We all know somebody who's a snob. And are they ever annoying! Whether it's the "wine snob" whose (perceived?) knowledge about wine makes any dining experience with them a chore, or the "organic food" snob whose desire for all things "natural" makes you loathe to invite them over for dinner, snobs are just horrible, aren't they?
I have a confession, though, I'm a snob. I'm a coffee snob. And I'm horrible about it, too. Honestly, I want coffee, I don't want that brown-colored hot water that is masquerading as coffee in your mug. I want strong, black coffee that tastes like coffee. And I'd prefer to have water, tea or possibly arsenic to the communal coffee pot that spews out weak, flavor-hampered mud-water.
So, yeah, I'm a snob. And like all other snobs, I see it as a type of calling to bring you over to my side -- in the case of coffee, literally, the dark side. Other snobs want you to see their metaphorical light, and appreciate why they're right, and why it makes sense to be a snob. To be a snob means to never settle for anything but the best.
Today I'm here to tell you, the snobs are right. You should be a snob. But not about wine, or organic food, or even coffee. You should be a snob about the employees you hire. The employees you hire are the lifeblood of your company. This applies equally to big companies with massive HR departments and structured recruitment & selection activities as it does to small, young firms whose hiring strategies may be more informal.
Just like I wouldn't "lower myself" to accept just any cup of coffee presented to me, neither should you hire a candidate simply because they're looking for work, and you're hiring (which is something I've actually heard a candidate say in an interview). Be patient and deliberate in your hiring process, and the return on investment can be significant. Many big firms recognize this - they invest the time and resources that many young and/or small firms may find tough to prioritize on hiring. But no matter the size of your company, don't despair -- prioritize - be a snob!
Getting key employees can be the difference maker for your organization. Whether you buy into the notion of sustainable competitive advantage (as espoused by Harvard Professor Michael Porter and others since the 80s), or "The Death of Competitive Advantage" due to the transience of competitive advantage (as suggested in the book by that name by Columbia Professor Rita Gunther McGrath), employees are still a potential source of differentiation for your company - big or small.
McGrath argues that companies need to recognize and capture opportunities quickly and exploit them decisively and move on before they're fully exhausted. Professor Jay Barney (currently of the University of Utah) has long been a proponent of the resource based view as the basis for sustainable competitive advantage with resources which are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable (the VRIN framework). I propose that one way to meet both McGrath and Barney's direction for organizational success is to do so with a flexible and talented workforce.
Clearly, talented, flexible employees who can meet the demands of high environmental dynamism and complexity are valuable and rare. But they're also very hard to imitate and substitute -- trade secrets and technology can be reverse-engineered, and patents expire, but human resources can be the VRIN resource basis for sustainable competitive employees who have the ability and drive to meet the challenges of a dynamic environment are those who provide you with a sustainable competitive advantage in a transient competitive world.
And how do you get these flexible, talented, highly sought after employees? Well, start by not taking the first cup of coffee offered in the morning. Hold out for the freshly ground beans, brewed in a mesmerizing fashion with the pour-over. In other words, be a snob, a hiring snob. Get the best. Get the advantage. Never settle.
This has been my first blog entry in what is planned to be a weekly business blogging habit. Please feel free to share, comment and/or suggest topics.
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