BTW, product managers and PROJECT managers are the same thing to me.

Recently, I’ve started to really see the value of having strong (detail-oriented) product managers in a company. Until a year ago, “I” or my “second-hand woman” product managed everything. We were certainly bottle-necking our business.

Then, earlier this year, we launched our first product that I had personally had ZERO involvement in. The launch went through flawlessly and the product was far better than what I could have made it. It was then that I learned the importance for product managers.

Since then, we’ve slowly been growing and focusing in on product managers. Something happened though and as of the last month, product managers have engrossed my life!

About 2 weeks ago, we were able to successfully hire a part-time contractor to now become a full-time, on-site product manager for one of the most important products we’ll launch this year (Q4).

Then, about 3 days ago, I get a series of e-mails from our lead technical outsourcing team that they TOO are implementing project managers. I was pretty excited to hear this because it was going to start making communication easier. Easier communication means faster work!

As if that was not enough, TODAY, we just brought on another amazing product manager to start managing a new product we’re launching soon that has tremendous un-charted territory value for our long-term business.

The more great product managers I bring on, the easier MY job (as a CEO) becomes and so do the jobs of everyone else in the company (since things get organized).

However, hiring the WRONG project manager can also be a nightmare leading to MASSIVE losses. I’ve hired a few of those too in my time

Here are some tips to hire top-notch project managers:

1. Make sure they are detail oriented.

2. You’re looking for OPERATIONAL people, not really strategic or marketing (although sometimes you get lucky and get both).

3. Have past experience (CRITICAL).

4. Versatile. The person must be at least somewhat familiar with many aspects of the project.

5. People Person. A product manager’s main job is to manage people and the delegated tasks. If they don’t get along with the team, that’s a miserable failure waiting to happen.

6. Firm & Authoritative Personality - This is critical because in many ways, they’ll be the “true boss” of the project. If team members can easily fool them or “push them around,” the project will never get done.

To know if they’re firm enough, ask yourself this question: “Would I promote this person to top management?” If your answer is no, I’d think twice about their ability to be a good product manager.

Moral of the story? If you run a company with many product offerings and you really want to see growth, get yourself and your business organized with product/project managers.

Popularity: 38% [?]

This is one of my favorite “business management” books even if it is a bit boring (just long) and presents a general concept that many of us innately understand.

The concept is “hire only A players in your company.”

By “A players” it’s referring to self-motivated, intelligent, efficient, influential and culture-fitting people who can excel your business without having to be micro-managed.

That general concept makes a lot of sense, however, the topgrading interview guide takes it to the next level by going into great details on how you should conduct the recruiting process (a.k.a interview process).

The Days of My 30 Minute “Gut” Based Interviews Are Gone…

Sure these kinds of short “I like this person” interviews may work in the beginning when you are small, but they won’t scale.

To scale, you need a system that every manager can “quantifiably” put in place - that system is the topgrading interview system.

What Does The Topgrading Interview Guide Teach?

Really the book is called just “Topgrading” - I am calling it the “Topgrading Interview Guide” because so much of being a topgrader revolves around how you interview.

The biggest change I am making moving forward is how I do my interviews:

1. Hold at least 3-4 separate interviews.
2. Don’t be afraid of having 3-4 hour interviews - REALLY dive into the person’s life and give them lots of time to talk about themselves.
3. Always have at least 2 people in the room listening.

The biggest “mind-shift” for me has been getting around the concept of hosting MULTIPLE 3-4 hour interviews. It seems like such over-kill, at the same time, I completely understand why it helps you learn more about a candidate.

After Evaluation, I Found Only ONE “Non-A-Player” In My Team…

I’m disappointed AND proud.

Disappointed to have to put this title on someone.

Proud because we have been able to grow so fast and by default have built an “A” team…

A part of me has always known that this person is not an A player, but Topgrading has forced me to face it. According to Brad Smart (author of Topgrading), I should take immediate action to either remove this person from the team or shift his/her role where they CAN be an A player.

I am right now thinking about whether I should try this person in a different role or whether their personality just does not lend them to being an “A player.”

By the way, how you judge someone as an A, B or C player has many elements in it (their role, their salary level and performance).

I’m not enjoying having to make this decision, but these are the exact types of tough decisions I need to make.

Topgrading is a pretty thick book to read (I’m only about 20% done), however, they do have a shorter “review” version that I started and finished in 2 days - it left me wanting more.

