As a company grows to hundreds of millions or billions in revenue, founders and presidents feel the importance of human resources more strongly. "I want someone I can delegate more to. I want someone to move the employees in my place. I want a right-hand man who can think about management with me."
Some managers start looking for No. 2 candidates from the outside as a means to achieve this.
However, many companies make a mistake here.
No. 2 is not a "position that can be filled by hiring a talented person."
Even if you look for one with the feeling of buying a finished product from the outside, it rarely works out.
A No. 2 Needs More Than Just a Resume
In sales or marketing, you can hire talented people from the outside and have them produce results.
But a right-hand man is different.
What is the president thinking? How much can they decide? What will they absolutely not compromise on? What did the company fail at in the past? Who should they talk to and how to get employees moving? Understanding the corporate culture, atmosphere, and trust relationships built so far.
Even more important is trust from within the company.
Unless they are recognized by employees as someone they can follow or someone they can trust even if the president is not there, they cannot become a No. 2 in the true sense.
Giving someone a title does not make them a right-hand man.
Why a No. 2 Brought in from the Outside Causes Friction
They are introduced by an agent and have a prestigious background. They have a certain look and atmosphere. They have experience as a manager in a large or famous company.
There are managers who hire such older men with high annual salaries and expect them to "change the company."
But to the employees, they are just a stranger who was outside until yesterday.
That person suddenly comes in as No. 2, receives a high salary, brings in past success stories, and starts giving instructions to existing employees.
Naturally, friction (halation) occurs.
Moreover, the person who came from the outside does not fully grasp the company's situation.
The method that was correct in the previous job is not necessarily correct in the current company. The relationship with employees, the relationship with customers, the organizational culture, and the business stage are all different. There is no relationship built from eating from the same pot. It is not easy to build a relationship of trust.
As a result, they leave without producing the expected results, leaving only unnecessary stress within the company.
Cases like this are happening everywhere.
Conditions Differ from Professional Managers in Listed Companies
Of course, there are companies where external recruitment works.
In listed companies or large corporations where the organization is mature and the scope of authority and responsibility is clear, it is possible to bring in a professional manager from the outside and produce results.
This is because the company itself is systematized to a certain extent.
However, the situation is different for owner-operated companies with annual sales of hundreds of millions or billions, or companies in the middle of growth.
Many judgment criteria are in the president's head. Many parts are run by human relationships. There are power balances that go beyond just job titles.
If you ignore the stage of the company and imitate the personnel and organizational structure of a large corporation, all you will increase is high labor costs and internal stress.
Right-Hand Men Are Built Over Time
A truly strong No. 2 has been working with the president for a long time.
They experience success and failure together. They are entrusted by the president, fail, and are entrusted again. They build trust with employees. They gradually participate in management decisions.
Through that repetition, they become able to move without the president having to explain in detail.
At the same time, the president also comes to understand, "I can leave it to him up to this point" or "He is stronger than me in this area."
This is a right-hand man.
That's why they can't be made in a short time.
It's too late to start looking for a No. 2 once you want one. While the company is still small, it is necessary to find someone who can be entrusted with management in the future and continue to give them work and responsibility.
"I Will Be Your Right-Hand Man" Makes No Sense
What makes even less sense are cases where management consultants or external advisors sell themselves by saying, "I will be your company's right-hand man."
They can give advice on management. They can solve specific problems. There are things that can be said precisely because they are external.
That is a completely different story from being a right-hand man.
How can an external consultant who has meetings a few times a month become the company's No. 2 or right-hand man?
Moving employees, taking responsibility when problems occur, making decisions even in the absence of the president, and carrying the future of the company.
Someone who doesn't go that far is not called a right-hand man.
You should ignore 99% of the pseudo-management consultants who say, "I will be your right-hand man."
Summary
- No. 2 is not a position that can be filled just by hiring talented personnel.
- Shared context with the president, understanding of the company, and trust from employees are necessary.
- When a growing company tries to get a right-hand man from the outside, only friction and high labor costs remain.
- A true right-hand man is something to be grown internally over a long period of time while giving them work and responsibility.
If you want a right-hand man for the president, you should look inside the company rather than searching outside.
Among the current employees and the new employees who will join in the future, who will you entrust with work, who will you make take responsibility, and who will you pull up to management?
A No. 2 is not something you look for.
It is something you build over time.
