So few things are more disruptive than when a VP doesn’t work out. Especially if they’ve hired a ton of folks under them that didn’t work out either. Millions are spent, so many mistakes must be undone, and so, so much time is lost.
So:
- When in doubt, don’t make the hire. Push on.
- If they don’t have anyone great to bring with them, don’t make the hire. Push on. Don’t just assume they have a few great folks ready to join. Ask. And go talk to them.
- If they don’t have one boss that says they were epic, don’t make the hire. Push on. It’s fine if one boss says they didn’t crush it. But you need one you respect say they were an A.
Especially if you are tired. That’s when we all sort of settle.
I was reminded of this from the great SaaStr Annual interview that Jyoti Bansal did with MongoDB’s CEO Dev Ittycheria. When I re-watched it the other day, this quote really stuck with me:
You are lucky if 60% of your VPs work out.
"Your lucky if 60% of your executive hires work out." @dittycheria CEO @MongoDB pic.twitter.com/S0NGHGtc8t
— Jason ✨👾SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) November 26, 2024
Even 50% is better than most, Dev said.
Brian Halligan, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of HubSpot said the same thing: “18 months after that senior hire happens, around 60% of them have ‘stuck’ and we end up churning about 40%.”
They’re right. Now look you can do better, potentially. Brain said in our latest What’s New deep dive they are trying to do even better today, in particular by only hiring candidates where at least 2 execs give them the highest grade (4 out of 4).
If you slow it down for real, I think you can get almost 100% of your first management team to be successful. If you really don’t lower the bar. But after that, 60% seems a practical, real outcome.
Just recognize it. And … move on when you’ve clearly made an error. Blame yourself, say you are sorry, be kind, but move on. 60% is probably as good as it gets.
The full, great convo here:
