Latest / Reborn w/ Antonio Boutros / From Operator to CEO and Back Again: Hire Slow, Fire Fast | Reborn Podcast Solo

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From Operator to CEO and Back Again: Hire Slow, Fire Fast | Reborn Podcast Solo · Reborn w/ Antonio Boutros

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: So what I learned is that ownership isn't about the seat, it's about the standard.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to the reborn podcast.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to talk about uh what I learned from uh going from operator to CEO and back again.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh they say to get out of the weeds, uh, but what happens when you are forced back into them?
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's exactly what I'm gonna uh dive into in today's episode.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I want to go through first the operator season.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: This was the first uh uh almost two years of our company uh here at Reborn Homes.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I wore every single hat, uh acquisitions, dispo, admin, uh, etc.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: And um what I learned is uh really how to operate in every single position at a high level.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh how to uh really what works, what doesn't, how to uh maximize our productivity, uh our efficiency, and our effectiveness.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I was able to build systems for when uh I I had stepped into the CEO mode uh uh that people could easily slide and fit into uh uh in their positions and be excellent at it right from the jump.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh I think being in the trenches uh initially really, really helped.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh it helped me learn lessons that uh being a CEO immediately wouldn't have.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh now when I stepped into CEO mode, I uh I was focused on hiring, uh delegating, and and leading uh our strategy.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I let go of the busy uh to focus on the uh the vision, the uh what's actually moving the needle forward.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And um that was great.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I was able to get a little bit of experience with uh with HR, which uh which was hiring, which was onboarding, which was ongoing training, what that needs to look like, what that should look look like, what uh input produces the best output.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And um that really helped expand my arsenal from just the specifics of uh real estate, which was again the acquisitions, the dispositions, and the admin and uh other day-to-day tasks that go into it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um hiring is is universal and uh is a a skill that can be replicated to any uh any business.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so I I'm I'm really grateful for that season.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, why I had to step back into operations uh was and really the the team wasn't ready.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um as much as the process as we had helped and um we we we did have training, uh they still uh needed help.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's okay.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there was uh you know pressure to of course generate revenue uh to to ensure that we stay in in business, uh to get deals, and uh, of course, again, training needs.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh it's it's it's been a it's been a balance, and I can actually say that now at this point in and in our company, uh I am uh a lot less in the day-to-day, but um still in the day-to-day with with training our team, with uh generate generating revenue, um and being there to answer questions.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I learned is that ownership isn't about the seat, it's about the standard.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so we need to find people who have the accountability uh to own their position.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're an acquisitions manager, you need to own the input and uh ultimately the output of the acquisition seat.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh if you're a TC, you need to own the input and own the output.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you need to uh be dispositions, uh same thing, and uh so on and so forth, depending what position you are.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh CEO uh means that overall you are responsible for for what is getting done.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: It does not mean that you personally need to get every single thing done.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, if you personally get every single thing done, one, you are not a CEO.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: And two, if you are attempting to grow a business, you will fail miserably because you only have so much time, so much energy, and yet if you are doing everything right now and you are actively generating business, actively uh doing deals, and you probably have some extra money sitting around, and uh it might be a good time for you to start looking around and saying, hey, what low dollar per hour tasks am I spending a lot of my time on uh that maybe I don't even enjoy doing, but I feel like I have to do?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, uh a lot of that is uh admin work, TC, transaction coordinating.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I don't generate revenue from that.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't like doing it, and uh it really doesn't cost a ton of money to outsource.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the next hire uh for me was sales.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and that's that's one that can be uh especially for entrepreneurs who are like me, who are very people-oriented, sales-oriented, uh, not a technical founder.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, they can struggle to let this go.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, um, it's it's really a matter of do I want to um you know continue to be in a sales position, or do I want to grow to company?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a genuine question to ask yourself.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh in my instance, I wanted to grow to company, and so I chose to hire for sales.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and because I hired for sales, now uh not all of the revenue is uh on my uh own back, my uh responsibility.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and um that's allowed me to focus on okay, what is the mix seat we need to fill?
