Hire for the deliverable
Our original thesis when we started VFA was built around this idea. Everyone always has had this very traditional way of viewing who's a good hire. Say I'm a startup in Africa: a good hire for me is somebody who's worked in my market, worked in my space, and has the experience on paper to add value from day one. Our theory was that there's only so many people that will check that box.
So what you want to do is look at what needs to be done, and then use that deliverable to find who the ideal profile is. Not your ideal profile of: this person must have done X, Y and Z, must have worked in X markets.
Say you're in a market that is emerging, and so you're looking for someone that has worked in that market before. However, what you are in is an emerging market, and there are other similar emerging markets. Maybe somebody who's worked in South America could actually function in your market. But because on paper you're looking for something specific, you miss out on that opportunity.
Said out loud on Sensemaking with Wolé & Tobi, Episode 112, “Rethinking Work, Starting With the Job Market”, released 23 February 2026. Trimmed for filler; not rewritten.