Grow young talent
If you’re thinking that what Gores wants his people to do isn’t for the faint of heart, you’re right. In order to keep challenging the status quo, Gores hires young talent and quickly throws them into the action. He remembers how aggressive he was when he got out of college and how there was no outlet for that passion.
“When I see a person that wants to come out of the box — a young person out of college who’s been here for two years —most people will try to hold that person back,” he says. “But I’m always pushing our people to throw these young people in the pool instead of coming up with 20 reasons why you can’t get them to the next level.”
That doesn’t mean that Gores gives young employees thepower to push the nuclear bomb button as part of first-day orientation, but he asks his managers to look for hunger in newemployees and tells them to feed growing employees as muchas they can handle it.
“I’m looking for young people that are hungry, that are willing to work very hard, and I want them to shake it up a little,” Gores says. “I want them to ruffle some of the people who have been here for a while. In many ways, the younger people that come in can challenge the others because they want to take on some things that maybe those of us who have been around too long won’t take on because we make too many assumptions.”
Once new employees get into the fold, Gores knows that even the most adventurous new talent may be reticent to speak up, so he makes sure that both he and his senior managers prod the talent to give his or her two cents.
“You tell them all the time that their job is to keep pushing and shoving to get themselves in — and that pushes people that have been here, so they’re growing, too,” he says. “It’s difficult for someone that’s young to be as open as you are whenyou’ve been through 20 to 30 years of experience, so teaching them to speak up and be open is important. Every now and then, you grab one that’s been here for two or three months; tell them, ‘Don’t be afraid to be aggressive, this is what you have to do.’”
In throwing those young people in the fire and letting them grow up in the company, Gores also found that there is a collateral benefit, they appreciate the vote of confidence and find a home with the firm.
“Loyalty goes both ways,” he says. “It’s all about retaining people, the experience, the good will that we get as a firm by keeping individuals here from the time they are out of college until the time they’ve been a professional for 20 years. We have a great track record of people who start young, they’re loyal to us, they stay with us over the years, and we’ve found ways to keep them motivated so they don’t want to go anywhere else.”
HOW TO REACH: The Gores Group LLC, (310) 209-3010 or www.gores.com