The Metiss Group's Blog

Hyperbolic discounting is the tendency for people to prefer a smaller, immediate payoff over a larger, delayed payoff. Much research has been done on decision-making, and many factors contribute to the individual decision making process. Interestingly, delay time is a big factor in choosing an alternative. In fact, studies have shown, most people would choose to get $20 today instead of getting $100 one year from today.

Leaders often make similar mistakes when selecting new hires.  Hiring managers many times are seduced by certain hard skills a candidate can immediately apply and may pass over a stronger candidate who needs time to develop that hard skill.  Remember: most employees are hired for hard skills but fired for lack of soft skills.  When selecting new hires, challenge yourself to consider the candidate’s future contributions; not their immediate productivity.

Empower yourself to understand human behavior and how you can overcome your natural tendencies and you’ll be a more successful leader.