In this issue: Hire Your True Fans… / Why Do Some People Succeed after Failing, While Others Continue to Flounder? / Keep Thinking: Your most creative ideas aren’t your first / The Lighter Side of Hiding
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Hire Your True Fans…
Choosing the wrong hire and relatedly, choosing the wrong job, comes with a high cost – both financial and personal.
However, finding the right fit can be complicated.
We often go into these processes with blinders on.
Companies want the best talent and may ignore signs of a poor fit. While individuals want…well, they don’t always know what they want.
Money often seems like a good metric to begin with, but then months later, demotivated people leave or worse still, they stay and become less engaged, often impacting everyone around them.
If only I could, I’d take out my magic wand or Morpho Box, tell everyone their potential (see my earlier post on Apple’s new series), and give them their perfect job…
Steve Jobs talked about the importance of doing what you love, while best-selling author and Georgetown professor, Cal Newport somewhat debunked that saying we should work on our skills, and “get so good they can’t ignore you.”
The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle with us having enough passion to become that good.
Become a True Fan so They Really Can’t Ignore You!
When not having dinner with spies (see last week’s post), most Friday nights you can find me at church, which is admittedly a bit odd since I’m Jewish.
But most weeks my friend’s church hosts some of DC’s finest jazz musicians and it’s truly a non-denominational spiritual experience.
Recently they featured a band comprised of high school students who meet every week under the tutelage of master players.
They come from all over the area, some more than an hour away (or several hours in DC traffic)…their commitment to their music, playing and each other is fierce and beautiful to behold.
Though younger and without the years of experience of the masters that typically play, their talent and more importantly, their determination, was evident to the packed church.
And during their time on stage, they also demonstrated a not-so-hidden secret of good hiring… when people love what they’re doing they give it their all.
Ironically, it was a lesson that I experience earlier in the day.
I’d met with a new client whose love for her work was beyond anything I’d heard in quite a while.
She’d worked her way up from an entry-level role with her organization and over the years got her degree, eventually earning her way into her current role… a job she truly loves doing.
In fact, she loves it so much, she told me that she often asks for extra work and despite her husband’s pleas, she refuses to retire.
Honestly, who wouldn’t want to hire someone like that?
These demonstrations of passion and commitment by my client and this group of young people, reminded me of Kevin Kelly’s viral post from years ago, where he talked about the importance of having 1000 True Fans.
He defined a true fan as someone who loved what you do so much that they “will buy anything you produce.”
He believed the 1,000 True Fans were “useful to anyone making things, or making things happen.”
And I believe that magic also holds true for companies.
It’s also why company culture is so critical, particularly in the rapidly changing world of work.
The better the fit and the more you inspire “fandom” in your people, the better they and you will be.
The most successful companies aspire to this.
The data shows that you can’t pay people to do what my client wants to do for free.
It’s all about intrinsic motivation.
In his great book, Drive, best-selling author, Dan Pink talked about the importance of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation.
He found that in contexts like work, education, and personal development providing autonomy, opportunities for mastery, and a sense of purpose, individuals could tap into their intrinsic motivation and experience greater satisfaction and fulfillment.
And while money will always be a factor, all things being relatively equal your people are looking for that sense of true fulfillment. In short, they want to be your true fan.
Again, I wish I had that wand to give you a no-fault way to determine that x-factor that goes beyond all the typical hiring practices, but what I will say is take the extra time to get to really get to know potential hires.
Pay attention.
Look for clues.
What lights them up (if anything) when they speak about their work and hobbies…and most importantly about the job you might hire them to do.
We’re at a strange tipping point in the world of work. AI is without question augmenting human intelligence, but it can’t augment passion and emotional intelligence (at least not yet :).
So, invest in the person, recognizing that the right tech, proper training, and good management can help to take care of the rest.
Because, while a true fan may be hard to find, the value they bring makes them worth searching for.
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RECOMMENDED LISTENS, READS And other interesting things
Why Do Some People Succeed after Failing, While Others Continue to Flounder?
A new study dispels some of the mystery behind success after failure.
Keep Thinking: Your most creative ideas aren’t your first
Most people believe that good ideas come quickly or not at all—but it turns out that’s not the case.
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The) Lighter Side of Hiring
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Are there any other subjects you want me to cover? Hit “Reply” and tell me!
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Andrea J. Miller
+1 (646) 556-5401 (Whatsapp)
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