The Moneyball of Education
Why Employer Hiring Practices are About to Change
Employers value their new hires wrong. Introducing “the Moneyball of Education.”
In the book “Moneyball,” by Michael Lewis, he describes how baseball had long mis-valued its players… paying too much for some and ignoring others. The old assumptions of what made a “good player” were based on faulty logic.
The same thing is happening in hiring decisions.
The Parallel
Once baseball owners recognized the faulty logic, they were able to correctly identify the undervalued players, pay them modestly, and get a far better return. This strategy led the Oakland A’s to win with a fraction of the payroll. After stiff resistance from the old baseball leadership, eventually, all of baseball did it.
The Golden State Warriors did it in basketball and dominated with undervalued players. Now all basketball teams search for undervalued players.
Soon, this strategy will occur to employers. And, when it does, ALL OF EDUCATION WILL CHANGE.
Consider the old assumptions about what makes a good employee:
1. Straight A’s. (Grades measure compliance).
2. College degree from a ‘selective school.’ (College degrees correlate strongly with familial wealth).
3. Standardized tests. (Esoteric knowledge has never been correlated to work performance).
The Employer Pivot
The most innovative businesses — led by tech giants — are already pivoting to “The Moneyball of Education” and dropping degree requirements. Like in baseball and basketball, these employers are searching for undervalued talent and will train them internally. A complete win-win.
Once employers drop these requirements, students will en masse flee the time and opportunity costs of college and replace it with 4 years of practical work skills — while earning a salary. Then the conveyor belt of traditional school will grind to a trickle and learning will become relevant, purpose-driven, and unhinged from all that we currently know.
In my line of work, I meet hundreds of parents who have insatiably curious, hard working, creative, and quick-learning kids… most of whom flame out in the high-structure and low-relevance of school.
These kids are WAY undervalued.
The question is not WILL employers play Moneyball with this undervalued talent, but WHEN.
