---
url: 'https://dri.es/attitude-beats-experience'
title: 'Attitude beats experience'
author:
  name: 'Dries Buytaert'
  url: 'https://dri.es/about'
date: '2014-12-22T11:23:58-05:00'
license: 'https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/'
type: blog
tags:
  - 'Startup lessons'
published: true
id: 3301
---

# Attitude beats experience

The older I get, the quicker the years seem to fly by. As I begin to reflect on a great 2014, one thing is crystal clear again. People are the most important thing to any organization. Having a great team is more important than having a great idea. A good team will figure out how to make something great happen; they'll pivot, evolve and claw their way to success. I see it every day at [Acquia](https://www.acquia.com), the [Drupal Association](https://association.drupal.org) or the [Drupal community](https://www.drupal.org). I'm fortunate to be surrounded by so many great people.

By extension, recruiting is serious business. How do you figure out if someone is a great fit for your organization? Books have been written about finding and attracting the right people, but for me the following quote from Dee Hock, the founder of Visa, sums it up perfectly.

<q>Hire and promote first on the basis of integrity; second, motivation; third, capacity; fourth, understanding; fifth, knowledge; and last and least, experience. Without integrity, motivation is dangerous; without motivation, capacity is impotent; without capacity, understanding is limited; without understanding, knowledge is meaningless; without knowledge, experience is blind.</q> – Dee Hock, founder of Visa.

Most hiring managers get it wrong and focus primarily on experience. While experience can be important, attitude is much more important. Attitude, not experience, is what creates a strong positive culture and what turns users and customers into raving fans.
