Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Who summary
Geoff Smart
Randy Street
The A Method for Hiring
19 mins
Brief summary
'Who' by Geoff Smart and Randy Street is a guide for hiring top talent in any organization. It outlines practical methods for identifying and attracting the best candidates, ultimately leading to better performance and success for the company.
Topics
Table of Contents
Who
Summary of 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
Hiring mistakes can be catastrophic and many people lack the skills to make the right decisions.
Hiring can be a nightmare. But why all the fuss about getting the right person on the first try? If a new hire doesn’t work out, you can always just replace her, right?
Well, here’s the truth: if you think hiring is a matter of trial and error, you’re probably pretty new to the grueling initiation rite that is onboarding a new employee. Furthermore, hiring errors can cost companies a fortune and they happen far more often than they should.
Studies done by the authors have found that a typical hiring mistake will cost a company around fifteen times the employee’s monthly salary. Some of these costs stem from poor decisions made by the employee; the rest, from the work necessary to fire and replace him.
To put this in perspective, imagine you hire a manager who earns $100,000 a month. If your decision turns out to be a bad one, you’ll have cost the company up to $1.5 million!
Clearly, hiring the wrong person is an expensive mistake. Yet it happens all the time. According to management guru Peter Drucker, most managers make at least 50 percent of their mistakes during hiring decisions.
This makes sense, though. Business people often lack the skills they need to make sound hiring choices. So they end up relying not on personal expertise, but gut instinct.
This approach can be likened to that of an amateur art critic whose repertoire of responses to a work of art is limited to “I like it” and “I don’t like it.” The problem is that art can easily be forged and first impressions are often weak guides. Like the rash and uninformed critic, people who hire based on instinct can be fooled by charismatic candidates with little true ability.
Or, in other instances, managers act like prosecutors, trying to trick candidates into slipping up. As you’ll learn, doing this will only put a prospective hire on the defensive, preventing you from finding out whether he has the right skills for the job. Luckily, there’s a better approach, and in the next blinks you’ll learn all about it.
Want to see all full key ideas from Who?
Key ideas in Who
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Who about?
Who (2008) is your guide to the greatest problem that faces every business leader: how to hire competent staff. These blinks are chock-full of actionable tips on how to ensure your firm has a steady supply of adept candidates to choose from and that all your hires are in step with your goals.
Who Review
Who (2008) is a book that reveals the secrets of finding and hiring great talent for any organization. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- Packed with insightful strategies, it provides practical advice on how to attract and recruit top-notch candidates.
- Using real-life stories and case studies, the book illustrates the importance of identifying the right people for the right roles.
- With its engaging narrative and actionable tips, it keeps readers hooked from start to finish, making the topic of hiring surprisingly interesting.
Who should read Who?
- Managers, entrepreneurs and recruiters
- Job seekers
- Anyone with the power to hire and fire
Categories with Who
Book summaries like Who
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
33 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
Who FAQs
What is the main message of Who?
The main message of Who is that hiring the right people is crucial for the success of any organization.
How long does it take to read Who?
The reading time for Who varies depending on the reader's speed. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is Who a good book? Is it worth reading?
Who is worth reading because it provides practical advice and strategies for making successful hires, which can have a significant impact on the success of any organization.
Who is the author of Who?
The authors of Who are Geoff Smart and Randy Street.
What to read after Who?
If you're wondering what to read next after Who, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Hire With Your Head by Lou Adler
- Hiring Success by Jerome Ternynck
- Mind Magic by James R. Doty
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
- The Science of Getting Started by Patrick King
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick M. Lencioni
- Misplaced Talent by Joe Ungemah
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Sales EQ by Jeb Blount
- 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson