Jason Fried, founder and CEO of 37signals, shares his best advice on hiring. They discuss knowing when to hire, grouping responsibilities, delegating tasks, hiring to get more done, successful new hires, giving feedback, letting people go, and assessing good judgment in candidates.
Business growth means it will only get harder, so release your grip on certain tasks as the company expands.
Hiring more people can affect speed due to increased collaboration and decision-making complexity, but it can also enable parallelization of work.
Finding the right balance between maintaining control and delegating tasks is crucial for scaling a business.
Deep dives
Recognizing the Challenges of Business Growth
As a company grows, it becomes harder to move as quickly as before, due to increased dependencies, more team members with varying levels of experience, and a larger surface area to cover. Decisions that used to take hours now take days, and communication becomes less direct. However, the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously can be a way to move faster overall. It's important to recognize that business growth means it will only get harder and to release your grip on certain tasks as the company expands.
Hiring and the Impact on Workload
When hiring new team members, it's crucial to consider the potential increase in workload. Hiring more people means more collaboration, communication, and potential bottlenecks. Speed can be affected as decision-making becomes more complex and certain tasks take longer to complete. However, hiring can also allow for the parallelization of work, enabling the team to work on multiple projects simultaneously. It's about striking a balance and finding ways to be more efficient while recognizing that business growth often means accepting a slower pace in certain areas.
Delegating and Letting Go
Delegating tasks and responsibilities is an essential part of scaling a business. However, as a founder or business owner, there are certain aspects that may be challenging to let go of, such as decision-making, quality control, and preserving the company's voice. It's crucial to identify what only you can do and what can be delegated to others. Finding the right balance between maintaining control and trusting your team's expertise is key.
Navigating the Hiring Process and Making Mistakes
Hiring the right people is a difficult process, and mistakes can happen. It's important to establish a thorough hiring process that includes evaluating candidates' skills and assessing their fit within the company culture. Real work samples and auditions can provide valuable insight. Despite precautions, it's impossible to guarantee a perfect match. As a business owner, it's crucial to make the necessary decisions when a hire isn't working out, whether it's due to a lack of fit, headbutting, or attitude problems. Recognizing the need to make tough decisions and not prolonging the decision-making process is essential for the overall success and growth of the company.
Importance of Letting Go of Employees
It is crucial to recognize when an employee is not a good fit and let them go. Holding onto someone who is not a match for the organization is detrimental to both parties. Although letting go may be difficult, it is necessary for individuals to flourish elsewhere and for the company to make smooth progress. It is important to find employees who align with the company's work style and values to avoid constant friction and lack of progress.
Enhancing the Odds of Hiring Success
To increase the chances of hiring success, clear expectations should be set from the beginning. During the hiring process, focus on finding a match rather than discussing potential termination. However, it is crucial to be transparent about evaluation checkpoints and performance reviews. Making expectations transparent and walking candidates through the thought process behind decisions can help them understand the company's perspective and improve alignment. It is important to assess judgment and taste during interviews, asking about other companies or products they admire and why. Sharing the company's thought process and allowing candidates to understand how the company thinks can help them make more informed decisions in line with the organization's values.
Adam wants to start the process of growing the team at Tailwind Labs, but knowing exactly who, when, and how to hire people (and have them actually work out) is a lot harder than expected. In this episode, he sits down with Jason Fried, founder and CEO of 37signals, to get all of Jason's best advice about hiring.
Timestamps
(00:00) - Talking hiring with Jason Fried
(02:04) - Knowing when it's time to hire
(04:57) - Grouping different responsibilities into single roles
(11:49) - Example: Delegating some of Adam's responsibilities at Tailwind Labs
(20:47) - Hiring to get more done vs. free up more time
(23:58) - Stuff Jason has successfully delegated at 37signals
(31:09) - Hard truths about hiring and growing a company
(40:39) - Patrick Collison — Fast
(44:13) - Anxiety about making bad hires
(53:28) - Letting people go
(54:55) - Jason's advice on making new hires successful
