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4 episodes with ghsmart
2 episodes with ghsmart
2 episodes with ghsmart
4 episodes with ghsmart
2 episodes with ghsmart
This episode is brought to you by Oberle Risk Strategies: Insurance Broker and Insurance Due Diligence Provider for Search Funds and Other Small-to-Medium-Sized Businesses *This episode is brought to you by Boulay, the industry standard for Quality of Earnings, tax, and audit services, serving search fund entrepreneurs for 20+ years*Today's episode is all about Hiring, and we've managed to secure one of the world's foremost experts on the subject.Randy Street is the Vice Chairman of ghSMART, a global consulting firm that helps CEOs, boards, and investors build valuable companies specifically through hiring and developing world class leadership teams. Alonside ghSMART's chairman and founder, Geoff Smart, Randy also co-authored Who: The A Method for Hiring, a book that I view as being required reading for all entrepreneurs and CEOs running SMBs. The very specific hiring method that they detail within this book ("Topgrading") changed the way that I made all of my hires across my entire company.In our discussion today, we discuss how to evaluate people & teams that you haven't personally hired, post-hire considerations, lessons from 30+ years of working with CEOs and management teams, compensation, and how to identify and address conflicts within leadership teams.
Jordan Burton is an executive assessor and interview trainer, working with top VC/PE investors and high-growth startups to hire the best of the best. He has trained over 3,000 executives and investors on hiring and interviewing skills, working with companies like Sequoia Capital, TH Lee, Insight Partners, Twilio, and Scale AI, and over 50 venture-backed startups. He was formerly a Partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART, a consultant at Bain & Company, and he holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.Mentioned on the ShowConnect with Jordan Burton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanwburtonLearn more about Talgo Team Building and Training: https://www.talgo.io/Listen to futurist Alexandra Levit on People Business: https://peoplebusinesspodcast.com/alexandralevit/________________________Connect with O'Brien McMahon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obrienmcmahon/Learn more about O'Brien: https://obrienmcmahon.com/Timestamps(1:44) - Welcoming Jordon(2:17) - How does one become an expert in interviewing?(3:27) - How should you structure different types of interviews?(5:03) - What makes a good candidate? (10:53) - Are there any counterintuitive aspects of the interview process?(16:05) - How and What questions vs. Why questions (24:34) - When it comes to hard skills, how do we create good problem-solving interviews?(27:24) - Is there a similar way to test soft skills?(38:50) - The importance of motivation and will. (32:03) - How do we assess the actual skills required in real-time?(35:14) - What are your thoughts on the statement "hire for attitude, train for skills"?(42:12) - Tips for candidates and interview teams to get organized and prepare(45:13) - How do we decide the best questions to be asked?(45:07) - How does an individual prepare for an interview?(46:19) - How do you analyze an interview?(49:09) - How do we develop our gut instincts? (52:32) - What is disciplined decision-making? (55:02) - Track, with honesty, which decisions worked out.(58:46) - Can you share a crazy interview story?
I'm trying something new this week by releasing a shortened highlights episode alongside the full one. It's designed for those of you who may not have time to listen to the whole episode—perfect for a quick commute or a busy day.To be honest, it's more work, and my ADD brain isn't entirely convinced this idea is worth continuing, but I wanted to experiment and see how it goes.I'd love to hear your thoughts! Do you like and appreciate the highlights version, or should I stick to full-length episodes? Your feedback will help me decide if this format is a keeper. Thanks for being flexible as I try this out!------------In the full-length episode, we discuss why building and scaling a business—and achieving more freedom and free time—starts with the “who” in your business.Our guest, Dr. Geoff Smart, is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm specializing in helping companies make high-impact hiring and leadership decisions. With over $100 million in revenue, ghSMART's hiring strategies are in high demand because they deliver results.If you've ever wondered, “Who is the world's expert on hiring?”—just ask ChatGPT, and Geoff Smart's name will surely come up. He's the New York Times bestselling author of Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success.Geoff's mission is to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. His expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek, and he's a regular contributor to Psychology Today.Subscribe on Apple Podcast , Spotify or YouTube.Let's connect!Subscribe to my newsletter: Time To Live: Thriving in Business and BeyondWebsite: https://www.annemcginty.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcgintyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/annemcgintyhost
Today we're diving into why building and scaling a business—and achieving more freedom and free time—starts with the “who” in your business.Our guest, Dr. Geoff Smart, is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm specializing in helping companies make high-impact hiring and leadership decisions. With over $100 million in revenue, ghSMART's hiring strategies are in high demand because they deliver results.If you've ever wondered, “Who is the world's expert on hiring?”—just ask ChatGPT, and Geoff Smart's name will surely come up. He's the New York Times bestselling author of Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success.Geoff's mission is to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. His expertise has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek, and he's a regular contributor to Psychology Today.Subscribe on Apple Podcast , Spotify or YouTube.Let's connect!Subscribe to my newsletter: Time To Live: Thriving in Business and BeyondWebsite: https://www.annemcginty.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemcgintyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/annemcgintyhost
Join Mark for the latest episode of the Chief Executive Summit, featuring Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder of ghSMART and a leading expert in CEO and C-suite readiness. Geoff shares his transformative approach to leadership assessment and development, offering invaluable insights for aspiring and current executives. Key Highlights: Beyond Psychology Tests: Geoff explains why traditional tools like cognitive tests often fall short at the executive level. Forensic Leadership Analysis: Discover Geoff's unique method of evaluating leadership through a detailed examination of past experiences and performance, validated by peer and board feedback. Role-Specific Readiness: Insights into tailoring leadership development to the strategic needs of an organization. Geoff also discusses groundbreaking research, including the three key traits that increase team success by 20 times: prioritization, talent management, and result-focused relationships. These principles, combined with a rigorous selection process, drive long-term success for leaders and organizations alike. Don't miss this conversation about aligning leadership excellence with organizational strategy. Listen now.
In this episode of The Breakthrough Leadership Team Show, my guest is Jordan Burton, an executive assessor and interviewing trainer with over 17 years of experience. He specializes in training top VC and Private Equity investors and high-growth companies on how to hire the best talent. Jordan was a Partner at the renowned leadership advisory firm ghSMART, a consultant at Bain & Company, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. At his training firm Talgo, he manages relationships with industry giants like Sequoia Capital, TH Lee, and Palantir Technologies.Tune in and learn practical strategies for better role definitions, sourcing top talent through networks, and conducting structured interviews that reveal true competencies. Jordan shares insider tips on avoiding common hiring mistakes, building a virtual talent bench, and adapting recruitment for remote work. Whether you're a leader or HR professional, this conversation offers actionable insights to enhance your hiring processes and build a top-tier team.Explore more at Talgo.io Thanks for listening! Connect with us at mike-goldman.com/blog and on Instagram@mikegoldmancoach and on YouTube @Mikegoldmancoach
Even when met with skepticism, Geoff Smart pushed forward with his vision to transform hiring through powerful data-driven methods. He created the WHO Method through his leadership consulting firm, emphasizing drive and cultural fit over skills. This approach not only brought success to his clients but also propelled his firm to global success. In this episode, Geoff reveals the key strategies behind the WHO Method, including how to prioritize drive over skills and ensure cultural alignment in hiring. Dr. Geoff Smart is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART, a top leadership consulting firm serving Fortune 500 CEOs, boards, and entrepreneurs. He is a New York Times bestselling author and renowned expert on hiring and leadership, dedicated to helping leaders achieve extraordinary results through smart team building. In this episode, Ilana and Geoff will discuss: - Cracking the code to hiring superstar talent - Why drive outshines talent in every scenario - How to build a culture that accelerates growth - Interview techniques that reveal true potential - Success predictors most leaders overlook - Leadership secrets that cultivate a winning culture - How consistency can skyrocket your career - Emotional intelligence as a leadership superpower - Setting boundaries that fuel success - The WHO method for flawless hiring - And other topics… Dr. Geoff Smart is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART, a leadership consulting firm serving Fortune 500 CEOs, boards, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of state worldwide. A sought-after expert in hiring and leadership, he co-authored the New York Times bestselling books Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score. Under his leadership, ghSMART has earned recognition as a top consulting firm, known for its client impact and employee satisfaction. Connect with Geoff: Geoff's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgeoffsmart/ Resources Mentioned: SMARTtools for Leaders: https://geoffsmart.com/smarttools/ ghSMART: www.ghsmart.com Geoff's Books: Who: https://www.amazon.com/Who-Geoff-Smart/dp/0345504194 Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Score-Formula-Leadership-Success/dp/0345547357 Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) into Government: https://www.amazon.com/Leadocracy-Hiring-Great-Leaders-Government/dp/1608322882
Jordan Burton is a seasoned executive assessor and interviewing trainer with over 17 years of experience. He specializes in training top Venture Capital and Private Equity investors and high-growth companies in hiring the best talent.Jordan is the co-founder of Talgo, where he manages relationships with industry giants like Sequoia Capital, TH Lee and Palantir Technologies.Jordan is a former Partner at the renowned leadership advisory firm ghSMART and a former consultant at Bain & Company. He's a graduate of Duke University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.Check out the Talgowebsite for more info!Key Focus: Transforming hiring practices through world-class interviewing, exceptional candidate experiences, and innovative talent acquisition strategies.
Dr Smart is Chair and Founder of GH Smart, a global leadership advisory, which has published three bestselling books: Who? A Method for Hiring, The CEO Next Door, and PowerScore. Tune in to hear his answers to: Where do boards go wrong with hiring? (0:57) Why do boards continue to over-rely on gut feelings and referrals? (2:36) How can boards embrace diverse candidates, without relying on hypothetical questions at interviews? (5:10) What's best practice for drafting role scorecard briefs? (8:44) Why don't organisations search more thoroughly when they hire board members? (13:11) Can you talk through the four interviews that constitute your selection process? (19:21) Can you outline the “Who” and “Focus” interviews? (24:19) What do you think of cognitive ability and psychometric testing? (33:43) What do you think of job specific testing? (37:52) Why doesn't the disclaimer “past performance is no guarantee of future results” apply to individuals? (39:12) And ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(41:40) Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides
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For the qualities that top-performing CEOs have in common, research shows some surprising results. It turns out that charisma, confidence, and pedigree all have little bearing on CEO success. Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART and coleader of its CEO Genome Project, studied high performers in the corner office. The analysis found that they demonstrated four business behaviors: quick decision making, engaging for impact, adapting proactively, and delivering reliably. Botelho cowrote the HBR article “What Sets Successful CEOs Apart.”
Geoff Smart is the chairman & founder of ghSMART, a global leadership advisory, education, and analytics firm. Geoff founded the firm whilst doing his PhD in 1995 and it now employs over 200 people helping Fortune 500 CEOs & boards, entrepreneurs, and heads of state to achieve their goals through hiring, developing, and leading talented teams.ghSMART is remarkable for it's strong positioning with the leadership suite of some of the leading companies in the world - something that even the biggest firms struggle to achieve. ghSMART is ranked #1 on Glassdoor among top firms in consulting, finance, and tech, with a 4.7/5.0 overall rating. It is also ranked #1 on the Great Place to Work index among top professional services firms. In 2023, Vault named ghSMART the #1 consulting firm in its industry (ranked above McKinsey, Bain, and BCG) in the categories of overall colleague satisfaction, compensation, selectivity, challenge, client interaction, work-life balance, (few) hours in an office, best boutique, business outlook, and overall diversity.Dr. Smart has written three bestselling books. Who: The A Method for Hiring (Smart & Street) is a New York Times bestseller that is currently ranked #1 on Amazon.com on the topic of hiring talented teams. Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success (Smart, Street, and Foster) is a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and appeared on an international newspaper's list of “The 10 Best Business Books of 2015.” The CEO Next Door (Botelho & Powell) is a critically-acclaimed New York Times bestseller. In addition, Dr. Smart published Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) into Government, a New York Times bestseller which won the IPPY Award and the Axiom Book Award for #1 Best Business Book of the Year. He earned a B.A. in Economics with honors from Northwestern University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology from Claremont Graduate University, where he was a student of management thought leader Peter F. Drucker.ghSMART makes an impact in the broader community. Dr. Smart founded a not-for-profit leadership development organization which became the Colorado Governors Fellowship Program, and he currently serves on the Board of Trustees of CiviCo. ghSMART colleagues donate hundreds of hours per year to advising leaders who make the world a better place.Prof. Joe O'Mahoney helps boutique consultancies scale and exit. Joe's research, writing, speaking and insights can be found at www.joeomahoney.com
Dr. Geoff Smart is the world's leading expert hiring. He is the is the Founder and Chairman of ghSMART, a leading global management consulting firm for talent, and the co-author of three bestselling books. One of those, Who: The A Method for Hiring, is a New York Times bestseller and is considered the leading resource on helping businesses hire and develop top talent. Geoff has a PhD in organizational psychology and has personally advised three US Governors, White House Fellows and a President of the World Bank. Geoff joined host Robert Glazer on the Elevate Podcast to talk how to hire and retain talent, why so many people do interviews wrong, how companies can recruit better, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Geoff Smart is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART. Founded in 1995, ghSMART helps Fortune 500 CEOs & boards, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of state to confidently achieve their goals through hiring, developing, and leading talented teams. Dr. Smart is also the New York Times bestselling author of Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. In this episode, we talked about team and organizational effectiveness, hiring, company culture…
Welcome back to BizQuik! Today's episode of BizQuiker is all about how leadership impacts your brand. This is likely a new concept for many, but how strong of a leader you are has a direct impact on how strong your brand is going to be. Julie dives into the 3 most important aspects of leadership, based on a study completed by ghSMART. Those 3 aspects are that ability to prioritize, the ability to hire the right people, and the ability to build relationships. Tune in as Julie dives into each of these areas and how you can make improvements to give yourself an advantage in the marketplace. Themes: Brand, Leadership, Hiring, Prioritize, Relationships Support our show by visiting our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/BizQuik) Shout out to FeedSpot (https://blog.feedspot.com/small_business_podcasts/) - The internet's largest human curated database of blogs and podcasts. Need some help with customer service or social media management? Check out Certivium (https://www.certivium.com/) Find out everything you want to know about us and our businesses on our website SBPACE.com. You can also find us on the following social media platforms: Facebook (SB PACE) Instagram (@sb.pace) LinkedIn (@sb-pace) TikTok (@sb.pace) YouTube (SB PACE) If you like our intro, hit up Pat Hilton on Instagram (@pathiltonlive) You can buy our book, Seriously? Now What?! A Small Business Guide to Disaster Preparedness, on Amazon. BizQuik is a Traxler-Harris production. #Podcast #entrepreneurship #startup #businessowners #businesscoach
The number one problem in business is hiring the right employees.Say you have a job opening to fill. You interview a range of qualified candidates and hire the best of the bunch (or so you think). But all of a sudden, all expectations break into pieces: the person who seemed like a perfect fit during the interview doesn't have what it takes to do the job.Not a happy ending whatsoever, right?What if you could master your hiring practices to ensure that all your new hires are A players that align with your company's values?Good news: one of the world's foremost leadership advisors has laid out a simple four-step methodology for hiring the right people with a 90% of success rate, thus avoiding the costly flow-on effects of traditional hiring.We invited Geoff Smart, an acclaimed book author, and public speaker, to disentangle for us his innovative four-step hiring methods. Geoff serves as Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, a management assessment and leadership firm with clients that include the world's largest private equity investors and Fortune 500 CEOs. He is also the co-creator of the Topgrading philosophy of talent management.Listen to this episode of Conversations at The Edge with Geoff Smart to discover the keys to hiring the best and most impactful talent out there.
