From Square to Nextdoor, Bryan Power reveals why copying Big Tech's playbook might be your biggest mistake.

Find out why Square banned hiring from the payments industry while building a payments company. Discover how conventional wisdom about senior talent can become startup kryptonite and why the safe choice isn't always the smart choice.

Bryan Power is a veteran Silicon Valley People executive who's shaped talent strategy at tech giants like Google and Yahoo, built Square from 150 employees, and now leads People at Nextdoor where he champions innovative approaches to hiring and leadership development.

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: hrheretics@turpentine.co

For coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/

HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.

—

📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

Support HR Heretics Sponsor:

Metaview is the AI assistant for interviewing. Metaview completely removes the need for recruiters and hiring managers to take notes during interviews—because their AI is designed to take world-class interview notes for you. Team builders at companies like Brex, Hellofresh, and Quora say Metaview has changed the game—see the magic for yourself: https://www.metaview.ai/heretics

KEEP UP WITH BRYAN, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Bryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanpower

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

—

CHECK OUT:

Nextdoor:

https://nextdoor.com/

—

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:48) Nextdoor Leadership Transition

(02:10) Founder's Mentality & Return

(04:03) Six Years at Nextdoor - Career Journey

(05:29) Growth vs. Turnaround Experience

(07:59) The False Signal of Company Logos

(10:29) Square's Early Days & Recruiting

(12:25) Leadership Training at Square

(15:07) Sponsor: Metaview

(17:01) Culture and Training Truths

(21:30) Innovation vs. Industry Experience

(25:59) The Pattern Matching Trap

(29:39) Talent Density Discussion

(33:58) Performance Management & Up-leveling

(40:34)) Big Company vs. Startup Dynamics

(43:07) Aligning with Different Leadership Styles

(47:14) Wrap

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

Big Tech Alumni: Help or Hindrance? with Bryan Power

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies