#7: Hire people smarter than you

September 30, 2007

When we recruit new staff we encourage managers to hire people who are smarter than they are, with more energy and better ideas.

If this sounds strange, consider the alternative.

We value energy, optimism, flexibility, positivity, creativity, and humour.

We especially like people who are discontent, and who are prepared to take the initiative and fix the things that they think could be done better.

Just about everybody working in a senior role at Trade Me has done their time in the trenches. This isn’t an accident. We encourage people to hire their replacements.

Great people earn the respect of their co-workers through their efforts rather than by their position in the org chart.

Other posts from the Trade Me Manifesto series: