Have you ever hired someone who seemed like a perfect fit—only to regret it weeks later?
You’re not alone. Many business leaders have fallen into the same trap: hiring someone based on a gut feeling, only to discover that charm doesn’t always translate to capability. This is what we at VisionSpark call “The Hiring Chasm”—the dangerous gap between how someone presents themselves in an interview and how they actually perform on the job.
Why does this happen? Because entrepreneurs, especially Visionaries, are wired to move fast and trust their instincts. That can be a superpower in innovation and decision-making but when it comes to hiring, it often becomes a costly liability.
Key Insight: “Entrepreneurs move fast and trust their instincts—but when it comes to hiring, gut decisions often lead to costly mistakes.”
The Cost of Gut-Based Hiring
Entrepreneurs and Visionaries are built to move fast. You trust your instincts—that’s part of what makes you successful. But when it comes to hiring, that same instinct can work against you.
Key Insight: “Entrepreneurs move fast and trust their instincts—but when it comes to hiring, gut decisions often lead to costly mistakes.”
The hiring chasm opens up when you rely on feelings over facts. The person you felt good about in the interview may lack the skills, culture fit, or execution ability your business truly needs.
The Danger of Hiring Based on Gut Feelings
A bad hire doesn’t just hurt your team—it hits your bottom line. Studies show that the cost of a bad hire can be 3 to 5 times their salary, once you factor in lost productivity, turnover, rehiring, and morale damage.
In Hiring Your Right #2 Leader, Alec shares a story of his worst hire, a candidate who checked all the “gut feeling” boxes but lacked the discipline, skills, and follow-through the role demanded. That painful experience led to one of VisionSpark’s core truths:
Key Insight: “Entrepreneurs move fast and trust their instincts—but when it comes to hiring, gut decisions often lead to costly mistakes.”
Here’s why gut-based hiring is flawed:
Biases cloud judgment—we naturally gravitate toward people who remind us of ourselves.
Strong interviews ≠ strong performers—some candidates are great at selling themselves, but poor at execution.
Resumes lie (or at least stretch the truth)—studies show that 48% of resumes contain inaccuracies.
Want to Learn More About the Hiring Chasm?
Alec dives deep into the most common hiring pitfalls in his eBook, The Hiring Chasm—including how to avoid them and build a hiring process that works.
Download Hiring Your #2 Leader Now →
Learn from real-world stories, practical tools, and proven systems that will transform the way you hire.
The Hiring Gut Check Quiz: Are You Making This Costly Mistake? Before making your next hire, take this quick quiz to see if you’re relying too much on gut instinct.
Hiring Gut Check Quiz
Answer Yes or No to the following:
Do you often make hiring decisions after just one or two interviews?
Have you ever hired someone primarily because you “just had a good feeling” about them?
Do you struggle to define the measurable success criteria for your new hires?
Have you ever skipped checking references because the candidate seemed great?
Do you find yourself hiring based on personality more than skills and past performance?
Have you ever regretted a hire within the first 90 days?
Do you lack a structured, repeatable hiring process?
Scoring:
0–2 YES: You’re on the right track! You use strategy over instinct.
3–5 YES:
Warning signs! Your gut is playing too big a role.6+ YES:
Danger zone! You may be making costly hiring mistakes.
How to Avoid Gut-Based Hiring & Hire with Confidence
Ready to close the hiring chasm? It’s time to replace guesswork with a proven process.
Here’s how to build a system that works:
✅ Define success before the search—outline clear performance metrics and cultural values.
✅ Use scorecards—rate candidates consistently across structured criteria.
✅ Implement structured interviews—ask the same questions, in the same order, for every candidate.
✅ Use objective tools—personality assessments and reference checks reduce bias.
✅ Evaluate for culture and capability—don’t confuse likability with effectiveness.
Key insight: “Hiring should be a process, not a gamble. The best hires aren’t made on gut feel—they’re made using proven systems.”
Ready to Take the Guesswork Out of Hiring?
Stop letting gut instinct lead your decisions. Start using a proven system to hire smarter, faster, and with confidence.
