Episode Summary: "How I Run Interviews" – Business School with Sharran Srivatsaa

Release Date: January 6, 2026
Host: Sharran Srivatsaa

Episode Theme:

Rethinking Interviews to Hire A-Players in a Modern World

In this tactical episode, Sharran Srivatsaa breaks down his “reverse consulting” approach to interviews. Rejecting outdated behavioral interviews, he presents a real-world, three-part method for hiring truly exceptional team members. Drawing from his experience at Goldman Sachs, leading high-growth companies, and conducting thousands of interviews, he shares actionable techniques for anyone who needs to select top performers—whether as employees, vendors, or collaborators.

Key Points & Insights

1. Why Traditional Interviews Fail

• Traditional behavioral interviews are outdated:
  • Sharran notes, “Most companies are still using interview methods that were designed for a completely different economy. The world is very different right now.” (02:43)
  • Example questions like “Tell me about a time when you dealt with a difficult coworker?” are irrelevant in today’s fast-paced, ambiguous workplaces.
• Modern roles are amorphous and ambiguous:
  • Work today involves Slack, Zoom, incomplete information, and constant change. “Modern work is amorphous, it’s ambiguous, it’s fast, it moves quickly … it has real consequences.” (03:18)
• Evidence against unstructured interviews:
  • Sharran references research (Schmidt & Hunter study, Harvard Business Review) showing unstructured interviews “are actually one of the weakest predictors of job performance … because they reward confidence [and] storytelling.” (04:22)
  • The best predictors are work sample tests and situational problem-solving.
• Sports analogy:
  • “When the NFL tries to recruit people on their team, they don’t get them on an interview. They get them to do tryouts … That is important.” (05:11)

2. The Reverse Consulting Method

Sharran’s Three-Part Interview Formula

Part 1: Simulate Working Together (Turn Interview into a Consulting Session)

• Instead of asking about past experience, present the candidate with a real, anonymized problem your company is facing.
  • Example prompt:
    • “We’re seeing 20% churn in our enterprise accounts. You have 30 days to diagnose the issue and present options. Walk me through your approach.” (07:08)
• What to observe:
  • Strong candidates immediately ask clarifying questions and try to structure the problem.
  • “You can hear how their brain works under pressure … you’re looking for how they structure their problems.” (08:08)
• Why it works:
  • Simulates what day-to-day collaboration would actually feel like.
  • “A lot of problem solving is actually just structuring the problem and the pieces of the problem correctly.” (08:34)

Part 2: Ask for Bad Ideas (Test Judgment through Inversion)

• Flip the script by asking candidates to spot pitfalls rather than propose only positive solutions.
  • Example prompt:
    • “We’re expanding into Europe next quarter … What are some bad ideas that might initially look good?” (09:47)
• What to observe:
  • Good candidates identify second- and third-order consequences.
  • Sharran references Charlie Munger’s “inversion principle”—“Instead of saying, how do I get success? … What guarantees failure? And then just don’t do those things.” (10:13)
• This question reveals judgment and risk assessment ability.
  • “This single question will tell you whether someone has good judgment or not.” (11:27)

Part 3: Real Project Ownership (Delegate a Tangible Challenge)

• Assign a mini project or scenario with clear parameters (budget, deadline, team).
  • Example prompt:
    • “Let’s say you own our Q4 product launch. $2.5M budget, 12-person team, hard deadline. Walk me through how you’d structure and manage this.” (12:05)
• What to observe:
  • How the candidate breaks down complexity, identifies stakeholders and deliverables, and leverages collaboration tools.
  • The best perform work live (whiteboarding, Google Docs) and show their organizational process.
  • “You’re watching someone manage complexity in real time. And that is the job of the interview, not to just say, oh, do I like this person?” (13:01)

Notable Quotes & Standout Moments

• On the need for change:

  • “Just because it’s tried and true, it doesn’t mean it’s working right now.” (00:27)
  • “Most companies are still using interview methods that were designed for a completely different economy.” (02:43)

• On observing candidates in action:

  • “You simulate what it feels like to work together right now. … Instead of asking hypothetical questions, I just bring real problems to the call or to the meeting.” (07:08)

• On inversion as an interview tool:

  • “Charlie Munger calls it inversion … Instead of saying, how do I get success? You ask the question, what guarantees failure?” (10:13)
  • “This single question will tell you whether someone has good judgment or not.” (11:27)

• On real project ownership:

  • “If they’re going to do that live on the call with me or live on paper with me, I know that’s how they think and that’s how they work.” (12:36)

• On the real goal of hiring:

  • “You don’t want to hire the best interviewer. You want to hire the best person who is actually going to help your business and help your team and help you succeed.” (13:53)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment & Summary | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Sharran opens the episode and frames the problem with traditional hiring. | | 02:43 | Explains why traditional behavioral interviews no longer work for modern, fast-paced roles. | | 04:22 | Discusses research (Schmidt & Hunter, HBR) on the limits of unstructured interviews. | | 07:08 | Introduces “reverse consulting”—making the candidate solve real problems, not hypothetical ones. | | 08:34 | What to listen for in candidate responses—clarity, process, ability to structure problems. | | 09:47 | Part 2: Ask for bad ideas, not just good ones, to test candidate judgment and risk assessment. | | 10:13 | Reference to Charlie Munger’s inversion and its application to interviews. | | 12:05 | Part 3: Assign tangible project scenarios to observe organizational skills and complexity mgt. | | 13:01 | Why managing complexity live is more valuable than listening to rehearsed stories. | | 13:53 | Sharran’s wrap-up: What really matters is finding someone who’ll move the business forward. |

Actionable Takeaways

• Scrap outdated behavioral interviews for critical hires—use live, real problems to see how candidates actually think.
• Ask candidates to diagnose failure points (inversion) to reveal their judgment and risk management skills.
• Delegate realistic ownership scenarios, even in interviews, to observe candidates’ process, communication, and management style under realistic conditions.
• Hire for judgment and practical ability, not just interview polish.

Conclusion

Sharran’s three-pronged, modern interview method—reverse consulting, inversion, and real ownership—offers a blueprint for hiring A-players who think and work at the level today’s fast-changing companies require. By focusing on problem-solving, risk assessment, and real-time execution, you’ll dramatically reduce hiring mistakes and set up your team for breakthrough growth.