You should never hire anyone for something you haven’t first struggled to do on your own. It’ll teach you most of what you need to know to actually interview candidates, it’ll allow you to understand the nature of the work better (do I even need to hire or can we outsource?), and you’ll know exactly what a job well done will look like. It’ll also give you a sense of whether the job is big enough for a full-time hire yet or if you can skimp by on your own (the latter is preferable if possible).
Jason didn’t hire me to help him program Singlefile (now defunct) before he had a sorta-just-barely-working prototype running off his own PHP skills. I didn’t hire Mark to do system administration before I had spent a whole Summer setting up a cluster. Jason didn’t get Sarah on board to do support before he had first done it for years on his own.
The benefits of having done the work yourself before seeking help doesn’t stop at hiring either. You’ll be a much better manager of roles that you’ve already held than when you’re completely in the dark about what it takes to perform. You’ll have empathy available when the going gets tough and it’s not their fault — and a stern voice when it is.
Don’t let big titles scare you off either. What does a business development person do? Find out by trying it on! Call people, make a few deals. Think you need a usability tester? Try a simple session on your own first with friends. No, it won’t be perfect. That’s okay. What you’re paying in initial execution will be repaid many times over by the benefits above.
Jason Reed
on 09 Oct 08I agree completely. I spent a good 3-4 months learning Rails and building the ‘skeleton’ of my app before I hired someone to help me finish the project. Once I felt I had a solid foundation, it was (is) a lot easier to manage the project, and make well-informed decisions.
Additionally, it’s been a great learning experience- I liken it to an apprenticeship. I learned more in the first two weeks of working with someone than I did in the first two months I spent working by myself, but none of it would have stuck with me if I hadn’t prepared myself first.
Brad
on 09 Oct 08I think a key benefit is that you’ll gain an idea of how difficult the project or position is and you’ll stop referring to other people’s work as “easy”
One of my favorite quotes from 37signals live is that “easy is a word you use to refer to other people’s jobs”
People who do client work know that there’s no bigger PIA than a client coming and saying “its just a quick job, it’ll be easy for you”
pmlarocque
on 09 Oct 08That one of the best advice. Nothing is more frustrating then a boss does not know what your day-to-day life really is.
Guan Yang
on 09 Oct 08By the way, any plans to bring back Singlefile in some form?
Thomas Enebo
on 09 Oct 08Does this mean I cannot vote for a president? :)
Seriously, this is good advice if you are in a position to do it, but if not then you are no worse off than you would have been had you not followed your advice in the first place.
Jon Walker
on 09 Oct 08I think this is a good rule of thumb, especially for startups and small businesses.
There is an exception. When you have worked with someone in that position before and you understand from working with them what that position’s requirements are, how to hire someone with those skills, and why you need it.
Doing it yourself in that case may just be slowing you down and an indication that you have trouble giving up control. Successful people can recognize things that they are not good at quickly and complement themselves by surrounding themselves with other good people.
Francesc Esplugas
on 09 Oct 08Amen!
Joran
on 09 Oct 08Wise words.
caustic
on 09 Oct 08so smart, as usual.
you people should be careful … in case you’ve never noticed … most prophets of truth end up murdered in the streets by angry mobs
Jin
on 09 Oct 08There’s always the danger of creating “managers who know enough just to be dangerous.”
Philip Lindborg
on 09 Oct 08I deeply agree with Jon Walker. Doing everything yourself before actually letting go can also be a big stopper.
Although I agree you need to know what to expect from someone you hire. Still, part of that experience can be achieved in other ways, such as working side by side to someone who has that position or asking someone who you trust and who has been in that position.
Miles K. Forrest
on 09 Oct 08Two quotes I have at my desk on this subject:
Tim Jahn
on 09 Oct 08I have always been a huge proponent of this idea. The best project managers (or managers in general) are the ones who once held the position of those they are now managing. They have the experience of the job, they know what is involved in doing the job, and they’re all around more knowledge about what they’re actually managing.
Great advice!
Grant
on 09 Oct 08Great post. So true.
RS
on 09 Oct 08This advise also applies when you work with programmers. If you have a question about some code, or you want some UI to be implemented, it’s always good to at least dig into the relevant code yourself before asking someone else to do it for you. Even if you don’t know how to program the feature you want, spend 15 minutes to explore the existing code and the imagine the starting points. That exploration will give you more common ground with the programmer so you can communicate your wishes more clearly. Also, after your fellow programmer has done the job, you can review what exactly they did and compare it against your guesses or the approach you imagined. That way every piece of work you hand off is a learning experience for you.
sebastian
on 09 Oct 08couldn’t agree more, this is why I read this blog, lets me know I’m not alone in the world
Don Schenck
on 09 Oct 08I remember that advice from my dead cousin … said it as he was packing his parachute.
