There’s a guitarist in a band I like who’s probably one of the most technically proficient people to ever pick up his instrument. You wouldn’t believe what he can do – his fingers move at light speed as he delivers every note with utter perfection. Yet his playing is often criticised as being clinical and emotionless.
Back in 1978, Porsche launched its new 928 model, which was intended to replace the venerable 911. More comfortable, better balanced and technically advanced, it was in many ways superior to its predecessor and was even voted European Car of the Year. But customers preferred the 911 despite its flaws and shortcomings… or because of them.
Sometimes, the better something is and the closer it is to perfection, the worse it is. And I think this applies in the context of executive recruitment.
Companies so often seek people who “tick the boxes” of the requirement they’ve specified – the more criteria they satisfy, the better that person is deemed to be. But this often results in them missing out on the right people. Maybe someone who doesn’t know the established process is exactly the person who’ll drive innovation. Perhaps someone who doesn’t have a particular qualification is more capable due to their experience.
Executive recruitment isn’t about finding the tick box perfect person but finding the one who offers the most to the hiring company and so will excel in the position. It’s about exploring the nuances of personality, technique and outlook as well as experience and assessing a person as a whole, not just against a list of requirements. This is why I believe, when recruiting at leadership level at least, the tools and systems companies are increasingly using fall short and why AI will have a hard time beating a human.
Because imperfection can be preferable to perfection.
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