This week's episode is an exciting one as our host Yoni Kozminski gets into a conversation with the author of a book he has read, applied, and recommended to so many. Our guest is Dr. Geoff Smart, one of the authors of Who: The A Method for Hiring and Chairman & Founder of ghSMART. 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 with confidence. The firm was named the #1 “best consulting firm to work for” in overall employee satisfaction, challenge, and client interaction, by Vault in 2022, 2021, and 2020. Topics & Timestamps: 00:00 Guest Introduction 02:39 Episode Start 04:24 The Summary of Dr. Geoff Smart 06:58 Timeline of ghSmart and the WHO book 09:24 Studying with Peter Drucker "The Father of Management" 14:13 What's the Why behind WHO? 18:03 What's the key points on WHO? 19:37 4 Steps of Good Hiring 22:14 The 4 Disciplines of Execution and their Method 24:35 Dr. Geoff's thoughts on EOS 29:35 Understanding the cost and loss of making a hiring mistake 36:22 The Standards of ghSmart and how they keep it 40:13 Taking that Good Hire and fostering the right culture 45:42 What ghSmart is now and it's vision for the future 50:42 90-90-20 56:51 Informal and Formal alignment with your leadership team 01:02:20 Three Horizons Methodology ✨ Download our FREE Financial Planning Template for Amazon Sellers: https://bit.ly/free-amazon-financial-template ✨ Connect with us on social media: Yoni on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/yonkoz/ Successful Scales on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/company/successful-scales/ Instagram - https://instagram.com/successfulscales Facebook - https://facebook.com/successfulscales ✨ Connect with Dr. Geoff Smart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgeoffsmart/ Free tools at https://whothebook.com/ ✨ More about us: MultiplyMii Staffing - https://multiplymii.com Escala Consulting - https://weareescala.com South Col - https://www.southcol.co Successful Scales Podcast - https://successfulscales.com ✨ Full video episodes are also uploaded on YouTube: Subscribe here: https://youtube.com/successfulscales?sub_confirmation=1 Successful Scales is sponsored by Global Wired Advisors - a leading digital investment bank with decades of merger and acquisition experience on online and e-commerce businesses and focused on optimizing the business sale process to increase the transactional value of your greatest asset Connect with Global Wired Advisors here - https://globalwiredadvisors.com/
Dr. Geoff Smart is the Chairman & Founder of ghSMART. Founded in 1995, ghSMART helps Fortune 500 CEOs & boards, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of state achieve their goals through hiring, developing, and leading talented teams. They serve clients globally from 12 offices in North America and Europe. For three consecutive years, Forbes named ghSMART the best management consulting firm in its industry segment. ghSMART is the subject of two Harvard Business School Cases, and its credo is “We exist to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world.” ghSMART has published three bestselling books. Who: A Method for Hiring is a New York Times bestseller that is currently ranked #1 on Amazon.com on the topic of hiring talented teams, among a number of other bestsellers such as TopGrading and the Power Score. Geoff has personally advised four sitting U.S. Governors, a U.S. Senator, White House Fellows, world leaders in education, defense, and public health, and the President of the World Bank. In this podcast, he shares: What Peter Drucker really meant by “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Insights from a decades-long study into hiring practicesThe big reasons why the success rate in hiring is only 50% The four practices you can put in place to raise that success rate to 90% __________________________________________________________________________________________"So to me, strategy and culture both come from having better talent, more talented, diverse good-hearted people on your team than the next competitor. That's the work, that's the hard work once you have that "Oh, sure let's go international, let's go digital, let's smoke this set of competitors. Let's do this customer segmentation." You can do strategy when you have the right talent and culture." -Geoff Smart__________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Geoff + The topic of today's episode2:13—If you really know me you know that...2:54—What is your definition of strategy?3:59—What did you take away with your experience working with Peter Drucker?6:31—Could you give us a brief overview of the framework from your most successful book, Who?8:54—What are things you shouldn't do when hiring?10:49—What are the four things you should be doing for successful hiring?15:29—The third step of the hiring framework16:37—The last step of the framework17:19—What is something you've changed your mind about?18:14—How can people connect with you and learn more about what you're working on?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://geoffsmart.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/geoffreysmartBooks: https://www.amazon.com/Geoff-Smart/e/B001J8ZIV8%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_shareLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgeoffsmart
Dr. Geoff Smart is the Chairman & Founder of ghSMART. Founded in 1995, ghSMART helps Fortune 500 CEOs & boards, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of state achieve their goals through hiring, developing, and leading talented teams. They serve clients globally from 12 offices in North America and Europe. For three consecutive years, Forbes named ghSMART the best management consulting firm in its industry segment. ghSMART is the subject of two Harvard Business School Cases, and its credo is “We exist to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world.” ghSMART has published three bestselling books. Who: A Method for Hiring is a New York Times bestseller that is currently ranked #1 on Amazon.com on the topic of hiring talented teams, among a number of other bestsellers such as TopGrading and the Power Score. Geoff has personally advised four sitting U.S. Governors, a U.S. Senator, White House Fellows, world leaders in education, defense, and public health, and the President of the World Bank. In this podcast, he shares: What Peter Drucker really meant by “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Insights from a decades-long study into hiring practicesThe big reasons why the success rate in hiring is only 50% The four practices you can put in place to raise that success rate to 90% __________________________________________________________________________________________"So to me, strategy and culture both come from having better talent, more talented, diverse good-hearted people on your team than the next competitor. That's the work, that's the hard work once you have that "Oh, sure let's go international, let's go digital, let's smoke this set of competitors. Let's do this customer segmentation." You can do strategy when you have the right talent and culture." -Geoff Smart__________________________________________________________________________________________Episode Timeline:00:00—Introducing Geoff + The topic of today's episode2:13—If you really know me you know that...2:54—What is your definition of strategy?3:59—What did you take away with your experience working with Peter Drucker?6:31—Could you give us a brief overview of the framework from your most successful book, Who?8:54—What are things you shouldn't do when hiring?10:49—What are the four things you should be doing for successful hiring?15:29—The third step of the hiring framework16:37—The last step of the framework17:19—What is something you've changed your mind about?18:14—How can people connect with you and learn more about what you're working on?__________________________________________________________________________________________Additional Resources: Personal Page: https://geoffsmart.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/geoffreysmartBooks: https://www.amazon.com/Geoff-Smart/e/B001J8ZIV8%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_shareLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drgeoffsmart
Today's episode is all about Hiring, and we've managed to secure one of the world's foremost experts on the subject. My guest is Randy Street. Randy is Vice Chairman of ghSMART, which is a global consulting firm that helps CEOs, boards, and investors build valuable companies specifically through hiring and developing world class leadership teams. During Randy's tenure, ghSMART has grown tenfold, and has been ranked by Forbes as one of America's Best Consulting Firms from 2017-2020. Randy first came on my radar when I read the book that he wrote in collaboration with ghSMART's chairman and founder, Geoff Smart, called Who: The A Method for Hiring. I profile this book on my website as being absolutely required reading for all entrepreneurs and CEOs running SMBs. The very specific hiring method that they detail within this book changed the way that I made all of my hires across my entire company. The book quickly become a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best seller, and has earned acclaim from countless other publications. Randy also co-authored another Wall Street Journal bestseller, called Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. In our discussion today, we barely touch on Randy's book because, candidly, I'd encourage you to simply buy it an read it for yourself. In today's episode, I try to dig one level deeper with Randy and discuss how to evaluate people & teams that you haven't personally hired, post-hire considerations, lessons from 30+ years of working with CEOs and management teams, compensation, and how to identify and address conflicts within leadership teams. Please enjoy!
We've talked a lot about the importance of culture in the workplace, but what exactly is culture? How does it impact your company? Why is it such a make-or-break part of your company? Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder of ghSMART and 3X Forbes Winner of Best Management Consulting Firm in its segment, has made developing a winning culture the foundation of his business. According to a Gallup study pre-pandemic, 70% of people who left their jobs said it had nothing to do with pay. It all came down to growth opportunities, teammates and managers, and culture. These numbers have only gotten worse during the pandemic, and it's a large contributor to “The Great Resignation” we're going through right now. Geoff and his ghSMART group combine psychological practices with the guidance of some of the most experienced managers in their fields, to tailor a strategy to develop a culture that fosters growth, inclusion, and the opportunity for every employee to win at work. So with that...let's bring it in!
When many people think “leader,” they think big, bold personality--large and in charge. The truth is extroverted leaders are not the only stars of business success, and we have more and more successful “quiet leaders” to look to as examples such as Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos or iconic world-changers like Rosa Parks. In fact, researchers from Chicago-based consultancy firm, ghSmart, spent 10 years creating a database, called the CEO Genome Project. Upon analyzing their data, their findings included that over half of the CEOs who performed the best were introverts. So let’s explore the behaviors that don’t always get fanfare, but can add incredible value through subtle, yet effective influence. Supportive Leaders “Quiet leaders” often lead with a supportive style as opposed to an authoritative style. Not ones to demand respect, these leaders humbly take a collaborative approach to decision making and execution. They are at their most influential when the people they lead feel heard, involved, and invested in the outcome. They influence through shared vision and team buy in. In fact, that is a pretty powerful way to focus people and processes towards success. Introspective Leaders Other leaders might take an even more unpretentious, reserved approach. Being known for being insightful, reflective, and candid, they think things through before acting. As reflective individuals who simply need a little time and space to decide on the next steps, their imaginative contributions often surprise those who otherwise perceive them as quiet. They are at their most influential when their sincere interest in a thoughtful plan and outcome is realized and others can look to them for stable, strategic outcomes. All Leaders Can Be Visible Leaders It is okay to not be the most social of leaders, however, be cautious of appearing overly private in an environment where transparency is celebrated. Close your door to get work done when it really matters, while also committing to being a highly visible leader by making the rounds, be it greeting your in-person team first thing in the morning, or checking in regularly on Zoom, Slack, or other digital communication tools used by remote teams. A reclusive or isolated leader does not inspire followers, so keep the end in that thoughtful mind of yours, and add visibility to your leadership strategy. The endgame for leadership is influence. While there are many paths to influencing others, it’s important to own your unique way as part of your personal brand, and then position it as a valuable resource to the organization or effort for which you lead. Take My Quiz to Learn About Your Leadership Personality Take this brief personality quiz to quickly define your distinct value, then leverage your results to position yourself as an influential leader who makes things happen. Find out what makes you great, and what you might need to "bubble wrap" to fortify your more fragile traits that may hold you back. (AKA the things that simply aren't your jam.) Don't overthink any question...just go with your first instinct. After just a few short questions you will receive powerful insight into how you show up at your best as a leader, and you will even receive a downloadable PDF of your results! You can take it for FREE here: https://amberhurdle.com/leadershipquiz/
On this inaugural episode of Skipper (1/2), I'm joined by Randy Street. Randy is a New York Times best selling author and a managing partner at ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm whose mission is to help great leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. As managing partner, Randy works with top level executives, boards, and presidents to help them lead their companies and organizations to success through their hiring process. In 2008, Randy co-authored Who: The A Method For Hiring. The book was wildly successful and soared to the #1 best selling book on Amazon out of 24 million titles! It would continue on to be a bestseller amongst every major bestseller list in the US, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. On this episode, Randy and I discuss his book, how he decided on business as his career, and of course, his advice to young people on how to find what makes us tick!Enjoy
A podcast about work, the future and how they will go together
What does a Navy fighter pilot have in common with leading during the pandemic? A lot, at least according to our guest today. Communicating wel, reinforcing core values, remembering to listen- these are all things that leaders in the navy are trained to do, and they are things that can serve leaders well as they navigate un-chartered territory now. Join us as Jeff McLean, former fighter pilot turned consultant at ghSMART talks about why the lessons from his first career are serving him well in his second and why your organization can learn from them as well. Guest: Jeff McLean is a Principal at ghSMART. He advises public and private company boards, CEOs, and investors on their most crucial leadership challenges including executive team selection and development, CEO succession, M&A diligence, and organizational change initiatives. Drawing on his combined experiences as a leader and advisor to national leaders, Jeff brings thoughtful and pragmatic insight to drive business performance. Prior to joining ghSMART, Jeff was Director of Strategic Initiatives and Asset Management for a large privately-held family office with operating businesses in multiple industries. Previously, he served as a Senior Policy Advisor and White House Fellow in the White House Office...
BGBS 030: Geoff Smart | Part 2: Who: Hiring Tips Founder of ghSMART & Co, Geoff Smart is sharing how he studied under Peter Drucker and found his calling to help businesses solve their number one problem; who to hire and how to bring them on the team. As the creator of a Fortune 500 company that is regularly voted one of the top businesses to work for, Geoff tells us his step by step process of hiring with a 90% success rate. Prepare yourself to learn crucial information in how to build your dream team. What we're talking about The Number One Problem in Business Today Ineffective Ways Businesses Interview Candidates How to Hire With a 90% Success Rate The Number One Problem in Business Today ghSMART & Co is one of the best leadership consulting firms in the world. Geoff Smart discusses the number one problem in business today, hiring. When asked, CEOs report that the top two problems today are talent and technology disruption. Ineffective Ways Businesses Interview Candidates The current practices of businesses hiring process can be said to be ineffective, inefficient, and miss the mark by a mile. This isn't necessarily their fault. A “good hiring” process isn't being taught in school. Most frame the interview around hypothetical situations and questions. This only gives you hypothetical answers. How to Hire With a 90% Success Rate Geoff gives us his highly successful step by step hiring process, information that top companies pay thousands of dollars to learn. Are you ready to elevate your company by building your dream team? LINKS MENTIONED Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) into Government by Geoff Smart Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success by Geoff Smart SPONSOR Wildstory TIMESTAMPS 10:55 - 11:18 (23 sec GS) One of the principles of good hiring...daunting challenge of picking the right people. 12:23 - 12:53 (30 sec GS) When you're in a great job...it could be really miserable. QUOTES One fad is to ask people hypothetical questions. When you ask people hypothetical questions, they give you hypothetical answers. And those answers don't tend to be grounded in reality about how people actually behave or perform on the job. GS The goal is to have 90% hiring success vs. 50% hiring success by following the steps. GS Podcast Transcript Geoff Smart 0:02 You know, when you're in a great job, like your life is great. Like, it just is like, we spend so much of our, our lives working. You know, if you're really engaged in your in your work and you love your job, it's a wonderful thing and that if that job fits really well, it has a huge effect on your life satisfaction. And if a job is mismatching, you know the personality of your colleagues as wrong as kind of offer the actual work itself, the content of the work, they really like, you know, it can be really miserable. Marc Gutman 0:35 podcasting, Boulder, Colorado. This is the baby got backstory podcast. we dive into the story behind the story of today's most inspiring storytellers, creators and entrepreneurs. I like big back stories and I cannot lie. I am your host, Marc Gutman. I'm Marc Gutman in today's special episode of baby Got backstory. part two of our interview with hiring expert Dr. Geoff smart of gh smart. In our last episode, Geoff shared his story of how he studied under legendary business guru Peter Drucker and found his calling to help businesses solve their number one problem, who to hire, who to bring on the team. After spending years studying this question and working with thousands of companies, Geoff is back to share his process for hiring the right person. Every time I improve this stuff works. And the good news is you can do it yourself. Listen closely as Geoff shares his process. This is the secret goods people. This is the stuff Geoff's clients pay huge fees for and you can get it right here. Right now. So, Geoff, I'm looking at your book right now, on the covering. It's called "Who" On the cover and really big type. It says solve your number one problem. Yeah, what is the number one problem we need to solve? Geoff Smart 2:13 So the number one problem is hiring. And that's based on an economist cover article from a few years ago, it declared after surveying thousands or 10s of thousands of business and government leaders, like what's the biggest problem facing our world, it's talent. And so also top universities, poll CEOs all the time, every year you know, hey, what are the biggest things on your, on your mind? and talent and technology? disruption are typically one in two and talent and being like, you know, how do you hire and develop talented teams, so our marketing people at Random House or publisher, or like write a book on hiring is sounds boring and it sounds like an HR manual. So let's not market it like hey, here's like the world's greatest book on hiring Instead, let's make this the nothing short of the solution to your number one problem. And so I liked that I appreciated their guidance. That's why we call it who, because that's, you know, when you're in boardrooms or you're hanging out with government leaders or you're hanging out with entrepreneurs, the you know, some of those important sensitive, scary exciting conversations are around like Who are we hiring or who's not working out in our company who might need to get fired? Who this who that Who should we pair with this important initiative? So the who questions we thought Oh, also deserve the title who because the who stuffs your number one problem also thanks a nod out to Jim Collins. Good to Great first get the right people on the on the bus and in the right seats. And he he has a quote in good degrade I hope I get this right. I said the the most important decisions in business are not the what decisions. They're the who decisions. So according to the economist, according to leading universities who survey thousand CEOs, According to Jim Collins himself, this topic of hiring and picking the right people and building a talented team is the number one problem in business. So we set out to write the the top selling book on the number one problem in business. And we did and so that's that feels good, like the whole circle was completed. It's like here's this daunting challenge that so many business leaders say they struggle with, let's use our our research and our experiences with clients and try to you know, shape a nice simple framework to help leaders solve their number one problem. Marc Gutman 4:48 It is a problem and I feel a little like guilty admitting this, but until I heard you speak and I read your book, I like hated hiring. I'm like, I loathed it. Like it was something that like, made me feel it. And now I can't say that I love it today. I'm better now and thanks to your book and your, in your methodology. It's helped me quite a bit. But I get the feeling that you love it. Like what do you if that's true, what do you love about it? Geoff Smart 5:16 What's wrong with me? Why do I learned because here's why, it's important. When you get it wrong. It's painful and costly when you get it right. It's a company maker. And so so just, you know, doesn't matter as a matter. Yeah, like it matters so much. So that's one reason I like it. The other reason I like it is, most people do it wrong. They just do it wrong. They do it the wrong way, according to a century of research by thousands of academics and lots of consultants who study this stuff for a living, and by doing it, but by having most people doing it wrong, that provides an edge or a source of competitive advantage for those who choose to learn how Do it right. And so it's fun. It's like a superpower. It's like you go when there's a government leader, or we're working with a governor. And you know how, if you can imagine and in government land, hiring a cabinet, you know, your top team, your top like 20 leaders, after you just won an election in November, and then you've got like a month and a half until your inauguration to like, higher, higher higher up this whole team from scratch. The hiring success rates of governors putting their cabinets together is abysmal. So if you get them to be honest, they would admit it's even worse than the 50% hiring success rate that business people say that they achieved. So imagine all the problems that causes at scale, right? Oh, you know, in government or business or wherever, or if you have like a, you know, a 50% or worse, hiring success rate. taxpayer dollars get wasted. Fraud happens, you know, dishonesty happens, bad results happen. So I love the main reason I love hirings just because I feel like it really is the most important question to get right. And in any organization you're trying to lead, and the fact that we have knowledge about, you know, good methods and bad methods. And, and, and it's not widespread, and most people do it wrong, makes that extra exciting as well. Marc Gutman 7:21 Yeah, why do we do it wrong? I mean, we're, you know, we're kind of smart people as a whole as a species. Like why did we get this wrong? Why can't we figure this thing out? Geoff Smart 7:30 Yeah. So unlike finance and accounting, 101 and marketing, and you know, other disciplines that have clear methods that we get taught in school, good hiring until fairly recently hasn't been taught anywhere you don't learn it in high school, you don't take a class on it in college, and even at some of the best business schools in the world are my colleagues will go teach a you know, one class period on on on good hiring methods. You know, across a two year MBA program, so the short answers, you know, you're, you're not taught how to do it. And then like, Well, why can't we come up with hiring methods that are intuitive or whatever? It's because our intuition is wrong a lot. For example, one very common way to interview people for jobs is to ask them hypothetical questions. And this is like a whole fad that started in the 90s. And you see it today, people, you know, Hey, Marc, how would you resolve a conflict with a colleague? How would you How would you it's a hypothetical question. And then marc goes, Oh, you know, I would sit that colleague down, and we'd have a conversation about our goals. And we would work through our differences. And we'd come up with a win win solution, and say, Oh, great. So what do we know about Marc? We don't know anything about marc, we just know that marc can say what he would do in a hypothetical situation. It seems like useful data. It's just not. When you ask people hypothetical questions. They give you hypothetical answers. And those answers don't tend to be grounded in reality about How they actually behave or perform on the job. So they're like a bunch of things like that, that, that once I pointed out, you might go. Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, asking people hypothetical questions is dumb. But if you go watch 100 managers, interviewing people's fresh off campuses, or for not for profits or in governments are not for profits, you know, big, big ones are or businesses. There's a ton of that hypothetical interviewing going on. So anyway, it's like, you know, you don't get taught it. People invent their own intuitive approaches. I had one guy, I remembered a semiconductor company, tell me or tell a bunch of us I was doing a keynote over a lunchtime retreat, this company was having he, at the beginning of my thing. He said, I know, I know, you're going to tell us the Holy Grail for hiring. But he's like, I just got to share this really great approach that I use for hiring people. And I said, well, what's that? And he said, Yeah, I like to ask people what kind of animal animal they'd be, and why. And everyone kinda laughed to that. I said, Well, how do you know what the right answer is? And he said, I developed a whole, you know, a whole matrix of like, what different, different answers mean? And I'm like, Oh, that's great. What? And how has it helped you be a successful hiring manager? And he said, No, no, I'm terrible at hiring, but at least it cuts the boredom of the process. So it's like, why are we bad at hiring, we're bad at hiring because the best methods aren't taught to us in school, and aren't really taught to us on the job. And then, you know, you kind of fill the void with intuitive approaches that you think might work but, you know, aren't really grounded in science or reality. I'm also people, it's awkward, right? I mean, sitting and trying to, you know, get to know somebody is a bit awkward. I think a lot of people feel just simply uncomfortable with it. So they try to talk about the weather or sports teams or they sort of talk about anything and you know, one of the principles of good interviewing and hiring us, you're not supposed to talk about just anything because If you are just making conversation with somebody that's not a very, like data driven way to evaluate their capabilities, and it's just like chatting, chatting doesn't make for good interviews, but is the way that a lot of untrained folks default when they're faced with the daunting challenge of, of picking the right people. Marc Gutman 11:18 Yeah, and I also think, you know, a couple things, you know, just from my own experience, it takes a lot of work. It's not easy, so just anything that's good, it takes some work and you got to put some, put some work into it. And also like, as you start to get down the process, like I personally start to feel bad like I have this like, guilt about you know, bringing people through a process and and I could tell myself look, this is all about making sure it's a right fit for them and that they're gonna be successful long term, but I do have this like, sense of like, I feel bad and like, you know, and I've even made bad hiring decisions because I feel bad. And of course, we know those don't work out but, and I've experienced that myself. Geoff Smart 11:52 Yeah, I hear you. You're nice and you're empathetic. And yeah, you're judging people. Like it's a weird thing. It's a weird kind of almost like A natural structure for to be judging people. But to your point, yeah, if you're better at both sides, the employee perspective in play and the hiring manager, use better methods for judging the other one, then you'll have a greater chance of a good match happening and when a good match happens, I guess that's one of the other thing is I just really feel strongly about and why I love this topic of hiring is, you know, when you're in a great job, like your life is great. Like, it just is like, we spend so much of our, our lives working. If you're really engaged in your in your work and you love your job. It's a wonderful thing, and that if the job fits really well, it has a huge effect on your life satisfaction. And if a job is a mismatch, ie you know, the personality of your colleagues as wrong as kind of off or the actual work itself, the content of the work, they don't really like, you know, it can be really miserable. And I saw something I think it was a Gallup poll, maybe six months ago, that only I'm going to get this number wrong by a few percentages that Something like only 29% of people love their jobs and the rest don't and that's sad to me so I think yeah two point on it takes hard work on both sides to really figure out if a job is a good fit and maybe that explains partially why folks who get busy and you know have so many entrepreneurs I know you know feel like they have so many fires to put out it's very difficult and it's understandably difficult for them to sit down and you know, have write out a scorecard and you know, do some of the other best practices to to increase the the hiring success rate. Marc Gutman 13:37 This episode brought to you by wild story. Wait, isn't that your company? It is. And without the generous support of wild story, this show would not be possible. A brand isn't a logo or a tagline or even your product. A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product service or company. It's what people say about you when you're not in the room. Wildstory helps progressive founders and savvy marketers build purpose driven brands that connect their business goals with the customers they want to serve. So that both the business and the customer needs are met. This results in crazy, happy, loyal customers that purchase again and again. And this is great for business. If that sounds like something you and your team might want to learn more about, reach out @ www.wildstory.com. And we'd be happy to tell you more. Now back to our show. Speaking consists of other things that can create issues around that. And right now we're in the middle as you mentioned, a big pandemic and like how is your current How is the current situation changed your thinking on hiring and leadership like like, how are you approaching this in a different matter? Are you? Geoff Smart 14:54 Yeah, let's see here. So let's let's think about this for a moment. So the principles Good hiring, I think still apply, we could talk about those later. But as you're creating the criteria for who you're hiring, or as you're actually doing interviews by video or by phone rather than in person, I think it actually slightly increases the importance of making sure all the checklist items are hit, because you can't just throw time in person time with with someone as a solution to the problem. So you know, like maybe pre pandemic even allows the hiring process can work pretty well. If you just spend a ton of ton of ton of in person time with with the people you're thinking about hiring like so that's, that's kind of like a bad return on investment. timewise. But you can get to a pretty good answer just by spending a ton of time in person with people. Well, you can't do that in a pandemic. So guess what? You have to default then to the best practices and be more like surgical with how you spend time with folks. By video or by phone, doing reference calls, etc, you gotta like, do all that stuff if you want to achieve 90% hiring success, which is what the goal is the goal is to have 90% hiring success versus 50% hiring success by by following the steps. And then I think as your, I think it's and it's just harder. So you better have a much better value proposition for an employee, if you expect him or her to leave a great company and join your company in the middle of a pandemic. So I think the energy and the empathy required to really bond with someone and to have them trust you enough to leave their perfectly good job in the middle of a pandemic and join your company is higher, I think the bar is higher than in a, you know, than in a more stable environment. So bottom line is, I think it's just as important as it always is. And I think it's even more important that folks follow a discipline process to get it right. Marc Gutman 16:56 Yeah, and you know, and there's people going to be, you know, it's hard, hard to get someone to But also, given what we're seeing in the headlines and what we know, anecdotally, there's potentially some really great candidates out there that can come join your company. And yes, be that difference maker in a way and that they're going to be looking for things like you talked about, like that Harvard case studies student talked about, like, why should I come join your company? And also, you know, finding that right match or there's some principles of good hiring, that you're able to share with, you know, with the audience so that they might be able to get a leg up? Geoff Smart 17:29 Sure. You bet. And I'm with you on that. I think it's smart to because it's hard to forecast in this environment, demand and revenue. I think it's smart to follow these great steps for hiring that I'm about to describe, but then maybe hold on just a moment and not actually start the person right away, but to build kind of like a virtual bench of talent, that as the business conditions get increasingly clearer and you can forecast you know, revenue etc, then all of a sudden, you can like snap all these great folks off the bat. So, so just like a little bit of caution there, because I think it is hard no matter what industry folks are in today, other than hospitals and maybe Amazon, it's hard to know what you're doing, you know, obviously, tons of activity these days, it's hard to forecast revenue. So in the environment, like like we're in right now, with increased importance. These are the four steps of good hiring, that we find are associated with a 90% hiring success rate. Now imagine, Marc, you hired 10 people, like nine out of 10 people work out great. And we define hiring success super simply, just as a year after you hire the person, are you glad you hired them or not? And so, if the goal is 90% hiring success, here are the four steps and these are outlined in our book, and they're super important in the during a time of crisis. One The first step is called the scorecard. And so one big mistake in hiring is is just using like the name of a job as a, as a proxy for a scorecard. Like we're trying to hire a marketing coordinator. Okay, well, what does that actually mean? You know, what do you need the person to deliver? What are the outcomes that you'll you'll measure their success based on? So what are the competencies that are really important for this role and for our, our firm? Um, so that first step is creating a scorecard writing out basically like the criteria of what you expect the person to accomplish is step one, step two, is called the source step. And there's a couple ways to do that. Well, actually, one unexpected way to source lots of good candidates is to pay incentives here existing employees to source people, and it can be like 500 bucks, or, you know, dinner out, or, you know, as much as $10,000, we've heard, aren't like to offer a referral fee to existing employees to do the hard work to really source in more good people. So that's One, one hint on source. On the third step is called the Select step. So this is this is where the interviews are really important. So in the Select step, you need to have a good intro interview where you know, you try not to be too eager, you know, and you basically just have like a career conversation with someone, you know, what are your career goals? What are some of your strengths? What are some of the things you're not as good at, you'd have like a really kind of enjoyable, substantive, initial call with someone that's like, we call that the screening interview. And then when you have, when you've narrowed down the list of candidates for like a key job to maybe two or three, then you you wheel out the heavy artillery. And you do one of these who interviews, which is long, it's like two hours plus for a senior hire, where you sit there and interview them about their their whole life kind of in chronological order. So starting back in the school age, what were some highlights and lowlights of the school years, and then let's talk about each job and talk about What you're hired to do, and what you accomplished, and what some low points were, and mistakes, who you worked with, and like, what what your boss was like to work with, and what your boss would say, was like working with you. And then Why'd you leave that job and what comes next. So doing like a really thorough walkthrough someone's resume in chronological order, like that is a really key step. And then the final step, the fourth and final step, we call sell, which is once you've decided, hey, this person really has accomplished great things against the scorecard. We want them you know, we're very confident that they're going to do a great job, then you have to figure out how to sell them and to your earlier question, like how do you persuade them to leave another company and trust you, you know, especially during a time of crisis, and join your company, and we we did a big study for the who book of successful entrepreneurs and we asked them like, how did you sell people on joining your company, and generally, it was like a checklist of like, one or more of five things that make Someone want to join your company. And they all start with the letter F, as in Foxtrot. So fit. So sell them on the fit, Hey, your strengths and talents match, you know, like this, you fit what we're what we're all about your values etc. Family, which is basically like hey, you know zere if you have a significant other are they? Are they comfortable with you joining our firm? Do they have any questions like, you know how and obviously it's a steer clear of asking people questions like whether they're pregnant or planning on having a baby anytime soon or asking any questions that are not appropriate for for an interview. But you can certainly ask people if they're, if they're relevant family members or supportive of their taking a new job, whether your company, what else fortune is a third app, it's like telling people what they're likely to make and not be guessing them. But just showing them how their compensation is calculated, and what it could be expected to grow to over the next few years about very important So clarity is key freedom. So I'm deciding what freedoms people will have working for you, is really key. Everybody really wants a high degree of freedom these days. And so emphasizing that as pretty key and fun as the last one. So basically, hey, what's fun about working at your company, and it's like, what the actual content of the work, you know, the teamwork, that collegiality, letting them talk to people and really get a sense for what's fun about working at your company is the fifth and final F, and the five F's for selling. So those are like the almost like a checklist that we use that we teach our clients to use around, you know, let's make sure we're communicating a brand message for hire for joining this company that hits you know, one or more of those five apps that are important to the person. Marc Gutman 23:48 Well, thanks for sharing that. And you know, I know this is all supported and comes out of years and years of study and years of years of science and work but like as you go through the steps, it doesn't sound that bad. All Geoff Smart 24:00 right. Thank you. Yeah, I love that. And so it's weird. It's people who've read our books or clients say things like, yeah, this is like, really common sense. But it's kind of uncommon practice. Marc Gutman 24:14 Yeah. And and I can I can speak from experience of going through it gives you a framework, it gives you an ability. I mean, I'm an emotional as you mentioned person, and I can tend to let that get in the way of my decisions, versus really tying things to outcomes like you outlined in the scorecard. And we we hire people, we wonder, why can't they do this thing that we wanted, because we didn't tell them and we didn't lay it out, or they don't know yet how they're being measured. So really appreciate you laying out those four steps as well as the five apps and in for everyone that's interested, that's definitely in the handbook and in detail, and because it does go into depth and gives it great examples on that book as well. So thanks a lot for that, Geoff. You bet. So Geoff, what's next for you in gh smart? Geoff Smart 24:57 Wow, what's next? All right. That's fun question. Let's see here. So our growth story is pretty simple. There's nothing next for me. It's I'm just I love my job. I love being chairman and founder of ghsmart is an awesome platform. So I will continue to play my role, every now and then I like to do a stint in some form of public service. So like a few years ago, I took nine months off to work full time for a governor that was up for reelection, who was trying to figure out whether or not to keep the team intact, like, you know, sir, who is going to stay who is not going to stay in the team. So I was like chief talent Officer of a 20,000 person $30 billion budget, state. And that was super fun. So that was, so I'd like to stay with gh smart, continue to do my work as chairman and founder here, and then kind of toggle out for brief stints of public service helping leaders of whether it's not for profits or government To to hire, and develop talented teams. It's kind of my thing I like I just really enjoy that, that work. And that's about it. So my role is this plus some community service public service since in the future that the firm's future is like focusing on three things. So, with our SEO clients, we only help them with a narrow set of problems. And so we want to keep widening the problems that we help our SEO clients to solve. So for example, back in the early days of gh smart, we're very focused on helping CEOs and investors, assessing senior talent like that was it that's all we did, and then we added coaching, so we're going to assess the talent, we're going to coach the talent, and then we move from the individual focus to more of a team focus. So today, we help senior leaders and their teams, you know, hire and develop talent and run the team at full power, as we say, in the future, you know, I think they're gonna be awesome. there other things, other problems that CEOs face that are leadership oriented that we can help them solve. We don't do any compensation work today. We don't do any large scale, organizational culture monitoring kind of work today like aligning culture to strategy. There's just a bunch of things that we could do for CEOs that we, we just don't have solutions for yet. So take, you know, kind of continue to expand the set of solutions that we offer, which is number one. Number two is geographic expansion. So there with 12 offices around the US and only one internationally, it's in London. We started at three years ago. It's doing great. And we'd like to expand from London to continental Europe. So that's, that's on the docket for the near term. We'd like to open a Southeast Asian hub in the next three years or so. Probably Singapore or possibly Hong Kong, and then expand in Asia that way. And then at that point, figure out what our Latin American Europe or Latin America Can Middle East and Africa expansion plans are. So geographic expansion is a second party. And then the third one is a little bit longer term, it's using digital technology to first help our consultants. be smarter, no pun intended, and serving clients, you know, with advanced data analytics and predictive analytics and that kind of thing. And we have this huge database of all these, all these successful and unsuccessful careers, folks for 25 years that we've, we've studied and gotten outcome data for. So figuring out how to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to make our consultants that much smarter with their advice and counsel on helping you hire helping you manage your career. And then, you know, creating new products and services using technology beyond just consulting to companies would be the longer term goal on our product and services expansion. So like maybe one day you know ghsmart will primarily be a management consulting leader. advisory firm as we are today, but it'd be really neat to have two or three or four other business units that, you know, still serve the same overall brand vision of helping leaders be successful. But do it in different ways, whether it's, you know, products or database access or other automated services, who knows, maybe one day we'll go and, you know, we'll, we'll create matching technologies to help you know, the, the marks of the future, manage your career strategy, and to be able to get real time probabilistic data from us on choices. You're thinking about making like, Oh, hey, if you want to turn left in your career, that has a 6% chance of making you happy if you turn right, it's gonna as a 94% chance of making you happy, you know, to apply statistics and probabilities. I tell people make more confident decisions with their careers and with how they lead their teams. It's kind of a medium term, pet project that we're putting a bunch of into these days. So in summary, what's future future for the firm is do more for CEOs. Number one, number two is carefully expand geographically. And then number three is invest in digital technologies to make our, our work that much more valuable for our clients, and that much more enjoyable to deliver for our people. Marc Gutman 30:20 And I have no doubt that you'll be able to make that happen. Geoff, as we wrap up here, if you ran into your 20 year old self, what do you think he'd say to you today? Geoff Smart 30:31 I think my 20 year old self would say, Good job for staying true to a few things that really important. Family is super important to me. So I, the way I grew gh smart, has allowed me to, you know, put family first and so that's something when I was 20. I was like, I really want to do interesting things in my career, but I really would love to have a successful family. So today I have seven kids. perfect wife Lauren, and I've got two kids on the We're pregnant with twins that are coming. We're pregnant. She's pregnant with twins are coming in July. So we'll have nine kids if you can believe that. Marc Gutman 31:07 Congratulations. That's incredible. Geoff Smart 31:09 Yeah, this massive amount of children. We're very, very family focused. And I make a ton of time for my family so I feel good about that. I don't live with regrets of like, Oh, you know entrepreneur has been great but you know, missed out on family. So I think family success, I'd be proud of the 20 year old me was looking forward. And then on the smart side and just the entrepreneurial side, I really do feel good about my colleagues and employment opportunity that they they get and seem to really enjoy here. And then the value that clients are getting. So I think the 20 year old me 20 year old me would have said that maybe the like 30 year old man should have invested more energy and software earlier and kind of like, you know, had something to show for the the, you know, the rise of technology. It doesn't pissed me off a little bit that Google was founded a year after my firm was, and you know, like, yeah, and we're 120 people and we did 70 million in revenue last year, which is like great nothing to sneeze at. But yeah, I'd say like 20 year old me would have shaken his head and said, Hey, you should have gotten you know, more of a dog in the technology hunt earlier. So just to be balanced, but overall, I don't know 20 year old me Would it be like yeah, keep keep up the good work on on putting family first Keep up the good work on hiring people and giving them a ton of freedom and having them really you know, enjoy their work and have a life outside of work. And I guess the 20 year old me would have courage me today to keep innovating and keep you know, the foot on the gas pedal of experimenting and never getting to like smugger or believing believing our own press a few well so staying humble and I guess like kind of like the the Andy Grove but see Have Intel enough paranoid to, to always work hard and push against our overall business strategy and making sure that we're living by the values and the credo. So yeah, I think net net, my 20 year old self would would be pretty happy, while also giving me some advice and things that I should be focused on for the future. Marc Gutman 33:25 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Geoff smart and ghsmart and company. I can't express what value the information you share today is. Thank you. Oh, and if you and I were in an interview, and you asked me what animal I'd be, probably a turtle. Well, that's the show. Until next time, make sure to visit our website www.wildstory.com where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS, so you'll never miss an episode. I like big backstories and I cannot lie to you other storytellers can't deny.
