Higher Slow Fire Fast.
Higher slow, fire fast... I heard this somewhere—credit to the person who said it. But the real question is: how do we implement this without feeling like a revolving door? The answer lies in culture and communication. Whether you're a solo entrepreneur, a small business, a mid-sized company, or a large organization, your culture and how you communicate it will ultimately determine your retention rate.
Let’s not get too caught up in the weeds just yet. At a high level, it all starts with company culture.
Culture First: Who Are You?
Your culture is your DNA—it defines your company’s beliefs, values, code of conduct, and overall ethos. Every company is born from an idea, a need, or an opportunity that you pour your heart and sweat into. That foundation, that passion, is your culture. It’s a set of principles and a vision for how you see your company and the people who will be part of it. Your team carries this culture forward, making it essential to define it clearly and intentionally.
Communicate Relentlessly
Once you’ve defined your culture, the next step is to communicate it effectively. This is a crucial and ongoing task. Communicating culture isn’t just about talking the talk—you must walk the walk. You need to live and breathe your culture daily and lead by example.
But here’s the kicker: the right message can be completely undermined by the wrong messenger or the wrong medium. How you communicate—what you say, how you say it, where you say it, and to whom you say it—will determine how your culture is perceived. A single misstep in communication can break a relationship, derail a team project, and tarnish your credibility. And credibility? It takes years to build and seconds to destroy.
Sometimes, the message is fine, but the messenger isn’t. In those cases, you may need to make a tough call—because yes, sometimes, you do need to remove people who don’t align with the culture (fire fast).
The Hiring Process: Culture-First Approach
Now that you’ve built your culture and mastered how to communicate it, it’s time to integrate it into your hiring process. A strong hiring process is a direct extension of your culture.
Start with the job description. Clearly define the role, responsibilities, and—just as importantly—the kind of person who would thrive in it. Don’t just think in terms of skills; think in terms of personality, values, and work style. Get hyper-specific. You can keep an internal version that’s detailed while writing a broader, more general version for job postings, depending on the role.
Use personality assessments. These can help determine if a candidate is not only a good fit for the company but also for the specific team they’ll be working with.
Create an interview flow. Develop a structured interview process with a clear chain of command. Ensure that after each round, interviewers provide feedback that informs the next stage. This prevents redundancy and ensures alignment in decision-making.
Test for real-world fit. At some point in the interview process, introduce case study challenges that reveal a candidate’s blind spots. This isn’t about “gotcha” moments—it’s about uncovering how they think, problem-solve, and handle feedback. This will also expose biases and reveal if they are coachable.
Retention: Drink the Kool-Aid or Find Your Flavor
Hiring the right people is just the beginning. Retaining them requires reinforcing your culture every single day. Culture management focuses on placing people in the right roles, laying out clear expectations, and retraining those who believe in the company but aren’t thriving. Create an idea center where voices can be heard, innovations can be piloted, and concepts can evolve into meaningful contributions. People want to feel valued and heard, so fostering an environment where they can contribute meaningfully is key.
You also want to build teams that can self-correct teams that challenge themselves, push each other forward, and elevate the company as a whole. When teams take ownership of their growth and accountability, that’s when an organization thrives.
The best way to describe this process? Drink the Kool-Aid or go find your flavor. Hire slow, and when done right, the right people will stay. Those who aren’t the right fit? Fire fast. That’s how you build a strong, cohesive team that aligns with your vision and drives your company forward.