Everyone talks about their best hire…

But nobody talks about the one they'd take back.

Here's mine.

Years ago, I hired a very expensive, "industry experienced" sales and biz dev manager.

He said all the right things in the interview.
He had all the accolades on paper.
He looked like everything I was looking for.

Because I saw what I wanted to see.

Then reality showed up.

No new business.
No following the process.
No day-to-day work.

And every time a KPI got missed, there was a story. Some issue. Some reason.

So I did what a lot of founders do.

I blamed myself.

I thought it was me.
I thought it was our process.
I thought it was our offer.

I questioned everything.

But in the end, it was the person.

He simply wasn't doing the work.

Truth is, if you make enough hires in your career, you’re bound to get one wrong…

But after 10,000+ placements over the last 11 years, that bad hire still sits with me AND serves as a VERY important lesson that helped craft the winning blueprint.

In a way, it served as the birth to my 5-Step Strategy, that has not let me down since…

And the reason I never miss when hiring A-players anymore!

There's a reason pro sports teams pour so much time and money into scouting a player before they sign them.

They research.
They watch hours of game tape.
They run interviews.
They give assessments.
They call references.

Why?

Because you can't always trust your eyes.

A highlight reel shows the best plays. It doesn't show the missed assignments, the skipped practices, or the effort on a random Tuesday.

A résumé works the same way.

Accolades tell you where someone has been.

They don't tell you what that person will do when nobody is watching.

The only way to be sure you're making the right call is to follow a consistent, proven process with defined steps and scoring.

Hiring is a lot like a first date.

When you want it to work, every green flag looks huge and every red flag looks like nothing.

That's what happened to me.

I needed a closer, and he talked like one.

So I filled in the blanks myself.

The most dangerous person in your interview room isn't the candidate…

It's the version of you who's desperate to fill the seat.

Here's the part nobody tells you.

Founders tend to look in the mirror first. That's good advice, until it isn't.

If your process works for others, your offer sells for others, and one person keeps bringing excuses instead of results...

It may not be you, the process or the strategy...

It may be the person.

In the end… Stories don't hit KPIs.

Only the work does.

This is the system I stick to now, no matter how good someone looks on paper.

1. Locate the X-Factor.

Find the innate trait that makes someone remarkable for your company.

This is matching, not ranking résumés.

His accolades were great. They just weren't the X-Factor we needed.

2. Skills Verification.

Confirm they can actually do the job.

Not talk about it. Actually do it.

3. Values Alignment.

Make sure what they care about matches to what your company cares about.

If you value the daily grind and they value the title, it'll show up in the KPIs.

4. Personality Assessment.

Check fit with the team and the leader they'll report to.

Great in the room isn't the same as great on the team.

5. Growth Potential.

Confirm they can grow with the business, not just ride it.

Skip one step because you like someone, and you're back to seeing what you want to see.

✅ Can you name the specific results this person produced, not just their titles?

✅ Did you test how they do the work, or only listen to how they talk about it?

✅ Would you still be excited if they had none of their accolades?

✅ Have you defined the day-to-day activity you expect in the first 90 days?

✅ Did you run all 5 steps, or skip some because you liked them?

If you answered "no" more than once, slow down.

Pick your next open role.

Write down three things a person in that seat must DO every week. Not be. Do.

Then build an interview question for each one.

It wasn't my process.

It wasn't my offer.

It was the person.

Hire for the work, not the words.

Got a big hire coming up?

Book a strategy call with me and we'll run your role and your candidate through all 5 steps before you sign anything.

👉 Book your strategy call

🎥 This week on YouTube:

In this video, I break down the myth that “nobody wants to work anymore” and show you why great candidates are actually working for someone else who made it easier for them to say yes.

I walk through the two core hiring problems most founders and hiring managers face right now who shows up from job boards and why strong candidates reject offers and then unpack five silent leaks in your offer pay, growth path, return to office, boundaries, and management.

See you next Tuesday,

Jared Black
Founder, The Hire-archy

P.S. What's the hire you'd take back? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one.