Dr Jeff Cornwall

The thought of adding executives can be overwhelming to entrepreneurs who own fast growing companies. In fact, even the thought that they need “executives” can be mind bending. Which position should I add first? How do I know what type of talent I need?
What can help with this is to create a Team Development Plan.
– Start with a self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, and skills. Keep doing what you are good at, and add folks who can pick up your weak areas. If you strength is marketing, build a team that complements this strength.
– Develop a plan that allows you to work on your business and not just in your business. This means you not only add people to your team, but you must work toward creating a whole new “job description” for your role.
– Before you run out and hire outsiders, assess the potential of current team/staff to take on more responsibility. It is almost always cheaper to grow your own talent. However, most of us overestimate the abilities of our employees to grow into these new roles quickly enough. And some just really won’t want the added responsibilities.
– Based on an inventory of all of your management needs over the next few years, create a plan to train current staff and bring on new talent with clear priorities and milestones. Timing is everything. Bring people in too soon, and it creates an overhead drain that can badly impact cash flow. Bring them on too late, and the company may not be able to handle the challenges of growth.
– A word of caution. Don’t just look for people with the right skills and experience. Make sure each new team member will fit with your culture. The right fit with your culture can be just as important as their technical abilities.