On BizBlend, hosted by Sana, executive search partner John Pezoulas breaks down the uncomfortable truth behind “we can’t find good talent”: in many cases, the hiring system—not the applicants—is the real bottleneck.

This episode is for founders, leaders, and HR teams tired of reactive, rushed hiring. You’ll learn how to replace chaos with a repeatable process: clarifying role outcomes upfront, reducing bias through alignment, and running hiring like a project—with faster timelines and stronger retention.

John Pezoulas is the co-founder of Ready, Set, Exec and an executive search partner working across sales, marketing, HR, and operations leadership. He shares his team’s approach to an average 39-day time-to-hire and a 95% one-year retention rate.

1. 00:07:57 The real cost of hiring wrong: momentum, morale, culture

2. 00:11:40 Ending the blame game: CEO ownership + bias awareness

3. 00:15:17 Reactive vs strategic hiring: hire for the future, not the past

4. 00:17:08 Inside the 39-day hiring machine: what makes it work

5. 00:19:18 Step 1–2: discovery + alignment calls to lock “must-haves”

6. 00:23:46 Building the pipeline: hunt lists, candidate portfolios, fast interviews

7. 00:31:09 The stress points: negotiations, counteroffers, and keeping timelines real

• Treat hiring as a strategy, not an emergency; stop rushing to “fill a seat.”

• Start with role outcomes (90 days, 1 year, 3 years), not a recycled job description.

• Reduce mis-hires by separating kickoff into discovery and alignment meetings.

• Build an approved mandatory criteria list and sign-off to prevent late-stage changes.

• Run hiring like project management: timelines, deliverables, and tight communication.

• Optimize for retention, not just speed—win-win offers keep great people longer.

• Website: https://www.readysetexec.com/

• LinkedIn: Search John Pezoulas

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