I’ve been thinking about something the last couple of days, and I wanted to share it with you.

It comes from a conversation that I get often when working with blue collar business owners trying to stop living the E-Myth.

But it was brought back to the surface this week in a few phone calls I’ve had.

I implore you to take some time to read this (I know. Its long. And im’ not giving you a TL;DR version either) because I believe... eh.

I KNOW it will fundamentally shift the way you look at recruiting ideal talent to your company.

I get asked the same question all the time, and its the essence of many posts in the FB groups... “How do we find good employees?”

It’s a reasonable question.

But as I’ve paused and pondered it, I’m becoming convinced that its also the wrong one question.

That question assumes the problem is supply. It assumes good people exist out there somewhere, and we just need to find them. So we post ads, we call staffing agencies, we hope someone walks through the door.

But what if the real problem isn’t supply?What if it’s attraction?

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After a few conversations, and taking the time to write thoughts out (this is how I process things that baffle me), I’m convinced that the better question is:

“How do we need to adjust our business to make it attractive to the right employees?”

This is a fundamentally different question.And it requires a fundamentally different answer.

The first question is about tactics.Where to look, what to say, how to filter.

The second question is about culture.What we actually offer, how we treat people, what we stand for, and whether we’re willing to change to meet talented people where they are.

Here’s what I mean:

When you ask “How do we find good employees?”, you’re implicitly saying: “Our business is fine as it is. We just need to find people who fit it.”

When you ask “How do we become attractive to good employees?”, you’re saying: “Maybe we need to change. Maybe we need to listen to what talented people actually want, and build our business around that.”

One is about hunting. The other is about being magnetic.

I want you to really consider this:

The companies winning the talent war right now aren’t the ones with the biggest recruiting budgets.

They’re the ones that asked themselves the hard question:What do our people actually need to thrive?And then they had the courage to answer honestly... then take action.

Maybe it’s flexible scheduling.Maybe it’s higher pay.Maybe it’s a clear path to advancement.Maybe it’s an owner who shows up and is present.Maybe it’s all of the above.

The point is: they listened. And they changed.

And when you do that... when you genuinely adapt your business to meet talented people where they are... something shifts.

You stop chasing talent.Talent starts coming to you.

On the micro level, you see a steadier flow of candidates. Better candidates. People who stay longer. People who care about the work.

On the macro level, your culture changes. Your retention improves. Your margins improve. Your reputation improves.

It all starts with asking a different question.

I’ve been digging into this for a few of my clients, and I’m seeing some real patterns emerge. I’m also connecting with some interesting tools and strategies that can amplify this work once the foundation is solid.

But the foundation has to come first.The question has to shift.

I wanted to share this with you because I think it’s worth thinking about. Not as a tactic.As a philosophy.

I will going to continue to explore this shift in philosophy because finding good talent is a challenge... across the board. I believe this shift can have significant impact. Start by asking yourself the question:

What would it look like if we designed our business to attract the exact people we want?

And spend time allowing your brain to contemplate radical things that could be the difference maker.

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