To build a leadership team capable of direct, difficult conversations, Mandia uses offsites to ask executives to present on personal topics like career lowlights or parental influence. Their ability to speak openly and unfiltered is a strong predictor of how they'll handle high-stakes business challenges.

Standard reference checks yield generic praise. To identify true A-players, ask their former colleagues a high-stakes question: “Would you quit your current job to work for this person again?” An enthusiastic “yes” is the strongest hiring signal you can get.

Prioritize candidates who have navigated difficult situations. They learn more from tough times than from being at a constantly successful company where mistakes might be masked by overall growth. Adversity builds crucial problem-solving skills and resilience that are invaluable to a growing organization.

A rising tide lifts all boats. The true test of a founder partnership emerges during downturns. Diligence should focus on teasing out traits like adaptability, humility, and accountability, which predict how a founder will react when plans inevitably go awry.

Lloyd Blankfein learned during the financial crisis that appearances are deceiving. The most reliable predictor of performance under pressure isn't a tough persona, but a track record of having successfully navigated a previous major crisis. This is a critical filter for key leadership roles.

Beyond IQ and EQ, interview for 'Resilience Quotient' (RQ)—the ability to persevere through setbacks. A key tactic is to ask candidates about their proudest achievement, then follow up with, 'What would you do differently?' to see how they navigated strife and learned from it.

To gauge a leader's coachability and the company's health, ask them to describe a time they were wrong about the market and how the organization pivoted. A leader who can't admit to missteps or share learnings is a major red flag, signaling a lack of self-awareness that will hinder growth.

The most driven entrepreneurs are often fueled by foundational traumas. Understanding a founder's past struggles—losing family wealth or social slights—provides deep insight into their intensity, work ethic, and resilience. It's a powerful, empathetic tool for diligence beyond the balance sheet.

An effective manager evaluation technique is to recognize that everyone presents their polished "best self" initially. An allocator's primary job during due diligence is to actively investigate beyond this facade to uncover the manager's "true self"—how they operate under pressure and handle failure—before committing capital.