good help is hard to find…

That old saying is usually preceded with a story about how unreliable a person or company is and perhaps an anecdote about the work ethic in the “old” days. The truth is that finding reliable people has always been the holy grail of any business. I will argue, that it is the most important part of any business.

The 80/20 rule says that 20% of your [employees, clients, projects] account for 80% of your [problems, time, income] and that you should recognize this and act accordingly. Some of the usual suspects for action is to fire the sluggish employees, drop specific clients, and stop production on projects that do not fit in your long term plan in order to keep focus on what is important.

Yet, another way is to weed out problems, find better people and choose better projects before the 80/20 rule has a chance to wield its magic. This is obviously no simple task and is what has made the difference in so many companies from the self employed to the Fortune 500.

What all of these factors have in common is people. Finding the right people makes a world of difference and sets the tone for the life of your business. People choose, work and collaborate on projects. Your clients are people. Your employees are people. Your competitors are people. So, how do you find the right people?

networking

The most common thing you hear is that networking is the most effective way to find people. People you know are the easiest hires, clients and collaborators because there is a built in trust. Common ground has already been reached and in a sea of potentials, the devil you know is the easiest choice. This has worked out to the benefit of some and caused problems for most everyone else.

What I’m not saying is that networking is flawed. Instead, what I’m saying is that it often allows people to pass through the firewall without a proper vetting. I have been on both sides of this coin. However, after being burned by the unreliability of those in my network, I have learned a few things about people.

3 points of people

I have an impromptu list of 3 points of people. These are the points that I found make for finding reliable people easier. While I’m sure this list can be expanded upon or reduced to fit your personal needs, these are important to me.

• Free Time

• Portfolio / History

• Distractions

free time

What does this person do in their free time?

This is important for your collaborators. Everyone and their mother will have an idea, passion or aspiration that they talk about to anyone that will listen. You may be good friends with them or they may even be family. So, how do you know if they will make a good partner? This fits in this section for a reason. Their free time tells you what they really want to do with their lives.

In my world, I run into a lot of wannabe writers and filmmakers. I talk to people that declare their love for writing, but in their free time, they play video games and watch television. There should be a red flag raising for you at this point. This points to other truthisms of old: “actions speak louder than words”, “put up or shut-up” and “old habits die hard.”

lesson point: examine what people do, not just what they say.

portfolio / history

If you followed the first point about free time, you should be able to see the results of this free time in the form of a portfolio or history of work. I’ll be honest, if they have this much and it looks good, you are doing alright. You have just cleared out 99% of the noise.

A history of work shows reliability in one of it’s forms. The dedication to a goal and the skills to achieve it. The only question left is whether they will put their dedication and skills to work for you!

lesson point: does this person complete their goals?

distractions

Distractions are the final point because they tend to be the last clue you find before the realization sets in that a mistake has been made. Even if the first two points work out in your favor, this last one can prove to be the bane of your business.

Very talented, driven people can find themselves pulled in several directions. This is to be expected to a certain degree as you have already proven the first two points. People that are good at something tend to attract opportunities.

While distractions can lead to new opportunities for them, they can also lead to problems for you. The ideal scenario is a total lack of distractions. This is ideal, but not fo-real. So, you have to make this a criteria when choosing people. How much distraction can this person handle and still be reliable?

lesson point: distractions lead to choices of value. be the better value!

thats all

So, why should a reliable individual with passion and experience work with/for you?

You better be able to answer that with a cool project and ace all three of these points for yourself. Don’t expect others to invest their passion and energy into your projects if you are not utilizing your free time, showing a history of progress and generally free from distractions. It seems obvious to most, but in practice it is asking from others no more than you can do yourself.

lesson point: be the model of reliability.

Thanks for reading,

Scott