Mack Brown - Recruiting

I had the privilege of hearing Mack Brown speak at Chic-Fil-La's recent Leadercast. He touched on numerous topics leaders and coaches must have a plan for (failing to prepare is preparing to fail - John Wooden).

Mack Brown as most of you probably know is the head football coach for University of Texas.  He was asked what he looked for in a recruit. His initial response was 1st the player has to be good enough to play at the level we want to compete at (skill).  He believes that if you can't tell a player is an impact player in 5 plays or less turn the tape off and look elsewhere.  - I believe this is true for most interviewees for the skill aspect of the position they are hiring.  Most people can tell within a 5 minute conversation if you have the skills required to successfully do the job.  However successful companies don't hire bases on skill alone and spend much more than 5-30 minutes getting to know the applicant before concluding they are the right fit. 

Mack Brown's second thought was the player had to have a gpa of at least 3.0.  His logic:  High school is more about effort and discipline than intelligence.  If a student is able to maintain a 3.0 gpa or higher then they are willing to put forth the effort required to see results and used to being disciplined. - Character makeup in my opinion is more important than super skills.  Skills can be improved, but character is who we are.  Character is the choices we make every day (led by our core values) when others aren't watching.  It takes time for character to be revealed, but it always comes to the surface given time. I believe most people lose their jobs or fall out of grace with a company due to a lack of character vs. a lack of skill.

Dave Ramsey certainly believes in being slow during the hiring process.  The longer the hiring process the less likely you are to make a mistake because the more comfortable you become with the potential employees character. 

Is your skill high enough and more importantly do you have the character to be a desired recruit?
Companies are you spending enough time in the hiring process?  Giving enough weight/emphasis on character?