“Evaluate key team members honestly a couple times per year to determine if the company is outgrowing them, and narrow responsibilities so they can become A players again or help them transition out”
About Brad Smart
Management consultant who created the Topgrading hiring methodology — a structured interview and reference-checking process designed to identify A-players and reduce mis-hire rates.
Relevant Clips40
- How-To
How to Conduct A-Player Interviews -- Brad Smart's proven methodology for identifying high performers through structured interviews
- Teaching▶ 30:47
Evaluate Key Team Members Twice a Year for Company Fit
Evaluate key team members honestly a couple times per year to determine if the company is outgrowing them, and narrow responsibilities so they can become A players again or help them transition out
- Teaching▶ 35:03
Choosing vs Discovering Your Niche: A Critical Distinction
Companies that top grade and replace C players with A players become more successful, people have more fun, and everyone works fewer hours because they're not compensating for weak performers
- Teaching▶ 29:35
Why C Players Sabotage High Performers
C players are amazingly creative in undermining A players because high performers pose a threat by asking embarrassing questions in meetings and wanting to accomplish goals in half the time
- Teaching▶ 3:55
Tandem Topgrading Interviews — One Questions While One Takes Notes
Use tandem top grading interviews where two people interview simultaneously - one asks questions while the other takes notes, allowing deeper focus on responses and pattern detection
- Teaching▶ 6:48
A-Players Respond Quickly — Lower Performers Reveal Themselves in Email
Enter into email dialogue with best candidates and observe response patterns - A-players respond quickly and professionally, while lower performers reveal disqualifying information.
- Teaching▶ 27:28
Chronological Interview Technique for Spotting A-Players
Team up with another A-player in your company to conduct chronological interviews asking specific questions about past successes and future plans to identify high performers
- Teaching▶ 3:29
Personal Message Filter That Screens Out 70% of Bad Candidates
Ask candidates to write personal messages answering specific questions instead of submitting resumes, which immediately disqualifies 50-70% of unqualified applicants.
- Teaching▶ 17:45
Hire Intrinsically Motivated People — Never Try to Motivate
Find intrinsically motivated people rather than trying to motivate unmotivated ones—if you're asking how to motivate your team, you made an upstream hiring mistake.
- Teaching
Build a Virtual Bench With 3–6 Months of Osmosis
Build a 'virtual bench' through a 3-6 month osmosis process of getting to know potential hires through conversations and relationship building before formal hiring
- Teaching▶ 5:00
A-Players Question You — B and C Players Want Any Job
A-players are as interested in questioning you and learning about your business as you are in questioning them, while B and C players are just looking for any job.
- Teaching
A Players Seek Challenge While C Players Avoid It
A players naturally gravitate toward other A players and challenging situations, while C players avoid discomfort and prefer hanging out with other low performers
Show 28 more
- Teaching▶ 7:28
Budget Three Months for Meaningful Hire Onboarding
Accept training investment risk for significant hires - budget for 3 months of onboarding costs because meaningful players can't be productive in just a few days
- Teaching▶ 34:24
A Players Commit Where C Players Hedge
A players give you confidence about weekend deadlines by committing to do whatever it takes, while C players say they'll 'try their best' leaving you worried
- Teaching
The True Cost of a Mis-Hire: 20 Times Annual Salary
Mis-hires cost approximately 20 times their annual salary when accounting for lost productivity, training costs, damaged relationships, and cleanup efforts
- Teaching▶ 3:29
Write Job Ads in a Candid Personal Tone Not a Skills List
Write job ads in a friendly, candid, personal tone explaining exactly what you want and don't want, rather than listing formal skills and qualifications.
