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Entrepreneur
12 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
The 3 Non-Negotiable Steps in Hiring Regardless of Your Industry
Hiring looks different at every company, but these three things are always non-negotiable. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Different companies have different hiring practices. You can have multiple stages with different-level individuals, or just one comprehensive test and final interview — it just really depends on the organization, priorities, urgency and the kind of role. You might be able to streamline and customize things as much as you want, but after hiring hundreds of people, I've realized that there are three hiring non-negotiables regardless of your approach, industry and the position you're offering. 1. Hire problem solvers, not know-it-alls As much as it's ideal, you are not building a team of perfect employees. You are building a team that can work effectively and adapt when needed. No one can truly know everything — not even AI, at this point anyway. What you need then are people who have enough critical thinking to get the job done and navigate any problems along the way. It's important to have people who are willing to learn and decide for themselves. At the same time, have team members who acknowledge their limits and know when to ask for help. When someone doesn't have a big ego, they're more willing to try a different approach, even if it means getting out of their comfort zone. They're also more inclined to admit when they're wrong. One can have as much knowledge about the job, but problems are still bound to happen. You need employees who have the initiative to think about and find solutions on their own or with their team. Not those who claim to know everything. Related: There's a Growing Demand For This New Type of Professional — Here's Why Your Startup Needs Them, Too. 2. Hire team players who can also work on their own You're not just after people who can do their job right. You're getting people who can work well with the rest of your team. This means looking for people who can handle projects with both autonomy and a strong sense of collaboration. There will be times when they'll need to split their work together with their coworkers, so it's important that they know how to share that sense of responsibility. Hiring someone with this skill assures you that they know how and when to share the credit and give credit when it's due. When you have someone who cares about their own work and their team's work as a whole, without stepping on anyone's toes, the workflow stays steady and disruptions are minimized, whether the task calls for solo effort or group collaboration. They're also all willing to chip in, as well as brainstorm and combine ideas. 3. Hire people for their growth mindset, not their current skill set Hiring for potential doesn't mean you're merely hoping for the best. You need to hire for someone's ability and desire to grow, learn and improve because these are hard to teach. It's good to ask and see where your candidate wants to go in the future to have a good idea about their personal ambitions. This can be in regard to their career in the next five years, whether they see themselves in a leadership role or work-life balance priorities, among others. Always keep in mind that when hiring someone, it's unlikely that their ultimate goal is the job you're offering. When you have someone on your team with clear ambitions, they'll be more responsible, pay more attention to detail and care more about their own work ethic. Related: 3 Things I've Learned About Hiring and Firing After 35 Years in Business Close them with the right communication Knowing the right qualities to spot when hiring is just the first step. Knowing how to get them to say yes is just as important. In my company, OysterLink, for example, we make sure to discuss the following with every member we hire: 1. How this role will guide them along their own path Now that you have a clear idea of where they're going, it's now your job to show them how being in your company will bring them closer to their goals. Focus on how the job and the company will equip them with the right skills to thrive in the industry they would like to grow in. When they gain the right experience, they build a strong foundation — and that foundation not only benefits them but also strengthens your team. 2. How your company will support their growth Once you've shown how the role fits into their long-term goals, the next step is to make it clear that their growth matters to you, too. As a hiring manager, the way you communicate, provide feedback and structure the hiring process reflects your company's values — whether that's clarity, care or a commitment to development. Let candidates know that you're not just filling a position — you're invested in helping them succeed. When people feel genuinely supported, they're more motivated, engaged and very likely to grow with you. When you combine the right opportunity with the right message, you don't just attract great talent — you earn their commitment.
Hospitality Net
5 days ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
AI search optimization: Turning Search Engines to Answer Engines
There's a fundamental shift in how we think about getting information from the internet: Search engines are being replaced by Answer Engines. (Did you know that this is just an excerpt from the complete and free newsletter that is available here? Sent out once a week, original viewpoints, insights and interesting things to read.) For the past few decades, we've optimized content for search. Someone types in a query, the search engine offers a list of links. Basically search engines act like a sort of filtering mechanism of the data on the internet. But now, increasingly, people don't want options of what is out there. They want the answer, one synthesized response. The algorithm doesn't suggest where to look. It tells you what to know (well, hopefully people will apply some critical thinking to the LLM and ask where the data came from). This changes how content needs to be built. In the age of search, content was created to attract clicks to make sure you're included in the filter. In the age of answers, content must bedesigned to provide answers. I am not an SEO expert, but the shift in mindset from search engine optimization to answer engine optimization is the key. FAQs are a good example of optimizing for this model, but maybe they need a lot more content in each answer with more examples? Each answer you write might be the exact snippet a language model feeds to a user in response to a query (oh how I don't want to be the webspam team of the various AI model makers right now). This doesn't mean we throw away beautiful imagery or storytelling, especially in hospitality where emotional resonance still drives conversions, reviews and great visual assets will remain important IMO. But we should ask: what part of this page answers something? There's no perfect playbook yet. This isn't classic SEO. But it's becoming clear: we need to move from optimizing content to be found, to designing content so it becomes the answer. It's less about filtering the internet for links of possible answers and more about training the machines to use the content as the answer. And the earlier we start shifting our content mindset, the better prepared we'll be when those AI agents become the default front door to our websites. Thanks for reading. Subscribe for free to receive new posts. About me: I'm a fractional CMO for large travel technology companies helping turn them into industry leaders. I'm also the co-founder of a hotel news media that is unsensational, factual and keeps hoteliers updated on the industry. View source
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Assuming Success By Association Destroys Teams, Trust, And Judgment
