Malcolm Gladwell, kicking-off last week’s New Yorker Conference, spoke about the mismatch problem—i.e., the hiring of people based on qualities or characteristics that have little or nothing to do with what delivers success in the position being filled.

For example, Gladwell discussed how scouting combines—at which the best college players must jump high, run fast, be strong in front of professional scouts—is a lousy predictor of athletes’ eventual success.

Another profession that Gladwell thinks suffers from the mismatch problem: teaching. “So teaching is a profession that is every bit as screwed up as professional sports,” he said. (He addresses teaching about halfway through his talk.)