I highly recommend this book - pick up a copy, click here…

I’m going to immediately implement the advice of the topgrading interview guide, I suggest you do the same.

Popularity: 23% [?]

“Could I hire this person?”

This is a bit funny but my brain has started to become over-run by this question! No matter who I meet, where I meet them or what time, I feel like I am constantly interviewing everyone and always on the look-out for talent.

An adviser had once told me: “Everyone you meet from now on is a potential hire…think about that.”

For the longest time that sentiment made no sense to me and I shrugged it off. It was not until recent that I have really started to value it. Adding to your team is the vital core blood of your business.

The only way you’ll find talent is to look for it, ask for it and keep an eye open for it. So, think of it this way, from now on, anyone you meet - the first meeting is the first interview. Learn about them and put them into buckets…

1. Hire this person
2. Connect with this person’s network…
3. Run from him/her like the plague…

etc…etc…

So lesson for the day? Everyone you meet from now on is a first interview… 

Popularity: 9% [?]

Actually this is not just for a new hire, it’ll work for anyone. on the team I haven’t studied this in some book - this is coming from experience.

5 ways a START-UP can tell if their new hire truly is the right fit or not. Remember, these are for START-UPS, big companies don’t need all of these factors. However, for a start-up, you need every team member to be a “mini-entrepreneur,” so the following qualities are CRITICAL.

1. Do they leave RIGHT when the clock hits?

My biggest sign/annoyance/pet-peeve are those who literally pack up and stare at the clock for it to hit 5 PM and are OUT the door by 5:01. This is the quickest way to get my on my bad-side. Honestly, they may be done with work - fine, but to RACE out is uncalled for and shows that they have places they’d much rather be.

For a start-up, “love for the cause, company and your work” is a big deal.

If they do it every now and then, fine. Even if they typically leave by 5:10 or so, fine. But, if they’re packing up at 4:50 and sitting at the edge of their seat - get another job.

2. Do they twiddle their thumbs or beg for work?

I consistently scan computer screens and look to see how many people are just on GTalk, Youtube or some other waste of time. Gtalk is critical for us since we have a largely virtual team, but if they’re typing for 30 minutes straight - that’s a non-business chat and it’s unproductive.

Bottom line, if they’re not hungry for work and are finding ways to avoid it - they’re not a good fit for a start-up.

3. Do they review training materials at home?

This one is BIG for me. During the first 2-3 weeks, there is tons of training, book reading, video watching, etc… I want someone that says, “can I take this home over the weekend to finish it?”

If they’re ONLY using work time to finish the training and not actually itching to become a full part of the team - bad sign.

4. Do they answer emails OFF hours (nights/weekends)

Another favorite trick of mine. Start-ups don’t have “8 hour days,” I don’t care what position, you’re on call 24/7. Not all, but I want to see some e-mails answered at 11 PM at night. I want to see some e-mails answered on Saturday.

Things need to get done and 8 hours a day is not enough to get them done.

5. Are they resourceful - figure things out without always jumping to a question…

Start-ups have limited resources (personnel wise) so it’s important that a person be self-motivated to find an answer. Of course they can talk to the team and ask questions. BUT, “asking someone” should never be the first resort. There are training materials, Google and even their colleagues. When I say “ask someone,” I’m mostly referring to the busy managers or executives in the company.

I don’t mind answering questions, actually the more I get the more serious I know the person is. But, please, show me SOMETHING that says you at least tried to research the subject before asking.

Again, these are mostly important for start-ups, some are not a big deal for a big company. But, heck, if you can apply those 5 rules to a big company too, you’re going to have an amazing team.

Just remember, it’s the “little” things that tell you the most about people, don’t ignore those, pay more attention to them. 

Popularity: 14% [?]

So I’m sitting at a seminar this past weekend and someone I truly trust tells me, “hey you should do the kolbe…”

What the hell is a kolbe? Sounds like some Jewish dance.

He was referring to a “Kolbe Index” - it’s basically 36 questions you answer - this thing then does a FULL analysis of you and tells you what kind of person you are and what your strengths are.

Why the heck do I need to know who “I” am…

I mean who knows you better than you know yourself. Well, it’s not for that. There are 2 purposes to use it for:

1. Self-Validation

It’s nice to know that you’re not crazy and that it’s OK to be the way you are - Kolbe tells you how to work WITH who you are rather than changing yourself.

