This story appears in the November 2025 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
If you think you’re good at hiring people, you’re probably wrong.
We have unusual insight into this. Coauthor Richard Hagberg is a psychologist and executive management coach who has worked with thousands of clients, seen inside of hundreds of businesses, and has collected 40 years’ worth of data. His experience has shown that hiring is one of those disciplines that, like marketing or design, many founders are convinced that they understand and are very good at. But recruiting is a full-time profession for a reason. Too many times, he’s met brilliant founders who fail to grasp what’s required to build a good team.
Coauthor Tien Tzuo can attest to that from the founder perspective. He is formerly the chief strategy officer of Salesforce. He came to Richard 15 years ago after founding Zuora — now a $1.7 billion company — because Zuora was scaling fast but turnover was high. Tien realized that as his company grew, he needed to grow as a leader.
Related: I Discovered the Power of Employee Engagement — and Never Looked Back. Here’s Why It Should Be a Top Priority for Every Leader.
All these years later, we’ve teamed up to offer other business owners some practical, data-backed advice.
Here is our 6-step guide to finding and attracting the talent that will take your business to the next level.
1. Recognize that you are not good at this.
Founders are generally abysmal at interviewing people. Some of them are standoffish at best, and downright robotic at worst. Many blatantly telegraph what they’re looking for: “Well, we need somebody who will do this and this. You’re like that, right?” They forget that, in interviews, they are there primarily to listen. Sometimes, candidates can’t get a word in edgewise.
Our advice? Stick to the facts and focus on understanding the candidate’s past behavior. Avoid vague hypothetical questions (“Let’s say you were in the following scenario…”). Interrogate lived experiences: Why did you do this project? Who did you work with? What was the actual versus expected outcome? What were the biggest obstacles? What was your organizational structure? How did you interact with your cross-functional peers? There are no right or wrong answers; you’re just trying to get a sense of the person by how they respond. Their character will reveal itself.
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