What do you Need, When & Why?

Leonel Messi, possibly the greatest player to ever grace the beautiful game of Football, signed for Inter Miami towards the end of his career.

After David Beckham acquired Inter Miami for $25 Million (yes, really), Inter Miami is now valued at close to $1Billion, with Inter Miami’s “Messi Pink” being the most sold football shirt in the world. Messi is in the later years of his career and has played less than half of this seasons Inter Miami games.

Beckham had a vision but knew timing, then talent, was the key to execution. Leo would have never gone to Inter Miami in his younger days. Miami as a city, MLS as a league, and Inter Miami as a club just were not ready.

However, when Beckham took control, he had the relationships, city backing, and club buy-in so he could acquire Messi. The timing was right.

Becks could get Messi to Miami in the twilight of his career, surround him with superstars named Busquets, Suarez & Alba, and drive up the value of the organization through wins & fanfare, thus building a new dynasty.

So what? Who Cares? Finding the right person, at the right time, with the right skill sets can literally 40X your business in one year

In the early days of Amazon, if Jeff Bezos was to take advantage of the internet and the rise in e-commerce, he knew he needed:

A) Quick, resourceful thinkers

B) People who aligned with the company values.

Amazon was in a dog fight with grit, ambition & compete level extremely necessary to win. Bezos needed people who could carry the company forward, innovate, & solve problems on demand. The timing of the market & Amazon’s positioning demanded it.

Once the timing dictated what kind of talent he needed, he leveraged the following questions to identify if he had the right candidate:

1) How many window panes are there in Seattle? (Can they take a big idea distill the variables down to get a realistic solution. Is this person scared to fail?

2) What are your career goals: (Is there a mutual investment in growth between the candidate, company & leadership?

The candidate went on to play a critical function in the exec team. Perhaps not as large of an impact as Messi, but there is no price on employee/employer longevity, career progression & loyalty.

As a leader, before you find your game changing talent, it’s critical to understand the timing of what you are trying to build. That will dictate the person you need, then go find them.

How did you know it was time to hire your franchise player? Please reply and let me know.

NYC Musings

It’s been 2.5 months since I’ve moved to NY. The city is truly a concrete jungle that doesn’t sleep. Lessons in Leadership from the Big Apple.

It’s truly the city of abundance & opportunity cost. There are people, deli’s, barbershops, pharmacies & every single thing you could ever imagine.

The pace, the grit, the hustle are unmatched including from two Toronto born companies every leader can learn a lot from:

• Peruvian anyone?: Michel Falcon is building one of NY´s best people-driven restaurants Brasa Peruvian

• Cold Plunging to Success: Robbie Bent is taking community wellness to a whole other level.