BGBS 030: Geoff Smart | Part 2: Who: Hiring Tips Founder of ghSMART & Co, Geoff Smart is sharing how he studied under Peter Drucker and found his calling to help businesses solve their number one problem; who to hire and how to bring them on the team. As the creator of a Fortune 500 [...]Read More...
BGBS 029: Geoff Smart | Part 1: Yes, You Can Have It All Geoff Smart, founder and chairman of ghSMART & Co is sharing how his dream of having a fulfilling job and great life turned into one of the most successful hiring firms in the world. Geoff routinely advises Fortune 500 CEOs, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of states and discusses the importance of being a servant leader along with the companies he has looked up to over the years. Geoff shares how failure led to his own business launch and how you can sustain job satisfaction within your company. This conversation was so great and informative, that this is only part 1 of 2. Prepare to be inspired by one man who took his dream and made it a reality. What we're talking about Geoff Smart's Story: From Young Interests to a World-Renowned Leadership Company The Story of How ghSMART & Co Got Its Name Keeping It Fresh, Sustaining High Job Satisfaction, and the Definition of Leadership Geoff Smart's Story: From Young Interests to a World-Renowned Leadership Company Living in Chicago, at the age of 8, George wanted to be either a CIA agent or newscaster, but as he grew, his dreams changed. In high school, Geoff was already interested in leadership. He was reading books by Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, and Milton Friedman. As a leader in sports and his school paper, his interest in leadership took hold and grew to a passion. With a father as an industrial psychologist, Geoff had a wonderful mentor right at home. He studied Economics at Northwestern when his mother scored him an internship at a venture capital firm where he learned that it's not what you invest in, but who you invest in. Following college, Geoff was lucky enough to get to study under Peter Drucker, the “Founder of Modern Management”. After Geoff failed to get an internship at McKinsey & Co Consulting, he founded his own company. Geoff also shares that he decided to develop his own business because of his desire to help others with a more methodical approach to leadership, as well as his belief that “those that want to work hard and have an impact can also have a life”. It was at this time that ghSMART & Co was born. The Story Of How ghSMART & Co Got Its Name The story of how ghSMART & Co got its name is interesting, but a story that Geoff is proud of. The “gh” are his first two initials, but he decided to make them lower case because he wanted to be sure others knew he was a servant leader. The last part, SMART, is all capitals because Geoff says it's his colleagues that put the SMART in ghSMART. It also emulates one of the companies Smart looked up to while doing his doctoral dissertation, McKinsey & Co. It's these small details and practices that Geoff uses which has helped foster a positive culture and skyrocketed his retention rate to over 90%! Keeping It Fresh, Sustaining High Job Satisfaction, and the Definition of Leadership Put innovation to work. Listen to thoughts and ideas from clients & colleagues. If there's some part of your work description that you no longer like or others can do better, delegate it or give it to someone who is better at it. Geoff's definition of leadership is “helping a group of people figure out what it wants, and then formulate & execute a plan to get it”. When Geoff was talking about their brandstory, he said they have three ideas that intersect. 1) Maximize the positive impact you're making. 2) Do work that really matters. 3) Get paid for it so you can have a life outside of work! Are you living your brand story? LINKS MENTIONED Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders (Like You) into Government by Geoff Smart Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success by Geoff Smart SPONSOR Wildstory TIMESTAMPS 32:40 - 33:23 (43 sec GS) - Guarantee the thing that's hardest, but most important to your customer...if we are not successful, you don't pay. 37:50 - 38:32 (42 sec GS) - I had learned from an early age...that's how you grow a professional services business. 46:07 - 46:40 (33 sec GS) - At its core, I think leadership is about helping improve people's lives and...for the people that you're serving. QUOTES Who you hire can make, or break, a company. - GS It's not what you do, but who you do it with. - GS Those that want to work hard and have an impact can also have a life. - GS I had learned from an early age by watching other successful entrepreneurs, that the more you can hire great folks & let them have the spotlight, the better if you want to scale a top tier business. - GS Podcast Transcript Geoff Smart 0:02 And he pulls me aside like forcefully grabs my shoulder like almost in cotton comfortably so like a real rough shoulder graph and he leans in to whisper in my ear. He said, You know I like the vision for for your business, but it's too ambitious and nobody likes a know it all. And he said it in a whisper at about 100 decibel because his mic picked it up and like that 50 people behind me to start laughing because I just basically got schooled by Peter Drucker on the value of humility when you know when creating a business plan. Marc Gutman 0:39 podcasting from Boulder, Colorado, this is the baby got backstory podcast, we dive into the story behind the story of today's most inspiring storytellers, creators and entrepreneurs. I like big backstories and I cannot lie. I am your host Marc Gutman. Marc Gutman, and on today's episode of Baby Got Back story. How a dream to have a fulfilling job in a great life turned into one of the most successful hiring firms in the world. I don't know about you, but I hate hiring. I hate everything about it. I hate that I don't know what I'm doing. Or if I'm doing it right, or if the person I'm about to bring on the team will be awesome, or a complete disaster. Or at least that's how I used to feel about hiring. Until a few years back, I had the privilege of hearing Geoff Smart of gh smart speak. I remember looking at his name on the agenda in thinking, Oh, no, hiring yuck. But it's in these moments when we think we know our perspective on a topic that we are usually totally surprised. I was captivated by Geoff's story and his methodologies. And after I saw him speak, I read his book and then implemented his process. I read a ton of business books. And I would have to say that who Geoff's book on hiring is in my all time top five. Because as Geoff shares with us who you hire, will make or break a company, and it's totally actionable, I was able to implement what Geoff teaches immediately and see the results. Geoff knew from an early age that he wanted to help people and quickly saw that it wasn't what you did, but who you did it with. And this is his story. Geoff, let's talk about how your story starts. I mean, let's go back to the beginning. Did you dream of all this? Did you dream of an existence to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world and when you were a kid, like what was life like for eight year old Geoff, what was your credo back then? Geoff Smart 2:57 Thanks, Mark. It's a pleasure to be on your show. I always thought I wanted to be an entrepreneur. There's just something exciting about the idea of you know, inventing something, or or creating a business from nothing in the let's see here, winding the clock back to the the eight year old me wanted to be an a CIA agent or or a newscaster. I did like the idea of analytics and doing impactful things. I was a CIA draw. And then the idea of using verbal or written communication to tell stories and to help people was the job of becoming a newscaster. So that was the the early roots around age eight the idea for gh smart came to me as a college freshman. I was studying economics. My mom actually had scored me an internship working at a venture capital firm. And what I was struck by was, how the name of the game for succeeding and that field was I kept hearing all about not what you invest in, but who you invest in. And yet all these investors were spending all their time, you know, looking at products and looking, you know, forecasting financials and doing all this, all this what stuff when it seems like the key to success, lay more in the who, so that the kernel of the idea for the firm was born in '91. And then I actually ended up founding our firm, June 16 1995. Marc Gutman 4:28 Nice. Where'd you grow up? Where did you you spend your formative years? Geoff Smart 4:31 Yeah, I grew up in the Chicagoland area. Some I'm from Chicago. And those are my formative years, and I've lived in Los Angeles. And now for the last dozen years or so. I've lived in Colorado. Marc Gutman 4:45 Yeah. And you mentioned your mother. What did your parents do for a living? What was what was the upbringing the influence like there? Geoff Smart 4:51 Yeah, my mom was a speech therapist. So she she got a master's degree in, in speech therapy. So we all my sister Kate, and I had to have Be very articulate growing up, mark two, because my mom would help us with our Annunciation, my father was a had a PhD in industrial psychology, which he would tell you, he, he kind of like, took a class and college, loved it and gotten to that field, which is basically like the, the formal process of, of studying human behavior as it relates to work. So he was obviously a big mentor in the early days hearing stories of, of helping advise companies on their people problems. So those are, those were my two parental influences. And I have a younger sister Kate, who is more socially skilled than I was always more popular and as a as a great person. She lives in the Chicagoland area today. Marc Gutman 5:49 That's always the younger sister Kate, who's more socially aware and more popular. It's just the way it goes. Geoff Smart 5:53 Yes. embarrassingly So, for me as I'm slightly more introverted And focus on my studies that my sister seemed like she always had, you know, 10 to 20 friends over at the house at any given time. Marc Gutman 6:06 So when you you know, heard your dad come home from work and talk about his day and talk about the importance of of leadership and dynamics in the workplace. I mean, was that something that was interesting to you at the time? Or were you kind of not interested in where you are, like thinking of other things like what were you into in like high school? Geoff Smart 6:22 Yeah, the topic of leadership always was very, very interesting to me. So, as a big bookworm, so Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, Milton Friedman, the economist who is all about freedom. These were early books I read that really, really resonated so yeah, through through leadership, I guess in sports and leadership and you know, like running this high school newspaper and, you know, little things like that early on, and then reading these you know, books about how to effectively lead your team. You know, it really was a passion area. I always felt like the difference between elevating the quality of human life or having human life, life be harmed is, you know, comes down to leadership, whether it's governments, military businesses, etc. So yeah, I've always been a big fan of the topic of leadership and always curious and interested in, in what other people think, are the keys to success. So that was a real interest early on. And so there's fun. This is let's see, the 90s private equity was kind of becoming a big deal as a career strategy consulting and investment banking were still very popular. So but I coming out of college didn't go right to work. Instead, I went and got a masters and a PhD in psychology, focused on business as you know, in business, they call it organizational behavior. in psychology, they call it you know, organizational psychology, but I got to go study with Peter Drucker out in Clermont in California, he was about 80 years old at the time and had long been concerned. The father of management so is it's kind of like Sitting at the feet of Socrates and learning from the master. And it was good fun and surfing on the weekends. So it was really the best of both worlds. Marc Gutman 8:12 Drucker in surfing, it sounds like a documentary that Yeah. Geoff Smart 8:16 It was really great fun as seriously good times. Marc Gutman 8:20 Yeah. For our listeners who don't know, can you give a 32nd primer on who Peter Drucker is and why he's relevant. Geoff Smart 8:27 Yeah, you bet. So the study of leadership and management really became formalized about, I don't know, 70 years ago or so. Peter Drucker was a Austrian journalist. And he was just fascinated with with the success or failure of organizations. So he could have made, you know, millions or billions, but instead decided to stay academic. So he taught at Claremont for decades and decades, just outside of Los Angeles. And I remember, you know, for example, here's how big a deal he was. When he was just sort of in his free time, advising CEOs, like ag lafley, the CEO of Procter and Gamble, would fly in. And, you know, take a limo out to Peter's house and they would just sort of like float in. And Peter Drucker's pool it a little pool in his backyard. And, and I asked, Well, you know, how much do you charge for that? Just out of curiosity? I remember Peter he said $50,000. I said, $50,000 to flow into your pool. And he said, Yeah, you got to charge something otherwise people don't take the advice seriously. And so that was kind of in a you know, it was fascinating studying with me. I think he's written more Harvard Business Review articles, and more top selling books on on management than anybody. That's why if you like Wikipedia, Peter Drucker, they refer to him as the father of the field of management. Marc Gutman 9:52 Yeah, and he really mean at that time, and even before it was like the movie stars business still is I mean, I'm looking around and I'm like, surrounded by Peter Drucker books, and Yeah, and things like that. I mean, if you know, those are the first things you know, when you get mentored, someone says, You know what, go read this book, the five most important questions, you know, you need to, you need to you need to learn some Peter Drucker. So thank you for sharing that. I think it's important to give context. And so you're there, you're in Claremont, you're, you're doing your thing you went and you found a mentor, and Peter. And now Do you know what you're gonna do after? Do you have a sense? Are you just collecting the knowledge are you just, you know, because that's the way I approached my university study, I just I kind of went, I was going to use that to figure out what I wanted to do, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Geoff Smart 10:33 So in contrast to going to college, I was at Northwestern studied economics. I didn't know what I wanted to do. At that point, I had had that internship with a venture capital firm, but by the time I graduated, I made a very conscious choice, to study with Peter Drucker to go do a PhD. And and to really like double click on this area of hiring leaders, either from the perspective of a venture capitalist, how do you bet on the right people or that that perspective of You know, a CEO or a board, you know, how do you pick the right leader? So I was actually very focused and on wanting to get, you know, deep and experienced and an expert on that, that specific leadership question. So, I grad schools for years. The PhD dissertation that I did was specifically on studying how venture capitalists evaluate and then choose to who to invest in. And it was fun. There's a famous venture capitalist private equity investor named Henry Kravis, you know, from KKR. Marc Gutman 11:32 Yep. Geoff Smart 11:33 He went to he went to the school, he went to Claremont or grad school, so I called him up to be in my study. And his assistant told me No, thank you. And I called her a second time. She said, No, I called her a third time begging her. I'm like, Hey, I'm a PhD student. I'm doing a topic that I think is going to be of interest to to Mr. Travis, you know, he's sure he you know, he won't be in my study. I'd really love to get us participation. So she Basically just told me to stop calling. But I didn't mark as we were entrepreneurs or are persistent. So I called her a fourth time. And I told her that I would stop calling and bugging her. If she would please just show him this, like one paragraph description of the study that I was working on. And if he said No, I wouldn't call back again. But if he said yes, then you know we would do. So she said, All right, hold please if she walked in his office, and came back about 30 seconds later and she said, Mr. Kravis, has agreed to be in your class project. I said, Oh, great. So once I got in a billionaire private equity tycoon, a Henry Kravis, in my study, I rapidly got over 50 private equity firms to jump in and be in it. And what I did basically was study how they evaluate management teams. And I looked at half a century of research on what you know what should be the best practices, and then I tested them and I found that investors who followed century of the best practices of of hiring and picking teams Ended up being successful and making more money than those who didn't. And so then that became the colonel for gh smart. And I kind of took that show on the road, told the story. And so our early clients were, were these investor types. And then later we branched out and served, you know, CEOs more broadly. Marc Gutman 13:19 Yeah. And you you've kind of alluded to, you know, when you had that first job of studying economics, or not, so you were studying economics, we had the first job that your mom got you at the Yes, it was, I think it was a venture PE firm. And then you had the kernel, you're like, Oh, my gosh, like, you know, everyone's saying, like, we got to invest in people. And now you have this, you know, where did that interest really blossom between there and deciding to dedicate a good chunk of your life because as you just outlined, when you go to get a doctorate and other things like that, that's a commitment. That's not Yeah, that's it. Like, that's a bigger commitment to tattoo in my mind. So like, you know, like, where what kind of happened in between there to say, you know, what, like, I really want to I think there's something here. Geoff Smart 13:58 Yeah, okay. So if we're being candid and revealing are vulnerable parts of our past mark, I'll share with you that I tried and failed to get an internship at McKinsey during college, I was fascinated by that brand story. You know, these folks who, McKinsey, a great strategy consulting firm advise their CEOs and government leaders on their most important decisions around products and operations and strategies that are so they don't, I mean, technically, they don't