When the team is looking to you to lead
100 cards from 17 books, filed under “Hiring and leading”. Newest first; every row is the card’s title and the moment you would use it.
#c1558The Seminal Fire: Active Logos, Passive Matter & Cosmic ConflagrationScaling a creative franchise, open-source project, or decentralized team where you cannot micromanage every branch, and need an immanent…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers
#c1543The Upward and Downward Road of FireUse when a leader or team tries to eliminate all internal conflict between competing departments (e.g., risk vs. growth, engineering vs.…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers
#c1517The Daemonic Mean and the Art of the Severe LoverRecruiting and forging high-potential proteges who are immune to cheap praise, or writing a mentor-student relationship that avoids…From Handbook of Platonism
#c1506Elemental Daimones, Star-Vehicles, and Invisible BoltsUse when deciding what a founder or CEO should personally sign versus delegate, or when winding down a legacy project whose team has…From Handbook of Platonism
#c1495The Sovereign Sanctuary of ContemplationUse when designing a personal operating system under unstable political or corporate conditions, or when tempted to let reactive…From Handbook of Platonism
#c1492The Divine Race and the Law of Non-InterventionBreaking learned helplessness in teams, coaching individuals who are waiting for a mentor or system to save them, or recommitting to…From The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
#c1478Friendship Under Power and NecessityManaging co-founder disputes, long-term creative partnerships, or moments when you are tempted to scrap a valuable alliance over minor…From The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
#c1455The Useless HangmanA manager writes a zero-tolerance firing policy for tiny clock-in errors. Kill the policy and fix the scheduling software instead.From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1454The Quota NumbnessHR fires people every week and staff make memes about the walkouts. Stop using threats to motivate the team and fix the broken workflow.From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1453The Blade Eats Its MakersA newly promoted boss plans a public bloodbath to fix company culture. Point out that the survivors will spend years fighting each other in…From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1451The Enforcer MutinyManagement orders middle managers to fire half their own hungry teams. Expect those managers to leak company secrets or walk out with the…From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1443Empty Stomachs Break The Strictest BriefingWhen a crunch-week team starts talking about skipping test gates to go home, order food and enforce an eight-hour sleep break first.From The Hobbit
#c1442Stealth Hides You From Your Own RescueWhen you work off the grid to avoid micromanagement during a crisis, send one daily status line to the person controlling headcount.From The Hobbit
#c1384Give them the facts and let them chooseYour team is being asked to choose sides and you've been filtering what they know.From Matriarch
#c1380Four equal looks or noneA resource or spotlight only fits one person on a team that has to stay united.From Matriarch
#c1374Don't fight the fight for themYou could make a problem go away for someone on your team with one phone call.From Matriarch
#c1373You are your only competitionSomeone you're coaching wants you to fight a battle they could win by getting better.From Matriarch
#c1372Pay well and help them outgrow youYou're afraid that developing your best people will mean losing them.From Matriarch
#c1371Hire fresh, and fire for gossipA talented person is quietly poisoning the atmosphere and you're hesitating.From Matriarch
#c1369Everyone is special under the dryerYou're tempted to create a VIP tier that makes regular customers feel second class.From Matriarch
#c1362The SNL model: launch stars and expect them to leaveYour best people keep getting poached and you're deciding whether to fight it or build around it.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1361Pay before they askSomeone on your team is clearly outperforming their deal and hasn't brought it up.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1350Rising nobodies beat established starsYou're deciding between a proven big name and a hungry up-and-comer.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1349Let talented people run wildYou've hired someone strong and catch yourself steering their ideas.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1348Hire for a track record of outputYou're hiring for a role where sustained output matters and candidates can show what they've already made.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1347The job ad that filters for love of the gameYou can't pay yet and need contributors who care about the work itself.From Cancel Me If You Can
