Hire Infected People
8. Hire Infected People.
Hire people who are as passionate about your product as you are (or at least close to it).
Ignore the irrelevant. A shared passion is far more important than education or relevant work experience. These employees will be more loyal and motivated. Kawasaki himself was working at a jeweler “counting diamonds” when he took the job at Apple. But, he says, the first time he saw the Macintosh, it put tears in his eyes. That’s what made him more qualified for the job than anyone else.
Hire better than yourself. “A” players hire “A+” players, but “B” players hire “C”, “C” hire “D”, etc., leading to what he calls a “bozo explosion”. Hire people who make you look smart for hiring them, not by comparison to them.
Do the shopping center test. Imagine you see a recently-interviewed candidate at a distance in the shopping mall. Do you…
…walk directly over to them, tell them how great the company is, and encourage them to come on board?
…figure it’s a big place and maybe you’ll run into them, maybe you won’t?
…deliberately avoid them?
If your answer is any other than the first one, don’t hire them.
9. Lower Barriers to Adoption.
Make it easy for people to buy and use your product:
Flatten the learning curve. Good products should be intuitive to use without having to refer to a manual or take a class. For example, do you know how to set the clock on your VCR? Why is that even a challenge?
Don’t ask people to do something you wouldn’t do. While his example of a nuclear-powered mousetrap (that you have to drive to Utah to dispose of the waste) was a bit far-fetched, his story about the Kawai Hyatt Regency hit close to him. At that hotel, there are free washing machines on every floor. People don’t want to pay several dollars to wash resort clothes, especially when they’re already paying $250 a night for the room!
Embrace your evangelists. Whether they’re your employees or your customers, include them in everything you do. Do everything you can to give them a voice. They are your very best marketing.
10. Don’t Let the Bozos Grind You Down.
