hiring, meetings, etc

Talk to the candidates about what they’ve done. Ask them about their most impressive projects and biggest wins. Specifically, ask them about how they spend their time during an average day, and what they got done in the last month. Go deep in a specific area and ask about what the candidate actually did—it’s easy to take credit for a successful... See more

Some questions that I’ve found to be very effective in one-on-ones: If we could improve in any way, how would we do it? What’s the number-one problem with our organization? Why? What’s not fun about working here? Who is really kicking ass in the company? Whom do you admire? If you were me, what changes would you make? What don’t you like about the

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I try to conduct references with an eye to quirky forms of excellence.

I’ll bet that as few as 20% of us are in the seat that best optimizes our talents and skills at any given time—the seat that makes us feel at home in the world.

When something isn’t getting done, it’s because the person a) doesn’t have the time b) doesn’t have the skill or c) has some sort of psychological block. The third case is surprisingly common.

As a rule, in a corporate environment, never signal that you buy the dream or that you crave an audience, as each of these can be provided at little to no cost for the employer and for little or no lasting benefit to you. Instead, signal that you crave the two things of real, lasting value a quality employer can offer: a learning environment and,... See more

Before an interview, I sometimes re-read this great passage from Philip Roth’s American Pastoral :

You might as well have the brain of a tank. You get them wrong before you meet them, while you’re anticipating meeting them; you get them wrong while you’re with them; and then you go home to tell somebody else about the meeting and you get them all

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