Having built two successful high-tech companies, I’m reminded of an interview—a brilliant software engineer, held multiple patents related to our project, and could clearly have contributed to our product. He called me when he didn’t get an offer, saying he’d “never interviewed for a position that didn’t result in an offer.”
What I couldn’t tell him (lawyers and all) was that his ego would have destroyed my team, ultimately the product.
Intellect alone is not enough. Ignore that lesson at your peril.