People always ask me if there is a secret to having a successful company. Honestly, I get a little squirmy when I hear the word “success” because I am not sure we have seen that as of yet. Have we accomplished some amazing things, absolutely! But are we “successful?” I am not sure I can admit that yet. However, for any successes we have seen thus far in the journey, there really has been no magic secret. There is however always a caution.
Caution:
The moment you begin to believe your own press, to think yourself better than you are, is the moment your company will be in decline. If I were to be pressed into identifying key elements that have been core ideas for us, it would have to begin with hiring. When we seek to hire people for our company, we look for people that are smart, intelligent, creative, analytical, and team players. But in order to do that, we, as a staff and more specifically, I, as the leader, have to be willing to admit that I don’t know it all. We have to be willing to hire better than ourselves. WIth this in mind, our collective goal when looking for new staff members is to always try and better the organization.
Very early in my career I had a conversation with a Fortune 500 CEO that truly began shaping my hiring philosophy. As we sat and had our scrambled eggs with onions, flat bacon and terribly weak coffee, I had the opportunity to talk leadership with him. What a privilege to learn from this extraordinary leader. True to our monthly breakfast conversations, his words were straight forward and to the point. “If you want to grow your company, check your ego at the door and hire better than yourself. Show me a company that is struggling to grow and I will show you a leader that is too scared to hire better than himself/herself.” And with those words, my hiring philosophy began to emerge. Since that conversation so many years ago, countless hours and numerous interviews have taken place to make sure our organization grows in leadership each and every time we bring a new staff member into the company. And yes, I still like scrambled eggs with onions, flat bacon and coffee!