Mark Kizer

How much process is too little process? "The team isn't getting along, and they are fighting each other." "Customers aren't engaged with the sh*t we built." "Our burn rate is too high, and we are going to hit a wall." "I have to layer a cofounder. They're upset and will probably quit." "The founders keep going directly to my team members and telling them what to do." "We've hired some a**hole that is making everyone miserable." "We keep betting on a losing strategy and hoping something will happen, even though we all know it is doomed." "Engineering is going off in the weeds building stuff no one cares about." "My investors don't think I'm right for the job anymore." These are just a few common startup problems that are often symptoms of "a lack of process ." People never think, "You know, I don't think we have enough process." Instead, they start having problems that could have been avoided. While the idea of no process sounds great, issues emerge if you don't start adding a little early on. Again, I'm not suggesting lots of complicated processes, just a tiny amount to start building the muscles you will need later when the company is scaling up. Here are 5 key areas to address early that help prevent problems and chaos down the road: •⁠ ⁠Call out decision-makers. Centralize guidance, but make decisions locally. Assigning owners and pushing decision-making close to those doing the work will prevent slowing as you scale. At scale, centralized decision-making requires layers of process and communication. •⁠ ⁠Set clear goals. Teams that set goals outperform those that don't — it's that simple. Set some product, customer, and engineering goals. Holding a team accountable by setting challenging, measurable goals from day one can evolve into a more robust product process down the road. •⁠ ⁠Formalize hiring. When small, one bad hire can do a lot of damage. So, screen for values and behaviors. Do they value feedback? How do they deal with conflict? How do they influence? Etc. In short, don't hire jerks. They will bring everyone's game down, no matter how smart they are. •⁠ ⁠Build a culture of feedback. It's hard to get better without feedback. Set up a cadence to assess what people are doing well and where they need to improve. You will need a performance review process at scale, and it is tough to cold-adopt one when you have over 50 people. •⁠ ⁠Define your governing principles. IMO, this is the most important. Agreeing on the underlying rules on how decisions get made promotes consistency, provides clarity, and can help to prevent politics from developing later. It is important to note that having too little process is often better than having too much. Therefore, it is crucial to find the right balance of process and productivity that aligns with your team's individual needs and culture.

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First, we started with what the past looked like with HEDIS® reporting. Then, the industry evolved to what we're doing in the present with care gap analysis and closure for YTD. Now, innovators like Ricky Sahu and GenHealth.ai are using AI technologies to talk about the future: what your HEDIS® scores are likely to be for the rest of this year, and even into next year. If you're taking risk contracts that hinge on quality, you can't afford not to leverage this new generation of technology, because your competitors will.

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This morning, I had a great time presenting with Rick Buczynski, Russell Albin, and Joe Wachs during Adobe's Partner Implementation Series on Adobe Commerce with Edge Delivery Services. Didn't get a chance to join? No problem. Join me and Emily Wilhoit next Thursday as we dive into how Blue Acorn iCi went from content creation chaos to accelerating our content delivery with the help of Adobe Experience Manager Site's latest innovation, Edge Delivery Services. In this webinar, we'll deep dive into: - Why Blue Acorn iCi ditched WordPress for greener (and faster) pastures with Adobe Experience Manager Sites. - The benefits this powerful tool brings to both developers and marketers. - How Edge Delivery Services gave Blue Acorn iCi's website a much needed performance boost. Click here to register: https://lnkd.in/gn7p9ZwT Adobe Partners

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For startups, every dollar spent matters. ➡ Your AI use case needs to be more than functional - it needs to be profitable. ➡ Your data needs to be more than just a byproduct of your operations - it should be a strategic asset. ➡ Your cloud infrastructure needs to be more than just a cost center - it should be a revenue driver. ➡ Your partners need to be more than just vendors, they should be strategic collaborators invested in your success. Check out this article to hear more about how we're helping startups leverage AI, data, and the cloud to drive growth and profitability.

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Thursday Wisdom: Companies exiting a PE portfolio often transition from a cost optimization focus to a growth strategy over the next 3 years. Understanding the playbook based on your PE partner and current phase is crucial. Leaders who fail to adapt and shift their mindset may face challenges in driving revenue growth. Stay agile and embrace the necessary changes to thrive in this dynamic landscape. #ThursdayWisdom #PrivateEquity #BusinessGrowth

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I just blogged about the benefits of contract-first API development. If you and your team aren't following this approach, I encourage you to read on and learn why you may be missing out on a practice that can help your team be more productive.

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FIRST-EVER PODCAST DROP ALERT! 📢 Catch the premiere at 6 PM PDT today! We are so excited for you to listen to BDD Evangelist, Matt Wynne, and our CEO, Mark Creamer talking about everything AI and Testing. The question is are you really ready for AI in Testing? Find out about AI's potential, the bias, the dilemma, and everything that will unfold in the future. The video link is in the comments! ✨ #TestAutomation #AI #SoftwareTesting #ConformIQ

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In software development, priority drives profitability. When you can't afford to fail, you must ruthlessly prioritize features to ensure you're delivering value to your customers. In this clip, Ascendle's founder and CEO, Dave Todaro, explains how feature priority drives profitability. https://lnkd.in/eCYU_XRw #ascendle #agile #ascrum #featureprioritization #profitability