really do undergrad internships anyway. So I didn't take it too, personally. But I remember thinking I'd love to work there. It seems like strategy consulting, though, carries at great sacrifice on your lifestyle, also investment banking and investment banks. The idea is that, you know, go there, it's a great way to, you know, have a successful career but, you know, boy, it's kind of rough on on your ability to have a life and have time outside of work. So I'll tell you the, so the two reasons I found a gh smart, you know, one was that earlier reason I was telling you this fascination with the leadership and the idea Bringing a more methodical approach to leadership to help investors and people who run companies be successful. But the second reason I found a gh smart was was basically just this idea of Surely, there's a type of company that should exist where people who want to work hard and have an impact can also have a life. And so it's kind of the cultural story of how do you build a culture? How do you build a firm that has a better culture than what I was seeing in strategy consulting and investment banking, and what would it take to pull that off? So that was I say, equal importance to the client focused reasons for starting gh smart and so I was just so passionate about it, I saw you know, an unmet need in the market. And then I saw an unmet need in the talent market to which is, you know, how do you go do something meaningful and fulfilling and, and not sacrifice your life in the process? So that combo of the two was was so inspiring to me that I just felt weirdly confident and, and focused from eternity. The age that I wanted to go build that business. So at age 23, after opening the back of a ink magazine, you know, where they have all those like classified ads in the background or that ink magazine. One of them said, like, incorporate your business, I think it costs like 300 bucks or something. So like fill this thing out as a second year PhD students, I was still in grad school, filled out this thing. And on March 16 1995, I remember I got the articles of incorporation back for gh smart, and the original vision and purpose for founding the firm really has played out to a great extent you asked me a few minutes ago, you know, if I would have dreamed, you know, gf smart, would have turned out the way it did. And the answer's yes, not to be like arrogant about it. But that was kind of the reason I started to begin with was both on the client side to have an impact and also to create this employment brand, for a place where wildly talented people could go work and still have a life outside of work. Marc Gutman 16:58 And that's really interesting. To me, because going back into that time period, you know, early to mid 90s, I mean, this concept of having a job that you effectively love that gives you fulfillment it gives you meaning. You know, it's financially rewarding and allows you to have a life was not really common have an idea. Geoff Smart 17:19 Yeah, like name one. Yeah. But it wasn't as common places as today and there, you know, there weren't clear examples around. Marc Gutman 17:27 No, not at all. I mean, I remember sitting, you know, having, you know, kind of fights with my own parents, like at the holiday table as I was getting ready to leave college and they're like, Look, you just go get a job. It doesn't matter where you go, it doesn't matter where you have to move. It doesn't matter if you hate it. Just go and get this job. And, you know, even when I'm out talking a little bit, this is a big part of my origin story that really motivated me was this idea that like, I was really in search of finding a job that I love. My dad even at one point when I was really young said to me, I asked him if he liked this job, and we kind of go back and forth and he finally reveals his philosophy and that, you know, they wouldn't call it work. If it was supposed to be a whole lot of fun and so you know I really am resonating with this idea that like and I really want to just nail this idea home to people listening that yeah today everyone is very talking about fulfillment and employers are receptive to that and yeah it's just it's a whole different light kind of market today but back then not so much Geoff Smart 18:20 yeah that's true I appreciate your saying that it did. It did seem like you had to make a trade off right either you go join like a top tier brand and you know, work work your butt off and and maybe not worry about not even think about having life balance or having you know, either having a life outside of work or having the work itself be that fulfilling or you join the Peace Corps. Yeah, and you're become a teacher something where you have this like wonderful mission, but you know, there are other other sacrifices you have to make financially etc. Um, so yeah, that that really was a gaping hole I thought in the employment market. back then. It's still hard today even though so many firms You know, try to give people a great fulfilling work experience, and the chance to have a life outside of work. That's, that's an area that we really focus on. And I feel probably most proud of even more proud than the climate impact we have is the degree to which people really seem to love to work here and and how, you know, it's like gh smart was sort of born in a laboratory. And I did this like, four year long dissertation study on the market. So that's where the client facing part came from. And then just, you know, being mentored by Peter Drucker and others and just trying to really think of what makes an organization truly excellent. Peter Drucker, three listeners is the one credited with saying, culture eats strategy for breakfast. So, you know, focusing on what kind of cultural DNA that we want to bake in the GH smart that you know is even Peter Drucker approved. I wrote a paper mark on the gh smart business plan and gave it to Peter Drucker and I was so excited to try to hear his feedback and be all Inspired by his his loving division, he actually marked me down on the paper because he said he thought it was a little bit unrealistic and ambitious. And so and then this next is really embarrassing. It was you know, older by the time I got to work with him and and learn from him and so he wore a lavalier microphone when he was giving talks at during his classes and he had his his lavalier mic switch hot it was on was before class and we were supposed to all come up and like grab our our papers and so I might go up to get my gh smart business plan paper and he pulls me aside like forcefully grabs my shoulder, like almost uncomfortably so like a real gruff, you know, shoulder grab, and and he leans in to whisper in my ear. He said, You know, I like the vision for for your business, but it's too ambitious and nobody likes a know it all. And he said it in a whisper at about 100 decibels because it's Mike picked it up, and like, you know, that 50 people behind me to start laughing because I just basically, you know, got schooled by Peter Drucker on on the the value of humility when you know, when creating a business plan. So is that that was formative and helps, you know, sort of fuel the fire to make the thing successful. Marc Gutman 21:17 Yeah. So that's funny today, I can only imagine how you must have felt in that moment when you're idle and effectively God in the entrepreneur business world tells you, your business plan. Isn't that good? Geoff Smart 21:32 It's not that good. And all my 50 closest friends are in the background. They hear it Marc Gutman 21:38 Oh, yeah. Even though Yeah, if it's in private, you go back and you say, Yeah, he had some notes for me, but you can't even do that. You can't even like kind of tell your friends you know, you can't smooth it over. Geoff Smart 21:48 And everybody you know, sought the approval of Peter Drucker and so it was as funny as it was a pretty cringe moment, and then mark he died like three or four years after I finished my program. So that was, I was like 20 years ago. So he doesn't know that we kind of nailed it like I, I, in your intro, you're very generous. And you point out some things I'm like really proud of but like, we have 120 colleagues today, we have a 92% retention rate. So people come here, they stay. In other consulting firms, they have more like a 60 70% retention rate. We don't have like a couple hundred clients that are super happy. Harvard Business School wrote a couple and they teach two cases about innovation. Using gh smart as a as an example. It's been really fun being able to go sit there and have people in business school debate, you know, what you did well, and what you could have done better. And that kind of thing. On the books that you mentioned that we've each one of them took about three years plus to research and publish. And we've got like the whole book, you mentioned, stills number one, globally in sales and reviews on the topic of hiring that feels really good lead autocracies. CEO next door power score these all these books have done really great in their categories. And then onto the culture thing this is the thing that I really wish Peter Drucker could know today that you know that that ended up being successful. Glassdoor, you know rates your company anonymously by your own employees. And so at the moment, knock on wood Fingers crossed, you know, we have a 4.9 out of five, rating on glass doors first, like overall, employee satisfaction, which is feels really good. And then there's this like industry rating organization called vault that rates you know, all the big consulting firms and some small ones. And just for 2020, we got rated number one best company to work for in our industry, pushing McKinsey to number two, and Bay into number three for overall employee satisfaction, which is mind blowingly. Cool. And as an entrepreneur who's You know, we've only been around for 25 years and these other firms have been around for nearly 100 years. That that feels very satisfying. On the promise of Yes, like, create some value for clients through helping them hire and develop talented teams, but just as equally important, you know, building this culture where people really want to come here and work and they find the work fulfilling, they find the culture supportive, that that part's extra satisfying. It's hard, and it's weird, and it's, you know, vague, how do you build a culture? How do you, you know, maintain a nourish and that kind of thing. And we're constantly learning and we don't think we've solved, you know, for every problem by any means, but it is. It is super exciting to, you know, see people who have the choice to work anywhere. Choose to join this brand. Marc Gutman 24:38 Yeah, I have to think that when you saw that list, you just couldn't help but think to yourself, take that McKinsey. Geoff Smart 24:44 Yeah. Well, no, no, of course not. McKinsey is great for Bain, great firm and what they're what they do for clients is amazing and the culture they have is different. And if you're up for that, it's a great place to go. If you want to work on who stuff rather than what stuff and you want to Be able to, you know go to your kids channel recital on a Thursday at lunchtime to get smart is is the place you should be. So yeah I have great respect for for other firms and other niches around this world of you know management consulting for sure. But it is fun just to be this you know, super small fry kind of newer, newer firm that has unseated the the classic Titans in this field for best company to work for. Yeah, and in overall satisfaction to sleaze like they're a bunch of categories that give you these ratings for and that one was the one you know, we really wanted to win. And we're surprised and happy that for 2020 we got that one. This episode brought to you by wild story. Wait, isn't that your company? It is and without the generous support of wild story, this show would not be possible. A brand isn't a logo or a tagline or In your product, a brand is a person's gut feeling about a product service or company. It's what people say about you when you're not in the room. Wild story helps progressive founders and savvy marketers build purpose driven brands that connect their business goals with the customers they want to serve. So that both the business and the customer needs are met. This results in crazy, happy, loyal customers that purchase again and again. And this is great for business. If that sounds like something you and your team might want to learn more about, reach out @ www.wildstory.com and we'd be happy to tell you more. Now back to our show. Marc Gutman 26:46 It's interesting to think how far you've come I mean, when you left you know your studies with Peter and you said you were doing a little bit of this work with investment firms and things like that. Did you have clients day one was this business? Yes, day one or juror think like I kind of put a lot of eggs in the wrong basket. Geoff Smart 27:03 You know why it was funny? My Plan B was always to go just join a consulting firm. I had a runway, which is, you know, grad school and PhD programs in the torturously take a long time. I think my program averaged 10 years from start to finish folks getting done with it. So I figured out right, well, I'll try this j smart thing. And if it doesn't work out, I'll you know, I'll, you know, try to join a regular firm. So I it's weird, it never felt stressful. The early days. We did have I did have clients because I instantly took my PhD dissertation, which was a, which was the largest study ever done that looked at the relationship between how venture investors bet on management teams and the returns they made on deals. And I was getting like tons of keynote opportunities as flying all over the country, telling investors what they need to do to improve their bets on people. And so instantly these these same folks that I was studying just weeks or months prior, you know, we're or pay me to do training and consult with their investment teams on how to improve the way that they invest in people. And then once we start working on the private equity, they're co invested with other, you know, big companies. And so our our brand started to grow beyond the entrepreneurial into more established companies. So yeah, from I'd say the early phase was, you know, still PhD students, tell them the world a bit about our story of how you can improve your success by improving the rigor of your, you know, hiring and evaluation process of people, and how to, you know, build talented teams. And then we had contractors, so I had no money. I had no clients. And I really didn't know anything when I started the company. But it was like this vision of Hey, let's do something cool for people who run our own companies to build valuable ones through people and then must build this this cool culture. And so after the kind of very initial stage Money revenue was coming in from, from companies that want to get better at this, I started hiring contractors, which you don't have to pay full time salaries to. And so that allowed us to grow a bit in scale without taking on risk. So I made an important decision, I guess, because I wasn't confident in myself, or in the concept to raise venture money like so ironically, even though I was serving these investors. I didn't raise any venture money to begin with, because frankly, I just wasn't that sure that, that this culture or this, this firm, was going to be successful, but then through contractors, growing it growing and growing, it was working, and then at some point, I made the decision to switch over to just full time people. So like today, that hundred and 20 of us are all full time, full time with no contractors. And that happened about 10 years after I founded the company. So it's like a slow growth story, testing the market, testing the culture, and then then growth actually really started picking up one size stops managing the business day to day and one of my most talented youngest partners Randy street in 2010. Following the last recession we went through, I appointed him with a great support of my colleagues to be the managing partner. So here, I really gave him the keys to run it day to day in 2010. And he's done a fabulous job of building out everything that we have today. And under his tenure, we've had 90% client satisfaction rates completed every year 90% retention rates of our colleagues exceeded every year and over 20% growth and pre tax profit every year for 10 years. So Randy is really the like key to success of our growth and scaling over the last decade. But I like to think that the the original blueprint of you know, on the strategy side and on the culture side, we're still we're still playing that playbook today. Marc Gutman 30:54 Yeah. And did you ever like come up against in those early days Did anyone say to you like Geoff like It's all great that you want to like, advise on leadership and building great businesses, but like, Hey, man, like, you've not ever done that, Geoff Smart 31:08 right? Yeah. What do you know? You haven't even had a job? Yes, yes, people did say that. I'll tell you though, that the veil of the PhD student thing kind of work. They viewed me as this, like, you know, white lab coat scientist who's here to both study them, as well as to share some best practices. And I think I was pretty despite Peter Drucker's assertion that, that nobody likes to know it all. I was very humble in my posture in the early days, you know, I'm here, oh, you know, you want to improve your hiring success rate from 30% to 60% Plus, Great, well, let's see here. So you know, need to study how you're doing it and talk to a bunch of people. And, you know, share it, we'll share some best practices and we'll help implement these methods that are proven to help you improve how you hire and develop your talent. Oh, here's something that's born out of humility. Do you remember how Domino's had a 30 minute guarantee or your pizzas free? Yeah, of course. So that was huge, right? They took the number one thing in there, and they're, you know, market the brand story of like a pizza. If it's late, you know, that stinks. But if it's early, that's great. And they said, Hey, we're gonna guarantee your pizza in 30 minutes is gonna be hot, it's gonna be there in 30 minutes or you don't pay now later they they massage that commitment because people were the drivers were getting in accidents left and right, trying to rush to deliver pizzas but I took that lesson and I read it and I can't remember what you know, management book way back when but the principle was guarantee the thing that's hardest but most important to your customer. So just like Domino's guaranteed 30 minute pizzas, I guaranteed accurate hiring. And no, none of the other competitors would kind of go so far as to say hey, look, if we do our work, and you're still having hiring mistakes, we'll give you your feedback. So Even to this day, to this day, we're, you know, pitching huge projects