Preface: The other day on LinkedIn Rich Lewis-Jones commented on the importance of this book, The Courage to Be Disliked, on his approach to driving change. The book has sold over 10 million copies and remains a top-10 best seller. It describes psychologist Alfred Adler’s (no relation) understanding of human behavior. 10 years ago I worked with Harvard’s Todd Rose on a surprisingly related study on how Performance-based Hiring could help everyone more find meaningful work and reach their potential by redesigning job descriptions.
Here’s a distillation of these important ideas collectively called “Moneyball for HR!”
In the early 20th century, Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler made a revolutionary observation: every human being develops a unique “lifestyle” – a distinctive pattern of pursuing goals and overcoming challenges.
Nearly a century later, Harvard researcher Todd Rose validated this insight with data proving that the statistical concept of “average” rarely describes any real person. Adler’s influence also impacted Covey’s “7 Habits,” Gallup‘s work on strengths and even Carol Dweck‘s work on a growth mindset.
Today, Performance-based Hiring emerges as the practical application of these profound truths, fundamentally changing how we predict post-hire success.
HR leaders unfortunately are taking a different path that contradicts these foundational ideas.
The Ancient Wisdom in Modern Practice
Great leaders have always understood something fundamental: exceptional achievement rarely comes from average people following average paths. Alexander the Great didn’t recruit generals based on standardized scores. Renaissance masters didn’t select apprentices by comparing them to statistical norms. They recognized talent through demonstrated capability and unique patterns of excellence.
Adler’s Individual Psychologyarticulated what these leaders intuitively knew: humans are driven by an innate desire for mastery, and each person develops a distinctive approach to this drive.
This reveals why traditional hiring methods often fail – when we evaluate candidates against standardized benchmarks, we fundamentally misunderstand how human excellence actually works.
When we hire based on credentials rather than demonstrated patterns of achievement, we systematically select people whose natural approaches may conflict with what the role actually requires.
The Myth of Average Performance Exposed (but ignored)
Todd Rose’s research in “The End of Average” demolished the foundation of most hiring practices. His “jaggedness principle” shows that human capabilities create unique individual profiles – virtually no high performer is “average” across all dimensions. The exceptional salesperson might struggle with admin tasks. The brilliant strategist may falter in negotiations. Yet traditional hiring penalizes this natural variation by seeking candidates who meet predetermined benchmarks across multiple criteria.
When we hire for “average,” we systematically exclude many potentially valuable contributors whose unique ability patterns don’t conform to statistical norms but could deliver extraordinary results in the right context. This mismatch between selection criteria and actual performance requirements creates the engagement and retention problems organizations struggle with post-hire.
Rose’s research reveals that trying to fit people into standardized expectations ignores the reality of human variation. Performance-based Hiring acknowledges this jaggedness by evaluating how each candidate’s unique pattern of strengths aligns with specific role demands.
Performance-Based Hiring: “Moneyball for HR!” in Practice
Performance-based Hiring returns to fundamental truths about human capability. Rather than asking “How does this candidate compare to others?” it asks “Can this person, with their unique abilities and motivations, achieve the specific results this role demands?”
This approach directly embeds Adlerian psychology into the hiring process. By evaluating demonstrated patterns of goal achievement rather than credentials, we’re assessing what Adler called each person’s distinctive “lifestyle” – their consistent approach to overcoming challenges and pursuing mastery.
Consider the difference: Traditional hiring might select a candidate with an impressive MBA and five years of management experience. Performance-based Hiring would evaluate how that person has previously motivated teams, solved complex problems, and delivered results under pressure. The credentials tell us what someone has done; the patterns tell us how they naturally work and whether that aligns with what we need accomplished.
This is like Billy Beane’s approach in Moneyball – instead of hiring players who “looked the part,” he found those who could actually get on base and win games. Organizations practicing Performance-based Hiring discover exceptional talent with non-traditional backgrounds that conventional processes would overlook.
Assess Intrinsic Motivation in the Pre-Hire Process
This creates a fundamentally different hiring approach that directly impacts post-hire outcomes:
From Credentials to Demonstrated Capability: Instead of requiring specific degrees or years of experience, evaluate evidence of relevant achievement. This shift from what someone has studied to what they have accomplished better predicts how they will perform.
Focus on Situational Performance: Rather than using identical evaluation criteria for every candidate, adapt the process to understand each person’s unique pattern of excellence and the circumstances underlying them.
From Comparison to Alignment: The focus shifts from ranking candidates against some artificial benchmark to evaluating alignment between individual capability patterns and specific performance requirements.
The Competitive Advantage of Psychological Alignment
Organizations embracing Performance-based Hiring gain significant competitive advantage: they identify exceptional talent that others overlook while dramatically improving post-hire outcomes. When someone’s natural pattern of pursuing goals aligns with role demands, engagement and performance follow naturally.
This psychological alignment explains why some employees thrive while others struggle in identical roles with similar training and support. The difference isn’t capability, it’s the match between individual lifestyle patterns and work requirements.
Traditional hiring often creates misalignment by selecting based on credentials rather than psychological fit.
The Wisdom of the Ages Can Be Brought to Life with AI
Performance-based Hiring succeeds because it honors what Adler understood a century ago: every human being is unique, purposeful, and capable of extraordinary achievement when their individual strengths align with meaningful challenges. The breakthrough is applying this wisdom systematically in the hiring process to predict and ensure post-hire success.
This is the true potential of AI. Sadly it seems to be an opportunity about to be lost.
Reach out for a demo of this entire process. It will be your first step on the road less traveled.