Steve Cadigan on Blitzscaling LinkedIn, Competitive Exec Teams, and RTO

Steve Cadigan scaled LinkedIn from 400 to 4000 people in 3.5 years, and is now an author and consultant on global talent strategy. He joins Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church to discuss lessons from working with LinkedIn’s CEO during hyper scale, recruiting talent, going public, and debate the future of work. If you’re looking for HR software that drives performance, check out Lattice https://www.lattice.com/hrhereticsAfter the interview, Nolan and Kelli discuss recent incidents of employees being fired for hate speech at work.–SPONSORS: Lattice | Continuum✅ Discover HR software that drives performance with Lattice: https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics High performance and great culture should never be at odds; they’re better together. With Lattice People Management Platform, companies efficiently run people programs that create enviable cultures where employees want to do their best work. Serving 1000s of customers of all sizes. Learn why companies from Slack to the LA Dodgers choose Lattice. https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics✅ Hire Fractional Executives with Continuum using this link: https://bit.ly/40hlRa9Have you ever had a negative experience hiring executives? Continuum connects executives and senior operators to venture-backed tech companies for fractional and full-time roles. You can post any executive-level role to Continuum’s marketplace and search through our database of world-class, vetted leaders. There is no hidden cost, you only pay the person you hire. And you can cancel at any time. Joincontinuum.com–RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff–KEEP UP WITH STEVE NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDINSteve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadigan/Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/–LINKS:Steve’s podcast: The Work Week After Hours hosted by Steve Cadigan and Shane Howard https://open.spotify.com/show/54IQnRsvb4pCPA0InnjV5uSteve’s book: Workquake https://stevecadigan.com/workquake/Incident at Apple: https://twitter.com/stopantisemites/status/1720380304073035906?s=46&t=DYK-BZSQG0qJD_0l2IU7fQIncident at Wix: https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-769922Kelli and Nolan’s discussion on Politics at Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oULeqedDFYM&t=2s–TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(05:24) Week one at LinkedIn(08:30) LinkedIn’s biggest problem was recruiting: Why would anyone want to work here?(18:49) Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum(21:13) Overcoming the resistance against boring HR foundations(23:27) How to navigate leadership’s expectations for HR(27:52) Steve’s take on HR leaders(28:30) How Steve led his team at LinkedIn(30:21) Stories from working with LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner(37:42) How to get other stakeholders to own comp(42:30) When LinkedIn went public(46:48) Counseling organizations on creating opportunities with a distributed remote nature(54:13) Blitzcaling at LinkedIn - what didn't go well and finding the right leaders for a billion dollar company(01:01:35) Would Steve return to the chief people seat?(01:04:03) Rapid fire: Steve’s favorite hire and interview question(01:12:20) Kelli & Nolan's segment: Hate speech at work This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com