Building a Culture of ‘F*ck Yes’
A ‘meh’ might as well be a no. Hiring managers need to stake their reputations on the candidates they want to add to the team.
A few years ago, I read a blog post by the author and entrepreneur Mark Manson entitled “Fuck Yes or No.” In it, Manson recommends only going after things that truly excite you, and though the advice was meant to apply to relationships, I think it can be applied just as easily to work.
It’s worth asking ourselves what we should spend our time doing, and with whom we should spend it. For a startup with a limited supply of time, money, and attention, this might as well be the golden rule: Don’t spend your time on things or on people that you aren’t passionate about.
As Manson writes: “The Law of Fuck Yes or No” states that when you want to get involved with someone new, in whatever capacity, they must inspire you to say “fuck yes” in order for you to proceed with them. “The Law of Fuck Yes or No” also states that when you want to get involved with someone new, in whatever capacity, they must respond with a “fuck yes” in order for you to proceed with them.
We’ve applied these laws to the hiring process at my startup, and we’ve seen stunning results. Over the four years we’ve been in business, we’ve built a team with more than 70 incredible members and seen very few departures. In fact, our average full-time tenure at the company is about two years.
We don’t accept a merely adequate fit; we want people on our team to agree that someone is indispensable and undeniable.
The rule for us is pretty simple: When we’re making a final decision on job candidates, we make interviewers and managers go on the record as a “fuck yes” before we extend a job offer. And this rule applies both ways — candidates have to be equally passionate about working with us to bring our mission to life. When I conduct a final interview, I’m looking for a spark of passion and an eagerness to work on a particular project before I’m willing to go all-in.
We won’t accept a merely adequate fit; we want people on our team to agree that someone is indispensable and undeniable. We don’t always reach a consensus, but the hiring manager needs to be passionate about a given person — passionate enough to put their reputation at stake by going to bat for them — to get them across the goal line. A “meh” is the same as a “no.”
This tactic hasn’t been without its criticism, and for good reason. Since people often select individuals who resemble them in some way, I recognize that this process can lead to bias. We’ve had our eye on this since the beginning, and while we’re not perfect, we’ve done a pretty good job of seeking out fair representation. We’ll get into the actual ways we do this in another post because we have a lot of thoughts! We’ve been especially successful with gender balance — 63% of the company identifies as female.
Once we set our sights on the right candidate, we don’t keep it a secret. We tell them with pride that we got to “fuck yes” status on them and that we’d love for them to join us. That also helps us win over the best candidates, who may be choosing between several options.
Working for a startup can be all-consuming, so it’s important that you are excited about what you are working on and with whom you are working on it. Knowing you work at a place where everyone feels that excitement about you is incredible. The next time you’re considering a new hire (or a new job), ask yourself if it’s really a “fuck yes” — you’ll be amazed at how impactful that reframing can be on your outlook.
