You are a board member of a computer company that just had a very nasty and public separation with the latest in a series of CEOs, who is currently looking for a replacement. For whatever reason, you and your fellow board members are looking outside to put this company back on track toward long term viability and growth. Among the few interviewed is the former CEO of a large firm specializing in enterprise services. Never mind the former part. Why is this candidate worth the position. What will their experience bring to this computer company?

One can assume that any candidate with a strong background would naturally leverage said background to steer this company in a direction they are familiar with. On the other hand, there is a possibility that this particular person can abstract their service experience into a hardware centric strategy better suited to your company as it exists today. Either way, figuring out their intent and goals is your job and should be accomplished with questions like: “Where do you see this company one year from now?” Sure, there is always the chance this person will answer based on false assumptions, lie, or even dodge the question entirely. But once again, it’s your job find the valid answers in order to pick the best candidate.

So this person is hired and, either honestly or dishonestly, boldly and quickly steers this computer company toward enterprise services, the field of their background. Isn’t that as much on you as it is on them? Either you ascertained and blessed their immediate strategy by hiring them or you hired someone without any sense of their actual intent.

You are a board member of a computer company that fired the latest in a series of CEOs less than a year after you hired them. What does your experience bring to this computer company?