Warren Buffett is one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and he made most of his money through wise investing. Many of his techniques, for choosing successful companies to invest in, can be applied to recruitment and development. Plus, he always has a creative way of expressing it. In a 1981 chairman letter, he explained the strategy in fairy tale terms with which everyone is familiar.
“We have tried occasionally to buy toads at bargain prices with results that have been chronicled in past reports. Clearly our kisses fell flat. We have done well with a couple of princes — but they were princes when purchased. At least our kisses didn’t turn them into toads. And, finally, we have occasionally been quite successful in purchasing fractional interests in easily-identifiable princes at toad-like prices.” When you are looking for a staff of princes (or princesses), it is important to recognize that no matter how many times you kiss some toads, there never going to get there. That’s not to say that they couldn’t become a prince with the “kiss” of some other leader, but you aren’t looking for someone else’s prince. There will always be the obvious princes. It is great to get that top performer; the one with the great degree and track record of success. Of course, the princes are in high demand and short supply. They can cost a lot in salary and in recruitment time; and ultimately, they may not even choose you. If you are not Microsoft or Google, it can be very difficult to fill your entire staff with obvious princes. You will happily take the best candidates, but you may need another source if you have a lot of spots available in the royal court. That leaves you either settling for toads or finding those princes that have a few warts. Toads will be toads. They aren’t in high demand and won’t cost you much, except production. Depending on your needs, you may be able to deal with a few toads, but they won’t make you successful. For many, that only leaves one option: finding that prince in a toad’s body and keep “kissing” until that prince manifests. There are keys to each of these two steps. First, finding that hidden gem can be a challenge, but you can start by considering these questions. Does this person have the right attitude? Does this person have a willingness to learn? Does this person have a track record of success, even if it isn’t in the preferred areas? Do I/we have the ability to teach this person the hard skills to do the job? Some skills are easier to teach than others. Amongst the most difficult thing to cultivate is attitude. Toads with the right attitude often have prince potential. Second, literal smooches won’t get you very far in turning amphibians into mammals. You are better off with quality mentorship and training. Development isn’t a one size fits all endeavor. You can either find toads that fit your model or adjust your model to fit the toads that are available. I could go on for pages about development and training, and probably will soon. For now, just remember that the best models begin with teaching your people how to learn. If you don’t speak in croaks, those future princes better understand your language. Be on the look-out for your princes…and happy kissing!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
July 2019
Categories |