Taking talent seriously

To grow a tree – or a plant of any sort – you need a seed. Then some soil, air, water and most of the time, sunlight. Startups need an idea – their seed – but almost everything else you add thereafter to help that idea grow and flourish, is people.

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A startup is simply a collection of people around an idea. And if you want that idea to have an impact on the world, those people better have some talent (and its cousin, cultural fit – for another day). It’s that simple.

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And in my experience, almost no one on their first startup takes this notion seriously. (It’s different for old timers. They all have people-shaped scars on every possible limb.)

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Whenever I meet a founding team that has recently assembled itself, I offer them a wager: “I bet you $1,000 that in five years, you will not all be in business together.” No one has ever taken me up on the bet – and for good reason.

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I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked to mediate a ‘founder divorce’.  The cause? Almost always, the parties involved did not invest the time, energy and self-reflection to ensure they were compatible for the sustained, multi-year rollercoaster that is startup life.  

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It is as hard as a marriage, and actually much tougher to get out of, especially if you have taken on external capital. As one line of evidence I offer up: the Marriage Act (1955), which has 67 sections, most of which have been repealed; and the Companies Act (1993), which has 409 sections.

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In this regard, the startup landscape suffers from ‘survivorship bias’. Most of the stories we hear about relate to founding teams who did succeed together, so we think it’s normal. What is more common – and seldom part of the narrative – is the implosion founding teams experienced because they did not take the talent and cultural fit seriously.

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A useful tool, and possible antidote, to your impending divorce is to map out a ‘founder charter’. Like a mix of marriage vows and a prenuptial agreement, it should document the mutual ambitions, anticipated compromises and resolution mechanisms for your startup and its founders. And ideally, it will be signed in blood, with a community of witnesses.

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Getting great at talent

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Similarly, I often hear from founders that the biggest impediment to achieving their ambitions is the lack of capability – typically in the form of a specific skill or role. I then ask them what share of their time they are actively spending trying to find that talent, and I get blank stares.  Same old syndrome; talent is not taken seriously

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If this sounds vaguely familiar to you, here are some concrete, actionable suggestions:

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• If talent is your biggest problem or opportunity, then spend most of your time on it.  That means talking to your people about performance, helping high performers with their career plans, asking people you trust for talent recommendations, and yes, even if you hate it, having lots of coffee/kombucha dates with people who might fit the bill.

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• Making ‘try before you buy’ part of your process. It is easy to road-test talent – do it.  And it is reciprocal; capable people have lots of options – they will only work for you if they are confident they will be successful and happy in your company.

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• Become a compulsive reference-checker. One vital benefit of New Zealand being a small country is that everyone knows everyone. Sniff around. Heaps.

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• Practice saying ‘no’. If you and your team are not 100 percent sure the person will be great, default to no. It’s okay. And if they’re already in your organisation, work with urgency to help them leave (it’s not as hard as people make out).

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• Talent should form part of your planning process and be incorporated into your Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) framework or whatever you use. Every hiring manager should always know who their next three hires will be.

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• Talk about talent (and culture fit) in all of your forums. Your board will want to know who your talented people are. Executive teams should be honest about it. And founders should do everything they can to bring more of it into the company, and keep it when it’s there.

FAQs

1. Should I hire the first person I meet who seems fit-for-purpose?

      No.

2. Should I hire the cheapest person who can do the job we have available?  

      No.

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3. Should I recruit someone with a great resume, even though they don’t fit?  

      No.

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4. Should we use the word ‘talent’ in our organisation? Is it not an elitist term?  

      Yes, and no.

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5. Am I ready to take talent seriously? 

      It’s up to you.

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