On Compromising
Just read an interesting post by Dharmesh Shah of OnStartups titled, Why Startups Should ALWAYS Compromise When Hiring. He listed 8 attributes you might seek when hiring for your startup and suggested that the person you hire doesn't need to be perfect in all attributes. For example, you could compromise a bit on education if the person was really smart. After all, "You might find that someone scores “average” in the academics dimension — but is off-the-charts smart (happens all the time)."
The post drew many, many comments. Quite a few supported Shah's point of view, and a number weighed in on which attributes are compromise-worthy and which are not. A few readers disagreed.
My own take on the subject is that compromise depends on what is at stake. When you're negotiating with equals, for instance, you need to be prepared to compromise or you lose. When you're looking for attributes in a recruit, a little compromise makes sense since, as Shah points out, nobody is perfect. But as a general principle, you set your sights higher when you simply don't think in terms of compromise. The less you need to compromise, the more success you will achieve.
[Special notice to The First Year Readers: April 30 will be my last post to this blog. However I am returning to writing Way to Grow, and you can follow me there.]