these days. I was at a large railroad a couple of weeks ago, you know, we're talking about 10s of millions of dollars of fees for them to improve their hiring and development of senior people, and do some culture change work. And I look, you know, these five board members in the eyes, I said, if we are not successful, you don't pay. And it's funny as that was born from the early days of insecurity, and just not really not knowing anything when I started our business, but wanting to deliver good value to clients and wanting to have it be a great work experience. For our colleagues. This is like money back guarantee concept was a key early answer to the question, Oh, you've never really led anything. And by the way, how Why are you so young, I remember locked into a partner at Bain Capital, one of the most successful private equity firms. And we had been doing a bunch of work for them. And I met one of their senior most partners and he he looked at me and he said, he actually started talking To my colleague, one, someone who worked at my company, and was calling him Geoff, I said, Now I'm Geoff. He said, geez, you're a lot younger than I thought you'd be. I looked him in the eye. And I said, you are to add, having humility and humor, confidence, but also say, hey, yeah, no, that's right. I haven't been a fortune 500 CEO, and literally, I, I don't, I've never had a full time regular job. I did internships and college and grad school, but I started the company when it's 23. So yeah, making fun of myself as just some, you know, egghead, a PhD, but who has a method that does seem to work and by the way, here are the happy other clients, you're in good company. And if you don't feel like you get full value for the dollars you spend, we'll refund your feedback. That was sort of my way of countering the, you know, you seem young and experienced, understandable concern that early clients and colleagues had. Marc Gutman 34:51 So in the early days were the name come from him and I can guess it seems like it might, it might not be that not obvious, but I'd like to ask Geoff Smart 35:00 Yeah, so gh is smart. And company Inc is the official name and th smart. I had, you know, just say a huge industry crush on McKinsey and Company for being a, you know a very respected, impactful firm, a tons of talented people in it. So McKinsey and Company, gh smart and company. So that's where the company came from the gh smart. So my first name is spelled with a G. So Geoff, my middle name is Hudson, and smart as my last name and the brand for gh smart. The way we write it is kind of weird, and I'm proud of this. So gh is lowercase. And then all caps is s ma RT. And I tell people, whether it's colleagues or clients that as the founder and chairman, you know, I'm the GH but I'm lowercase. I'm a servant leader. I'm in service of colleagues and clients. But then it's my my colleagues who put the smart in gh smart and that's why the smart parts all caps, so anyway, super cheesy and hokey but, but true. And that's, that's where our brand story comes from on the little g little H and all caps smart Marc Gutman 36:04 down. I love it. And you know a shout out to your parents because as someone who was bestowed with the last name of Gutman going through, you know, the Geoff Hudson smart might be like a coolest name ever, right? Like it's like a big movie star. And then all of a sudden, like, Hey, I have a consultancy that it you know, deals with thinking and being smart. Wait a second. That's also my name. Like it's great. And so I want to give a shout out to your parents for a shout out for that grant. Great brand name. Yeah, Geoff Smart 36:32 that was lovely. It's hard spelling Geoff with a G on the phone when you know, in my early years whenever I was ordering something from a catalog or whatever, but so I hate it then. But I do like it now. And I appreciate appreciate that. My folks had a marketable last name. Marc Gutman 36:49 Yeah, and I mean, and you're probably gonna deny this because you're humble, but we all know that just with a G are also smarter than just with a J. So that helps to Geoff Smart 36:57 I'm not about to alienate any of your your listeners, Marc Gutman 37:01 all the Geoff's out there. Listeners Geoff Smart 37:04 just as Exactly. We don't want to. We don't want to upset that segment. But yeah, you know, it's I okay, so servant leadership is a theme is something that approached I have great respect for that almost prevented me from naming the firm after myself. But there was something about just like, yes, you're like signing your name and being like, I am putting my full self into this firm that sort of counteracted that hesitation, I had to call it th smart. So, yeah, it was kinda like 70 7030 I was like, I think I'm gonna name it smart, I guess because I appreciate my parents giving me a good name for name and business. But that hesitation was on I never did wanted to be like the Geoff show and have it just be a spotlight on me because I had learned from an early age by watching others, you know, successful entrepreneurs, that the more you can hire great folks, and then let them have this spotlight, the better if you want to scale a Top Tier Business? Unknown Speaker 38:04 Yeah, because scaling a services business isn't that easy. It's not like you can just start to, you know, dial up certain efficiencies and add, you know, more bandwidth in terms of like technology bandwidth or more factory space. I mean, it's people and it's hard. It's not easy. Unknown Speaker 38:19 Yes. So true. I appreciate your saying that, that it really is. It really is about adding and taking care of one colleague at a time. That's how you grow a professional services business. Yeah, I do enviously. Look at some of my technology products, peers who can you know, as you say, you know, put a curve in the growth rate by replicating digital technologies like super scalable fast, but I and the professional services business it really is about adding great people adding great clients adding great people adding great clients and it's more of a linear growth path. It's a lot, it's a marathon. It really feels like you have to sustain a high level of focus and discipline and reliability for yourself. years and years and years, it's not like a, you know, overnight kind of thing. Marc Gutman 39:03 No, not at all. And you know, thinking just about, you know, my own experience and kind of drawing on that. And knowing over the years, it ebbs and flows, and it takes different things to get you excited and keep you coming back. And so for you right now, like what, what's exciting you and keeping you excited in the business? Geoff Smart 39:21 Yeah. Let's see here. So, I have, I love my job. And I, I've done something that I don't see a lot of entrepreneurs do and I spend, you know, through the books and speakings I spent a bunch of time with YPO type folks and entrepreneur, organization type folks, like you great, you know, entrepreneurs around the world, and just kind of comparing notes on successes and failures and that kind of thing. I shrank and narrowed my role significantly. So I get to do just the things that I'm pretty good at that I like to do a lot. So So what keeps it fresh? For me is right if I was like, you know, managing the day to day and I had a whole lot of like, duties on my plate that I didn't love to do, but I sort of had to do because I was the only leader around that would be not fun. But instead I get to do the things that that I love that I'm pretty good at. And those things are honing the vision. And you know, getting my colleagues and clients excited about it is super fun. I still feel like ghsmart's is kind of a leadership laboratory where we're creating our own culture, we're creating our own everything, you know, processes, the way that we tell our story to clients, etc. So honing the vision. That's super fun. We want to see what are the things on recruiting and telling our brand story as an employment brand is one of my favorite things. I talked to the sky yesterday, or Friday who is thinking about joining our firm, and he's just like, he's so talented and so good hearted, has done amazing things in his career and listening to what he really wants. To do in the future stages of his career, and the knowing that he can accomplish that here is exciting to me. It's like, it's not like handing out people's dream jobs to them. I mean, they earned it. But it's the idea of, you know, through our own recruiting process and selection process, being able to talk with these really amazing people and then convince them to come join gh smart, I have a chairman's q&a at the tail end of all the hiring of all of our consultants still, and I love that if I didn't love it, I probably wouldn't do it, but I really, I really enjoy it. I really love like personally welcoming people into the firm and making sure they join business development like so I've had the same email address for 25 years and you know, with the books and other other things, you know, CEOs, investors, etc, will contact me and then and then, you know, sitting with someone who maybe as a new CEO of a huge resort and hotel company worldwide or sitting with the CEOs doing nanotechnology research or sitting with Someone who runs a children's hospital. I mean, it's so cool. Sitting with a new client, with my colleagues, I try not to do all the talking or even hardly any of the talking, but meeting new leaders, and then supporting my colleagues as we, you know, turn them into clients. I think a lot of fun, I still sort of thrill of the chase. And it's, you know, and I know these clients are going to be happy with the work because we measure everything we measure their satisfaction. So to be able to confidently hear them out, help them envision what they're trying to do to succeed, and then offer what we can do to help them and then have them become a client and be really happy is super fulfilling. So I think I think that's a lot of fun. And then I love working with Randy and my firm's leadership team. Randy is a super smart, like, steady decision maker. He's everything. I'm not around, having like the breadth and depth to be a great leader and manager of this firm. It's just a pleasure kicking ideas around together, and then we're super decisive. So it's fun, you know, we'll have different committees and different governance and everything, but our ability to listen to good ideas, either from our colleagues or from our clients, and then take action experiment, you know, kind of in the Agile style of try it and test and learn. That's a lot of fun. So that I don't know what you call that, like innovation, I guess. It's a lot of fun in a firm full of like, good hearted, talented people is a lot of fun. So yeah, it's, although my, my focus areas have abdun flowed and I've been different things over the years, by enthusiasts some level for what we're doing, and the impact has always been high. And then, if there's some part of my, like, personal entrepreneur work portfolio, that I don't really like or that others can do better, I just clean it off, and I give it to someone else who's better at it. So that's sort of advice for how to keep the work fresh and how to keep your own job satisfaction high as you know, if you're on one of these, like multi decade journeys to build a great firm. Marc Gutman 43:59 Well, thank you for sharing that. you'd mentioned Randy street a couple times. How did you get to meet? Geoff Smart 44:04 So we met. Last year, I personally didn't recruit him. One of my colleagues had known a Bain partner and Atlanta, Randy had. He gone to Harvard Business School and Bain and was really successful at Bain. And then he was like number two or number three at the fastest growth company in Georgia at the time. But he wanted to get back to professional services. And he also just sort of loved the topic of leadership. He was a Sunday school teacher, like really good, great speaker. And it was a good match. So we just, you know, we, we got to him through a referral, and then hired him. And then there's about two years after he started at our firm. I think that's right. No, not true. Five years after he started, he was one of the youngest, most talented partners, as a manager and a leader, and we're all Granny, can you please run the firm also, I was getting super burned out on crisis management, and the oh nine recession. And I was kind of like, Oh my gosh, someone else helped me, you know, with the goal setting and the process design and process management and dashboards and just all that. It's the scaffolding you need to build and manage in order to grow the firm. And Randy is so much better at that, than I. So it's been a really special working relationship. We thought originally, you know, every, I don't know, three or four years, we'd rotate the managing partner role. But he's so good, that we're all in agreement. You know, let's just like let him keep running the firm because he's great at it. So I think he's like, not quite 50. So he's young enough, I am hopeful and expect that he'll continue to run the firm for years to come Marc Gutman 45:42 Wow, And during that that segment, you talked in the segment before that, you talked a lot about leadership. I mean, what does leadership mean to you? Like, how do you define that? Geoff Smart 45:49 Yeah, it's funny. I like the simplest definition of leadership. I really like is helping a group of people. Figure out what it wants and then to formulate and execute a plan to get it. So, the LM like, at its core, I think leadership's about helping improve people's lives. And if you as a leader can help facilitate the process of figuring out, you know, what, what are the priorities? What are the what's the goal here, like, what are we trying to do, and then hire and delegate to great people, and then you know, build relationships that are respectful and focused on results, then, you know, you can create great results for for the, for the people that you're serving. So I think I don't know leadership at its core of its health care workers or military or government or for profit or not for profit, is basically about helping focus, human capital to improve the quality of life of other people. And I'm a huge fan of Leadership only counts. If you're helping the customer base however you define customer, and if you're really making a positive impact in the lives of the employee base. So that's, in fact, we're almost we don't say this out loud, I'll share with you mark, because this top secret sort of values assumption, but we actually prioritize our colleagues over customers and shareholders. And it's controversial because this is this age old question of, you know, good leadership, you know, who, who gets priority? And I think most companies are very shareholder focused. And then there's sort of customer focused, and then maybe a distant third, there's Oh, yeah, the employees at th smart right from the beginning. Again, I was like, one of the two equal reasons I started the company was I really wanted to have this be a great place for, for people to build their careers. And so our opinion or the way that we actualize what great leadership is all about, is you Providing just like an amazing work experience for people and then making a positive impact in the lives of customers. And then if you do that really well, yeah, the shareholders will be happy over the long haul. But I think it's kind of fun and slightly controversial that we, we do prioritize our colleagues over, over all other priorities Marc Gutman 48:18 Yeah when you say that with like, what's that look like? Like? How does someone prioritize colleagues over shareholders and customers? Geoff Smart 48:25 Sure, so a pandemic 2020 on our priority list, protecting jobs comes several clicks higher on the priority list than maximizing profits. And that's not easy to say or do lots of companies don't want to do that. They they, you know, when push comes to shove or when challenges arise, they clearly go to kind of propping up short term economic performance at the expense of people's jobs, but we just made it we put a line in the sand and said we're going to protect people's jobs. We're not Anybody off even though you know demand and profitability might be negatively impacted. So that's, that's an example of that as far as like prioritizing people over customers, or this one evil client once, who was doing some saying some hashtag me to stuff to one of my female colleagues. And you know, she called it out. She's like, yeah, here's what this guy's saying. And we were like, Well, yeah, dump the client. And she's like, really? Like, it was like a profitable It was like a profitable prestigious client. We're like, absolutely. Like, like, get rid of that client, like, forget it. And so backing your people and being like, No, no, we're not going to work with bad clients is a fabulous statement of loyalty to your colleagues. When another there's a client prospect were considering taking on who during the initial meeting revealed that, that they write legal contracts that are really advantageous for the CEOs They have the companies they own. And it was kind of like weird ethics stuff. And I am, I'm pretty sure many other consulting firms would still work with, with that client. And I know that because I, after I told the guy that I wouldn't work with him, because I didn't think he was honest, which was not a pleasant conversation. But I told him, I didn't think that we'd be helpful. And given his methods and his way of how he invested and built businesses. You know, it's like inconsistent with our values and our methods. But did he want me? Do you want me to find another firm to serve him? And I asked another firm and I said, this guy's dishonest. And he writes legal contracts that CEOs later regret having signed in order to be in order to make more money. Do you want to work with them? And I, in two seconds, I found another consulting firm in our industry that was willing to work with us, but I didn't want to have my colleagues working with a dishonest client. So that's how, you know, that's how putting colleagues ahead of clients That's what that looks like. Marc Gutman 51:01 Yeah, thank you for sharing that. And previous to you had mentioned that, you know, a big part of your job is sharing the brand story. I mean, what does? What does that mean? Like, how do you define brand story? And how do you go about doing it? You know, what I find is just that, you know, when I use those words, brand story, that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. And I'd love to hear your take on how you share how you define it, and how you actually go out and share that that story with the world. Geoff Smart 51:25 Sure, well, I appreciate the question. And I think about it in two buckets. The brand story for employees for my colleagues is one message and then one brand and then the brand that that we the brand story we tell for clients is a second one in the brand story