#c1341Know the boss's priorities and get them doneYou're new in a role and want to become indispensable quickly.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1339Mission first, people alwaysA deadline is pulling you toward burning out the people who meet it.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1338Leaders asking for help gives others permissionYou want people on your team to raise problems they've been hiding.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1337Marine Corps Leadership 101 for a campaignYou're running a first-time team on an underdog project.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1335Do something, or be something?You're starting a new role and deciding what kind of reputation to build.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1334Go home to your bossesYou spend most of your time with peers and insiders and want to stay anchored to the people you serve.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1331Ten bills, ten signaturesYou're setting first-year priorities and the list keeps growing.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1328Lead, follow, or get out of the wayYour group is stalled waiting for someone else to move first.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1325Be ready to be misunderstood by your own sidePeople you respect are pressing you to reverse a decision you still believe is right.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1324It's always easier to vote noYou support a compromise that has obvious flaws and opposing it would be easier.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1317How many more beakers for five dollars?You need a team to care about costs that seem far removed from the real work.From Digital Impact
#c1316Every system thinks it's the smartest in the roomYou're mediating between teams, partners or systems that each insist on their own way of working.From Digital Impact
#c1314Moving out of mom and dad's houseYou're leading a team through a complex separation or launch and need everyone pointed the same way.From Digital Impact
#c1313Change management starts at go-liveYou're planning a big rollout and the plan ends on launch day.From Digital Impact
#c1309Let manufacturing see the design earlyTeams downstream discover problems only after the upstream team has committed.From Digital Impact
#c1308Ask the CIO: what's the status of our data?Leadership is excited about an AI initiative and nobody has checked the inputs.From Digital Impact
#c1305The three Ps, and the biggest PYou're planning a rollout and the plan is mostly about the platform.From Digital Impact
#c1304My systems would work well if you stopped using themA support function is optimizing for its own metrics at the expense of the people it serves.From Digital Impact
#c1303Ask whose life gets easierYou're approving a technology project justified by the system rather than the user.From Digital Impact
#c1298Your reputation is a teacupCutting a corner or snubbing someone junior looks free in the short run.From Trade Outside the Box
#c1282Worry about what you're doingYou're frustrated by others getting the opportunities and have stopped working on your own game.From Trade Outside the Box
#c1275Lead from a circle, not a mountainYou're trying to win people over by announcing things at them.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1269Constituents need to know whyYou're closing a deal at the top that the wider team will have to carry out.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1266Only the parties can make the peaceYou're brokering a deal and one side has sent someone who can't commit.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1265Be an honest broker, not a neutral oneYou're mediating between two people or teams and feel you have to hide your own views.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1262Ignored allies send the bill laterYou're settling something that affects a partner who isn't in the room.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1250Move people one rung at a timeYou want deep commitment from someone who has barely engaged yet.From This Is the Plan
#c1246Build leaders before you knock on doorsYou're launching an effort and are tempted to start the work before you have people to lead it.From This Is the Plan
#c1245Meet them, bond, then askYou need someone to take an action for a cause and you've just met them.From This Is the Plan
#c1242Do something, regularly, for a long timeYou're asking people to commit to a long cause and they look overwhelmed.From This Is the Plan
#c1240Small groups are the secret sauceYou're trying to sustain a long effort on willpower alone.From This Is the Plan
#c1231External rewards don't build a loopYou're relying on treats or bonuses to keep yourself or a team going on long work.From How to Take Smart Notes
#c1217Tie yourself to the mast with the workflowYou keep resolving to be more disciplined and want to design the process so discipline isn't required.From How to Take Smart Notes
#c1207Pick the general for war, the magistrate for officeEveryone assumes the person who runs the place should also lead the hard project.From Carthage: A New History
#c1201No wine at the helm or on the benchYou need a sobriety rule people will actually keep.From Carthage: A New History
#c1196Post the price listYou run something where insiders set the price and outsiders can't check it.From Carthage: A New History
#c1193Choose for merit and for meansYou are filling a role where talent matters and so does having something to lose.From Carthage: A New History
