Martin's Blog

As Mathew Rock reported in his editorial, Luke Johnson wrote an interesting article in the FT about what makes a great entrepreneur and how difficult it is to “spot a winner”. For business owners, selecting really good people is one of the hardest, yet most vital tasks we face.

The implications of getting it wrong can range from merely annoying to totally catastrophic. As we often refer to it as the “recruitment lottery”, surely the key has to be to find ways to narrow the odds?

I recently heard a great story about Pret A Manger, co-founded by entrepreneur Julian Metcalfe. Before their formal interviews, all candidates (for any position within Pret) are sent to work on the shop floor for a day and the employees get a say on whether that person should get hired.

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