Table of Contents

The Demand

In your next interview, you replace the chemistry test with the thinking test. If you keep hiring the candidate who feels comfortable and familiar, you are running [Conformity Bias] at full capacity and building a cast that shares your blind spots instead of one that catches them.

The Work

  1. Before your next interview, write down two or three questions that assess how the candidate processes problems, handles ambiguity, and responds to disagreement — not questions that assess whether you’d enjoy a shift with them.
  2. During the interview, notice the moment you feel discomfort or friction with the candidate’s answer. Do not code it as “not a fit” on the spot.
  3. Ask yourself directly: is this discomfort telling me something about their character, or about my own comfort with people who think like me? Write down your honest answer before you decide.
  4. Confirm values alignment separately and first — do they share the building’s standard for the Guest and the work. That is non-negotiable regardless of how comfortable the conversation feels.
  5. If a candidate produces friction but passes values alignment, move them forward. Do not let the discomfort of the interview substitute for a character read.

By your next hiring decision, you have advanced at least one candidate who made you uncomfortable in the interview because their thinking, not their familiarity, earned it.