"In his bestselling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins specified that those who build great companies make sure they have the right people on the bus and the right people in the key seats before they determine out where to drive the bus. Collins added that great companies usually assume first about who rather than what. When dealing with chaos and uncertainty, and you can't possibly predict what's coming around the corner, your best "strategy" is to have a busload of people who can adapt to and perform brilliantly no matter what comes next. Great vision besides great people is irrelevant. Unfortunately many smaller organizations are not getting this message.

Our company has labored with and/or carried out research with a massive number of small organizations from a vast amount of industries throughout the previous decade. Many of these organizations do the actual contrary of the Collins' mantra. They continue to put the wrong people in the wrong seats, impeding growth and profitability. In the start-up section many organizations are understandably strapped both financially and operationally. The leadership owner(s) will have a tendency to forgo usual hiring methods and area friends and relatives, with little or no track record, in executive positions. For example, a friend who took a few marketing courses in college can also be tabbed to serve as Director of Marketing. A cousin who acquired a degree in accounting can also be called upon as Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

 A nephew who seemingly has a gift of gab will be called upon to be the Director of Sales. While these examples seem extreme, if not laughable, they continue to take place more frequently than not. Many of these small businesses have well defined aims and goals. Their aim is to scale from $0-$1 million in year one, $1-$3 million in year two, and $3-$5 million in year three. If the aim is to be a $5 million company in three years the question ownership have to ask is do we have the right people in the right seats to get us there? As the organization moves out of the launch phase, ownership wants to reevaluate its executive team.

Are sales on track? Is the person with the gift of gab certainly closing offers or are they just good at talking about them? Does the director of marketing certainly have a stable plan in vicinity that takes full benefit of advertising, public relations and social media or are they relying on text books to learn as they go? Are financial projections and accounting methods correctly detailed and itemized or is the CFO taking an online course to strive to determine it all out? Ownership needs to take a deep dive inside every key department.

Those who are not a good long term fit as a division manager have to be reassigned if possible or just terminated. While some feathers can also be ruffled as part of the method the long term growth and sustainability of the business ought to come first. In order to fill those essential positions left by the ill-equipped, candidates who have the right background and experience can be brought on board. However, to keep away from additional hiring mistakes, leadership wants to outline the kind of person wanted for each position. Exact tasks and duties have to be detailed.

A sample best-candidate job history and academic background want to be created.

Personality traits also play a strong role in any job evaluation. While the hiring technique can also seem difficult and time consuming, luckily there are many tools available to assist leadership via the hiring process. Many provide a deep diagnostic analysis to make sure the person who is quiet and introverted does not end-up in sales or the pretty extroverted and hyper-intense person does not end up holding down a desk in administration. One HR device we have found to be most effective is the RP/RSsm personnel assessment platform. This platform is almost 100% correct in making sure the right person is suitably matched with the right job.

Making sure the right people are in the right seats is the excellent way to create predictable growth and scalability, keep away from stagnation, and generate more freedom for the owner.

Author Name: Rick Cottrell