Don McMinn

 “A-players hire people even better than themselves. It’s clear, though, that B-players hire C-players so they can feel superior to them, and C-players hire D-players. If you start hiring B-players, expect what Steve Jobs called ‘the bozo explosion’ to happen in your organization. Start hiring B-players and you end up with Z-players.” – Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist at Apple

A favorite toy among Russian children, the matryoshka doll is a series of wooden dolls that nest inside each other and get progressively smaller and smaller. Open up the largest doll and you’ll find a smaller, identical doll. Open up that doll and there is yet a smaller one. There may be as many as 15 dolls inside the largest one.

I’ll use the matryoshka doll as an analogy for how insecure or uninformed leaders can inhibit the growth and health of their organization by choosing weak team members and how good leaders do the opposite.  

Recruit people who are “bigger” than you.

If the person at the top of the organization intentionally hires someone who is “smaller” (less qualified with less potential; I’m still using the matryoshka doll illustration), and that person recruits someone who is “smaller” than herself and this selection criterion continues to cascade down through the entire organization, eventually it will produce a dumbed-down organization.

Instead, recruit people who are wiser, more capable, and more informed than you, and insist that your direct reports follow suit.

Recruit people who are different than you.

Except for their size, all of the dolls inside a matryoshka doll are identical. The implication for leaders is: if you only recruit team members who are similar to you—in personality, gifts, age range, perspective—your team will not benefit from the critical element of diversity.

Instead, mix it up. Compile a diverse team and then don’t squelch their individuality but embrace and encourage their differences.

Choosing quality team members is the leader’s most important job.

Leaders make two types of major decisions: strategy and people. The people decisions are the most important because if you get the right people on your team, they will help set the right strategy. The success of your organization will rise and fall on the quality of your team.

When I was a kid, we often played an impromptu game of softball or basketball after school. Everyone who wanted to play gathered, two captains were chosen, a coin toss determined which captain chose first, and then teammates were selected one at a time. The captain who chose the best players, won. Sometimes a captain would choose a less-skilled player early in the selection process so as not to hurt the person’s feelings (no one wanted to be chosen last). While that might have been the kind thing to do, it wasn’t the smart thing to do if you wanted to win.

Leaders, choose the best and the brightest to serve on your team and your organization will prosper.

This suggestion is not for the insecure and paranoid; it takes a lot of emotional fortitude and self-confidence to recruit and empower people who are smarter, more competent, edgier, and more connected than you. But if you don’t, you and your organization will suffer from the diminishing-expertise syndrome.

You may wonder, “Won’t that make me look bad?” No, it makes you a competent leader. Remember, leaders get work done through other people, so having an A-team will produce top results. Also, surrounding yourself with top-flight people will motivate you to continue to grow and become better; it will keep you sharp and accountable.

In her book Team of Rivals, Doris Goodwin reminds us that when Abraham Lincoln was elected president and began compiling his cabinet, he chose strong and competent men. Some of them had run against him in the primaries, men who had hoped to have his job—essentially, he chose a cabinet of opponents. Lincoln reasoned, “I have looked the party over and concluded that these men were the very strongest men. I had no right to deprive the country of their services.”

Business consultant Warren Bennis says, “Great teams are led by people confident enough to recruit people better than themselves.” 

Surround yourself with great people.

On a recent visit to Israel, our group visited the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. It’s a fascinating story. 

There’s a nice, modern visitor’s center on site. On my way to the bathroom I had to walk through the gift shop. (I deplore tourist gift shops; bladder control is one of the only reasons I enter.) I glanced down at one of the advertising displays and saw this picture of Mariah Carey. I was amused, surprised, and reminded once again of the idiocy of being influenced by the celebrity effect. 

Mariah has been hired as a spokesperson for Premier Cosmetics Laboratories, an Israeli cosmetics and skincare company that manufactures its products using mineral components extracted from the Dead Sea. I smiled at the tagline “I call the shots and I think I know the best.” (See this webpage for more information on this debacle.)

It’s sad that our culture is so infatuated with famous people that we succumb to advertising campaigns that exploit our naivety. I sort of understand the connection between Michael Jordon and Nike shoes, but when Roger Federer poses as a coffee machine expert and Jennifer Aniston promotes Smartwater, we should recognize the disconnect. 

The celebrity effect is the ability of famous people to influence others. Companies use that star power and influence to boost their own products and services. 

No doubt, it works. When Chanel signed Nicole Kidman in 2003, global sales of the perfume they promoted increased 30%. When Nike and Tiger Woods inked an endorsement deal in 2000, Nike’s market share went from 0.9% to 4% in six months.

The celebrity effect is used in about 14-19% of advertisements aired in the U.S. 

Let’s resist.

I usually wait until December to share which books I’ve read during the year and which ones I recommend.

But I recently read four terrific books that you might enjoy reading during this “stay-inside” season.

Range – Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein 

I’ve always enjoyed Thomas Huxley’s suggestion: “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” In other words, be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one. This book underscores that strategy.   

