Starters and Finishers

In chatting with Rafael (our VP Marketing here at Intercom) last week about questions we ask when interviewing people, he mentioned that he often asks people if they are a ‘Starter’ or a ‘Finisher’. What a brilliant question. I am a Starter, no doubt. I work hard to be a Finisher when it matters, but I am naturally a Starter.

This is already providing me with lots of food for thought on the people in my team, and the people we need to hire. As my team has grown, I need more senior people to help me, specifically and acutely I need a Director of PM to be my co-pilot. I always knew that I needed to hire someone unlike me, someone who is strong where I am weak, someone who embraces what I put off, someone to complement me.

Only now do I realise that I need to hire a Finisher.