Chris LoCurto

Finding The Life & Business You Really Want

Leadership ·

It is a great honor and a privilege to be able to help so many people with their businesses. And because I love it so much, I always encourage my readers to ask me questions. Doesn’t matter what it is, I will do my best to answer it. So many great questions turn into posts that I’m able to share with everyone else.

Here is one of those posts. David Branch has attended both our EntreLeadership Master Series Dave taught in Cancun, and the EntreLeadership I taught here in Nashville. He brought three of his top guys along with him to my event. Let me say, that was the right thing for him to do with his business. Getting those guys on board gave him a huge advantage.

In Q & A On Profit-sharing and Q & A On Profit-sharing Pt. 2, David and I discussed how he could pay his team more money from profit-sharing than from high salaries, which were killing his bottom-line. After we talked that through, we discussed his need to offer lower salaries and the opportunity to make a lot of money through bonuses to potential new team members. We also talked about the importance of taking the time to find right people, not just offering a high salary to get someone on-board.

Below are two emails that I received from David. The first was not too long after we discussed his need to change his interview process. And the second is one month to the day later. Enjoy:

6/12/11

CLo: What are your thoughts on what we talked about?

DB: In my view I will pass up a whole lot of potentially great people because they have past financial sins that do not allow them to take a risk.  What about the guy who feels the risk is worth it, but has a mortgage, car loan and three kids and a wife, and has to make $50k or more to just meet his bills?  Not knowing enough about our company, he may not be in a position to take that chance.  

I know it may be worth it, but hiring has gone from what used to be a single interview to see if I liked the candidate, and if I did I made them a salary or hourly wage offer.  This new way will prove to be better, but it’s a total “pain in the butt.”  I have thrown away hundreds of resumes and had numerous interviews and hired nobody. Am I asking too much? It’s almost as if I’m looking for someone who doesn’t exist.

Thanks again for the therapy session !!

7/12/11

CLo: How are things down there?

DB: After a lot of prayer and endurance, I have finally found some qualified candidates to hire.  We have been stretched so thin for so long and are getting a bit burned out.  Stewart and I met for prayer a time or two, and we prayed specifically for great people.  We have been hiring for three positions and out of hundreds found NONE.  Then in one week we found people for all the positions. 

Definitely GOD!  Thanks for stressing the importance of being patient and waiting. I found myself wanting to compromise just to get relief, and now I am so glad I held the line. Now I have to pray that our work load sustains and bonuses are good. 

Three keys to David’s success:

  • The right compensations calculation
  • Prayer
  • Lots of patience

We can have the first two, but without the last one, you will find yourself in trouble.

Question: How has hiring the wrong way affected your company?

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