2. Hiring!

This is where I’m going to be using it the most. You can make all your potential hires go through it first and review the evaluation - it will really help you better understand what you’re getting into.

It only took me about 20 minutes, I did it while I was waiting for my flight at an airport. It’s even kind of fun to do…

I was blown away…

They were right. This thing had me PINNED! The evaluation was VERY specific, let me show you a few things…

This is the BASIC rating they gave me: I don’t like doing research (TRUE), I’m OK at following-through with things after launching them (ALSO TRUE - this is why I always have product managers), I’m GREAT at coming up with ideas and JUMPING on them (SOOO VERY TRUE) and I’m a pretty bad IMPLEMENTOR (Here, I disagree a bit). I find I’m very good at execution and implementing, but maybe I’m not?

They do warn not to argue with the results and NOT TO GET OFFENDED.

Now, that is general stuff right? Well, here, let’s get into the details…

This is just ONE of many examples where I got freaked out. It was DEAD on, I SERIOUSLY do work better LAST minute, I HATE conforming and even more, I hate sticking to scripts - I’m a “winger” - I like winging things.

Bottom line, this Kolbe Index was great. Once you take the 36 questions you can buy all sorts of evaluations, career, personal relationships and many more. For hiring, I’m going to use the main Kolbe Index and the “Career MO.” The main Kolbe Index is only $50 and the Careero MO was like $30.

So, for a total of $80, I validated myself - feel good and can stop trying to change myself!

Visit http://www.Kolbe.com

Popularity: 19% [?]

We’re in a very interesting place right now in our company that I never expected to be in so suddenly…EVERYONE seems to want to work for us. And, I don’t just mean “jo schmos” - I’m talking VPs and Directors of the largest companies in our industry.

It all started about third quarter last year when our current VP of Marketing contacted us herself for a position in our company. It took a brief break and then recently, it’s picked up again (in a big way).

Just yesterday, I had a 90 minute chat with a Director from the largest company in our industry who is willing to jump through some major hoops just to work for us; the biggest of which is that she’s agreeing to take a 60% cut in salary! In place of a guaranteed high salary, she wants an incentive plan (profit-sharing and/or stock options). Of course this is MUSIC to a start-up’s ears.

Just 2 weeks before this, I had one of the MOST respected and sought after public figures in our industry contact me herself and ask for a potential job (we’re still waiting to see what happens at her company, if she decides to leave or not).

I love the attention, but it’s almost spooky.

It was less than 3 years ago that I went to my first industry trade show and sat there watching these very same people present on stage in awe…just the THOUGHT that they may let me even speak to them (so I could pitch them) would excite me. And today, less than three years later, I may be their “boss?”

Life in business can be surreal if you really think about it.

But, now here’s the dilemma - LISTEN UP - you may very well face this in your business (sooner than you think).

The “position” which this person I spoke with yesterday is applying for is not really “there” in our company right now. The way our small fast growing company hires right now is on the idea that each person will “create their own salary.” That means that by their addition we’ll be able to launch something that we may not have been able to launch otherwise.

So, if we hire someone and pay them $7,000 a month - they should be able to self-create at least that much in revenue to cover their own salary…

The current person would be applying for a position that may not “monetize” until fourth quarter this year or even later. So, until then, even though we’re getting her at a steep “discount” - we’d have to pay her salary out of our pocket and that would put a hold on cash that may be used for other things.

BUT…

She’s a true win, highly connected in the industry and the “cultural fit” is perfect. Furthermore, she truly believes in the things we’re working on.

This is definitely one of those “once in a lifetime” opportunities. If I don’t act on her right away, she’ll surely find something else and it will be VERY hard to get her later (if not impossible or at least very expensive). However, at the same time, would it be wise to put a hold on cash that may be better spent on other more immediately needed areas?

Usually I tell you what I’ve decided, but let’s do something different today - why don’t YOU tell me what YOU would do? - Leave your reply in a comment below.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Honestly, I have stayed away from “social networks” except for “Facebook.com” which I use just for my college friends. As far as “business” goes, I always thought that these social networks were complete B.S.

However, recently we had a few positions we needed to fill and someone new on our management team asked me to PDF and send the job description to her, so I did. Little did I know, she blasted out the offer to her LinkedIn network and we filled one of the key positions in less than 1 day! Not just “filled it” - we filled with a GREAT fit for the job.

