Is it a better decision to hire one super talented person or to spend your time, energy, and resources creating a strong team of moderately talented people? Facebook’s recent hire of George Holz, reputed to be one of the computer programming’s world’s super talented people, has sparked a lot of conversation on this very question.
We thought it might be interesting to consider the issue from the Brand Modeling perspective. Our goal is to understand and meet the needs of our Brand Lovers better than any other organization. With that in mind, there’s no aspect of our business that’s more critical to our organizational success than the quality of the people who work with us.
Every single person has an impact—direct or otherwise—on our customer’s experience with the brand. Every single person’s performance must be in alignment with our Brand Lover’s expectations.
Brand Modeling: Choosing the Right Team
What makes IKEA great? Look at the people who cheer and clap as customers come into the store—they’re a huge part of the answer. Wal-Mart, undoubtedly one of the world’s most dominant organizations, credits much of its success to the people they hire: friendliness and approachability are key traits looked for in every employee. Disney has an intense hiring and training process to ensure that every person who works at the Magic Kingdom is capable of delivering a magical experience.
These companies are thriving because they’re satisfying the expectations of their Brand Lovers. They know and understand what their best customers expect at every engagement point and they deliver. Netflix is another great example: even though Netflix’s best customers might never meet a Netflix employee in person, they are confident that the nation’s dominant streaming entertainment organization has their interests in mind. This is demonstrated by Netflix’s commitment to innovation and customer service: problems are resolved promptly, often even before the customers are aware of them.
Superstars on Both Sides
Where are the superstars in all of this? Do dominant organizations need exceptional talent in order to survive and thrive?
Let’s ask Apple. Many people consider Steve Jobs to be an exceptional talent. There’s no arguing that Apple is stronger with Jobs than without him. How much of Apple’s Brand Lover’s fanaticism is contingent upon his presence? Taking the question further, does Apple dominate based upon fulfilling their Brand Lover’s expectations of breathtaking innovation—and is that innovation dependent upon a few super talented behind the scenes computer engineers and programmers?
The answer is Yes, but not exclusively. For every super-talented Apple employee that works in product development (and we’re confident that they are legion) there’s an equally critical super-talented Apple employee that shines at meeting customer needs. They might be working at the Genius Bar, explaining how to get the most out of the latest iGadget, or providing tech support in the middle of the night—nothing exceptional, perhaps, but absolutely essential.
We think Facebook is in the same position. It needs the super-talented developers and programmers in order to meet their Brand Lovers expectations of continuing product evolution and innovation. It needs the super-talented front line employees to solidify the customer’s everyday experience of the brand. The combination is a powerhouse, destined to keep Facebook on the top of the social media mountain.