Two days ago, I made the toughest hiring decision of my career so far.
I rejected a truly phenomenal candidate.
They were fully aligned on values, vision, the impact we wanted to have, and a genuine interest in the work we are doing.
Outstanding communication skills, hungry to work on something meaningful, and excited by intense work sessions and a hard life. Went to Harvard.
But in the final interview, I sensed that something felt off.
The candidate was a very intelligent person and good worker who likes to work on interesting problems that have an impact on humanity, but they didn’t show a certain sickness.
A key ingredient that I look for, drew attention to its absence:
Pride of a craftsman.
It’s an irrational obsession with excellence, with delivering greatness in whatever you do.
It’s the appreciation for beauty and elegance — at any cost.
It’s not just a desire for excellence, it’s equal parts resentment towards mediocrity.
It’s noble, but it doesn’t come from a good place. It is bathed in dark energy.
But it’s what enables you to challenge the team, challenge the company, challenge the industry, and challenge the world.
I don’t know whether it can be taught or coached. I don’t know whether it can be “absorbed” by being surrounded by people who have it.
When you are interviewing someone, you need to act as if there are 900 more people lined up outside the door.
When someone meets every single bar except one key requirement — they’re just on the edge — what you do there is what defines you as an entrepreneur.
Do you compromise and give them a chance? Or do you suck it up and go back to looking for new candidates, effectively restarting from scratch?
Btw, if this strongly resonates with you, I’m still hiring.
