People don’t want to fail, and they don’t want to go through the dislocation of moving to another company, or possibly another city or country, if they know their chances of success are minimal. Set the outcomes high enough—but still within reason—and you’ll scare off B and C Players even as you pull in the kind of A Players who thrive on big

Who is where the magic begins, or where the problems start.

Some organizations build their entire culture around freedom. Tudor Investment Corporation is a great example of that. “We look at ourselves as a support organization for great entrepreneurs who want to work collectively with other entrepreneurs,” Paul Tudor Jones said. “They have almost entire freedom over the way they run their own

At ghSMART, we’ve made in-house referrals a key part not only of our staffing policies but also of promotions. Principals have to source three candidates who can pass a phone screen by our CEO to earn eligibility for a promotion to partner. The payoff, as far as we’re concerned, has been little short of amazing. In the past two years, 80 percent of

“It’s kind of like dating. If you are introduced to someone randomly in a bar, there is a chance it might work out, but you are more likely to have a higher success rate if you have a friend or family member introduce you.” Deputizing friends of the firm will create new, accelerated sources of talent, but you still need to pay attention to process,

“When hiring for small companies, the person who needs to be sold is never the candidate. The candidate would not be there if he were not sold. Focus on selling the spouse, children, parents, and friends of the candidate. They will have a much greater role in the decision for these types of situations. The candidate will look to them for the tough

Not until all three elements—position, company, and culture—are aligned does Echavarría assume he has a fit.

Of all the ways to source candidates, the number one method is to ask for referrals from your personal and professional networks.

“I want you to pause for a moment and think about the very best person you have working for you. Now I want you to think about the second-best person you have working for you. Now I would like you to think about where your organization would be without them. You would be terrified if you lost them. And you would love to have ten more like them.