Introducing "Food for Thought" #77. The formula is simple: three short messages once a week to feed your mind.
Management
Zero tolerance for non-performance
A successful team is an interdependent team, where everyone needs everyone else to succeed. If one member is slowing down the chain and negatively impacting the rest of the team, and we tolerate him as a leader, what does that say about our standards? Former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings applied the keeper test: "If when you hired your employee you knew him as you know him now, would you hire him back?" If the answer is no, action must be taken quickly.
Retention
A players attract A players
Steve Jobs, speaking of his success, said: "I built a lot of my success on finding 'superstars' for the team, not just C players. And I discovered something: when you have enough A players, they really love working together, because they've never had the opportunity to do so before. They don't want to work with B and C players, so it becomes almost self-regulating. They want to recruit more A players, and it spreads naturally through the team."
Recruitment
You can't build teams of A players by being cheap
Trying to save money by hiring an accountant at half price may seem advantageous in the short term. But in the long term, it's a losing strategy. Ask yourself the real question: how much money could a top accountant save or bring in? Investing in the right people isn't an expense, it's a smart, sustainable business strategy. Top-level talent, properly supported, will propel your team far beyond your expectations.
