How I Hire

Harvard innovation lab : Michael J Skok : Startup Secrets : Hiring
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#innovationlab @mjskok #startupsecrets www.mjskok.com
STARTUP
SECRETS
MICHAEL J SKOK
An insider‟s guide to unfair competitive advantage
Hi Harvard innovation lab
“How I Hire”
twitter: @mjskok mjskok.com
North Bridge Venture Partners

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Hiring:
Assess 3 key things …
Can they be successful at the
job?
Will they really love the job?
Will they fit and reinforce?
EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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Hiring:
Can they be successful at the job?
Do they have the EKS:
– Experience
– Knowledge
– Skills
And where applicable, the IQ
– Intelligence
– Smarts
AttitudeAbility

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Hiring:
• Can you find people‟s passion?
– If people love what they do, they tend to do it well
– If they do it well, they tend to be successful
• Can you
– Find a fit for what they love to do?
– Set them up for success?
AttitudeAbility

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My first interview question?
What are you passionate about?
– sometimes my ONLY question!

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Hiring:
AttitudeAbility
Uncover
their
Passion
Love it
Do Well
Success
Reward
People who are really
passionate about their
work tend to love what
they do, take pride in
it, and the results and
rewards all follow.
This creates a self
reinforcing
positive virtuous cycle
of success

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It doesn‟t have to be all about work…
"I never did a day's work in my
life. It was all fun.”
Thomas A. Edison

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Another revealing question?
What would you choose to do
if today was your last day of work?

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Hiring is more than a science…
Beyond, EKS, IQ…
• Think about what will set someone up for
success in your situation / team / organization
– Street smarts vs. Book smarts?
– Judgement vs. Intellect?
– Effort vs. Ability?
• Think about how to find a FIT…

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EQ: Emotional Quotient
• Inter-personal skills, connections & relationships
are vital in a startup
• 3 Examples
– “Speed teaming”
• Form and re-form rapidly – eg around problem solving
• Cross functional and interdisciplinary teams often best
– Customer intimacy
• Often vital in product development, support etc
– Leverage: building relationships with key stakeholders
• Shareholders – for strong investor support
• Suppliers – for faster time to market
• Partners – for leveraging other‟s capabilities

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Startup Secret: Hire for EQ, CQ
• EKS: Experience, Knowledge, Skills
• IQ: Intelligence Quotient
• EQ: Emotional Quotient
– Fit with your team etc
• CQ: Cultural Quality
– Fit with your values etc
“the fit between personalities was so much more
important than just finding people who were very
good”
Dick Costolo, CEO Twitter
Wasserman, Noam (2012-03-25). The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup
(Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) (p. 216). Princeton University Press

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Startup Secret: Hire for CQ do QC
• EKS: Experience, Knowledge, Skills
• IQ: Intelligence Quotient
• EQ: Emotional Quotient
• CQ: Cultural Quality
– FIT with your values etc
• QC: Quality Control
– Is each hire Additive or Dilutive to your culture?
– Is each hire Multiplying or Dividing your culture?

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Everyone wants „A+‟ players…

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Startup Secret: Hire 3As
• Attitude
• Aptitude
• Ability
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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Startup Secret: Hire 3As, 3+s
+ Aware (self)
+ Authentic
+ Athlete
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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Hiring:
3 key things lead to the “Golden Triangle”
Can they be successful at the
job?
Will they fit and reinforce?
EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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Hiring: The tools
• EKS
– Resume
• Interviews
• IQ
– Proof, eg
• Problem solving
– e.g. Engineers – code
• CQ
– Interactions, observation
• Trust the process
EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability
REALReferences

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Summary – Hiring
• EKS, IQ = can they be successful at the job?
– Check with REAL references
• CQ, EQ (Cultural Quality) = will they fit & reinforce?
– Do QC (Quality Control) for additive vs. dilutive to your culture
• Uncover their Passion = will they really love the job?
– Separate from needs
• Golden Triangle = all the above and A+ players:
– Look for 3As: Attitude, Aptitude, Ability
+++ Aware, Authentic, Athlete

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3 practical startup hiring tips
Because I hear these questions all the
time…

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Tip 1: hiring known quantities…
Just hire people you know & have worked well with
in past?
YES
– proven teaming, fit
NO
– every situation is different
» “vs. it worked like this in the past!”
– diversity of background can be good
» “think different”
“startups that relied relatively heavily on the founders’
personal networks received valuations that were
37% higher than those received by startups that
barely tapped the founders’ networks”
Wasserman

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Tip 1: hiring known quantities…
Just hire people you know and you have worked well
with in past?
YES
– proven teaming, fit
NO
– every situation is different
» “vs. it worked like this in the past!”
– diversity of background can be good
» “think different”

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Tip 2: balance Youth AND Experience
Youth or Experience? YES!
Youth what‟s possible?
+
Experience what to consider
=
Success balance

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Tip 3: Listen don‟t sell!
• Find out what the candidate needs, wants, loves
• And FIT it to a position you have
• Great interviewers ask great questions and really
listen and observe
– To really understand the candidate
– Find the fit
• They don‟t sell if there‟s not a fit
– Everyone loses when you hire and fire

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Tip 3: Listen don‟t sell!
• Find out what the candidate needs, wants, loves
• And FIT it to a position you have
• Great interviewers ask great questions and really
listen and observe
– Find the fit
• They don‟t sell if there‟s not a fit

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Therefore great interviewing is…
• 3 things
– Questioning
– Listening
– Observing
EG can you hear and separate what your
candidate
• needs ?
• wants ?
• loves ?

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Startup Secret: Find Mutual Fit
• FIT what the candidate needs, wants, loves
• To a position you have (or NOT!)
• Ask great questions and really listen and observe
– Find the fit
• Don‟t sell if there‟s not a fit
• If you‟ve got a mutual FIT
– The candidate will select you
– As much as you hire them

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For further information including
interview questions to go with this
approach see links:-
“3 steps to making A+ hires that fit”
and
“Hiring questions for the perfect fit”

Hi
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STARTUP
SECRETS
MICHAEL J SKOK
An insider‟s guide to unfair competitive advantage
Hi Harvard innovation lab
“How I Hire”
twitter: @mjskok mjskok.com
North Bridge Venture Partners

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