We fetishize “the best engineers” like they’re a cheat code, then burn quarters waiting for unicorns while product sits idle. The piece nails it: hiring is a negotiation, and time is the scarcest currency. Open the funnel, decide what actually matters now, and optimize for shipped work over pedigree. Small teams ship more; a great mid-level who’s productive in two weeks beats a hypothetical 10x who never accepts. Stop filtering for 50h/week zeal and “not comp-motivated.” Pay fairly, allow sane 40h focus, and judge by real output, not LeetCode theatrics. You already move fast on code; apply the same bias for speed and realism to hiring.