How I Get Left Alone At Work
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech, & Live Events 11.3.23
Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events
Be great and get left alone.
A personal preference here but: I like being left alone to do my job. Now don't get me wrong, I love learning from those around, ahead, and behind me in their careers and seek those people out. But I don't like someone micro-managing me.
When I got to StubHub at 25, I was a pretty green sales kid. I had a Director and a VP I reported to. When I started, I had weekly 1x1s with them where we'd discuss what I was doing, my pipeline, my opps and discuss best practices alongside some check-in calls after big meetings and near the end of quarters.
I was blessed to have a lot of success at StubHub and quickly became the #1 rep in the standings. Something I'm still proud of.
As time went on, fewer people were checking in on me. I rarely had 1x1s. Nobody called to ask how a meeting went. Nobody ran my activities reports. I had no quotas. It was great. Our top reps at TicketManager are having the same experience.
Everyone asks me what it's like to have people "up in my business - especially private equity." I wouldn't know. They're not "up my business" at all. If I need them or want their help, they're immediately there. But they're never "pestering." They're terrific.
Three things I've learned to get people to trust you enough: leave you alone. They sound so simple, and that's why they're so important.
1) Commit to overcommunication. And never apologize for it.
We all have three choices:
A) Under-communicate
B) Over-communicate
C) Thread the needle.
Threading the needle is too hard. So I do this:
Share an easy-to-consume summary at least every other week. I include the 5-5-3, something taught to me by a mentor much more intelligent than I am. I do these with 2-minute videos.
✅ 5 things that are working well
✅ 5 things that we need to focus on/improve
✅ 3 most important events of the next 90 days
Every month, I send numbers with a commentary
Once a quarter, I provide a more detailed breakdown of what we're doing.
2) Bad news rides the express train
All bad news needs to travel within 24 hours - and likely faster. Only most people do it backward.
I've been running teams for nearly twenty years. Everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to be the messenger of good news. The minute we close a new deal, I have nine people telling me about it through different mediums.
But the bad news? I have to hunt it down. Even then, people hide it as they try to fix it.
Share bad news right away. Share it quickly and let everyone know you're taking steps to resolve it.
3) Hit your numbers
The single most important part. Hit your numbers. I've shared the "scoreboard" story numerous times.
If you deliver, you will not only be left alone but you'll be given more. Be at the top, and everyone will leave you alone.
And a fourth, just for good measure:
When you find the stars, leave them alone. Let them do what they do as long as they keep delivering.