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Chris

Wilkinson's business partner who co-owns the profits

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Most quoted in
#0MFM x Trends: How to Hire a CEO to Run Your Company with Andrew Wilkinson2×

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In the moments

2 linked receipts
Take

A big bonus check is good news: comp as a magnet to your desired outcome

Wilkinson reframes large CEO pay: a $400K total comp is really ~$180-250K base plus variable you only pay when targets are hit. He thinks of comp as 'a magnet to whatever outcome you want,' and loves writing huge bonus checks because they mean the business beat expectations.

“I love paying huge bonus checks because if I'm paying a big bonus check, that means that the business is doing well and we're hitting our targets and they're growing faster than I expected to. A lot of people get caught up when they hear, you know, oh my God, I'm gonna pay this person, you know, $400 grand, let's say a year. I'm saying in an at-scale business, let's say it's $400K total comp. And they forget that what that really means is $180, $200, $250 in base and the rest in variable. And you're only paying the variable and bonus if they're hitting targets and the business is growing the way you want it to. So I think of it as like, that's a magnet to whatever outcome you want.”

Steal thisReframe comp as a magnet to your target outcome — structure it so the only way the check gets big is if the business wins.

MFM x Trends: How to Hire a CEO to Run … · Oct 2020 · 13:32 · ANDREW WILKINSON
Read at 13:32
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Tactic

Pay $15-20K for a deep background check — not the references the candidate hands you

Wilkinson argues normal reference checks are useless because candidates only give you references who'll tell the best story. He pays an expensive firm (~$15-20K) to independently validate every claim — employment history, schools, and the jobs where they got fired.

“So someone says, hey, call my 3 references. They're not going to tell you about the job where they got fired and, you know, they had a horrible, uh, you know, relationship with their boss and they let a bunch of people down. They're going to give you the best possible story. So we have a firm that we use. It's very expensive. I think it's about, 15 or 20 grand, but they will literally get on the phone with the person and they'll validate, they'll write down every single claim they make, walk through their employment history, where they went to school, and they'll validate it.”

Steal thisFor a senior hire, pay a specialist firm to independently verify every claim instead of calling the curated references the candidate hands you.

MFM x Trends: How to Hire a CEO to Run … · Oct 2020 · 15:07 · ANDREW WILKINSON
Read at 15:07
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