Red flags, especially during recruiting, are like cancer. And just like cancer, if you ignore it, it'll kill you and the company. If you listen to the red flags and act on them, you can avoid or get rid of that cancer immediately and it has no impact on you whatsoever other than positive.

So think of red flags as this, both of you are moving almost in parallel in the very beginning stages but for every red flag you're thrown off a couple degrees in terms of that parallel so this person is going literally a little bit off. In the beginning it doesn't seem like a lot. But 3 months 6 months 9 months later that person is literally in a whole another part of the universe completely separated from you. That's what red flags do. That's what keeping a person and ignoring the red flags does to you and your company. It puts you in a hole. A very deep hole.

So there's a couple major red flags you have to watch out for in the very beginning. And you have to be absolutely fucking disciplined about it. Otherwise it will tank your company. And you may seem like what's the big idea when you see these red flags. Well these red flags are gargantuan. We know. Because we've tested and lived it. Repeatedly.

The first and number one red flag is, if a person is late to a meeting in the beginning stages, or when you interview them, you need to kill that relationship immediately. Those people are majorly time sucks and all that happens is it goes downhill. And I'm not talking literally about just being you know 5 10 20 minutes late. I'm talking if a person is one fucking minute late do not do business with them. I don't. I'm extremely inflexible about that in the beginning stages of a company. Later when you've gone through battles and wars and grown a company with people, that's different. They've earned it. And you trust them and you know what they're doing. But in the beginning stages it is a gargantuan cancer and reflects badly upon you. And that's why you need to set the standard high that you are inflexible when it comes with time. How much time do you have on the face of this earth? You want to sit around waiting for somebody to show up for a meeting? Fuck that

Number two, this is the second biggest red flag. If a potential candidate does not get on a video call with you, a video meeting with you, you do NOT do business with them whatsoever. If they say suddenly oh my camera doesn't work or oh the bandwidth is not working. It doesn't matter. You don't do business with them whatsoever You excuse yourself from the meeting and wish them the best of luck. The reason? Because they're going to pull this shit when you have team meetings that are face to face. And face-to-face meetings are requisite when it comes to team and building the cohesiveness of that team. Everyone needs to be on it, and everybody needs to be on it with their video. You need to set the standard again from the very beginning. Every time I have gone against this it has come back and bite me on the ass. Don't let it happen to you.

Number three. Bad luck and illness. If somebody has bad luck in the beginning stages of the relationship whatever it may be. Maybe it was that they were in an accident and they can't make a meeting on time. Maybe it was that they're sick and can't make the meeting, maybe they had a family emergency. Whatever it is, in the beginning stages of the relationship the business relationship, it's cancer. You cut it off, you have nothing to do with them and you get them off your team or you don't bring them on your team to begin with. Because if they're starting out the relationship that way, all that's going to happen is it's going to get worse. Your job is not to give the benefit of the doubt, your job is to get your company off the ground and to achieve your goals. And people with bad luck, prevent you from doing that. Let the bad luck stay with them. Cut them off and have nothing to do with them whatsoever.

Those are the three major red flags that happened regularly in the beginning stages. You not only have to recognize them, you have to act on them. Sometimes it's a matter of creep. It's a little thing here a little thing there, but all that little stuff starts adding up. And that's what I want you to avoid.

A fourth red flag to watch out for is the applicant who wants to reschedule at the at moment.

So what are some GREEN flags to look out for? What are good signs?

If people arrive to a meeting EARLY, that's a great sign. And that's why YOU should arrive early to meetings. 1) To see if THEY arrive early and 2) To set the standard high from the beginning.

If people produce work product BEFORE joining your team or very rapidly. That's a great sign. A HUGE green flag. Many times an applicant will produce something to show their thinking and skills BEFORE joining to show what they got. And sometimes you should ask for this. A role that comes to mind where this would be applicable is CMOs. Why? Because they are great at bullshitting and claiming other people's work as their own. When they need to show "something" up front regarding where they would take marketing, it separates the producers from the bullshitters. Keep that in mind.

If they are communicating with you at all hours of the day on any day. This is a phenomenal green flag because Business rests for no one, especially a startup.

If they do work that is outside the scope of their role and the ESA. It shows they have ownership mentality. And THAT is a GARGANTUAN green flag.

Look out for the Flags. Red and Green. You now know what to do.

After the ESA is Signed