People Tag Archive

Talents alone is risky, instil systems and controls too

(Extracted from Scale by Jeff Hoffman and David Finkel) When you scale based solely on hiring “key” people, you just create a new problem for yourself. You move the critical dependency from your shoulders to those...

January 5, 2020| People Read More

Make do with the people you have initially but clear out mediocre employees as you grow

(Excerpt from Whatever It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman) Even when you are small, though, and your resources most constrained, finding the right people is the most important thing you can do. You typically won’t have...

December 13, 2019| People Read More

Don’t set regular bonuses, reward whenever it is deserved

(Extracted from Double Your Profits: In Six Months Or Less by Bob Fifer) Once any bonus, any reward becomes automatic, it ceases to serve any motivational purpose and becomes a tool of bad, not good, management. I...

November 22, 2019| People Read More

Pay generously to employees with direct impact to your profits

(Extracted from Double Your Profits: In Six Months Or Less by Bob Fifer) Setting salaries in superbly-run businesses requires three rules: For groups or levels of employees who have a direct impact on your...

November 22, 2019| People Read More

Keep staffing lean and important work gets done

(Extracted from Double Your Profits: In Six Months Or Less by Bob Fifer) When part of my (or a client’s) organization asks for another person, I say no. When they ask again, I say no. When they ask a third time, I...

November 22, 2019| People Read More

What Blackstone Stephen Schwarzman looks for in interviewees

(Extracted from Whatever It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman) Here are my rules for how to have a successful interview: 1. Be on time. Punctuality is the first indicator of how much thought and preparation you have put...

November 10, 2019| People Read More

The airport test

(Extracted from Whatever It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman) When I interview people for Blackstone, I’m looking to understand whether an individual will fit our culture. At a minimum, this includes the airport test:...

November 10, 2019| People Read More

Co-founders’ relationship can change

(Extracted from Venture Deals) The relationship between the founders at the beginning of the life of a company is almost always good. If it’s not, the term sheet and corresponding financing are probably the least...

October 10, 2019| People Read More

Having management depth at every position

(Extracted from Bloomberg on Bloomberg) Whether by building or buying, there are dangers in growth you ignore at great peril. We insist on management depth at every position. Lack of it would leave us vulnerable...

October 6, 2019| People Read More

Minimise class divide

(Extracted from Bloomberg on Bloomberg) We have no reserved parking spaces for senior executives. If you want to leave your car right by the door, just come in earlier. Creating class distinctions isn’t...

October 4, 2019| People Read More

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