On the other hand, when I see "track record","taste","potential" I immediately get the feeling that there's plenty of room for elitism. Taste is highly objecti

On the other hand, when I see "track record","taste","potential" I immediately get the feeling that there's plenty of room for elitism. Taste is highly objective, and in the professional setting that's a huge pitfall for people being in the in- or outgroup. Track record could go either way, but I have yet to see companies that for example value steep positive progress after a downturn. Whenever track record has been mentioned at other companies, they've expected it to be monotonically increasing aka "steady performers". Potential is notoriously difficult to judge. Aspirations are easy to BS.