John F.

Background

About John F.

As any game theorist knows, there is a virtue to making slightly random decisions that do not conform to established rules. In a competitive setting such as recruitment, an unconventional rule for spotting talent that nobody else uses may be far better than a ‘better' rule which is in common use, because it will allow you to find talent that is undervalued by everyone else. One of the other problems with a logically consistent system for hiring people is that ambitious middle-class people can exploit it by 'gaming the system'. Violin lessons - check, work placement at uncle's bank - check, charity work with the disadvantaged - check, high GPA - check. By contrast, if you hire that brilliant backgammon player, you do know one thing. He's genuinely talented at something - and it's unlikely that his parents have spent a fortune on private backgammon lessons. Real excellence can come in odd packaging. Nassim Nicholas Taleb applies this rule to choosing a doctor: you don't want the smooth, silver-haired patrician who looks straight out of central casting - you want his slightly overweight, less patrician but equally senior colleague in the ill-fitting suit. The former has become successful partly as a result of his appearance, the latter despite it."-Rory Sutherland, Alchemy