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Channeling @eriktorenberg
A summary of his big ideas, in three threads...
Thread
: Management and Leadership
A summary of his big ideas, in three threads...
Thread
: Management and Leadership
Good management matters more than ever…
Today’s employees need to be both productive and creative
To do that, they need to be inspired and internally motivated
Today’s employees need to be both productive and creativeTo do that, they need to be inspired and internally motivated
Management gives you leverage…
Optimizing management creates ripple effects
Managers dictate the experience of most people at a company
Leverage is the art of making small changes that have big impacts
Employees optimize for managers as much as the specific company
Optimizing management creates ripple effects Managers dictate the experience of most people at a company Leverage is the art of making small changes that have big impactsEmployees optimize for managers as much as the specific company
A reminder for founders…
No one cares like you care
No one's going to sell like you will
No one’s going to have credibility like you do
You own functions initially, while building out processes that scale beyond you
No one cares like you careNo one's going to sell like you willNo one’s going to have credibility like you doYou own functions initially, while building out processes that scale beyond you
A reminder for CEOs...
Recruit people
Hold people accountable
Nail down the strategy for the company
Deliver the capital to pursue the strategy
Decide what the company will and will not do
Communicate the hell out if things, within and outside the company
Recruit peopleHold people accountableNail down the strategy for the companyDeliver the capital to pursue the strategyDecide what the company will and will not doCommunicate the hell out if things, within and outside the company
Create cultural infrastructure…
Hire for culture upfront
Culture is what people do when you're not there
Culture is more like gardening than architecture
You plant some seeds and pull out weeds that aren't working
Hire for culture upfrontCulture is what people do when you're not thereCulture is more like gardening than architecture You plant some seeds and pull out weeds that aren't working
Set goals and communicate them…
Often problems come up that seem like communication problems, but they're planning problems
There are different ways to set goals, just make the process clear and transparent for everyone
Often problems come up that seem like communication problems, but they're planning problemsThere are different ways to set goals, just make the process clear and transparent for everyone
Allocate enough time to recruiting…
After you raise money, your job is to hire people who can build
More than 50 percent of your time should be spent hiring
Spend time with ideal passive candidates, recruiting over a long time horizon
After you raise money, your job is to hire people who can buildMore than 50 percent of your time should be spent hiringSpend time with ideal passive candidates, recruiting over a long time horizon
Take your time hiring…
Hiring should be a last resort
Make sure you have a good job description and need to hire
Don’t decide too quickly whether you should hire a person or not
Get the first 10 hires right (each employee will replicate themselves ten times)
Hiring should be a last resort Make sure you have a good job description and need to hireDon’t decide too quickly whether you should hire a person or notGet the first 10 hires right (each employee will replicate themselves ten times)
Draft Tom Brady in the 6th round…
Calibrate raters
Treat recruiting like a funnel
Diagram the experience and identify potential leakage
Qualify leads (i.e. comp expectations, ideal role, location)
Find people Google isn’t chasing but have even more talent and grit
Calibrate ratersTreat recruiting like a funnel Diagram the experience and identify potential leakage Qualify leads (i.e. comp expectations, ideal role, location)Find people Google isn’t chasing but have even more talent and grit
Some qualities to look for in hiring…
Drive and grit
Bias to action
High integrity and low ego
High slop and learning velocity
A person who is long-term oriented
A micro-pessimist and macro-optimist
Drive and grit Bias to action High integrity and low ego High slop and learning velocityA person who is long-term oriented A micro-pessimist and macro-optimist
Don’t just interview the candidate, *sell* the candidate…
Quality interviews
Social time with the team
Consistent communication
Make them feel special, not a cog
Transparent and sensible process
Clear expectations of role across team
Quality interviewsSocial time with the teamConsistent communicationMake them feel special, not a cogTransparent and sensible processClear expectations of role across team
When onboarding a new employee…
Articulate what success looks like
The best indicator of how long they will stay is their experience on the first day
Make sure everything's set up so they can ship something on that day
Make sure they can understand company priorities
