“Your Best Candidate? Might Not Even Make It Past the Filters.”

It always starts the same way.

You sit down with HR.

Open the spreadsheet.

Go through the checklist:

Degree. Experience. Background.

Olympic-level Excel skills.

You tick boxes.

Cross off names.

Tighten the filters.

And you’re left with five.

Five candidates who all look…

basically the same.

Same language.

Same path.

Same boundaries.

And then comes the frustration:

“There’s no excellence here. No spark.”

But really—what did you expect?

You wrote a spec for a robot.

And you’re surprised Einstein didn’t show up?

I’ve seen this play out time and time again:

A massive pool of fresh grads—hungry, talented, lacking only experience.

Another of older professionals—even retirees—with a lifetime of knowledge.

And they all have one thing in common:

The system filters them out.

Not because they’re not good.

But because they don’t fit the fine print.

My turning point?

I once pushed for a candidate who didn’t meet a single formal requirement.

But something about him stood out.

When they asked:

“Why are you insisting on him?”

I said:

“Because I’m not hiring a checklist.

I’m hiring a human being.”

Since then, I’ve been drawn to people who don’t fit neatly into boxes:

• The ones who haven’t done it—yet—but clearly can.

• The ones who don’t look like everyone else, but see further.

• The ones who’ll challenge me, not just blend in.

So here’s the agenda:

If you truly want excellence—

don’t be afraid to go off-spec.

Because the best people weren’t born ISO-compliant.

They were born with a spark.

And with a bit of courage,

you can be the one who gives it space to catch fire.