Installing the A Method

Ten things to properly install the A Method for solving your biggest problem

Make people a top priority. Leaders we interviewed for this book told us they spend as much as 60 percent of their time thinking about people.

Follow the A Method yourself. Great leaders don't tell people what to do. They lead by example. That gives them the right to expect others to follow.

Build support among your executive team or peers. Leaders gain momentum by engaging everybody on their executive team to follow the A Method.

Cast a clear vision for the organization and reinforce it through every communication with the broader team. Try a message like, "We are going to win with A Players" "We will succeed because we have an A Player in every role" or "Our people will serve our customers far better than the competition because our people are all A Players." Then back it up with actions to show the transformation.

Train your team on best practices. Hands on workshops demystify the process and puts the simple tools in their hands.

Remove barriers that impede success. They remove any possibility for excuses based on an outdated approach.

Implement new policies that support the change. Leaders know that all the communication in the world won't motivate some members of the team, so they put a few simple policies in place to provide a backstop for wayward colleagues:

They place the following outcome on every manager's scorecard: "Achieve a hiring success rate of 90 percent or greater. Build and retain a team composed of 90 percent or more A Players by a certain date."

They require a scorecard for every job requisition. No scorecard, no requisition.

They require a Who Interview and rated scorecard before an offer can be made. No Who Interview, no hire.

Recognize and reward those who use the method and achieve results. They reward managers who achieve a 90 percent or better hiring success rate by linking a substantial portion of their bonus to that particular outcome. They know that bonuses pay for themselves through substantially increased productivity.

Remove managers who are not on board. Of course, they give people every opportunity to succeed before they make this decision, but they do not hesitate once it becomes clear that someone is not going to cooperate.

Celebrate wins and plan for more change. Offer tangible rewards, such as a fancy dinner, a team event, or even a nice gift. They use the goodwill generated by this recognition to inspire more action in the next year.

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