Career Ladder

How Do You Handle an Underperforming Employee

As a manager, it is important to look for patterns of inefficiency when dealing with underperformance. Open conversations should be had with employees, and expectations should be clearly communicated. Firing should be a last resort, and managers should approach the situation with empathy and care. Follow up should be done to ensure that expectations are being met.

Best Product Ideas Will Come When You Stop Forcing Them

This article discusses the process of coming up with a new product idea, specifically for HR software. It outlines the steps to take, such as learning more about the industry, identifying barriers to entry, and understanding the direction of the company. It also emphasizes the importance of not being discouraged by existing competition and understanding the challenges of competing with well-trained humans. Finally, it suggests that patterns will emerge once the client base reaches a certain size, and that a product should be built around one of these patterns.

A Founder’s Dilemma: Choosing Between Technology and Customers

This article discusses the importance of understanding customer needs and not getting too caught up in the technical details of building a product. It emphasizes the need for founders to become emotionally detached from their products and to talk to other founders and get an advisor to help them prioritize their priorities. Ultimately, the goal is to build something that customers are looking for and to focus on customer needs rather than the latest technology.

How to Use Career Grids to Formalize Career Paths

This article outlines the process of establishing formal career paths and career development procedures. It details the actions taken to create career grids, which are personalized for each employee and used to assess progress and determine promotions. It also discusses the lessons learned from the process, such as the importance of keeping career documents updated and the challenges of grading consistency.

Being Reactive with Compensation Requests and Concerns

A person on the team had been offered a nearly full-time position with a low salary due to her studies, but asked for a full-time job with a market average salary. The company delayed their response, and when the person found another job with a better offer, the company proposed something close to it. The lesson learned was that if someone is of value and doing good work, the company should be quick to respond and show their appreciation. Delaying the response ended up costing the company more than if they had been more reactive.

How to Transition Into an Executive Role

An engineer realized that technical skills alone would not help him grow his career, so he began to focus on learning the language of business, understanding what motivates people, and building high-performance teams. He gained an MBA to validate himself and gain clarity on what he wanted to pursue. After years of dedication to his company, he was able to become the Chief Technology Officer. He learned that time management is the number one challenge when moving into an executive role, and that growing your career is not about being the best at what you do, but being the best collaborator you can be.