Hiring for Your Stack is All Wrong

This presentation was delivered at the Ronin Labs CTO Summit in NYC and SF in May of 2015.

1. Hiring for your stack is all wrong Jeff Casimir / @j3 / turing.io
2. Building Teams
3. What makes a developer 
 the right fit?
4. Years of experience?
 Mastery of a stack?
5. What about you?
6. Let’s hire people for 
 who they’ll become,
 not what they’ve done.
7. The MVT
8. “I’ve never seen 
 a technical project fail 
 for technical reasons.”
10. Product < People
11. Each team has a set of 
 skill and cultural needs
12. Confidence Humility Collaboration Growth Empathy Grit Sales Design / UI UX / Product Backend Ops Service
13. Rob
 The Product Person Collaboration Empathy Sales Design / UI UX / Product Service
14. Jamie
 Data Cruncher Humility Collaboration Growth Backend Ops
15. + =
16. Confidence Humility Collaboration Growth Empathy Grit Sales Design / UI UX / Product Backend Ops Service
18. Instead of “fit”,
 find a complement
19. Stability & MVT
20. Right people at the
 right time
21. Teams stabilize like 
 the electrons of an atom
23. 4 12 32 128
24. Confidence Humility Collaboration Growth Empathy Grit Sales Design / UI UX / Product Backend Ops Service 4 12 32 128
25. Level A: 4
26. • Extreme risk tolerance • Mission definers • Hacker mindset Level A (4): Overview
27. • Passion for the problem • Safety net • Culture trendsetters • Wants responsibilities Level A (4): Profile
28. • Tech over mission • Seeks silos • Accustomed to instruction Level A (4): Dangers
29. Level B: 12
30. • High risk tolerance • Mission challengers • Multiple strengths and interests Level B (12): Overview
31. • Amplifier • People-people • Comfort with ambiguity • Building not starting Level B (12): Profile
32. • The new shiny • Timid about ownership • Over-engineering Level B (12): Dangers
33. Level C: 32
34. • Moderate risk tolerance • Mission believers • Specialist skills Level C (32): Overview
35. • The deep diver • Replacing systems • Research, reproduction • Other people’s code Level C (32): Profile
36. • Seeking excitement • Profit outcomes • Politicians Level C (32): Dangers
37. Level D: 128
38. • Low risk tolerance • Mission followers • Redundancy and growth Level D (128): Overview
39. • Lower pressure • Long-term engagement • Comfortable not-knowing • Echoing culture Level D (128): Profile
40. • Entitlement • Things “just work” • Boredom Level D (128): Dangers
41. Stability Levels Risk Mission Skills Level A (4) Extreme Definers Hackers Level B (12) High Challengers Multiple Level C (32) Moderate Believers Specialists Level D (128) Low Followers Redundancy
42. Processes
44. Knowledge < Processes
45. Processes allow for
 iterative learning
46. Not following a script, writing the script
47. • Sketch out a plan • Relish uncertainty • Listen to the work • Correct course • Iterate the process
48. Finding process people
49. • Writers • Chemists • Musicians • Social Workers • Teachers • Bartenders
50. • Plan • Experiment • Listen • Correct
51. Potential beyond experience
52. Aptitudes
53. Can we try to 
 isolate aptitudes?
54. Aptitudes: Empathy
55. The ability to understand the needs, feelings, frustrations, and passions of others
56. • Profile five customers • What are their needs, desires, skills, fears? • What will make them quit? Empathy: Measure It
57. • Compassion & sensitivity • Excitement for solutions • Understanding scope Empathy: What to Look For
58. • Indifference • Biases and -isms • Contempt Empathy: Watch Out For
60. Aptitudes: Iteration
61. The ability to integrate 
 new information into a process
62. • Collaborate on a puzzle (LSAT, tangrams, sudoku) • Teach along the way • Can they re-apply? Iterate? Improvement: Measure It
63. • Rational process • Patience & confidence • Changing course • Listening & application Improvement: What to Look For
64. • Plowing ahead • Desperation & leaps • Inability to explain Improvement: Watch Out For
65. In Action
68. “If you can do the job,
 then you should get the job.”
69. TechHire
70. Hire for who they’ll become,
 not what they’ve done. Jeff Casimir / @j3 / turing.io