Nov 19 2012
In Response to “Why I Love Hiring Failures”, by Jessica Stillman
The title in itself raises a lot of questions. Huh? Why hire a failure? HomeAway co-founder Bryan Sharples, who is interviewed by Jessica Stillman, states that it is a huge benefit to his company.
Taking a look into organizational behaviour and basic decision-making, I can suggest many reasons why Sharples may look to employ ‘failures’. We discussed overconfidence and confirmation biases, which occur when the decision maker is far too optimistic and focused on their intended outcome. Thus, those who have made major judgement issues in investments will be more likely to exercise caution and consider many alternatives before acting – a character trait which is extremely important in investment banking.
Perhaps Sharples sympathizes with these potential employees as well. He, himself, had lost over a million dollars in less than 3 hours when entering entrepreneurship. A study into organizational behaviour suggests that managers often hire similar employees, naturally, to decrease cognitive dissonance and increase employee satisfaction in the workplace.