Perhaps nothing more important can be said to an organization leader than those six words. The hard truth is that all results are derivative of the quality of the talent you recruit to your team.

That’s why I was so disappointed when the amazing Jonathan Ingram notified us he was leaving. Then it got funny. I learned that it was Tarren Bragdon who stole, er…I mean recruited, Jonathan. I’ve tried to recruit him back to no avail, but I never give up. (Jonathan, give me a call, let’s talk! Be part of climbing the highest mountain! Really, call me!)

If you want to be great, you have to be a great recruiter of superior talent (and not necessarily from fellow think tanks!), and you have to provide a canvas that is rewarding for them to paint on. If you don’t, you will lose your best people. Being a great recruiter also means doing great work so you can retain them.

Perhaps the most transformational person I ever recruited was the incredible Kristina Rasmussen, our EVP. We were talking at the SPN Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2008. The Illinois Policy Institute was on the verge of going broke. We were just over a year into our re-launch when the financial crisis accelerated. Our fundraising ground to a halt.

Then Kristina mentioned in passing that she was exploring options with a well-known company. Despite the low balance in our bank accounts, despite the fact we had no budget for a new position, I knew she was a difference-maker, so taking a calculated risk I said, “Come work with me instead.”

That began a six-month courtship that resulted in Kristina joining us in April of 2009. The progress we have made in Illinois would never have happened if not for that chance encounter we had—with me in “always be recruiting” mode. From passing over 40 pieces of legislation; to creating an environment receptive to a reform candidate for governor; to helping to recruit and unleash additional, amazing talented people; we would be a shadow of what we are if not for Kristina.

With Kristina joining the team, I transitioned into a strategic fundraiser rather than an operations-focused CEO, and our transformation began—in funding, in size, and, most importantly, in results. Exponential impact. (Don’t even think about calling her to poach—everyone has already tried!)

As noted, when you assemble a great team of people, others will notice and pursue them. However, please bear in mind that it would be better for all of us in the movement (me included) to poach less and recruit more from outside the movement. We need to add to our talent pool, not treat talent like trading cards.

Our top policy VPs, Ted Dabrowski and Michael Lucci, came from the private sector. Ted came from banking. He had worked in Mexico and Poland (Ted is half Polish and half Ecuadorian). He transformed our world by becoming a pension expert on the most important issue facing our state, developed and professionalized our policy shop, and became a key spokesman, often replacing me in the Chicago media market. Ted is fluent in Spanish, so we also gained access to the Hispanic market. Exponential impact. (Ted is so happy he won’t talk to any recruiters any more so don’t bother calling him—right, Ted?! Right, Ted? Ted?)

Michael Lucci worked all over the world, including China and Korea before becoming an options trader in Chicago. Michael took over our jobs and growth portfolio and defined the terms of debate during the gubernatorial battle in 2014. He controlled the narrative arc with his work on unemployment and labor data by turning that data into great stories on the failure of the status quo. Exponential impact. (He is currently being recruited by several private sector companies. He wonders why I keep hiding his phone.)

It’s been said many times that talent is the great equalizer. That understates its impact. Talent is the great multiplier. Superior talent is an exponential multiplier. Your results come down to several variables in the success equation, including vision, strategy, operations, and talent. Talent is the most important variable in the results you achieve.

If we could quantify the impact of talent (c’mon, we are data people, aren’t we?) by using an arbitrary number of 100 to equalize all the variables, here is what the impact of talent looks like:

Key Lesson: Look for exponential talent, and you will get exponential results.

Guiding principles to recruit great talent:

Have a big vision. Talented people want to change the world—help them.

Strive for operational excellence. Operational dysfunction slows your superstars down; excellence unleashes them.

Manage egos. We all submit to the organization’s vision and mission. It is the leader’s job to harmonize egos to mission.

Let people go. Move people on to their next career opportunity when they and the organization’s needs no longer match. Then add to the top (see below).

Add to the top. Your job is to “move the mean up.” Every new hire should be a top 25 percenter. Your mean talent level should always be rising.

Individualize incentives. Most talented people are driven by far more meaningful things than money.
Take the time to learn and understand those drivers.

When I asked Matt Brouillette of the Commonwealth Foundation to explain the impact of Charles Mitchell, last year’s Overton Award winner, he said, “Where I am weak, he is strong, and vice versa. I’m the visionary and salesman, while Charles is the engineer who charts our course. He excels at keeping the trains running on time while I get people excited to ride them.” Together, they have begun transforming Pennsylvania into a purple state with tinges of red. We must face a truth—we have a talent deficit compared to the other side. The progressive movement is recruiting some of the country’s top talent in politics, in policy, in technology, in leadership, in grassroots organizing, in fundraising, in media, in donors, and more.

Are we good enough when it comes to recruiting talent? Our country’s future depends on the answer being yes to that question. Twenty years from now we’ll know the answer. What role will you have played in recruiting the talent required to achieve a freer, more prosperous America?

John Tillman is CEO of Illinois Policy Institute. Write him at jtillman@illinoispolicy.org.