Hire the Gaps, Not the Mirror
Ten more of you isn't a team — it's the same weakness, ten times.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 85%
Early in his career managing 20 trainers at 24-Hour Fitness by age 21, Schafer was on a mission to find ten more of himself, convinced that was the key to success. Then he hired Justin — introverted, a totally different training style, a completely different communicator — and Justin thrived and became his right-hand man for years. It opened Schafer's eyes: maybe he didn't want more of himself, maybe he needed people whose strengths sat where his weaknesses were. The same principle later resolved Mind Pump's roles: nobody assigned titles until year four, and when they did, everyone had already naturally fallen into their strengths. The enforcement rule is the ban on measuring — Schafer draws the marriage analogy directly: if you're arguing over who did more of what, the relationship is going nowhere.
Origin
As a 21-year-old managing a team of 20 trainers who were all older, more experienced and more educated than him, Schafer believed the key was finding ten more of himself. Hiring Justin — who was nothing like him and succeeded anyway — broke the belief, and Justin became his assistant and right-hand man for several years and, over a decade later, a Mind Pump co-founder.
Core principles
- 01The instinct to clone yourself is a trap — it multiplies your weaknesses along with your strengths.
- 02Hire for the gaps: strengths where your weaknesses are.
- 03The best pairings are often the most different: introvert with extrovert, different training styles.
- 04Once roles settle, double down on strengths and let go of weaknesses entirely.
- 05Never measure who contributed more — that's the fastest way to kill the relationship.
How to run it
- 1
Notice the cloning instinct
Catch yourself thinking 'if I could just find 10 more of me, we'd be hella successful.' That's the belief to kill.
- 2
Map your actual weaknesses
Be specific about where you're bad. These are the slots you're hiring for.
- 3
Hire for the gaps
Look for people with strengths where your weaknesses are, even when their style, temperament and communication are nothing like yours.
Pro tip Schafer and Justin were opposites — Justin introverted, different training style, different communication — and paired really well.
Watch out Difference feels wrong at first. That feeling is the bias you're trying to defeat.
- 4
Let roles emerge before you formalize them
Mind Pump had no titles until year four, already in the millions. When they formalized, everyone had naturally fallen into their strengths.
Watch out Deferring structure only works while the business is small. Mind Pump found that four-way consensus on everything became a bottleneck by year three.
- 5
Double down and let go
'You like doing that, you're the best at that, go handle that. That stuff you're terrible at, don't even worry about it, I got it.'
- 6
Ban the measuring
Nobody counts who worked seven days and who worked one. Schafer's marriage analogy: a relationship where you measure contribution is going nowhere.
In the wild
At 21, managing 20 trainers all older and more educated than him, Schafer was hunting for ten more of himself. He hired Justin fresh out of a kinesiology degree — introverted, a totally different training style and communicator, nothing like Schafer. They paired really well and Justin was highly successful.
→ Justin became Schafer's right-hand man and assistant for several years, then a lifelong friend, and eventually a Mind Pump co-founder — and the hire permanently changed how Schafer thought about building teams.
Mind Pump was already generating millions across multiple revenue streams with staff underneath them before anyone formally decided who was CEO, CMO or CTO. It took about a year of growing pains once four-way consensus on every decision started blocking the business.
→ Everyone naturally fell into the positions matching their strengths, and the solid relationship foundation meant the transition cost a year of friction rather than the partnership.
Common mistakes
Looking for more of yourself
Schafer's original conviction — find 10 more of me — would have produced a team with all his blind spots and none of his coverage.
Measuring relative contribution
Schafer draws it straight from marriage: if you and your spouse argue over who did more, that relationship ain't going nowhere. Same in business.
Trying to fix everyone's weaknesses
Mind Pump's rule is the opposite — recognize weaknesses in each other and simply let go of those things, doubling down on strengths instead.
Is it for you?
Best for
First-time managers and founders assembling a team or defining co-founder roles who catch themselves screening for people like them.
Not ideal for
Roles requiring high consistency and interchangeability, where deliberate difference introduces variance rather than coverage.
From the transcript
“I thought the key would be man if I could just find 10 more of me we're going to be hella successful.”
“Maybe I don't want to look for me. Maybe I need to look for people that fill the gaps and has strengths where my weaknesses…”
“You like doing that, you're the best at that. Go handle that. Oh, that stuff you're terrible at. Don't even worry about it. I got…”
From the episode
Adam Schafer: Mind Pump Co-Founder on The Mindset That Separates Entrepreneurs Who Win
Adam Schafer