I can’t afford to hire an XXXX right now

I have heard this from several of my clients.

“Neither my partner nor I want to run the business. We built this company based our sales skills. We should be dedicated practice leaders. Neither of us really likes the role of Integrator (non-EOS companies should think of COO). But we can’t afford to hire one right now.”

“I really should be dedicated to my role as Integrator, but nobody else can run Services right now. Besides, it would take me too long to educate a new person. I can’t afford not to sit in that seat as well.”

The issue is that you have a price tag in your mind as to the cost of hiring an Integrator for your company or a VP of Services. But you haven’t documented what it is costing you NOT to hire that person.

Here is a simple exercise for you which might help:

1. Put “orange dots” next to all the items on your issues lists (short and long term) which would be solved by hiring such a person. If you are an EOS company, then you have long and short term issues lists. If you are not an EOS company, I urge you to simply take the time to write down all the issues, obstacles, problems which are holding you and your company back, preventing you from generating more top and bottom line dollars.
2. Calculate what these issues are costing you over the next twelve months. Use a year because that is the cost we associate with hiring someone – their annual salary. Be honest, take your time. What are all the costs, obvious and hidden? What clients aren’t you getting? What clients are you losing? How much time are you and your executive team spending on discussing these problems over and over …. and over? How much does this distraction cost you? What work isn’t being done by you or your leadership team because you are “filling in” or “compensating” for this missing person?
3. Compare the two figures. Chances are that the costs of not hiring exceed the costs of hiring. Almost every time.

If it’s close, or even if it’s not, find a way to do this. You are killing yourself and your company. You don’t have the time to be in two seats and you really don’t like one of them. So how good a job are you really doing, in either job?

Be creative. Compensation packages can have a larger variable component based on success factors that are a win for everybody. You can use equity – phantom shares or the like if you are private. Make them based on performance as well. The right kind of person would love the opportunity to over achieve.

If you have done this, can you share a success story with us?