Articulate what success looks like The best indicator of how long they will stay is their experience on the first dayMake sure everything's set up so they can ship something on that dayMake sure they can understand company priorities
A hire isn't truly a hire until…
They've completed a 90-day plan
Have a hire write first draft of an annual review and co-define what success looks like
Then back into a 90-day plan (which should have been backed into from the job description)
They've completed a 90-day planHave a hire write first draft of an annual review and co-define what success looks likeThen back into a 90-day plan (which should have been backed into from the job description)
Give direct, clear, and concise feedback…
Give it during regular 1:1s
Make sure you ask for it too
You're looking for people to take ownership and show a growth-mindset
Make it a good experience for the feedback giver or else they won't give it
Give it during regular 1:1s Make sure you ask for it tooYou're looking for people to take ownership and show a growth-mindset Make it a good experience for the feedback giver or else they won't give it
Run group meetings well…
Make sure people are prepped ahead of time
Have a meeting owner to move people along
Have a note-taker to track decisions and next steps
Make sure people are prepped ahead of timeHave a meeting owner to move people alongHave a note-taker to track decisions and next steps
Measure performance and pull compensation levers…
Decouple performance review from bonus (do that before the review)
It’s more important to figure out fair compensation within the organization than within the market
The goal is no surprises: retain, renew, and reset
Decouple performance review from bonus (do that before the review)It’s more important to figure out fair compensation within the organization than within the marketThe goal is no surprises: retain, renew, and reset
Double down on your stars…
It's how you keep great people who would otherwise leave
Promote from within if you believe you have people who have 10x value creation
Improving their abilities is more important than trying to fix people who won't create 10x value
It's how you keep great people who would otherwise leave Promote from within if you believe you have people who have 10x value creationImproving their abilities is more important than trying to fix people who won't create 10x value
Fire crisply and kindly…
Cut the cord
Don't negotiate
Don't feel too terrible
Don't demote (usually)
Don't have long transition periods
You're letting people go to a different company where they will be more valued, more respected, and more successful
Cut the cordDon't negotiateDon't feel too terribleDon't demote (usually)Don't have long transition periodsYou're letting people go to a different company where they will be more valued, more respected, and more successful
Only when it’s clear you need one, hire an executive…
Don’t hire too senior, too soon (or too late)…
If you're not sure whether you need an exec, don't hire one
Understand whether the role is value protecting or value creating (spec accordingly)
Don’t hire too senior, too soon (or too late)…If you're not sure whether you need an exec, don't hire oneUnderstand whether the role is value protecting or value creating (spec accordingly)
The best executives…
Act like owners
Act as part of a team
Act as primary individual contributors
Act to build organizations, often from scratch
Act like ownersAct as part of a team Act as primary individual contributorsAct to build organizations, often from scratch
Source executives but don't outsource your evaluation…
Create a roadmap
Use data to write specs for the role
Know why you’re hiring and what you're hiring for
Hire the best person for the next nine months
A great exec pays back 10-100x+ more than the cost of a search
Create a roadmapUse data to write specs for the role Know why you’re hiring and what you're hiring forHire the best person for the next nine monthsA great exec pays back 10-100x+ more than the cost of a search
After you hire executives…
Manage them
But don’t micro-manage them, except temporarily
Ask people under them semi-regularly how they're doing
Manage themBut don’t micro-manage them, except temporarilyAsk people under them semi-regularly how they're doing
Lastly, don’t hesitate to fire an executive…
Judged by output of their organization
When you no longer trust them to build their org and you feel compelled to micro-manage
Andy Grove said you always fire a bad exec too late. If you're really good, 3 months too late
Judged by output of their organizationWhen you no longer trust them to build their org and you feel compelled to micro-manageAndy Grove said you always fire a bad exec too late. If you're really good, 3 months too late
Find the rest here...
Thread
https://twitter.com/jmikolay/status/1316413891098935298?s=20
This and other Big Idea Summaries
https://letter.substack.com/p/the-best-of-erik-torenberg-part-1
Thread
https://twitter.com/jmikolay/status/1316413891098935298?s=20This and other Big Idea Summaries
https://letter.substack.com/p/the-best-of-erik-torenberg-part-1