for colleagues. I do this kind of like, Do you ever wonder type approach or like, you know as a as a you think about your work, you know, do you ever wonder how you can maximize the positive impact or making you to do work that are really matters and get paid for it and have a life outside of work. Like put those three circles together in a Venn diagram, and name me one firm that allows you to do all three, you know, it's just like really meaningful, fulfilling work, to be able to make money and pay the bills. And then to have a life outside of work. And I, this came this this moment of clarity I had when Randy street my colleague, and I were teaching at Harvard Business School, the GH smart case, where, you know, they, the kids read the, like, the 12 page case, and they talk about what we did wrong and what we could do better, and that kind of thing. And this woman raised her hand is and she said, You know, I used to work for the Peace Corps. And we were really big on on mission and values and really the sort of, you know, why do we exist, and I would bet gh smart hasn't even taken the time to write down why it exists or what it believes And for that reason, I wouldn't I wouldn't want to work there. So she actually, to my face during the class hundred people in the room professor had asked the question like, would you know, would would everyone here work for gh smart or Not? And, and, and why? And so she basically schooled us on you know, hey do you have you have you thought about and written down what your you know your firm sort of credo is and we hadn't we had a you know I think high vision for what what we wanted to do and we had a sensor or values but we actually hadn't taken the time to write out like a credo like the Johnson and Johnson credo or, you know, the and so we walked away from that experience going, Alright, fine. You know, I think we need to now like clearly articulate why we exist. And then make sure the values that we that we identify are the most important ones, that that make up our, the sort of DNA of our culture. So that that brand story of, you know, impactful Work, make money and have a life outside of work. Sora was born, it was an initial vision for why I wanted to join or start the company but it like we really improved that brand story after that kind of embarrassing class period that was like, like 10 years ago or something. And then what we did was we got our entire team together for a year and worked on about 100 drafts of who we are, why we existed, and it ended up being that credo that whose first line that you read at the beginning here, but it starts We exist to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. And I felt really good about this because it was a complete team effort to to really like articulate this credo. Yes, we have it in writing. Yes, it's different from other companies. credos are values and, and I think it's really helpful, so I'm thankful for that. calling us out and saying, hey, Peace Corps is pretty good at articulating it's, it's why, you know, I wouldn't work for you guys because I bet you haven't even written it down yet. Well, now we've written it down and we use it for hiring, we use it for performance management and coaching. We use it, you know, to as a, as a benchmark for checking our culture, making sure we're living up to you know, what the brand promise of that employment brand story is. So the employment brand story is like kind of you can have it all, and you can't get that anywhere else. You can, you know, work on Wall Street, make money, but occasionally have existential questions of purpose, and allows the lifestyle, you can work in the Peace Corps, and have a great impact. But, you know, maybe not be able to be pumping your kids 529 College Savings money as much faster as you'd like. And then they're just like a lot of jobs that are just sort of nit you know, as far as the impact you have, as far as the wealth creation opportunities, and as far as your ability to really affect ability and freedom and have a life and enjoy life as as you go. So I don't know, it's not it seems like super obvious, like, why wouldn't a firm like that exist? But that's we've been very conscious of wanting to make sure that Brian's story comes through loud and clear. And that's those are was what I feel good about is behind closed doors and you know, and anonymous environments like last door, our colleagues, you know, point point out that Brian story very uniformly and you know, candidly and, and with honesty like yeah, this is what we get working here, impact money, the ability to have a life. So that brand story was like those three planks. And, and it's, it's a story of, of having it all, and it's hard to pull off in there. It's harder to run a firm that gives people all three of those things than it is to run a firm that maybe takes one for three or two for three. Marc Gutman 56:53 Yeah, and you mentioned that you know, it took you about 100 drafts like what's hard about distilling all that down into a one Page credo or into a vision statement or, you know, these different ways that we articulate our brand story like, what Why 100? drafts? What's hard about that? Geoff Smart 57:09 Yeah, you know, it's a feeling of two thoughts. One is, you don't want it to sound generic, like other companies, because then it's not. It's not really inspiring. And it's not, it's not that helpful. And two is the process of writing your credo of writing the document that says why your firm exists. The process is super important. I don't want to say it's more important than the outcome but you know, really getting input from everybody, you know, administrative assistance, finance people, it people, consultants, senior people, Junior people, that was made clear to us because we we kind of benchmarked other great organizations that created a credo and how they do it, and they all told us, you got to get everybody's input, otherwise, it doesn't feel like it came from everybody, because it didn't. And so we were doing some pro bono work. Around that time with, with the US Navy with their, with the navy seals, and they are known for publicly, I'm not going to share anything private. But they're publicly known for having a really great credo. They call it their ethos, and you can look it up. And it's really compelling. Because it's it's very, it's unique to their organization. So we talked with, with one Navy SEAL commander who had participated in the writing of their credo, you know, a while ago, and I asked him, Well, how did you do it? And he said, Well, the key part was really getting the voice from from everyone, you know, from all the different parts of an organization. And then I said, well, Why'd you do that? And he said, Well, we we had three helicopters that we packed full of people who had, you know, their peers had sort of nominated them to be on this team. And then we stuffed it full of red meat and beer and flew them over to San Clemente Island, which is off because this cornado of San Diego, and we told them, they can't come back until they've written the document that says why we're special and why we exist. I thought, well, that's kind of cool. So we followed suit in that we got, we just got just tons and tons and tons of input from people and then so not wanting it to be generic is one reason to get the 100 drafts. The second reason to do 100 drafts is to have it be like sort of creative and inspiring, in a way that, you know, lives on kind of like the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. You know, we the people, like you know, this, you realize, like, sort of how long this documents gonna live. And you really just want it to be inspiring and cool. And that takes drafts versus just saying stuff plainly. And I try to say stuff that calls to a higher purpose and, and is, the third thing is specificity. So there are elements of our DNA that we think are really important. And I wanted to make sure that they all showed up in the credo and in the values and so that took a number of drafts because we'd be like yeah wait a second you know something about we are really talking about sharing our knowledge with the world like isn't you know writing books and sharing our knowledge about leadership with the world part of something that's important to us and then we go yeah and then you know, we wrote in you know, b
BGBS 029: Geoff Smart | Part 1: Yes, You Can Have It All Geoff Smart, founder and chairman of ghSMART & Co is sharing how his dream of having a fulfilling job and great life turned into one of the most successful hiring firms in the world. Geoff routinely advises Fortune 500 CEOs, billionaire entrepreneurs, [...]Read More...
Geoff is the is the Founder and Chairman of ghSMART, a leading global management consulting firm for talent, and the co-author of three bestselling books. One of those, Who: The A Method for Hiring, is a New York Times bestseller and is considered the leading resource on helping businesses hire and develop top talent. Geoff has a PhD in organizational psychology and has personally advised three US Governors, White House Fellows and a President of the World Bank. Geoff joined host Robert Glazer on the Elevate Podcast to talk how to hire and retain talent, why so many people do interviews wrong, how companies can recruit better, and more. A big thanks to our episode sponsors HoneyBook and DoorDash! When you started your business, you probably didn’t do it so you could spend all day doing admin tasks like drafting proposals, contracts and invoices. HoneyBook is here to help you do all the administrative things your business needs, but you don’t want to spend valuable time doing yourself. Professional templates, e-signature technology and booking software are just a few of the things HoneyBook can offer to help your business run efficiently and look professional to clients and vendors. They can even consolidate services you already use, like G-Suite and MailChimp. Listeners of this podcast can get 50% off your first year of HoneyBook by going to Honeybook.com/elevate/. DoorDash Long day at work? Still stuck at the office? Treat yourself to the meal you deserve, and have your favorite restaurants come to you, with DoorDash. DoorDash connects you to 340,000 restaurants in over 3,300 cities, so not only are your favorites on there, but you might a great new spot as well. Don’t worry about dinner, let dinner come to you. Get $5 off your first order of $15 or more by downloading the DoorDash app and entering the promo code ELEVATE. Show Notes On this episode, you’ll learn about: How Geoff became the youngest person to earn a PhD at his Alma Mater. How Geoff developed the A Method for hiring, and what it recommends. How Geoff made ghSMART one of the world’s best talent consulting firms. What so many people do wrong when interviewing candidates, and how you can learn from their mistakes. How Geoff got a candidate to admit to slapping their former CEO during a job interview. A mistake Geoff has made, and what he learned from it.
Kim Powell is back and she’s changing the perspective about who can be a successful CEO! Podcast veteran Kim Powell returns to the podcast to discuss key takeaways from her latest book, The CEO Next Door. Kim explains the traits of successful executive directors and debunks CEO myths. Links: Kim’s website: www.ghSMART.com Buy the book: The CEO Next Door: www.ceonextdoorbook.com Kim’s debut, Episode 27: https://www.successfulnonprofits.com/archive/creating-a-100-day-launch-plan-for-your-new-ceo-with-kim-powell-episode-27 *****Timestamped Highlights***** (4:19) Myth #1: Successful CEOs have Ivy League degrees. (5:07) Myth #2: Successful CEOs began pursuing the top seat early in their careers. (6:16) Myth #3: The CEO is a superhero who saves the day. (7:29) Myth #4: Successful CEOs are extroverts. (8:05) Myth #5: Successful CEOs have swung from success to success throughout their careers. (9:30) Career blowups are an opportunity to learn (11:30) Step “broad” (15:10) Kim discusses four behaviors that can propel someone to the CEO position (15:44) Behavior 1: Being decisive (18:20) Behavior 2: Delivering reliably (20:56) Behavior 3: Engaging for impact (21:43) Behavior 4: Adapting proactively (25:01) Kim’s shares the most interesting interview conducted for her book (28:55) Kim shares the most diplomatic ways interviewees turned down her interviews for her book
In a 3.7% unemployment market, you’re lucky to find an amazing candidate. But once you find them, do you extend the offer? Or do you keep looking? Jason Fiftal is uniquely qualified to help us answer the question. He’s Chief Operating Officer of ghSmart, which has created an unrivaled reputation for helping executives make that decision. In the next 20 minutes, Jason shares a specific framework for helping you decide. Never settle.
People are certainly the hardest part about scaling up a business. Finding the right people is crucial to helping you grow. So, how can you improve your odds from 50% to 90% or better? Through smart recruiting methods! Geoff Smart is the Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, which was founded in 1995 to help Fortune 500 CEOs and entrepreneurs achieve their goals through hiring, developing and leading talented teams. Geoff is also the bestselling author of Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score. As a freshman at college, Geoff was fortunate enough to get an internship at a venture capitalist firm and he noticed that large sums of money were either gained or lost due to who the investors invested in. Geoff wondered if there was a way to hack the system to help investors make better bets on people, and so his company was born. The topic of how to get the right people on your team is one of the most popular concerns for people in business. If you get this aspect right, you are going to have the most solid improvement in your revenue and profitability and in your own enjoyment in your work. A lot of entrepreneurs/hiring managers use their gut feelings to hire, but this could possibly be the worst mistake you can make. The reality is, you can’t judge a person based instantly on gut feel. You’re going to make a mistake and it’s going to cost you a lot of money. Leave the emotional hiring methods behind! The average success rate for hiring is about 50%. Recruiters only get it right 50% of the time, which means people regret every 1 in 2 hires! That’s horrible! A bad hire can cost you 15 times that employee’s annual salary. However, you can improve your 50% into 90% by focusing on these four things really well: Scorecard, Source, Select, and Sell. Geoff explains each section in depth inside the podcast episode! Listen in for more wisdom! Interview Links: Geoffsmart.com Geoff on LinkedIn Resources: Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshops: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Website Gazelles Website Bill on YouTube Growthinstitute.com/scalingcoach TWEETABLES: “If you look at global surveys on what’s on the minds of entrepreneurs, talent is number one or two out of 30 different topics.” “If you get [talent] right, you’re going to have the most solid improvement in your revenue and profitability.” “Ever since I started my company, I realized that managing is easy… except for the people part.” Did you enjoy today’s episode? If so, then head over to iTunes, and leave a review. It helps other entrepreneurs discover the Scaling Up Business Podcast, so they can also benefit from the knowledge shared in these podcasts. Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...And Why the Rest Don’t, is the best-selling book by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles, on how the fastest growing companies succeed, where so many others fail. My name is Bill Gallagher, host of the Scaling Up Business Podcast and a leading business coach with Gazelles. We help leadership teams to get the 4 Decisions around People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash right so that they can Scale Up successfully and beat the odds of business growth success. Our 4 Decisions are all part of the Rockefeller Habits 2.0 (from the original best-selling business book, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits).
If you are a new or mid-level leader that wants to know the secrets of how to be transformed and achieve your full potential, then this episode will provide you the tips to success. Elena Botelho is a senior partner at ghSMART and has supported first-time CEOs and CEO transitions for over 15 years, ranging from Fortune 50 to middle market companies across a wide range of industry sectors. In this episode Elena sits down with Robert Gowin and Scott Johnson to share scientific research and analysis of over 2,600 leaders that has been drawn from a database of over 17,000 CEOs and C-suite executives to provide you the behaviors that differentiated these high-performers, their career catapults, and the primary hazard that can derail your success. Buy The CEO Next Door at https://ceonextdoorbook.com/ Robert is a retired US Army Armor and Recruiter/Retention MSG turned Fortune 50 executive; Scott Johnson is a former British Army Engineer and EOD Tech NCO. Visit www.patreon.com/mentors4mil to support our podcast. Join our new closed Facebook Team Room at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mentors4mil Follow Mentors for Military: iTunes: https://apple.co/1WaEvbB Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3w4RiZBxBS8EDy6cuOlbUl PodBean: https://mentorsformilitary.podbean.com/ SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/mentors4mil Instagram: www.instagram.com/mentors4mil Twitter: www.twitter.com/mentors4mil Facebook: www.facebook.com/mentors4mil Homepage: www.mentorsformilitary.com Use Code Mentors4mil at www.SkeletonOptics.com to receive your discount.
Some people have trouble making decisions for various reasons. Yet for leaders of all types, being decisive is one of the primary needs for those who work with them. Being decisive is a predictor of leadership success, more so than more commonly thought contributors like a work ethic or experience. Terry talks about some of the latest research about decisiveness from the book THE CEO NEXT DOOR by Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell (with Tahl Raz). Botehlo and Powell (they work with the consulting firm ghSMART and manage the CEO Genome project) interviewed 2600 CEO's from across the country. It's a recommended book by Terry and discusses this finding from the study that will help you become more aware of your own decision-making processes. = = = = = Coaching with Terry Linhart is hosted by author, speaker, and educator Terry Linhart. Terry is the author of THE SELF-AWARE LEADER and the founder of The Arbor Research Group. He serves as Dean of Adult & Graduate Studies at Bethel College (Indiana). Connect with Terry on Twitter (@TerryLinhart) or on his Facebook page. This episode was recorded in the J2 Marketing studios.
