One of my favorite lines at the end of a meeting is: “There is no job too dirty, too tough…that I can’t delegate it!” It typically elicits a chuckle only from anyone who hasn’t heard it 100 times. That, of course, means that no one working for me, in my immediate circle of friends and colleagues, or in my family does much of anything except roll their eyes or groan.

The art of delegation is something many entrepreneurs find difficult. Especially anyone who is a technical entrepreneur. We are used to wearing every hat, and have an opinion about all things from website design, to IT architecture, to HR policy. Plus, if you want it done right, don’t you need to do it yourself?

Great managers and business people learn the art of delegation. Paul Ingevaldson shared an insight recently that is a simple rule to follow:

Here’s how to evaluate your delegation propensity. If your subordinate comes to you with an easy question, then there are two possibilities. First, the subordinate doesn’t have the confidence to make the decision and wants validation from you, the boss. In this case, you must be careful not to answer the question but to tell the subordinate that he should trust his own instincts and make the call. In this way, he will have an opportunity to grow as a person and will begin to gain the confidence that he’s lacking. You also will be able to monitor his decision-making ability.

The second possibility is that the answer was indeed simple but you didn’t share the necessary information, requiring the subordinate to ask the question…It’s important for you to disclose to your subordinates all of the information that they need to do their jobs.

I think that’s a simple tip to follow, and good discipline for an effective manager to employ. Remember, your people are your greatest asset. Helping them grow is a good investment. Freeing yourself for the tough questions is also a good investment. Good luck delegating your way to an ever more profitable business!

No matter how careful and methodical you are in the interview process, you can’t expect to be right 100% of the time. In fact, trying too hard to be perfect can actually lead to corporate paralysis. At least, that’s what Alan Etterman of JDS Uniphase thinks. I have to agree. No matter how careful you are you will still make mistakes from time-to-time, and you shouldn’t get “paralysis of analysis.”

Nevertheless, I think the tendency for most entrepreneurs is to not be methodical enough and go too quickly through the hiring process. Slow down and  wait until the best candidate is revealed by a thorough and methodical process.

Etterman shares other useful tips, you should read the article. One in particular I liked was this:

I have two other rules I follow when I’m hiring: Hire people who do what you don’t like to do, and hire people who have passion for what they do. When I look at the good hires or the great hires, they are people that I hired who were smarter than me to start with or people who have surpassed my ability in a specific area.

I definitely agree with him on these two tips. There are many areas in business and technology where I do not excel, but I recognize that these are important skills or categories where a successful venture needs talent, leadership, and dutiful attention applied consistently. For example, if you are not an organized person, try to look for people with strong organizational skills.

As I wrote last time, your next hire is supremely important. Last question was “ Does she care deeply about the end-user or the customer?” Here is the last of five questions I ask, as a technical entrepreneur, when I am considering whether or not to hire someone.

[5] Does he know when to ask for help?
This is one of those questions you need to find an answer for, but sometimes is hard to ferret out during an interview. If you ask the question if the candidate, most likely the answer will be “Yes.” It is a question of balance and can be subjective. It is definitely one to ask of references for the candidate. I have had hard and diligent workers who work independently to a fault. He doesn’t ever ask for help until he is well down the wrong road and beating his head against the wall. I have also had dependent personalities that stop by my office 15 times a day to update me on what they are doing and to ask a question. Neither extreme is healthy. I want someone who is always ready to give me a status when I stop by or shoot me an email looking for my input on the path they are taking and the challenges they are encountering. That is when I feel most productive as a manager: making it easier on my employees by sharing a tip or a bit of wisdom with them because I know the answer or how to find it. Or, if I don’t know, I can pay to get them in touch with someone who can help them. Another of my favorite interview questions: “How do you like to keep your manager informed about the status of your projects?” and “How did your last manager help you the most?” or “How do you like to be helped?”

These are questions I ask prospective employees and their references. I hope it helps you hire someone who helps your business grow and be ever more successful!

