You're Not The Person I Hired!: A CEO's Survival Guide To Hiring Top Talent [Paperback]

Janet Boydell (Author), Barry Deutsch (Contributor), Brad Remillard (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2005

Janet Boydell, Barry Deutsch, and Brad Remillard wrote this book with one goal in mind: To help companies avoid hiring mistakes. Up to 56% of new executives fail within the first two years of hire. You're Not The Person I Hired! reveals common causes of executive and managerial failure, and shows how you can beat those odds. The Success Factor Methodology TM encompasses a proprietary set of tools that let hiring teams define success up front. These tools let hiring teams take control of the process and find the candidates who can actually deliver success. Based on twenty-five years of research and professional success in executive recruiting, You're Not The Person I Hired! can revolutionize your hiring.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The authors have assisted and coached thousands of CEO's, key executives, managers and other executive recruiters to increase hiring accuracy and build high performing teams. Janet Boydell's generalist expertise spans more than fourteen years of executive search and training. She is the President of A Hire Connection, Inc., a recruiting and training company dedicated to helping companies and candidates make a connection that transcends typical hiring. She frequently speaks for local organizations and conducts workshops for Vistage International. Janet also authored A Hire Connection: How To Make Your Next Hire Your Best Hire (Oct.2007) Barry Deutsch is a well-known thought leader in Hiring and Peak Performance Management. He is a frequent speaker at such management meetings, trade associations, and CEO forums as The Executive Committee (TEC) and Young President's Organization (YPO). An executive recruiter for more than twenty years, Brad Remillard has conducted over 4, 000 interviews and has been directly involved in over 1, 000 executive searches. A CPA and graduate of California State University, Fullerton, Brad previously served as President of CJA Executive Search, which was recognized as one of the top retained search firms in Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420881701
• ISBN-13: 978-1420881707
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What every Executive should know!, March 12, 2008

By 

R. Finchum (Laguna Hills, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You're Not The Person I Hired!: A CEO's Survival Guide To Hiring Top Talent (Hardcover)

An excellent compilation of clear concepts that every executive should know and practice. This book clearly shows how hiring should be done. Any senior management person with experience will recognize the importance of getting the right people for the job and this book provides the roadmap. It is not a panacea, the answer requires a fair amount of effort and preparation. But there is tremendous value here.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop Asking Useless Interview Questions!, November 5, 2009

By 

John W. Pearson "John Pearson Associates" (San Clemente, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You're Not The Person I Hired!: A CEO's Survival Guide To Hiring Top Talent (Paperback)

This book's title is "You're Not the Person I Hired!" Let me add this thought: "This Isn't the Book I Thought I Was Getting." It's better! I've immediately added it to my Top-10 List for 2009.

The authors warn, "When you are tempted to rush a hire, think in terms of Return on Investment over the course of years, not months." They quote Michael J. Lotito, "If you spend a lot of time figuring out who you're going to hire, you'll have to spend far less time figuring out who to fire."

I've noticed two startling trends in leadership and management these last four years in my consulting and management workshops. 1) Poll after poll, I ask leaders and managers if they've ever read a book, listened to a CD or attended a workshop on "Effective Delegation." At best, less than five percent of the room stands up. 2) Ditto for "Effective Hiring Practices." People must think they're good at it--and don't need any professional development. Not!

This book delivers. How many "Useless Interview Questions" have you asked recently?
* Tell me about yourself.
* What are your strengths?
* What are your weaknesses?
* Why do you want to work here?
* If you were an animal/tree/plant, what would you be?
* How do you feel about long working hours?

OK. So those don't work. What should you ask, according to the co-authors? They list five key questions, including: "Would you please give me an example of a situation in which you have demonstrated initiative?" In your search for what they call the "Top 5% Talent," you'll find that top performers are self-motivated.

The authors warn that you must unlearn some bad habits--but effective interviewing and hiring skills can be learned. Rule #1 is "Describe the opportunity they want, not your needs." (Their Success Factor Snapshot(tm) methodology "clearly defines what the new executive must achieve during the first 12 to 18 months, and dramatically increases hiring accuracy.")

The tools and insights leap from dozens and dozens of pages, like:
* The Cost of One Bad Hire Worksheet
* The Top Ten Hiring Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (desperation hiring, fishing in shallow waters, and inappropriate "prerequisites" used too early in the selection process)
* How to avoid Jane Clone hiring, and worse--getting stuck in the Anti-Clone Zone
* Why the "first step to staffing up with Top 5% Talent is to remove deadwood."
* How to spot a bad hire within the first three to six months
* How to tell the difference between non-candidates, sleeper candidates, selective candidates and aggressive candidates (80 percent of your applicants)
* How to market your position--and how to avoid the top five worst sourcing strategies

The Number One hiring mistake: "Inadequate job descriptions drove the hiring process; these focused solely on experience and skills, not company expectations. A staggering 93 percent of searches that resulted in new executive failure made this mistake at the outset."

The solution: eliminate tired-out, traditional job descriptions and instead, create measurable expectations around four S.O.A.R. areas: Substantial Departmental Goal, Obstacles, Action, Results. (Three cheers for authors who focus on the Results Bucket, one of 20 in my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit.)

Chapter 8 delivers remarkable insights in the Culture Bucket. The book lists a three-page self-test with 14 cultural dimensions (with three options for each). The authors warn that cultural mismatches will torpedo unprepared candidates. Example: Which of the following three statements defines your organization's views on "Work/Life Balance?"
* If you have a life elsewhere, that's your problem. We certainly didn't issue you one.
* We want you to take care of yourself so others don't have to do your job when you're sick.
* Happy, healthy workers make better, stronger companies. Onsite yoga, anyone?

This is a no-brainer resource for anyone who interviews or hires people. (Let me think about this...buy one more book that might help me...or keep hiring people I ultimately will need to fire because they're a mismatch?)

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is For You: Whoever You Are - It Doesn't Matter, December 18, 2011

By 

Heath D. Alberts (South Beloit, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: You're Not The Person I Hired!: A CEO's Survival Guide To Hiring Top Talent (Hardcover)

This book is amazing. From the perspective of an employee, from the perspective of a business owner, and from the perspective of a manager: I don't care what the title says, you ALL need to read this book. Twice if need be. Don't believe me? It's your loss, but don't say that I didn't warn you. - Heath D. Alberts, C.E.O. - Digital Ninjas Media, Inc.