Sly Stallone has been linked to HGH, but the reason he allegedly took it is something he shares with most successful people. Credit: Nicolas Genin, Wikipedia Commons

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is among the most controversial drugs in the world.

Some have heralded it as the fountain of youth, a way to counteract the aging process. Others have declared it incredibly dangerous and unproven, and it has been banned in most major sports, such as the NFL, MLB and the Olympics.

What exactly are the positive and negatives? Well, the fact is HGH hasn’t been studied enough to answer that question definitively, but many suggest it essentially amplifies whatever your body is doing naturally.

So that means muscle cells are built faster, as an example, so you can get stronger, quicker. But scientists fear it also builds bad cells faster as well, like cancer cells, which can quickly take over your body.

The result, allegedly, is a more extreme version of your existing self. And that’s the perfect metaphor for what really successful people have in common.

Tying It To The Main Point

One thing I’ve always wondered is if there is a commonality that all successful people share. However, the personalities of really successful people are so drastically different – the affable Warren Buffett, the inspiring Oprah Winfrey, the kinda jerkiness of Steve Jobs – that there seems to be no shared thread.

Instead, what they have in common is that they are extreme versions of whatever their core selves are. They are driven by their impulses so strongly that they almost can’t control themselves. And, in many instances, their biggest strength is also their biggest weakness.

Perhaps the best example is Bill Clinton. Clinton’s biggest strength is his ability to connect and be loved by anyone within minutes of meeting them. He is either incredibly charming or manipulative, depending on how you look at it, and that led to his surprising defeat of George H.W. Bush for president in 1992 and his political fame and fortune.

It also led to his downfall, because his power to get people to do what he wants also gives him an incredible ability to charm women, his vice. Despite all the consequences and embarrassment that he knows come with his philandering, he can’t turn it off, no more than he can turn off his ability to charm a crowd or raise money for his next big cause.

Clinton, in the proverbial sense, is on HGH. His passion and his strengths are 10 times more intense than the normal person, but so are his shortcomings.

The Hiring Lesson

So what does this mean to businesses? How can you use this knowledge to your advantage?

Well, when hiring, we all want to hire the rock star. We all want to bring on the next big star; the next Elon Musk, Sheryl Sandberg, Indra Nooyi, et al.

These HGH-type people are easy to spot in screening interviews. They are passionate and already have ideas on how your company can improve itself.

But there’s a risk that comes with hiring a person like that. Yes, they can be very talented. But they can also be incredibly intense and difficult to manage.

A great manager is going to love people like that, because although they can be difficult, they are the people who are going to push a company forward. But there are going to be situations where an A+ player is not really what you need; in fact, a less talented, less intense person is actually a better fit.

Bottom line, each person has strengths, and each person has weaknesses. That’s why it is so critical to define the job before hiring, so then you can find exactly what you need.

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