I never did that well on tests in school. But there are a number of simple tests that I’ve found helpful throughout my journey as the founder and CEO of a billion-dollar real estate technology company.
Having these quick tests in your back pocket helps you make smarter business decisions. Why? Because the more we think about something, the more our minds will try to play tricks on us. We second-guess, we let doubt and fear creep in, we hesitate, we overthink. The purpose of the five tests below is to get past all of that and get back to the truth that you’ve known deep down all along.
This is especially true regarding two of the most important decisions that managers at my company, Compass, make: When to hire someone, and when to pass on them.
1. The ‘good person’ test
Is this a good person?
If you have to take a long pause and struggle to answer this question, then they shouldn’t be on your team. Lots of people think goodness doesn’t matter at work — and some even think it’s a liability in business. Not me.
I always want to know: Do they live by the Golden Rule? Is their heart in the right place? Are they kind? Do they genuinely care about others? Do they want to give back? If everyone we work with is a good person, we’ll all be better off.
3. The ‘another offer’ test
If this person came to me tomorrow and told me they had a great offer from another company, would I fight to keep/win them over?
This test helps you admit that someone isn’t excellent, and it originated from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. He believes that excellent people are much better than “pretty good” people.
As the motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” So if you want to be better — like I know all of us do — one of the best ways is to do that is to make sure you’re surrounding yourself with exceptional people.
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