The most important job interview question

At venture capital firm, CueBall, we seek out great talent with whom we can partner, invest and grow exciting new ideas and businesses.
My Colleagues and I try to stay true to the principle of a founding figure of venture capital, George Doriot, who was fond of saying that it's always better to back an A team with a B plan than a A plan with a B team. In other words, people always trump ideas. That's because while top talent can improve misguided ideas, the best ideas can't improve mediocre talent.

Cue Ball's philosophy, therefore, has always been that the ultimate customer in venture capital isn't the venture capitalist but the entrepreneur. If you are doing your job right and attracting the best talent, then it's the entrepreneur who will be choosing you as opposed to you choosing the entrepreneur.

This should be the case in job interviews as well. Too often, employers forget that they need the candidate as much as the candidate needs them. Perhaps out of arrogance, interviewers tend to spend most of their time asking the candidate questions and only reserve the last couple of minutes for the candidate to ask any questions of them. You only need to survey a handful of recent job candidates or sit in on a few job interviews to conclude that there's usually too little interactive dialogue and too much one-way questioning of the candidate: Why are your skills right for this position? What was your last job like? How are you going to add value to the company? What is your work ethic? What are three adjectives that describe your attitude? What are your weaknesses?

All of these questions are variations on a theme: Why should we care about you? And they generally fit into the "skill" and "will" buckets. Yet if you want the best talent, then almost by definition you should want talent that is in demand and has options. Your mindset therefore needs to be that of both job evaluator and talent scout. And as with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, it is the talent that is the ultimate customer. The power always rests with the candidate, not the employer.

This has big implications for job interviews. Employers should think about how often they've asked the most practical and important of all job interview questions: If you were given this opportunity, would you take it? Firms often neglect to ask this question because they're so focused on a job candidate's skills. But the first 15 to 20 minutes of an interview is usually plenty of time to determine someone's capabilities.

The next time you finish an interview, ask yourself if you have a sense of whether the candidate would actually join your firm if given the chance. If you have no idea - which is the answer I hear far too often - then you've failed to take full advantage of the interview. Understanding whether the candidate - the customer - really wants the job you're offering or is just "shopping around" should be a goal of any good interview and evaluation process. With that goal in mind, you should ask the candidate some practical questions: Where do you want to eventually live and settle? What other firms are you looking at and why does ours stand out? Are there any reasons why you wouldn't take this job if it were offered to you?

Having a sense of the candidate's motivations for interviewing and whether there are any obstacles to his accepting the job are among the most important goals of an interview. Remember that the balance of power isn't necessarily with you just because you're the one offering the job. If you forget this, you might end up wasting a lot of time and be disappointed when the best candidate turns you down. Or worse, you might end up with a less talented employee than you deserve.

As soon as you feel confident that you're dealing with a qualified candidate, start selling him the job. Explain why you and your firm make sense for the candidate - why you're the natural choice. Then ask the most important question: Would he choose you?

Commentary by: Anthony K Tjan, CEO, managing partner and founder of venture capital firm Cue Ball, Vice-Chairman of advisory firm Parthenon, and co-author of the New York Times best-seller Hearts,Smarts,Guts and Luck.

Hiruko from Naruto

Hiruko (卑留呼, Hiruko) was the main antagonist of Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire. He was a missing-nin of Konohagakure who wished to plunge the world into a Fourth Shinobi World War, and then conquer it. Hiruko (蛭子) can be translated to "leech child", a possible connection to his Chakra Absorption Technique as well as the Chimera Technique's ability to "leech" the bloodline from his enemies, as well as his youthful appearance despite his age.

A contemporary and former friend of the Sannin, Hiruko wished to become a strong shinobi, yet was born with no natural special abilities. To overcome this disadvantage, he developed the Chimera Technique, a kinjutsu which would allow him to obtain the kekkei genkai of other ninja by fusing their bodies with his own. Some time after the Third Shinobi World War, Hiruko's research and findings on the technique were discovered. He claimed the Third Hokage ordered the Sannin to assassinate him, forcing him to leave the village as a missing-nin.

Though he was born with no natural special abilities, Hiruko compensated by using the Chimera Technique, a kinjutsu which he developed, allowing him to obtain physical abilities, such as kekkei genkai, by integrating the bodies of other ninja with his own. Having already stolen four kekkei genkai from the other Great Shinobi Countries, Hiruko possesses other abilities and physical traits from his victims, such as enhanced strength, and seeks to obtain more. Hiruko was able to use them as if they were his own.
In addition to these abilities, Hiruko and his followers were able to use the Chimera Technique to produce creatures that were literal chimeras, including a large, bird-like monster that molts explosive feathers and wolf-like beasts that attack using appendages resembling tentacles, though Hiruko himself has not been seen doing so except in his past experiments.

Nature Transformation
Through his Chimera Technique, Hiruko had acquired four elemental kekkei genkai: Steel, Swift, Dark, and Storm Releases. Hiruko also had a section on the palm of his hand where he can literally "absorb" the technique being thrown at him, this being a dark release attribute. With dark, steel and swift natures, he was immune to ninjutsu, kenjutsu and taijutsu, respectively. 

In terms of offence, Hiruko can use his Storm element to create thunderclouds that can electrocute his opponents or drain them of chakra. With the Swift element, he can move at superhuman speed and strike at various angles quickly, rendering all power-users useless against him. He can also use the bandages wrapped around him as tendrils, strong enough to slice or smash through rocks.
Having absorbed earth chakra from some Konoha ANBU, he has gained the ability to control the ground to devour and crush his opponents akin to a giant jaw, and after absorbing Kakashi's Lightning Cutter, Hiruko gained the technique for himself, and altered it to a mid-range weapon by having the electricity jolt off to slash his distance targets. He also has Naruto's Big Ball Rasengan, and it is larger than normal, as he absorbed a mass amount produced by multiple shadow clones.


Other Skills
Aside from absorbing chakra and synthesising creatures, Hiruko can also put a seal of sorts onto his victim, allowing him to take control of the person anytime after that akin to a puppet, even if the curse is placed for nearly two decades ago. He can also project an image of himself at a large scale in order to convey messages to the Five Great Shinobi Countries at once, and summon his subordinates to his location to fight on his behalf.

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111208054116/naruto/images/thumb/0/0d/Hiruko_new.png/631px-Hiruko_new.png
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120928001960/powerlisting/images/thumb/3/31/Hiruko_1_Naruto_Movie_6_by_Hiruko93.jpg/640px-Hiruko_1_Naruto_Movie_6_by_Hiruko93.jpg
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2009/362/d/a/Hiruko_7_Naruto_Movie_6_by_Hiruko93.jpg
http://obdpictures1.wikispaces.com/file/view/Hiruko.png/329851444/Hiruko.png
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http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/Inheritor_Of_The_Will_Of_Fire/Hiruko/Hiruko56960457.png
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101111163310/naruto/images/thumb/e/e4/Dark_release_mark.png/300px-Dark_release_mark.png
Chimera Tecnique - http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2009/362/a/1/Kimera_no_Jutsu_by_Hiruko93.jpg
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Hiruko_(missing-nin)
http://narutofanon.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Release
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Release:_Judgment