Tomasz Tunguz on Hiring the Right Talent, Firing the Wrong Execs, and Navigating M&As

Tomasz Tunguz is a General Partner at Theory Ventures and the writer of one of the best blog/newsletters in tech. Tom joins Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church to discuss the relationship between boards, founders and People leaders, and how HR strategies interact with boards in key moments of a company’s history, including M&A. If you’re looking for HR software that drives performance, check out Lattice https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics

After the interview, Nolan and Kelli discuss the dynamics of navigating politics at work in your companies.
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SPONSORS: Lattice | Continuum

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:
Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff
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KEEP UP WITH TOMASZ, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN
Tomasz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz/
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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LINKS:
Tomasz Tunguz’ Blog: https://tomtunguz.com/
Theory Ventures: https://theory.ventures/
Tom on Span of Control: https://tomtunguz.com/span-of-control/
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode preview
(02:40) Span of Control: eliminating middle management
(04:19) Tom's take on the ratio of managers to doers
(06:19) What should ARR per employee be?
(07:19) Talent today vs 5 years ago
(08:30) Tom's view on exec searches
(11:45) Evaluating the decision for a down round
(13:15) Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum
(15:00) Opportunities for new talent
(16:45) Flexibility of Mind
(19:15) Hiring: Getting it Right and Changing When It Goes Wrong
(20:40) How should departures be communicated to boards?
(21:00) Life cycle of an executive
(22:49) On interim roles
(25:15) How Tom diligences people
(26:20) What makes a great head of people
(30:30) Google's acquisition of Looker from Tom and Kelli's perspective
(31:00) How does a Mergers and Acquisition process work?
(37:00) The 3 kinds of Acquisitions
(39:15) Where the puck is going for venture-backed tech companies
(41:25) Predictions for AI