Resources from Kate

Entrepreneurs often dread firing, a difficult but unavoidable task when employees underperform or become toxic. Many postpone this decision, fearing conflict or the hassle of replacement, clinging to the "devil you know." However, delaying termination allows...

It’s hard to prepare people for the inevitable challenges they will face with their employees. But if you want to be an entrepreneur, not a solopreneur, some things are just par for the course: you’ll have exemplary employees, you’ll have people who don’t work out,...

Your first sales hire can make or break your ability to survive. Yet, founders often rush this critical decision. They get dazzled by charisma or fixate on finding someone “hungry” for commissions. But the traditional sales-hiring playbook doesn’t work for early-stage...

You can’t scale your business if you’re drowning in day-to-day, back-office tasks. The truth is, hiring an operations person is a strategic necessity. Yes, it’s overhead. Yes, it stings financially. But trying to do it all yourself is like putting your business in a...

Reference checks are often treated like a box-checking exercise at best or dismissed as worthless at worst. But reference checks aren’t about getting a thumbs-up or thumbs-down—they’re about understanding how candidates operate, what environments they thrive in, and...

In all the work I have done in my professional career, I have determined that there is no direct correlation between success and someone with a degree from a highly regarded school versus someone coming from a lesser school, or someone without a degree. In fact, some...

If you want to unseat your competitors and take your business to the next level, you need to hire people with high potential (HiPo). HiPo employees are individuals who can enter any market or economy and consistently outperform their peers. These employees are the...

Harsh truth time: the majority of job descriptions I see suck. Too often, they read like overhyped snake oil or come across as just a bunch of bulleted needs and wants that feel more like a grocery list. That grocery list might be intended for the lovely meal you plan...

Your company’s going to have a culture whether you like it or not. Obviously, most people with toxic cultures didn’t set out to create them. Cultures—toxic or otherwise—will develop by themselves over time. It’s like that forgotten yogurt in the back of your fridge....

Hiring can be both exhilarating and anxiety-inducing at the same time. While we may hate to admit that emotions influence us as much as they do, having a playbook and hiring plan can teach our dog brains a bit of obedience through data. Creating a playbook of your...