50 Powerful Perspectives about Hiring (Part 2/5)
Over the past 2 decades, DyNexus Recruiting has recruited, placed and hired hundreds of ERP and CRM (IT) consultants for VARs, ISVs and ERP & CRM end-user companies. A few weeks ago we introduced our ’50 Powerful Perspectives about Hiring’ series that brought together 50 quotes about hiring from 50 of the world’s most influential hirers. You will likely know most of these names, but you may not know their powerful perspective on hiring. Continuing our countdown, here’s 31-40:
31. “When I find an employee who turns out to be wrong for a job, I feel it is my fault because I made the decision to hire him.” Akio Morita
32. “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.” David Ogilvy
33. “Recruiting is hard. It’s just finding the needles in the haystack. You can’t know enough in a one-hour interview. So, in the end, it’s ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they’re challenged? I ask everybody that: “Why are you here?” The answers themselves are not what you’re looking for. It’s the meta-data. ” Steve Jobs
34. “When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the ante. They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, Are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself. They’ll want to do what’s best for Apple, not what’s best for them, what’s best for Steve, or anybody else.” Steve Jobs
35. “Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.” Warren Buffet
36. “Development can help great people be even better–but if I had a dollar to spend, I’d spend 70 cents getting the right person in the door.” Paul Russell
37. “Leaders don’t flock. You have to find them one at a time.” Ross Perot
38. “If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could [because] the single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people.” Jim Collins
39. “In determining the right people, the good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience.” Jim Collins
40. “The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake. The best people don’t need to be managed. Guided, taught, led–yes. But not tightly managed.” Jim Collins
If it was easy, children would be doing it.