Epstein makes a compelling case for some counter-intuitive thoughts such as: Actively cultivate inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. People who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.

Forbes magazine calls it “The most important business—and parenting— book of the year.” My entire family is reading this book and it’s helping us craft a strategy for raising my grandson, Benjamin.

Order Range from Amazon here. 

The Precipice – Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity by Toby Ord 

Ord offers an interesting reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. He talks about natural risks that could have catastrophic effects on humanity (asteroids or comets hitting the earth, super volcanic eruptions, stellar explosions) and anthropogenic risks (caused by humans) such as nuclear weapons, climate change, environmental damage, unaligned artificial intelligence, and pandemics. 

His writing is accessible and engaging. The week I read this book, I could hardly wait to re-engage with it every day.

Order The Precipice from Amazon here.

Transcend – The New Science of Self-Actualization by Scott Kaufman 

On the dedication page, Kaufman writes: “This book is dedicated to Abraham Harold Maslow, a dear friend I’ve never met.”

Maslow (died 1970) was an American psychologist best known for his theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. Most people are familiar with the famous pyramid that shows the hierarchy of needs he espoused. He stressed the importance of focusing on the positive qualities in people, as opposed to treating them as a “bag of symptoms”.

Kaufman’s book is both a biography of Maslow and an update on Maslow’s theories based on recent research. He shares significant thoughts about the need for social connections, healthy self-esteem, growth, love, and purpose.

Order Transcend from Amazon here.

Blueprint – How DNA Makes Us Who We Are – by Robert Plomin 

The DNA of all human beings are 99.9 percent the same. But in that 0.1 percent there are are more than three million differences between your genome and everyone else’s. 

Plomin, a behavioral geneticist, focuses on the 0.1 percent that makes us who we are as individuals. A century of genetic research shows that DNA differences inherited from our parents are the consistent lifelong sources of our psychological individuality—the blueprint that makes us who we are. He reports that genetics explains more about the psychological differences among people than all other factors combined. Nature, not nurture, is what makes us who we are.

This book is not an easy read—there’s lots of math and science. But it’s worth the effort to grapple with the basic concepts he proffers and I found them beneficial.  

Order Blueprint from Amazon here.

 

Sam Harris says, “We read for the joy and benefit of thinking another person’s thoughts.” These four books represent decades of serious thought and research by four intelligent men. It is a joy to read their thoughts and benefit from them. If you’re not attracted to the topics of these four books, find a book that does appeal to you and read it. We’ll all be better for it.

Last week I wrote about the work of psychologists John and Julie Gottman who have dedicated their careers to studying why some marriages are healthy and long-lasting while others are difficult and often end in divorce. Responding favorably to “bids” made by a spouse was a major factor. Here’s last week’s post.

Gottman has also identified four specific issues that can make or break a relationship. He dubbed these, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and stonewalling. If left unchecked, these four “relational viruses” will infect and damage a relationship. When they are addressed and controlled, relationships become healthy and flourish.

These four issues are toxic in all our relationships: with our spouse, children, relatives, friends, and coworkers.

Criticism

Criticism focuses on a person’s flaws and judges them. It attacks someone’s character rather than addressing specific behaviors. It is expressed through constant disapproving, critiquing, correcting, blaming, nitpicking, or trying to fix someone. It’s not meant to be constructive or encouraging—just shaming. Criticism focuses on the negative and doesn’t offer suggestions for solutions and improvement.

Here’s a good article by Jessica Higgins on why criticism is toxic to relationships. 

Defensiveness

Often, when someone criticizes us, instead of listening carefully and owning our offenses, we become defensive. We refuse to admit wrongdoing and deny any responsibility. We refute our partner’s perspective and even reverse the accusation and cast blame on him or her. As a result, problems are not resolved and conflicts escalate. The solution is to accept responsibility for your part in the problem, even if it is a small part. 

Contempt

Contempt is the most toxic issue. Its presence in a marriage is the greatest predictor of divorce. Contempt speaks from a position of moral superiority and includes sarcasm, cynicism, name-calling, eye-rolling, sneering, mockery, and hostile humor. It is arrogant disregard, dismissal, and denigration of another person’s concerns. Contempt is, in the words of the 19th-century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, “the unsullied conviction of the worthlessness of another.” It is marked by disgust and disdain and is destructive and defeating.

Stonewalling

Stonewalling occurs when we remove ourselves from a conversation and refuse to discuss contentious issues. We can physically stonewall someone by walking out of the room during a difficult conversation or by totally avoiding our partner by being absent. We can emotionally stonewall someone by becoming passive and expressionless; we are physically present but simply tune out the conversation.  

Our challenge is how to apply Gottman’s insight to our relationships. First, analyze yourself. To what degree are you guilty of these four unhealthy behaviors? Second, acknowledge that they are manageable and commit to change. It would be beneficial for you and your partner to talk about this post and together analyze your relationship.

Here’s an article that discusses the antidote for each of the four hinderances.