stop hiring yourself.

I sat across from a woman with her Doctorate in Psychology this morning at coffee who said "we hire ourselves."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We hire people and first train, then manage them to be us. Instead, we should train and manage them for the position, then allow them to be better than us at their jobs."

"Give employees tasks, but give your managers goals." My Dad, a business owner of over 30 years has said many times. "Managers will only get frustrated if you give them tasks. Let them know what you need, then stand back and shut up. Let them do their jobs."


"I was never the smartest guy in the room. From the first person I hired, I was never the smartest guy in the room. And that's a big deal. And if you're going to be a leader - if you're a leader and you're the smartest guy in the world - in the room, you've got real problems" writes Jack Welch.

It seems intimidating, but the fact is, often we limit ourselves by building positions that validate us instead of outgrow us.

Again, the words of my Dad.



"Knock it off."