I'm Safe From My Competitors as Long as They do Their Own Hiring.

I recently wrote a e-newsletter entitled "The Problem with Hiring an Occasional Bomber." A lot of people were disturbed by the idea that the only line of defence between us and terrorists was their own incompetence in hiring. The proof lies in that so many of the recent bombers got through all security measures and the one and only thing preventing lives from being lost was that the bombers themselves aren't good at their jobs and they don't do it often enough. Let's face it, whoever hires terrorists isn't very good at it. (something I'm grateful for!)

My finest response was from a CEO who puzzled over whether I was brilliant in observing this or irresponsible for pointing it out. He seemed to give me the benefit of the doubt, so I can safely tell my children he sided with "brilliant."

Like the terrorists, don't do your own hiring, you won't get good results. You're just not good at it. Hiring is like driving a car. We're all convinced we drive better than average and it's the other fools on the road that cause accidents.

I'm here to tell you it's just not so. Accountants who can't read spreadsheets, who can't build a system, were hired by somebody who thought they were good at it. Every salesperson who is under quota was hired by somebody who thought they themselves were good at sales. Every union shop became union because a business owner was convinced he was great at hiring but somehow managed to hire an abusive manager. Every angry customer got that way because some product or service included an employee somebody hired because they thought they had the "right" person.

Really, all business problems are caused by people who think they can hire, but can't.

I believe hiring cannot be done by the manager needing the new person and frequently not even the company, because it's all too personal. Like choosing a mate, there is nothing logical about it. People tend to unconsciously select a mate because that person represents what's missing in us. We choose to complete our own shortcomings through them, rather than making an objective & right decision.

This is why someone's hiring choices are so difficult to reverse. The choice in candidate reflects what's missing inside themselves.

Hiring should never be done by those doing the hiring. Period.

See you for breakfast!
Wolfgang


p.s. June 16th, Recruiting, selection, still some seats left. Bring anyone and everyone who gets involved in your company's hiring process. The seminar is better than the newsletter!

p.s. We're safe from terrorists as long they're doing their own hiring. It could be I'm safe from my competitors as long as they too are doing their own hiring.

p.s. You shouldn't do your own dental work, and you shouldn't do your own hiring. Get professional help and stick to what you know. It will end better.

The Problem With Hiring an Occasional Bomber

If the terrorists ever fine tune their recruiting process and get better at the actual selection of bombers, we're in big trouble. Terrorists, like managers, are very capable of recruiting but fail when it comes to selection. Selection, - that final place - when you're looking at two qualified individuals and you choose the wrong one. That's selection.

Remember Richard Reid? The shoe bomber who during a flight lit matches in his seat? The naive flight attendant told him it was a no smoking flight. Richard promised to behave. The only reason the bomb never exploded was Reid had worn the shoes for more than a day and perspiration had made the fuse damp. A small oversight that only happens to infrequent, or occasional bombers.

Then there was Umar, the underwear bomber who couldn't set his own pants on fire competently. Same problem: selection. He was an occasional bomber. If he was engaged in setting his pants a blaze full time, he would have gotten the job done and blown the jet out of the sky.

This last weekend, May 1st, we meet Shazad, the failed Times Square car bomber. Shazad, also not a fulltime bomber, left the explosive laden Isuzu smoking at the curb, causing street vendors to call the cops. Additionally, he left his get-away car keys in the car bomb vehicle and had to go back to the Isuzu bomb, while police were already working the area. This happens a lot, I understand, but only to the "occasional bomber," or the "bombing hobbyist."

Every day managers select people who did some work or function, "occasionally," or a long time ago. We call them "occasional bombers." Resumes so often feature "strengths and achievements" sections. If you want the job done properly hire someone who's done it every day for the last five years. It's just bad management to hire these "occasional bombers."

Read the resume and decide whether the candidate has done what you need done recently and daily. “Walk me through your average day, in detail.” Stop hiring people who have no experience at setting their underwear on fire. Hire serious, full time, committed bombers, not hobbyists.

June workshop is recruiting & selection. This isn’t a workshop to be missed!

See you for breakfast,
Wolfgang

a. Register for June 16th Recruiting & Selection workshop at www.managing.ca.

b. If you are an occasional reader of my newsletter, make no mistake, I take terrorism very seriously. I'm also interested in the problems enlightenment of any stripe, whether religious, environmental, social, or in management - causes. Unintended consequences seem to overshadow the intended ones. My beliefs, unlike the terrorists, are to focus on my own life, to become a better, kinder person and if it's ok with you, I'm not going to try and save the world but I will be nice to you and your dog.

c. I quickly wikipedia'd the history of terrorism, and gave up. The list of terrorist acts in 2009 alone is so lengthy. Try it sometime. Any thinking human has to conclude enlightenment should be regulated and taxed. Same as any other sin tax.