“Does this point to San Francisco?”
Looks to me culture fit has turned into force fit. Company culture is realized in the way things get done at your company, not the amount of posters that hang in your lobby or the desktop wallpaper your art department creates.
Does your company have a hiring philosophy to find people who fit into the company culture?
Do you interview people to fit into the culture of your division?
Do you interview people to fit into the culture of your team?
Culture War(ior)
Why do we look for people who will fit in when what your business needs are people who stand out. What good is it to hire for culture fit when we work and live in a dynamic world where change is constant?
You may not want change in your personal life, but you better build change into your professional life.
Don’t believe in change? Look at the Fortune 500 from 1998, how many companies are no longer on the Fortune 500 2008 list?
Do the same with the S&P 500?
The Russell 2000?
Nice to know you.
Nothing Personal
Please, do interview for people who are reliable, who communicate effectively, who respect dialogue. But hiring people who fit in to your culture is like adding people to build your organization’s coffin and headstone.
You need diversity, you need different opinions, you need contrarian views, you need the pursuit of alternatives. It is important for people to make mistakes, because the people who fear mistakes and fear those who might take a risk are the ones that drive your company off the Fortune 500.
The people who don’t fit your culture are the people who keep your business and your team sharp, they aim beyond the horizon, challenge the status quo, drive new conversation, and stimulate cognitive diversity. Emotional Intelligence provides a clearer picture of traits I value and I interview for.
Think about how your hiring strategy might go differently with Emotional Intelligence (called EI) as a framework. Obviously relevant skill and talent needed for the role you hire for, but emotional intelligence is far easier to interview for than some esoteric, poorly-mapped, culture fit.
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