Strategic Career Planning

Most People leaders don’t do a rigorous enough job of vetting out the Headcount Planning process. And you know what? I don’t blame them. More often than not, #HR leaders aren’t brought in until the eleventh hour — once all the decisions have been made and the only step left is to execute on the recruitment process. But here’s the thing: If you want to be an effective People leader, it’s your job to get in front of this and ensure your team is implementing a robust Headcount Planning process beyond just recruitment and post-hire enablement. Things like: - Ensuring you’re not over hiring to compensate for ineffective performance and workplace inefficiencies - Verifying that each hire is a long term need, not a short-term need that will lead to layoffs - Pressure testing that every dollar spent on your greatest company expense — employees — is optimally spent - Exploring the long term potential of each hire and whether or not it makes more sense to go more junior or promote from within We recently rolled out a new headcount approval process at Ethena and — among other things — it requires all department heads to answer the following 3 questions for any role they’d like us to open: 1. How will this hire help us hit our 2025 revenue goals? 2. What breaks if we don’t hire this role? 3. What alternative solutions have you explored, and why is a full time, in-house hire the only remaining option? Oh, and also: It’s a public document that all department heads have access to. Including everyone’s responses. Here’s what I love about this process: 🥇Questions like, “How will this help us hit our revenue goals” keep everyone focused on the big picture business goal while questions like “What breaks if we don’t hire this role?” help surface underlying inefficiencies. Maybe the person responds with a series of things that the business is in fact okay with breaking and should never have been prioritized in the first place. 🕵️ Getting everyone’s answers all in one place helps identify overlapping scopes of responsibilities. 2 teams are struggling with data analytics? Could we combine these roles into 1? 🧠 Giving all leaders visibility into everyone’s responses helps everyone level up their game. Perhaps someone on G&A is struggling to tie their needs back to the business, but a quick peek at the RevOps leader’s responses offers clear insights for how to apply a more business-forward mindset. 💡 The responses are a veritable treasure trove of insights into other areas of the busines. How do marketing leaders think about pipeline generation per BDR? How do Product leaders determine how many engineers it takes to roll out new Product updates? Want access to our full Headcount Request Template + tips for getting more involved in your company’s Headcount Planning process? 👉 Download my free template here: https://lnkd.in/exhmNaqY What are your top tips for ensuring a robust headcount planning process?

Your board wants $30M next year. You closed $23M this year. You added 2 reps. Coolio. Where's the other $7M coming from? Magic? Leadership sets aggressive growth targets without doing the capacity math. Then they blame sales for missing when it was a math problem from day one. Wanting 30% growth is fine. But if you only funded 12% capacity increase, the numbers will never work. Here's why: Most VPs build headcount models that assume perfect conditions. They assume: - Every new hire ramps on schedule (they don't). - Nobody quits (they do). - Every ramped rep hits quota (60% actually do). - Territory productivity stays constant (it declines as you add reps). Then Q3 hits and you're at 70% of plan. The board asks what happened. What happened is the math never worked! Here's how to fix it: 1. Model ramp by time (not title). Every new hire isn't a quota-carrying AE. They're an investment curve: - Month 1-2: Training, zero pipeline. - Month 3: Pipeline opens, close rates low. - Month 6: First meaningful bookings. - Month 9-12: Full ramp (maybe). If you don't know this curve by role, you can't predict bookings. Add 5 AEs in Q1 modeled at full quota? Reality: 0% for 3 months, 30% for 3 months, 60% for 3 months, MAYBE 100% by EOY. Your $30M plan just became $24M. 2. Track productivity per ramp stage. Build bands: - Early Ramp (0-3 months): 0% of quota. - Mid Ramp (3-6 months): 25-50% - Late Ramp (6-12 months): 75% - Fully Ramped (12+ months): 100%+ Model quarterly revenue based on how many reps fall into each stage. 3. Run capacity math before asking for headcount. Before accepting a $30M target, build bottom-up: - Target: $30M. - Avg quota per ramped AE: $1.2M. - Ramped AEs needed: 25. - You have 15 today. - Need 10 more ramped equivalents. New hires aren't ramped for 9-12 months, so hire 15-18 to get 10 ramped by EOY. Factor in 15-20% attrition? You'll lose 3-4 reps. Now you need to hire 18-22 just to net the 10 you need. Suddenly "add 2 reps" looks bonkers. 4. Add drag factors. No model survives reality. Build in: - Ramp delays. - Attrition (10-20% annual). - External shocks (macro headwinds, comp changes). Your model should NEVER presume perfection. 5. Present capacity constraints. Don't say "I need 18 more reps." Say: "To hit $30M with our current productivity and ramp curve, we need 25 fully ramped AEs by EOY. We have 15 today. After factoring ramp time and attrition, that means hiring 18-20 starting Q1." Now THAT'S a business case. The hardest part? Telling leadership their target isn't realistic given current investment. But have that conversation in January. Not October when you're $5M behind. Remember that a headcount plan is nothing more than a capacity forecast. Your CEO, CFO, and board don't want to hear how many reps you hope to hire. They want to know how many fully ramped, productive reps you'll have when it matters. So don't ask for headcount. Prove the need, then hit the number.

