You don’t need more people. You need a plan.

It’s bad to be short staffed. 

It’s worse to hire new people without a clear plan about what they are going to do. 

As a consultant, I’m often asked to “just fix things”.  But that’s the role of a real consultant.   To create order from chaos.  It’s what I really like doing. 

But most full-time staff aren’t consultants.  And even most consultants aren’t good with complete chaos. They’re going to need direction.   

Which means you need to have a clear idea of what you want them to do. What are their first tasks?  What do they need to know to get those tasks done?  Who will take time out of their schedule to bring this person up to speed? 

Because, in the short term, bringing any new person on to your team will slow your progress. Because you’ll need to spend time teaching them things that you already know.  And therefore, you won’t be getting work done. 

I am absolutely for having the right staff in place. And even hiring full time people when the need is there.  

I am against bringing in staff when you don’t have a clear plan for what they are going to do. 

Because just having more people around doesn’t mean you’ll get more work done.