Creative methods from Pixar and animation studios

EO June 7, 2023

• Pixar's secret weapon is relentless iteration, not individual brilliance
• Humility and openness to notes separates sustainable creators from talented ones
• Strong-willed collaborators work best when given freedom, not constant direction

How Fountain scaled hourly worker hiring to 100 million applicants

EO May 21, 2023

• Blue-collar workers were ignored by HR tech — Fountain fixed that.
• Each growth stage ($1M, $10M, $50M) demands a completely different skill set.
• Enterprise customers hand-held Fountain into 77 countries and 35 languages.

What a levels document is and how to build one

HR Party of One May 2, 2023

• Three documents — scope, skills, salary — make up one levels framework
• Transparent pay criteria directly increase employee trust and motivation
• Building one requires C-suite, managers, and HR working together

How to hire a house manager and buy back your time

Dan Martell May 1, 2023

• One house manager beats coordinating five separate helpers
• Have them report to your executive assistant for seamless logistics
• Test-first hiring: video screen, Colby A profile, simulated task

How to find and work with the right COO for your stage of growth

Cameron Herold April 26, 2023

• The right COO for $2M–$100M is the wrong hire at $100M+
• Activity inventory: price every task before you know what to delegate
• COO as confidant, stabiliser, and brakes to the CEO's accelerator

How COOs Can Build a Better Hiring System

Cameron Herold April 23, 2023

• The wrong hire costs 15x their salary in opportunity cost and damage.
• Most managers interview without any training — and that's the core failure.
• Job postings are ads: a copywriter outperforms any HR-written description.

Seven ways COOs can build strong culture in a remote or hybrid team

Cameron Herold April 17, 2023

• Culture is alignment with values and vision, not office perks
• Every hire should rank above the team's median — not just fit in
• Onboard new employees with genesis story, values, and core purpose

Hiring top talent, delegation, and building a focused business

Cameron Herold April 13, 2023

• A-players are employed — build a company worth leaving for
• Delegate everything below your effective hourly rate, use fractional experts
• One core metric and three daily priorities drive outsized results

Quiet hiring: filling roles without new headcount

HR Party of One April 11, 2023

• Fill open needs using contractors or internal staff, not new hires
• Economic uncertainty made quiet hiring spike sharply in 2023
• Right framing turns reassignment into a career growth opportunity

Building a great business by growing people, not managing them

Cameron Herold April 10, 2023

• Why most leaders fail: they lack core skills, not market awareness
• The Vivid Vision: a written 3-year picture every employee can act on
• Hire motivated people — then grow skills and confidence in parallel

How to hire and integrate a strong COO

Cameron Herold April 3, 2023

• Your basket of tasks you hate defines exactly what COO to hire.
• The first 90 days: observe, stress-test, then win small — in that order.
• Most COOs don't scale 10x — plan to replace them when the season ends.

Building strong CEO-COO partnerships using Colby strengths

Cameron Herold March 30, 2023

• Your COO isn't arguing — they're catching up with your head
• The right COO for stage one will be wrong for stage three
• Great employees never look for jobs — you have to poach them

7 Tips for Creating a Dream Team: From Average to Awesome

Cameron Herold March 16, 2023

How to choose the right office perks for your team

HR Party of One March 16, 2023

• Perks that go unused destroy trust faster than having none
• Four questions reveal whether any perk is worth adding
• If your perk champion leaves, the programme usually dies with them

The core roles, traits, and hiring approach for a COO

Cameron Herold March 13, 2023

• Ask what you're hiring for before writing interview questions
• The COO's job is to make the CEO iconic, not share the spotlight
• Title and pay must match scope — inflated titles create real problems