There are three managerial positions that must be filled with the utmost attention because they are the core around which the company grows. Unfortunately, too many company owners are trying to get along without them and the result can be a real disaster.
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While forming the company and choosing the most important managers, one of the most important positions is usually left for the end: a chief human resources officer. It is almost an unwritten rule that just middle-size companies hire an HR professional and the big ones have an HR department. That approach is wrong and it can bring many problems to the table but it is understandable why HR is on the end of the chain.
The wide-spread opinion is that HR department deals with lower positioned employees and with all that boring stuff: reading CVs, doing interviews, and checking workers' background. But you should remember that HR specialist also knows how to choose the right top managers. It's faster and cheaper to have a chief human resources officer than to pay a head-hunter agency. So, HR chief first, the rest will follow.
The next senior executive you must hire is chief financial officer. No matter are you working at start-up or in a big company, when you are assembling your team CFO is one of the most important managers around. If you are small, he can define priorities and make a sustainable plan on the long run.
If your company is big, rest assured that he will find many holes where the money disappears and he can close those holes. Some managers tend to rely on accountants but that is a different job: book keeping is not the same as creating sustainable financial policy and an educated CFO is much better choice for that task than an accountant.
And now, the man who runs the company. No, it's not you, that's chief operating officer. While you are thinking and brainstorming, you must have somebody to bring your ideas from dreams to reality.
Chief operating officer is selected from production and he know how to make that killer product you envisioned. He knows what kind of people and resourced he need, and he knows how to put all that in one smooth machine. From relationships with suppliers to the last screw in the oldest machine in your company - COO knows it all.
Those are three most important positions in your company and if you find real men for them you are on the right path to success. If some of them is still empty think very hard where to find a suitable person. All other positions and departments depend on them, and if they are true professionals they will bring you great results to the table in no time. ■