[Mick]

Once CEO of a very large bank told me -- not confidentially -- that doesn't hire the smartest people, he hires people he likes to work with, as long as they're "smart enough."

That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, there's probably good justification for it. You don't need to be a genius to do well in business, but you do need to have good "people skills" along with being decisive and hard working. Being the smartest guy in the room doesn't mean you're going to get the promotion. [glow=red,2,300]And the CEO's benchmark for "smart enough" doesn't rule out people who are very smart.[/glow]

My concern isn't that it rules out smart people, my concern is that it doesn't necessarily rule in smart people, particularly in disciplines with which the hiring person is unfamiliar.

So overall, I don't disagree, but in a very competitive business climate, I think you have to balance your talent mix very closely with the "likeability factor," particularly at CXO levels.  This specific CEO hired a real head scratcher for a CMO.  It's his second CMO hire, the first one did nothing for 18 months, then left for a much better job.  Be interesting to see where they stand in two years.

[Mick]

Once CEO of a very large bank told me -- not confidentially -- that doesn't hire the smartest people, he hires people he likes to work with, as long as they're "smart enough."

That doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, there's probably good justification for it. You don't need to be a genius to do well in business, but you do need to have good "people skills" along with being decisive and hard working. Being the smartest guy in the room doesn't mean you're going to get the promotion. [glow=red,2,300]And the CEO's benchmark for "smart enough" doesn't rule out people who are very smart.[/glow]

My concern isn't that it rules out smart people, my concern is that it doesn't necessarily rule in smart people, particularly in disciplines with which the hiring person is unfamiliar.

So overall, I don't disagree, but in a very competitive business climate, I think you have to balance your talent mix very closely with the "likeability factor," particularly at CXO levels.  This specific CEO hired a real head scratcher for a CMO.  It's his second CMO hire, the first one did nothing for 18 months, then left for a much better job.  Be interesting to see where they stand in two years.