Seriously, good advice.
Ivan
on 09 Oct 08So you wouldn’t agree with this or this ?
Louis
on 09 Oct 08You glossed over that point far too quickly. I think it’s the most important aspect of the DIY-first mantra.
Joshua Wilde
on 09 Oct 08Ivan: First. Do it yourself first.
Jiff Jonwes
on 09 Oct 08Outstanding, remember, do it yerself first!
Jiff www.privacy.de.tc
Gaurabh
on 09 Oct 08Firstly.. definitely an excellent ‘simple truth’ and I couldnt agree more.
However it doesnt work in all situations
For example: How does this work if you are, say a UX Designer and want to startup and want to hire a RubyOnRails developer? The designer might know as far as the possibilities of Rails but not how to do it.
Would be interesting to hear thoughts on this from the community.
I'm sure there are many designers out there with ideas in their heads or at the most in flash prototypes but can't take them further due lack of tech skills. I am one of them :)Jason Reed
on 09 Oct 08@Gaurabh-
That’s exactly what I did. I am a designer/front-end web developer. I had some side projects I wanted to tackle, figured Rails was the way to go, and spent some time learning things.
Now I’m working with a stellar developer and learning even more. I feel like I have an easier time communicating w/ the developer now, and I also feel like I’ve got his respect for having a basic understanding of things, and for trying to meet him at his level. (I mean that in a good way.)
Additionally, I think this has made me a better designer- knowing some of the limitations (or leanings/preferences, if you will) of the framework has shifted the way I design and the way I look at UX.
While this doesn’t work for everyone, it has certainly worked for me and my situation.
GeeIWonder
on 09 Oct 08“I didn’t hire a surgeon to do my triple-bypass until…”
Oh wait, that’s ridiculous.
Seriously though, this advice could be poison in the wrong hands. As things stand, micromanagement is enough of a plague on essentially all business. The last thing we need is to provide justification to point more managers or owners in that direction.
Aaron at FullTiltBlogging.com
on 09 Oct 08Try this instead: Find someone who is already employed in the field and hire them as a part-time consultant to help you screen and hire a candidate.
ProverbialWisdom
on 10 Oct 08As someone who works in proverbs daily (an English teacher, not a priest) I would like to point out that there are always, and a I mean always, exceptions to rules that can be stated in a few phrases. People often think these wonderful bits of wisdom are laws of sorts but they’re not. They’re only useful when providing an example and can only be judged in the context of the example that is provided. This is the basis of the grading system for a thing called the English essay.
So, yes, there are exceptions but the fact that one can show exceptions does not negate the fact that the original post is well written and has good examples while many of the posts hoping to expose the writer’s thinking as fraudulent are boorish.
Kyle Murphy
on 10 Oct 08I don’t know. From my understanding, Kevin Rose merely paid a guy to build Digg; he did none of the coding.
I guess it depends on the situation.
Josh
on 10 Oct 08Kyle,
I agree to an extent. Still, sometimes the benefit is not there. It simply takes time away from doing something more worthy or your time that you already do well.
For example, I am horrible with Excel. However, my assistant is excellent. I know she is capable and we work well together. I think you hire people to complement what you do.
I agree that it is always smart to know a little about a lot, especially when it comes to general skills.
Josh
Scott
on 10 Oct 08I have to say. Some of my best managers never did or could do what I did. They just were not technical or not a quick enough technology learner. However, they were very gifted people managers. Able to determine the situation and see how people fit within the projects, teams, and business philosophy.
Conversely, some of my worst managers were people who had my job, were technical and knew the ins and outs, but were just terrible people managers. Not able to see everyone is different and require different management of habits for motivation.
I think this goes with the Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Does a CEO, President, VP really need to know, or to have done, the intricacies of programming in order to manage a computer consulting firm? I don’t think so. In fact, I think it could hurt to know the Topic just as much as knowing none of the Topic.
Sometimes it is better to surround yourself with experts than to be the expert. In fact, I think the mark of an excellent leader is one who does not have “yes-men” on his team. The leader has people who complement and supplement the Teams’ situation.
Just to be clear, I think it depends on the person. Everyone is different.
Besides luck, there is a reason why some people excel at management and some people fall flat, and I don't think experience in the domain is as important as the commenters say.I disagree with the word never.
Examples: Does the President of a Country, really need to be a member of the military before becoming the commander in chief?
