Betting On Potential
Many will agree with the idea of hiring on potential over a casual conversation, but when it actually comes time to put skin in the game and make their bet on hiring biased on potential they usually opt to holding off for the more pedigreed candidate. Yes, the possibility of making a bad hire can be detrimental to the progress of the company, but the upside potential is just as high if not even higher.
Given the current state of talent in the Silicon Valley, hiring based on potential can make or break your company, as not every organization has access to top tier talent or if you do, you have hiring plans which force you to make some bets potential in hopes you pick a winner.
Pro Tip: remember to be realistic about your potential talent pool.
For another perspective on how to hire, check out this article written by my colleague Dan Portillo we overlap in many areas in thoughts on hiring on potential over pedigree.
The first thing we should think about when evaluating potential or evaluating anything for that matter, is patterns. Unlike building sports teams, we do not have the luxury of standardized stat sheets accompanying every resume, so this is all rough science at best, but here are three patterns I have noticed.
- Drive: A motivation that comes from within, some call this passion others may call it determination. Things I try to learn about the person are hobbies, upbringing and obviously work experience. The easy thing to do here is to look for top tier schools and companies, which can be effective, but we’re looking for potential here. We want the diamond in the rough, the uncut precious stone that has yet to be cut to reach its full potential. Has this person followed their passions in the past? Perhaps they left everything behind and traveled to a foreign country where they didn’t know the language in an attempt to create their new desired dream life. Maybe they participate in certain sports that take discipline and pain, specifically endurance athletes. (runners, swimmers, rowers, triathletes). Endurance sports tend to strengthen one’s drive and ability to persevere even when things get painful, monotonous and boring, so this is a strong signal.
- Thrive Outside of Their Comfort Zone and Making Mistakes: (These are closely related so I included them together.) Have they demonstrated their ability to get out of this comfort zone? Perhaps it was taking the 100% commission role instead of the cushy account management role, or leaving a top tier company with high salary to join a startup that failed. Taking risks and failing are common among many successful people. How many missed shots did Michael Jordan make? How many failed products has Steve Jobs produced? Greatness is earned through a trail of mistakes during their journey towards success.
- Dreamers: The dreamer that has both grand aspirations, and the bravery to attempt a follow through. Anyone can have a big dream, but actually pursuing the dream is the difficult piece. In this context the dreamer is defined by her pursuits that lean towards to what is perceived to most, as impossible. Think about the Wright Brothers attempt at manned flight, the Apollo Team sending the first man to the Moon, or the Google Engineers building the Star Trek Computer. Dreamers, many times, are setting themselves up for failure, but if they even achieve half of what they set out to do, they have accomplished more than most. If someone lacks the ability to dream big, they will never be able to achieve greatness.
This list can go on and on, and there is nothing new here, but my hopes are that these tidbits can point people in the direction of seeking the high potential untapped talent. Every successful person I have met has had their big break, don’t you want to be the person that can claim they discovered the next Bill, Steve, Sergei, or Mark?
Obviously there are issues on hiring an entire organization on high potential individuals, but this warrants its own piece.
