After 20 years and hundreds of hires, only 3 people ever grew my business. Here’s what they had in common.

Ten steps to attract and retain top performers or 1%-ers

I have hired many people. Only a fraction stayed. From that fraction only a fraction made a difference. From those few, only 2-3 truly helped me grow my business.

They are the artists – self-govern achievers, able to take responsibility, own their space, lead the way and work well with others.

They understand the direction and they will fill in the blanks of what needs to be done. They don’t need babysitting (in fact they hate it), they love their freedom and have resilience to see things through.

They work for meaning and use their faith to overcome challenges. They are kind. They are not always agreeable. Often they have great sense of humour, they are generally very positive people and most definitely are givers.

Often they are misfits and are on the spectrum of being special in some category. How else they would be able to see the world differently.

They are problem solvers and overcomers. They know their limits and are relentlessly expanding them as they push boundaries. Always expanding knowledge and searching for a new things to master their craft.

They know what they want and also know what they don’t want.

Fix your broken systems and build a new ones

After twenty years in business, I learned one thing. If I want to progress I need to address the broken systems and build a new ones.

This strategy helped me to not only survive, but thrive.

I came to realise that our current system of work management and reward is broken. It is ready to be redesigned and I set it to be one of my main business priorities right now.

Since I started Fortix business I have hired many people. Only a fraction of them stayed for a prolonged period of time and from that fraction only a fraction made a meaningful difference in my business.

From those few only a 2-3 people truly helped me to implement and expand on my ideas and grow my business. I call them “Top Performers” or 1%‑ers.

As I am designing new strategy to attract, manage and retain our team I have consulted Principles by Ray Dalio to see if I can explore different dimensions these people are seeking.

The 1%-ers framework for your business

1. Most owners treat their most important decision like admin. Dalio: “Recognize the Most Important Decisions You Make Are Who You Choose to Be Your Responsible Party.” You’ve already named them. 1%ers. The hiring decision is the whole game, and most owners treat it like admin. Start by writing the profile of the person, not the role.
2. Weigh values and abilities above skills. “Avoid the temptation to think narrowly about filling a job with a specific skill.” Your note describes them precisely: self-govern achievers, givers, misfits who see the world differently. That’s values language, not a skills list.
3. Hire people you want to share your life with. “Don’t hire people just to fit the first job they will do… hire people you want to share your life with. The best relationships are long term and based on shared missions and values.” This is the shift from 20 years of transactional hiring to a decade-long bet.
4. Show them the real picture. “Make sure candidates interview you… Show them the real picture.” Your 10-year plan gets shared in the interview, not revealed after they join. Top performers want to know the mission before they give you their years.
5. Give them the mission, then get out of the way. “We don’t want people who need to be ordered and threatened. We don’t want people who just follow orders.” They “understand the direction and fill in the blanks.” Your job is to be understood, not followed.
6. Kill the approvals. Give them the budget. Dalio draws the line between them. “Micromanaging is telling the people who work for you exactly what tasks to do and/or doing their tasks for them… Managing means understanding how well your people and designs are operating.” Your leave approvals and contract friction are micromanaging in paperwork form.
7. Let them own outcomes, including the failures. “We hold them accountable for their outcomes, but we also give them the authority to achieve those outcomes.” Your line about resilience to see things through only holds if they’re allowed to fall over and get back up without you stepping in.
8. Build radical honesty into the system. “Create an environment in which everyone has the right to understand what makes sense and no one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up about it.” Pair this with: “Never say anything about a person you wouldn’t say to them directly.” Not always agreeable is a feature, not a bug. So is them challenging you.
9. Care about them, and don’t confuse that with being soft. “Care about the people who work for you. If you are not working with people you care about and respect, this whole thing ain’t worth it.” And: “Don’t worry if your people like you; worry about whether you are helping your people be great.”
10. Reward with ownership, not just salary. “Pay for the person, not for the job.” Your profit/revenue share and dynamic work schedule are the structural version of this. Dalio is blunt about why money alone won’t hold them: “the things we are striving for are just the bait… it is the evolution and not the reward itself that matters.” Top performers stay for the mission and the growth. Ownership of the outcome is what makes the mission real.

Before you move on, I ask you if you can help me in my research. If you are considering 1%-er please share your thoughts on these or add what you think is important to you and is missing in the list.

Your comments will help me discover dimensions I have not thought of it. In return I will publish my updated business structure as I’m creating it.

Now it is your turn. Comment below.

Note – this article is published on Paul Faix’s Substack – you can access it here: https://paulfaix.substack.com/