The First Hire

You don't need a bigger team. You need the right capability aimed at the tightest bottleneck. This book shows you how to find it, prove it in ninety days, and get your time back.

Built for founders and owner-operators, it turns guesswork into a clear system: map the constraint that throttles throughput, choose the minimal capability to remove it, and acquire it with the lowest-risk contract. Along the way you'll run a simple role ROI model, structure paid trials, and design a clean handover that sticks. If you've been searching for **first hire** answers that are practical rather than preachy, this is the field guide.

- Learn when a strong generalist beats a specialist-and when depth is non-negotiable (**generalist vs specialist**)
- Decide between employment and the external bench with clear tests (**in-house vs contractor**)
- Structure a **90-day onboarding plan** that proves value against a baseline
- Use a **role ROI model** to align compensation with outcomes, not vibes
- Protect your calendar and focus with handoffs that reduce interruptions (**founder time management**)

For founders who want fewer hiring mistakes, faster output, and a calmer calendar, this book offers crisp decisions, not slogans. It's the difference between adding people and increasing throughput-so your small team can ship big work.