A hidden common denominator to all successful entrepreneurs - by Patrick Valtin

Expanding your business always starts with NOT attracting the wrong people! Successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs (Apple), Kevin P. Ryan (DoubleClick), Tony Hsieh (Zappos.com) or Richard Branson (Virgin Group) spend 60 to 80% of their time finding top players and avoiding trouble makers! 

This is where they make the difference. If you hire the right people you don't have to manage them. Most of your wasted energy, your trouble and your frustrations come from a minority of people who should not have been hired in the first place.

"We employ 200,000 people. So I can make the case - and I have for years - that the most important discipline at Starbucks is human resources." - Howard Schultz, Starbucks

"I used to think business was 50 percent having the right people. Now I think it’s 80 percent. The best way to be productive is to have a great team. So I spend more time than most CEOs on human resources." – Kevin P. Ryan, Double-Click 

" One of the most important aspects of being a superior leader is hiring people smarter than you. Top leaders spend more time putting the right team in place to accomplish their objectives than they spend on planning, strategizing or many other components of their job." - Bob Prozen, author of "Kiss Theory Goodbye."

"I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way!" - Lee Iaccoca. 

"I have participated in the hiring of maybe 5,000-plus people in my life. So I take it very seriously." - Steve Jobs.

The tip us thus simple: you need a competitive edge, a No-Fail Hiring guide to attract and recruit the top players, so you can surround yourself with honest, dedicated and able people who share your core business values, while appreciating your performance standards.

Over 80% of your problems as a leader or executive come from having hired the wrong people. Be smarter in the hiring process and you won't need to work so hard later!

Patrick Valtin,

Author "No Fail Hiring."