RedBalloon

Some hires don’t just “cover their salary.” They change the trajectory of your business. They bring in customers. They bring customers back. They create trust, momentum, and opportunities you didn’t even know you were missing. A hire like that doesn’t cost you anything. They multiply what your business can do. A great employee is the highest-return investment you’ll ever make.

Most people chase comfort. A few still chase discovery. They’re not afraid of the long hours, the blank canvas, or the uphill climb. They’re driven by the same thing that built every town, company, and breakthrough before us... the urge to create something new. If you’re one of them, find others like you, and if you’re hiring, build a place where those people thrive. The future doesn’t belong to the comfortable. It belongs to the ones working to make history.

SUPER grateful for this group of people right here! (yes, I used a Fourth of July picture for Thanksgiving.) WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON LINKEDIN ANYWAYS?? Go spend time with your family! Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

Everyone says they want growth. But growth WON'T come from hiring just any rep who clocks in. You need a rep who competes. The one who treats every lead like a medal round and every win like fuel for the next. The kind of person who doesn't ask for comfort. They ask for a challenge. And they deliver one thing above everything else: results. If you’re serious about scaling, stop hiring participants. Start hiring Olympians.

The Empire State Building wasn’t a product of performative hiring. It was a product of can-do attitudes and the will to build. It was built by men who knew how to work and how to win. If you want your company to last, start hiring like it. You don’t need more virtue signalers. You need more builders. Hire like you’re actually trying to build something worth remembering.

Ah yes, the "modern Robin Hood." Stealing from the company to give... absolutely nothing to anyone at all. They think they’re making a statement. What they’re really making is payroll fraud. This kind of hire poisons a team from the inside. Hire people who take pride in what they produce, not in how cleverly they get away with doing less.

Some hires think clearly and solve problems. Others... don't. When the future of your business hinges on the decisions your team makes, you can't afford to pretend everyone brings the same level of capability. The success of your business rides on their shoulders. Their capacity is your business' capacity. Skill matters. Judgment matters. Intelligence matters. Hire wisely.

Ever heard the phrase “Never trust a skinny chef”? What you show has to match what you promise. If you tell someone “I’m serious about this job” but you look like you wandered in from a sleepover, they’re not buying it.   Doesn’t have to be a suit and tie. But it does have to show you’re putting in some effort. (Yes, even if you’re interviewing on Zoom.) A nice sweater or button down? Great.  Lying sideways on your bed in your pajamas? Not so great. (Real story!)    Effort is a signal. And employers are always reading it. 

Still wonder why hiring purely on bullet points is a trap? You can teach skills. You can’t teach character. Don’t get me wrong, second chances are important, but if someone shrugs at dishonesty in a past role, that’s not a tiny yellow flag. That’s a flare. Skills matter, of course. But character determines whether you can actually trust someone with responsibility.

The “I’m not the CEO, why should I try that hard?” mindset often isn’t about fairness. It’s a shield for low standards. Great teams aren’t built by people who only do what’s technically required. They’re built by people who take pride in the work even when it’s not “their job.” Ownership doesn't magically show up with a title, it’s a habit. And the people who treat every responsibility like it matters are the ones worth hiring.