Entrepreneurship Tips — Hiring

John F. Welch Jr., CEO of General Electric, identifies four types of managers: 1) People who deliver on commitments and share the new values—retain and reward these people; 2) People who don't meet commitments and don't share the new values—these people must go; 3) People who sometimes fail to meet their commitments, but who share the values—give them a second chance; 4) People who meet commitments but don't share the values—they must change or go, because their results aren't worth the price.   Southwest Airlines has been successful hiring by the smile. Power vs. Powerlessness Powerless Empowered Create bureaucracy Do...

These questions are in no particular order, as they should be customized to the particular position and person.  You want to mix up the tougher ones with more social, calming questions, so people do not feel they are getting the first degree.  Always do your questions first and theirs second, by saying upfront you have some questions first and then will answer any questions they have later. This way they cannot sell specifically to your needs. You are in charge and should control the first interview completely. Only after they have proven that they are a viable candidate should you start...

With unemployment levels high today, many people are focusing on specific industry and domain experience with the idea that a large pool of candidates means they can write a very detailed list of experience and still get good candidates. This tends to create a process that ignores the overall quality and ability of the candidates in favor of a simple checklist of very specific experience. A person's broad experience, attitude, abilities, intelligence, work ethic, and other factors are much more important by a factor of ten for most managers and senior executives. The truth is that a high-quality executive can...

Simply put, generally, no, but there are various scenarios and circumstances.  So, this is really not a yes or no question and requires more information to answer. Legally, any Officer of the company (a legal status according to the Secretary of State filings in the state in which your company is incorporated) has the right to commit their company legally to any contract, and hence to hire someone.  This status comes with a large “Fiduciary responsibility” to act in the best interest of the company and its stockholders.  It also means you have liability in certain circumstances.  You have a...