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Who Hardcover – September 30, 2008
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The silver lining is that “who” problems are easily preventable. Based on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20 billionaires and 300 CEOs, Who presents Smart and Street’s A Method for Hiring. Refined through the largest research study of its kind ever undertaken, the A Method stresses fundamental elements that anyone can implement–and it has a 90 percent success rate.
Whether you’re a member of a board of directors looking for a new CEO, the owner of a small business searching for the right people to make your company grow, or a parent in need of a new babysitter, it’s all about Who. Inside you’ll learn how to
• avoid common “voodoo hiring” methods
• define the outcomes you seek
• generate a flow of A Players to your team–by implementing the #1 tactic used by successful businesspeople
• ask the right interview questions to dramatically improve your ability to quickly distinguish an A Player from a B or C candidate
• attract the person you want to hire, by emphasizing the points the candidate cares about most
In business, you are who you hire. In Who, Geoff Smart and Randy Street offer simple, easy-to-follow steps that will put the right people in place for optimal success.
- Print length208 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBallantine Books
- Publication dateSeptember 30, 2008
- Dimensions6.41 x 0.84 x 9.51 inches
- ISBN-109780345504197
- ISBN-13978-0345504197
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
This book is about how to hire the right person for the job and avoid common hiring mistakes.Popular highlight
Scorecards describe the mission for the position, outcomes that must be accomplished, and competencies that fit with both the culture of the company and the role.6,098 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Outcomes, the second part of a scorecard, describe what a person needs to accomplish in a role. Most of the jobs for which we hire have three to eight outcomes, ranked by order of importance.5,669 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
We define an A Player this way: a candidate who has at least a 90 percent chance of achieving a set of outcomes that only the top 10 percent of possible candidates could achieve.5,655 Kindle readers highlighted this
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Review
“Geoff Smart and Randy Street have done an amazing job distilling the best advice from some of the world’s most successful business leaders.”–Wayne Huizenga, founder, Blockbuster Video
“A great read–it really is all about finding, keeping, and motivating the team.” –John Malone, chairman, Liberty Media Corporation
“The key point in this book is that those of us who run companies should include who decisions near the top of the list of strategic priorities.”–John Varley, group chief executive, Barclays
“Whois the only book you need to read if you are serious about making smart hiring and promotion decisions. It is the most actionable book on middle- and upper-management hiring that I’ve read after twenty years in HR.”–Ed Evans, executive vice president and chief personnel officer, Allied Waste Industries
“I wish I had this book thirty years ago, at the beginning of my career!”–Jay Jordan, chairman and CEO, the Jordan Company
“This book will save you and your company time and money. In business, what else is there?”–Roger Marino, co-founder, EMC Corporation
“You’ ll find yourself nodding yes, saying ‘That’s right,’ and thinking, Oh, I’ve been there, all the way through this grand slam of a book. Whether you’re starting a company or running a part of a big one, the level of success you achieve is almost always a result of choosing the right people for the right jobs at the right time. It’s all about the who!”–Aaron Kennedy, founder and chairman, Noodles & Company
From the Author
And to polish your skills for hiring talented teams and then running them at full power, bring your team to SMARTfest 2016 Denver. Register at geoffsmart.com/smartfest.
About the Author
Randy Street is the president of ghSMART Executive Learning and a top-rated international public speaker.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
What does a who problem look like?
Remember the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel find work at a candy factory? They’re supposed to be wrapping chocolates, but they can’t keep up with the pace. So instead of letting the candy pass them by, they start shoving it into their mouths, down their shirts, and anywhere else it will fit. That’s when a supervisor looks in and congratulates the new hires on the empty conveyor belt. Then she calls to someone in the next room, “Speed it up!” And with that the chaos really ensues.
You could spend countless hours trying to optimize the line, but that wouldn’t get to the heart of the matter. The supervisor didn’t have a conveyor problem. She had a Lucy problem.
The Lucy problem is a who problem, but chances are yours is neither as funny nor so far down the chain of command. As an engineering friend of ours often laments, “Managing is easy, except for the people part!”
