Hands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Hiring for known problems calls for 'hands,' while unknown problems require 'brains' with strategic skills.
-
•
Evaluating agencies by portfolio visuals emphasizes output, not problem-solving effectiveness.
-
•
Industry-specific experience is less important than demonstrated expertise across diverse challenges.
-
•
Higher price does not guarantee better strategic capabilities; agencies also optimize their margins.
-
•
Partnership mindset leads to value creation by challenging client assumptions rather than just delivering services.
-
•
Successful strategy projects must produce solutions adopted company-wide, not just isolated deliverables.
-
•
Facilitating cross-department collaboration, especially with technical teams, is key to project success.
-
•
Flexibility means aligning on goals despite differing methodologies or tools, not simply adapting processes.
-
•
Listening to how agencies navigate organizational context reveals leadership beyond technical execution.
-
•
Proposals often better reveal strategic thinking and innovation than interviews alone.
Notable Quotes
"If you care about the solution, you’re much better off hiring hands."
"A vendor provides a service, but a partner delivers value."
"Knowing the difference between hands and brains is key to managing expectations."
"Choosing an agency based on portfolio visuals is focusing on output, not on how effective the solution was."
"The biggest challenge of a project is building a solution that’s going to be adopted company-wide."
"Flexibility is not about using the same methodologies; it’s about moving together towards the same goal."
"Big picture thinkers move past obstacles and create unexpected paths and new solutions."
"You find the right fit when someone challenges your assumptions and provides a different perspective."
"Success is about not sacrificing quality, not about mere integration."
"Listening for leadership is about understanding how they navigate a project beyond the solution."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"People were overwhelmed, missing the point, and didn’t even know where to start with all this change."
Erin HauberDesign is Not the Frosting on the Scaled Agile Layer Cake
October 24, 2019
"Being badass means being vulnerable, standing up, being brave, and being true to yourself."
Megan KiersteadYou Are a Badass at UX: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
March 10, 2021
"We maintain structured flexibility so we can move people where the work is regardless of politics or whatever else is going on."
Maggie DieringerCreating Consistency Through Constant Change
January 8, 2024
"All negative outcomes in legacy modernization can be traced back to not bringing product thinking to the table."
Meaghan Waters Fotina KoutropoulousLack of Product Thinking will Doom Your Legacy Modernization
June 9, 2021
"Segmentation isn’t owned by market or user research anymore; it’s becoming data-driven and integrated across disciplines."
Jemma AhmedBringing together market and user research
October 17, 2019
"The more you know, the more you have the ability to make informed decisions and better control events."
Maria TaylorKnowledge is Power: Managing the Lifeblood of the Design Org
October 3, 2023
"When blind users choose between Android and iPhone, they weigh trade-offs between stability and customizability."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"I wanted to create a model that let us rapidly increase our value within the business."
Catherine BlizzardUsing Integrated Insight to Drive Growth
March 10, 2022
"Carol was really grateful for our conversation."
Randolph Duke IIWar Stories LIVE! Randy Duke II
March 30, 2020
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
Why is design education’s emphasis on critical making important, and how does it interrelate with critique and theory?
Will AI eventually replace unmoderated usability testing with simulations of user behavior?
What balance should teams strike between being helpful and being impactful in their daily work?