The best piece of wisdom I have come across so far on how to best hire (and I train managers on this so I am always looking) is start with the question: What does a successful person need to DO in this role? What are the 3-5 key deliverables/outcomes/results they will be judged on?

And then for those 3-5 objectives – ask yourself for each : What do they need to DO to get those big objectives done. And then what skills (not specific experience) would they need to get all that done?

Then narrow those skills down to the dealbreaker “must haves” and interview for those. The “nice to haves” can be coached or trained on the job.

In my experience, this makes the talent quest specific and sets the hiring manager up for success.

Talent is great but hiring 25 talented people is not as good as hiring 25 talented people who fit your culture.

Disneyland and Disney World have this down if your looking for a good example. Their drive to find talented people to work in the theme parks who also have the Disney spirit is effective and clearly can be seen by anyone who visits the park.

As I always say a Disneyland employee on a bad day is nicer then many employees on their best days.

Talent is potential but does not make the person the right hire. One must look at many factors and a clear direction from leadership and management to the hiring managers as to what the culture of the company is to be will allow them to hire the right talented people.

I think Seth was getting more to the point that you need support in order to facilitate “awesome” from your highly talented staff.