Sublime

Dr. Michelle Buck to help us out. Buck is a clinical professor of leadership at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where she served as the school’s first director of leadership initiatives.

Reflecting on more than a quarter century of rigorous research into what makes great companies tick, I’ve come to see “first who” as the one principle above all others that you must not get wrong. First in importance, above every other activity, is the imperative to get the right people on the bus.

Studies by Peter Heslin, Don VandeWalle, and Gary Latham show that many managers do not believe in personal change. These fixed-mindset managers simply look for existing talent—they judge employees as competent or incompetent at the start and that’s that.

The reason Dr. Schwartz examines family history so carefully is that he sees family background as fundamental to a person’s outlook on career.

Allocating the best people to the right positions is a crucial, tough job that many executives slight, in part because the best people are already too busy.

Another tool to consider is Gallup’s CliftonStrengths,

Finally, there are the social entrepreneurs. These are usually people who have been very successful in their first careers. They love their work, but it no longer challenges them. In many cases they keep on doing what they have been doing all along but spend less and less of their time on it. They also start another activity, usually a nonprofit. M

Intel was Grove’s laboratory for management innovation. He loved to teach, and the company reaped the benefits.* A few days after getting hired, I received a coveted invitation to Intel’s Organization, Philosophy, and Economics course, known as iOPEC, a seminar on Intel strategy and operations. Resident professor: Dr. Andy Grove.