Short pieces on hiring, culture, and the unglamorous work of building a people function. Cross-published from LinkedIn.
Early-stage HR is about deciding who you want to be when no one is forcing you to decide yet. The handbook you don't have is already the handbook.
You have a PR strategy with a benefits portal. HR is not there to soften what a leader says, it's there to make the conversation possible.
In 2026 the people you want already know the salary won't be the dealbreaker. Your LinkedIn is an interview. So is your job post.
What's something you got wrong in the last year, and what did it change about how you work? People who are actually learning can answer without flinching.
The tone you set in month three is the tone you'll be defending in year three. Hire slower than feels comfortable. Hire people you'd want to disagree with.
In high school my AP English teacher gave me an F for incorrectly analyzing a Billy Collins poem. I called Billy Collins. He sided with me.
