Greg Biggers
Greg Biggers

Protean Multipreneur, Startup Advisor, Troublemaker. CEO of Genomera-- Personal Health Collaboration. Lean Startup, Fat Value. Sailing a Santana 22 on SF Bay. #leanstartup

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14 May 2010
May 14th, 12:03pm 1 comment

Hire Ninjas, Not Rockstars

Raj_kapoor_band
At last night's Vator Splash investor and entrepreneur pitch event, yet another speaker mentioned hiring rockstars. I've tweeted about this a bit before. Not only do I think its a tired meme, but worse, I think its the wrong metaphor for effective hiring and talent development.
 
So I tweeted,
 
SOOO tired of the hire-a-rockstar meme. #vator #vatorsplash
 
@markalvarez came back with a combination insightful question and witty retort:
 
@bigs What about Twitter ninjas? I'm fine with rock stars and ninjas as long as the costume's part of the job description.
 
Well, who doesn't like a job with a good costume? Raj Kapoor from Mayfield was certainly looking the part as lead singer for the band, Cover Flow, at the after party downstairs at Cafe Du Nord.
 
Wardrobe flare and malfunctions aside, Mark brings our attention to the newer, better Ninja meme making its way around the valley.
 
I replied with the short version of why Ninjas are usually better hires than Rockstars:
 
@markvalvarez Ninja connotes skill, specialty, not call undue attn to oneself. Rockstar= show-y, egotistical, hard to work with. #vator
 
Ninja_vs_rockstar
Let's build out this comparison further. Leave comments with other differences would you highlight between hiring Rockstars versus hiring Ninjas.
 
My only remaining hesitation is that when I picture a Ninja, I imagine someone working alone. But for most of our talent, we are seeking people who work naturally on a team and help develop one another.
 
Anyone know whether those cooperation and community themes are part of the Ninja ethos? 
Posted

Comments (1)

Aug 10, 2011
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