Hire Like a Rocket Scientist | Sally Thornton | TEDxDavisStWomen
Eric Romo, a rocket scientist starting Alt Space VR, argues that building a gender-balanced executive team is not just a diversity issue but an economic necessity because failing to incorporate the voice of female customers—who account for 85% of consumer purchasing—prevents companies from making optimal product decisions. He illustrates this by showing that companies with at least 30% women leaders have significantly better financial returns, urging founders to structure their teams proactively for success rather than relying on unconscious bias. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed speaker, giving a talk possibly at a conference in Silicon Valley. - Addressed an audience potentially familiar with venture capital, startups, and large corporations. - The speaker reframes the conversation about gender balance from a "diversity story" to an "economic Story." ## Theses & Positions - Hiring a "Purple Unicorn"—a magically talented person embodying many desired qualities—is often an unrealistic goal. - The single biggest predictor of who people hire is similarity bias, which favors hiring people who look like oneself. - True product development requires incorporating the voice of the customer into the Executive Suite, which means prioritizing gender balance. - Company success depends on building a leadership team, not just finding a single "best person," acknowledging that the job is evolving. - Companies with at least 30% women leaders in the executive suite demonstrate better financial returns. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Purple Unicorn:** A hypothetical person embodying all the desired qualities and traits a company hopes to find. - **Similarity Trap:** The tendency to hire people who resemble oneself, driven by unconscious bias. - **Fast Thinking:** Brain programming that is highly effective in life-or-death situations but counterproductive when making complex corporate decisions about leadership. - **Critical Mass Number:** The threshold of 30% women leaders that is necessary for making good decisions. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **The Hiring Lens:** The speaker advocates moving past the "Purple Unicorn" ideal toward structuring proactive leadership teams. - **Bias Mitigation:** Counteracting similarity bias requires actively considering the market's reality, such as knowing that 85% of consumers are women. - **Team Building Philosophy:** Shifting the focus from "Who is the best person for the job?" to "Who is the best person to be part of my team so I can lead the company well and build the best product?" ## Numbers & Data - Percentage of Executive teams in Corporate America with women: **14%** (slim). - Number of consumers who are women: **85%**. - Minimum threshold for women leaders in a company: **30%**. - Financial return increase for companies with 30% women leaders: **35%** (return on equity). - Hypothetical executive table size for discussion: **10** executives. ## Examples & Cases - **Eric Romo:** Rocket scientist starting Alt Space VR (a virtual reality Communications company); employee number 13 at SpaceX; advised the speaker's company to focus on gender-balanced leadership building. - **The Consumer Market:** The core evidence that 85% of purchasing power resides with women, making their input crucial for product development. - **The Research:** Citing studies (though admitting the "Stanford Clayman to McKenzie to Shark Tank" part is not real research) showing the financial link between female leadership percentage and corporate return. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Alt Space VR:** A virtual reality Communications company started by Eric Romo. ## References Cited - **Wall Street Journal** - **The Economist** - **Stanford** (mentioned in context of research) - **Clayman** (mentioned in context of research) - **McKenzie** (mentioned in context of research) - **Shark Tank** (mentioned in context of research) ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Hiring Focus:** Trading the high-touch, idealistic search for a "Purple Unicorn" for the systemic, data-driven goal of achieving a 30% gender balance in leadership. - **Thinking Style:** Trading the immediacy of "fast thinking" (good for emergencies) for the methodical, nuanced thought required for corporate strategy. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The speaker admits that the reference to "Stanford Clayman to McKenzie to Shark Tank" is not actual research. - The bias toward similarity is acknowledged as an inherent human programming that "we can't help it." ## Conclusions & Recommendations - Companies should start or evolve their leadership teams to achieve gender balance in the Executive Suite. - The speaker provides the directive: "don't have to be a rocket scientist to hire like a rocket scientist." ## Implications & Consequences - Failure to incorporate the voice of the 85% female consumer leads to suboptimal product design and reduced financial performance. - Proactively balancing teams mitigates unconscious bias and strengthens organizational decision-making. ## Verbatim Moments - *"Purple Unicorn"* - *"The science shows us why we most most likely hire people who look like ourselves"* - *"85% of consumers are women"* - *"This isn't a diversity story this is an economic Story"* - *"companies who have at least 30% women leaders running the companies have better Financial returns"* - *"we don't actually hear her"* - *"the job is fixed rather than evolving"* - *"Critical number 85% of purchasing is done by women"*