How To Use Performance Metrics, KPIs, and Goals

After the actual interview process, the onboarding process is an employee's first true exposure to your company. A good onboarding process leaves a lasting good impression and sets up the employee to make a quick impact. On today's episode of Management 101, I talk through what makes a successful employee onboarding process, and also the typical mistakes managers make during onboarding that they don't realize are holding back their teams.

Whether you're a first-time manager, owner of a business, or a seasoned founder or executive, the only way you can run your business or team effectively is by first understanding its performance through numbers. In today's episode, we dive into how to numerically measure the performance of a business or team, how to track and communicate those numbers, and how to set effective goals based on them.

The only constant in the corporate world is change. How a leader implements change in their company, though, is the difference between success and failure of that company over time. Do it well and the company continues to innovate or be relevant while retaining and engaging its employees. Do it poorly and any one of those things doesn't happen. In today's episode of Management 101, I discuss what good and bad change management look like, and how to do more of the former and less of the latter.

Founders and business owners come in all shapes and sizes, but there are some clear common themes amongst those who find success and those who struggle to manage their business. In today's episode, I explore what makes a good and what makes a bad founder or business owner with Chrissy Donnelly, the founder of Cultivo, a consultancy and coaching service for startups.

Every manager makes mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are easy to identify. Sometimes they're not. The most impactful mistakes managers make are often the ones that are hardest for them to recognize. In today's episode, I discuss a few of the most frustrating mistakes that managers make, how to recognize that they've occurred, and what to do about them.

Filling your team with great talent is essential to being a successful manager. But hiring is hard, particularly for first-time leaders, as it requires a number of skill sets, including effective planning, coordination, and self-awareness of one's own blind spots. In today's episode, I'm joined by a hiring and recruiting expert, Dane Zink of Product Hiring House, who discusses with me the most important components to a good interview process, the best sources of talent, and how to identify candidates who will fit your company's culture.

The most successful teams and companies use data to make better decisions. But how should a manager or company leader think about getting data into their teams and decision-making processes? In today's episode I'm joined by a data and product expert, David Shapir, who helps me break down the best ways to think about gathering data, using it, and enabling teams to improve their decision-making abilities.

In this episode of Management 101, I am joined by Executive and Leadership Coach Spencer Fertig, and today we're trying something different. Instead of diving deep into one topic, we covered seven. The result is something like Pardon The Interruption, but about 83% less contentious and 20% more comical. Today's topics:Hourly workers vs salariedManaging upwardManaging Gen ZConflict resolutionThe career mountain vs the career ladderHandling layoffsCrisis management

How do you hold employees accountable? Every leader struggles to do so, particularly in a startup environment where they tend to be spread very thin. In today’s episode of Management 101, I talk through: Setting expectationsDocument those expectationsChecking in on progress towards meetings those expectationsCelebrating wins and productively handling failureI also go through some key mistakes that I see managers make most often in the area of accountability.

Every growing company has daily and existential challenges that its leaders are constantly dealing with. In today's episode I dive into the most common ones: lack of focus, slowness to pivot, moving too fast, forgetting to scale, and hiring doers instead of thinkers.