Setting expectations

Being explicit at the start about what success in a role looks like: the outcomes, the standard, the timeframe and how it will be judged.

Example

"Success this quarter is 40 qualified leads a month at CAC under $300. Brand work is not a priority until Q3."

Important

Most performance problems are expectation problems. People rarely fail at a job they clearly understood — saying what is NOT a priority is the part that makes the rest unambiguous.

Related terms

• OKRs — Objectives (what you want) paired with Key Results (the measurable evidence you got it).
• Feedback — Telling someone specifically what you observed and what effect it had, close to when it happened.
• 1:1 — A recurring private conversation between a manager and a person who reports to them.
• Delegation — Handing over an outcome, with the authority to decide how it gets done.

Lessons that explain it

• Defining the role — Write what success looks like in twelve months before you write the job advert. Most bad hires start here. (12 min)
• Running a fair hiring process — Same questions, work samples over CVs, and a decision made against the definition rather than against a feeling. (12 min)
• Onboarding someone properly — The first two weeks decide whether a good hire becomes a good employee. Most startups improvise this and lose months. (10 min)
• Giving feedback — Specific, soon, and about the effect. Vague or delayed feedback is unkind, whatever it feels like at the time. (10 min)

All 176 terms in the Founder glossary