What "Armageddon" Teaches Us About Hiring

By Jim Johnson, IOM, CCE | President & CEO, Pearland Chamber of Commerce

Let’s start with a confession: I love the movie Armageddon. It’s loud, dramatic, borderline ridiculous—and packed with heart. Add in an iconic soundtrack (Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”), a cast full of familiar faces (Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson), and you’ve got a movie that sticks with you.

The movie’s premise is simple: an asteroid is headed straight for Earth, and NASA needs someone to drill into it and plant a nuclear bomb. But instead of training astronauts to drill, they bring in Harry Stamper—the best oil driller on the planet—and train him to be an astronaut.

Why? Because Harry’s skills were earned through years of experience. His leadership wasn’t taught in a classroom, it was built on job sites, crises, and the trust of his team. NASA realized it was easier to teach someone how to survive in space than it was to teach someone to drill under pressure.

That’s the lesson.

Today, many hiring decisions rely on data or automatic screening tools to focus on résumés, degrees, certifications, and performance scores. These tools are helpful and necessary. But if we rely on them too much, we risk overlooking people who don’t fit the mold but bring something equally valuable—skills earned in the field, resilience, and the ability to lead when it matters most.

Harry didn’t go to space alone. He had his crew, mission control, trained astronauts, and yes, a Russian cosmonaut banging on equipment with a wrench. Together, their strengths covered each other’s blind spots.

That’s what the best teams do.

In your organization, hiring someone who’s missing one or two technical skills might not be a problem if they bring irreplaceable value in other areas. Especially if you have the support system and culture to help them grow.

When hiring, ask yourself: what is truly essential for this role? Are you looking for someone who fits perfectly on paper, or someone who can grow into the position and bring strengths that can’t be taught in a classroom?

Use the data. Set your benchmarks. But leave room for candidates who don’t fit the mold—because sometimes, the best choice isn’t the most obvious.

Hire the best driller, even if they haven’t been to space yet. Invest in their development. Surround them with the right people. And when they save the day, cue the Armageddon soundtrack.

Because when it comes down to it, the job doesn’t always go to the one with the perfect résumé. It goes to the one who’s built for the mission.

This article is brought to you by Institute for Organization Management, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s professional development program for nonprofit executives. Learn About IOM