Pick your strongest starting line up!!

Now, without trying to sound like the typical fickle football fan – alright, there’s an element of it – I was left scratching my head about how England failed to beat Slovakia in their key Euro 2016 Group match last night; a game that would define the team’s progress in to the knockout stages of the tournament. Manager Roy Hodgson claimed post-match that they couldn’t have done any more to have won the game. Was it a bit of bad luck? Or cruel fate?

“How about picking the strongest line up from the start??!!” we all ask!

Evidence now shows a shift in mind set that talent is a competitive differentiator. Companies will thrive or die based on who they hire. We all know that people are the biggest cost to the organisation. They absorb most management time and energy. No amount of technology or mind-blowing tactics will cover up the fact that you have below average people. In the marketing and sales employment markets there are now huge skills shortages – if that hasn’t occurred yet in your particular market, then it soon will be – and the time to hire in-demand people has increased from 32 to 62 days. There is now greater scrutiny over the quality of people that are being recruited. The message from the line managers is to get them the BEST PERSON, and to get them SOON otherwise it will hold the business back!

So when you are next picking your team to achieve your objectives or win a big game, ask yourself, “If we select this person, will he or she raise the average, or will we finish second place?”