People People are the most important assets in the company. It’s cliche but doesn’t make it untrue. As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” A business needs the best people to outcompete and grow.

Employees need constant feedback

(Extracted from No B. S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy) Managers bemoan employees’ failures to perform as expected, often saying, “But I told him once.” Most managers’ ideas about training omit a feedback loop...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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:...

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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...

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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...

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