Smart, Hungry, Coachable

If you want to have a “Oh shit moment” - have a listen to this conversation. Sounds like NPR… but is actually two AI personas. I just dragged and dropped the below newsletter. I’m working on some cool stuff with this tech now! I didn’t script it or anything…

In the world of executive assistants, you've been sold a myth.

It's a dangerous, alluring myth that more experience always equals better performance.

But what if I told you that sometimes, the most experienced candidate might be the least suited for your needs?

Let's talk about “Sarah”.

Sarah had spent nine years as the right hand to the CEO of a major manufacturing company.

Nine years!

Early mornings.

Late nights.

Navigating the treacherous waters of industrial operations.

When she applied to be my EA, I thought I'd hit the jackpot.

I mean, how could I not hire her? She was the dream candidate, wasn't she?

Spoiler alert: She wasn't.

Here's the thing about experience: it's not just a number. It's not just years spent in a role.

It's a deeply ingrained set of habits, expectations, and ways of working….and sometimes, those very things that made someone successful in one context can be their downfall in another.

Sarah was brilliant at what she did.

For her previous boss.

But I'm not him.

And my company isn't a manufacturing giant.

The mismatch was painful.

Where I valued agility, she sought structure.

Where I embraced new tech, she clung to familiar processes.

My rapid-fire decision-making left her feeling lost, while her meticulous approach sometimes felt like an anchor dragging us down.

We tried.

Oh, how we tried!

But in the end, we both realized a hard truth: Sarah wasn't learning to be my EA. She was unlearning how to be someone else's.

And that's the crux of the EA experience paradox.

Sometimes, less is more. Sometimes, a blank slate is exactly what you need.

This is where my golden triangle comes in:

Smart, Hungry, Coachable.

These three qualities form the bedrock of an exceptional EA.

Smart – because the role demands quick thinking and problem-solving.

Hungry – because the drive to grow and achieve is irreplaceable.

Coachable – because adaptability is the secret sauce that makes everything else work.

I've found my greatest successes with EAs who embody these traits, regardless of their years of experience.

They're intelligent enough to grasp complex situations, hungry enough to push themselves beyond their comfort zones, and coachable enough to mold their skills to fit my unique needs.

This isn't about age.

It's not about devaluing experience.

It's about recognizing that in a role as personal and pivotal as an EA, the right mindset trumps pedigree every time.

So, the next time you're hiring an EA, pause before you reach for that stack of impressive resumes.

Ask yourself:

Do I see the golden triangle here?

Do I see someone smart, hungry, and coachable?

Because here's the truth: The perfect EA for you might not exist yet.

But you can create them!

Yallah Habibi,

Jon

Passage:

“…he had always felt that the essence of human experience lay not primarily in the peak experiences, the wedding days and triumphs which stood out in the memory like dates circled in red on old calendars, but, rather, in the unself-conscious flow of little things—the weekend afternoon with each member of the family engaged in his or her own pursuit, their crossings and connections casual, dialogues imminently forgettable, but the sum of such hours creating a synergy which was important and eternal.” Hyperion