Creating & Achieving Goals
11/10/20 • 20 min
In Episode 5, Matt and Alex discuss how clear company goals and objectives can prevent all sorts of communication problems. They share Clearbit’s approach to OKRs and annual planning, as well as their top management myths about delegation, trust, and measuring targets.
We believe great management makes the world a better place. At Clearbit, we’re writing a handbook to train our managers, and we’re sharing it online at themanagershandbook.com. Each episode of this podcast accompanies a chapter of the book, and we get on the mic to discuss it in-depth, covering topics from hiring to conflict resolution to developing consciousness as a leader.
The Manager’s Handbook Podcast is hosted by Matt Sornson (CMO) and Alex MacCaw (CEO) of Clearbit.
Resources
Asana’s Pyramid of Clarity
6 Questions Every Employee Should Be Able to Answer
Chapter 5 - Creating & achieving goals
What we’ll learn about on this episode:
(00:49) - Why communication problems are actually planning problems - “The status update meeting is a signal that there is no clarity.”
(03:58) - Breaking down Asana’s Pyramid of Clarity - “It shows how our longer-term aspirations are built on top of shorter-term goals.”
(12:54) - Choosing a suitable accountability tool - “One of our big learnings has been visibility.”
(14:49) - How to incorporate creatives into the clarity plans - “Great managers set goals, not tasks.”
(16:07) - On task-relevant maturity - “It’s a framework for deciding what to delegate and what not to delegate. It really depends on your level of conviction.”
(17:45) - The Manager’s Myths - “These myths keep managers from capitalizing on their team’s potential.”
About Clearbit:
Clearbit is the marketing data engine for customer interactions, made with love in the heart of San Francisco. If you want more details on how we help businesses grow, please see our solutions, products, and integrations at clearbit.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and tell us what you think.
In Episode 5, Matt and Alex discuss how clear company goals and objectives can prevent all sorts of communication problems. They share Clearbit’s approach to OKRs and annual planning, as well as their top management myths about delegation, trust, and measuring targets.
We believe great management makes the world a better place. At Clearbit, we’re writing a handbook to train our managers, and we’re sharing it online at themanagershandbook.com. Each episode of this podcast accompanies a chapter of the book, and we get on the mic to discuss it in-depth, covering topics from hiring to conflict resolution to developing consciousness as a leader.
The Manager’s Handbook Podcast is hosted by Matt Sornson (CMO) and Alex MacCaw (CEO) of Clearbit.
Resources
Asana’s Pyramid of Clarity
6 Questions Every Employee Should Be Able to Answer
Chapter 5 - Creating & achieving goals
What we’ll learn about on this episode:
(00:49) - Why communication problems are actually planning problems - “The status update meeting is a signal that there is no clarity.”
(03:58) - Breaking down Asana’s Pyramid of Clarity - “It shows how our longer-term aspirations are built on top of shorter-term goals.”
(12:54) - Choosing a suitable accountability tool - “One of our big learnings has been visibility.”
(14:49) - How to incorporate creatives into the clarity plans - “Great managers set goals, not tasks.”
(16:07) - On task-relevant maturity - “It’s a framework for deciding what to delegate and what not to delegate. It really depends on your level of conviction.”
(17:45) - The Manager’s Myths - “These myths keep managers from capitalizing on their team’s potential.”
About Clearbit:
Clearbit is the marketing data engine for customer interactions, made with love in the heart of San Francisco. If you want more details on how we help businesses grow, please see our solutions, products, and integrations at clearbit.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and tell us what you think.
Previous Episode
The Remote Series with Wade Foster
Welcome to The Remote Series, where CEOs of remote-first companies share guidance on how to lead an organization when everyone’s working from home. The Remote Series is hosted by Alex MacCaw, CEO at Clearbit, and coach Matt Mochary, author of The Great CEO Within.
In Episode 2 of The Remote Series, Zapier’s co-founder and CEO Wade Foster discuss hiring, feedback, and cultivating authentic relationships in a digital-first company. COVID-19 pushed CEOs and their teams to turn remote, and even though plenty of people are willing to go back to the office, the experience will never be the same.
Resources
Zapier’s The ultimate guide to remote work
The key talking points for this episode:
(02:04) - Strong values are the core of remote companies - “In a remote company you could become this odd collection of individuals doing random assignments, you really don’t want that.”
(06:30) - Interviewing and evaluating prospects remotely - “When you look at these situations, how far does a person go? How far do they try and push it to uncover a thing that seems worth working on?”
(08:33) - Growing through feedback - “The best thing you can do for yourself, whether you are a CEO or not, is show that you’re a person that likes to get feedback and is good at getting it.”
(15:08) - How camaraderie and real connections are built in remote companies - “If you get this stuff right, the culture takes over. The people and the company take over and just start to expand it and build on it.”
(31:09) - Why the hybrid model may not be ideal for most companies - “It requires a level of discipline that’s even above and beyond what you see in a fully remote company.”
(36:25) - Home is the new office: how to upgrade the remote environment - “When we do come back into the workforce, it’s not going to be the same office experience that folks have come to love.”
(44:55) - Why you should stick to fully remote permanently - “To me, having access to this massive talent pool is just so beneficial to our success.”
Next Episode
Information Sharing
Episode 6 is about information sharing, which gets trickier as a company grows its team. Matt and Alex discuss rules for using tools like Slack, email, Asana, and Chorus, and share how Notion houses Clearbit’s Areas of Responsibility and internal wiki.
Employees don’t want to drink from a firehose, but they do want transparency. If information is organized and easy to find, everyone can work efficiently, get inspired to solve problems for the company, and build trust with leadership.
We believe great management makes the world a better place. At Clearbit, we’re writing a handbook to train our managers, and we’re sharing it online at themanagershandbook.com. Each episode of this podcast accompanies a chapter of the book, and we get on the mic to discuss it in-depth, covering topics from hiring to conflict resolution to developing consciousness as a leader.
The Manager’s Handbook Podcast is hosted by Matt Sornson (CMO) and Alex MacCaw (CEO) of Clearbit.
Resources
What we’ll learn about on this episode:
(00:41) - How to turn down the info firehose - “It really comes down to the right information on the right channel to the right people.”
(05.27) - How to properly use Slack with your team - “We are trying to avoid private messaging people if possible, and ask questions in the public channel so that others can learn from the answer.”
(07:10) - How transparency inspires creative thinking - “Transparency really helps shine light on whatever problems the company is facing.”
(09:59) - On organized documentation and Areas of Responsibility - “Every single process in the company has an owner.”
(13:09) - Wiki excellence - “People need to get value out of the wiki in order to give value back to the wiki.”
About Clearbit:
Clearbit is the marketing data engine for customer interactions, made with love in the heart of San Francisco. If you want more details on how we help businesses grow, please see our solutions, products, and integrations at clearbit.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and tell us what you think.
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