The Celtics are back on top! (Well, almost. First they have to beat the Lakers.) I love this old rivalry of LA vs. Boston.

I love the scrappy Boston fans compared to the celebs in LA. I love the parquet and I loved Pat Riley's hair back in the day! I lived through it all more than 20 years ago as a season ticket holder at the Garden in the 80s. It was the "Dream Team" — Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, et al. They were magic — the only word to describe them.

So it's natural that this past week, every sports pundit and every sports fan on every sports talk show has been comparing this new, winning Celtic team to the old, winning Celtic team! Some say the new guys are better; most say they are not. Everyone has an opinion — and a comparison. As one animated caller barked over the radio the other day, "Kevin Garnett might be good, but he ain't no Larry Bird!"

The Extreme Comparison Game

Is that true? I don't know. But I do know one thing. I see the same kind of comparison going on in some companies when they are hiring someone to fill a spot that has been vacated by someone who has done a great job. And, while you want to use the standards that have been set by an excellent employee as a gauge to vet your crop of candidates, when past employees take on mythical proportions, it can hurt your hiring process and dramatically alter the results.

This extreme comparison can hurt you in three ways:

1. Slows Down Your Search: While you are hunting for an "exact replica" of a past employee, unless you have a clone machine, it can be a very time-consuming process. You may be passing up legitimate "heirs to the legacy" in your quest for perfection.
2. New Employee "Success Factor": Waxing eloquent on a past star performer, whether verbally or in your own mind, may actually shade your view of your new employee and the very real contribution he or she is starting to make. Try not to get yourself into a "Mike did it this way, " or, "Linda did it that way," mentality. Let your new employee stand on his own merit. Hold your judgment of him until his first employee review. It will help him and you!
3. Existing Staff: Remember that the other people who work for and with you are looking to you for example and guidance. While extreme comparison games can be a temporary "bonding" thing with some of your managers, in the long run, it tends to hurt the team and maybe even your stature as a manager and leader. Counsel your team to refrain.

Remember, when Larry Bird was drafted by Red Auerbach for the Boston Celtics in 1978, nobody knew then how fabulously he would perfect his art and perform for the team (even though they had never paid as much for a rookie as they paid for Bird). They had a suspicion — but it was not a proven fact. I wonder if back then, some late-night caller on sports talk radio barked into the phone, "Hey, he might be good, but he ain't no Bob Cousy!"

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And, if you'd like to find out more about the power of email marketing, growing your business through email marketing and the Constant Contact solution, Sales and Marketing Search is pleased to be hosting a free breakfast seminar on Tuesday, June 17 at the Cummings Center (our lovely office park).

It's from 8 to 9:30. Come by and have a cup of coffee, a bagel, and meet some nice people too.

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See you there!

I wrote about the Celtics many years ago in a newsletter talking about keeping all your options open in the hiring process. It is one of the most popular newsletters I've done and you can read it here.