The Class of 2025 faces unprecedented challenges—but your greatest asset isn't just your degree, it's your capacity for transformation. Research consistently shows that sustainable career success emerges from internal motivation: ↳ 68% higher employment satisfaction when work aligns with personal values, according to Workforce Analytics ↳ 2.9x greater career resilience when skills development is self-directed, according to Harvard Business Review ↳ 81% improved interview performance when candidates articulate authentic purpose, according to PSYCHOMETRIC RECRUITMENT LIMITED To activate your career transformation engine, master these five essential components: 🔹 Design your "Skills Acceleration System": Map your learning against emerging industry needs. Graduates who dedicate 5 hours weekly to strategic upskilling secure roles 40% faster (LinkedIn Workforce Report). 🔹 Craft your "Rejection Resilience Protocol": Convert interview feedback into growth opportunities. Candidates who implement structured feedback review processes receive 3x more follow-up interviews. 🔹 Develop your "Network Cultivation Rhythm": Create systematic touchpoints with industry connections. Professionals with consistent relationship-building practices receive 57% more unsolicited opportunities. 🔹 Create your "Opportunity Visibility Framework": Establish daily practices that position you where serendipity happens. Graduates in 3+ industry communities encounter 4x more "hidden market" roles. 🔹 Formulate your "Professional Identity Narrative": Craft and practice your unique value proposition until it becomes second nature. Candidates with coherent personal narratives advance 2.5x faster in early career stages. That's how you become career-resilient in a competitive landscape—by systematically building the professional identity that creates opportunities where others see only obstacles. What's one step from this framework that sparks your curiosity? Share below. Coaching can help; let’s chat. Joshua Miller #Classof2025 #CareerAdvice #Executivecoaching

Over the past 10 weeks, I’ve interviewed 35 talent and learning leaders at Fortune 1000 companies for a report I’ll be releasing this fall. One of my favorite questions has been the very first one: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?” With 105 priorities and counting, the responses vary widely given differences in industry, scope, and role (VP of Learning, talent, talent management, leadership development) but here is a slice of what has been shared so far: ➡️ AI and work transformation: Clarify what AI means for the workforce, its implications for roles, and how teams can adopt it to accelerate development and efficiency. ➡️ AI Coaching Pilot: Launch an AI-powered coaching pilot program across the organization to scale leadership development support. ➡️ Generative AI Upskilling: Upskill employees and leaders to effectively use generative AI in day-to-day work ➡️ Future of Work & Workforce Planning: Prepare for disruptions to job architecture by integrating human and digital workforces. Rethink responsibilities, structures, and collaboration models. ➡️ Change management: Embed change management capabilities at all levels, particularly around AI adoption. ➡️ New leadership Behaviors: Equip leaders with new capabilities to thrive in a changing environment, including adaptability, resilience, and the ability to lead in an AI-augmented workplace. ➡️ Skills and Career Paths - Creating paths by prioritized skills in our organization ➡️ Rethinking the Function: Redesign the talent and learning function to reflect disruption caused by AI ➡️ Change Leadership: Navigate a period of executive turnover and transition by stabilizing the leadership team, clarifying roles, and building confidence with functional business leaders. ➡️ Facilitating Connection: Partnering with our employee experience and workplace teams to use in-office team days for learning and connection ➡️ Linking Performance and Development: Redesign performance processes to connect directly to development, helping employees understand what growth means in practical and tangible terms. ➡️ Manager Development: Continue to strengthen manager capability and resources, ensuring managers are equipped to drive performance and support employee development ➡️ VP and SVP Development: Support and accelerate the growth of new vice presidents and senior vice presidents as they step into expanded leadership roles. ➡️ Building a Leadership Bench : Develop and execute a strategy for strengthening the leadership bench, with a focus on preparing our Top 200 leaders ➡️ AI/Learning : Using AI internally within the learning function and focusing on key skills in AI for client-facing practitioners ➡️ Academies For AI/Data Roles: Developing and rolling out an academy for our AI & Data Product Employees I’d love to hear your perspective: What stands out most to you about this list, or what themes are you seeing in this list?

