Lanzone: High-performing teams require domain expertise, EQ, ambition, and passion

“And I really, when I'm hiring people, I really hire for four things. The first is I really want domain experts, right? I do not want people who are faking it till they make it. And if you are an expert, you tend to be able to understand what one looks like. And it always starts there. The second is I want people with high EQ. High IQ is easy to get. People with high EQ who, you know, are good teammates. They, You know, they don't view things as a zero, zero sum game against the other people in the company. You know, they understand that life is dramatic enough. They don't need to create drama. They understand why diversity is important. You don't have to explain it to them. They can prioritize, they can debate in a healthy way. They have self doubt, you know, which I think is important to improve products. And if I have those two things, experts who have high EQ, I really am most of the way there. But I also like people, the third would be people who are naturally ambitious. So meaning like, not I win, you lose, like politically ambitious, but, you know, I think we all know people who just are, you know, maybe because of that chip on your shoulder, but people who are just naturally ambitious and want to win. And the last is love of the game. There's a reason why they want to work at this company. I would say if it's an accountant, why do they want to work here and not at Clorox, right? You could be an accountant anywhere, but do you love sports? Do you love entertainment and TV? Do you love search? Do you love You know, Yahoo Finance, you know, you put those things together, and in my experience, you get a high performing team.”

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