Who: The A Method for Hiring

The book that turned hiring from a gut-feel gamble into a repeatable process. Geoff Smart and Randy Street distill more than 1,300 hours of interviews with billionaires and CEOs into a clear, step-by-step method for getting the right people into the right roles.

Why Start Here

This is Smart and Street’s defining work, and it remains the most practical hiring book ever written. The A Method breaks the hiring process into four steps: create a scorecard defining success in the role, source candidates through a systematic pipeline, conduct four structured interviews to separate real performers from polished talkers, and sell the opportunity to the person you want. Each step is explained with enough detail to implement immediately.

The research behind the book is unusually rigorous for a business title. Smart and Street conducted the largest study of hiring practices ever undertaken, and they report a 90 percent success rate among organizations that follow the full method. The examples span every industry and company size. Whether you are filling a C-suite position or your first customer support role, the framework applies.

What to Expect

A brisk 208-page read that wastes no time on filler. Smart and Street write in plain, direct language, and each chapter ends with actionable takeaways. No prior HR knowledge is needed. You will finish the book with a complete, ready-to-use hiring system.