“Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit”
~Antoine de Saint Exupery~

How many of you have heard the saying “You’re only as good as the people who work for you?” Nothing is truer in any business, which is why I’m always scouring articles on how to hire people, and where to find the best employees. After all you would think after owning several businesses in the last 25 years that I would have it all figured out, unfortunately that isn’t the case, I still find the hiring process to be the trickiest component to running any company. So… when I came across an article in one of the cities local business magazines on the art of hiring, I figured it wouldn’t provide anything more then the usual tactics that are endlessly reviewed. Well that proved not to be the case and furthermore it changed my whole perspective on the hiring process.

All this time when hiring, my main focus has centered on the skills that the applicant brought to the position, then I would look at past jobs and performance, the whole time never examining the character of the person sitting in front of me. The twelve tips quoted in the article from Ken Keller an author of books for chief executives and managers, listed the number one and most important thing you needed to evaluate was whether or not the applicant is a team player, as team work is essential to any organization. Number two, does the applicant have a passion to make a difference, number three; the candidate must have hard work, integrity, loyalty and honesty, the main core values. Number four was interesting because focus was thought to be extremely important, stating that younger generations have grown up with short attention spans.

Number five stressed looking for individuals with high energy levels and enthusiasm, while number six put emphasis on avoiding applicants who have an attitude of entitlement that translates to “you owe me” and what’s in it for me. Number seven was the ability to convey information as an essential component to success. Numbers eight through eleven were weighted heavily on the problem solving talents to looking for candidates that can take initiative. It was on final tip number twelve, that job skills finally arise. The point being that while job skills are important, if someone has all of the other attributes, you can teach the job skills. Not a bad list and actually it would even be a notable inventory to use when looking for spouses, friends or anyone you’re contemplating on inviting into your life.
Moving on to the list of stories that will captivate you in this issue, we continue the series Black Tide with this third installment. This series has generated more positive feedback to this office then any other, you won’t want to miss next month’s conclusion. Head out west with us to stop in at the busy Lambert Hereford ranch, I promise you’ll enjoy the visit. One of the biggest challenges our herd faces is foot problems, so if you’re anything like us you’ll appreciate the article titled “Agony of De’feet”. This is just the short list of the many remarkable stories contained within.

It is true that you’re only as good as the people who work for you and in my case I’m very fortunate in this time and space to have an exceptional group of people on board who make putting out two magazines a month and several sale catalogs look easy. It’s time to slip back on the trail; I’ve stashed the twelve tips in the saddle bag along with my Hiring 101 manual. Here’s one more tip as you traverse the slippery slope this month, stay dry, look forward and keep it real. Happy Trails…