“How do you sleep at night knowing that so many people are dependent on you for their livelihoods?” Asked a friend I hadn’t seen since The A Group was in its infancy. As a young entrepreneur he is quite aware of his responsibilities for those whom he hired. The question prompted a few realizations:

• The A Group has currently the largest overhead in its 10-year history
• Our projects are larger and more complex than ever before
• I sleep more soundly now than ever before

By all accounts, my level of anxiety and stress should be proportional to the growth of my company. But the opposite is true. It’s not that my work has gotten easier with the growth of the company; it has, however, become more strategic.

While there might be a number of factors that have contributed to my being in such professional place, I can think of one critical business foundation that has made the most impact on the growth of the company as well as my ability to sleep at night: we hire well.

I wrote about our hiring practices in a few posts. I recommend you read the  The Owner Principle and How to Assemble an Awesome Team. These posts are at the core of any success I have seen in the past decade of The A Group.

When you hire competent, driven people, you don’t have to manage them hard. Your job becomes to empower, resource, and focus them toward a goal. I’m truly thankful for my team and the work they generate. I’m glad I got this one right. It makes for a great night’s sleep.

How often is your mind on work-related thoughts?