June 11, 2006.
We have been going through some changes at JPD these past few weeks or days. Some changes were expected, some just smack you in the face and leave you on the ground in complete shock for an hour or so. If you have been reading this blog for awhile you know my mantra is (supposed to be) 'change is good', I just ask does it have to happen all AT THE SAME TIME?
Coincidentally, I have been reading a book called, From Good to Great by Jim Collins, (http://www.jimcollins.com ) it is basically a study on mediocre to down right poor companies going on to become great companies. Mind you the book deals with mulit-billion dollar publicly traded companies that charged ahead with one focus and then stayed at that level for a long, long time. However, the one part of the book that resonated with me was, "First you need to get the right people on the bus and only then can you figure out where the bus is going" This is my goal....
First off, I needed to circle back and look at the actual tasks within a job description. Then I needed to look more towards a focus of roles and responsibilities. Instead of having several people doing several different thing, I need to have people who specialize in a role (i.e. one person who manages all office details, one who manages painting & personalization, etc..).
I began the process today by posting a few opportunities on Craig's List (within the first 3 hours of the posting, I received 4 responses). My next step will be to do an initial phone screen, with the first question being "What does my business do?". If they can't answer this, then I know that they are not serious.
So, re-using the 'bus' metaphor, I need to figure out who to get on the bus before I go any where, and my wheels are going round and round (sorry could not resist, very sleepy). I will continue to search and analyze and interview and post jobs till I get it right.
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