I was talking to someone who worked at McKinsey and they told me about the pains that the consulting group took to assure everyone that they were the "best and

I was talking to someone who worked at McKinsey and they told me about the pains that the consulting group took to assure everyone that they were the "best and the brightest." That everyone working there was brilliant — assuredly. And they'd stand around, gassing each other up and sharing these stats... "Top 3% of their graduating class!!!" If you've watched Game of Thrones (before it lost the plot), you might be aware of the moment where one of the characters turns around to a petulant, teen tyrant-king and says, "Any man who must say, 'I am the King,' is no true king." I think that statement rings true for McKinsey and the obsession a lot of companies have with "hiring the best." Admiral Rickover was a true king; i.e., the opposite. He didn't hire the "best." No, he hired people with extraordinary potential and then worked with them to develop their potential. The theater with the chair and his hiring practises were filters to find people with agency whom he could teach how to be capable and smart. I wonder what the modern equivalent is today. Side note, almost exactly a year ago (~51 weeks), I edited together a video of him talking about how there aren't any extraordinary people waiting to be hired; https://x.com/1517fund/status/1775253578916974606 https://x.com/1517fund/status/1775253578916974606