Johanna

I realize that not every business has a community around what they do, but if you do have a broader ecosystem of users, developers or fans, you should try like hell to hire from that crowd whenever possible.

Even if you have a candidate that would be brilliant at doing your particular task, but wouldn’t be very good in another team, that’s a No Hire. In software, things change so often and so rapidly that you need people that can succeed at just about any programming task that you throw at them.

Companies become highly leveraged when they hire lots of superstar talent. They can reduce the risk this creates by hedging against their business model. Basically, this involves asking, “In a world where our main product fails, what other products or services are likely to be successful?” and then building those themselves.

I am willing to take as much time as needed between projects to find my next thing. But I always want it to be a project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote.

But, as impressively, she prompts her people to act originally by banning words such as like, love and hate, because, as a basic visceral response, they circumvent any critical thought. Saying why something is loved or hated inspires new, substantial ideas. She inspires originality in her people.”

I'm talking about hiring people who are serious about constant learning. These people don't spend their time trying to convince you of how much they know. They don't focus on their past very much. They are always focused on their future. As you interview them, they are interviewing you, trying to figure out how much they can learn from you.