From a Stripe and Google executive, a practical guide to company building and scaling the most important resource it has: its people.
A leader at both Google and Stripe from their early days, Claire Hughes Johnson has worked with founders and company builders to try to replicate their success. The most common questions she’s asked are not about business strategy — they’re about how to scale the operating structures and people systems of a rapidly growing startup.
Scaling People is a practical and empathetic guide to being an effective leader and manager in a high-growth environment. The tactical information it puts forward — including guidance on crafting foundational documents, strategic and financial planning, hiring and team development, and feedback and performance mechanisms — can be applied to companies of any size, in any industry. Scaling People includes dozens of pages of worksheets, templates, exercises, and example documents to help founders, leaders, and company builders create scalable operating systems and lightweight processes that really work.
Implementing effective leadership and management practices takes effort and discipline, but the reward is a sustainable, scalable company that’s set up for long-term success. Scaling People is a detailed roadmap for company builders to put the right operating systems and structures in place to scale the most important resource a company has: its people.
By:
Claire Hughes Johnson
Imprint: Stripe Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781953953216
ISBN 10: 1953953212
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 01 July 2023
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Setting your metronome The core frameworks Who is this book for? How to read this book Exercises and templates Chapter 1 Essential Operating Principles 1. Build self-awareness to build mutual awareness 2. Say the thing you think you cannot say 3. Distinguish between management and leadership 4. Come back to your operating system Exercises and templates Chapter 2 Core Framework 1: Foundations and Planning for Goals and Resources Founding documents The operating system Operating cadence Exercises and templates Chapter 3 Core Framework 2: A Comprehensive Hiring Approach Recruiting Hiring Onboarding Hiring mistakes Exercises and templates Chapter 4 Core Framework 3: Intentional Team Development Team structures Diagnosing team state Team changes and restructuring (Re)building the team Creating the team environment Team-building complexities Diversity and inclusion Team communication Exercises and templates Chapter 5 Core Framework 4: Feedback and Performance Mechanisms Hypothesis-based coaching Giving hard feedback Creating a culture of informal feedback The formal review process Compensation Managing high performers Managing low performers Managing managers Managing out, firing, and layoffs Some final thoughts on management Exercises and templates Conclusion You Manage your time and energy Foster relationships Consider your career Endnotes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index About the Author
Claire Hughes Johnson is a corporate officer and advisor at Stripe. Previously, she was chief operating officer at Stripe from 2014 to 2021, helping the company grow from fewer than 200 employees to more than 8,000. At various times, she led business operations, sales, marketing, customer support, risk, real estate, and all of the people functions, including recruiting and HR. Prior to Stripe, she spent 10 years at Google leading business teams, including overseeing aspects of Gmail, Google Apps, and consumer operations, as well as serving as a vice president for AdWords, Google Offers, and Google’s self-driving car project. She serves on the boards of Ameresco, the Atlantic, Aurora Innovation, and HubSpot, and is a trustee and current board president of Milton Academy. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, two children, and two neurotic dachshunds
Reviews for Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building
Claire Johnson gave me some of the best feedback of my career: 'You don't ask for help often enough.' Whether you are a new manager or a CEO, there are going to be moments when you feel alone and need help. Odds are, the advice you need is in Scaling People. You are going to pull this book off your shelf over and over! -Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor and Just Work The practical guide to running a world-class organization... Claire has demystified how you run a large, high-performance organization, with clear concepts and practical templates that you can start implementing today. -Jason Citron, founder and CEO of Discord I was excited to learn that Claire Hughes Johnson has taken her many years of operating excellence from Stripe and Google and distilled it into a new book. Scaling People is a key book to be added to the shelf of any people leader and manager. -Elad Gil, entrepreneur, investor, and author of High Growth Handbook
