Hiring Outliers: Lions, Monkeys, Rabbits, Horses and Cows. Oh my!

CEO of ING Direct, discusses one of his top interview questions re: lions, monkeys, rabbits, horses and cows.

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Q. So let’s say you’re interviewing me. How do you find out if I’m an outlier?

A. Well, one clear sign is if you’re difficult. Outliers are, by definition, always difficult. They’re difficult to manage, difficult to get along with. The other thing is, you’ve got to start by looking outside the industry. I’m looking for people with new ideas, a new set of eyes who look at things differently.

But in the interview, I have to look and say, “Well, what really makes him tick that would make him different?” So I’d be probing to see if you have a hobby. What do you do in the evenings? I’m trying to find data points, some clues to figure out what you are all about.

Q. Give me an example of how you do that.

A. Here’s one. There are five animals — a lion, a cow, a horse, a monkey and a rabbit. If you were asked to leave one behind, which one would you leave behind?

Q. Leave behind? In what sense?

A. Make up your own scenario.

Q. I’d leave the rabbit behind.

A. What was the story you had in mind?

Q. If I’m going on a journey, the rabbit isn’t a lot of use to me.

A. “Isn’t a lot of use. ...” O.K., so a utilitarian approach.

Q. Right.

A. Well, I would leave the cow behind because I thought I could ride the horse; the monkey would be on my back; the little rabbit, I would just stick in my jacket. But the one thing that was going to hold me up is the cow, which is slow. And the lion can forage out there. So now you know what I picked and I know what you picked.

So the lion represents pride, the horse represents work, the cow represents family, the monkey represents friends, and the rabbit represents love. In a stress situation that you and I’d be working in, I know the one thing that you would sacrifice would be love, and your story would be something like this: that you could sacrifice love with people because you could make it up to them later.

So if you have to get something done on the weekend, you’d work all weekend. When push came to shove, you’d sacrifice love. So that teaches me quite a bit about you. If you picked the horse, the conversation would end. I wouldn’t hire you because we’re never leaving work behind. Those types of examples teach me quite a bit about you.

Q. But this psychology test of the five animals ...

A. It’s actually a Japanese personality test. I just happened to pick that up.

A thanks to Chad Hurley

Now that we've publicly discussed founder Chad Hurley moving to an advisory role at YouTube (and revealed his true next plans), i wanted to spend more than 140 characters sharing my reverence for what he has built at YouTube and what he's done for me over the last four years.

I moved into the product group at YouTube from Google shortly after their acquisition. This transfer resulted from some early conversations with Steve Chen, Chad and another senior YouTube engineering manager who met me via my work on video at Google. Originally hesitant - wasn't this going to be the "chad and steve show? would i have any independence given the presence of two strong active founders?" - i jumped on-board because the product, culture and community they'd built was so damn appealing. I'd always enjoyed Google but truly felt at home with the YouTubers.

When i first met Chad i assumed he'd be out of YouTube as soon as his deal handcuffs expired. I mean he was now wealthy, with a great family he cares about and lots of outside interests. His life was set if he wanted to spend the rest of it coasting on his accomplishments and his hair. Chad has really great hair.

As i worked for Chad and we became friends, i realized the depth of his character. He certainly would go on to other projects at some point but it wasn't going to happen until he knew YouTube would succeed without his day-to-day leadership. The acquisition wasn't a finishing point for Chad. He truly wanted to see YouTube become more than a phenomena. He wanted it to be a sustainable platform for media. A real business. Something that he and Google could call a success. I was blown away and saw this dedication every day we worked together.

Beyond this commitment to the company, Chad (and Steve) made a real commitment to me - incorporating my input and leadership, supporting/defending my views, welcoming me into the ranks. As Chad's change in role was announced i advised our product team that they will never go wrong asking "What Would Chad Do" when faced with a decision about design, features or just plain fighting for our users. He has a wonderful true north and is a divining rod for how technology and design benefit humanity.

I could go on further but this isn't a eulogy. Chad will always have an influence here. And i look forward to surfing the waves he continues to create. Whether it's Hlaska or projects yet to be announced. Thanks Chad!

Minivan commercials go hipster

Two of my favorite commercials recently are for minivans clearly targeted at new parents who don't want to feel old just yet:

• Toyota's Swagger Wagon
• Judas Priest sells Honda Odyssey

The Devil Made Me Do It: how website UX influences information disclosure

Does viewing the graphic to the left make you more likely to disclose embarrassing information on a website? Improbably yes!

A CMU study recently found that the design and visual cues of website greatly impacted the level of disclosure people made. The more amateurish the website, the more willing they were to admit to bad behavior. 

For example when presented with the question on a simple looking website, 19.7% of students admitted to having covertly watched someone undressed. The same question on a more professional looking site? Only 4.7% admit to spying.

"The little devil face sort of winks at you, suggesting it's okay to do bad stuff," said one of the paper's authors. 

Implications for product managers:

• Formal looking design is not always superior choice when trying to get people to reveal about themselves.
• Creating cues that make people feel a certain way and suggest the behavior you want from them can very much influence their actions (see Cialdini's Influence for great examples)

Anticipation of feedback motivates performance

Recent research suggests that we can be motivated by the notion of receiving feedback quickly after performing a task. Two Canadian researchers ran an experiment where students giving a presentation were told in advance when their work would be evaluated - a randomly assigned delay ranging from 0 - 17 days. The results?

"Students who were told they would receive feedback quickly on their performance earned higher grades than students who expected feedback at a later time. Furthermore, when students expected to receive their grades quickly, they predicted that their performance would be worse than students who were to receive feedback later. This pattern suggests that anticipating rapid feedback may improve performance because the threat of disappointment is more prominent."

Potential implications?

• Consider setting the norm of giving your team members feedback immediately after important tasks, rather than waiting for weekly 1:1s or quarterly performance reviews.
• If stakes are suitably large (ie user needs to care about the outcome), tight feedback loops in consumer web experiences are desirable.

He's got big balls: the role of testosterone in M&A activity

What do AC/DC and Canadian researchers have in common? Their investigation of testosterone. While the Aussies drew connection between large balls and throwing parties, three academics at University of British Columbia analyzed the role of testosterone in corporate mergers and acquisition behavior. 

Their study concluded that indeed, young male CEOs are more aggressive and impulsive dealmakers, often leading to destruction of shareholder value in the process. They claim male CEOs > 45 are:

• 4% more likely to be acquisitive than older CEOs
• 20% more likely to recall a previous offer
• 2% more likely to force a tender offer as opposed to a negotiated agreement

They try to control for attributes such as CEO tenure, etc playing a role but also admit that without actual testosterone testing, there could be other factors at play.