Elena L. Botelho is a New York Times & WSJ Bestselling author. She grew up in Azerbaijan and Russia in a family of mathematicians and earned her MBA from Wharton. She has advised more than 200 CEOs and boards over nearly two decades, first as a strategy consultant at McKinsey and currently as a partner at ghSMART. New York Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller.Based on an in-depth analysis of over 2,600 leaders drawn from a database of more than 17,000 CEOs and C-suite executives, as well 13,000 hours of interviews, and two decades of experience advising CEOs and executive boards, Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell overturn the myths about what it takes to get to the top and succeed. Their groundbreaking research was the featured cover story in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. It reveals the common attributes and counterintuitive choices that set apart successful CEOs—lessons that we can apply to our own careers. Much of what we hear about who gets to the top, and how, is wrong. Those who become chief executives set their sights on the C-suite at an early age. In fact, over 70 percent of the CEOs didn't have designs on the corner office until later in their careers. You must graduate from an elite college. In fact, only 7 percent of CEOs in the dataset are Ivy League graduates--and 8 percent didn't graduate from college at all. To become a CEO you need a flawless résumé. The reality: 45 percent of CEO candidates had at least one major career blowup. What those who reach the top do share are four key behaviors that anyone can master: they are decisive; they are reliable, delivering what they promised when the promise it, without exception; they adapt boldly, and they engage with stakeholders without shying away from conflict. Based on this breakthrough study of the most successful people in business, Botelho and Powell offer career advice for everyone who aspires to get ahead. Based on research insights illustrated by real life stories from CEOs and boardrooms, they tell us how to: - Fast-track our career by deploying the career catapults used by those who get to the top quickly - Overcome the hidden handicaps to getting the job we want. - Avoid the 5 hazards that most commonly derail those promoted into a new role. For everyone who aspires to rise up through the organization and achieve their full potential, The CEO Next Door is an essential guide.- https://www.amazon.com/CEO-Next-Door-Behaviors-World-Class/dp/1101906499- https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-lytkina-botelho-3b72785/- https://twitter.com/elbotelho?lang=enPlease do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on Instagram, Twitter or via email mark@vudream.comHumans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2PodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/mark.metry.9Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Mark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/
Elena L. Botelho is a New York Times & WSJ Bestselling author. She grew up in Azerbaijan and Russia in a family of mathematicians and earned her MBA from Wharton. She has advised more than 200 CEOs and boards over nearly two decades, first as a strategy consultant at McKinsey and currently as a partner at ghSMART. New York Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller.Based on an in-depth analysis of over 2,600 leaders drawn from a database of more than 17,000 CEOs and C-suite executives, as well 13,000 hours of interviews, and two decades of experience advising CEOs and executive boards, Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell overturn the myths about what it takes to get to the top and succeed. Their groundbreaking research was the featured cover story in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review. It reveals the common attributes and counterintuitive choices that set apart successful CEOs—lessons that we can apply to our own careers. Much of what we hear about who gets to the top, and how, is wrong. Those who become chief executives set their sights on the C-suite at an early age. In fact, over 70 percent of the CEOs didn’t have designs on the corner office until later in their careers. You must graduate from an elite college. In fact, only 7 percent of CEOs in the dataset are Ivy League graduates--and 8 percent didn't graduate from college at all. To become a CEO you need a flawless résumé. The reality: 45 percent of CEO candidates had at least one major career blowup. What those who reach the top do share are four key behaviors that anyone can master: they are decisive; they are reliable, delivering what they promised when the promise it, without exception; they adapt boldly, and they engage with stakeholders without shying away from conflict. Based on this breakthrough study of the most successful people in business, Botelho and Powell offer career advice for everyone who aspires to get ahead. Based on research insights illustrated by real life stories from CEOs and boardrooms, they tell us how to: - Fast-track our career by deploying the career catapults used by those who get to the top quickly - Overcome the hidden handicaps to getting the job we want. - Avoid the 5 hazards that most commonly derail those promoted into a new role. For everyone who aspires to rise up through the organization and achieve their full potential, The CEO Next Door is an essential guide.- https://www.amazon.com/CEO-Next-Door-Behaviors-World-Class/dp/1101906499- https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-lytkina-botelho-3b72785/- https://twitter.com/elbotelho?lang=enPlease do NOT hesitate to reach out to me on Instagram, Twitter or via email mark@vudream.comHumans 2.0 Twitter - https://twitter.com/Humans2PodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/markymetryMedium - https://medium.com/@markymetryFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/mark.metry.9Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markmetry/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-metry/Mark Metry - https://www.markmetry.com/
The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Episode #256: Elena Botelho - How To Become A CEO Elena Botelho has been a Partner at ghSMART since 2007. Elena initiated and co-leads The CEO Genome Project® featured in a cover article of Harvard Business Review. Her recent book, The CEO Next Door, is a New York Times Bestseller. The CEO Genome Project® is an extensive research and client practice supporting CEO's and executives on the path to CEO. The research explores paths and behaviors that lead to the top, typical setbacks CEO's encounter and ways to prevent them. Elena is a member of McKinsey M&A Integration Council – an invitation-only forum of senior executives from major corporations to share M&A best practices. Elena is a sought after speaker at leading industry events on leadership and M&A. The Learning Leader Show "Charisma is a myth when it comes to success as a CEO. The research suggests introverts are equally or more successful than charismatic extroverts" Show Notes: How do we define excellence? "Delivering results is how we define it" The keys to excellence (delivering results) Decisiveness - Conviction and speed Adapting proactively Relentless reliability - Delivering consistently -- This is the most powerful and important behavior Engage for impact Self assessments The lowest rated among 11,000 people Elena surveyed was: Reliability Why do people struggle with consistency? Consistency is hard across all domains of our lives Reliability - 3 keys Mindset - basic habits. How do we develop the correct mindset? -> Recognize that others need to be able to count on you. This translates to consistent habits Get an honest look in the mirror The WHO - Who are your surrounding yourself with? Process and culture you build The CEO Myths: Need to go to an Ivy League school (not true) CEO's were destined for greatness (nope) 70% of CEO's never set a goal to be a CEO Charisma - It helps you get the job, however when you look at results, it's not the way the ensure results Introverts are not less likely for success Advice to a current individual contributor: Having powerful mentors didn't seem to help them more than those who didn't Becoming a mentor to others does show it helps It forces you to be clear and become a teacher. Helps you get in the head of others and lead What are some mistakes first time managers make? "It can be messy" Be clear on what success looks like Is this the right team? Do personnel changes need to be made? What are the career catapults? 25% went to a top business school 97% of them did one of these three sprinters: 60% "went small to go big" -> Took a smaller role at an organization that led to something big They took on a big mess and fixed it The big leap - Take a role well before you're ready --> Take a risk Adapting proactively Being able to let go of a profitable business in order for long term success (give up short term for the long term) Key learning = the ability let go of the past "Becoming a mentor to others forces you to be clear and become a teacher." Social Media: Read: The CEO Next Door Go to: ghsmart.com Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12
Kim Powell of ghSMART shares research insights from her book, The CEO Next Door, and misconceptions, patterns, and best practices in improving your odds of ascent. You'll Learn: Where likability can help you--and hurt you. The 4 critical behaviors linked to successful CEOs Brilliant CEO tactics to accelerate your decision-making About Kim: Kim Powell is a Principal at ghSMART. She serves leading Fortune 500 senior executives, private equity firms and non-profit leaders in the areas of management assessment, leadership coaching and organizational change. She co-leads ghSMART’s research on first time CEOs and is passionate about supporting leaders in accelerating their effectiveness in new roles. View transcript, show notes, and links at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep280
Kim Powell of ghSMART shares research insights from her book, The CEO Next Door, and misconceptions, patterns, and best practices in improving your odds of ascent.You'll Learn:1) Where likability can help you–and hurt you.2) The 4 critical behaviors linked to successful CEOs3) Brilliant CEO tactics to accelerate your decision-makingAbout KimKim Powell is a Principal at ghSMART. She serves leading Fortune 500 senior executives, private equity firms and non-profit leaders in the areas of management assessment, leadership coaching and organizational change. She co-leads ghSMART's research on first time CEOs and is passionate about supporting leaders in accelerating their effectiveness in new roles.Items Mentioned in this Show:Sponsored message: Document Standard Operating Procedures with SweetProcessKim's firm: ghSMARTKim's Book: The CEO Next Door with Elena L. BotelhoBook: NurtureShock by Po Bronson and Ashley MerrymanBook: Untangled by Lisa DamourBook: Mindset by Carol S. DweckApp: StridesPrior episode: 030: Optimal Practices for Prioritizing, Hiring, and Relating with ghSMART's Randy StreetView transcript, show notes, and links at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep280. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Business Radio Special: Cade Massey is Live from the Wharton People Analytics Conference 2018, where he interviews attendees about what data influences organizations when making employee decisions such as hiring/firing, organizational structure, assessing culture, etc. Interviewees: Elena Botelho, Partner at ghSMART and Author of "The CEO Next Door"; Steve Kaplan, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at University of Chicago's Booth School of Business; Brad Grant, VP of Baseball Operations, Strategy & Administration for the Cleveland Indians; and Michael Metzger, Senior Managing Director at Teach for America.Over two days, Wharton PAC’s speakers, panel discussions, and competitions provide a unique opportunity to learn from industry and academic leaders through thought provoking sessions. Learn how the latest research connects to organizational decision making and engage in discussions with leading practitioners.wpa.wharton.upenn.edu/conference/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Elena Botelho, Co-author of "The CEO Next Door" and Partner in leadership advisory firm ghSMART, talks with Laura Zarrow about how you can tap into your unique strengths, and grow into being a more successful and impactful leader, regardless of where you started.Elena L. Botelho is co-author of "The CEO Next Door", founder and co-leader of the CEO Genome Project, and a partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART. Elena’s passion is helping CEOs who aspire to elite levels of performance and social impact achieve their full potential. CEOs engage Elena to accelerate their success and protect them from painful setbacks. The CEO Genome Project is an extensive research and client practice that provides guidance to CEOs and executives on the path to becoming CEO, including behaviors that lead to the top, typical setbacks CEOs encounter and ways to prevent them. Elena is a member of McKinsey M&A Integration Council—an invitation only forum of senior executives from major corporations to share M&A best practices. Prior to joining ghSMART, Elena was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, where she advised CEOs and senior executives of Fortune 500 companies and major private equity players on the issues of M&A, business strategy, organizational change, and operations. Her clients included major corporations in media, technology, and financial services. Elena grew up in Moscow and Azerbaijan and now lives with her family in Washington D.C. She holds an MBA from Wharton.Aired on February 28, 2018. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Geoff is the Chairman and Founder of ghSMART, a leadership firm. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Who, Power Score, and Leadocracy. His mission is to help leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. Listen in as he talks about: What inspired him to start his own business The mindset of successful business owners and entrepreneurs The incredible power of believing in yourself as an entrepreneur The foolproof approach every entrepreneur can take to minimize business risks The power of having the right mentors in business The importance of identifying your customers and their needs The secrets to hiring the right people His daily routine that makes him productive at work and life His powerful No. 1 Mindset Tip for entrepreneurs to radically improve their business Smash Your Income Glass Ceiling To Attract More Clients And Money… without doing more marketing! Click here for Free Video Training. P.S. I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, please leave a review and comment on iTunes. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! Nina x
Venture capitalist Anthony Tjan makes the performance case for character and values–revealing how to identify and cultivate more at work.You'll Learn:1) The benefits of cultivating goodness2) How to discern someone's character and values upfront3) Approaches to check yourself on the cultivation of your character and valuesAbout AnthonyAnthony Tjan has been at the forefront of transformational change across organizations he has either built or advised, as well as a strategic counsellor to several leaders and public personalities. He is a New York Times bestselling author and serves as CEO of the Cue Ball Group – a people-first venture investment firm and is also the co-founder and chairman of MiniLuxe, a retail services brand looking to revolutionize the nail salon industry.Items Mentioned in this Show:Anthony's website: www.aboutgoodpeople.comAnthony's book: Good People Anthony's book: Hearts, Smarts, Guts, and LuckAnthony's company: Cue BallBook: Good to Great by Jim CollinsBook: The Corner Office by Adam BryantPodcast episode: 030: Optimal Practices for Prioritizing, Hiring, and Relating with ghSMART's Randy StreetView transcript, show notes, and links at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep200.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Paper Napkin Wisdom - Podcast and Blog for Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Difference-Makers
Is there a formula for success? This week’s Paper Napkin Wisdom guest, Geoff Smart - CEO of lead consulting firm ghSMART - proposes just that . Dr. Smart, the best selling author of Who: The A Method for Hiring and the newly released Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success, holds a PhD in Psychology and has spent the last twenty years collecting and synthesizing data from over 3000 leaders and their teams. While most books on leadership suggest that most prominent trait of successful leaders is honesty, Dr. Smart discovered that this wasn’t necessarily a special trait, and that most people (successful or unsuccessful) rated themselves highly in this category. The Power Score (P x W x R) takes a look at the empirical data surrounding common traits of leaders and proposes that if teams are good at prioritizing, hiring the right people and building the right relationships, they are twenty times more likely to be successful than if they don’t have these traits. The concept was birthed by his publisher, who suggested that Dr. Smart take a more holistic approach to his new book as opposed to just providing tips on hiring as he had for his previous work “Who”. “The formula is multiplicative,” Dr. Smart explains, and akin to an athlete performing in a triathlon -- he or she must be good at all three in order to be successful. The “P” stands for prioritizing and refers to the need for leaders and their teams to be equally plugged into the top goals and objectives of the organization. According to Dr. Smart, only 24 percent of leaders in the sample were good at prioritizing, while 90 percent said they had too many priorities. Working collaboratively to establish goals and a step-by-step process to achieve them is crucial to the success of any team. The next letter in the equation, “W”, stands for Who. This value represents the team members themselves and evaluates whether they are all-stars or average from the beginning of the hiring process. To dig a bit deeper, Dr. Smart suggests asking the following questions prior to hiring a new team member: What does performance mean? What will it take for this person to be an all-star in this role? How was this candidate sourced? Was it a referral from an internal party? Am I asking the right interview questions and avoiding any hypothetical statements or situations in the interview? Am I selling this person on how great of a fit it is, how much time they’ll have with family, how much freedom they’ll have, the amount of money they’ll make and how fun it is to work here? Because the majority of managers worldwide only have around a 50% retention rate for the staff they hire, these questions are pertinent in order to ensure the new hire will bring value to their new team. Finally, “R” stands for relationships. “Simply stated,” Dr. Smart explains, the right people need to be talking at the right time. Check out the latest podcast and Dr. Smart’s new book to learn more about the formula for success!
Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSmart, talks about the disconnect between the stereotype of the CEO and what research shows actually leads to high performance at that level. She says the image of the charismatic, tall male with a top university degree who’s a strategic visionary and makes great decisions under pressure is a pervasive one. However, research shows that four behaviors more consistently lead to high performance in the corner office: 1) deciding with speed and conviction 2) engaging for impact 3) adapting proactively 4) delivering reliably. Botelho is the co-author of the article “What Sets Successful CEOs Apart” in the May-June 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review.
On this episode of Career Talk, Dr. Dawn is joined by Randy Street, President of ghSMART and co-author of the NYT Best Seller "Who" to share his best tips for preparing for the interview. Everyone shares the craziest questions they've been asked in the interview, and Michelle nails the pre-break quiz answer while callers ask about the best way to present your skills when switching careers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Geoff Smart is the #1 thought leader on the #1 topic in business. He is Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, a leadership consulting firm that serves Fortune 500 CEOs and boards, billionaire entrepreneurs, and heads of state. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Who, Leadocracy, and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. Geoff and his colleagues donate hundreds of hours per year to advise leaders in Education, Public Health, and Government. He is the Founding Chairman of two 501c3 not-for-profit organizations: SMARTKids Leadership Program and The Leaders Initiative.
Geoff Smart, Ph.D. is co-author of the New York Times bestselling book, Who: The A Method for Hiring, which is ranked #1 on Amazon.com on the topic of hiring talented teams. He’s also Chairman & Founder of ghSMART, a leadership consulting firm with 12 offices in the U.S. and one in London whose mission is to read more
Toral Desai, Psy.D. is a Principal at ghSMART, where she serves private equity and Fortune 500 clients in the areas of management assessment, talent planning and organizational change initiatives. She focuses on identifying an organization’s strategic objectives to attract, develop, and retain top talent. Prior to joining ghSMART, Toral was at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, where read more
Leadership advisor Randy Street shares fascinating insights gleaned from his advisory firm’s in-depth analyses on thousands of senior leaders--the biggest database on leaders in the world. He then shares strategies and tactics for putting those insights to work. You’ll learn: The 5 essential interview questions to boost your hiring success rate from 50% to 90% The 3 key areas that full-powered leaders master (Priorities, Who, Relationships) How to say “no” perfectly About Randy Randy Street is the Managing Partner of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm whose mission is to help great leaders amplify their positive impact on the world. In collaboration with founder Geoff Smart, Randy co-authored the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, Who: The A Method for Hiring and Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success. Who remains the #1 book on hiring on Amazon. View transcript, show notes, links, and more at http://AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep30. Copyright © Optimality
Leadership advisor Randy Street shares fascinating insights gleaned from his advisory firm’s in-depth analyses on thousands of senior leaders--the biggest database on leaders in the world. He then shares strategies and tactics for putting those insights to work. You’ll learn: The 5 essential interview questions to boost your hiring success rate from 50% to 90% The 3 key areas that full-powered leaders master (Priorities, Who, Relationships) How to say “no” perfectly About Randy Randy Street is the Managing Partner of ghSMART, a leadership advisory firm whose mission is to help great lead
After analyzing data from some 15 000 interviews executives from management consulting firm ghSMART found that three fundamental factors drive leadership success. They describe their findings in a new book Power Score. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Linda Noble Topf have been in a wheelchair since 1997. She wrote You Are Not Your Illness: Seven Principles for Meeting the Challenge. She have been writing a monthly column for Huffington Post since November, 2012 under the moniker, ‘Healthy Living'. Her second book, Wheelchair Wisdom: Awaken Your Spirit through Adversity became a natural outflow of her first book Robert Scoble Futurist for Rackspace, the leading Managed Cloud Computing Company, Scoble travels the world looking for what's happening on the bleeding edge of technology for Rackspace. He's interviewed thousands of executives and technology innovators and reports what he learns in books The Age of Context Shaun Tomson a true entrepreneur having founded, managed and sold two multi million clothing brands – Instinct in the 80's and Solitude in the 90's. He is a former World Surfing Champion, has been described as one of the greatest surfers of all time and one of the most influential surfers of the century. He is the author of Surfer's Code and the recent #1 Amazon best seller The Code -The Power of "I Will”. He also produced and co-wrote the award winning documentary film Bustin' down the Door, a dramatic story of how a group of young Australians and South Africans created pro surfing, and built a multi-billion dollar industry Alan Foster principal at ghSMART, the country's top leadership advisory firm. Foster is a co-author of Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success which outlines a breakthrough formula for how the best leaders and teams deliver results. A battle-tested idea based on ghSMART's extensive research of leaders in every major industry, Power Score gives readers an insight into what it takes to get your team running at full power
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