The 60-second version
- Write a scorecard before you write a job post.
- Hire for the next two years, not the next ten.
- Check references you find yourself, not just the ones you're given.
Your first executive hire changes the company. Done well, it frees you to focus on what only you can do. Done badly, it can cost a year.
Start with a scorecard, not a job description. Write down the outcomes this person must deliver in their first year, the skills that matter and how you will know they are succeeding. Share it with everyone who interviews.
Hire for the stage you're entering, not the company you hope to be in a decade. Someone who has built a team from five to fifty may be a better fit than someone who has only run a department of five hundred.
Use a work sample. Ask finalists to tackle a real problem you're facing, and watch how they think, not just what they conclude.
Go beyond the references you're given. Find people who worked with the candidate at their last two companies and ask what it was like to work for them on a hard day.
Your action list
General guidance only, not legal, tax or financial advice.