[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39288669&utm_term=comment] I have a 4-quardrant way…

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39288669&utm_term=comment]

I have a 4-quardrant way of thinking about this that’s similar.

- Y-axis is “drive”

- X-axis is “aptitude”

- low drive + low aptitude: never hire

- low drive + high aptitude: hire for targeted use cases where you need expertise

- high drive + low aptitude: hire, train, and foster aptitude growth

- high drive + high aptitude: hire on the spot

There’s an indirect way of testing for this which is to test for curiosity and lack of ego. My experience has been that candidates with high curiosity tend to have low ego (they know what they don’t know and are curious to learn). These candidates make great hires because you can teach them anything.

Wrote about this a little bit here (with a handy diagram): https://charliedigital.com/2020/01/15/effective-hiring-for-small-or-all-teams/