Linkedin.com has now become the absolute first place we go with a new job opening. The great thing about it is that you can blast out to your entire contact network with the click of a button and your network starts to SPREAD the offer around to others (so your job offer actually becomes viral). By the way, all of this is FREE to do, we’ve been cheap.

But if we actually PAY linkedin, we can even access thousands more that would fit the job but may not be in our personal network.

My tip for the day is to definitely start a profile on LinkedIn, and try to get your job network as big as godly possible - it’ll be a heaven for hiring!

Popularity: 6% [?]

This is more of an issue for a new business than it is for an existing business, the good question of “should you bring on contractors or hire full-time employees?”

Everyone has their own opinion on this topic - here is mine (that I stand by adamantly).

Any chance you get, you should HIRE employees rather than just contractors.

Why?

Because as a company, your value is much higher if you’ve been able to build a TEAM that is 100% dedicated to your company rather than easily distracted by a wide-range of products. Of course, however, hiring talent full-time is easier said than done (especially for new businesses tight on cash).

Hiring full-time has two main hurdles involved:

1. Finding the talent and then convincing that talent to work FOR you.
2. Affording the talent

Of course #2 is not as big of an issue if you’re running a $100M+ a year company, but since I’m not - I’ve faced issue #2 with every major hire. With some of our key hires, we’ve had very creative packages (for example, tying compensation to projects they lead and offering a combination of a modest salary with a good revenue share program).

Problem #1 is all about being networked in your industry and having a great idea that others can get excited about. There are many ways to build a list of good talent to hire, I will share them with you periodically in the coming days.

INTERESTING NOTE: Hiring someone means you can add instantly add about 17% to their base salary in other costs such as benefits, taxes, etc…

Right off of that note, you can understand why small businesses may choose to contract more work than hire it in. However, never forget that someone who works ONLY for you may actually produce more efficiently (hence covering that extra cost).

If you’re looking to build a $100 Million+ company that you one day sell - start thinking about making your talent IN-HOUSE. Your valuation when it comes time to sell will be much greater if you have a talented team that works very well together.

Another Tip: If you’re very strapped for cash, never reject talent because you have to bring them on as a contractor - go for it and test them on projects. During the testing time, re-work your financials to make room for that person. This is also a great way to avoid getting “burned” by acting too quickly to hire someone.

Remember, it IS much easier to “let go” of a contractor than it is of an employee.

Popularity: 7% [?]

When I first started I used to be very “willy nilly” about hiring people, I pretty much met them and if they were being referred by someone I knew, that was good enough for me! Obviously after getting burned a few times, I learned and learned and still continue to learn (but am much better now).

Lots of companies and CEOs are good about having long drawn out interview and selection processes and that’s good. Personally, I make sure that all current hires are interviewed at least 3 times by 3 different executives in our company - each submits their own thoughts and ideas after the interview. Some companies are even crazier with longer interviews, live case studies (like Google) and even more. I used to think they were crazy, now I think they are brilliant.

But, this post is not about checking for someone’s competency level - nope. This post is all about seeing if someone “fits” your company.

Just because someone is good at what they do does NOT mean they are a good hire for you.

The #1 mistake I see when “great talents” are hired is that there is no attention paid to how that person will fit the corporate culture! What is the atmosphere in your office? Is that an atmosphere that this new hire can work in?

If your entire office is a very competitive sales driven environment, then a “laid back” easy going person is probably not the right fit for you (even if they are good at selling) - just the stress from the environment will make them wig out.

In my company, the opposite is true - we are ALL very laid back, even down right goofy - we like to have fun. Someone who’s too serious is a bad fit, I recently had to let go of a lady who was so damn serious that she scared all of us!

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STORY TIME - Why I Didn’t Even Interview The Best Salesman In Our Industry

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I recently was at a table and had a chance to kick into an interview with one of the best salesman in our entire industry. His Rolodex is ridiculous, everyone knows him and everyone is already used to buying from him.

Well, when we sat down to start talking, I quickly realized that this gentleman was just NOT a good fit into our company. I felt that he would make all the team calls more tense, the office more tense and just make everyone feel more reserved (including myself) and that is NOT our corporate culture.

I actually just finished the chat without EVER going into the interview at all simply because one great salesman is not worth ruining the dynamics of the rest of the team.

So, the next time you look to hire someone, personality is key - think “how would they get along with my team…do they fit?” — You’d be surprised what your answers are sometimes…

Popularity: 8% [?]