The benefits of hiring clever, driven people are well worth the effort.
Q. You have advised entrepreneurs to hire to their weaknesses. I’m an idea guy, and I love being in front of an audience. I’m not a sales guy, nor a marketing guru, nor a finance wiz, so I do need to hire to those weaknesses.Once the right people are in place, how do I delegate responsibilities while retaining overall ownership of the business and my idea? I have no problem letting people succeed and gain recognition — I’m more concerned about coming into conflict with someone who thinks that they can do things better than I can.Also, how do I ramp up the business while protecting it from competitors who have money and know-how — say, someone who has been in business 50 years and grown hundreds of companies — squashing me like a bug and claiming my ideas as their own?— Bill Hagen