Hire and Do Business with Problem Solvers
On the basis of the negative portrayed in the previous post about people you do not want to do business with – Never Do Business with Litigious Assholes – its time to consider who you do want to get into business with. Seriously, how many of us have written a description of who we want to do business with? Nope, not many of us at all.
Knowing who you do and do not want to do business with is going to provide you with a ready yardstick on which contracts and roles you are willing to take on in your career (especially as a freelancer where this is an ongoing decision tree). This yardstick provides you with a time-saving consistent measure to apply without over-analysis: faster equals cheaper equals more consistent. It simply makes sense. So write a list of the attributes you are looking for in partners, employees, co-workers.
My foremost suggestion, in contrast to the previous post about bullies and litigators, is that you want to be in business with problem solvers. If something is not quite in the contract but its in the spirit of the contract you want somebody on board who looks for win-win solutions.These people overcome issues and move forward productively without losing a stride – their thoughts are about how to facilitate the business at hand.
Hiring problem solvers is a given. Whether you’re talking about a programmer or a receptionist or a boardroom director, you need mentally agile lateral thinking companions focused on the right goal posts. To achieve the power of innovation you’re going to have to have trust – they are going to need to trust you in return, and they need to trust they have the authority and ability to think laterally.
Bullies and people who call their lawyers over small issues are off the list. Problem solvers and flexible contributors are on the list. Its just better business.
