Articles—Issue 16, November 2006 Back to Article Index Age Appropriate Behavior I had a number of responses to last month’s newsletter. As you may recall, I suggested that you should hire great people, but that you had to be ready to use their talents. If you can’t or won’t, don’t hire them or perhaps put yourself out to pasture. A banker friend called to tell me that he thought the message was “spot-on” but he wondered how many executives I might “piss off” with the out-to-pasture message. (My answer was that if a CEO didn’t have thick skin, they shouldn’t be in the job.)  I also had several people from the Private Equity community agree with my message as well—they had seen the downside of hiring talent but handcuffing their performance.   Perhaps one of the best comments (and ensuing discussion) that I had was from a former entrepreneur, now venture capitalist. He shared a story of being on a small company board along with an executive from a billion dollar + company. The director from the big company was berating the small company CEO about not hiring talented people with experience. My VC acquaintance reasoned that this is great advice as long as, 1) you are willing to pay for talent, and 2) you have the executive skill to lead and direct such talent.   The best line from my VC contact… He said that the talent level must be “age appropriate” for the business. If you have kids, this phrase means a lot to you. (As in, “Young Lady, I don’t think that the mini-skirt and leather boots are age appropriate for 5th grade!”)   Businesses go through cycles and need the right talent for the right time—which really means the right leadership and the right paycheck. I should further define “talent” as smart and experienced. It is the “experience” part that is expensive and the best predictor of future behavior.   Please do not take this to mean that it is O.K. to have weak people; it is not. However, if you lead a small company and you want to hire major-league talent, be prepared to pay for it in current income or equity. In addition—to reiterate last month’s message—you must be able to lead and inspire them. Even very talented people need direction and leadership. (c)2006 by Tood Ordal. You are welcome to share this informational article with others. Todd Ordal is a business consultant helping executives struggling with execution. Prior to founding the consulting firm Applied Strategy LLC, Todd spent over 25 years in management and executive roles such as President and CEO. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info