1. if you begin wtih "who" rather than "what",
you can more easily adapt to a changing
world
2. if you have the right people on the bus,
the problem of how to motivate and manage
people largely goes away
3. if you have the wrong people, it doesn't
matter whetehr you discover the right
direction; you still won't have a great
company
it maybe the closest link between a great
comapny and a great life. for no matter
what we achieve, if we don't spend the vast
majority of our time with people we love +
respect, we cannot possibly have a great
life
the people we interviewed from GtG
companies clearly loved what they did,
largely because they loved who they did it
with
Level 5 + Mgmt Team
then what
first what
then who
1. The GtG leaders began the
transformation by getting the right people on
the bus (and the wrong people off the bus)
and then figured out where to drive it
the only significant difference we found was
that the good to great executives received
slightly less total cash compensation 10
years after the transition thatn their
counterparts at the still mediocre
comaprison companies
no company can grow revenues
consistently faster than its ability to get
enough of the right people to implement that
growth and still become a great company
It's who you pay, not how you pay
them
the moment you feel the need to tightly
mamage someone, you've made a hiring
mistake. the best people don't need to be
manages. guided, taught, led - yes. but not
tightly mamaged
instead of firing honest and able people who
are not performing well, it is important to try
and move them once, or even 2 to 3 times
to other positions where they might blossom
From Good to Great by Jim Collins
3. First Who....Then What
4. The GtG leaders were rigorous, not
ruthless, in people decisions.
letting the wrong people hang around is
unfair to all the right people
3 disciplines
Key Points
Rigorous, Not Ruthless
The GtG companies are tough places to
work. if you don't have what it takes, you
probably won't last long. but they're not
ruthless cultures, they're rigorous cultures.
and the distinction is crucial
Like a professional sports team, only the
best made the annual cut, regardless of
position or tenure
to be rigorous means consistently applying
exacting standards at all times and at all
levels, especially upper mgmt
the only way to deliver to the people who
are achieving is to not burden them with the
people who are not achieving
to be rigorous in people decisions means
first becomming rigorous about top
management people decisions
2. When you know you need to make a
people change, act. (first be sure you don't
have someone in the worng seat)
at the top levels of your organizations, you
absolutely must habe the discipline not to
hire until you find the right people. The
single most harmful step you can take in a
journey from good to great is put the wrong
people in key positions
second widen your definition of "right
people" to focus more on the character
attributes of the person and less on
specialized knowledge
Square pegs in square holes and round
pegs in round holes
1. Would you hire the person again?
2. if the person told you that he was leaving
to pursue an exciting new opportunity,
would you feel terribly dissapointed or
secretly relieved?
THE RIGHT PEOPLE WILL DO THE
RIGHT THINGS AND DELIVER THE BEST
RESULTS THEY'RE CAPABLE OF,
REGARDLESS OF THE INCENTIVE
SYSTEM
THE PURPOSE OF COMPENSATION
SYSTEMS SHOULD NOT BE TO GET THE
RIGHT BEHAVIORS FROM THE WRONG
PEOPLE, BUT TO GET THE RIGHT
PEOPLE ON THE BUS IN THE FIRST
PLACE, AND TO KEEP THEM THERE
ALWAYS LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE
if we're honset with ourselves, the reason
we wait too long has often less to do with
concern for that person and more to do with
our own conveneience
if you have the right executives on the bus,
they will do everything within their power to
build a great company, not becuase of what
they will "get" for it, but because they simply
cannot imagine settling for anything less
it's not how you compensate your
executives, it's which executives you have
to compensate in the first place.
The GtG companies understood a simple
truth
1. When in doubt,don't hire - keep looking
never compromise, find a nother way to get
through until we find the right people
"let's take the timeto make a rigorous A+
selection right up front. if we get it right we'll
do everything we can to try to keep them on
board for a long time. if we make a mistake,
then we'll confront that fact so that we can
fget on with our work and they can get on
with their lives"
enlist a crew of highly capable "helpers" to
make the vision happen
we found no systematic pattern linking
executive compensation to the process of
going from good to great. the evidence
simply does not support the idea that the
specific structure of executive
compensation acts as a key lever in taking
a comapny from GtG.
they did not rely on layoffs and restructuring
as a primary strategy for improving
performance
people should either stay for a long time or
leave in a hurry, don't churn more, churn
better
set a vision for where to frive the bus.
Develop a road map for driving the bus
A Genius with a 1000 helpers
3. The comparison companies often
followed the "genius w/ a 1000 helpers"
model
worse it can drive away the best peoploe.
strong performers are intrinsically motivated
by performance, and when they see their
efforts impeded by carrying extra weight,
they eventually become frustrated
once you have theright people in place,
figure out the best path to greatness
Differences
2. The WHO question comes before WHAT
decisions - before vision, before strategy,
before organizational structure, before
tactics. First Who, then what - as a rigorous
discipline, consistently applied
those who build great companies
understand that the ultimate throttle on
growth for any great company is not
markets, or technology, or competition, or
products. it is one thing above all others;
the ability to get and keep enough of the
right people
get the right people on the bus. build a
superior executive team
first who
3 simple truths
People Decisions Are Your Most
Important Decisions
How do you know?
third, take advantage of difficult economic
times to hire great people, even if you don't
have a specific job in mind
3. Put your best people on your biggest
opportunities, not your biggest problems
you need executives that argue and debate
in piursuit of the best answers, yet, on the
other hand, who unify fully behind a
decision once it is made
it was striking to hear them talk about the
transition era, for no matter how dark the
days or how big the tasks, these people had
fun!
5. GtG mgmt teams consist of people who
debate vigorously in search of the best
answers, yet who unify behind decisions,
regardless of parochial interests
members of the GtG teams tended to
become + remain friends for life
6. THe purpose of compensation is not to
"motivate" the right behaviors from the
wrong people, but to get and keep the right
people in the first place
7. People are not your most imporant asset.
The right people are!
8. Whether someone is the "right person"
has more to do with character traits and
innate capabilities than with specific
knowledge, or skills
Because of the current recession
we expected that good to great
leaders would begin by setting a
new vision and strategy. we found
instead that they first got the right
people, got rid of the wrong
people and put the right people in
the right places. then they figured
out where to go
level 5 leaders will view this as the single
best opportunity to come along in 2
decades - not a market or technology
opportunity, but a people opportunity. they
will take advantage of this moment and hire
as many of the very best people they can
afford and then figure out what they are
going to do with them
people are not your most important asset.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE!
"I don't know where we should take this
comapny, but I know that if I start with the
right people, ask them the right questions,
and engage them in vigorous depate, we
will find a way to make this company great."
Harlan Kilstein www.breakthrough-advertising.com
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