How to Hire for Culture Fit (Not Just Skills): The Banana Ball Blueprint
If you want to build a team that runs your business — instead of one that depends on you — you have to learn how to hire for culture fit, not just credentials.
Most business owners unintentionally hire for skills and experience first. But the companies that scale, build trust-driven teams, and increase business value start with cultural alignment.
And oddly enough, one of the best hiring blueprints I’ve seen came from a baseball league that isn’t really baseball.
The Banana Ball Experiment
Jesse Cole talks business. From - https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/07/19/the-business-of-banana-ball-how-the-savannah-bananas-are-changing-baseball-in
Over 770 kids from 44 states showed up in Savannah this past summer for something that sounds ridiculous on paper: a youth tournament for a game that isn’t really baseball.
No bunting allowed. Two-hour time limit. Fans can catch foul balls for outs. Players do backflips. Coaches dance. Trick plays are encouraged.
This is Banana Ball — Jesse Cole’s reinvention of America’s favorite pastime.
Here’s what caught my attention:
The kids didn’t show up with teams. They signed up individually. The Bananas placed them with strangers.
Most youth sports tournaments bring established travel teams, familiar coaches, and predetermined positions. Parents have invested thousands in building those lineups.
Banana Ball stripped all of that away.
New teammates. New positions. New rules.
The only real filter?
Can you embrace the culture?
As Dakota “Stilts” Albritton (yes, he pitches on stilts) told the kids:
“The biggest thing for me is to not be afraid to be different and stick out. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and have fun.”
That’s not just a tournament. That’s a culture screening process disguised as baseball.
And it’s exactly how you should be hiring.
Check out Jesse’s LinkedIn post to learn more about the philosophy behind Banana Ball camps and tournaments.
The Traditional Hiring Approach Gets It Backwards
Most hiring processes work like traditional youth baseball:
Recruit based on credentials (degree, resume, titles)
Screen for specific skills (certifications, experience)
Evaluate past performance
Hope culture fit works itself out
I’ve seen this play out in hundreds of businesses.
Owners hire someone who “looks great on paper.”
Six months later, they’re frustrated, disengaged, and wondering why delegation still feels risky.
Here’s the real problem there:
You hired competence.
You didn’t hire alignment.
The Banana Ball approach flips this:
Start with culture.
Test for behavioral fit.
Assess motivation.
Then evaluate skills.
Jesse Cole isn’t recruiting the best baseball players.
He’s recruiting the best entertainers who happen to play baseball.
That distinction matters.
A Four-Layer Framework for Hiring for Culture Fit
When I work with clients using DISC, Driving Forces, Line of Sight, and engagement tools, we’re essentially building your version of the Banana Ball tournament — a structured way to find people who fit how you actually operate.
Here’s the framework.
Layer 1: Behavior — How Will They Show Up?
Behavioral wiring matters.
The Bananas don’t need serious, rules-based baseball purists. They need expressive, energetic, spotlight-comfortable players willing to break convention.
In DISC terms, that often means high Influence and high Dominance.
Before writing your next job description, ask:
What does the work actually look like day to day?
What behavioral style naturally succeeds here?
What style would frustrate you — and them?
If you’re a fast-moving, decisive leader and you hire someone who needs a long processing time and detailed structure, both of you will feel friction.
That friction is traditionally labeled a skills issue when, in reality, it’s a behavioral mismatch. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hire someone who is wired differently from you. Actually, I’d tell you to do the opposite…fill your team with a wide variety of behavioral styles. BUT, do so intentionally and with a communication plan that bridges the behavioral divide.
Layer 2: Motivation — Why Will They Care?
This is where most hiring processes completely miss the mark.
Every person is driven by different internal motivators:
Some are energized by learning and mastery.
Some are driven by results and ROI.
Some value structure and systems.
Some are fueled by helping others.
Some want influence and recognition.
Some thrive in flexible, innovative environments.
If the daily work doesn’t match what naturally energizes them, you’ve created friction before they ever start.
