Hire the right people
Without great people, your business isn’t going to flourish, which is why Lyseggen took such an active role in this process early on.
The first thing he looked for were people who really embraced the world around them.
“That can be very different from you in personality,” he says. “That can be very different from you in terms of skill sets — that is all very valuable. [But] it helps to embrace the world in a somewhat similar fashion — that you have the same perspective on life and the world. Some people can be very negative or positive, to use a very simple differentiator, but if you look at the world in a somewhat similar fashion and you’re striving for somewhat similar objectives in life, then it’s much easier to work together and much easier to create an aligned approach and an overall aligned strategy.”
He also looks for people who care about others.
“If the person has an interest in other people, then that person is caring for that person and interest naturally develops and relationships naturally develop, and you get the manager that builds teams and structures, and … they create a much stronger organization than if you had a manager that only wants to get to the targets and isn’t particularly interested in people,” Lyseggen says.
To get these kinds of people, he had to carefully listen during the interviews.
“If you’re listening to what that person says, how they describe people they interact with both in the interview process but also in that person’s life, how they value what perspectives of people that come into their life, people they’re working with, how they describe friends, family, [then] you quickly get a feel for whether that person has a feel for people or not,” he says.
Ask the right probing questions that will help you get to the heart of these issues in the interview process.
“Encourage people to talk about things that they’re proud of, that they did that was an accomplishment, and who they would share that with and why was that so important and significant for them,” he says. “Another question I really like is what is the biggest challenge of your experience, perhaps a major setback that really shook you, and it was really a, perhaps, fall for yourself. Have that person describe that, and get a sense for how that person described the situation himself or herself and for other people involved is often very insightful.”
Then the last question you have to ask is actually directed toward yourself.
“At the end of the day, is this a person I would like to go out and have a beer with or is this a person I would like to invite home for dinner or stuff like that,” Lyseggen says. “Is there a fundamental personal chemistry? If there is that, then there is a good basis for a good, strong professional relationship, as well. At least it’s much easier if you have that chemistry. All the other things come easier and faster. When I say I ask myself, it’s not only myself but it’s as much the team as well that I use to recruit.”
