The Lemann Filter

Designing a job description that actually filters.

Before writing the posting, describe in writing the individual who would hate working at your organization. Be specific: not "someone who isn't a team player" (which is meaningless) but "someone who values predictability over speed, who wants clear instructions rather than ambiguous problems, who measures career progress by title changes rather than capability growth, and who would be uncomfortable putting personal money into a bet on their own performance." Now examine every word of your job posting, your careers page, your interview process, and your offer letter. Each touchpoint either attracts or repels that profile. A posting that emphasizes "competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and work-life balance" is a beacon for the exact applicant Lemann was trying to exclude. A posting that emphasizes "below-market base salary, uncapped performance bonuses, and mandatory co-investment" is a beacon for the one he wanted. The filter does the sorting before you read a single resume.

Monitoring filter degradation over time.

Every time you add a perk, raise base salaries faster than performance bonuses, make equity grants free instead of purchased, or soften the interview process because candidates complained it was "too intense," you are diluting the filter. The degradation has a specific signature: your new hires become progressively more credentialed and progressively less hungry. They look better on paper and produce less in practice. The diagnostic: compare the first-year performance of hires from this year to hires from three years ago. If the recent cohort has better resumes and worse outcomes, the filter has degraded. One exception to the filter's design is an anomaly. Two exceptions are a pattern. Three exceptions and you no longer have a filter. You have a suggestion.