Hiring

Jay JamisonPresident & Co-Founder, Moonshoot

Founder’s InstituteJuly 14, 2009

Agenda

What I learned on (my 3 day) Summer Vacation

Hiring

• What I look for

• How I find it

Managing for Performance (how I think about Firing)

What I Learned on VacationVail, Colorado Was: Unnamed bunch of sheep farmsIs: #1 Ski Resort in America

Peter Seibert•Severely Wounded in WWII•Needed $1.5M (in ‘59) to get permit to start ski resort •Couldn’t promise return of any sort to investors•But had some great partners

Hiring

One of your most important skills

A batting average of .666 is stellar

Thus, I posit you need to do 2 things:1) Get better at hiring2) Know you’ll be firing

What I’m looking for

1. Value system

2. Hungry to get shit done

3. Raw intelligence

4. Functional skills

• Integrity & honesty• Dedication to excellence• Vision• Courage• Accountable• Work ethic • Mental toughness• Apolitical• Articulate

How I find it—Step 1 Walk-through resume in depth, drilling in on the following:• Timeline down to the month and the year• Why person left role or companies• Drill in on what specific things that person did

– Not his division, not his team, HIS responsibilities

• Tell me about specific achievements and specific failures

Keys that I’m looking to for in the answers• Communication skills—can the person do a resume walk-through clearly• Accountability—can the person describe achievements with metrics• Integrity—are there gaps that they explain cleanly• Vision—were job changes function of bigger (or smaller) vision• Dedication to excellence—knowing a failure and knowing to learn from it• Work ethic & get stuff done

How I find it—Step 2Dig deep to understand candidate’s motivation• Talk to me about why you are here today? Of all the things

that you could go and do at this point in time, I want to understand what you are trying to do in your career and how working in this organization maps to that.

Keys that I’m looking to for in the answers• Vision—is this person thinking big, setting a high bar• Dedication to excellence—it takes thought to do big things• Articulate—shows depth of thought & communication• Work ethic—have they learned anything about us or me

How I find it—Step 3

A host of other questions will come up, including• Tell me about the hardest thing you’ve ever done• Where do you want to be in 5-10 years• What would you site as 3 strengths/3 weaknesses– And then follow-up by asking what

managers/peers would say• Etc.

How I find it—Step 4

• References

• References

• References

• References

References

• Must do & get away from the provided– Managers– Peers– Subordinates

• What to understand– Verify dates & achievements – You really want to learn one flat spot at least– You want to know if things are consistent

How I find it – Step 5

• Have multiple meetings with the person• Have person meet more than just you• Be clear & consistent about your process• If possible, have dinner w/ spouse or SO– Not part of “formal” interview– After all interviews & reference checking– Before offer– Extremely useful

Managing for Performance

Thesis: if you build company with accountable, performance-oriented culture, firing is

straightforward process How to do this• Set concrete, measurable goals for all• Write them down• Track them regularly• Ensure transparency between you & employees

Setting Goals

Each employee writes down 3-5 key goals

Each goal should meet these parameters• Specific• Measureable• Attainable• Responsibility • Time-bound

Tracking

• Ad hoc feedback against goals regularly– As SOON as you see something wrong, don’t wait

• Regular detailed reviews (2x per year or more)– Employee writes down progress against goals– You write back your input– You sit down and discuss

Transparency

For employee who’s falling short• Be clear where, how and why• Give opportunity to turn around– Short-term– Against a demanding, fair quality bar

• Document discussions in email• At appropriate time, be clear & direct in firing

Closing

Hiring is one of your top decisions• You must dedicate hard thought to approach• Learn from everyone and adjust• Track your batting average

You are never too small to manage performance• Set & write-down goals• Talk about them, drive accountability• Be clear and transparent in moving people out