Book: Who

This briefing document summarizes the main themes, important ideas, and actionable advice presented in Geoff Smart and Randy Street's book, "Who: The A Method for Hiring." The book argues that "who" decisions (hiring the right people) are the most critical factor in business success and provides a practical, four-step "A Method" for identifying, hiring, and retaining top talent ("A Players"). The authors draw upon their extensive experience at ghSMART, a consulting firm specializing in helping companies make better hiring decisions, and include numerous real-world examples and insights from prominent business leaders.

Main Themes:

• The Primacy of "Who": The central thesis of the book is that hiring the right people is the number one problem and the greatest opportunity for any organization. Poor hiring decisions ("who failures") have far-reaching negative consequences, affecting productivity, team morale, personal stress, and ultimately, business results. As the authors state, "Ultimately, who failures infect every aspect of our professional and personal lives." They contend that most "what" problems in a business are actually rooted in "who" problems.
• Hiring Success is Preventable: The book strongly emphasizes that poor hiring outcomes are not inevitable. By adopting a structured and disciplined approach, managers can significantly improve their hiring success rate, which the authors note is dismally low at an estimated 50 percent according to management gurus like Peter Drucker. "What most managers do not know is that who problems are also preventable."
• The "A Method" Framework: The core of the book revolves around the "ghSMART A Method for Hiring," a four-step process represented by the lines of the letter "A" and its underline: Scorecard, Source, Select, and Sell. This method provides a blueprint for making consistently strong hiring decisions. "The A Method defines a simple process for identifying and hiring A Players with a high degree of success. It helps you get the who right."
• Defining "A Players": An "A Player" is defined not as a generalist or someone with an impressive resume alone, but as someone who can achieve the specific outcomes defined in the Scorecard, which represents the top 10 percent of talent available for a given role. "Remember, an A Player is not an all-around athlete. An A Player is someone who accomplishes the goals on the scorecard, which only the top 10 percent of the people in the relevant labor pool could accomplish."
• Beyond Resumes and Gut Feelings: The book critiques common but ineffective hiring practices like relying heavily on resumes, conducting unstructured "chatterbox" interviews, using psychological tests as primary decision factors, and asking hypothetical "fortune-teller" questions. "Look, I hired your resume. But unfortunately, what I got was you!” (quote from Jay Jordan, CEO of the Jordan Company, highlighting the inadequacy of resumes alone). The authors advocate for a more rigorous, data-driven approach.

Most Important Ideas and Facts:

• The Scorecard: This is a detailed document outlining the mission of the role, 3-8 specific and measurable outcomes that define success, and 5-10 competencies required to achieve those outcomes. It serves as the blueprint for the ideal candidate and the benchmark for evaluation. "The scorecard is a document that describes exactly what you want a person to accomplish in a role. It is not a job description, but rather a set of outcomes and competencies that define a job done well."
• Sourcing A Players: The book provides practical strategies for generating a strong candidate pool, emphasizing networking, asking for referrals ("Who are the most talented people you know that I should hire?" - Patrick Ryan's key question), leveraging employee referrals (with significantly higher success rates), "deputizing friends of the firm" for sourcing help, and effectively partnering with A Player recruiters and researchers. "It takes A Players to know A Players," (quote from Paul Tudor Jones emphasizing the value of employee referrals).
• Selecting A Players (The Four Interviews): The "Select" phase centers around a structured interview process designed to uncover a candidate's true track record and potential. The core is the Who Interview, a chronological walk-through of the candidate's career history (last 15 years), focusing on five key questions for each significant role:

1. What were you hired to do?
2. What accomplishments are you most proud of? (Use the Three P's - Performance compared to previous year, plan, and peers - to quantify impact).
3. What were some low points during that job?
4. Who were the people you worked with? (Utilize the TORC - Threat of Reference Check - by asking how previous bosses will rate their performance on a 1-10 scale). "Notice the language used in the question: 'How will they rate you when we talk to them?' Not 'if we talk to them.' When."
5. Why did you leave that job? (Distinguish between "push" and "pull" factors; avoid candidates with a history of being "pushed out"). "Do not hire anybody who has been pushed out of 20 percent or more of their jobs."

• Selling A Players (The Five F's): Once an A Player is identified, the "Sell" phase involves understanding and addressing their key motivators, categorized as the Five F's: Fit (alignment with vision, needs, and culture), Family (considering the impact on their personal life), Freedom (autonomy and decision-making power), Fortune (financial package and stability), and Fun (enjoyment and personal fulfillment in the role). Selling should occur throughout the entire hiring process, not just at the offer stage. "Show that you are as concerned with the fit for them as you are in the fit for you. Ninety-nine percent of your competitors are not doing that. It is a key differentiator." (Mark Stone, Gores Group).
• Importance of Reference Checks: Conducting thorough reference interviews with individuals you choose (not just those provided by the candidate) is crucial for validating information and uncovering potential red flags. Pay attention to coded language and hesitation from references. "Your best defense is to pay very close attention to what people say and how they say it. Knowingly or not, most people speak in a kind of common code when they want to indicate that a candidate is problematic."
• Red Flags and Behavioral Warning Signs: The book highlights several red flags during the hiring process (e.g., not mentioning past failures, exaggerating, speaking poorly of past bosses) and behavioral derailers (drawing on Marshall Goldsmith's work, such as "winning too much" and "adding too much value") that warrant deeper investigation.
• Skill-Will Matrix: The authors emphasize the importance of assessing both a candidate's skills (can they do the job?) and will (do they want to do the job?). The ideal hire is a "bull's-eye" candidate with high skill and high will.

Conclusion:

"Who: The A Method for Hiring" provides a comprehensive and actionable framework for improving hiring decisions. By focusing on a structured process, clearly defining desired outcomes, rigorously evaluating candidates' past performance, and understanding their motivations, organizations can significantly increase their chances of hiring A Players who will drive success and mitigate the costly consequences of "who failures." The book's emphasis on practical techniques and real-world examples makes it a valuable resource for managers at all levels who are committed to building high-performing teams.

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