Hiring executives (VPs, COO, etc.) is one of the harder things for an entrepreneur to learn to do. Hiring the wrong person can cause a mini-disaster at the company. It often takes longer to spot a bad executive hire. During that time, the executive can mis-set direction and start to degrade the culture or output of an entire functional area of your company. Selecting for a common set of traits can go a long way in minimizing the likelihood of a bad executive hire.