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Retail size curves are facing disruption due to GLP-1 drugs, potentially costing $20M. Stay ahead of the curve and make this holiday season a success.Discover the insights from CBS News: https://lnkd.in/gi-BxX4k #RetailTrends #AI #Allocation #InventoryManagement #GLP #Ozempic #GLPDrugs #WeightLossDrugs #SupplyChain #ImpactAnalytics

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Xplor Capital is powered by a “capital as a service” platform that eliminates the hurdles of lengthy submission forms and extended waiting periods. Fees are capped and loans can range from $500 to $10 million, helping businesses of all sizes and verticals to realize their potential. Click the link to learn more: Together, we supercharge success 🚀 #WeAreXplor

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Tension over tech debt on your teams? Nick and Graeme discuss how to get tech debt prioritized within teams. Nick shares that one of the biggest challenges with getting focus on paying down tech debt is inability to communicate value to the product side. The goal is to focus on the highest priority areas -- but customers don't care about your tech stack, your tests, or your code. Finding ways to communicate the vakue clearly to your stakeholders can make an enormous difference. ---- 👀 Check out the full video on our channel! 🗣️ Share with your network! #softwareengineering #engineeringmanager #engineeringmanagement

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Workflows is getting better and better!  My team recently launched 4 quality-of-life upgrades to Domo’s Workflows: 1. Notifications: You can get text or email alerts that your workflow ran or failed, instead of having to manually check in on them. 2. Task Creator Access: We gave you the ability to lock down a specific queue to only see tasks assigned to you, but now you can choose to allow users to also see tasks they created in that queue. Really useful for tracking your requests, but also not opening up the whole world to everyone. 3. Code Engine Global Library: Choosing the right function for your workflows used to feel like deciphering hieroglyphs. Now we have a library with user-friendly titles, descriptions and logos that make it clear what each function does. 4. Account Data Type:  Now you can build more flexible and reusable integrations without exposing your account credentials using this feature—instead of having to hardcode a single account into a function, you can use an account variable so that each person can leverage their own credentials to talk to their third party apps. If you’re in the Domo community, these upgrades are ready and waiting for you. If you’re not and want to start building smarter workflows into your business, message me and I’ll get you connected to the right person. #domoupdates #domoproduct

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As a leader, managing burnout is one of the most important things you can do for your team to ensure they are able to show up and be successful in all facets of their lives. You have the power to make the workplace more human and a place where people thrive. Come join me in a discussion on managing and mitigating burnout and learn more May 9 at 10 AM PT. RSVP here https://lu.ma/mqlv984g

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Revenue Leak is a $2 Trillion silent killer. Every year, revenue teams lose hard-earned dollars to hidden leaks. The source? - Inefficient processes - Errant forecasts - Misaligned teams To equip revenue leaders to shut down leaks, Clari launched the 2024 Revenue Leak Report. This report features input from 420 revenue professionals across IT/Technology, retail, financial services, and more. Find out:  - Why 61% of companies missed their 2023 revenue target - Where revenue teams are investing their tech dollars  - How 26% annual Revenue Leak impacts your bottom line - And much more Grab your copy of the Revenue Leak Report and start shutting down leaks today: https://lnkd.in/gsW2j-5w

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Familiarity Levels at Work, and Meeting Scheduling Novice: You are surprised by their calendar blocks Journeyman: You already schedule around their blocks Expert: You know why those blocks exist and when they are negotiable Elite: Already synced over chat

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“The proof is in the pudding," as we say it in nuSoft. Procuremint Health needed an MVP UI/UX design & development of a SaaS platform and we delivered. See what Seth Feldman, PH CEO has to say about his experience: https://lnkd.in/e9JdBYUP #happycustomers #nusoft #mvp #dashboarddevelopment #ux #webapp #saas #healthcare #productdevelopment #ui #marketplace #aws #serverless #react

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Are you a founder of a SaaS company considering a fractional CTO? Burke Autrey, former CTO and current CEO of Fortium, understands your needs. That's why Fortium offers Technology Leadership-as-a-Service, available virtually, fractionally, or on an interim basis, providing you with the right level of support exactly when you need it. 👀Watch our video to learn more - or visit https://hubs.la/Q02w_NFF0 #leadership #saas #technology

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🌶 DORA metrics are great, but they don't cut it alone. We sat down with Jellyfish's Head of Engineering, Eli Daniel, to hear his take on what engineering leaders *should* be measuring. In this episode of Level Up, Kenneth Rose and Eli talk about: ▶ Feelings aren't facts—you need data to run an engineering org ▶ One set of metrics probably aren't going to cut it to make good decisions ▶ Engineering leaders need data as much as a sales leader 🎧 Listen to the full episode and let us know your favorite metrics to build and manage an efficient engineering team 💬 👇 Get the full episode link in the comments👇 #dora #engineering #leadership

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🔥 Eli Daniel, Head of Engineering here at Jellyfish, brought some serious insights to OpsLevel's latest Level Up episode! Here's a sneak peek into what they discussed: ▶ How to choose metrics tailored to your organization's goals ▶ Tips for analyzing where your team's time is being spent ▶ Scaling metrics for better alignment and resource allocation ▶ Why DORA metrics are just scratching the surface ▶ Balancing quantitative and qualitative metrics for a complete picture of team performance Check it out! 👇👇👇

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