Consider the following actual quotations pulled from the business headlines:

“He was the wrong guy. The board screwed up. He proved to be a numbers guy who didn’t understand the drivers of the business”.

“This is a retail operation not the military and he never really understood the difference. We hired the wrong guy”.

“It only took us a few months to realize that he was all wrong. The chemistry and fit was just off.”

“She lacked the requisite skills to move the business forward. She was deeply divisive, self-centered, narcissistic and autocratic in style. I do not know what the board was thinking”.

Such post-mortems can be found on any given day of the year in any business publication pertaining to public and private sector organizations, startups and blue chip companies alike. How is it that even the most sophisticated of companies are vulnerable to such hiring missteps? Over the next number of posts I will offer a number of key contributing factors.

About the Author

Robert Hebert is the founder and Managing Partner of StoneWood Group Inc., a leading executive search firm in Canada. Since 1981, he has helped firms across a wide range of sectors address their senior recruiting, assessment and leadership development requirements.

Contact Robert by email at [email protected] or call (1) 416-365-9494 EXT 777