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Firing employees. Restructuring your company. These are all difficult aspects of running a business. We shed some light on how to handle it with grace.
Justworks is a technology company that levels the playing field for all small businesses. Through our software and as a partner, we help our customers take care of their teams, streamline their operations, and navigate the complex aspects of managing a workforce with confidence.
It’s a story aspiring entrepreneurs hear often: employers highlight the success their company has found through a pinch of luck, a market need, and a clever strategy. But behind the glamour, the challenges of running a business can feel crushing — something entrepreneurs don’t always talk about in the spotlight.
As Bob Parsons, the founder of GoDaddy put it, “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.” Both PivotDesk and Justworks help entrepreneurs free themselves from those challenges and simplify running their businesses.
And so, together, PivotDesk and Justworks built the Fearless Confessions eBook. We’ve compiled advice and tips from PivotDesk CEO David Mandell and Justworks CEO Isaac Oates on how to….
Build a core set of company values. This section walks through both Justworks and PivotDesk’s company values, and how each company has approached the process of establishing those values. It also includes tips on building your own company’s values, like having a discussion with your team members, voting on values, and crafting the language to offer the most impact.
Hire and fire according to your values. Both the CEOs of Justworks and PivotDesk have experience with making difficult personnel decisions. This part of the eBook outlines how to stick to your company’s founding principles when making the challenging decisions to bring someone on or cut them loose.
Restructure your company. Learn how to play to employee strengths as your company takes new shape. Isaac and David discuss how to give employees ownership over their new roles in a newly restructured company, and how to restructure in a way that is predictable (for now).
Looking for a more thorough overview? Here’s a roundup of all of Isaac and David’s Fearless Confessions interviews. We give a quick summary of each Q&A, along with some choice pieces of advice.
Leadership Tips
On Company Values
Isaac: How to Choose the Right Values for Your Company
In this Q&A, Isaac covers how he determined Justworks’ company values, and why setting those values mattered early on. He also discusses the process of hiring for company values, and gives advice for entrepreneurs creating core values that will stick.
David: Why Company Values Are More Important Than You Think
In this Q&A, David discusses the importance of company values and how PivotDesk formalized their values and ensured they were upheld. His piece of advice? “Once in awhile, try to get your head out of the weeds and look up to evaluate the big picture.”
On Hiring and Firing
Issac: Building a Long-Lasting Company When Hiring and Firing
Hiring new employees can be one of the most rewarding aspects of running a business. But it can come with its downsides, especially when that person isn’t the right fit or has broken your company’s values in some way. Isaac walks through how he makes firing decisions and his deal breakers on when he knows it’s time to let go.
David: Hiring and Firing with Dignity
Choosing the right people for your company is one of the most important choices you’ll make as a leader. In this piece, David offers his advice on how to put your company values first, get the timing right, and respond when things don’t go as planned. He also has a tip for when you should hire new employees: “Simple: Hire when there’s pain.”
On Company Restructuring
Isaac: How to Approach Company Restructuring
In this post, Isaac discusses his key approach to team and company structuring, pods. He also gives some sage advice for companies still starting out: “The biggest thing is not trying to build the ‘perfect’ organization. Just build an organization that’s going to yield the best results for the next 6-12 months.”
David: How Restructuring Our Sales Team Helped Us Optimize for Predictability
What aspects should you look at when your company is restructuring? David discusses how he chose an adaptable revenue model for his team, and how he got the team to buy into the restructuring. “The biggest challenge is getting people to buy into the vision,” he says.
You can download the full eBook with tips for leadership effectiveness here.
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