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“Beauty’s only skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.”  Bob shared that down-home piece a long time ago.  It stuck with me, in part because it has a ring of actionable truth to it.

There are solid principles that drive employee engagement, employee retention and employee loyalty and every one of them is connected to the leader – that’s you.  The starting point is making sure that the people you hire are the people who belong on your team.

That’s not just about their skills, nor even their internal motivation.  It has every bit as much to do with whether they fit in your culture.  There are plenty of fine, capable people who can thrive somewhere else but who simply are a poor fit for your shop.  And if you hire them it will get ugly very quickly – clear to the bone.

When people don’t fit in your culture, not only are they are dispiriting to the top performers on your team, but you, your top performers and even the people who don’t fit in your culture are blocked from the success you’re all capable of creating.

Take advice from The Temptations and their song Beauty’s Only Skin Deep:

“So, if you’re lookin’ for a lover,

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Obey the first cardinal rule of HR:  Hire slow; fire fast.  This is about the slow part.  More on the fast part another time.

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