“As a CEO or business owner, you must identify your weaknesses and own them. Hire help from people that can fill the gaps and can help your business grow,” is something my colleague Ariel Gorelik told me recently. It struck a chord with me because I think as CEO’s and business owners we can think we’re invincible. But the truth is, everyone has weaknesses. It’s our job as CEO to learn what those weaknesses are and bring on people who have our weaknesses as strengths.
That’s not to say finding someone who has your weaknesses as strengths are easy. But every single CEO has one weakness, and that’s time. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. But when you run a business, time seems to slip through your fingertips a little bit faster than it used to.
The Weakness of Time
So I think the number one weakness you can identify is where you are spending time without maximizing your return. For instance, around a year ago I found myself spending a lot of time writing copy for our clients as well as our own companies. It took a lot of time. And while it was important, I did feel as though my time could be better spent on locking down new clients or working on the business as opposed to in the business. And as a business owner, it’s important that you maximize your focus on revenue-generating activities. So naturally, I decided it was time to bring on a sales copywriter to fill that gap in the business.
Now once you’ve identified the position you should go about hiring, it’s time to figure out who is going to be the right person for the job. And in this day and age, it’s not all about finding someone with the best college degree. There are a few things I always keep in mind when vetting for a new position.
What to Look For in A Candidate
“Your business is only as strong as the people driving it. The employees are one of the most important parts of any business.”
Ariel mentioned this to me recently and it helped me double down on the importance of building a strong team. And in order to build a strong team, I want to understand the aspirations of my employees. Everyone has goals, and nobody is happy with where they are. Ask the candidate where they aspire to be in two years. And then ask them how they think this job will help them reach their goals. This will help you get a good sense of how they feel about your company and if they would be a good fit within where you are headed.
Now everyone understands all the common parts of an interview like vetting their resume and asking them what they’re not good at. But oftentimes, we don’t get a good feel for how they would actually perform with the tasks that are specific to our companies. Ariel suggested asking candidates how they would handle specific tasks or operations within our existing infrastructure. So one thing I grilled our sales copywriting candidates on was how they would gather information from our clients before beginning to write their website copy. This told me a few things. Like how they would work with our clients. If they knew how to gather relevant data. And if they had even done anything like that before. Which is important.
Another thing to keep in mind is how the candidate fits in with the culture of your company. As CEO, what kind of workplace do you want to build? What traits do you value in your employees? “No matter what qualifications the candidate has, it’s important they fit within the dynamic you’ve created in the workplace,” Ariel states.
This brings me to my final point which is to trust your instincts. “At the end of the day, it’s important not to overlook your gut feelings about the candidate. If they look great on paper but don’t feel like the right fit somehow, don’t be afraid to make a decision based on instincts rather than qualifications. I’ve found that this has worked out well for me when hiring people who may not have looked like the best fit on paper but made great impressions during the interview process,” says Ariel. After all, it’s important not to judge someone solely based on their past experience. Focus more on what you can gather about the way they work and their potential.
In summation, whenever you feel like you or someone important in your company is spending too much time on an activity that you feel can be delegated or is less important than another aspect of the business, it may be time to bring on someone new. And when figuring out who to hire, be sure to not only focus on their qualifications. But also their aspirations, how they fit into the culture of your company and how they would handle specific tasks that pop up within your business. And don’t forget to pay attention to your instincts, your gut is not often wrong when it comes to people!
