How do you Recruit People with Ideas?

In the early 90s, when I started up the first strategy planning department at JWT in Mumbai, two previous attempts in the 80s had already failed, so this was pretty much our last chance. I decided that, rather than recruiting people with the best qualifications and experience, my prime task was to recruit people with great ideas.  Thats what we called it those days.  I know ‘ideas people’ sounds a bit old fashioned. I am sure there are more contemporary labels to describe these people today e.g. innovators.  

And while you may wonder why recruiting ideas people is relevant, I think that there are a number of industries today that could do with more ideas people. Most start ups today need ideas people.  Because start ups are about ideas.  

Some companies  are interested in ideas people, but often these companies don’t have the right  environment to offer them. Not everybody wants people who are intuitive, intelligent, stimulating and nimble. But they are often the star performers of any businesses because they produce original ideas faster than the average person.  

But most companies are not so good at 2 key things:

- Understanding and identifying Ideas people

- Recruiting Ideas People

Recruiting ideas people

The Intuitive temperament is the biggest indicator of top ideas people and yet it is the hardest to understand.  Typically they have the ability to make connections between widely diverse ideas. They like things with a new bent of mind and to write their own rules.  Often they are attracted to what is possible rather than what is actual.

I was once sitting in the R & D meeting of a large fmcg company when I heard one of the scientists telling me that a shampoo was nothing but 90% water. An immediate reaction  from someone at the table was ‘ can we produce a gel like substance by removing the water content ’ which would work as well as a shampoo.  The consumer could take the gel in her hand and add the water. That would cut packaging costs by 90%. Would be great for a developing country like India which in those days had a over 100% tax on shampoos because it was classified as a luxury product by the Indian Government. And voila you would have a cheap shampoo that could wash the hair of the Indian masses.  In this particular case the fmcg company actually launched such a product into the market but it was later withdrawn for other reasons.

Thinking Style

Ideas people tend to have a preference for making the complex simple and free-mind abilities, They’re almost always respected by both colleagues and peers for their discernment skills and an optimistic attitude.  They are drawn to finding order in chaos. They can switch into dream time to let ideas incubate. They use ‘play’ to re-charge batteries and destress. Often to senior management however these people are just goofing off.

When I set up this strategy department, the two large departments in our agency office were the creative department and the account management department.  I didn’t want my planners to sit with either.  I found the ideal place, a store room that had accumulated rubbish over 50 years that was located in the passage between these two departments. The problem was that no one had ever thought of it as an office space, because for years it had been the store room and located right below the steeple of the building which housed the Goddess Lakshmi.  

Lakshmi Building, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road, Fort Mumbai

Besides of course finding a place in the office that did not belong to any other department, I made sure that there was enough 'play' for my planners in  spite of the conservative style of the company.  So I included lots of lounge furniture and games including dartboards and other little games in the planning office.  This was initially frowned upon by the management because they didn’t understand why this department needed to entertain themselves during office hours. Or indeed why should they be different in anyway from the others in the company.

How do Ideas People Behave?

Ideas people share an openness to life, self-assurance, non-conformity and free mind ability. They typically have an insatiable desire to indulge their curiosity, and to seek and acquire knowledge.  They are quite open about their strengths and limitations.  And you need to accept them as unconventional. They display an independence of thought and social behaviour. Most of them are natural psychologists and have an uncanny ability to empathise with the human condition.

Many of my people came up with ideas in the most unpredictable times and moments. Some were inspired on the train journey to the office, and some even during their morning ablutions.  Often waiting for the final inspiration and idea became the most painful part of the game. The Eureka as you may call it, that evades all of us.

Difference between Intuitives and Sensors

Sensing types are, as Jung called them are “facts based,” i.e. they take in information in a sensory, factual, practical, linear way. If you are a Sensing type you will tend to be more grounded in your approach and you will need to understand the facts and focus on the actions. You will have a store of knowledge in you head, great at remembering names and faces and will want to use this knowledge in a practical way.

What kind of Interview questions may work with Intuitives?

How has this industry changed over the last 10 years?

How will this industry change over the next century?

Check for abstract metaphor - How are a relationship and a pen alike?

What have you heard, seen or read that you find interesting?

Describe the last book you read

Where do you think we are headed as a company?

Good luck with recruiting ideas people!

__________________________________________________

 Dedicated to the first 3 people I recruited in the strategy department at JWT Mumbai : Ashutosh Bishnoi Vijay Ramchandran and Ravi Nair whom I can't seem to find on LinkedIn

Prabhakar Mundkur is an independent brand & marketing consultant.  He has experience across a wide range of categories from fmcg, healthcare, technology, durables to corporate brand strategy.  

Contact me on Twitter