This is an actual quote from an actual manager I used to work for, said many different times, and it meant that everyone needed to get behind the latest program. It is a metaphorical reference to the Jonestown massacre, in which over 900 people literally drank the Kool-Aid. The Kool-Aid had been poisoned, and everyone who drank it died.
"What is your favorite interview question?" I see that question, or something similar, in Linked-In articles every so often. Someone will ask a series of successful business people what they like to ask candidates, and they get different answers. Sometimes the answers are interesting, but more often they demonstrate that even successful people just ask whatever, because interviews are not a very good way to gauge a person's value. So I put my own talents to coming up with a good interview question, and I'll share that after I share a couple of the not-so-good answers I have seen.
One answer, meant to identify superstars: Tell them you don't think it's a good fit, and see how they react. Most people will basically figure the interview is over, but the best ones, the ones who know that they will be great for your company, will argue their case. That's the theory. The problem with this theory is that all interviewees know that sometimes interviewers like them for no particular reason, and sometimes they don't, also for no real reason. So if you tell them they are not a good fit, they will write you off, figuring that you do not know what you are talking about, but so it goes, and maybe the next interviewer will see it differently.
Here's one I really liked: What animal are you like? Why not just ask them what type of tree they want to be? But what I really liked about this one was the guy's example of a good answer. One woman answered that she was like a duck, because they look calm on the surface, but they are paddling like crazy under the water. He thought that was a brilliant answer, and he hired her, and she's doing well. The problem with this one is, I have been hearing that duck metaphor since I was a kid. This guy must be one of a very few people who grew to adulthood without hearing this cute little duck story, so he hired a woman based on an old cliche.
I can do better than that.
The Question: "Suppose our company was about to implement some big new initiative, but you disagreed with the whole concept, maybe even thought it would be counter-productive. What would you do?" Answers should depend on the level of the candidate being interviewed. You are not going to ask a CEO candidate this type of 30-minute interview question, so let's start with...
Vice-President
Good answer: (Careful...Whoever is asking this question, it is probably their idea you are talking about.) "I would try to influence the initiative to improve on what I saw as its shortcomings, but once the decision was made, I would put my full support behind it."
Bad answer: This is really a better question at lower levels of the organization. No VP candidate will trip over it. Let's move on.
Director
Good answer: "I would recruit my direct reports to take the lead in implementing the initiative within my group and would expect them to support the company direction."
Olé! This director candidate has just passed responsibility to his or her managers without even taking a stand on the original question. This is of course what the director will also do in real life, leaving him or her able to claim later that he or she either did or did not support the initiative, depending on how the wind blows.
Bad answer: Anything else. Directors are the ultimate bullshitters; it's how they get to be directors. Anyone who commits themselves to either supporting or opposing the idea, when they can easily just let someone else take all the risks, really doesn't understand what being a director is all about.
Manager
Good answer: "I would act the same way that I would act if I completely agreed with the initiative. I would volunteer to help rally the troops and to take an active part in the implementation."
Very good! To rephrase this answer, "My job as a manager is to get noticed by the management above me, so that somehow I stand out among the other managers who are also trying to get noticed. This sounds like an opportunity to get attention, and I will jostle with them to try to get noticed the most. What I think of the actual idea is not a factor." Definitely manager material.
Bad answer: "I would keep my opinion to myself, but I would try not to get involved in implementing the initiative any more than was required."
Uh oh. This person gave perhaps the most reasonable and rational answer, and it's a dead giveaway that says that they have not been fully assimilated. They are trying to maintain their dignity and sense of self rather than serve the corporate good first and foremost. End the interview. Escort them out of the building. Recommend them to your competitors.
Other bad answer: "I would try to work with management to let my concerns be known and possibly change the direction of the initiative."
Hah, foolish peasant! No one wants to hear your puny thoughts. Learn your place!
An Actual Worker
Good answer: " I would assume that the management of the company understands the issues better than I do, and I would support them and trust that they know what they are doing."
Excellent, brilliant answer, because this person has come to grips with a most vital concept: Their own little thoughts are unworthy, and they must put their faith in those who know better. This is a potentially fine employee, at least until they wise up.
Bad answer: "I would pretend to support the initiative, but privately I would tell everyone what I really thought of it."
This is of course what everyone from the Vice-President on down will do, but anyone who is this honest probably isn't a good fit...
