"3 Ps - People, Product and Profits in that order"

Need to communicate the "why" along with the "what" - have to build a good place to work regardless of what the company's outcome is

(a) Create a culture that rewards not punishes problems. Avoid management maxim of coming to boss with a problem without solution.

(b) How to deal with layoffs

• Open house meeting with all employees - explain problem
• Be honest with self - what is the cause for layoff? Individual perf or co perf
• Managers need to layoff - training, information for managers re benefits

(c) Firing an executive

• Your failure not exec failure
• Did not define role to exec? Hired not on strengths? Couldn't define the role - generic job? Didn't integrate into team?

(d) Importance of training:

• Training is the highest leverage task you can perform as a manager
• Training allows for standard setting in performance reviews
• Functional training vs management training - for the job and how to manage people
• Withhold new employee requisition until training programme in place

(e) Making outsized senior hires

• Understand motivation: more creativity or stock option driven?
• Are they interrupt-driven (used to incoming work) or will they take initiative?
• To make leadership team hires, you have to be in the role yourself - can the board help you here? Need to identify who can sit on interviews and who can help integrate into the company