4 ms·
How about the least-controversial and most common advice ever given: “Only hire A players.” Here’s when that doesn’t apply: When you can’t hire A players. Unle
by lquist 13y ago
How about the least-controversial and most common advice ever given: “Only hire A players.” Here’s when that doesn’t apply: When you can’t hire A players.
Unless if your company is terrible, the problem will never be that you can't hire A players, it will be that you can't find them fast enough. That said, the compromise in waiting for only A players will appear to be to slow growth. In my opinion, though, the quality of people is so important to an organization's long term success that what will look like a compromise will actually be a tradeoff between short term growth and long term growth.
- bitwize 13y agoProblem is, A players want to work pretty much anywhere else but where the vast majority of software gets developed. How are all the banks and insurance companies going to keep their IT systems ticking over if they only hire A players who would rather be working for Google, Valve, Basho, etc.?
- coldcode 13y agoHow do define an A player? Seems like a rather vague idea to base your business on.
- vidarh 13y agoUnless we clearly define "A player" this is a tricky discussion to have. What is clear, though, is that no matter what threshold you choose, there is likely to be businesses that can't afford a sufficient salary to attract people above that threshold, or doesn't have sufficient status compared to other places. And what about all the jobs the "A players" don't want to do and/or are over-qualified for? A company that only hires the best and brightest will massively overpay for a workforce in which a substantial percentage will feel their talent is wasted on stuff that could be handled by someone with less experience.
- nrivadeneira 13y agoMany times with startups, "having to wait" can be equivalent to "can't". Startups have limited runway and the time it takes to hire that A player may just extend past the end of that runway.