Erik Huberman: Dissecting a Hire Gone Wrong

The mistakes we, as entrepreneurs and hiring managers, make when building our companies. Often our need to fill overrides our logic in determining the fit between both parties and as result Core Values are often ignored. Assumptions, unclear expectations, and lack of diligence make for a perfect storm of a disastrous hire.  

Today’s Quote

"Hiring people is like making friends. Pick good ones, and they'll enrich your life. Make bad choices, and they'll bring you down." - Jason Fried

Show Guest

 Erik Huberman is the founder and CEO of Hawke Media, the fastest growing marketing agency in the United States. Launched in 2014, Hawke Media has serviced over 1000 brands of all sizes, ranging from startups like Tamara Mellon, SiO Beauty and Bottlekeeper to household names like Red Bull, Verizon Wireless and Alibaba. Hawke Media has taken home numerous industry awards including inclusion on the Inc. 5000 2017 list of “Fastest Growing Companies”, Fortune Magazine’s “50 Best Workplaces in Southern California” and Forbes’ “Content Marketing Companies to Check Out in 2018."

"Prior to Hawke, Erik founded, grew and sold two successful e-commerce companies. Huberman is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes “30 Under 30,” Inc. Magazine’s “Top 25 Marketing Influencers,” and Best in Biz North America’s “Marketing Executive of the Year.” A regular contributor to major publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur and CS Q. Huberman is also a well-known keynote speaker.

Episode Highlights

• Break down one of your early hires and talk about the decisions that were made and why
• What we learned and how you can avoid making our mistakes

Making a wrong Hire: Walk through the story

• Hired an executive, all-star, great background
• “Why would you buy a dog if you're the one barking on the corner”
• Discussing expectations, but not the HOW.
• Had a budget, revenue numbers, really clear…
• Takes time for executives to ramp up
• Hired from a large company- a different mindset
• Taking people through a more formalized process.
• Properly frames the mindset as a professional environment
• You are taken more seriously
• *Onboarding Process 
• Didn’t have a process. Throw people to the wind
• Unprofessional entrance + people didn't view it professionally
• Made the mistake of selling perks 
• Hired 7 people in the beginning, only one stayed past 6 months. 
• Bridging the gap with the business.

* Post hire, you are not done once you made the hire. Once someone is hired, real-time investment into their success.

Rick’s Hiring Mistake

• Hiring Friends without clear expectations
• created an expectations document 

Key Takeaways

• Stick to a hiring process - It must be Professional
• The more senior the hire, the more time investment to align expectations - May take up to a year to come up to speed