Admit it, it is hard finding talented people with a good attitude, who are not set in their own ways, and who are eager to improve their skills! Yes, we are already at a disadvantage since we don’t have the deep pockets of an IPOed company. But, we also tend to create several other self-inflicted… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Talent Management
Signs It Is the Right Time to Hire an Operations Executive (COO or VP of Operations)
The day-to-day execution and administration of a business often takes an excessive amount of time, so the primary reason to augment your team with an Operations Executive is to maximize your CEO’s and other co-founders’ contribution to the enterprise. I firmly believe that staying true to a vision is best achieved by having a founder… Continue Reading
Your Past Restaurant Job May Be Worth More Than Education
Ever since I was a talent agent in the entertainment industry, I have been developing and continuously improving my patterns for detecting gifted people who are more talented than they know. One of my mentors used to say: “catch them before they have a chance to destroy themselves with swollen egos and visions of grander”.… Continue Reading
Better Solution to Outdated One Time Employee Referral Bonuses
One time employee referral bonuses need to go the way of the dodo. They are an antiquated reward system that motivates the wrong things. Yes, some of the most well known companies use them, but these companies end up hurting both themselves and also the business community. Even the biggest morons can waste investor/company money,… Continue Reading
What Do Operations People Do?
Your operations people are the reason customers are happy, vendors continue providing you with services, and employees have enough resources. Operations team is the “A-team” of vision logistics and their #1 mission is to take care of the organization (feed it, protect it, and maintain it). Not all small companies and startups have operations teams,… Continue Reading
12 Lessons I’ve Learned From My Mistakes Managing Employees
Ever since I discovered a phenomenal app called Evernote (it works on all my devices!!!), I have been diligently documenting the lessons I learn each day. I also write drafts of blog articles whenever inspiration hits. If you don’t have Evernote, get it; it will change the way you work. That said, in the last… Continue Reading
Stop Wasting Resources on Improving Weaknesses!
So here is my question for the many organizations that have an unhealthy fascination with improving the weaknesses of their talent: How was Michael Jordan in baseball?.. Exactly! I started my career as a talent agent. Yes, a talent agent in the entertainment industry. I even went to the top school in the field, Columbia College… Continue Reading
Poor Managers Kill Companies – 5 Ways to Improve Your Management Style and Skills
I’ve spent the last several months preparing for the birth of my first child and thinking very hard about the value of my every waking minute. If I am going to spend time away from my child, my work better be making one hell of an impact. So, I have been digging deep and thinking… Continue Reading
The Most Powerful Tool for Improving Morale in a Rapid Pace Environment
Let’s face it, when our companies are searching for the perfect product/market fit or working to scale a repeatable business model, we have plenty of fires to extinguish and opportunities to chase. Closing that next deal, managing another huge money-making project, and releasing the features our customers have been knocking on our doors about can… Continue Reading
6 Lessons Learned – Hiring the Right Inside Sales People for Your Young Company
If you are one of my regular readers, you may have seen my other recruiting articles: “How To Hire Top Talent Without Paying Recruiters“, “Stars vs. Constellations – 3 Steps to Building Solid High-performing Teams“, and lastly, “Beware of “Normal” People in Startups and High-growth Companies“. Today I’d like to share what I’ve learned while… Continue Reading