Hire for attitude. Train for skill... More
Find the right people, not the best people.
In reviewing my uneven record, I’ve concluded that acquisitions are similar to marriage: They start, of course, with a joyful wedding — but then reality tends to diverge from pre-nuptial expectations. Sometimes, wonderfully, the new union delivers bliss beyond either party’s hopes. In other cases, disillusionment is swift. Applying those images to corporate acquisitions, I’d have to say it is usually the buyer who encounters unpleasant surprises. It’s easy to get dreamy-eyed during corporate courtships.
There's no such thing as a good or bad culture, it's either a strong or weak culture. And a good culture for somebody else may not be a good culture for you.
I think we are reluctant to move people out of an organization when there is not a good fit. It is typically not because someone is stupid or lazy or incompetent; it is a lot more subtle than that.
Scottish football doesn't suit me perfectly, how I want to play football.
If you're building a startup or any sort of organization, take a few moments to reflect on the qualities that the people you most enjoy working with embody and the user experience of new people joining your organization, from the offer letter to their first day.
Somebody asked me 'what's the job of a CEO', and there's a number of things a CEO does. What you mostly do is articulate the vision, develop the strategy, and you gotta hire people to fit the culture. If you do those three things, you basically have a company. And that company will hopefully be successful, if you have the right vision, the right strategy, and good people.
I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not convincing as an American.
You never know for sure whether a player will adapt to a new country until he gets there.
Only hire people you want to have dinner with.
I see many founders waste too much time trying to work their networks and/or ultimately settle for mediocre but available candidates. You will definitely have to interview hard for cultural fit, but the best talent isn't cheap.
Hire a staff that's more like you than you are.
I was very pleased you know, and I was afraid that I might stick out, but I didn't. My happiest thing about that picture is that I proved that American actors can speak as well and also fit in with an ensemble like that.
I feel like I'm cultured enough to fit into any environment.
Your best work involves timing. If someone wrote the best hip hop song of all time in the Middle Ages, he had bad timing.
I think every acquisition is unique and different. The best strategy is to listen to the founders and follow their lead.
Honestly, after five, six months, I thought it was unlikely I'd be here long: my characteristics seemed to go against everything Barcelona stood for.
I can travel anywhere in the world and I can pretty much fit in.
I'm definitely a fan of giving a German-speaking team a German-speaking coach.
If the culture doesn't work, don't buy it.
Pay attention to your culture and your hires from the very beginning.
A lot of times, you land in a city, and you're like, 'This is not my people.' I'm gonna do the show, but you don't feel like this is for you. And then, some places, you just go and just fall into a groove, and you're like, 'This feels right.'
There never has been a culture since this world began in which a New Testament Christian could feel at home.
If someone can't behave with their colleagues and can't be part of the culture, it doesn't matter how good they are at what they do; they have to be asked to leave.
