When You Need Top Talent, Sometimes…Education Does Matter!
University of Pennsylvania.
Notre Dame.
Miami University of Ohio.
Yale.
This is the pedigree of my leadership team.
I had no idea until a few months ago. But honestly, I’m not surprised.
***
It all started innocently enough. I have a senior in high school who was going through the college admissions process.
Another team member was in the same boat.
We got to talking, and as everyone shared where they went to college, I began to laugh.
My degree is not from an elite institution.
And I’ve always been a fan of surrounding myself with people smarter than me.
Looks like I succeeded.
You might be scoffing right now. Getting ready to ask me about the rockstar entrepreneurs who famously dropped out of college.
I get it.
To be clear: I’m not saying you have to go to a top-tier school to be successful in life.
But I know plenty of entrepreneurs who have told themselves the opposite story.
That education doesn’t matter. That it doesn’t mean much of anything.
I don’t buy that story. And if you want the best people on your team, neither should you.
***
Education is ONE indicator of someone’s skills and abilities. A college degree may not guarantee someone is a perfect fit for your organization. Or that they will be able to do a given role especially well.
But a college degree (from any school) is, as my friend Lee Maxey would say, a proxy for some character traits: tenacity, discipline, determination. You don’t make it through four years of college without putting in some effort.
And you certainly don’t make it into a top-tier school, or through one, without learning a few lessons along the way.
But entrepreneurs often dismiss these aspects of an individual’s resume.
Maybe it’s because they often can’t afford to hire them. Maybe it’s because entrepreneurs, who often take paths far less straight and narrow, feel insecure.
It takes a certain kind of person to know, as a high schooler, that they want to head down a particular path, and then to succeed and excel throughout the journey.
That’s not every entrepreneur. And that’s okay. (It’s not me either.)
I’ll say again: I didn’t realize my team’s educational credentials until recently. It’s not something I screen for hiring.
I would never exclude someone because their degree wasn’t from an elite school.
But I would never exclude someone because they went to an elite school, either.
***
Extraordinary results require extraordinary people.
There are a thousand different factors that could make someone extraordinary, and education is only one of them.
My point, ultimately, is this: I’m sick of entrepreneurs hiring talent below where they need to hire and then struggling to succeed.
I’m tired of watching companies become training grounds when they need expert-level skills.
I don’t want to see one more entrepreneur overlook the importance of hiring great talent to build a great company.
You want people who do the homework, take the notes, and work hard to help your company—regardless of where they went to school.
Take it from a fellow entrepreneur who is delighted to have a leadership team that is much, much smarter than me.
