The Program

5Recruiting and Hiring “Best”

TEAMS DON’T FAIL because of lack of people. Teams fail because of who those people are. As stated earlier, Core Values define who the “best” people are for our organization, and the best people form the foundation of our culture.

Teams don’t fail because of lack of people. Teams fail because of who those people are.

College and professional athletic teams spend millions of dollars annually on finding and recruiting the biggest, fastest, strongest, most talented athletes. Almost every Fortune 500 company spends even more in a never-ending search for the smartest, most talented employees. Most firms look at educational background to determine if someone might be qualified. If a recruit has the necessary talent, coaches speak to high school or AAU coaches and ask if the athlete is “a good kid.” Corporate interviewers spend most of an interview asking about the applicant’s extracurricular activities. This is, at best, imperfect, and for the most part doesn’t at all accomplish the intended task of ensuring a good “fit.” Instead, it produces favorable outcomes for individuals who share a similar personality or free-time pursuits with the interviewer.

The results are what you would expect: athletic teams and corporations end up with the talent they need to compete on their particular battlefield, but not the “best” people for their organization. Unfortunately, some of these same recruits are the ones who create an incredible amount of frustration ...