“Technical” hiring

Anu Hariharan is an accomplished entrepreneur. An electrical engineer by education, Anu has experience at Boston Consulting Group, and Andreessen Horowitz, and is currently a managing director at Y Combinator.

Despite her deep technical and financial backgrounds, when she talks about building companies it’s not about the technical or financial at all. It’s about the people.

It’s a frequent idea: IKEA’s Hiring Instructions, Hiring Dukies, and Unconventional Hiring because the idea is important.

In her podcast with Brent Beshore, Hariharan had three observations for better people processes.

One, the best early-stage (aka entrepreneurial) investments are those with a good team who has found product-market fit. Don’t start with the business model or strategy, start with the people.

Two, too slow to let go. Most managers, Hariharan said, reflect that they’ve fired someone too slowly rather than too quickly. Time is of the essence so when it’s time to say goodbye, don’t delay.

Three, teams are too insular. When organizations promote from within they miss the chance for wider expertise, diversity of thought, and different experiences. Exterior talent may not be the right choice, but too few organizations even ask the question.

Great businesses start with great people.

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