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: What is the strategy we want to uh pursue?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: What uh what other ways can we uh in addition to building our team, what other ways can we improve uh our company?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um so while being CEO doesn't uh mean you get it all done yourself, it does mean that you still need to make sure that it gets done.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that starts with uh really the hiring uh and the recruiting process, uh ensuring that you recruit high quality uh talent.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one of the biggest things for me is uh uh actually every single member of our team has not come through uh cold outreach or um uh you know someone who I don't know.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's come through a warm referral.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: So each of our individual team members has come from somebody that I know, like, and trust.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so I think that's been uh very, very helpful.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um but then you also have to uh have a solid hiring process.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: So for us, we have a four-step hiring process.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's one, they have an initial screening with our uh operations coordinator, two, they have a uh a Zoom call with with me, three, they have an in-person with me, and then four, they meet our entire team and make sure that as a team we mesh well together.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then after that, of course, make sure that you set clear expectations uh for what can what uh they need to accomplish in their role to be successful and uh ensure that you're uh ongoing, uh providing ongoing training and uh ideally SLPs, uh standards of procedure in order for them to know what again, what does success look like in each position?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because you might have people who are underperforming, not because they are underperformers, but because you are a poor leader.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I say this to my past self: I have been a poor leader and I have led people to not really accomplish what they would have hoped to accomplish in their position because I have not given clear direction.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: So as the leader, as a CEO, that is your role.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Strategy, vision, direction, all of it.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh now, advice for entrepreneurs.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: They it's it's it's age old, but uh fire fast and hire slow.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I there's one specific instance of a hire that we had made uh who uh I I believed had very good potential, and uh still to this day, I believe they can do very, very good in their career.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we ended up parting ways, but I felt uh a shift uh maybe a month, month and a half prior to us parting ways.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they were in a sales seat, uh, and because of that, uh our our revenue tanked.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that led to a hardship in our company.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um because I also was not really focused on sales myself at that point.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so if I had let them go a month, month and a half before, um, and especially if I had a steady flow of okay, if if if they leave, or if I let them go, who's gonna come back in to fill that spot?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have that, uh, and I let them go way too slow.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I shouldn't I should have done better.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: I should have let them go sooner.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and now higher uh uh uh higher, I'm sorry, I should have let them go faster.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh higher slow.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh there have been times where, for instance, our sales really, really picks up, and all of a sudden, hey, now we need an admin.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh, but but who do I hire?
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so it can be easy to fall into this person's worked for us before, they know how we work, they might really not be a great employee, but they're they have a pulse, they're breathing, they're here.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, have fallen into that before, and uh it has definitely not helped a company.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: I can think of one specific instance when I when I fell into that and uh uh ended up hiring a person who had previously worked for our company, and uh then I think we let them go within a month.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that's honestly, and if you look if you ask me, that's not kind uh to them, and it's uh a lack of diligence on behalf of the company.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: So um hire slow and fire fast.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and lastly, uh build systems, build systems and then put people in them that match the the personality type, the character that you need for those systems.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so uh, you know, I love reading, but if you have someone who uh loves reading but uh is afraid to talk to people, they probably shouldn't be on the phones.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you have someone who loves looking at data, uh they should probably be doing something to r regarding data, involving data.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I personally can't stand looking at data.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'd it bores me to tears.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'd would rather take a nap, frankly.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so that's that's a gift.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Different people have different gifts than we have.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we're all built uh and designed uh in God's image, but all differently.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and so when we build systems, we can avoid having a savior complex, which is we do everything because we're the best, because we know everything.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that while that might be true, we are the best in every single seat.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we do know the most of every single seat.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: We have the most experience in every single seat.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: We are the best.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: We are our best employee.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: However, we also, again, don't have the the time, the energy, the capacity to to take on every seat, especially as a growing company.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: So build systems, uh, don't just rely on yourself.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Hire, uh, hire slow, fire fast.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: I hope this helped.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this was the Reborn Podcast with Tony Boutros, where we dive into faith-driven entrepreneurship.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I hope to see you on the next episode.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend uh who may also enjoy this episode.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Your network is your net worth, be a valuable part of someone else's network.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to you soon.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Peace.