How to Hire the Next Michael Jordan

By: Gina ImperatoTue Dec 18, 2007 at 11:58 PM

If you want to recruit superstars -- the best of the best -- then you have to find them differently, evaluate them differently, and offer them jobs differently. Here's a short course from John Sullivan, the Michael Jordan of hiring.

Once you've hired the next Michael Jordan, the next challenge is to keep that new star on your team. Retaining talent, argues John Sullivan, is a business priority of the first order. Here are some of his suggestions on how to do it:

Measure and reward executives for attracting and retaining the best people for your company.
Treat special people in a special way -- and tell them why you're doing so.
Make attracting and retaining talent the most talked-about topic in your company.
Stop people in the hallways, and ask, "Are you challenged, listened to, and recognized?"
Practice random acts of attention and recognition.

Gina Imperato (gimperato@fastcompany.com), an associate editor at Fast Company, is the Michael Jordan of business writers. You can reach John Sullivan by email (johns@sfsu.edu).