If you're aiming for the C-suite, clarity around your value is non-negotiable. Too often, I see smart, capable leaders stumble in interviews or on paper—not because they lack experience, but because they haven’t taken the time to reflect. Before you make your next move, spend real time thinking through: What business challenge were you hired to solve? How did that challenge evolve over time? What metrics were you accountable for? How did you deliver against those KPIs? What is your target role or company truly looking for? In what ways have you already demonstrated that you're the right person to meet those needs? What have you consistently achieved across your career? What are you known for? What differentiates you from other high performers? What’s the most innovative initiative you've led in the talent space? How large were the teams you led—and how did you retain and grow them? What were your employee engagement scores? Are you proud of those results? What did you learn from them? This exercise isn’t quick. It may take several focused hours. But this kind of reflection is what sharpens your narrative and elevates your positioning. Self-awareness is a competitive advantage. The "easy way" isn’t the fast way—it’s the intentional way. Put in the strategic work before you hit "apply" and you'll move faster, attract better-fit opportunities, and present yourself with the clarity and confidence of a true executive. #executivepresence #careerstrategy #resume #leadership #valueproposition

I’ve coached thousands of job seekers who felt lost and overwhelmed. Here are the 10 steps we start with to find the right path: 1. Your #1 Priority Clarity should be the first thing you invest in. It makes career success SO much easier (at every stage). When you have clarity, you can invest 100% of your energy into that goal. So before you start applying to jobs or grad school? Find your path. 2. The Myth Of “Passion” People think passion is a lightning bolt that suddenly hits you. One day you wake up knowing what you're supposed to do. That's BS. Passion stems from action. It's the result of trying new things. If you want to find your path? You need to act. 3. Map Out Your Ideal Lifestyle Career happiness doesn't come from a job title. It stems from the ability to meet your lifestyle needs: – Target salary – Ideal living situation – Surrounded by people you love – Work that fills your cup Start by defining all of these things. 4. Label Your Energy Next, grab a piece of paper. Make two columns: 1. Energy Creators 2. Energy Drainers Now list out every single activity, task, and project you've worked on. Label each as a creator or drainer. Your career path should be filled with energy creators. 5. Clarify Your Strengths Success is easier when your path plays to natural strengths. I recommend the High 5 Test. It's a 15 minute quiz that will define your top strengths. It'll tell you what each means and how to harness it. Talent: A natural way of thinking, feeling, behaving × Investment: Time spent practicing, developing your skills, or building a knowledge base = Strength: The ability to consistently provide near-perfect performance 6. Find People Doing "Cool" Stuff Now you've created clarity around your strengths, energy, and ideal lifestyle. Next, I want you to find people already living that life. Who has a job you admire? What jobs have seemed “cool” to you in the past? Make a list of 30+ contacts. 7. Reach Out & Learn Make a daily habit of reaching out to one person. Be honest about your situation and desire for clarity. Then make sure to build up their achievements and mention why you admire them. Here's the email template I used when I was on this journey: The Winning Template: Subject: Quick Question  Hi [Name], My name is [Your Name] and I came across your information on LinkedIn while I was looking for people who transitioned into [Industry/Field] from a non-traditional background. Your background is really impressive! I saw you do different fields and [Industry/Field] really piqued my interest. If you have a few minutes, I’d love to hear more about your journey and how you landed in your role today. I know that’s a big ask so no worries if it’s too much. I totally understand. Either way, hope you have a great rest of the week!  

Have you seen the newly released U.S. Department of Labor AI framework for workforce development? In my latest article, I took a moment to break the new policy down into bite-sized points and included source links to save you some time. It's easy to overlook federal AI guidance, especially when the pace of AI innovation surpasses the pace of general AI understanding. But if you care about workforce modernization, artificial intelligence policy, or long-term business growth, this one deserves your attention. Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor issued Training and Employment Guidance Notice 07-25 outlining how AI should be integrated into federally funded workforce systems. This is not a theoretical conversation anymore. The World Economic Forum reports that 44 percent of core job skills are expected to change within five years. McKinsey & Company’s 2025 State of AI survey shows that 65 percent of organizations are already using generative AI in at least one function. When employer operations shift, workforce systems must follow. Here is what this federal AI framework signals for leaders: 🔹 Workforce modernization is moving from digitization to intelligence. Labor market analysis, job matching, and service delivery are expected to integrate AI with oversight. 🔹 Governance is not optional. Transparency, documentation, and compliance are embedded in the guidance. 🔹 Public and private sectors are converging. Agencies will look for partners who understand both AI capability and regulatory expectations. If you operate in education, workforce development, HR tech, national economic strategy, or business growth and modernization, this affects you. The most strategic leaders I know do not wait for headlines to force adjustment. They study policy signals early and position accordingly. How is your organization preparing for AI integration inside public workforce systems? If this perspective is useful, let's connect ~Dr. Kiesha King and subscribe to my newsletter for more on education strategy, AI workforce modernization, leadership and sustainable business growth. Disclaimer: All views are my own and do not represent the views of my employer or any affiliated organization.

