Hiring Wisdom: Why Are So Many Managers Oblivious to the Obvious?

I wonder why so many business owners, hiring managers, and HR folks fail to do the simple, obvious things that lead to success?

For instance:

Why doesn’t everyone hire tough so they can manage easy?
Why don’t employers proactively look for the type of employees they want to hire instead of hoping those particular applicants will walk in the door? (They almost never do; they are too busy working elsewhere.)
Why don’t employers who want to have a happy work place hire happy people?
Since when you pay more, you get more, what if we paid more and expected more?
Since a key employee motivator is recognition (which costs next to nothing), why don’t managers lavish praise wherever and whenever due?
Since there’s only one chance to make a great first impression, why don’t employers make the new hire’s first day on the job the best day at work that person ever had? (After all, that day sets the tone for the entire relationship.)
Instead of holding on to mediocre employees who don’t pull their weight, why don’t managers learn to “fail fast?”

Ahh, well. I guess if these were obvious, everyone would be doing them!

PS — Did I miss anything that’s obvious to you? Reply to this and I’ll publish the results in an upcoming blog post.

This was originally published in the September 2013 Humetrics Hiring Hints newsletter.