The B C D of Recruitment

" A player hires A player, B player hires C player and C player hires D player and before long you have the bozo explosion "  Steve Jobs

Strong words from Steve Jobs. Yet think and reflect upon them for a moment. Cast your mind back to places you have worked. There is a high chance one of the reasons you left, was because of the B, C and D people running your department.

B = Bozo
C = Clown
D = Dud

To take the words of Steve Jobs a stage further and see what happens when you allow A players to recruit B players. A real A player hires someone who is better than them. The A player who glimmers and shines in the right light is an illusion. Their real fear is to have someone who will outshine them. To stop this happening, they recruit a B player. Someone who is competent, dull and happy to reflect in the light of the A player.

When the B player is allowed to recruit, guess who they go for . . . yep the Clown. Good enough to follow orders and happy to let the B player correct their mistakes, without teaching them anything. Because the B player is afraid they may have got an outlier, who may be smart behind it all, they teach this person nothing and just issue instructions.

Worst of all is when the C player is allowed to recruit. In comes the duds, D players one and all. These are decorations who fill up space and give the C player's ego a bit of a boost. The D player might be a relation or social friend of the C player. They are happy to have a job and title. Few skills apart from been in with the C player. Their contribution is minute at best.

How many of those work places you left, are now out of business or more tragic, basking in past glories and standing still. While others sail past them onto greater glory ?

It is hard to put a finger on how this happens, One thing is for sure, it is a gradual process. Because no company has a mission statement saying " ... they are a progressive company poised for the next revolution armed with Bozos, Clowns and Duds. " How do you prevent this ?

Be vigilant with your recruitment process. If your mindset is " we have a gap to fill " then anything will do. Be precise in the person required for the job opening. Let everyone know you have a
No Bozo
No Clown
No Dud
hiring policy.

Because if you allow an A player to hire a B player, just once, you may find yourself a ringmaster of a circus, rather than the boss of a great business.

Colin Myles Author

P.S.
" Stay humble, stay alert, stay successful " C.Myles

Colin's Amazon Author Page