In an October 2006 cover story, “The Search for Talent,” The Economist reported that finding the right people is the single biggest problem in business today.* We doubt that surprised most readers. The fact is, virtually every manager struggles to find and hire the talent necessary to drive his or her business forward.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all heard the horror stories of the CEO who sank a multibillion-dollar public company, the district manager who allowed his region to fall behind competition, even the executive assistant who couldn’t keep a schedule. Most of us have lived those stories and could add dozens more to the list.
Even we have made bad who decisions. A few years back, Geoff and his wife hired a nanny we’ll call Tammy to look after their children. Unfortunately, Geoff had what his six-year-old calls a “space-out moment” and neglected to apply the method this book describes when he hired her.
Not many months later, Geoff was on the phone in his home office when he saw his two-year-old running naked down the driveway. He immediately hung up on his client and raced outdoors to stop his daughter before she ran into the street. Fortunately, the FedEx truck was not barreling up the driveway at that moment.
Then Geoff went looking for Tammy to find out what had happened. All she could say was, “Well, it’s hard to keep track of all of the kids.” It is, but as Geoff explained to her, that’s exactly what she had been hired to do. Sometimes a who problem can mean life or death.
Needless to say, Geoff’s next nanny search commenced immediately, involved the method presented in this book, and resulted in a much better hire.
The fact is, all of us let our who guard down sometimes. We realize how inflated resumes can be. Yet we accept at face value claims of high accomplishment that we know better than to fully trust. Due diligence, after all, takes time, and time is the one commodity most lacking in busy managers’ lives.
George Buckley grew up with adoptive parents in a boardinghouse in a rough part of Sheffield, England, went to a school for physically handicapped children, and worked his way up to becoming the successful CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, including 3M, where he works now. It’s the sort of background that breeds a healthy skepticism about resumes.
When we met with Buckley, he got straight to the point: “One of the hardest challenges is to hire people from outside the company. One of the basic failures in the hiring process is this: What is a resume? It is a record of a person’s career with all of the accomplishments embellished and all the failures removed.”
Jay Jordan, CEO of the Jordan Company, told us how he once hired a candidate who looked great on paper but failed in the role. The executive demanded some feedback from Jordan on the day of his termination. Jordan didn’t want to add insult to injury, but finally couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Look, I hired your resume. But unfortunately, what I got was you!”
Due diligence is also lacking in what Kelvin Thompson, a top executive recruiter with Heidrick & Struggles, calls “the worst mistake boards make–the ‘la-di-da’ interview: nice lunch, nice chat. They say this is a CEO, and we cannot really interview them. So you have a board who never really interviews the candidates.”
The techniques you will learn in the pages that follow will help everyone–boards, hiring managers at every level, even parents hiring a nanny–find the right who for whatever position needs filling. The method will do the due diligence for you. It lets you focus on the individual candidates without losing sight of the goals and values of your organization.
Before our method can work to its optimal level, though, chances are you might have to break some bad hiring habits of your own.
* The Economist, October 7—13, 2006.
Product details
- ASIN : 0345504194
- Publisher : Ballantine Books; 1st edition (September 30, 2008)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 208 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780345504197
- ISBN-13 : 978-0345504197
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.41 x 0.84 x 9.51 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #10,465 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Human Resources & Personnel Management (Books)
- #22 in Systems & Planning
- #138 in Business Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Why I repeatedly recommend WHO to our clients
Dr. Sabrina Starling
About the authors
Dr. Geoff Smart is the chairman & founder of ghSMART, a global leadership advisory, education, and analytics firm.
Founded in 1995, ghSMART helps Fortune 500 CEOs & boards, entrepreneurs, and heads of state to achieve their goals through hiring, developing, and leading talented teams. Geoff and his colleagues donate hundreds of hours per year to advise leaders in Education, Public Health, and Government advising leaders who make the world a better place.
CONTACT
Geoff Smart, Ph.D.
