Last week, our angel group reviewed a business with an online lie detector technology. We've all seen The Sharper Image catalog voice stress analyzers and i suppose this is from the same family. But that's a story for another time.
Someone in the meeting suggested this would make an interesting HR applicant screening tool that may point to candidates who might be worth a bit more extra due diligence on the veracity of their assertions in an interview.
Now, whether or not this is an acceptable practice is also a discussion for some other time.
Notwithstanding, there are more ways that have emerged for companies to screen for low performance at various career stages and to move toward high performers and away from low performers.
It's a competitive world and, unlike politicians who can say whatever they like, it's usually a world where results count and truthfulness is important.
What does that mean for entrepreneurs?
It's getting easier every day to uncover probabilities of low performance and/or truthfulness. And, while investors have always said people are most important, it is now a very actionable thought.
If you want to build a relationship with an investor, or an employer, you face a test of past performance that, you have to assume, will be very accurate.
If you don't think you can pass that test, then start today to correct your standings. Overdeliver. Put the facts on the (unvarnished) table. Explain your point of view and reflect intelligently on other points of view. Build a record you can be proud of.
Never take the behavior of politicians as an example of an acceptable way to do anything, except perhaps shake hands.
The alternative will be more bleak and difficult as the screening processes become even more accurate. Those that cannot deliver, or who mistake relationships with others as an opportunity to run for office, will increasingly be marginalized.
In the workplace, if under-performers are systemically pushed out, where do they go? What happens to them?