Nobody taught me how to hire an ops lead

People is something that I don't talk about often, not in a hiring sense that is. I guess it's not something I think about, I just do. I realised that not everyone shares the same values or approach to this as I do, so I thought I'd share my perspective on this.

In my career, I've managed people more than double my age. I've handled hiring, firing, killing...I'm kidding...or am I? Point is, I dealt with people during my time optimising operations and building logistics solutions across the region. I've also hired and built teams for myself, not just for clients. The one thing that remains consistent for me, has never been degrees, background or prestige in any way. It's always been the human in them. What do I mean by this?

Look, I can hire the fresh graduate out of Harvard, Stanford, NUS, or any prestigious universities out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's useless just because I don't have a degree from them, but because that's not what makes a person. I don't mind green, I do mind the wrong attitude. I'll give you examples.

The wrong hire

This was for a client of mine in the early days of my career consulting. He had a degree from Harvard and has working experience. I thought, great profile, let's hire him! He gave very good vibes when we spoke in the interview and I said yes. 

The following weeks were okay, but not long after that, patterns started to show and I wasn't liking where it was going. He started to arrive at the office late and leave the office early. Pause, I have no problems with that, I'm famous for a particular quote for a reason. The problem was that these patterns started creeping up without a show of productivity. He was the operations manager and while the work was being done, nothing else beyond that was. Operations was never reviewed for optimisation, problems were not being resolved fast enough, and eventually we started noticing revenue leaks.

Despite speaking to him about it, he continued what he was doing and he lasted 2 months before I let him walk the plank.

I don't care where you are, when you work, or how you do it. As long as shit gets done.

I'd like to think of myself as someone who's fair when it comes to work, but while this person had a great profile, his attitude towards work was not. He took the job as if he wasn't expendable and that he walked amongst the untouchables in the company. Naturally, his great profile also came from a referral, of the CEO's friend. 

You see, this person was just interested in collecting a paycheck. While that is fine, I don't expect people to slave themselves and slog on endless hours of work, I at least expect the bare minimums to be done. It wasn't.

The right hire

This one, I'm very proud of. In my entire life and career, this hire was one I honestly hesitated on, but turned out to be one of the best hires in my career. What I ask for is simple, be open-minded, and have the drive to want it. I don't care if you don't know the industry or don't know how to do it. I would teach you, so long as you're willing to learn.

She asked me for a job outright, out of the blue. I told her I didn't have anything at the moment, but will keep a lookout for her. We didn't speak for a couple of months. During my Aersure days, bootstrapping and running the company as a solo-founder with one engineer was tough. I needed operations off my hands so I can focus on other parts of the business. I saw the right opportunity to hire and the first person I thought of was her.

Why? Because when we worked together (she was working for a vendor previously), she handled the operations of my cargo very well. She was prompt, detailed, and diligent in not only pushing internally but managing my expectations. Beyond that, it was also because she asked. Bold enough to ask, had the substance she never boasted having, I saw potential.

We've worked together for 8 years now and over the course of those years, she's proven herself time and time again. She handled exceptions and edge cases systematically and followed the very process and principles that I laid and instilled in her. She went on to being able to build operations processes on her own and after vetting 3-4 of them, I let her run her own show.

She was hesitant to become a manager and lead people, she says it wasn't her strength. She turned out to be my greatest manager and was very loved by the team.

Today, she's a business partner and she also took over taking care of the very team I built with her in Ninja Van.

People's attitude and trust matters

The thing about people is that we need to remember we're all humans. If we have the drive, and we believe in what we do, there's no stopping us. We have resilience and grit, sometimes it takes another to show you what you're capable of.

I don't ask them about their past. I ask how they solve problems. How they deal with ambiguity, and most importantly, what happens when they make a mistake. I often don't care that people make mistakes. I care when they don't learn from it and when they don't admit it. I give people the freedom to make mistakes and a safe space to learn from them.

Trust is also the next important thing. If there is no trust, there is no team. The team needs to trust you as a leader to lead and protect them, and you must trust that they will do their best. The core special projects team in Ninja Van was part of my operations team in Aersure. 

The right people tend to have the same priorities. They don't pick careers or jobs, they pick their boss.

Not to stroke my own ego, but I'm proud of the team that I built, and I'm proud of how dedicated they are to their work. I can always count on their loyalty, and I'm sure if the next big thing comes and I have the opportunity to bring my team, I would, and they wouldn't hesitate either.

Processes are important, the humans, even more

Regardless of how good your processes are, if we do not have the right people to own the process and carry them out, then we will never have a functioning team. People always say, "Invest in people". Yet you'll be surprised how many of them fail to follow that phrase.

Degrees are great, but greatness comes from within, not a piece of paper.