Don't Bet Against It
I've thought a great deal about hiring practices and want to share some of my thoughts. I personally believe that, as much as they say they want to hire entrepreneurial types, most companies do not know how to recognize entrepreneurial people, and, even if they do recognize them, are actually scared of them.
Some companies are certainly better then others at recognizing and appreciating the skills of the entrepreneurial person, but in my experience most are quite bad. The problem begins with the definition of the job. Most people will not look towards hiring someone unless they can define, down to a T, the skillsets they are looking for. Immediately you are going to eliminate most entrepreneurial types from consideration simply by narrowing the scope of responsibility so much.
True entrepreneurs are good at 17 different things. They have to be. You can't start a company without being good at everything. Unfortunately this usually means that you aren't the best at one thing, although it may not.
Regardless of whether or not you are actually not that great at any one thing you will likely be perceived in that way. I think the mind of the hiring manager will frequently believe that being good at 17 things means that you have to be worse then the guy who is good at one thing, when it comes to that one thing. This may or may not be the case though, and, even if it is, the 16 other skills can usually more than make up the difference. But the hiring manager has a very specific skill set in mind and will more then likely go with the other candidate.
The other part of the equation is the fear factor. I am not completely sure about this one, but I think there might be some point in the decision making process where the hiring manager decides to go with the other guy because he is afraid that the entrepreneur will jump ship far more quickly. This is likely true and actually might be a very valid reason for not hiring the entrepreneur. Then again, getting 2 years of quality work out of the entrepreneur may be more valuable then 5 years from the other guy...
This fear should be turned on it's head though. Not only can you keep the entrepreneur from jumping ship, you can keep her producing at unbelievable rates and with degrees of creativity above other employees if you just tap into their passion. I personally think that most entrepreneurs will avoid going off on their own, or at least delay it, if they feel that they are able to pour their passion and creativity into a job that they have ownership of and that they are being rewarded fairly for.
Most companies can't come even close to achieving this level of satisfaction among its employees. If you make it a priority to do so, though, it can happen, and the rewards can be tremendous. You'll have employees that push your company to new levels and in new directions. They'll work tirelessly to do this as well, as passion is the most powerful fuel a workforce can have.
So how do you recognize entrepreneurial people? I personally believe you should look for the person who you just wouldn't bet against. I am not sure how difficult or easy it is to properly evaluate such a quality, but I think there should be some intuitive recognition of this after a short amount of time around someone.
The person you would not bet against is not necessarily the smartest or the funniest or really the anythingest, he or she just has a certain amount of determination and passion. The person may not succeed at everything, but no matter what they are doing you feel like they are more likely to succeed than not, even if it simply because they will not go down easily.
Now imagine a company full of people that you wouldn't bet against. People who will put their passion behind every endeavor they company takes on. Well I wouldn't bet against that company.
Some companies are certainly better then others at recognizing and appreciating the skills of the entrepreneurial person, but in my experience most are quite bad. The problem begins with the definition of the job. Most people will not look towards hiring someone unless they can define, down to a T, the skillsets they are looking for. Immediately you are going to eliminate most entrepreneurial types from consideration simply by narrowing the scope of responsibility so much.
True entrepreneurs are good at 17 different things. They have to be. You can't start a company without being good at everything. Unfortunately this usually means that you aren't the best at one thing, although it may not.
Regardless of whether or not you are actually not that great at any one thing you will likely be perceived in that way. I think the mind of the hiring manager will frequently believe that being good at 17 things means that you have to be worse then the guy who is good at one thing, when it comes to that one thing. This may or may not be the case though, and, even if it is, the 16 other skills can usually more than make up the difference. But the hiring manager has a very specific skill set in mind and will more then likely go with the other candidate.
The other part of the equation is the fear factor. I am not completely sure about this one, but I think there might be some point in the decision making process where the hiring manager decides to go with the other guy because he is afraid that the entrepreneur will jump ship far more quickly. This is likely true and actually might be a very valid reason for not hiring the entrepreneur. Then again, getting 2 years of quality work out of the entrepreneur may be more valuable then 5 years from the other guy...
This fear should be turned on it's head though. Not only can you keep the entrepreneur from jumping ship, you can keep her producing at unbelievable rates and with degrees of creativity above other employees if you just tap into their passion. I personally think that most entrepreneurs will avoid going off on their own, or at least delay it, if they feel that they are able to pour their passion and creativity into a job that they have ownership of and that they are being rewarded fairly for.
Most companies can't come even close to achieving this level of satisfaction among its employees. If you make it a priority to do so, though, it can happen, and the rewards can be tremendous. You'll have employees that push your company to new levels and in new directions. They'll work tirelessly to do this as well, as passion is the most powerful fuel a workforce can have.
So how do you recognize entrepreneurial people? I personally believe you should look for the person who you just wouldn't bet against. I am not sure how difficult or easy it is to properly evaluate such a quality, but I think there should be some intuitive recognition of this after a short amount of time around someone.
The person you would not bet against is not necessarily the smartest or the funniest or really the anythingest, he or she just has a certain amount of determination and passion. The person may not succeed at everything, but no matter what they are doing you feel like they are more likely to succeed than not, even if it simply because they will not go down easily.
Now imagine a company full of people that you wouldn't bet against. People who will put their passion behind every endeavor they company takes on. Well I wouldn't bet against that company.
posted by The Entreprexplorer | 6:29 PM
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