Most top performers work for really average companies.
Your job is to find the amazing people that work somewhere else and get them to work for you.
Don’t make a habit of recruiting and hiring unemployed people. Find the go-getters that have jobs right now!
On the day Intrawest Ski Resorts were acquired by Fortress, I was on the phone to all the top people at the company telling them I wanted to hire everyone good because it was going to implode.
I eventually hired five of their key people over the next three months because I knew that these people had already been working for a high performance organization. I just went out and got them. It was as easy as that.
Getting the right people can be easy if you’re willing to make it happen. I often see entrepreneurs struggle because they don’t know how to seek out exceptional people or they don’t work hard enough searching for the gems.
My grandfather, Cam Shortts, who recently died at 96, taught me how to hire great people. He owned a hunting and fishing resort in Northern Ontario called Lift-The-Latch Lodge, and he’d take me duck hunting as a teenager.
Grandpa always knew exactly what kinds of ducks he wanted before we set out to hunt: blue-winged teals, mallards, wood ducks and canvas backs. He also knew what kind he didn’t want: fish ducks. Before we set out on any hunting expedition, he made it clear what his goals were, and that our reward was only as worthwhile as the ducks we’d selected.
Recruiting the right people is just like duck hunting: you must have a crystal clear picture in your mind of exactly what you’re looking for, and good aim.
You also need to be sure that all new hires will truly impress every person they interact with, whether it’s customers, strategic partners, vendors, the media, or the public at large.
So know exactly who you want to hire, go find them, and shoot them out of the sky.
For information on this topic, check out: Leadership at 100MPH.
I once had a mentor who asked me, “Do you have any of the wrong people in your company?” And I said, “Yeah I’ve got one guy.”
How many employees do you need? When do you want them? Do you need to hire them all at once, or spread out over time? Perhaps you’ll want a few extra. What happens if someone quits? What about temporary staff? What if your employees leave for another company?
Greig Clark, my good friend and founder of 