Chairman & Founder
ghSMART & Company, Inc.
www.geoffsmart.com
Randy Street is Vice Chairman of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm whose mission is to use its expertise in human behavior to help CEOs, boards, and investors build valuable companies. He has advised leaders for over 30 years and regularly helps them to build the teams they need to execute their strategies with confidence. He specializes in CEO succession, executive selection and development, management due diligence, and optimizing leadership teams to execute strategy.
Prior to becoming Vice Chairman, Randy served for 12 years as ghSMART’s first Managing Partner. During that time, the firm grew tenfold while setting industry standards for client and team satisfaction. Forbes rated ghSMART one of America’s Best Consulting Firms from 2017-2020, and Vault ranked ghSMART the #1 Boutique Consulting firm and #1 in overall team satisfaction, client interaction, and level of challenge in 2021.
In collaboration with Geoff Smart, the firm’s chairman and founder, Randy co-authored Who: The A Method for Hiring (Random House, 2008), which went on to become a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best seller. Soundview Executive Book Summaries gave Who the “Best 30 Business Books Award;” Shanghai Daily named it a “Top 5 Best Book in China;” Canada’s Globe and Mail named it the “#1 Best Business and Management Book of 2009;” and The Wall Street Journal named it a top seven “Best Advice” book for leaders in 2011. Randy also co-authored the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success (Random House, 2015).
Prior to joining ghSMART, Randy was the EVP of Sales & Marketing and EVP of Corporate Development & Strategy for EzGov, a software company that was named the fastest growing company in Atlanta during his tenure. Before that, Randy was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company where he led projects and advised senior executives of Global 1000 companies in a wide range of industries, including technology, aviation, automotive, manufacturing, defense, and more.
Randy earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. He and his wife live in Atlanta and have three daughters.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book's content practical and excellent, with lots of great ideas. They also appreciate the author's credibility and directness, saying the book is concise, direct, and actionable. Readers also describe the book as surprisingly quick and informative.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book's content practical, with great analogies and arguments. They also say it provides a simple framework to identify strategic objectives. Customers also mention that the book has a fair amount of credibility behind its statements.
"...ideal business book or a book that is "easy to understand, distinct, practical, reliable, insightful, and provides great reading experience."..." Read more
"...Topgrading includes sample interview guides and describes hiring methods to make sure you hire A and B players from the get go...." Read more
"Great book that leaves very practical applications. I would suggestion this for anyone looking to improve their teams at work." Read more
"...The A methodological is a good tool but should always be put in context." Read more
Customers find the book concise, direct, and a quick read. They also say the techniques are simple and practical. Readers also appreciate the narrative quality and the straight-forward actionable advice on hiring A players.
"We use this book at my company to align our hiring needs. It’s a clear book that’s easy for anyone to get through" Read more
"...this book, Who, to the ideal business book or a book that is "easy to understand, distinct, practical, reliable, insightful, and provides great..." Read more
"...The book, Who, simplifies the Topgrading concepts by creating a system for hiring: Source, Scorecard, Select, and Sell...." Read more
"...Overall the book is easy to read and gives you a good insight on how to hire effectively...." Read more
Customers find the book worth the money.
"...You won't regret it, it's worth the money!" Read more
"It's a useful guide for making the right people choices. A good investment for all managers who want to improve their business results." Read more
"Great book to help save time and money when finding the right people to work for your company." Read more
"Hindsight is an expensive teacher - this book will save you time, money, and heartache..." Read more
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"Who: The A Method for Hiring" by Geoff Smart and Randy Street (of ghSMART) is a book on recruting or hiring. During the global economic crisis, hiring is not less significant, it is more significant than ever. As the authors addressed that the who mistakes are pricey, most organisations are still implementing the voodoo hiring methods (the book says there are ten; pretty scary and they are true). The authors wrote the method, A method, that ghSMART (the authors' company) implemented with hundreds of clients and, as they claimed, the method has worked for them.
