- \“the team you build is the company you build. or in other words, they told you it was a technology game when it’s really a recruiting game.\” - vinod khosla
- \“the best people want to do meaningful work because they’re aware of their potential. the best people know that deep down. they want to work on something big.\”
- \“you’re going to have to break rules to get the best people because the best people are not cogs in a machine. they don’t fit into a neat and comfortable place.\“
steven bartlett shares his philosophy of \“collecting people\” - actively seeking and recruiting exceptional talent by breaking conventional hiring rules and moving quickly when he identifies aligned, high-potential individuals. he illustrates this through the story of georgia gibson, who applied for a job, scored 99% on his culture test, flew to bali to meet him, and within days left her own company to join his ecosystem. the core insight is that success comes from prioritizing people over process, hiring experienced talent to solve \“old problems\” quickly, and surrounding yourself with exceptional individuals who raise the bar and energize you.
What are the crucial points in this article or video that make it iconic, ideas I want to remember for the rest of my life?
- bar raising principle: every person you bring into your organization should raise the average level of talent - if they don’t elevate the team, they lower it, and maintaining the status quo is not enough for growth.
- old problems vs new problems: there are problems that have been solved before (finance, hr, operations) which you should hire experienced people to handle, and new problems (innovation, emerging platforms) where you must experiment - founders waste years solving old problems themselves instead of focusing on unique competitive advantages.
- wired vs tired test: every person in your life either energizes you (makes you wired) or drains you (makes you tired) - your job is to intentionally collect more people who give you energy and have difficult conversations quickly when you realize someone is the wrong fit.
steven’s core message is that exceptional success comes from obsessively prioritizing people over everything else - actively \“collecting\” rare, aligned talent by breaking conventional rules, moving fast, and building a team that elevates you rather than following traditional hiring processes.
- collecting people: actively seeking and recruiting exceptional talent as an ongoing practice, not just when positions are open
- bar raising (from amazon): each new hire must elevate the team’s average capability level
- old problems vs new problems: distinguishing between solved challenges (hire experience) and novel challenges (experiment rapidly)
- wired vs tired: evaluating whether people energize or drain you
- the promised land: the business stage where exceptional people run operations, freeing founders to focus on unique strategic work
- culture test: a screening tool (culturetest.com) to assess cultural alignment before hiring
- use a culture alignment test early in the hiring process to screen for values fit
- when you find exceptional talent, move immediately and break conventional rules to recruit them
- ask yourself: \“does this person raise the bar?\” before every hire
- identify whether problems are \“old\” (hire expertise) or \“new\” (experiment yourself)
- have uncomfortable conversations quickly when someone isn’t the right fit - speed of correction matters more than avoiding mistakes
- spend significant time actively recruiting (steven mentions being on linkedin until 1am dming people)
- consider hiring exceptional people even without a specific role defined
- maintain a \“collection\” of talented people you’ve met, staying in touch over years until the right opportunity emerges
- how do you balance \“collecting people\” with building sustainable organizational structures and processes?
- what are the risks of founder-dependent \“people collecting\” versus building systematic talent acquisition?
- how do you maintain culture and cohesion when rapidly bringing in senior, experienced people who may have different working styles?
- when does \“breaking rules\” to hire someone become reckless versus visionary?
- how do you navigate the ethical considerations of actively recruiting people away from their current commitments?
- what happens to the \“old team\” when you bring in experienced people to raise the bar - how do you manage that transition humanely?
- is the \“wired vs tired\” test reliable, or can it lead to homogeneous teams that lack necessary diversity of thought?
books:
- working backwards by colin bryar and bill carr (former amazon executives) - discusses amazon’s \“bar raising\” hiring philosophy
people mentioned:
- naval ravikant (naval podcast referenced)
- vinod khosla (venture capitalist, famous quote about recruiting)
- kevin hart (interviewed about collecting people)
- simon cowell (jules worked for him for 10 years)
companies/resources:
- culturetest.com - steven’s tool for screening cultural alignment
- social chain - steven’s first company
- perfect ted - company mentioned in the video
- tbc - georgia gibson’s company focused on offline community connection
people in steven’s ecosystem:
- georgia gibson - recruited from her own company
- jules - simon cowell’s former assistant, interviewed 4 years before hiring
- dom - steven’s manager
- nikki - boston consulting background