Why Companies Keep Hiring Beyond What They Need
Source: Seth's Blog
Seth Godin applies evolutionary biology's "Red Queen hypothesis"—the idea that organisms must constantly evolve just to stay in place—to corporate hiring, arguing that competitive pressure forces companies into wasteful talent acquisition arms races. When competitors hire aggressively, you feel compelled to match them even when the marginal hire adds little value, creating a collective action problem where everyone loses. The cost isn't the salary; it's organizational bloat, reduced focus, and misaligned incentives that follow from growth-at-all-costs hiring.