Contents (The A Method)
-Scorecard: A Blueprint for Success
It's a bit ironic that the authors always say "Who, not what" but the first step of the A method is the what. Anyway, the scorecard needs to have clear "Mission" rather than vague job descriptions we normally see. Specific and tangible "Outcomes" are also necessary together with critical "Competencies". The scorecard will be the blueprint of the recruiting process. We need a person that can get the job done, not an all-round athlete with a perfect resume but hangs around doing nothing.
- Source: Generating a Flow of A Players
This chapter tells us how to have more and better candidates. The best method that the book suggests is "Referrals" from friends, partners, employess, etc. The distant second and third are from recruiters and researchers.
- Select: The Four Interviews for Spotting A Players
Interview processes are "almost a random predictor" of job performance. That's the case with "traditional" interviews, author stated. They wrote a series of four interviews; screening interview, Topgrading interview, focused interview, and reference interview. This is the best part of the book.
- Sell: The Top Five Ways to Seal the Deal
The authors elaborated The Five F's of Selling; Fit, Family, Freedom, Fortune, Fun and the Five Waves of Selling or the phase that you can convince the candidate.
...
Now, I'll try to compare this book, Who, to the ideal business book or a book that is "easy to understand, distinct, practical, reliable, insightful, and provides great reading experience."
Ease of Understanding: 8/10: "Who" is easy to understand. The subject is very focused, "how to get the A player?". The subject is adequately explained and the contents are in order, Scorecard, Source, Select, and Sell.
Distinction: 6/10: I have to admit that I do not read much on recruitment but things like scorecard is not new and we all know that referral is among the best methods of getting great candidates. Nevertheless, the critical distinction of the book is how things are put in nice and simple order.
Practicality: 9/10: Forget rocket science theories on motivation and high intellectual psychology, this book cuts the waste and put you straight into action. It tells you how to do the scorecard, how to source, how to conduct the interview, and how to convince the candidate. A point is taken because the method will probably work best with the top-ranked hires rather than new graduates. If we are going to hire for the lower-rank candidates (that's the majority of the population by the way!), we have to simplify the method by ourselves.
Credibility: 7/10: The author stated that the A method works and it works with hundred of clients. From the experience and quotes by clients and success stories; the method sounds credible. However, the success, as the author claimed, of the method is very sentimental; it is measured mostly by customer satisfaction, I believe. It will be great if we have the data of the new recruits that actually outperform the scorecard, but measuring that will be tough.
Insight: 5/10: Because the book is destined to be very practical and straight to the point, you will not see highly detailed information of those topics. They are mostly "what it is, why it should be done, how it must be done, and examples or quotes" and move on to the next topic.
Reading Experience: 6/10: It is like reading a recruiting manual (a good one). There are stories all over the book but they are in glimpses and flashes. Having more stories of clients will be more fun and engaging but I believe that's not the point of "Who".
Overall: 6.8/10: If you are going to work alone for the rest of your career, skip the book (and you won't be reading this review anyway!). If you are hiring or going to hire someone in the future, this book is a must buy. Personally, I am sure that I will come back to this book many times in the future. I agree with the author when they wrote "you are who you hire". Since I do not want to be a B or C player, I'll be looking for only A and The A Mothod sounds right to me.
The book, Who, simplifies the Topgrading concepts by creating a system for hiring: Source, Scorecard, Select, and Sell. These four systems work together to ensure you hire the best employees possible. A further breakdown looks like this:
1) Source: Constantly reach out to A players in the market and create a list of people you would like to work for you. This way, when an opening occurs, you will have a strong Source to fill the spots.
2) Scorecard: Determine the key elements you are looking for in your position and design a scorecard for each key role you will be hiring. Use that scorecard to screen out who you will bring in for in-depth interviews. Careful screening prevents a host of problems in hiring.
3) Select: Determine who is best for the position through an in-depth Topgrade interview. The best predictor of future success is past success--don't cut corners in reference checking.
4) Sell: "A" players have options. Work hard to sell your organization to them.
The screening interview process was a highlight of this book. Who is a must have resource for every HR director and leader who wants to attract and secure top talent for their organization.
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Una guía muy sencilla, libro muy práctico, ejemplos empresariales.
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