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Load-bearing / Career-minded / Act Two rationales | Irrational Exuberance

lethain.com · 1,606 words · saved by 1 readers

One of the common conceits in leadership is that nobody is truly essential for a company’s continuity. I call it a conceit, but I do mostly agree with it: I’ve felt literally sick after hearing about some peer’s unexpected departure, but I’m continually amazed at how resilient companies are to departures, even of important people. About two-thirds of Digg’s team left in layoffs in 2010, but we found ways to amble on. Much of Uber’s leadership team turned over in the 2017 era, and it was chaotic, but they continued on. However, even if organizations are too resilient to collapse from departures, some departures are more impactful than others. I think of folks whose departures would leave a large hole–whose departures require reworking how the company works–as “load-bearing.” Someone is load-bearing to the extent that there’s no meaningful way to replace them. Their departure would leave an irregularly shaped hole, such that no existing member of your company can fill it, and hiring an e

One of the common conceits in leadership is that nobody is truly essential for a company’s continuity. I call it a conceit, but I do mostly agree with it: I’ve felt literally sick after hearing about some peer’s unexpected departure, but I’m continually amazed at how resilient companies are to departures, even of important people. About two-thirds of Digg’s team left in layoffs in 2010, but we found ways to amble on. Much of Uber’s leadership team turned over in the 2017 era, and it was chaotic, but they continued on. However, even if organizations are too resilient to collapse from departures

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