There's a reason the Theranos scandal fooled so many people. It looked promising on the surface. The board was stacked with recognizable names, and the founder went to Stanford, so big-name investors bought in. That led to people turning off their critical thinking and relying on assuming success by association. As Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist at Canva, told me when I interviewed him, "Fundamentally, we're all lazy. Instead of figuring something out, we're looking for proxies." That's how teams lose direction, trust gets misplaced, and judgment breaks down. Why write about Theranos now? Because many of the mistakes made then continue to be made by people who continue to assume. As you might have heard, when we assume... well, you probably know the rest. When Guy used the word proxy, I remember thinking at the time, it wasn't a term I heard very often. As he explained, it became clear that when people assume someone is smart or capable just because of who they know or where they went to school, they fall into what Guy called "success by association." It's a shortcut that causes decision-makers to overvalue pedigree and overlook performance. In my research on curiosity, one of the biggest inhibitors I identified is assumption. When people believe they already know the answer, they stop exploring. When teams rely on a person's background instead of their behavior, they stop thinking, and that's when trust breaks down and companies get stuck in status-quo ways. I remember when I interviewed Kawasaki, how he shared what it was like working with Steve Jobs at Apple. He called him brilliant, but not exactly empathetic. Because Jobs was successful, people assumed anything tied to him would succeed. That's where trust can become fragile if leaders start to chase proxies instead of performance. A Stanford degree? Must be smart. Backed by Sequoia? Must be the next big thing. When organizations confuse validation with actual verification, they default to what's easy. It's more comfortable to trust a resume than to ask hard questions. But when curiosity disappears from decision-making, teams follow myths, not metrics. And that leads to blind spots. Trust comes from being seen for who you are, not who you know. When teams start to think promotions or opportunities go to the most connected rather than the most capable, they stop believing in fairness. That erodes trust, and over time, it kills curiosity. I've worked with companies where talented employees raised valid concerns, but those were brushed aside because the source wasn't 'senior' enough. When teams feel like their input doesn't matter, they stop offering it. Eventually, the people with the most valuable insights are silent. And without challenge, progress stalls. To prevent trust breakdowns, start by questioning your own assumptions. Instead of asking where someone studied, ask how they've solved problems. Instead of saying they're connected, ask how they think under pressure. Strong teams create space for disagreement. They invite people from different perspectives into the conversation. They ask, 'What could go wrong?' not just 'Who's behind it?' Curiosity builds trust through transparency. Guy described how venture capital often becomes herd mentality. 'If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me' is a mindset that replaces scrutiny with safety. But that's not trust; it's inertia. In the Theranos case, it led to disaster because no one wanted to be the outlier who asked the wrong question. Every team needs a balance of optimism and skepticism. Curiosity helps with understanding. When leaders ask better questions, they protect their teams from falling into groupthink. When team members are encouraged to explore different views, trust strengthens. Kawasaki shared that many entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley over promise because they lack pattern recognition. They haven't been through the process before. But the investors listening to them often don't dig deeper. They trust the proxy, meaning relying more on where someone worked or who's backing them, instead of asking about the real risks. Teams require more reflection. Rather than focusing on who you know, focus on how you think. Use curiosity to drive that thinking, and that will build trust. Curiosity is what keeps judgment sharp. It helps leaders see past the surface. It helps teams move from assumptions to understanding. And it builds trust, because when people ask questions, they show that they care enough to think. The bottom line is that teams fall apart from a lack of questioning. If you want to protect performance, rebuild trust, and lead a stronger team, stop relying on proxies. Start asking better questions. That's where trust begins, and that's how smart teams stay successful.
Jordan Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Jordan Times
When does the economist make a difference?
Economics is not just a set of theories or numbers. It is a complex science that deals with a changing and often difficult reality. At its heart, economics is about using limited resources in the best way to increase benefit, profit, or social well-being and reduce all types of losses. But who can actually make this happen? Is it the person who studies economics, or the one who applies it in the real world? The answer is: the professional economist. A professional economist combines strong academic knowledge with the skill to apply that knowledge in real situations. They understand the current economic situation, identify where it should go, and offer realistic solutions. These solutions are based on clear thinking, numbers, and a full understanding of how the economy works. At universities like the University of Jordan, which offers high quality degrees in economics (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate) students learn economics through logic, models, and mathematics. This is very important for building a good economist. But real world work needs more than theory. It needs critical thinking, a strong grasp of reality, and the ability to connect small details to the bigger picture. That's why academic programs have been improved to match what the job market needs and to prepare students with practical skills. The professional economist starts by analyzing the economy in depth using numbers and data. They first define the actual economy—the current situation. Then, they compare it to the potential economy—what can really be achieved with the country's resources. This comparison is key to their work. If the economy is improving, the economist works to keep the momentum going. If it's slowing down, they suggest new plans to bring it back on track and reduce any damage. This type of work needs analysis on many levels: at the national level (macro), and at the level of businesses and individuals (micro). It also needs a clear understanding of the local situation—politics, society, and culture. Economics doesn't happen in a bubble. It's part of a bigger system. In countries with big challenges like Jordan, applying theories isn't easy. How can the classical model—which says the market will fix itself—or the Keynesian model—which says the government must step in—really work with problems like high debt, energy costs, low wages, and weak social protection? These models need to be adapted to fit real life challenges. That's the difference between someone who only studies theories and someone who applies them in real life. So, when do people feel the effects of economic decisions? The answer isn't simple. People notice results when policies turn into real improvements—better income, stable prices, or new jobs. That doesn't happen by chance. It happens when decisions are made and carried out by professionals who understand what they're doing. That is the true role of the professional economist—someone who uses economics to make a real difference, not just to study it. Raad Mahmoud Al-Tal is head of the Economics Department – The University of Jordan- [email protected]
