2
Think Through
the Job

Your mind is incredibly powerful—and never more so than when you focus your mental energies, like a laser beam, on a question or problem for a sustained period of time.

Before you begin your search for new employees, take sufficient time to think through the job carefully. Use the 10/90 Rule. This rule says that the first 10 percent of time that you spend thinking and planning will save you 90 percent of the time and effort required to make the right decision and get the right result in the long run. The 10/90 Rule is an incredible time-saver that requires only patience and discipline to make it work for you.

Think through the exact output responsibilities of the job. Begin by imagining that the job is a pipeline. What results must come out of the other end of the pipeline for you to know that the person has done the job in an excellent fashion? How will you both be able to determine that the job has been done well? Think in terms of accomplishments rather than activities. Think in terms of outputs rather than inputs. Think in terms of measurable results that are clear and objective.

Consider the salary you pay as if you were buying a specific quality and quantity of results in the marketplace. Exactly how will you measure and define these results? How will you know that you have received your money’s worth? What standards and benchmarks will you use to determine that the employee has performed well?

Any job description has three parts. First, there are the results expected of that position. You must be absolutely clear about these. Second, there are the skills necessary to achieve those results. What are they? Third, and perhaps most important, there are the personality characteristics of the ideal person for the job and how well he or she will fit in with the rest of the team.

You should begin the process of defining the job by thinking through what the person is expected to accomplish, day in and day out. Think on paper. Describe a typical workday and workweek, from morning to night. The clearer you are about the results you require, the easier it will be for you to find the best candidate for the job.

Once you have determined the results required, identify the exact skills that the ideal candidate will have to have in order to get those results. Hire people for what they have already done successfully rather than for what they think they can do if given a chance on your payroll. It is true that some companies believe in hiring for personality and attitude and then teaching specific skills. This is a good idea, but nonetheless you should demand a certain demonstrated skill level before you select a candidate if you want to hire the best people.

Finally, you should identify the personal attributes or qualities that the ideal candidate will have. Especially, you will want someone who is honest, positive, hardworking, energetic, focused, and open minded. Write these qualities down and organize them in terms of their importance to you and to the job.

Be sure that a single person can do the job you are hiring for. Be sure that you are not creating an impossible job and looking for a miracle worker. Sometimes, with rapid change, a job can grow so complex that you need two different people with two different sets of skills and attributes to do it properly. Always consider this a possibility.

The mark of a superior executive is thoughtfulness. The very best managers and executives are far more thoughtful when it comes to personnel decisions than are average managers. The more time you spend thinking and reflecting on the person and the job before you hire, the better decision you will make.