cdeistopened Hiring Framework
Walk a founder through hiring for specific roles using Alex Hormozi's role-type interview design, Andrew Wilkinson's CEO hiring process, Brent Beshore's people diligence, and Blake's "teach me something" test from My First Million.
When to Use
The user needs to hire someone and wants a structured approach. They might say:
- "I need to hire a [role]"
- "How do I interview for this position?"
- "Help me design a hiring process"
- "I'm hiring my first employee / executive / salesperson"
Step 1: What Kind of Role?
From Alex Hormozi (C7degTzRk_A.md):
The interview process should be different depending on what the role actually requires. Don't use the same generic interview for every position.
Ask the user: What does this person need to DO day-to-day? Not their title — their actual work output.
Then match to one of these archetypes:
For Salespeople: The Script Test
"Send a script in advance. Listen to their delivery. If bad, say 'You messed this up, tweak it, try it again.'"
This tests three things simultaneously:
- Skill — Can they actually sell?
- Work ethic — Did they prepare?
- Coachability — When given feedback, do they improve on the spot?
Build the interview:
- Send the candidate a 60-second sales script for your product
- Have them deliver it live (video call or in person)
- Give specific feedback: "The opening was weak. Try it again with more energy."
- Watch whether they improve immediately or get defensive
Red flag: Candidate who "doesn't need a script" and wants to wing it. This signals ego over process.
For Creative / Technical Roles: The Work Sample
"For editors: Send raw footage, ask for a clip. Removes presentation bias from the interview."
Adapt to any creative or technical role:
- Developers: Give a small real problem from your codebase
- Designers: Give a real brief and assets
- Writers: Give a real topic and style guide
- Marketers: Give real data and ask for a campaign recommendation
The work sample should take 1-3 hours, not a full week. You're testing judgment and quality, not willingness to do free labor.
For Leadership / Executives: The Case Study
"Present real company problems as cases — not hypothetical. Worst case we get free consulting. Best case we get somebody capable of implementing the solution they just came up with."
Build the interview:
- Pick 2-3 real problems your company is facing right now
- Present them without your solution: "Here's the situation. What would you do?"
- Probe their reasoning: "Why that approach? What could go wrong? What's the first thing you'd do Monday morning?"
Hormozi's litmus test for C-level:
"Do I want to talk to this person about a complex problem? If I don't seek their advice, it means I don't see them as a value add."
After the case study conversation, ask yourself: "Would I call this person at 10pm if I had a hard problem?" If no, they're not the right executive hire.
For Any Role: The Quality of Questions Test
"The quality of the questions they ask is one signal. If someone said, 'I noticed you guys have this media brand and this advisory practice — what's revenue retention around that?' I'd be like, wow."
At the end of every interview, leave time for the candidate's questions. The questions they ask reveal:
- Whether they've done research on your company
- Whether they think strategically or tactically
- Whether they're genuinely curious or just performing interest
Signal: Great candidates ask questions that make YOU think. Mediocre candidates ask about vacation policy.
Step 2: The "Teach Me Something" Test
From Blake (3VLDuDZ6Qvo.md):
"My favorite interview question is 'teach me something.' You do that two or three times — push back, say 'I don't understand, walk me through it' — and you undress people that way. They start to anticipate it."
Use this for any role where domain expertise matters:
- Ask: "Teach me about [topic relevant to the role]."
- When they explain, push back 2-3 times: "I didn't follow that. Why does that work?"
- Watch whether they can explain clearly under pressure — or if they retreat into jargon and hand-waving.
Blake used this to test a hypersonic aerodynamics expert: asked them to explain hypersonic intakes. The candidate couldn't. Interview over.
Step 3: Hiring a CEO (Delegating the Business)
From Andrew Wilkinson's Tiny Corp approach (RzwS8iUHeQo.md):
This is a specific, high-stakes hiring process with its own rules.
Readiness check first:
- Is the business at $300K+ annual profit?
- Does it have product-market fit (customers keep coming without you pushing)?
- Can you make this person genuinely wealthy from the role?
If not, you're not ready to hire a CEO. You're looking for a general manager or operator instead.
Finding the candidate:
- Target: the #2 person at a similar business that's 2x your size
- They're "eagerly awaiting being knighted as CEO" — ready for the step up but blocked at their current company
- Use a recruiter to broaden the pool. Have the recruiter record first Zoom calls — watch the first 2 minutes. "In the first 30 seconds you know they're a dingus."
Compensation structure:
- Lead with total comp, not base: "I'm going to pay you $300K — $150K base, $150K bonus"
- Bonus tied to EBITDA milestones
- Make it uncapped: "If you hit $1.2M EBITDA I want you to get double the bonus"
- For equity: require them to write a check rather than giving options. "I will personally loan you the money." This creates shared downside — not a lottery ticket.
After hiring:
- Send only financial numbers, monthly
- Annual in-person meeting
- "Leave them alone."
Step 4: People Diligence (Before Any Senior Hire)
From Brent Beshore (3q1QvEkbbyk.md):
"The business we're in is predicting people's behavior."
The Beshore Method:
- Personality mapping: Categorize quickly using I/E, S/N, T/F, J/P to understand their communication and decision-making style
- Motivation mapping: Understand their core drive (money, autonomy, impact, status, mastery)
- The Jerk Test: Share a meal. Travel together. Watch them at the airport during a delay, with wait staff, under stress. "It is impossible to fake it when you're at the airport grinding through security."
- Back-channel references: Talk to people the candidate DIDN'T list as references. Former colleagues, reports, vendors.
Step 5: Search the Archive
The MFM transcripts have hiring stories and frameworks across many episodes:
grep -ri "hired\|hiring\|interview\|recruiting" transcripts/
grep -ri "first employee\|first hire\|building a team" transcripts/
Search for the specific role type — there may be a relevant episode with detailed advice.
Output
After the session, deliver:
- Role definition — what this person actually needs to DO (not a job description)
- Interview design — tailored to the role type (script test, work sample, or case study)
- Key questions — including "teach me something" and quality-of-questions evaluation
- Compensation structure — base + bonus + equity recommendation
- Diligence plan — reference checks + the jerk test
- Red flags to watch for specific to this hire