However even in the event you make it to the interview stage, you won’t be ready for the curveball query Lyft CEO David Risher likes to ask: “Design a car for a deaf person.”
The immediate could sound uncommon, however for Risher, it’s a fast strategy to “suss out” whether or not a candidate can put themselves within the footwear of a buyer—the final word inexperienced flag he all the time seems for when making a rent.
“That’s how I know I’ve got someone who can build great customer-obsessed experiences.”
From Harvard MBA grad to tech CEO
Earlier than he ever led a serious tech firm, Risher studied comparative literature at Princeton College and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard. His early profession path took him to Microsoft and later to Amazon, the place his obsession with buyer focus took root.
The now 60-year-old usually credit his expertise working immediately with Jeff Bezos as pivotal in shaping his method: “Jeff taught me to wake up every morning remembering that customers are fickle, so you’ve got to innovate on their behalf every day,” Risher mentioned.
That philosophy stays essential as Lyft faces fierce competitors from ride-sharing rivals like Uber.
“To create a profitable rideshare business, then, we’ve got to create enough ride volume to cover our costs. Anything left over is profit,” Risher wrote in a letter to shareholders final yr.
“The best way to do that is to create a rideshare network that is so amazing that people choose it millions of times every day—and even more in the future. And there’s only one way to get there: customer obsession.”
Fortune reached out to Risher for remark.
Anticipate the surprising throughout your subsequent job interview
Risher isn’t the one chief govt who throws out unconventional inquiries to get a deeper learn on candidates. Many executives maintain distinctive prompts of their again pocket—to not journey candidates up, however to disclose how they assume, determine, and talk.
For instance, former Certainly CEO Chris Hyams swears by a deceptively easy one:
“It might seem strange, but I ask everyone, ‘Do you have an iPhone or an Android, and why?’” Hyams informed Fortune.
And whereas he admitted there’s not a proper or fallacious reply to the query—it’s extra of an icebreaker than may help reveal the interthoughts of an applicant.
“I’m mostly curious about how people make decisions,” Hyams defined. “And it’s actually a long 15-minute series of back-and-forth on this, where I get to learn a little bit about the human being, and about how they make decisions.”
Michael Bush, CEO of Nice Place to Work, informed Fortune he typically likes to maintain it informal and ask candidates merely what they love to do on the weekends.
“Usually, that’s unexpected, and I want to learn something about it,” he mentioned. “I want to see if they’re willing to be transparent and truthful, or if they’re going to be filtering their comments, feeling that they have a fear of being judged.”
Because the interview begins to wrap up, there’s one final thing it is best to ask earlier than leaving the room, in keeping with self-made millionaire Barbara Corcoran:“You look at the person interviewing you and you say to them: ‘Is there anything standing in the way of you hiring me?’”
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