The HR Secrets Every Leader Needs to Know with Andrew Bartlow

Key Insights & Timestamps:

• [00:00]: Podcast begins
• [01:55]: How early roles at Pepsi & GE shaped business & HR approach
• [12:50]: Seeing every side & perspective in startups, investments, & venture capital
• [15:37]: Key concepts behind Andrew’s book: Scaling for Success
• [22:49]: Building tech’s next generation of HR leaders at People Leader Accelerator
• [24:23]: Mentoring startup founders & identifying common early management pitfalls

Guest Spotlight:
Andrew Bartlow, Co-Founder at People Leader Accelerator, Founder & Managing Partner at Series B Consulting, & Operational Partner at Altamont Capital Partners
With over 25 years of experience in human resources and talent management, Andrew Bartlow is a distinguished thought leader in organizational effectiveness. In early roles at Pepsi and General Electric (GE), Andrew gained experience with the best of the best in HR, and brought that expertise and learning to a variety of startups throughout his career. Today, Andrew has stepped out of the corporate world to become an author of Scaling For Success, advise and consult for startups at Series B and Altamont Capital, and build the next generation of HR leaders at People Leader Accelerator.

Key Takeaways:

• When discussing the success of HR at companies like Pepsi and GE, Andrew points towards a decentralized approach with individual operating units, each with their own PNL (profit and loss). Instead of being a cog in a big corporate machine, each unit functions nearly autonomously and is responsible for maintaining strong operating procedures and holding team members accountable for their goals and profits.
• Human resources and talent management is all about walking a tightrope of stakeholder interests. Andrew advises that those working in HR especially need to be fully aligned and focused on the business’ goals or mission, but not to the detriment of the employees they work with. Cultivating relationships based on respect and accountability is important, while maintaining a strategy to work towards the company’s mission and connecting with initiatives that help make that mission actionable.
• When leaving the corporate world, Andrew pursued writing his book, Scaling for Success, which was partially written in reaction to questionable management and HR practices that Andrew perceives as playing too much into trends and stepping away from successful strategy. If your startup is already disrupting the industry with your product or service, you don’t need to disrupt tried and true management practices. Get the basics right first and learn to launch.

Resources Mentioned:
Altamont Capital Partners | altamontcapital.com, People Leader Accelerator | peopleleaderaccelerator.com, Series B Consulting | seriesbconsulting.com, Y Combinator | ycombinator.com