Wright On: Top 5% Talent, Mirroring, The Thing, and Dad Joke of the Week

🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 RECRUITING TOP 5% TALENT
The Best Candidate Rarely Gets the Job

Here's a hot take that may be hard to hear: We frequently pass on the best candidate.

Top 5% talent gets missed all the time because they can appear challenging.

They’re busy and can be tough to schedule.
They may come off as not that interested in your company or position.
They challenge your assumptions.
They ask tough questions.
They often ask about a higher title.
They expect compensation that matches their value.

When recruiting, we don’t like to be challenged. These behaviors can make us feel uncomfortable. We expect candidates to:

• prioritize our schedules.

• fawn over our opportunity.

• agree with our views and approach.

• accept our situation “as is.”

• accept how we’ve leveled and titled the position.

• accept budgeted compensation.

• be nice, agreeable, and “easy” to work with.

Candidates like this make HR and most hiring managers uneasy, so the candidate gets labeled as “difficult.” They then prioritize harmony over horsepower, passing on bold, outspoken change agents in favor of safer, more agreeable candidates.

Unless you’re hiring someone simply to “keep the trains running on time,” favoring agreeableness over achievement is almost always a mistake.

Think of Steve Jobs, famously fired from Apple in the mid-1980s because his aggressive style clashed with the board's vision. Years later, the company had to bring him back precisely because his bold, abrasive approach was exactly what was needed to innovate and thrive. Or consider Elon Musk, generally described as difficult, yet responsible for groundbreaking shifts in industries from automotive to aerospace.

No one would argue that both Jobs and Musk are difficult personalities. Many would choose not to work with people like this. But have they changed the world? No question.

On the other hand, history is full of examples where organizations settled for less assertive candidates who maintained the status quo but failed to drive necessary change. The issue isn't always that these candidates fail with a newsworthy bang; usually, it's that they are just… unremarkable and don’t achieve anything transformative.

When you are looking to elevate performance, change the status quo, or the situation demands bold moves or something different, cautious and overly agreeable candidates likely fall short.

They can fold as soon as they hit an obstacle or hear the first, “Well, that’s how we do things around here.”

Raising the talent bar rarely comes from playing it safe. When your organization needs a major pivot like launching new products, breaking into markets, or radically changing culture, you don't need another non-confrontational personality nodding along politely—you need someone direct, maybe even a bit abrasive, who isn't afraid to disrupt the status quo and push the team toward excellence.

Speaking of the status quo… think of it like the Earth’s gravity. Did you know that it takes nearly 25,000 miles per hour to reach “escape velocity,” or the force needed to overcome Earth’s gravity and escape Earth? You need extraordinary force to break gravity’s grip, just as you need extraordinary talent to break free from the status quo.

Yes, hiring someone who might occasionally rub people the wrong way feels risky. It challenges our instinct to maintain team harmony and this whole nebulous idea of “fit.”

But ask yourself this: Is harmony worth it if nothing ever changes?

Sometimes, disruption is exactly what's needed—and disruption, by its very nature, is uncomfortable.

So let’s start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.

The next time you're hiring, resist the temptation to be drawn to the comfortable candidate who makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. Look instead for the person who's brave enough to challenge your assumptions, driven enough to raise the talent bar, and bold enough to drive real change.

Agreeable isn't always admirable. Don’t be afraid of someone who negotiates and advocates for themselves—that’s the underlying motivation of these “difficult” behaviors. Wouldn’t we do that ourselves?

High performance combined with “real-talk” and boldness beats politeness when the stakes are high.

What do you think about this agreeableness issue? Have you seen examples of this in the workplace or elsewhere?

Go get 'em! 🚀

—Brenden

🔮 DARK PSYCHOLOGY
Conduct Better Interviews: “Mirroring”

Mirroring is a powerful psychological technique that encourages candidates to expand on their thoughts without pressure. It leads them to clarify, elaborate, or unpack an answer, giving you a more complete view of their mindset, motivations, and behavior.

The effective use of mirroring can:

• build instant rapport.

• reveal deeper insights.

• reduce interviewer bias (listening > talking).

• highlight emotional intelligence.

• improve negotiation and influence later.

Check out this video by Chris Voss from the Black Swan Group for examples of mirroring in action.

✅ GET SH*T DONE #GSD
The Thing

I see this essay periodically; every time I do, it lands HEAVY. To everyone trying to do something hard, check out this essay by Strangest Loop called “The Thing.”

Now, go do THE THING! 🚀

🤣 YOU’RE WELCOME. TRY THIS ON THE KIDS TODAY!
Dad Joke of the Week

YOU: Knock. Knock.
THEM: Who’s there?
YOU: I eat mop.
THEM: I eat mop who?

Have a Dad Joke you love? Send it our way and we’ll feature it here.

🙏🏼 HELP US IMPROVE
A Quick Question…