# The playbook for building high talent density teams | Adam Ward, Head of Talent at Cursor

> Source: <https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-playbook-for-building-high-talent>
> Published: 2026-08-09 12:31:29+00:00

**Adam Ward** is the Head of Talent at Cursor, one of the fastest-growing developer tools in history. Before joining Cursor, he founded Growth by Design, an independent recruiting and talent strategy firm that helped build teams at the most ambitious AI and technology companies in the world. Adam has spent more than 20 years building elite, high-talent-density teams across the industry and is widely regarded as one of the most effective and creative recruiters in tech.

**Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts**

### In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:

Inside today’s “tale of two cities” talent market

Why the traditional recruiting funnel—what Adam calls the “funnel of doom”—leads to mediocre hires

Adam’s three-step playbook: scoping, mapping, and relentless pursuit

The worst question to ask when sourcing great talent

The rise of the forward deployed engineer—and how to become one

The biggest mistake founders make when hiring their first recruiter

### Brought to you by:

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### Where to find Adam Ward

• LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampward](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adampward)

### Referenced:

• Cursor: [https://cursor.com](https://cursor.com)

• Trilogy: [https://trilogy.com](https://trilogy.com)

• Brie Wolfson on LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brie-wolfson-17758724](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brie-wolfson-17758724)

• Inside Cursor: [https://colossus.com/article/inside-cursor](https://colossus.com/article/inside-cursor)

• SpaceX: [https://www.spacex.com](https://www.spacex.com)

• Joe Gebbia’s website: [https://joegebbia.com](https://joegebbia.com)

• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell)

• *The Pitt *on HBO Max: [https://www.hbomax.com/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf](https://www.hbomax.com/shows/pitt-2024/e6e7bad9-d48d-4434-b334-7c651ffc4bdf)

• *The Bear *on Hulu: [https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f](https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f)

• Granola: [https://www.granola.ai](https://www.granola.ai)

• Wispr Flow: [https://wisprflow.ai](https://wisprflow.ai)

• 11 products I love, free for a year—the biggest Product Pass expansion in 2 years: [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/productpass-summer2026launch](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/productpass-summer2026launch)

• How to debug a team that isn’t working: the Waterline Model: [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-debug-a-team-that-isnt-working](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-debug-a-team-that-isnt-working)

• The high-growth handbook: Molly Graham’s frameworks for leading through chaos, change, and scale: [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-high-growth-handbook-molly-graham](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-high-growth-handbook-molly-graham)

### Recommended books:

• *Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ*: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/055338371X](https://www.amazon.com/dp/055338371X)

• *High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People*: [https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100](https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100)

• *Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building*: [https://press.stripe.com/scaling-people](https://press.stripe.com/scaling-people)

Production and marketing by [https://penname.co/](https://penname.co/). For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bfcfd0dbdcdecccbffd3dad1d1c6cddedcd7d6cbccd4c691dcd0d2).

*Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.*