Building a Winning Team: Hiring

Recruiting is a magical thing. When you think about it, there's a lot you don't have control over in business. You can't control the market. As an individual, you don't have a lot of control over the perception of the industry. But, if there is one thing you do have control over, it's who you bring onto your team.

As a leader in your organization, you are like a chef creating a masterpiece. You decide how many ingredients to put in, in what proportions, and how they should be mixed. And, as any chef will tell you, you can't create a masterpiece—regardless of your technique—with bad ingredients.

Sometimes, I think too much emphasis is placed on training. Don't get me wrong—solid training is important. But to think that you can hire anyone and everyone and turn them all into superstars—that's just plain wrong.

A better way may be to hire people who don't need training. That will save you time. There are, of course, certain things employees will need to learn to fit in with your organizational culture. In that case, look for a willingness to learn in candidates. But, whatever you do, take your recruiting seriously. That's where a successful enterprise begins.

David Lykken is 40-year industry veteran who has been an owner operator of three mortgage banking companies and a software company. As co-founder and managing partner of Mortgage Banking Solutions, David consults on virtually all aspects of mortgage banking with special emphasis executive leadership development, corporate strategic direction and implementation, as well as mergers and acquisitions. A regular contributor on CNBC and Fox Business News, David also hosts a successful weekly radio program, “Lykken on Lending,” that is heard each Monday at noon (Central Standard Time) by thousands of mortgage professionals. Recently, he started producing one-minute videos called “Today’s Mortgage Minute” that appears on hundreds of television, radio and newspaper Web sites daily across America. He may be reached by phone at (512) 977-9900, ext. 10, or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].