Getting the Right People on Your Bus
As a small business CEO, I've learned that one of the most fundamental responsibilities of leadership is assembling the right team. In my previous life leading a marketing agency, in its early years my business partner and I developed and presented the first 20+ marketing strategies to our clients. After each presentation, we would always grab a post-presentation meal together and ask one crucial question: "Will this strategy we just labored over for months succeed?"
The answer consistently came down to the client team members in the room we were presenting to. Were they engaged, passionate, and capable of execution? If not, we knew the strategy would never reach its full potential, and the company wouldn't get the full value from their investment in us.
This experience taught me a powerful lesson: having the right people on the bus is the single most important factor in determining whether a company will reach its full growth potential.
The Jim Collins Wisdom on Great Companies
In his landmark study of what separates great companies from merely good ones, Jim Collins identified this exact factor as critical to business success.
Collins argues in "Good to Great" that exceptional business leaders follow a "First Who, Then What" approach. These leaders didn't first decide where to drive the bus (the direction) and then get people to come along. Instead, they first got "the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats" before figuring out where to drive it.
Collins discovered three simple but powerful truths:
- If you begin with "who" rather than "what," you can adapt more easily to a changing world. When people join primarily because of the direction, you'll face resistance if you need to change course.
- With the right people on the bus, motivation and management challenges largely disappear. The right people are self-motivated by their inner drive to produce excellent results.
- 3. If you have the wrong people, it doesn't matter if you discover the right direction. You still won't have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.
No matter how brilliant your strategy is, without the right team to execute it, your company will never achieve its full potential.
Building a Structure to Get the Right People on Your Bus
So how do you put this principle into practice? Here are three key approaches:
1. Implement the 9-Box
ModelThe 9-box grid is a talent management tool that segments employees based on two dimensions: performance and potential. This matrix helps align talent management and development initiatives to where they add the most value.
By evaluating both current performance and future potential, you can identify:
- High performers with high potential (future leaders)
- Consistent contributors (reliable performers who may not want leadership roles)
- Employees who need development or a different seat
- People who simply aren't a good fit for your organization
Using this simple framework allows you to make more objective decisions about who should be on your bus and in which seats they should sit.
2. Determine the Right Person/Right Seat Alignment
According to Gino Wickman's book "Traction," having the right people in the right seats requires evaluating two critical factors:
- Right Person: Do they share your core values and fit your company culture?
- Right Seat: Do they "GWC" their seat? That means they Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do it.
Wickman emphasizes that having the right people in the right seats is essential to growing a great organization. As he notes, "you'll be faced with two types of issues regarding your people. The first is having the right person in the wrong seat. The second is having the wrong person in the right seat. In order to gain traction, you'll need to address both."
Sometimes, you have a culturally aligned team member who simply isn't in a role that matches their strengths. Other times, you have a technically capable person who doesn't share your values. Both scenarios require action.
3. Align with Core Values
Your core values define your company culture and are essential in determining who the "right people" are for your organization. The right people fit your company culture like a glove, and their behavior consistently aligns with your core values.
Take time to clearly define your core values, then use them as a filtering mechanism in your hiring, performance reviews, and promotion decisions. When someone consistently demonstrates behaviors that contradict these values, you must be willing to make the difficult decision to help them find abetter fit elsewhere.
Making the Tough Calls
As Wickman states, "No matter how difficult the issue is, you have to make a good business decision here for the long haul. If you have a wrong person in the right seat, ultimately that person must go for the sake of the greater good."
Every day you keep the wrong person on your bus, you risk:
- Damaging your company culture
- Demotivating your top performers
- Missing growth opportunities
- Sending the wrong message about your standards
One risk Collins identifies is that as your bus grows and changes, someone who was perfect when the bus was "a tiny minivan" might struggle when it evolves into "a Greyhound." The key question leaders must answer is: "Can they grow into the seat or not?"
Sometimes the kindest thing for both the individual and the organization is to acknowledge when someone is no longer the right fit, help them exit with dignity, and bring in someone who can thrive in that seat.
The Payoff of Getting It Right
When you successfully get the right people on the bus, in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, the transformation can be remarkable:
- Execution excellence: Strategies get implemented effectively because you have capable, engaged people driving them forward.
- Innovation flourishes: The right people bring fresh ideas and the skills to turn them into reality.
- Problem-solving improves: Teams with the right people identify and address issues more quickly.
- Culture strengthens: Your values become more deeply embedded in daily operations.
- Leadership multiplies: With the right people, you develop a pipeline of future leaders.
Final Thoughts
As small business leaders, we have countless responsibilities competing for our attention. But if we fail to prioritize getting the right people on the bus, we're undermining everything else we're trying to accomplish. My experience has repeatedly confirmed what Jim Collins discovered in his research: no factor is more important to a company's success than having the right team.
Remember, you can have the most brilliant strategy in the world, but without the right people to execute it, that strategy will never reach its full potential. Start with who, then figure out what, and watch your business transform.
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