Example:
You hire a highly structured, systems-driven accountant.
But the role actually requires relationship-building and creative client problem-solving.
They’re technically strong — but internally drained.
Banana Ball filters this early.
They don’t want MLB prospects chasing recognition if the real job is creating an entertaining team experience.
Alignment of motivation matters more than pedigree.
Layer 3: Skills and Knowledge — Can They Do It?
Here’s what’s fascinating about the Banana Ball tournament:
Elite baseball ability wasn’t the primary screening criterion.
The Bananas knew they could teach skills.
They could not teach culture.
Most businesses overvalue credentials because they’re easy to measure.
But ask yourself:
What is truly required on Day One?
What can be trained?
Are we rejecting strong culture fits because they lack experience that doesn’t actually predict performance?
Skills are teachable.
Alignment is not.
Layer 4: Attitude — Will They Thrive Here?
The tournament placed kids with strangers in new roles under new rules.
Why?
Because unfamiliar situations reveal attitude.
Attitude includes:
Ownership
Coachability
Collaboration
Resilience
Alignment with mission
It’s tough to train attitude, and nearly impossible to train humility and genuine alignment.
But you can select for it.
Your interviews should create small moments of productive discomfort:
Ask about failure and lessons learned.
Present an ambiguous problem.
Offer pushback and watch how they respond.
Listen for “we” versus “I.”
Don’t just evaluate answers. You’re looking for emotional intelligence and posture.
Hiring for Culture Fit Increases Business Value
Most owners underestimate the impact this shift can make. When you hire across behavior, motivation, competence, and attitude:
Supervision decreases.
Adaptability increases.
Collaboration improves.
Retention strengthens.
Culture becomes self-reinforcing.
And most importantly:
Owner dependency shrinks.
When you consistently hire for alignment:
You avoid Hub & Spoke bottlenecks.
You increase engagement.
You build a team that carries the culture forward.
You increase transferable value.
And that’s how you move from being the center of every decision to leading a trust-driven organization that runs without you.
How to Build Your Own “Banana Ball” Hiring Process
1. Define Your Culture First
Before posting a job, get clear on:
What behaviors thrive here?
What motivators align with your work?
What attitudes predict success?
What does success actually look like beyond output?
This kind of clarity reduces costly hiring mistakes.
2. Recruit Where Your People Already Gather
The Bananas built a following long before hosting the tournament.
Participants self-selected.
Where are your ideal candidates already spending time?
Industry communities
Associations
Events aligned with your values
Educational programs that teach your philosophy
Stop hoping job boards solve culture.
Go where aligned people already are.
3. Message to Values, Not Just Compensation
Banana Ball didn’t promise MLB exposure. They promised fun, creativity, and belonging.
Your job messaging should signal what matters and speak to the motivators that thrive in your culture:
:
Mastery?
Impact?
Growth?
Autonomy?
Excellence?
Innovation?
4. Assess Across All Four Layers
Use structured tools, behavioral interviews, work simulations and involve your team in the evaluation and design of both the job description and the candidate pool.
Hiring is culture-building. Treat it strategically.
The Pipeline Effect
The youth tournament wasn’t just about this year. It was about 10–12 years from now. The Bananas are building a future roster of players who already understand the culture.
Your business can do the same. Take some time to consider if building a pipeline is a good idea for your business. You can start building a longterm pipeline through:
Internships
Mentorship programs
Speaking engagements
Content that attracts aligned people
When someone joins your team already aligned, adaptation time collapses.
The Real Question
Before you post your next job listing, ask:
Are you filling a seat?
Or are you building a team?
If you want a trust-driven, strategically aligned team that increases business value and reduces owner dependency, your hiring process must start with culture — not credentials.
Banana Ball proved it works.
You can too.
If you’re looking at your next hire and want to avoid another “great on paper, wrong in practice” situation, that’s exactly the work we do at TrustBuilt.
Define alignment. Build the right framework. Hire intentionally.
Because the right people — selected for culture, not just credentials — are how you build a business that runs without you.
