Tom Peters regularly speaks and writes about the importance of talent. In his book Sixty, Tom writes in point 24 that "he/she who has the . . . best roster . . . rules." A year ago, Tom told this story:
Some people's eyes have an engaging, infectious "sparkle." Some don't. Hire [only?] those who "have it"?
I was lecturing on "talent selection"—and the use of unconventional measures for so doing. At a break I made the following comment to a youthful Participant: "Suppose you & I were opening the restaurant of our dreams. We'd both put in $75,000 ... effectively our life's savings. We were 'betting the farm.' We had a great idea, a very good location, a terrific chef. Now the time had come to hire waiters & waitresses. Numerous applicants had satisfactory+ 'restaurant experience,' but several didn't. One young woman [man] in particular was a rank amateur—but had the most compelling 'sparkle' in her/his eye. How would that 'sparkle' rank in your hire-no hire consideration?" No great surprise, we both agreed, despite a 30-year experience differential, that the "sparkle" pretty much ruled. (Or some like measures—e.g., hustle, enthusiasm.)
At the same time, I was reading Larry Bossidy's book Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Bossidy spends considerable time talking about the investment in interviewing he made as CEO of Honeywell. Bossidy, himself, would make many of the calls to the candidate's references. He writes:
Many CEOs have told me that my reference calls were different from most because I focused so much on the candidate's energy, implementation and accomplishments. I ask, "How does he set priorities? What qualities is he known for? Does he include people in decision making? What is his work ethic and his energy level?" Those types of questions get at the person's real potential.
One question that I determined to ask candidates that I am interviewing--what makes you a good hire for us? Candidates that talk about themselves without talking about the firm are missing the boat. Great people help make great teams.
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