#c1192Full authority in the field, full liability at homeYou are handing someone a large project far from oversight.From Carthage: A New History
#c1191Pay off the army in stages, in sightYou owe a large group money you can't pay all at once.From Carthage: A New History
#c1180The ifs and the buts are out of seasonA big operation depends on supplies you've delegated and never verified.From Self-Help
#c1161Send the dish to the absent friendGood work happens out of your sight and you want people to know you noticed.From Cyropaedia
#c1160Seat people by merit and let the seating moveYour team can't tell who is doing well or what doing well earns.From Cyropaedia
#c1158Feed the camp servants like soldiersYour support staff are held to high standards and rewarded like an afterthought.From Cyropaedia
#c1157Make the new standard a point of honorYou're introducing a new tool or skill and people keep slipping back to the old way.From Cyropaedia
#c1156Don't quarrel with all your people at onceA whole team let you down and you're about to come down on all of them together.From Cyropaedia
#c1155Many king's eyes, never oneYou rely on a single trusted source to tell you what's really happening.From Cyropaedia
#c1154My friends are my treasuryYou're weighing whether to keep the surplus or spread it among your key people.From Cyropaedia
#c1153Have a friend claim the truant's estateKey people keep skipping the meetings where decisions get made.From Cyropaedia
#c1152Tens, hundreds, thousands, and one orderYou're the bottleneck for every decision in a growing organization.From Cyropaedia
#c1151Clubs against clodsYou want a lesson to spread through a team without issuing a directive.From Cyropaedia
#c1150Put merit pay to a vote you expect to winYou're switching from equal splits to performance-based rewards.From Cyropaedia
#c1149If it's night, plan the dayYour team keeps arriving in the morning to find nobody has decided the day's priorities.From Cyropaedia
#c1146Be greedy for your share of the coldYour team is pulling a hard stretch and you're working from somewhere comfortable.From Cyropaedia
#c1145Don't cry the view-halloo too oftenYou're about to tell the team, again, that this quarter will turn things around.From Cyropaedia
#c1144Set competitions with prizesTraining feels like a chore and nobody practises unless forced.From Cyropaedia
#c1143An idle army eats itselfYour team is between projects and you're letting the gap drift.From Cyropaedia
#c1142Doctors patch, leaders preventYou're proud of your support function and it's mostly cleaning up avoidable problems.From Cyropaedia
#c1141The general's teacher only taught tacticsYou're hiring or training a manager on technical skill alone.From Cyropaedia
#c1140Pay above the promise and it lands as a giftYou're deciding whether a bonus should be built into the contract or given on top.From Cyropaedia
#c1138Don't plan on supplies you haven't countedYour plan depends on a partner's resources you have never actually seen.From Cyropaedia
#c1137Are you a high-priced man?You are offering more pay in exchange for following a prescribed method exactly.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1136Convert one worker, then wait for a quarter to tipYou are rolling out a new way of working and want to announce it to everyone on day one.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1135Copying the tools without the philosophy breaks thingsYou are adopting another company's process tools as a quick fix.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1132Select for the one trait the job turns onYou are hiring on general merit for a job that depends on one measurable ability.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1128The vote said no, the shorter day raised outputYou plan to put a change to a group vote that people agreed to one by one.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1126Wish them well at the higher rate and leave the door openA competitor is offering your people a better headline rate.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1125Gangs sink to the worst man in themOutput from a team effort is lower than its members manage alone.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1124Send a teacher before you fireSomeone misses targets in their first month and the reflex is to let them go.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1123White slip, yellow slipPeople find out how they're doing only at an annual review.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1118Replace the one foreman with eight specialistsOne supervisor is expected to coach quality, speed, scheduling and discipline all at once.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1117Stop hunting for the ready-made hireA role has been open for months because nobody fully qualified applies.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1115The twelve-year-old caddy's pay lessonYou are setting up pay for work where you can't easily see the pace.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1114Cut the rate twice and you've trained them to hold backYou are tempted to raise a quota because someone beat it.From The Principles of Scientific Management
#c1113Workers slow down to keep the record secretYour team's estimates never get shorter no matter how familiar the work becomes.From The Principles of Scientific Management