Trust Over Competence

The logic doesn’t hold at entry-level roles, but it does above a certain threshold.

Do you change your phone number? Most people don’t.

Why? Because your phone number is linked to so many bank accounts and other important things. It might seem like changing your number could get you a cheaper plan, but the sunk costs are enormous. Some critical things are tied to that number—things you’ve already forgotten. Some key people only have your old number. With those concerns in play, you’re not going to change your number just for a small discount on your plan.

So who is a “big shot”? They’re the person in that story. Who’s a senior executive, or someone close to the boss? They’re the phone number. The cost for a boss to replace a trusted confidant is the same as the cost for you to change your phone number.

The confidant by the boss’s side holds so much information that sometimes the boss himself doesn’t even know what’s there—just like you don’t remember how many things your phone number is actually tied to. What is this value if not capability? It’s time value. It’s the value you generate by occupying and consuming the boss’s time.

Sure, “talent is everywhere,” but a boss only has enough energy over a lifetime to truly understand a limited number of people.