This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chase Rigby, CEO of Tassel. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I left my career as a product manager at Google after six years, my wife wondered what I was doing. Working at Google taught me a ton about company culture and innovation. And yet, it wasn’t where I felt I could make my mark. I’m not a founder either and had no interest in bringing a company from 0 to 1, as we say. However, I was drawn to helping companies grow from 1 to 10, or even 50.
When a private equity firm approached me about running a company, I saw an opportunity to do just that: restructure with a great company culture as a growth strategy. I did that successfully once, and we sold that company. Now, I’m doing the same at Tassel.
I joke that I’ve started my career backward. Google had great benefits and prestige. Now, I make less in base salary than I did then. I’ve jumped off the corporate cruise ship into a dinghy, but I guess I’m a sailor at heart.
I learned about transparency and honesty at Google
Tassel aims to deliver and capture seamless graduation moments. It’s a great fit for me, because I’m passionate about education.
Graduation ceremonies have been around for a long time, but they’ve never had the user experience at the center. At Tassel, we want to change that by really serving students, not school administrators or parents. I’m also committed to building the company by creating a great culture.
One thing I’ve learned from my time at Google is the importance of transparency. During my first week at Google, I went to an open-mic session with co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. New hires could ask them anything.
Another time, I was leaving an event and offered Larry a ride. I had no business offering a ride to a billionaire. He declined, but walked with the group. Larry told us it’s important to be honest as a leader, even when you don’t have the answers. That’s stuck with me, as a leader and as a dad.
I adopted performance reviews that are more direct and efficient
One thing I didn’t like at Google was how arduous performance reviews were. It felt like the work ground nearly came to a halt while performance reviews were written. Then, the reviews just sat on a metaphorical shelf most of the time.
After researching other approaches to performance reviews, I developed a three-question system. For each employee, I ask management to answer:
- What’s one thing they should keep doing?
- What’s one thing they should stop doing?
- What’s one thing they should start doing?
The simple framework makes it easy to give blunt feedback. Being told to stop something doesn’t sting as much if everyone else is being told to stop as well. Plus, it helps with accountability. The whole team can help employees remember what they’re aiming to “stop” or “start.”
Currently, my “stop” is “stop shying away from issues head-on.” My team helps hold me accountable for being direct.
There’s an overlap between being a CEO and a dad
I bring many lessons from business into my home. My kids are 3, 5, 7, and 9 years old. I think a lot about the things they need to start (or stop doing) to continue growing into productive, happy adults.
At home, my wife and I encourage our kids to set four goals every year, based on spiritual, physical, intellectual, and social growth. It’s not the same as the performance review I use at work, but it also keeps the goals simple and easy to focus on.
Just like I don’t always know the answer as a CEO, I don’t always know the answer as a dad. As long as I’m honest and committed to finding the best path forward, that’s OK.
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