The short answer
Hiring to fill a seat, competing on price, taking the merely good deal, and confusing activity with progress. Every serious loss I have witnessed traces back to one of these four, and all four are decisions rather than accidents.
In full
Hiring to fill a seat is the most common. Urgency makes people lower the standard, and one poor hire quietly resets the standard for everyone around them.
Competing on price is the second. Price is the only advantage anyone can copy by lunchtime. Compete on certainty, speed, or expertise instead.
Taking the merely good deal is the third and the most expensive. A good deal consumes the capital and attention the great deal was going to need.
Confusing activity with progress is the fourth. Busy is not a strategy. If you cannot name the number a task moves, it is decoration.
From experience
I once let a hiring urgency talk me into a candidate I had reservations about. Within four months the two strongest people in that department had lowered their own output to match him. It cost me nearly a year of momentum to undo, and I never made that trade again.
Common mistake
Believing these are small errors. They are not dramatic in the moment, which is exactly why they compound unnoticed.
Do this next
- Step 1
Review your last three hires against the standard you claim to hold.
- Step 2
Name one advantage you have that a competitor cannot copy this month.
- Step 3
Delete or delegate every recurring task that moves no measurable number.
Questions
- Which mistake is most expensive?
- The good deal that blocks the great one, because you never see the invoice for what you missed.
- How do you catch these early?
- A monthly review with someone who has no reason to flatter you.
By Robert T Fletcher