The best engineers are like artists; to keep them happy, you need to let them do their work without interference, allowing their creativity to lead to innovative products.

The best software products are built by individuals whose cognitive processes differ significantly from the average, highlighting the uniqueness of top talent, and to appreciate talent, you need to be within a standard deviation of that talent; otherwise, larger institutions struggle to recognize exceptional individuals.

The best engineers today are not just coders; they are also great product thinkers, business strategists, and designers, as the focus shifts from merely building to understanding what to build that adds value.

Identifying the difference between strong engineers requires specialized skills, similar to how few can hear a 'blue note' in music.

Companies often look for different qualities in engineers, which can lead to confusion. It's crucial to clarify the specific skills and traits desired for the role being filled.

Candidates who answer questions easily tend to be better engineers, but there are also false negatives where great engineers may struggle with questions.

Even if engineers are better at evaluating other engineers, the existence of recruiters suggests there are efficiencies in the hiring process that are not immediately apparent.

Most companies think they are trying to hire good engineers, but their definitions of a good engineer vary significantly, leading to noise in the hiring process.

Good engineers are drawn to challenging technical problems, and we've successfully tackled many of these challenges.