Ten years ago, Jim Collins wrote about getting the right people on the bus.

 

And, business people and business teachers have been talking about getting the right people on the bus ever since.

 

Many of the business people who talk about getting the right people on the bus struggle to get that done.

 

Specifically, many business people struggle with:

• Repositioning and removing the wrong [existing] people from their business bus
• Attracting and hiring the right [new] people for their business bus

We see evidence of this pretty much daily.

 

It bothers us. It bothers us because we know many people suffer when people don’t fit on the business bus.

 

It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong.

 

For some people, the use of the words ‘getting the right people on the bus’ compounds their problems.

 

 

Who is right and who is wrong is subjective…just ask anyone or everyone! The more people you ask the more subjectivity you will discover.

 

Rather than dwelling on who is right and who is wrong, business leaders should dwell on 2 things:

1. Character Differences…particularly, the interplay between individual’s egos
2. Individual’s Talents…particularly, the extent individual’s talents deliver value to the business

For each of these major areas, we will provide a few thoughts… the tips of icebergs. And, please, think of these 2 major areas as icebergs. If you spend some time then you can understand what exists at the surface. However, it will be much more difficult to understand what lies below the surface. Most people have not taken the time to understand their own character. Many people are uncomfortable with the topic…so it must be addressed with at least a bit of empathy. Similarly, most people have not taken the time to understand their business strengths. Many people will be able to describe success stories; however, they will have much more difficulty accurately describing the roots of their successes.

 

 

At the time of hiring or working at stuff that may result in de-hiring, consider several questions. As examples:

• Will these egos be under control?
• What are the major differences in character?
• What personal ‘rules’ caused these differences in character?
• When push comes to shove and those personal ‘rules’ are tested…what conflicts and dis-ease do you anticipate?
• Will those anticipated conflicts and dis-eases be tolerable?

 

At the time of hiring or working at stuff that may result in de-hiring, consider several questions. As examples:

• How do you define strength of character?
• What tasks/actions are critical at your business and what talents/strengths must an individual have to repeatedly do those tasks/actions in at least a very good way…hopefully, in a near-perfect way?

And –

 

How do you set the balance between Character and Strengths?

 

Will task & action Strengths outmuscle weak Character?