Unicorns and Goats
I keep hearing the word “unicorn.”
Billion dollar startups and Swiss Army knife employees are both “unicorns.”
How exciting, how unique.
These horned horses are beautiful, magical… the stuff of legend. That’s the reason the word is chosen in this hyperbolic tech world. Motivated employees and hyper-successful tech businesses are nearly mythological.
That may be the case with hyper-successful startups. I’ve seen my fair share of these fall flat, so yeah, I buy that.
But this story that multi-talented and motivated employees are hard to find is a bit hard to swallow.
In every job I’ve had in my career, I have worked with people who have blown me away. People I immediately identified and recruited as mentors. (Always find mentors. Especially if they are people you don't like.)
Now, I know you’re thinking, “But unicorns are more than 'great employees'.”
Yep, I get that. There are so many redundant articles and blogs about what defines a “unicorn.”
The people I’m talking about meet every qualification across all of those blogs and articles.
Yes, they do… and their bosses will back me up on this.
So, unicorns seem to be everywhere to me. Maybe companies just aren’t paying attention?
Maybe that’s why they’re called unicorns… they’re flashy and all, “Look at me! Look at me!”
I don’t want those people on my teams, though. They’re also the people who roll into a place that’s working, stamp their name on everything and take credit.
I saw a thought someone posted recently that made me chuckle (I paraphrase):
Between unicorns and giraffes, which is really the more unbelievable animal? Which sounds more plausible: a horse with a horn or a leopard moose with a 40 foot neck?
Unicorns are overrated.
What do we really want in our companies?
I’ll tell you what I want on my team.
I want someone so trustworthy and reliable that including them calms me down.
Have you heard the phrase, “get your goat”? It’s said when something is irritating you or getting you upset.
That’s what I want on my team. I want a person to keep the team calm, focused, on task, and ready to win races.
I call this the company goat. No, not “greatest of all time.”
Goat, the humble farm animal.
Why? Because they are reliable and consistent. With a single goat, you can clear an entire field. Add a few goats and you can do it in record time.
That unicorn you have? Trotting around and flashing its horn and mane? Look again and you’ll see a humble, unpretentious goat has climbed up on its back and is looking around keeping an eye on things.
Keep the unremarkable mythical beast.