From a Stripe and Google executive, a practical guide to company building and scaling the most important resource it has: its people.
Selected for “Best Books of 2023” by Bloomberg and The Economist!
“Whether you are a new manager or a CEO, there are going to be moments when you feel alone and need help. Odds are, the advice you need is in Scaling People. You are going to pull this book off your shelf over and over!”
—Kim Scott, New York Times bestselling author of Radical Candor and Just Work
A leader at both Google and Stripe from their early days, Claire Hughes Johnson has worked with founders and company builders to try to replicate their success. The most common questions she’s asked are not about business strategy—they’re about how to scale the operating structures and people systems of a rapidly growing startup.
Scaling People is a practical and empathetic guide to being an effective leader and manager in a high-growth environment. The tactical information it puts forward—including guidance on crafting foundational documents, strategic and financial planning, hiring and team development, and feedback and performance mechanisms—can be applied to companies of any size, in any industry. Scaling People includes dozens of pages of worksheets, templates, exercises, and example documents to help founders, leaders, and company builders create scalable operating systems and lightweight processes that really work.
Implementing effective leadership and management practices takes effort and discipline, but the reward is a sustainable, scalable company that’s set up for long-term success. Scaling People is a detailed roadmap for company builders to put the right operating systems and structures in place to scale the most important resource a company has: its people.
From the Publisher
Praise for Scaling People
Odds are, the advice you need is in Scaling People.
“Claire Johnson gave me some of the best feedback of my career: ‘You don’t ask for help often enough.’ Whether you are a new manager or a CEO, there are going to be moments when you feel alone and need help. Odds are, the advice you need is in Scaling People. You are going to pull this book off your shelf over and over!”
—Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor and Just Work
The practical guide to running a world-class organization.
“The practical guide to running a world-class organization… Claire has demystified how you run a large, high-performance organization, with clear concepts and practical templates that you can start implementing today.”
—Jason Citron, founder and CEO of Discord
To be added to the shelf of any people leader and manager.
“I was excited to learn that Claire Hughes Johnson has taken her many years of operating excellence from Stripe and Google and distilled it into a new book. Scaling People is a key book to be added to the shelf of any people leader and manager.”
—Elad Gil, entrepreneur, investor, and author of High Growth Handbook
Approachable, entertaining, and exceptionally useful.
“Scaling People is approachable, entertaining, and exceptionally useful, with lots of heart and humor. Claire leverages her years of unparalleled experience to provide a deeply helpful resource to read and revisit again and again.”
—Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures
Scale your business from 10 to 10,000 without losing what makes it special.
“If you want to scale your business from 10 people to 10,000 without losing the things that make it special, Scaling People is the handbook you need.”
—Ravi Gupta, former CFO and COO of Instacart, general partner at Sequoia Capital
Strong frameworks, sound advice, and tried-and-true processes for any company.
“There’s a lot of reinventing the wheel in a startup environment. Scaling People offers strong frameworks, sound advice, and tried-and-true processes that any company can use to build stronger foundations and sustainable success.”
—Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, partner at Greylock, host of Masters of Scale
Two decades of leadership expertise in one accessible volume.
“Claire Hughes Johnson is the ultimate operator. She distills two decades of management and leadership expertise into one accessible volume with real-world examples and actionable guidance.”
—Mallun Yen, founder of Operator Collective
Everything you need to know about building and scaling a company.
“Everything you need to know about building and scaling a company, being an exceptional leader and manager, and getting the best out of your people in one empathetic and enjoyable package—with easy-to-use worksheets and templates to boot.”
—Frances Frei, author of Uncommon Service and Unleashed, professor at Harvard Business School
About the author
Claire Hughes Johnson is a corporate officer and advisor at Stripe. Previously, she was chief operating officer at Stripe from 2014 to 2021, helping the company grow from fewer than 200 employees to more than 7,000. At various times, she led business operations, sales, marketing, customer support, risk, real estate, and all of the people functions, including recruiting and HR. Prior to Stripe, she spent 10 years at Google leading business teams, including overseeing aspects of Gmail, Google Apps, and consumer operations, as well as serving as a vice president for AdWords, Google Offers, and Google’s self-driving car project. She serves on the boards of Ameresco, The Atlantic, Aurora Innovation, and HubSpot, and is a trustee and current board president of Milton Academy. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, two children, and two neurotic dachshunds.
About the publisher
Stripe Press publishes ideas for progress in science, technology, and economics. Our collection includes new ideas from emerging and established thinkers and industry leaders, as well as reimagined editions of enduring works. We curate our titles for a global audience of builders and practitioners who are shaping the future of policy and industry.
Stripe Press is based in South San Francisco, with team members across the US and in London. We are a part of the global payments infrastructure company Stripe.
Related titles by Stripe Press:
High Growth Handbook by Elad GilAn Elegant Puzzle by Will LarsonGet Together by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Sotto
ASIN : B0BRYQJ49K
Publisher : Stripe Press
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : March 7, 2023
Language : English
File size : 3.8 MB
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 609 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1953953254
Page Flip : Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #86,997 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #24 in Strategy & Competition #41 in Business Systems & Planning #55 in Business Teams
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (707)