Years ago I met a CEO on an airplane. She was sitting next to me and was working hard on a deck. As a very curious person I asked her what was she working on. This simple question open a 4 hour discussion and a future meeting.
Let’s fast forward to the moment where she wanted to interview me for a job at her company (tech company focus on real estate).
She and the CFO (co-founder) ask me to visit them at their office. I sat down and had an hour and a half conversation with them. The comon questions: what did you study, where did you study, what do you think you can add to this company, where do you see yourself in 5 years, where do you see this company in 5 years, etc. I was actually interested in working in this company because of her. She knew so much about what she was doing and the market that it was exciting.
The problem was when the CFO asked me
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
This is not a simple question and the Quora answer: “Where is the company going to be 9 years from now?” seems someone is answering and gambling at the same time.
My answer was honest, simple and direct: “I will be building my own company”. She loved the question, he didn’t. Why?
Because he wanted a Quora answer. He wished that I would stay forever in the company working for him and helping him build HIS company. I didn't got an offer and I believed it was because of this answer.
I would like to know what answer YOU want from your employees. I’ve always hired knowing that they eventually would leave and I actually think is something good. I strongly believe people should leave for better opportunities. It shows they learned and obtained a new set of skills while working on your company. It’s healthy and you get the opportunity of bringing new people with new ideas.
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