Examples: Do you really want to drill your own teeth when you have a cavity? heck, How do you even know you have a cavity some times? Is that something I want to struggle at doing on my own? No, I hire a dentist to check out my teeth, and I think I do a great job managing my dentist even though I have no clue about dentistry.
Examples: Sports Elites practice and practice and practice their domain of expertise. Many of the premier athletes hire people to do everything else in their life so they can concentrate on the one thing they do best. They outsource the motivation of exercise to Coaches. They outsource their finances to Sports Agents. They outsource their cooking to nutritionists. They outsource their home life to their mothers, wives, or friends.
I can go on and on with examples of hiring outside help for areas I don’t want nor should I struggle with.
There is something to be said for Knowing what you do well, and know what you don’t. If possible, Make what you do well excellent, concentrate on it, practice it, and stand out above the rest. As for your weaknesses, out-source those tasks to allow your greatness to shine even brighter.
Jason
on 10 Oct 08I was thinking of something to say along the lines of “great advice, but is ‘never’ really realistic…”, then i read Scott’s post above – spot on. Thanks for taking the time to write that!
Robin Jakobsson
on 10 Oct 08Wise words, thanks for sharing!
Matt
on 10 Oct 08IF I HAD TIME TO DO IT MYSELF I WOULDN’T BE HIRING SOMEONE.
nhm tanveer hossain khan (hasan)
on 10 Oct 08thanks david, this is very true.
Ian Dodson
on 10 Oct 08As a workplace mediator I disagree completely with the premise of this post. This kind of approach is misguided and unsustainable and in my role as a mediator I’d say it is at the root of many of the problems I deal with.
Wanting to know how everyone does their job is one thing and that can be easily communicated in an afternoon. Wanting to be able to DO that job is a classic mistake and propogates the myth that to effectively manage people you need to know how to do exactly what they do.
I work in workplace mediation and conflict resolution and easily 70% of the conflict between manager/employee is caused by what I call “Technician as Manager” issues. Managers who were technicians and excelled are than promoted into a position to manage other technicians.
They are ill prepared for the transition and find themselves completely out of their depth on the people management issues so invariably fall back on their comfort zone, ie the technical job they did before, which they were expert at.
Problem with this is that they now completely disempower the technicians under them and stiffle any creativity/feedback/growth and invariably become a dreaded “micro manager”.
Managing people when you dont know how to do their job is the litmus test of a true “manager”, ie it requires trust, openeness, willingness to learn and most importantly it means you treat employees like adults.
Cheers Ian
Tim
on 10 Oct 08Great concept, but you have to remember there comes a point where this is no longer feasible, and that is when you have to trust that your managers & employees are doing it for you. A CEO will eventually not be able to attempt every task. That is why he must trust his managers to take the lead and act with the same care and passion they would take to solve the problem. It is then up to that manager to determine, “Could this be done better by someone else.”
Benoit
on 10 Oct 08I agree with you Ian. Good technicians don’t do good managers as explained in the Peter Principle (or “Getting UnReal” ?). But I’m sure technicians can be good at evaluating or hiring other technicians. So I often do it myself first…
GeeIWonder
on 10 Oct 08As someone who works in proverbs daily (an English teacher, not a priest) I would like to point out that there are always, and a I mean always, exceptions to rules that can be stated in a few phrases.
Congratulations. You’ve just created a logical paradox.
Pek Pongpaet
on 11 Oct 08Doing it yourself first lets you gain insight in the amount of effort it takes. This comes in handy when you want other people to do it as you know get an idea of the cost involved. If you are delegating, you have a sense of the timeline. If you are outsourcing, you have an idea of how much it would take and cost.
Speaking of my own experience, I once tried to outsource a programming job. Being a developer myself, I knew how much time and effort it would take me to do it. I just didn’t want to do it because my time was better spent doing other more important tasks. The guy came back with this ridiculous estimate which was way off base and I ended up not hiring him because I knew better.
GeeIWonder
on 11 Oct 08Doing it yourself first lets you gain insight in the amount of effort it takes.
Wrong.
If you are delegating, you have a sense of the timeline.
Wrong.
If you are outsourcing, you have an idea of how much it would take and cost.
Wrong.
But it may create the illusion of knowledge, which can be even more harmful than simply acknowledging you don’t know.
Dave
on 13 Oct 08My philosophy: Don’t be insecure to hire smarter people than you.
You will never know how great you will be if you didn’t.
Mike Riley
on 16 Oct 08I think from another perspective, you should never allow someone to manage you that doesn’t understand how to do your job. If you hold a job where your manager says to you “get this done” with not even an inkling of what you will have to do in order to accomplish it, it means that your manager could probably be easily replaced by you.
This discussion is closed.