{"id":589,"date":"2014-05-30T15:36:11","date_gmt":"2014-05-30T15:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/?p=589"},"modified":"2024-05-23T06:16:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T06:16:11","slug":"hiring-best-people-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/hiring-best-people-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring the best people"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"you-can-t-send-a-duck-to-eagle-school\">&#8220;You can\u2019t send a duck to eagle school&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have to admit,&nbsp; when&nbsp;you saw the headline of Colin Thompson&#8217;s short article. Ducks? Eagles? What&#8217;s this to do with business? But&nbsp;you will be&nbsp;simply stunned by the truth behind this kind of funny sentence. What about you? Do you think you can train a duck to become an eagle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years ago I had lunch with a top executive from a company known for their legendary retail service. My wife and I are both huge fans, and over lunch I shared with him some of the great service stories his people had provided the Thompson family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I said, \u201cWith the service your people give\u2026you must have a training manual 2 inches thick.\u201d He looked up and said, \u201cColin, we do not have a training manual. What we do is find the best people we can find and we empower them to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then he said something I\u2019ll never forget. He said, \u201cWe learned a long time ago that you cannot send a duck to eagle school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I said. He repeated\u2026 <strong>\u201cYou cannot send a duck to eagle school.\u201d He said, \u201cYou cannot teach someone to smile, you cannot teach someone to want to serve, you cannot teach personality. What we can do, however, is hire people who have those qualities and we can then teach them about our products and teach them our culture.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As long as I live I will never forget this simple analogy about hiring people. It is branded on my brain forever. And since that day, with every hiring decision I\u2019ve made, I find myself asking the question: \u201cAm I hiring a duck thinking they will become an eagle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can also honestly say that asking this simple question has saved me from making some important hiring mistakes. I just wish I\u2019d heard it 20 years sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/49200.jpg?w=1200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About the author: Colin is a former successful Managing Director of Transactional\/Print Manufacturing Plants, Document Management\/Workflow Solutions companies and other organisations, former Group Chairman of the Academy for Chief Executives, Non-Executive Director, Mentor &#8211; RFU Leadership Academy, Mentor &#8211; Coventry University, Mentor &#8211; The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, helping companies raise their `bottom-line` and `increase cash flow`. Plus, helping individuals to be successful in business and life in general. Author of several publications, research reports, guides, business and educational models on CD-ROM\/Software\/PDF and over 1000 articles published on business and educational subjects worldwide. Plus, International Speaker\/Visiting University Professor. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/executive-profile.php?iman=49200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">View Colin&#8217;s short bio<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You can\u2019t send a duck to eagle school&#8221; You have to admit,&nbsp; when&nbsp;you saw the headline of Colin Thompson&#8217;s short article. Ducks? Eagles? What&#8217;s this to do with business? But&nbsp;you will be&nbsp;simply stunned by the truth behind this kind of funny sentence. What about you? Do you think you can train a duck to become &#8230; <a title=\"Hiring the best people\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/hiring-best-people-business\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Hiring the best people\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":5301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26],"tags":[127,163,65],"ppma_author":[615],"class_list":["post-589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hr","tag-business","tag-hr","tag-top-executives-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/ew2ubepc68w.jpg?fit=1600%2C1067&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7XjMV-9v","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/hr-expert-file-top-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":0},"title":"A Tip on the Long Tail of Top Management","author":"Avigdor Luttinger","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Consultants can turn top management roles more effective and less lonesome... Taking risks is inherent in top management roles, but some often suppressed aspects are isolation and doubt. With the increase of economic and political uncertainly and complexity, top managers need to be able to ponder alternatives and decisions with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;International Management&quot;","block_context":{"text":"International Management","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/category\/international-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"top management","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/5fnmwej4taa-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/5fnmwej4taa-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/5fnmwej4taa-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/5fnmwej4taa-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/5fnmwej4taa-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C801&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7496,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/how-integrated-hr-systems-simplify-company-wide-reporting\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":1},"title":"How Integrated HR Systems Simplify Company-Wide Reporting?","author":"Mark San Juan","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"HR teams spend countless hours each week pulling data from different systems to create reports. 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This manual process wastes time and often leads to errors that could have serious consequences\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HR&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HR","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/category\/executive-recruitment\/hr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"woman working on computer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pexels-photo-19125851.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pexels-photo-19125851.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pexels-photo-19125851.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pexels-photo-19125851.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/pexels-photo-19125851.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4418,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/best-practices-for-collaborating-with-your-new-ceo\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":2},"title":"Best Practices for Collaborating with Your New CEO","author":"Julie Cummings","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout my article series, The Role of a CHRO in CEO Transitions, I\u2019ve discussed how the CHRO can be an influential part of a major leadership transition. I\u2019ve shared strategies for creating a connection, educating on the HR function, and integrating the CEO into the organization. Once these steps have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HR&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HR","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/category\/executive-recruitment\/hr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/pexels-the-coach-space-2977565.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/pexels-the-coach-space-2977565.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/pexels-the-coach-space-2977565.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/pexels-the-coach-space-2977565.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/pexels-the-coach-space-2977565.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5370,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/insights-03-june-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":3},"title":"Insights &#8211; 03 June 2024","author":"CEO Worldwide","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Seven Characteristics of a High Performing Board This paper is designed to give board directors and key stakeholders suggestions that might be useful to maximise the performance of their boards. The seven characteristics are drawn from published research from McKinsey Consultants and the Harvard Business Review...Read more A Global Perspective:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Newsletter&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Newsletter","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/category\/newsletter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ceo insights","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1phztpku2ag.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1phztpku2ag.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1phztpku2ag.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1phztpku2ag.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/1phztpku2ag.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5480,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/recruitment-process-outsourcing-hr\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":4},"title":"The Impact of Recruitment Process Outsourcing on HR Practices","author":"CEO Worldwide","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Talent is critical to the growth of any business, and this has always been the case in the staffing industry; however, today's challenge is much more challenging than in the past. Opening across industries, businesses are experiencing a new and changing environment to recruit and select individuals with the required\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Business Development&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Business Development","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/category\/business-development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Recruitment Process Outsourcing","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gmsnxqiljp4.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gmsnxqiljp4.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gmsnxqiljp4.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gmsnxqiljp4.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/gmsnxqiljp4.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5686,"url":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/optimizing-facility-management-for-businesses\/","url_meta":{"origin":589,"position":5},"title":"Optimizing Facility Management for Businesses","author":"CEO Worldwide","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"In the complex world of executive leadership, it is the details that usually have the biggest impact and set apart the successful and the unsuccessful. 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Plus, helping individuals to be successful in business and life in\u00a0general. Author of several publications (35 +), research reports, guides, business and educational models on CD-ROM\/Software\/PDF and over 4000 articles published on business and educational subjects worldwide. Plus, International Speaker\/Visiting University Professor.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/colin-thompson-71640b8\/\">Checkout Colin's LinkedIn profile<\/a>"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5303,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/5303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}