Tyler Cowen: Don’t obsess over the person being too much like you, that’s a most common mistake almost all interviewers make. People appreciate those like themselves best because that’s what they know. It doesn’t have to be prejudice in the evil sense, but nonetheless it’s too easy to slip into that habit, and [I advise people] to always be jolting yourself out of that habit by looking for something different from yourself.
Tyler Cowen interviewed by Gregory Washington on Access to Excellence ep.24
See also:
The Mundanity of Excellence
TC on Talent (1): Talent Spotting as Art, and overrated / underrated
TC on Talent (3): The Eye of the Tiger
TC on Talent (4): The Global Talent Pool