This is about building an A player's company
How can early-stage startups jumpstart their talent flywheel and keep it alive
Every so often, a manager needs to take a good look at their teams and ask themselves: Do I have an A players’ team? As the adage goes, “A company is only as good as its people.” It's no surprise that top-performing companies focus on recruiting, retaining, and developing the best talent in the market. One effective strategy to achieve this is by embracing the concept of the Talent Flywheel. The Talent Flywheel, popularized by Jim Collins, could become a powerful framework for organizations to attract and retain exceptional employees. The cyclical model creates a self-sustaining loop by consistently attracting high-quality talent and promoting a culture of excellence.
Ignite the flywheel in early-stage startups
Starting a flywheel is always challenging, as with any other endeavor. Hiring the first person who would jumpstart the momentum. Imagine you are an early-stage startup lacking industry credibility without the support of a prestigious university, corporate, or community momentum. You are an underdog in a world of top dogs.
What can you do?
Identify your needs first, build that actionable scorecard.
What specific skills are necessary for this business to move to the next level of success quickly?
Potential pitfall – each company is different. The business you are building is different. Settings, goals, requirements, complementary skills, etc. A top employee at one company wouldn’t necessarily be a good fit for yours. So remember your scorecard.
Second, yet another question for you to address –
How do you identify successful humans?
There is a plethora of wisdom available in books. Here is a short list I advise startups to follow:
Optimistic – enough so to join you in taking big risks.
Consciousness – be able to assess things fast.
Perseverance – unblock hurdle after hurdle.
Intelligence – smart and clever to figure things out.
Mix those with your company values and vision, and you are ready to start building your A-list candidates. No one is out of reach. Dream big. Be ambitious. Meticulous and detail-oriented.
How do you attract talent?
You can pursue, but how do you attract? Attracting the first right talent for your team can be a challenge. However, by making this strategic move, you'll have the opportunity to tap into a larger talent pool, which could ultimately lead to a more successful and thriving business.
Ask yourself:
if you were in their shoes, what would be attractive to you and would have made you join your own company? can you offer them that?
Once you have an idea, start the networking adventure.
Never networked before? checkout How to Win Friends & Influence People book.
Congratulations! They are willing to interview with you.
Fantastic news. Make sure to build an interview process that pedantically asses your scorecard and enables you to build a stronger relationship with your candidate. Keep in mind that your interactions with candidates can have a long-lasting impact, as people often share their experiences on various channels. It's crucial to remain professional and prioritize building relationships, even if any of you decide that this is not the right fit at the moment. things might change in the future.
Oh, no. they left!
As a manager, it can be tough to know all the steps needed for success. After hiring, some key practices include recognizing and rewarding your team, promoting a positive culture, empowering employees to develop their skills, keeping communication open and honest, offering flexible work arrangements, paying competitive salaries, and fostering a sense of belonging. If you're not sure how to implement these practices, consider seeking guidance from an organizational consultant who can help you optimize your business processes and better lead your humans.
Remember – You can always do better.
It can be tough when employees leave, and it's important to take the time to understand why. This applies to everyone on the team, not just the top performers. By doing so, you can gain valuable insight into any challenges within the organization and work towards making positive changes. Try to avoid making assumptions and seek the truth. Neglecting to do so could have a ripple effect that causes others to leave too. Remember to listen carefully for any unspoken cues and respond with empathy and understanding.
Some Good Reads:
Who – Solving the single biggest problem in business today
Fantastic book with detailed frameworks on how to build your A team.
• avoid common “voodoo hiring” methods.
• define the outcomes you seek.
• generate a flow of “A” Players to your team–by implementing the #1 tactic used by successful businesspeople.
• ask the right interview questions to dramatically improve your ability to quickly distinguish an A Player from a B or C candidate.
• attract the person you want to hire, by emphasizing the points the candidate cares about most.
U.S. Companies are on a hiring spree for AI professionals.
The U.S. has over 169,000 AI job openings, offering six-figure salaries.
Companies are adopting AI for efficiency and better decision-making.
The U.S. leads in AI job opportunities compared to India and the UK.
Competition is on for top talent.
As actors strike for AI protections, Netflix lists $900K AI Job
AI impacts creators on all fronts. NLP, video, and image processing are improving and enabling people to do more with less. Think, Deepfake, OpenAI, and so on.
As companies like Netflix and Disney look to increase their returns using it, some in the industry worry about the use of their content and likeness without consent. This has led to ethical questions and concerns about the displacement of human creative professionals. Interestingly enough, some actors have agreed to sell their rights to be used by AI. The Black Mirror S06E01 episode predicts the future yet again.
Jokes aside, a former Air Force intelligence officer testifies to Congress about a concealed UFO(Undefined Flying Objects). The Pentagon denies a cover-up while bipartisan interest grows. Retired Maj. David Grusch claims awareness of “non-human” activity since the 1930s. Lawmakers seek transparency and public disclosure events.
If you are an alien reading this, could you please give us faster, cheaper, and more accessible GPUs?
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Speak soon,
Adi
Thank you Adi. Just read it twice. I think you captured some essential twists of hiring talents. Esp. I enjoyed reading about the part of searching for the truth if people leave. This is essential (!) and yet so often forgotten. Ex. I have never been at an employer were it was done properly. Often it is even very poorly handled and thus the effect that you described always took place. More people left because wildest humors spreed and management as well as top management were incapable of handling any of that to a degree of how it should have been addressed. Cannot emphasize this section enough. At best what you should aim to achieve is getting a five star review on glassdoor (or local plattforms like kununu in Germany) and then show it to the whole team and company. They will know who handled it and who has written it. This is how you keep and gain the trust back within your team (incl. some praise which will help with the next hire because this story spreads waves and people feel happy to work for such great leadership).
Thank you for sharing your insights on this, Adi !