The 5 Things Jeff Wald Can’t Do His Job Without

Jeff Wald, founder of BoomerangHR
Written By

“My Top 5” is a recurring feature in our newsletter that explores what’s working for the people actually doing the work. In each edition, we tap  an HR leader to share their essentials: the mantra they repeat to their team, the habit that protects their week, the voices they follow, the practice they won’t give up, and (of course) what they’re reading.

Jeff Wald is a serial entrepreneur with four exits and one failure behind him. His current company, BoomerangHR, makes fully automated, affordable software for employee offboarding and alumni management, and just raised $13 million in a seed round. Below are 5 things he can’t do his job without.

1. Mantra

“Question Everything” — As we build things that don’t exist our team needs to question why things are, question each other and question me; we are better when we have open, honest and respectful debate and together come to a better answer.

2. Productivity Tip

Set your goals — Every meeting we have has to have a goal and an agenda. Whoever called the meeting needs to have a plan to achieve their goal. You are much more likely to hit your goals if you know what they are and you have a plan to get you there.

3. Thought Leadership

4. Best Practice

SMART goals. Everyone needs to know, in a very Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Relevant, and Time-based way what is expected of them each quarter. You hired great people, let them know WHAT needs to get done (with their input) and they can figure out the HOW. Then hold them accountable.

5. Best Leadership Book Read in Last Six Months

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni.