Are you looking for talent?
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on December 30th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
If you’re thinking of hiring in the new year and the increase in National Insurance contributions feels like chump change to you - especially if you're looking for candidates in leadership roles - I’ve got some killer tips.
I believe this letter will be as refreshing as ice cream on a hot sunny day for you.
So good you might even add chocolate sauce.
It’s true, truer than anything I have discovered in 20 years of this vocation called entrepreneurship: if you have superstars in the right positions, all your problems will diminish.
It’s up there with whoever decided to put walnuts on my coffee cake.
Some things are just perfect and the right people make perfect companies.
When I take over companies or start a new revenue stream, I always think “who, not how.”
That’s the shortcut to business success; it’s that simple.
The key is to employ people who are better than you to manage the day-to-day operations.
They handle the possible so you can focus on the impossible.
No one can do both; it simply doesn’t work.
The impossible tasks, which you should be focusing on, require mental space and quality time for that mental space to foster positive outcomes.
From my own habits and practices as a leader of many, I’ve discovered that you’ll only have faith in developing these “growing skills” if you trust your day-to-day operating team.
The formula for success is E + M = S (entrepreneurship plus management equals success).
When I acquired the hotel, I quickly assessed the deal in my mind.
Completing the deal and crunching the numbers is the easy part - the aspect most people fret about, but not me, nor anyone with experience.
I spent considerably more time agonising over who could manage the operation because it wasn’t going to be me.
This deal was a good price for a hotel, but no management came with it.
I only bought the hotel because I knew I could transfer some of my existing management from elsewhere in the business to this new venture.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! As a result, I could implement trust and processes from my team and promote from within.
If promoting from within isn’t feasible right now, here are some top tips to ensure we don’t misstep in hiring our most senior personnel - your future Finance Director or Managing Director, your next manager, or head of department.
Here are four quick wins that will add rocket fuel to your quest for talent:
Ask for Recommendations from existing employees: Encourage your team to recommend individuals they have worked with in the past that were A players.
Their insights will help you get cultural and talent fit from the off with work ethic, cultural fit, and potential flaws, allowing you to make more informed decisions, no one wants to recommend a rubbish restaurant and your team will be careful not do this with future colleagues.
This tip is often underutilised; consider offering a bonus to staff who identify great team members after their probation periods.
Use Multiple Interviews: Adopt the principle of "hire slow, fire fast." As soon as you recognise that someone isn’t the right fit, take action promptly.
This is beneficial for both you and them. Typically, poor hires stem from inadequate recruitment processes.
I suggest having a group interview with all candidates, showcasing your vision for the business. This should be followed by a one-on-one interview, and subsequently another one-on-one with a different interviewer while you listen in.
Having another perspective—perhaps from a fellow business owner or director—can provide valuable insights.
Present a Business Plan: Share your vision with potential senior hires and ask them to devise a plan for how they will deliver it to you.
Their presentation, made in front of you and all stakeholders, will reveal their ability to inspire and lead others. The amazing by product of this technique, means your existing team will feel part of the decision for the next senior role.
Assess Communication Skills: During one of the one-on-one interviews, ask candidates what they consider themselves an expert in and have them speak about it for five minutes with no preparation.
Provide them with a flip chart for their presentation and get them to do it on the fly there and then.
It could be about anything—coffee, cooking, or fishing. This will give you a true reflection of their communication skills. Investment banks often use this technique during interviews, and I believe it’s effective.
There’s a heap more and you’ll be able to get them in my new book. The Dream Team. Should be out in a few weeks. How exciting.
The new year is just hours away. At this reflective time, instead of succumbing to 'new year, new me' fantasies, I find it more beneficial to consider what new habits you’ll create to achieve greater heights of success.
Good habits stay with you and work alongside you.
I’ve found that writing down goals and creating vision boards works wonders; it’s surprising how many goals I hit when I write them down.
They might take a couple of extra years to achieve, but they do come to fruition. I want to leave you with a quote from the late, great Steve Jobs, one of the most innovative figures in modern history. Just in case you seek insight from the man who built Apple, transformed Pixar, and became the largest shareholder in Disney by the time of his death:
“Some years you win. Some years you build character.”
The moments you lose and the challenges you face can become our greatest gifts.
If you accept them with grace and dignity, and learn from the feedback, you gain valuable education.
Tough times forge tough people - they become resourceful, and the world around them recognises this and le
They become resourceful, and the world around them recognises this and leans into them. The good people you want to employ see that; investors and funders do too.
Good and great people possess a heightened sense of gut instinct.
Those who succeed in life won’t tolerate fools easily and can spot them quickly.
Our instincts for judging character are rarely wrong.
Lastly…
My boss said “dress for the job you want, not for the job you have.”
So I went in as Batman.
To your continued success
James
P.S. My next event is not far away now gang and the tickets are very limited, make sure you secure your seat here
P.S. Buying Business is on the 25th March 2025 and I’d love to see you there. Find out more here.