Category: Everything else

Skills, traits, and values in hiring

We were in conversation with Lea Hickman, a former VP of Product at Adobe and Invision, yesterday and asked her about her reflections on hiring over the past three decades. She said the biggest change was moving from hiring for past experience/hard skill fit to hiring entirely for folks who enjoyed collaborating, exhibited an appetite for continuous learning, and demonstrated grit.

This was fascinating for 2 reasons. I found it interesting that her hiring criteria evolved from a focus on “intercept” to a focus on “slope.”

And, second, it reminded me of Ray Dalio’s insistence that most conventional hiring managers have their priorities backward because they insist on testing skills instead of understanding how the candidate’s abilities and values fit with the role.

The value of inspirational leadership

In a post just before Christmas, I’d written about the importance of working with managers who believe in us. The impetus for that post was watching the highlights of a Manchester United game under the new interim manager which saw the team hit 5 goals for the first time in 5 years.

That match, it turned out, was a watershed moment. Under the leadership of the interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United went on an impressive winning streak – 7 consecutive games, 8 consecutive away games, and victories against top rivals. Through this process, we learnt that Solskjaer wasn’t just a club legend brought in to tide the team through the rest of the season. He was an astute manager and an inspirational leader.

While he’s exceeded all expectations so far, he faced the biggest challenge of his reign yesterday. His only defeat thus far came in the European Champions League against heavyweights Paris Saint Germain. He lost two of his best players to injuries in the first half and the team lost 2-0 in the first leg.

So, he headed to the second leg facing a task that had eluded 106 other teams who lost 2-0 in the first leg in the knock out stages. In the world’s elite football tournament, no one made their way back at 2-0. But, that was not all. He also had 10 senior players out of his 22 member squad injured. So, he fielded a make-shift team with 4 teenage substitutes – all of whom had never played a game in the Champions League for Manchester United. And, to top it off, he’d lost his talisman – midfielder Paul Pogba – as he was suspended after two yellow card fouls in the first leg.

Against all odds, the team won 3-1 and are through to the quarter finals. They rode their luck, they took their chances, and they made it.

This victory was a great reminder of the value of inspirational leadership to me. United were given a 6.7% chance by the bookmakers at the start of the game. But, Solskjaer got every member of the team to believe in their own capabilities, to keep faith in each other, and to dig deep and find that extra bit of energy and resolve when they most needed it.

When that happens, individuals and teams are capable of overcoming absurd odds.

Self made and some fascinating research on privilege

There’s been a fair bit of media outcry (in the United States) on all sides of the aisle around wealth of late. The issue at the heart of most of the outcry is that it seems wealthy folks, with few exceptions, want to be termed self made. And, no one (again – with few exceptions) wants to acknowledge the role privilege played in their success.

Amidst all this noise, The Atlantic shared an important interview with two British researchers who decided to immerse themselves in the cultures of workplaces in four settings – a TV-broadcasting company, a multinational accounting firm, an architecture firm, and the world of self-employed actors. Here are two ways in which they found privilege to show up.

First, financial cushion enabled actors to take low paying jobs to get their start while also enabling others to take important unpaid internships or to live in a city like London where there are more opportunities. Imagine attempting to do any of this with the pressure of having to support a family or pay back debt.

Second, at work, they found it easier to find sponsors who found themselves reminded of themselves while also finding it easier to understand the unwritten norms that folks who are relatively unexposed struggled with.

Of course, this won’t make for a popular media story. Forbes, for example, has a category in their billionaire lists called “Self made who got a head start from wealthy parents and moneyed background.”

But, this research is a start. In time, I’m hopeful we’ll begin to see a lot more data that points to the massive role privilege plays in success. We need to stop downplaying its role so as to build systems that result in broader equity and access.

It will take time. But, I’m optimistic we’ll get there.

PS: I haven’t read this yet – but the authors mentioned above have written a book called “The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged”

PPS: A reminder on how I think about privilege and success.

Trading problems and progress

Difficult problems presented by life don’t go away when we make a big decision or two. Instead, our decisions just enable us to trade one set of problems for another.

Progress, then, is all about trading problems we don’t like working on with problems we don’t mind (or even enjoy) working on.

No problems isn’t an option. Better problems is.

Acceptable error

Our Table Tennis coach used to have a rule when we were learning how to hit a top spin forehand – hit the ball out if you must but don’t let the ball hit the net.

