Ignoring this proverb cost Yahoo more than $7 million

The Word Before Work

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Series: Wisdom for Work from Proverbs
Devotional: 5 of 7

Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by. (Proverbs 26:10)

In 2012, the CEO of Yahoo was fired just months after getting the job when an investor discovered that the CEO had lied on his résumé about holding a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

The CEO lost his job. The company was forced to pay out $7 million in severance. And Yahoo’s employees lost a leader and direction.

Who was to blame for all this destruction? The CEO, of course. But also, to quote the Wall Street Journal, the "botched vetting" of the CEO by Yahoo’s Board of Directors who seem to have been in a rush to fill the position.

That’s a dramatic example of what can happen when we fail to heed the warning in today’s passage. The manager who hires too quickly is bound to hire a “fool.” She is “like an archer who wounds at random,” harming herself, the “fool” she hires, and the rest of her team.

How can we avoid being the archer today’s proverb is describing? Let me offer a couple of ideas for both employers and employees.

First, some advice for employers.

#1: Refuse to settle for eights. I have a personal rule that I will pass on hiring someone unless my team and I can say the person is a “nine or ten” on a ten-point scale measuring how confident we are that the candidate is the right fit for the role. The few times I’ve broken that rule I’ve regretted it. Learn from my mistakes. If a candidate is a 7 or an 8, keep looking for their good and yours.

#2: Never hire alone. Always bring others into the process. Even if you’re a solopreneur, ask a spouse or trusted advisor to interview your first hire. “In an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14), and a reason to slow down your hiring.

Now, some advice for employees.

#1: Offer to help your employer hire new team members. Take it from me: Oftentimes managers don't ask employees to be involved in the hiring of new employees because they don't want to put more on your plate. But you can serve them by offering to help. That serves your boss, your colleagues, and yourself by decreasing the chances you all will be “wounded” by a hire made in haste.

#2: Don’t be the fool God’s Word is describing. “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings” (Proverbs 22:29). Develop your skills in order to be of greater service to the kings of this earth, and more importantly, the King of Heaven and Earth, Jesus Christ.