The Game.
Arsène Wenger once said:
"For me, motivation is a person who has the capability to recruit the resources he needs to achieve a goal."
Twenty-two years at Arsenal; three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups…
and the invincibles.
When asked about what mattered most, Wenger didn't talk about tactics or training, he talked about recruitment.
Thierry Henry wasn't Thierry Henry when he arrived from Juventus as a struggling winger, Patrick Vieira wasn't a leader when Arsenal signed him from AC Milan, and Cesc Fàbregas was just 16 when he signed from Barcelona.
Wenger saw something others didn't, not just potential, but character and alignment with his vision.
The best managers in football understand they're not really in the tactics game or the training game.
They're in the recruitment game.
The Analysis.
Business is a team sport.
Steve Jobs said it plainly:
"I consider the most important job of some like myself, is recruiting."
Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb, spent five months interviewing the first engineer who turned out to be their first employee.
Five months.
For one hire.
Entrepreneurs obsess over strategy, operations and execution generally because they are either competent operators, or focused too much on the destination and not who will help them get there.
Recruitment quickly becomes a role, and not a responsibility.
Your strategy doesn't matter if you don't have people who can execute it.
Your culture doesn't exist if you hire people who don't embody it.
Your vision dies if no one on your team believes in it.
Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce, built one of the most valuable software companies in the world.
His advice?
"Hire people who are better than you. Then get out of their way."
That only works if you're ruthless about who you bring in.
The Reflection.
How many times do you ask yourself:
“How can I accomplish this?”
As opposed to:
“Who can help me achieve this?”
Best,
Daniel Holloway
Founder, Sport of Business
P.S. Know someone building a business who thinks like an athlete? Forward this to them. The best performances are by those who understand the game.