Disclaimer: This post was originally written in 2014, when the Chicago Cubs had just embarked on a really unusual approach to recruiting talent - scouring the globe to recruit the best overall talent as opposed searching out skilled players based on their position. Following this approach, two years later they won their first World Series in 108 years. Since that time I have found many times over that this approach also works exceptionally well when building startup marketing teams.

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In one sense, it has been another rough year for the Chicago Cubs....

Cubs President Theo Epstein and his squad full of youngsters will end the season in last place in the NL Central, at well under .500 for the season. With no chance of making the playoffs for yet another year, the streets and bars around Wrigley Field aren't nearly as packed as usual, and about all us faithful fans can hope for in 2014 is that the Cubbies play spoilers for the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff chances.

And yet strangely, the Cubs fanbase is more excited now than we have been in years.

Using a model based largely on Epstein’s success in helping the Boston Red Sox win two World Series, the Cubbies have gone to great lengths to build the best farm system in baseball, and it’s finally beginning to bear fruit in the form of genuinely exciting, hard-working young talented players like Jorge Soler, Kyle Hendricks, Javier Baez, and the Minor League player of the Year Kris Bryant.

Amongst all the future-looking hubbub and drinking of the Cubbie Koolaid, Chicago made one move this year that had a lot of fans scratching their heads.

The team traded young pitching stud Jeff Samardzija to the Oakland A’s for an elite young shortstop prospect named Addison Russell. The trade left the team with three highly ranked shortstops, including three-time All-Star franchise player Starlin Castro, who doesn't seem likely to be going anywhere anytime soon.

So why would Epstein and the Cubs do such a thing?

Because shortstops are often the most gifted athletes on the field – they can usually hit well and are often capable of playing many roles on the field.

"The nice thing about having impact players that are athletic who can play in the middle of the field, and who can hit, is that you have options. The good thing is these guys can all fit on the field together and really be an impactful group together because of their athleticism and versatility,” Epstein told ESPN.

While it remains to be seen whether or not the Cubs can do anything next year with an elite team of fresh young baseball players, there are lessons to be learned here that can be applied to your organization's marketing team.

Building a Marketing Team Full of Shortstops

The landscape for marketing careers is increasingly fractured these days, with more and more companies hiring extremely specialized marketers schooled in hyper-specific frameworks, approaches and processes.

Make no mistake, there is definitely a place for product marketing professionals schooled in the Pragmatic Marketing Framework, and if you’re a SAAS provider launching a consumer-facing freemium product, you might do well hiring a “growth hacker” schooled in the art of Pirate Metrics (AARRR!), just as there is a place in baseball for left handed pitchers and catchers with great Stolen Base Runs Saved stats.

Like Theo Epstein recruiting three insanely talented shortstops in an effort to build a world-class team of the future, smart organizations should not lose sight of the need for recruiting marketing professionals who will be able to truly excel at the core skills and talents that will make them valuable in any position.

Here are some examples of core competencies all marketers should have, and how to spot them during the recruitment process.

Communications and context - Whether you’re hiring for an entry-level marketing intern or your next Director of Marketing, at the core of the role is the ability to clearly and crisply communicate through the written word and in meetings. The bar for your marketing team in this regard should be much higher than in many other roles, and the candidate should show tangible talent in this area. The way they interact via email throughout the recruitment process is a good starting point.

Also - and I cannot emphasize this point enough – for any marketing role, you should insist on seeing work samples, which should be reviewed by the marketing team.

For leadership roles, the ability to convey context when explaining complex topics and issues is extremely vital. Leaders are typically privy to more information about organizational realities, financials and other sensitive information than lower-level employees. Perception of those leaders and the success of their efforts are often dependent on their ability to convey those difficult realities with the proper tone and discretion while still getting done what needs to be done. That’s not always so easy.

In addition to reviewing work samples, ask candidates for marketing leadership roles to share case studies that explain how they have communicated something under unusual or difficult circumstances. If they can do illustrate their capabilities while also walking you through real world samples or project, this is a very good sign.

Change and challenge readiness - If there is one constant in marketing, it is change. The market is always evolving, and you competitors are always trying out new tactics to take away your market share.The skills your marketing candidates have today can be rendered useless tomorrow by changing technology, organizational structures and the shifting needs of customers.

The best marketing professionals are willing to embrace this change, and acknowledge that they must always be learning and experimenting in order to compete.The best young talent will take on challenges that are way over their head and find a way to succeed.The best leaders will present those challenges to young talent, while managing the risks that come with having less experienced team members tackle stretch challenges.

Core digital marketing literacy - The depth of knowledge required in regards marketing automation technology, CMS usage, social media, email marketing, PPC campaigns and search engine optimization will vary widely according to the position, but it’s absolutely crucial that all marketing executives have a base level of familiarity in all these areas. While a Marketing Specialist may not need to set up Web-to-Lead campaigns in Salesforce, or be able to customize your companies Marketo efforts. Modern marketing talent needs to be familiar with all of these technologies and have an understanding of the roles they should play. Preferably, they will show talent in using several pieces of this technology in their daily work, and an interest in continuous learning in these areas.

Research capabilities - In order to understand customers, marketplaces and the evolving marketing technologies they will be using for their roles, marketing talent should be able to demonstrate the ability to find out the answers to key questions through online research, as well s quantitative and qualitative methodologies.How well can your next hire figure out the answer to a question on their own, with little to no guidance? That may be the most important question you can ask.

Understanding of marketing metrics and how to use them - On a simple level, marketers should always be able to justify their own existence. Knowing how the work they are doing impacts lead generation, revenue, brand equity, web traffic or customer retention is the only way to make sure you’re doing the right things, and understanding how to improve the work.

At a leadership level, marketers should be able to help define the key marketing performance indicators for their organization, and be able to demonstrate how they’ve made a positive difference in those areas in the past. The days of mumbling something vague about “brand building” and “engagement” without understanding how those things can be measured are gone. Leaders who can't address measurement confidently should be avoided.

Creativity and innovation - Even in the age of marketing automation and A/B testing, there is little substitute for talented people with great ideas. While work samples are obviously the best way to illustrate this competency, evidence of creativity in the world outside of work is a big indicator of potential success. Also, they do have a life outside of work, correct? Make sure and ask.

Character: Sense of humor and general decency - Not every talented marketing person is kind and funny, but the ones I want to work with are. When things go wrong (and they always do at some point no matter how good you are), it is not nearly as important that you made a mistake as it is how you correct it, and how you react to the problems you face.

Having a sense of humor and a little humanity are awful helpful in overcoming even the largest of problems. It may not be possible to test for this during the recruitment process, but it pays to pay extra attention to any red flags in this area, either in the interview itself, or in checking references.

While these core competencies may not be all you need in your next marketing hire, they should provide a nice framework for recruiting and developing a talented team with bright prospects for future success. Just like the Cubs, right? Right? Sigh.

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