I learned most of the important lessons about who to hire from Cyberpunk 2077.

For those of you who have never played the game (why not?!?!) here is a quick background.

Dex DeShawn is one of the first major power brokers you meet in Cyberpunk 2077, and he is deliberately written to look like the right person to trust.

In the world of Night City, Dex is a fixer. A fixer is not a fighter or a hacker. Their job is to assemble teams, line up resources, manage risk, and get paid when the job is done. Think of a fixer as a dealmaker, producer, or project lead who operates in the shadows.

Dex presents himself as a heavyweight.

He is large, calm, polished, and confident. He talks about having “been around the block” and makes it clear he has done big jobs before. He speaks in certainties. He does not hedge. He gives the impression that everything is under control because he has seen worse.

But you have been sold… as I have been sold in my hiring many times.

“Dex”lets you down at the exact moment you still expect him to protect you.. When an important project goes wrong and the situation turns from controlled to catastrophic, “Dex”does not step up. He goes quiet, distances himself, just when you think things can’t get worse, “Dex” reveals who he really is by shooting you in the head, sacrificing you to save himself. 

You find out not through hints or dialogue, but through action: when pressure hits,

You see, despite what all the books tell you there is really no way of knowing for certain when you hire somebody if they are the right person for the job.

Yup.  None.

In todays world of AI people can come up with the answer to your questions and test projects in just a few clicks.  

So what is the lesson here?

Well, if you’re waiting for advice on how to avoid these hires… sorry, you can’t.  Every company will eventually hire a “Dex”.

The difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is what they do next.

Many, maybe most, translate the failure to hire for the job into the belief that “there is nobody out there who can do this job, so I had better do it myself.”

The worst part is, this usually works… for a bit.

But eventually this mindset stifles growth and leaves the company barely surviving and you, the founder, burned out.

The only thing you can do is what you don’t want to do.

Try again.

And again

And again.

Because you may get it wrong most of the time, you only have to get it right once to change your company and your life.