Panel: "Hiring, Firing, and Board Meltdowns"

Panel:
Henry Cloud
David Ireland
Patrick Lencioni
Carly Fiorina
Bill Hybels

Hiring:

• Do people have "cultural" connection- will they fit in your organization and/or lead within-DI
• "If you haven't had a date in 10 years, everyone looks good"- HC
• People see what they want to see, and many times first impressions are simply wrong- CF
• What are the 2 or 3 behavior things that are critical, if they don't have them, we don't want them- PL
• Interviews can be set-up and practiced.... spend time with them in situations outside of work if possible
• What would other people say about you? PL
• Ask the same question 3 times throughout the interview... open ended, be patient... PL
• Ask conversational questions, not yes/no- DI
• The less you talk, better. Ask them more questions about their answers... - HC
• Clear, strong cultures needed- the people that fit there tend to be drawn to them, people that don't they are repulsed.... look around here, if you're not like this, you're going to hate it... People can self-select themselves in... PL
• Clear job description, competencies, personality, needs... -DI
• Why are we hiring, what we're expecting, what is the result we're looking to achieve communicated upfront. - CF
• Create a process for HR, put the right people with those skills in those roles, and let the process work- HC Do you have a process for hiring with the right people involved?

Boards:

• Board needs to have it's own set of values, tone, behavior on how they'll work together- HC
• Make sure the board agreed to have outsiders to the meeting- DI
• Trust needs to be built within the core team, get to know them, so people can be vulnerable with each other- PL
• Take 10 minutes at the end of each meeting and ask, "how did we do?"- HC
• What does it take for a team to be functional? How do we handle tough conversations? Who is the final decision-maker? - CF
• You got to have the right people on the board- can they help move the ship forward? If not, why are they on the board? - DI
• Term limits recommended- 2-6 years possibly... DI
• Board member "exhaustion", 4 year terms at Willow, step out for a year- BH
• Size of board, 6-14, need to be able to have an immune system with a strong team- DI/HC

Firing:

• When someone is let go, they should not be surprised- CF
• It is not compassionate to be honest with people, be candid with care so they have real feeedback of what's working and not working -CF
• When you approach people with candor, they're either improve or begin to realize it's not a fit- PL
• 3 steps/questions... Have I trained them properly? Could they be repositioned? Then, "retire" them...- DI
• Create a 30-90 day plan of probation, plan, feedback for HR process- DI
• "This isn't working, what can we do to make it work?"- PL
• Willow ranks A, B, C- 2 times a year, feedback on how to get to the next level... - BH
• "The kindness form of management is the truth"- Jack Welch
• "Are you prepared to de-motivate your strong performers by leaving non-performers around?" - PL
• When firing, if I had to be the one let go, how would I want to be treated? Try to put yourself in their shoes- HC
• The more clarity you can give people as they're let go in the process helps people when they're being thrusted into "unclear" waters...- CF
• Work to "honor" people in the process- BH