- Teaching▶ 30:18
Top Grade from the Top Down in Hiring
Top grade from the top down because C player managers will be threatened by A player employees, leading to high turnover and frustrated high performers
- Teaching▶ 36:43
Cost of a Mishire 150 Hours and 1.5M
The average mishire wastes 150 hours annually and costs companies $1.5 million according to research from 52 companies with $100,000 average salaries
- Teaching▶ 5:34
Recruit Ahead of Need to Properly Evaluate Candidates
The worst time to hire is when you need someone immediately; start recruiting 3 months ahead when you have time to properly evaluate candidates
- Teaching▶ 3:44
Emotional Estimation Is the Most Dangerous Hiring Mistake
Emotional estimation—hiring someone because you 'really like them'—is one of the most dangerous and prevalent mistakes in business hiring.
- Teaching▶ 1:57
Emotional Estimation Is the Most Dangerous Hiring Mistake
Emotional estimation is most dangerous when hiring - saying 'I really like this person' is a red flag that indicates poor hiring judgment
- Teaching▶ 35:32
Hardest People Decisions Involve Early Team Members
The toughest people decisions entrepreneurs face involve those closest to them who helped start or build the company but now drag it down
- Teaching
Hire Stars Only — All or Nothing Approach to Talent
Hiring decisions should follow an 'all or nothing' approach, committing exclusively to star performers rather than accepting mediocrity
- Teaching
Creative Leaders Hire Disorganized Creatives Without Guidance
Creative people in leadership positions tend to hire other disorganized creative people just like themselves when left without guidance
- Teaching▶ 8:48
Serial Interview Technique Reveals Excuse Patterns vs Results
Conduct serial interviews covering every job a candidate has ever had to identify patterns of excuses versus results-driven behavior
- Teaching
C-Players Convert A-Players Into B and C-Players
C-players not only underperform but actively convert A-players into B and C-players while repelling other top talent from joining
- Teaching▶ 0:13
Build a Virtual Bench Through Relationship Interviews
Build a 'virtual bench' by treating interviews as relationship-building processes over time rather than single evaluation events
- Teaching▶ 1:17
Email Exchanges to Evaluate Candidate Thinking Style
Use email exchanges and advice requests during the relationship building phase to evaluate how candidates think and respond
- Teaching▶ 2:33
Use Serial Interviews to Find Candidates Who Finish Projects
Use serial in-depth interviews to discover if candidates have a proven track record of driving projects to completion
- Teaching▶ 5:25
Test Candidates with Live Work Tasks Not Just Interviews
Test prospective team members by having them do actual work tasks live to reveal their real performance capabilities
- Teaching▶ 36:43
Sales Rep Mishires Cost Six Times Base Salary
Sales rep mishires cost an average of $583,000 or about 6 times base salary according to surveys of sales managers
- Teaching▶ 3:01
Different Personality Types Catch Blind Spots in Interviews
Different personality types and skill sets will see qualities in candidates that you have no way of perceiving
- Teaching▶ 3:20
Hiring for Passion and Completed Project Track Record
Look for passion and a successful track record of driving projects to completion when hiring top performers
- Teaching▶ 3:39
Cross-Department Interview Teams for Comprehensive Evaluation
Use multiple team members from different departments to interview candidates for comprehensive evaluation
- Teaching▶ 7:49
Hire Star Performers Who Think Long-Term
Find star performers who operate on long-term thinking rather than short-term incentive-driven behavior
- Teaching
Investigate Weird Signals With New Team Members Immediately
Investigate immediately when sensing anything weird with new team members to prevent major problems
- Teaching▶ 5:50
One in 31 People Are Under Legal Supervision
One in 31 people are under legal system supervision, requiring vigilance in business relationships
- Teaching
Seeking Validation Over Truth Keeps You Blind to Your Gaps
Hiring people based on emotional liking rather than data leads to expensive mistakes
- Answer▶ 36:43
True Cost of a Bad Sales Hire
According to Brad Smart's research, the average mishire costs $1.5 million (15 times base salary) for positions with $100,000 average salaries, and wastes 150 hours annually in management time.
- Quotable▶ 3:10
Tandem Topgrading Reveals What Relationship-Building Hides
I'm surprised all the time when we we have our process of getting to know someone over time and then we do we use Brad Smart's system of doing a tandem top grading interview what comes out of these relationship building steps what we learn it's incredible