Brad Black, president, CEO and founder of HUMANeX Ventures, spoke about building a strong leadership model at EntreCon Pensacola 2016. Credit: Shannon Nickinson.

Hiring the right people with the most talent is the key to creating a culture of success in an organization.

That was the message HumaneX Ventures co-founder and CEO Brad Black delivered Thursday to entrepreneurs, business leaders and attendees at EntreCon 2016 in Pensacola.

“Recruit talent and you will create culture to change your community,” Black said to an audience of about 350 people. “The two critical things of a great organization is talent and culture If you don’t get an A plus in these two subjects you won’t be at the top.”

Black outlined his principles of creating excellence in a organization at EntreCon, the two-day business and entrepreneurship conference hosted by Studer Community Institute on Thursday and Friday.

EntreCon 2016 features 40 speakers and panelists, including seven keynote speakers and 12 breakout sessions. The speakers and panelists will share strategies, offer advice and provide information on starting and growing a business.

EntreCon 2016 is under way at Pensacola Little Theatre. Credit: Shannon Nickinson.

In his presentation, “The eX Factors of Sustained Excellence,” Black drove home the critical importance of growing and sustaining a company by getting the right people in the right places in an organization.

“People are seeds, and you have to sort out seeds,” Black said. “You have to know what great teachers are, what great nurses are, what great leaders are.”

Black talked about how he helped build a culture that became a magnet that attracted people who lined up to be a part of.

Black’s culture-building experiences have led to the founding principles of HUMANeX Ventures, an organization built on the experience that talent and culture drives not only the success of individuals, teams, and organizations, but the success of communities as well.

By mobilizing leaders and professionals in the fields of education, non-profit, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, service industries and more, and educating them about how to recognize, develop, and multiply talent and culture, a synergy is sparked that positively impacts the health and well- being of the community.

Black was recognized as a Gallup Hall of Fame recipient for his work in designing and building a world-class leadership and human resources model. This industry-leading “high performance icon” focuses on high performance and sustained excellence.

Great culture, Black said, equals higher results.

He pointed to two organizations — Southwest Airlines and Chick-fil-A — as glowing examples of building and sustaining a culture or service and success.

“I’ll go out of my way to have an experience with Chick-fil-A and Southwest Airlines because of their culture,” he said. “Relationships and a focus on performance define a great team.”