Hire Lucky People; Be Lucky

Tony Hsieh is a Harvard educated serial entrepreneur and author who co-founded and runs the online shoe and apparel company, Zappos.

The man is considered a management guru b/c of his many successes, his exceptional brainpower and the extraordinary culture he created at Zappos.

One of our favorite pieces of advice from Mr. Hsieh is his insistence that companies only hire “lucky people.”

At Zappos, they literally ask applicants “How lucky are you?” Applicants are then supposed to rate their luckiness from “1 to 10.”

They want to hire people who consider themselves lucky b/c such people are more open to seeing and embracing opportunities.

Mr. Hsieh cites a research study where all the participants were asked “how lucky they were” just like Zappos does. The participants were then asked to comb through a newspaper and count the total number of photos.

The participants did not know, however, that the newspaper was fake, and that there were fake headlines sprinkled throughout. The fake headlines said things like “There are 37 photos; you can stop counting now and collect $100.”

The people who considered themselves unlucky missed the fake headlines entirely and counted all the photos, while the “lucky” people spotted the headlines and collected the $100.

The takeaway is not that people are inherently lucky, but that luck is a mindset and is about being open to opportunities.

This is not only a great hiring tip, but also a great reminder: Be Lucky. It’s a mindset.

Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 335646

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