We have a seasoned favorite guest in the podcast today. John Mitchell the President and CEO of IPC talks about his new book Firing Your Hiring Habits.
This is a very insightful conversation! We tackled acquisition, retaining and upskilling talents in your team. PCB designers, aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders in any company will surely benefit from this discussion. Make sure to watch through the end and check the additional resources below.
Watch this episode here.
Show Highlights:
Introduction to John Mitchell and his new book, Fire Your Hiring Habits
John Mitchell shares his inspiration about writing the book and revealed who he wrote it for
The two fundamental problems in building a team are one, acquiring the right talents, and second retaining them
The key to retention is helping employees aspire for a career and providing them with a pathway to reach a higher goal
“Upskilling” is also a significant factor to retaining employees especially now that we have AI’s that manage automated processes
How is the rise of remote jobs affecting the job industry?
A lot of people are going “hybrid” appropriate for specific positions, and found it to be very effective. Working from home 75% of the time and face to face for the rest have increased productivity and employee retention
Human connection like in a team building can strengthen the team and can result to much better working relationships
Does the challenges in employee turnover related to age? John has a very eye opening answer to this
The longest chapter in John’s book talks about “company’s culture”. He explains in detail what makes a company’s culture and how sticking to principles can have a great impact to a company
“There are always going to be limitations, but within the right limitations, there are freedoms you can afford by eliminating some things that it's just a matter of constantly asking yourself the question, "Why are we doing it this way? Why did this come about and does it still apply today?" If it does, great, we're going to keep doing it. That's an aspect we need to keep.” - John Mitchell
Leadership loves people that brings answers
John encourages everyone to learn from every experience, good and bad
Talents leave, but they’ll come back to a company that matches their culture
To sum it all up, John stresses the importance of knowing exactly the talents you need, and when you find them create an environment that works for them. Lastly, invest on them through trainings and give them room and path to grow
“Fire your Hiring Habits” is available at Barnes & Noble. All proceeds goes to IPC Education Foundation

Links and Resources:
Watch Previous Podcast Episode with John Mitchell
IPC CEO John Mitchell on the Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act
IPC CEO John Mitchell on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Electronics Supply Chain
John Mitchell, CEO of IPC, Visits The White House to Participate in the Pledge to America’s Workers


Read Related Articles:
How to Hire the Right PCB Designer for Your Project in 2023
Costs of Hiring Your First Electronic Engineer
Guide To Attracting Engineering Talent To Your Hardware Startup


Connect with John Mitchell via LinkedIn
Get the book Fire Your Hiring Habits by John Mitchell