159: Tom Healy - Why Your Advisory Firm Isn’t Attracting A-Players

About this episode

Tom Healy discusses the importance of hiring A-players and the systems needed to prevent poor performance from derailing a business.

If you’ve grown your business beyond a solo practice with a small team, you’ve likely learned the hard way that one bad hire can derail momentum, create internal chaos, and hold your entire business hostage. In this episode, I’m excited to have leadership expert, author, and HR strategist Tom Healy on the podcast. Tom has worked with high-performing organizations, including the U.S. Navy, Harvard Medical School, and Fortune 500 companies, and he’s spent decades helping businesses scale the right way — with structure, accountability, and culture at the center. We unpack the mistakes founders make when hiring too fast, how poor performers slowly sabotage organizations, and the exact systems you need to have in place to prevent one person from controlling your business. 3 of the biggest insights from Tom … #1.) It’s Okay to Overpay for A-Players  The cheapest hire is often the most expensive mistake. High performers operate like owners, stay longer, and eliminate the hidden cost of turnover. Paying above market isn’t reckless, it’s strategic. #2.) Poor Performers Will Hide When There’s No Accountability If you don’t have clear KPIs, you don’t have leverage. Vague feedback…

People in this episode

Host: Brad Johnson

Guest: Tom Healy

Topics covered

• hiring
• leadership
• organizational culture
• accountability
• performance management

Keywords

• A-Players
• hiring mistakes
• accountability
• organizational structure
• performance metrics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U.S. Navy, Harvard Medical School, Fortune 500

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