Ross Paterson

If your next move after an underperforming employee asks to stay is hoping their behavior magically improves from one hard conversation, you are wasting your time. You need a formal Turnaround Plan. We ran this framework recently with a $100M commercial construction firm. A C-suite executive (and close friend of the owner) was destroying the culture by belittling and screaming at his team in the vein of “getting things done”. He chose to stay, but a vague promise to "be nicer" wasn't going to...

One of our clients, the founder of a digital marketing agency, had a developer who had been with him since the startup phase. The developer loved working directly with the founder on projects but, as the business grew, opportunities for 1-1 time became rare. The developer’s attitude and motivation quickly tanked. With our coaching, the founder asked him what was going on, and the teammate admitted missing the days when they worked side-by-side. Since this old business model didn’t make sense...

Put yourself in a hypothetical new hire’s shoes: You just accepted an offer for a new position, and their leader showed you an audacious vision that pumps you up about where the company is going. You’re laying out your outfit for the first day, excited and nervous to meet the whole team tomorrow. When you walk in, the person you spoke with is nowhere in sight. Everyone is nice, but obviously busy. It’s starting to feel like your presence is more of a mild inconvenience than a high-potential...