if i was asked this question a year ago i would have said "NO." but reading books and experiencing life has a tendency to help us see nuance in all things.

these days, i'd hire someone whether or not they want to climb the ladder. becuase guess what -- every army needs soliders.

i've hired people who are so ambitious, they don't even want to execute the role i hired them for. and i've hired people who couldn't scale with the company, in essence the other side of that spectrum.

people who don't want to climb the so-called ladder but can keep up with changing job requirements, are soliders. and when you have product-market fit and processes that, if followed, yield profitable results, you want more soldiers.

the climbers are great for day 1. they're great for new initiatives, products, launches. but they're a temporary gift at best. once they hit whatever ceiling you've designed, they're gone. and then you're hustling to fill their shoes. with who? probably a soldier.

so i think, it's about knowing yourself. if you have the vision and ambition to ideate and iterate and rethink business models, hire soliders. if you are the solider yourself, put in a position of (hiring) power, hiring a ladder climber and a soldier.