Questions 1 , 2 , 3, 4 , 5

As I wrote last time, the small business owner cannot afford to make too many hiring mistakes. The first place to start is with your next hire. Last question was “Is he ever in doubt?” Here is the fourth of five questions I ask, as a technical entrepreneur, when I am considering whether or not to hire someone.

[4] Does she care deeply about the end-user or the customer?

This is a tremendous question, especially for technical hires. Of course, if you ask almost anyone this question they will answer “Oh, of course!” However, we all know that the character trait of empathy is not so prevalent - especially among smart geeks. Here is why it is so important: companies who do not care about their customers typically don’t stay around too long. Certainly small companies don’t. Small businesses struggle when key people have no empathy for the customer or end users of their products. If you care enough about your next hire to have read this far, then I bet your next hire is key. At one time, I had several programmers who I discovered (after I had hired them) that they really wanted to just stay in their office like a cocoon and be sent tickets or tasks to accomplish and didn’t really want to deal with listening to a griping salesperson or customer. That might be okay for some companies, but not mine. I make my programmers deal with their customers and get on the phone with end users. There is nothing that will clear your sinuses quite like dealing with someone who uses your software or product in her day-to-day workflow and is hating that new feature you just released. Conversely, there is nothing so exhilirating and personally rewarding as getting kudos on the telephone from someone who loves the way you fixed that new feature and how it helps her so much in her day-to-day tasks! Every programmer should spend a day or two twice a year, at least, at a customer site. It does wonders for their attitude and usually is well worth the time and expense. I want someone who cares about the customer as much as I do. I will let other managers hire the ones that don’t. Another of my favorite interview questions: “Do you enjoy rolling up your sleeves and working side-by-side with end users?” Again, the answer itself and the body language will tell you all you need to know about this candidate.

Next Question

Questions 1 , 2 , 3, 4 , 5

As I wrote last time, for entrepreneurs, the next hire might represent and inordinately large percentage of his staff (perhaps up to 50%). Each hire is crucial. Last question was “Is she in love with learning?” Here is the third of five questions I ask, as a technical entrepreneur, when I am considering whether or not to hire someone.

[3] Is he ever in doubt?

My father always had a clever way a describing someone that is hard to be around, much less hard to work with. He used to say: “That guy may be wrong, but he is never in doubt.” If I detect this in a candidate, it elicits an immediate “Next!” (in my thoughts) and I will not spend another moment thinking of hiring him. Humility really is a virtue in business, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I am not talking about constant self-deprecation, or passivity, or quietness. Only the person with a good self image and who is secure about himself is able to admit he might be wrong and not be too worried about the rest of us discovering it. A favorite question I like to ask in an interview is “Tell me about the last mistake you made as an employee.” The answer itself, and the body language employed while delivering it, tells me everything I need to know about his humility and self confidence.

Next Question

Questions 1 , 2 , 3, 4 , 5

As I wrote last time, for entrepreneurs, the next hire might represent and inordinately large percentage of his staff (perhaps up to 50%). The small business owner cannot afford to make too many hiring mistakes. The first place to start is with your next hire. Last question was “How much will I have to manage him?” Here is the second of five questions I ask, as a technical entrepreneur, when I am considering whether or not to hire someone.

[2] Is she in love with learning?

I am looking for a “hungry” worker. One with an insatiable appetite for learning new and better ways to do things. She needs to demonstrate a desire to constantly keep up with the trends in her discipline. If I get the idea that she is not supremely interested in her field or discipline, I know that she will never be a great employee. She might make a fine, solid, employee at company X, but not at my company. I want someone who strives to be the best they can be and takes real pride in their work. I want avid learners. I love to learn, and I want an employee who is constantly teaching me new and interesting things as well. An employee who is not constantly trying to learn will never make you much money, and might even cost you money. A favorite interview question I have is: “What are you reading these days in your field?” or “What websites, newsgroups, blogs, etc., are bookmarked in your favorites?”

Next Question

Questions 1 , 2 , 3, 4 , 5