Humans Before Title
A weekly read for HR practitioners, at any level. Five minutes. The week's strongest writing, the comments that pushed it further, and the signal in the HR-tech noise. No fluff. No funnel.
Weekly. Free. Five minutes.
Subscribe →What this newsletter argues
Six things I believe and operate by. If they don't sound like you, this won't be your newsletter. If they do, you're home.
Most leaders overthink what people actually need.
What people need is to feel seen. Tell them you saw them. Mean it. The rest of the work gets easier.
Strategy without operating credibility is theater.
If you can't run the function, your strategy memo is decoration. The bar is set by the people who also do the work.
HR tech is mostly noise. The signal is rare.
Every quarter brings a new "AI-powered" thing that promises to fix what people work is. Most of it is a spreadsheet with a wrapper. Pick three tools, run them in production, throw the rest out.
Process protects people. Bureaucracy protects you from people.
Know the difference. Build the first. Cut the second.
Performance reviews don't fix performance. Conversations do.
The form is a record of conversations that should have already happened. If the review is a surprise, you failed three months ago.
HR's job is not to be loved. It's to be trusted.
People respect you for telling the truth. They resent you for being polite about something that needed to be said.
Five sections. Same shape every week.
This week's lens
One paragraph framing the theme.
From the chair
The week's strongest piece, expanded with what didn't fit on LinkedIn.
From the room
2 to 3 quoted comments from the audience that pushed the thinking, with attribution.
The signal
One tool, one read, one operator to follow.
Closing note
One line, in voice.
Here's what one looks like
A representative issue. The full archive opens once issue 01 ships.
Reading a Comp Band
The most leveraged thing you'll do this quarter is sit across from someone and explain what they're worth. Slow down. Show your math. Don't make people fight for what they earned.
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