Your company becomes who you hire—and what you tolerate.
Every hire is a bet on your future. Get it right, and your business gains momentum. Get it wrong, and you pay for it—financially, culturally, and emotionally. This chapter isn’t about filling seats. It’s about building a team that makes your business stronger simply by being part of it.
The best leaders hire with intention, delegate with clarity, and take full ownership of the people decisions they make. That means hiring slow, firing fast, and being brutally honest when something (or someone) isn’t working.
Are the people on your team making your business better—or just busier?
If you hesitate to answer, you’re in the right place.
Culture isn’t built in boardrooms. It’s shaped by who gets promoted, who gets protected, and who gets passed over. Processes matter—but people drive the mission. When you choose the right people and give them the right outcomes to own, you don’t just get things done. You build something that lasts.
No more excuses. No more passing the buck. Build a team you won’t regret.
RULE NO. 22 is Hire slow, fire fast.
RECOMMENDED READING: Who by Geoff Smart & Randy Street
Why: Bad hires destroy culture and speed.
RULE NO. 22 SUMMARY 
The strength of your team determines the strength of your business. Hiring slow means committing to a disciplined process—one that prioritizes fit, capability, and character over speed or convenience. It means refusing to lower the bar just to fill a seat. Firing fast means addressing misalignment or underperformance decisively before it corrodes culture, morale, or momentum. Tolerating the wrong hire too long is more costly than taking the time to hire the right one.
Right people, right roles, right now—or nothing.
“Nothing will accelerate your success more than getting the right team in place. And nothing will derail it faster than keeping the wrong people too long.”
— Geoff Smart, Who
RULE NO. 24 is Own your mistakes.
RECOMMENDED READING: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin
Why: You set the tone for accountability.
RULE NO. 24 SUMMARY
Great leaders don’t deflect blame — they absorb it, learn from it, and lead forward. Owning your mistakes isn’t weakness; it’s the foundation of credibility, respect, and real accountability. In any failure, you either make excuses or you make progress — never both.
“The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame.”
— Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership
RULE NO. 31 is Delegate outcomes, not tasks.
RECOMMENDED READING: Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet
Why: Empowered teams outperform micromanaged ones.
RULE NO. 31 SUMMARY
Don’t just assign to-dos—transfer responsibility. When you delegate outcomes instead of tasks, you empower people to think, act, and lead with ownership. It’s the difference between creating followers and developing leaders.
“Don’t move information to authority. Move authority to the information.”
— L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around
RULE NO. 49 is People over processes.
RECOMMENDED READING: The Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor
Why: Invest in your team’s trust and growth.
RULE NO. 49 SUMMARY
Processes are important. But people drive results. Over-relying on systems, procedures, and checklists at the expense of human judgment, initiative, and ownership is a slow march to mediocrity. Organizations thrive when they trust and invest in people—not just when they refine processes. Processes should serve people, not control them.
“The ingenuity of people is far more reliable than the ingenuity of systems. Trust in people is not naïve—it’s essential.”
— Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise
You’ve Earned the Team You Lead
If you’ve made it through this chapter, you’re not just managing people—you’re owning the weight of leadership. You’ve faced the hard truths: that every hire sends a message, that delegation is a trust test, and that culture is built by what you tolerate. The cost of avoiding people decisions is far greater than the discomfort of making them. You know that now.
You don’t need a perfect team. You need a committed one—with clarity, accountability, and a shared standard for what good looks like. That begins with you.
You’ve hired without regret. Now it’s time to lead without hesitation.
Up Next: Strategy in the Real World
Rule No.4: Play the Long Game
Rule No.5: Make Fewer, Bolder Moves
Rule No.25: Ask Better Questions
Rule No.26: Define It. Measure It. Achieve It
A strategy isn’t what’s written—it’s what gets repeated. In the next chapter, we’ll move past buzzwords and boardroom slides to uncover what strategy really looks like when the pressure’s on. You’ll get ruthless about focus, deliberate in your decisions, and clear on what truly drives results.
Ready to stop reacting and start leading with intent? Let’s go. VISIT CHAPTER 4