Hitting the net, in his mind, was a result of a weak attempt. He knew we’d make plenty of mistakes on our journey to learn how to hit the top spin right. And, he made it clear that he’d rather have us try an expansive stroke and fail – that was an acceptable error.

It turns out that the acceptable error concept is a useful tool in helping us accelerate our learning, execute better, and be kinder to ourselves. Imagine you are running an important project for the next three months. There is no way you’ll walk out of the experience knowing you’ve done a perfect job. There is no perfect job. You’ll always have some constructive feedback.

What would you rather the feedback be? For example, would you rather the feedback be about your propensity to go fast? Or, would it be about your desire to ship with the small details taken care of?

If you decide that erring on the side of speed is an acceptable error, for example, it’ll do two things.

First, it’ll bring a lot of clarity in your day-to-day execution. When push comes to shove, you’ll know to prioritize speed and you’ll walk away with lessons from consistently doing so.

Second, once the project is over, you’ll also know to expect feedback about your focus on speed. When you know to expect it, it won’t sting as much.

Acceptable error, as I’ve come to appreciate, is just another way of expressing strategy. Every strategy has its downsides. But, if chosen well, it’ll help us build on our strengths, learn, and provide clarity as we execute.

Said clarity is worth a lot.

Avocado toast

This might just be the first ever A Learning a Day food recipe. I thought it fitting to write an ode to the awesomeness that is Avocado toast. If you haven’t tried it yet, I hope this post helps.

We discovered Avocado toast thanks to a close friend who made it for us during a trip in December. It has become a weekend breakfast staple since. We love it because it is easy to make, has a long list of health benefits, and is filling. It is especially good when you have physical activities lined up after breakfast as you don’t get hungry for a few hours.

Here are the steps involved –

1. Buy an avocado. :-) When you do see an avocado at the store, look for avocados that feel soft when you hold and press them. Softness = indicator of ripeness. If you aren’t planning to eat the avocado for a few days, go for the hard ones. And, refrigeration helps lock in ripeness for 4-5 days.

2. Cut the avocado into halves, remove the seed, and extract the fruit with a spoon. This is quick and straightforward with ripe avocados.

3. Add some salt and pepper for a simple version of the spread. For more interesting versions, try some mix of lemon juice, oregano, and chili flakes.

4. Toast your bread, feel free to boil or cook an egg, and enjoy your breakfast.

(Photo source: IBakeHeShoots)

Safari demos

I’m working my way through an interview of Ken Kocienda by Frank Chen of a16z where Ken shares insights from his book “Creative Selection” – a look at the Apple design process during the Steve Jobs era. One interesting anecdote was from the team’s experience when they were building the first version of Safari into the MacOS.

When Ken shared that Steve used to make it to the engineering demos (equivalent of regular stand-ups/status checks), Frank wonders how the CEO of Apple found time to do so. Ken’s response is “focus” – one of the words that he believes best described Steve Jobs.

Similarly, Ken talks about Steve effectively being the only Product Manager for the 20 odd person team that shipped the first version of iOS. Apple famously did very few things and that meant Steve could stay on top of each of these projects at a granular level.

There’s a famous Steve Jobs quote on focus that I’m sure we’ve all come across – “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.”

These anecdotes brought that quote to life for me. The next step is to take action.

Much to learn I have…

Channeling Zeigarnik

You know you have a project coming in 6 weeks. You don’t have the time to give it thought now. So, you wait.. until you realize there’s only a week left. At that point, you are stuck burning the midnight oil in a race to the finish line.

There is a better approach.

As soon as you know you have a project coming, open up the “Notes” app or its equivalent on your phone, title it with the project and add the first 2 or 3 thoughts that come to mind. Then, shut it down and move on to other things.

The effect of doing so – called the “Zeigarnik effect” – is that our brains consider the project as “incomplete” and will subconsciously look for ways to add to it/finish it over the next few weeks. Every time we get prodded, we just need to go back to that note and keep adding.

This approach works for a packing list for a future trip, for the slides for that big meeting, and even for that strategy doc you are thinking about. It bypasses the need for the last minute rush to the finish line and enables us to create better quality work.

Start early. Channel Zeigarnik.

PS: The Zeigarnik effect is why songs that we haven’t completed get stuck in our heads.