Due diligence refers to the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or a transaction with another party. In this case, hiring Steve as the project engineer is such an agreement.

While I strongly urge reliance upon ‘your gut’, or instinct, or the ‘quiet voice within’, augment your feeling with review and investigation. Here John was correct to ask for references even though time constraints limited his options.

Later, Ed will suggest that John go beyond those references to talk to others, those not on the reference list, when they talk to Palindrome. Having the wrong person on your team will cost you – morale, productivity, aggravation, frustration, and eventually anger.

You owe it to yourself and the project to get the best people available, that requires due diligence. Take nothing on face value. To torture the phrase: Trust, but verify.

Trust your instincts, your judgment, but get corroboration.

We all rely on the personal interview. It is not as reliable a gauge as we think. People can fool us. Go beyond your first impression and get data, get confirmation, or refutation, as the case may be.