My time as CFO at Kate Farms comes to an end at the end of the year. So, it seems fit to reflect on how we built a unicorn acquisition target: Kate Farms built an incredibly unique business, filling consumer demands for healthier, cleaner products in the clinical nutrition space. But, the last three years were critical to our successful sale to Danone. I have a very simple view of strategy: pick a few things that really matter, then repeat them over and over until they become second nature for everyone in the org. For us, those were: • Invest in channel expansion (E-comm + retail) • Invest in product expansion and consumer-facing efforts • Increase profitability while keeping double-digit revenue growth • Invest in clinical research to prove efficacy with healthcare providers When I joined Kate Farms, my core mandate was to get the company to profitability without breaking its growth trajectory. That's not easy to do. Leaders in high-growth companies are often hesitant to constrain the business, because they worry it will slow momentum. There's also a temptation to throw headcount at every opportunity and problem. Functions grow unevenly, orgs become lopsided and eventually the structure itself can actually slow topline growth. Here is how we avoided that: 1. 𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 for business each year. Everyone in the org could easily remember the goals and know how their efforts supported them.     2. 𝗪𝗲 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 every year. If something wasn't on strategy, it didn't get funded.     3. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 against the strategy. When parts of the org drifted away from the plan, we reshaped them.     4. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿. Every exec and department leader had real fiscal accountability. There was no hiding behind the numbers.     5. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. Fast feedback loops, tight analyses, and a high-functioning executive team allowed us to make decisions and course-correct quickly. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: continued double-digit topline growth while keeping f͟i͟x͟e͟d͟ ͟c͟o͟s͟t͟s͟ ͟a͟n͟d͟ ͟h͟e͟a͟d͟c͟o͟u͟n͟t͟ ͟f͟l͟a͟t͟ ͟t͟h͟r͟e͟e͟ ͟y͟e͟a͟r͟s͟ ͟i͟n͟ ͟a͟ ͟r͟o͟w͟ and a trajectory that captured the interest of one of the most forward-thinking global food companies. From here, I'll move into an advisory role helping Danone's nutrition business navigate its future in the US. Then I will move on to other things in April. Stay tuned for more!

Good strategic workforce planning is different from operational planning... ...because it looks much further ahead to determine what kind of workforce is needed to deliver the company’s long-term strategy. It can be a valuable and natural extension of the business strategy that yields a major competitive advantage, positioning a firm for sustained growth and innovation, no matter the changes to come. Key takeaways on the four principles to achieve that: 💡 It is future-back, not today-forward - the best leaders take a future-back approach—they envision the distant future and then build a plan to achieve it. They understand that good strategic workforce planning often enters an uncomfortable space where some aspects of the “how” are unknown. 💡It is uneven - Successful strategic workforce planning often involves focusing differentially on a few job families—groupings of roles with reasonable skill overlaps. The best plans focus exclusively on large or scarce workforce populations that expect to see change. 💡It is learning-based - leaders can guard against incorrect assumptions by making the plan easily adaptable and updating it each year based on what they’ve learned. They will watch carefully for the right signposts and distinguish between offsetting forces (e.g. leaders might make assumptions around increasing headcount due to business growth and decreasing headcount from automation productivity gains) 💡 It is simple enough to be repeatable - When leaders make the workforce plan too granular, it becomes a bureaucratic, wasted effort that the business resents. The best processes are tied to annual strategic planning. They feel like a light addition to thinking through the strategy’s people implications. Overall: A good strategic planning thoughtfully assesses both human and financial capital. HR teams can help the business define the future at the job family level in the same way that finance supports forecasting major P&L and capital lines. #workforceplanning #strategy

Artificial intelligence is transforming how organisations approach workforce strategy, especially in an M&A context. My workforce colleagues Victoria Jane McCullagh and Alex Murray from PwC's People and Deals team discuss how dealmakers can integrate AI to assess talent, drive value creation, and future-proof their deals. With AI increasingly shaping business priorities, their article explores practical steps to align talent strategies with technology and open up opportunities in due diligence, valuations, and workforce planning. #MergersAndAcquisitions #AI #Workforce #PwC