Who

My Thoughts

“Who, not what.”

Of all of the business books that I’ve read, very few of them deal with the Who question. They mainly deal with What. What to sell, what to do, what to pursue. Who, by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, obviously covers the Who aspect of business. Who is on your team and how do you find and attract the best? If the who is done correctly, they will take care of the what.

I’ve personally never had to hire someone. I worked in a company right out of college but never had anyone under me. For the past 10 years, I’ve worked for myself. I know at some point in my life, I’ll be hiring someone in some capacity and this book will come in very handy at that point. I’m glad I read it now before making some bad mistakes in hiring. But even though I’m not hiring anyone right now, this book made me consider the opposite side of the equation and how I appear before potential employers. It’s a great read from either vantage point.

Who gives a simple and straightforward approach to the hiring process. This is contrasted throughout the book with “voodoo” methods of hiring, basically just random approaches that generally don’t attract the best people. The book is full of anecdotes from CEOs who have hired many people throughout their careers and provides success and not so successful stories.

One area I had hoped the book would cover in more depth is how a company can find people who aren’t necessarily looking for a job. It’s predicted that 33% of the workforce will soon be freelancers and solopreneurs. Theses highly specialized people will be great fits for companies but aren’t necessarily out there submitting resumes and seeking positions.