I recently heard a great story on Instagram about how Steve Jobs classified employees using an ABC model. It’s based on a simple but powerful metric: how managers feel when someone resigns.
When an A-player resigns managers feel terrible, knowing this person will be nearly impossible to replace.
When a B-player leaves, the manager feels inconvenienced but confident they can find a comparable replacement fairly quickly. But when a C-player resigns it’s pure joy: a burden had been lifted, creating an opportunity to find someone stronger.
This brutally honest framework reveals an uncomfortable truth: many organizations unknowingly hire C-players, creating mediocre teams that drain energy rather than generate excellence.
Long ago we figured out how to help CEOs and hiring managers avoid these mistakes and start hiring only A’s and B+’s. Their stories are captured in the latest edition of Hire with Your Head and it’s how Performance-based Hiring was developed. You’ll be able to experience its power for yourself just by asking the Most Significant Accomplishment in this sample performance-based interview guide.
The Power of Intrinsic Motivation and “Moneyball for HR!”
Here’s why Performance-based Hiring is the difference maker– the focus is on measuring intrinsic motivation not skills, competencies or personality. It turns out that many C-players could become B’s, and B’s could become A’s when doing work that intrinsically motivates them.
Worse, many top people become C’s when put in roles that are demotivating. Here’s a completed Quality of Hire Talent Scorecardthat shows exactly what’s needed to prevent this type of bad hire and what A-level performance looks like.
It’s what people do with their skills that matter, not the skills themselves.
Think about your own career. When have you performed at your absolute best? Likely when you were doing work that energized you, that felt meaningful, that played to your strengths. That’s the core power of Performance-based Hiring: matching people with roles where they’ll naturally excel.
But achieving this type of matching is not possible unless you embed “Moneyball for HR!” into your company’s hiring process. But because it’s different you’ll face tremendous resistance from the more traditional HR leader.
Start by Benchmarking How the Best People Change Jobs
The strongest performers – the A’s and B+’s – don’t job hunt the way average performers do. They’re typically fully employed and satisfied in their current roles. They’re not scrolling through job boards or submitting applications into the void.
Instead when circumstances change, these top performers reach out to their network for new opportunities. They receive calls from recruiters who understand their value. Former managers and colleagues contact them about exciting possibilities. Their job search is proactive, relationship-based, and strategic.
When A-players accept an offer, it’s also never just about the job – it’s about the career opportunity and the impact they can make. They’re discriminating evaluators who need to fully understand what they’ll be doing before accepting any offer. While compensation matters, they evaluate it within the total context of growth, challenge, and purpose.
Whatever role you’re playing – candidate, recruiter or hiring manager – this Career Decision Rubric can help you figure out if a job opportunity represents a true opportunity or an ill-defined lateral transfer. This is the Steve Jobs’ ABC hiring test in action before you need to even use it.
When recruiters understand what drives performance they become career advisors, not gatekeepers. They can articulate not just what the job entails, but why it represents a compelling career move for the right person. They speak the language of growth, impact, and opportunity – the language A-players understand.
This approach recognizes that recruiting A-level talent means presenting a long-term career move, not a lateral transfer. It’s about painting a picture of increased responsibility, greater impact, enhanced satisfaction, and sustainable long-term growth.
Building Teams That Stay
When you hire remarkable people using Performance-based Hiring you don’t have to worry about them leaving. They won’t. They’re doing work that energizes them, in roles that challenge them, with clear paths for growth and impact.
The next time you’re hiring someone, ask yourself: if this person resigned in the first year, how would I feel? If the answer isn’t “terrible,” you might be settling for less than you deserve.
While our new Performance-based Hiring Talent Hub is still a prototype you’ll be able to try it out right now and begin playing “Moneyball for HR!” You’ll also be able to thank Steve Jobs for helping you make better hiring decisions.
Be sure to join our “Moneyball for HR!” monthly discussion groupfor the latest ideas on hiring.
Our new Performance-based Hiring workshopfor recruiters, executives and hiring managers embeds all of the these concepts into a unique hands-on program.