We often times view core values as characteristics we aspire to have or traits we think our clients will find impressive.

The net result is a $743 aluminum-coated sign in the company lobby that no one cares about.

I think it goes without saying – this is wildly unhelpful.

Core values are not meant to be refrigerator magnets. 

Core values are deeply engrained principles that guide all actions.

And, if true to who a company is, and not who they aspire to be, core values become one of the most powerful hiring tools.

Today, by the time an interview candidate gets to me in the hiring process, I don't need to spend time evaluating competency. My team has already done this.

I spend my interview time asking very specific questions to discover if they align with our core values.

Not if they will SUPPORT these core values but if they ARE these core values.

The result? A growing team that:

1. Works seamlessly together,
2. operates with the same ferocity,
3. engages in deep debates with one another,
4. and enjoys working with one another.

We spend less time arguing needlessly about superfluous items and more time working together to get the right things done.

Together, we can do anything.

Discovering Values That Actually Mean Something.

So, what does it look like to create values that actually mean something?

Here is the process I use personally and with my clients to determine core values deeply ingrained within their company.

Do this with your leadership team (preferred), or give it a shot by yourself. Pull out a piece of paper and: 

1. Write down 3 people on your team that if you had 50 of them, you could take over the world.
2. List out all of the characteristics these people possess that describe why you picked them.
3. Review the list and remove any characteristics that might fall into any of these three categories:
   1. Aspirational: You'd love to say it's a core value, but it's really not who you are deep down.
   2. Accidental: This characteristic may have gotten you here, but it won't get you there.
   3. Common: A value everyone should have that doesn't set you apart (i.e., integrity, professionalism, or hard work). These are entry level characteristics anyone needs to get a good job. Set the bar higher and find what really makes your team uniquely YOU!
4. Select the top 3 to 5 values that make you say to yourself, "Yes...this is who we are – give me more of these people."
5. Analyze how your current team is aligned/misaligned with these values.
   
   1. Rate each team member 1 to 5 on each value.
   2. The people you believe are absolutely the right people for your company should score in the 4 to 5 range on each value.
   3. The people you secretly wish would leave the company should score in the 1 to 3 range on each value.
6. Revise your values. If you have team members you love working with who score in the 1 to 3 range on any of your values, you might have a value that isn't core.
   1. Rinse and repeat this process until you believe deep down that if everyone on your team fit these values, you'd dominate the world.

Ensuring They Stick – And You Reap the Rewards.

Once you have these values in place, you must ensure they don't simply become a piece of wall art.

• Review these core values at all team meetings.
• Hire, fire, review, reward, and recognize your people based on these values.
• Implement these values into your annual incentive plan.
• Ensure managers understand and hold to these values, then begin reviewing and coaching their teams on them in their Quarterly Check-ins.

If you create honest and unique core values, you'll find that over time (give it 6 to 12 months to work itself out):

1. the right people will join and stay on your team.
2. the wrong people will leave (voluntarily or involuntarily).
3. you'll enjoy the people you work with.
4. you'll accomplish way more with significantly less resources.
5. and you'll buy me ice cream (I like raspberry and lemon sorbet) because it's the best thing you've ever done.

Hope you build the company you've always dreamed of having. It starts with Core Values.

🍨