🥗 Rethinking Hiring: Skills > Attitude

Hey there,

Welcome back for another bite to chew on.

In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about one of the most important concepts in business-building.

… and that is: Hiring

Hiring great people, building a great culture, and having a great leadership team is ultimately what creates companies.

You can try to do everything for yourself - and though you may get quite far, you will never unlock true scale without a strong team behind you.

Thus, why it’s one of the most important concepts in business-building.

Across Obvi and Chew On This, we’ve hired 9 people in the past 6 months

And although we're not the biggest experts, we've learned a lot about hiring and recruiting in general.

We're excited to share what we've learned with you in this newsletter.

Let's get into it!

Our Fresh Take On Leading Teams and Picking The Right People

Our approach focuses on empowering employees, smart performance tracking, and evolving hiring strategies. 

We encourage a culture where each team member is their own CEO. 

We use clear KPIs to track success. 

We balance the importance of skills and adaptability in our hiring process. 

This method is designed to foster a dynamic, capable, and motivated team.

Here’s how we think about it in 5 ways:

1. We follow a Mini-CEO Approach. 

We treat each employee as the CEO of their department. 

We try not to micromanage, giving them more responsibility to accomplish tasks on their own, instead. 

People excel when given freedom and trust. 

We make sure everyone in the company has the resources and tools they need to succeed

2. We use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): 

Every role is KPI driven.

For instance, our CX Manager has to resolve tickets within 24 hours. 

These KPIs serve as clear benchmarks. 

They gauge whether tasks are being completed. 

We set these expectations from the start, as each hire’s ‘North Star'.

If KPIs are missed, we can have conversations on potential problems and provide solutions.

3. Incentive Structures: 

We want to make sure that the right incentives are in place to foster great performance. 

To make employees feel more powerful, they need to be involved and care about the work they do.

For example, offering a share in the company's success ensures that they’re genuinely invested in their work. 

And at the same time, you can expand the total pie by giving our pieces of the pie to your key people.

Increased motivation, better results, and more growth. Win-Win-Win

4. Past Performance vs. Future Potential: 

We think that looking at how well someone did in the past isn't the best way to know if they will do well in the future. 

Instead, we believe it's more meaningful to be flexible, want to succeed, and think for yourself.

Especially in a fast-paced industry, the ability to learn and unlearn quickly is vital. 

We’re gonna go over this here in a second.

5. Adapting Our Hiring Philosophy: 

Our approach to hiring has recently changed. 

At first, we thought having a positive attitude was more crucial than having certain skills. 

But we need people who already have the right skills for the job. 

This change in thinking means that while a good attitude is still relevant, being able to do tasks right away is significant for the team to succeed.

Mastering the Nine-Box Matrix in Team Management

Imagine a grid that helps us visualize where each team member stands in terms of their performance and potential. 

The Nine-Box Matrix isn't just a tool. 

It's also a conversation starter about career development, potential, and growth. 

It guides us in:

• Identifying High Performers: Recognizing those who excel and can lead.

• Supporting Growth: Assisting those with potential to improve their performance.

• Making Hard Choices: Sometimes, we need to make tough decisions about team fit.

• Bad Hires: Low performance, low potential. 

  • These are employees who aren't meeting expectations and don't show signs of improvement.

• Up or Out Dilemmas: Low performance, but medium potential. 

  • They need guidance to see if they can improve and reach their potential.

• Dysfunctional Geniuses: Low performance, high potential. 

  • These people can do really well, but right now, they are not doing a good job.

• Up or Out Grinders: Medium performance, low potential. 

  • These workers are dependable, but they might not be ready for more essential jobs.

• Core Players: Medium performance and potential. 

  • They are solid, dependable team members.

• Workhorses: High performance, low potential. 

  • Excellent at their current roles but may not be suitable for leadership positions.

• High Performers: High potential but only medium performance. 

  • They have the ability to grow into significant roles with the right development.

• Stars: High performance, high potential. 

  • These are your future leaders and key players in the organization.

Our 100-Day Gameplan

When we bring in new people, we don't just give them a list of things to do. 

We're excited not just about the skills they bring but also about integrating them into our team's culture and mission.

To achieve this, we use a plan that unfolds over the first 100 days.

We make sure each new hire is not given the necessary tools but also feels valued and part of our collective journey.

Here's a deeper look into our approach:

1. Embracing the Mission:

It's crucial for new team members to understand the 'why' behind their work.

From the beginning, we immerse them in our mission, helping them see the impact of their contributions on the larger goals.

This isn't just about knowing what we do but why we do it, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging.

2. Setting Clear Objectives:

We establish specific, measurable goals for both the short term and long term.

This clarity allows newcomers to focus their efforts and understand what success looks like in their role.

By setting these benchmarks, we provide a roadmap that guides their progress and achievements.

3. Cultural Integration:

Joining our team means more than just taking on a job; it's about becoming part of a community.

We emphasize the importance of aligning with our core values and practices, ensuring new hires not only adapt to our way of working but also contribute to our unique atmosphere.

We strive for a seamless transition, where new members feel welcomed, valued, and understood.

To support this journey, here’s the exact resource we use to streamline the process: The New Hire 100-Day Gameplan.

This detailed guide by Codie Sanchez is designed to make the onboarding experience as productive and positive as possible

Our approach ensures that by the end of the first 100 days, new team members are not only well-prepared to excel in their roles but also fully embrace the exciting journey ahead with our team.

And hey, if you want to keep up with all the cool stuff the new teams are doing at Chew On This, check out our:

Chew On This Podcast,

Dinner Events Schedule, 

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You won't want to miss out on the fun and exciting things we've got going on.

Stay in the loop!

Tool of the Week

Most brand founders are speeding ahead at over 280 mph.

They don’t know where they’re going, and they aren’t sure what to do.

They don’t know what’s going on in their business or, and they’re going into the future using data they don’t know how to use.

Here’s a mini-masterclass to an easy, straight-forward path on where to go:

We start with financial intelligence.

Charlie Munger's said "Accounting is the language of business.”

You have to understand key metrics such as Free Cash Flow, Contribution Margin, Operating Expenses, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Average Order Value.

If you can’t explain these to a child, it's time for a deeper dive.

Next, you have to make sure Accurate & Live Data is crucial.

Using outdated or bad information is like throwing it straight in the trash.

You can see your business's real-time performance in Quickbooks, advertising platforms, Amazon, and Shopify, etc. Find it. Use it.

100% accuracy is impossible, but you can get close.

We use our VP of Finance, Ravi Melwani, a financial analyst, and Brightflow AI.

Brightflow’s tools use AI to predict sales, based on data across all platforms, so it’s easier to see into the future.

Brightflow has proven instrumental not just in forecasting but also in optimizing our finance team's efficiency. It automates tasks that we used to have to do ourselves.

Use this strategy in your business to make you're not just speeding ahead, but doing so with a clear vision of how you’re going to get there.

Thanks for Reading Along

As we expand at Chew On This, keeping our team tight-knit and effective is key. 

We do regular check-ins to help our team grow and develop, using tools like the Nine-Box Matrix. 

It's also about lifting up our top performers to lead. 

We also want to ensure that everyone, whether they just joined or have been with us a while, truly lives our values.

Our team's our biggest strength. 

Even as we grow, we're all about building a team that's not just great at what they do, but also deeply understands what we're about. 

We hope our journey gives you some ideas for your own team. 

Let us know what you think, and here's to growing and learning together!

All the best,

Ron & Ash