Discussing “Chapter 6 of How To Hire A-Players” by Eric Herrenkohl

Written by Lance Hillis

Finding New Pools of Talent

In Chapter 6 of How To Hire A-Players, Eric Herrenkohl discusses the talent pools entrepreneurs typically draw from, that parallel their demands for a position. The first group he discusses are folks who grew up on farms, junior military officers and college athletes. This is for a variety of different talents, but I’ve seen this firsthand, as a former member of the military. I’ve also noticed that my leadership within my current company is littered with college athletes. Herrenkohl states that there are skills you can teach (technical knowledge, product knowledge, and customer education) and skills you can’t (motivation, leadership, salesmanship, personality, drive, etc). This is frequently why executives within companies draw from specific pools of individuals when looking for qualified or high-potential individuals.

Herrenkohl gets a little bit bigger picture here and says women in general offer higher probability or circumstances when looking for an A-Player. Women represent half of the population and a higher likelihood for fit and desire to join a new company. This is usually due to circumstances in life that either pull them towards family or have them relocate. Earlier in the book, Herrenkohl refers to single mothers who are waitresses as being a pool of individuals who transition well into entry level sales positions. Doorway Rug focuses on the specific demographic of single mother waitresses, as they can provide them better benefits, hire pay, and increased schedule flexibility, which is desirable to mothers. On the other hand, their experience as waitresses prepares them in quick problem solving, excellent customer service, and upselling, making them natural fits for the sales industry. Another demographic to focus on are the wives’ of executive level workers. These women typically have strong resumes in turn, but desire flexibility and fair pay, while managing stressful moves. Sometimes when seeking to hire new employees that carry high potential, it’s about opportunity as well.

Another group that carries desirable and transmutable skills sets are teachers. Teachers typically are strong communicators, can build relationships, are underpaid, and have the opportunity to work during the summer. This gives businesses the opportunity to work with these teachers, test their work ethic during summers, and offer them a full-time position that usually pays more than their work as a teacher. Additionally, another group that is frequently poached from are restaurant staff. This is due to a combination of high-stress work environments, customer service-oriented roles, quick problem-solving skills, and your ability to visit on a frequent basis to get to know these employees. Once you’ve learned what you want about them as an individual, you can offer them the opportunity to join your company. Another group is students. This may seem obvious, but the strategy of “why students?” could use some additional explanation. Companies do things like on-campus recruiting, hiring for odd hours, and internships as farming systems. Providing opportunities to students allows a company to test a student’s work ethic for little to no financial commitment, train them, and if they are hired full-time, they now offer a network of other hardworking students for other positions within the company.

Lastly, Verne Harnish, a Chief Executive for Gazelles Inc. gets into the importance of what your role is in finding a talented individual. He says that it’s important to have a plan for them. He hired an individual as an intern with a high school education but was clearly talented at social media growth. Instead of letting him single-handedly control the social media presence, he maintained his expectations and guided him to ensure that his internship was successful. He also defined the goals, got him engaged and paid him fairly, demonstrating that A-Players may have great traits, but without investing your time with them as well, they are unable to reach their own full potential.