3 Truths of Good-to-Great Leaders

John is slated to take over the sales team in the coming weeks.

He’s set ambitious goals of increasing profits by 15 percent in his first quarter and has formulated two key strategies he believes will make this happen.

“We’re gonna hit the ground running,” he tells his team.

But while John may have detailed and practical ideas, he’s overlooked what business guru Jim Collins believes is the most crucial element of an organization’s transformation: Actually finding the right people.

“The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there,” Collins writes.

“No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it.”

To Collins, taking over a new team or organization really comes down to understanding three truths:

1. You begin with “who” over “what”

In essence, Collins believes that if we have the right team members whose visions and work ethic align with ours, the more likely the team will be to withstand inevitable adversity.

Strategies and goals count, but a failure to put the right people in place can quickly make our methods and larger ambitions irrelevant.

2. If you have the right people, motivational strategies largely go away

If those on our team have internal discipline and are capable of executing without being micromanaged, we’re far more likely to succeed than if we have to routinely incentivize and carefully monitor basic habits of those we lead.

3. If you have the wrong people, the vision is irrelevant

Once again, the goals and strategies can be perfectly conceived, but if his team members don’t trust us and we haven’t thoroughly vetted their skills and motivations, everything else will become moot.

While we may not be in John’s position and may instead be years into our tenure, the question of “Do we have the right people in the right roles?” is one that’s always worthy of considering.

Elevating our organization doesn’t have to be about a dramatic hiring or abrupt termination.

It may just require a tweak or adjustment to lift our teams to the next level.

LinkedIn’s “Top Startup” wants to help you hedge market volatility

Only “the best, completely game-changing ideas” made the rankings this year. One of the standouts was Masterworks, the sole investment platform on the list.

Masterworks allows users to invest in shares of investment-grade art, a $1.7 trillion alternative asset. Many of Masterworks’ members cite inflation concerns, and volatile public markets, as top reasons they invest.

It makes sense. Goldman Sachs recently reported that real assets like fine art can help protect wealth during periods of historically-high inflation. In fact, contemporary art has appreciated 13.5% annually on average, when inflation is above 3%.

So while everyone else was panic-selling at double-digit losses, Masterworks’ last 3 sales realized 10.4%, 35.0%, and 13.9%.

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^{“Net Return" refers to the annualized internal rate of return net of all fees and costs, calculated from the offering closing date to the date the sale is consummated. IRR may not be indicative of Masterworks paintings not yet sold and past performance is not indicative of future results. See important Regulation A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd}