For as much as we try, there isn’t a foolproof way to objectively find the best talent in the marketplace. But having said that, there is one proxy that is better than nothing. By following this proxy, we can increase our chances of hiring the best employees for our organizations.

Specifically, we’re talking about organizational culture.

Organizational culture is something that corporate C-suites have acknowledged for years, but the discussion came to the forefront after Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh published Delivering Happiness. Culture moved from a buzzword relegated to the bottom of CEOs to-do lists to a concept under serious consideration corporate boardrooms. In fact, according to a Deloitte study, 94 percent of executives and 88 percent of employees believe that a distinct workplace culture is essential to business success.

We are living in an age where your organization arguably cannot afford to ignore culture. Culture, in fact, can be your north star when you are hiring new talent—whether you are part of a small, scrappy startup looking to expand or a large corporation that wants to expand market share. Having a collective understanding of your organization’s values—both how they were formed and where they are today—can ensure that you are hiring individuals that will positively contribute to your organization. This is a critical task: one study revealed that when 89 percent of new hires failures were due to attitudinal reasons.

When our research tracked 20,000 new hires, 46% of them failed within 18 months. But even more surprising than the failure rate was that when new hires failed, 89% of the time it was for attitudinal reasons and only 11% of the time for a lack of skill. The attitudinal deficits that doomed these failed hires included a lack of coachability, low levels of emotional intelligence, motivation and temperament.

How does this work in practice? Putting your organization’s principles on paper is certainly a great place to start (if you haven’t already). These principles should not be simple buzzwords or lofty platitudes; rather, they should be key attributes that comprise your organizational culture. Some of these attributes may include whether you provide employee autonomy or expect employees to share opinions or generate ideas, but this will obviously vary based on your organization.

Upon having a good understanding of your organizational culture, you can test for these traits when searching for your next hire. Yes, your prospective employee must have the talent and skills for the position. But by screening for culture, you can avoid missteps and find stellar employees who can take your organization to the next level.

For more information regarding improving your organizational culture and hiring the right people, contact us at staffing@sterlingstaffingsolutions.com or 281-240-3536.

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That said, this is an important exercise. According to one study, 65 percent of internet users view online searches as the most trusted source of information about people and companies. Intuitively, the higher profile you are in your field, the more opportunities that will emerge. These opportunities can lead to more income and more recognition, which leads to even more opportunities.

But how do you do this? Most, if not all, ambitious people want to be seen as authorities in their field. Having said this, there are many talented individuals who haven’t yet been discovered as authority figures.

You won’t be surprised to hear that there is not one bulletproof strategy. However, there are several things that you should keep in mind.

First, you will have to embrace self-promotion. There is a fine line here between sharing your valuable knowledge and being too promotional. No one likes the hubristic person that continually talks about himself or herself. However, you can expect the world to simply discover you. You have to be proactive, whether that is starting a blog or maintaining an active Twitter feed. Consistently releasing your ideas into the marketplace is a great starting point to becoming an authority figure.

Next, you will want to connect with other authority figures. Even if you are releasing the best content out into the world, you won’t be an authority figure if no one is consuming it. There are a variety of ways to increase the distribution of your content, but one of the best ways is to have an already-existing authority figure vouch for you. Essentially, you are borrowing their built-in credibility. Having some anchor authority figures can go a long way in spreading the word about you as an authority figure.

Finally, you will never want to start learning. Authority figures are often better marketers than others, but those authority figures must continue to provide value to others. Adopting a learn-first attitude will not only help you build more credibility, but can also further your marketing efforts—like when you speak at an industry or sector event.

These are just some tactics that you can leverage on your path to becoming an authority figure in your field. Ultimately, at Carter Brothers Consulting, my brother and I leverage our marketing and entrepreneurship experience to help individuals share their expertise. We are simply obsessed with this topic, so if you would like to learn more about how we can help you increase your profile in your industry, please click here.

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The reality, however, is much more complicated. Starting any type of business is a risk. More often than not, small businesses fail. Because of this, the image that we have of free-wheeling entrepreneurs who love taking on risk is often misguided. Even Richard Branson, who is thought to be one of the most risk-loving entrepreneurs, always seeks to protect the downside.

Therefore, instead of fulfilling that fantasy of rapidly quitting your job to become your own boss, you will want to chart out a roadmap. By stopping and planning before you take the leap, you will avoid many common missteps that haunt entrepreneurs.

Ultimately, there are some things that you will want to think about before becoming your own boss.

One of the best ways to becoming our own boss is to start a side hustle or side project. By working on your idea on the side, you can advance your idea while maintaining your income from your day job. One of the riskiest things you can do is quit your job cold turkey with few (if any) savings to sustain yourself while building your business. You can avoid this worst-case scenario by working on your business full-time when you are consistently earning revenue.

Beyond the financial aspect, it helps to confirm whether you actually want to be your own boss. Your vision may not match up with reality. Being your own boss means being forced to complete tasks that may bore you to death. Simply put, it isn’t for everyone. Gaining some of this tangible experience—either in a management role at your company and/or on your side hustle—will increase the odds that you are making the right choice.

Market validation is another key exercise. Regardless of your idea, you need to get out of the building and speak with customers. Truly understand their wants, needs, and how your product or service idea will make their lives better. Above all, be agile. In all likelihood, your initial idea will not be what your business looks like in the next year or two. Listening to the customer and pivoting as necessary are critical for your future success.

These are just several of the many things that you must consider when charting our the roadmap to being your own boss. If you would like to learn more, I encourage you to check out Carter Brothers Consulting, a firm that my brother and I started to help entrepreneurs start businesses. We look forward to hearing from you.

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