Leadership requires architecture.
One argument a week about how leadership actually gets built, for CEOs, executives, and the Chiefs of Staff beside them. Written from inside the rooms where it had to work.
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It's Not the Right Person, It's the Right Fit
Two Capable People, One Unviable Pairing.
Suzi Coul·6 min readRead the issue → -
The 90-Day Fiction
Nobody gets good at this job in 90 days.
Rachael Goldfarb·6 min readRead the issue → -
The $400,000 Body Double and Defining the Chief of Staff Role
First Round in 2017, Bloomberg last week, Korn Ferry this month. Three takes on the Chief of Staff, and between them exactly one idea worth keeping. Let's sort the wreckage.
Rachael Goldfarb·11 min readRead the issue → -
You Slapped a Sticker on It and Called It a Chief of Staff
A fictional CEO, a real exemplar, and the tool that finds out which one you actually built.
Rachael Goldfarb·9 min readRead the issue → -
The Chief of Staff, Defined
Buckle up. We’re about to expose a lot about the Chief of Staff business, and it’s not all nice.
The Coul & Gold Group·9 min readRead the issue → -
The (CoS) Dentist Wants You to Practice Meeting Hygiene
90% of the meetings on your calendar are a waste of time. Your Chief of Staff knows exactly why. (And we have a tool to help ensure your meeting falls in the 10%.)
Rachael Goldfarb·9 min readRead the issue → -
Killing the CoS Job Description, One Vague Word at a Time
We built a (pretty remarkable) tool that refuses to write a bad Chief of Staff job description. Also: Ask Us Anything, tonight.
Rachael Goldfarb·10 min readRead the issue → -
The Shrinking, and What It Was Actually For
The discomfort in the room and the truth of what you said are two different things. They always were.
Suzi Coul·9 min readRead the issue → -
The pilot is complete. Here is what we learned.
What five data sources reveal that a single interview never can.
Suzi Coul·6 min readRead the issue → -
Your AI Strategy Has a Carmela Soprano Problem
You hired the title. Nobody designed the role. Your Chief of Staff is quietly paying the bill.
Rachael Goldfarb·10 min readRead the issue → -
The Leader Everyone Wants to Work For
Five operating habits that separate high-trust leaders from high-friction ones
Suzi Coul·4 min readRead the issue → -
Low-Friction Leadership
The hidden cost of leaders who don't know they're generating friction
Suzi Coul·3 min readRead the issue → -
Five Requirements in a CoS Job Description That Tell Me You Have No Idea What You're Doing
A field guide to the dead giveaways. (And I challenge you to find me a JD that's free of all of these.)
Rachael Goldfarb·10 min readRead the issue → -
Authority is not Borrowed
Chiefs of Staff have more than just influence in their arsenal. It's time to distinguish the difference between authority, influence, and likeability.
Suzi Coul·5 min readRead the issue → -
"This is Not Your Typical Chief of Staff Job!"
Current chief of staff job descriptions are a wasteland of meaningless nouns and adjectives. If you can't describe it, you're not ready to hire for it.
Rachael Goldfarb·11 min readRead the issue → -
Leadership Is a Pattern, Not a Personality
The most important criteria for hiring a senior executive is the one that is almost universally ignored.
Suzi Coul·5 min readRead the issue → -
The Chief of Staff Pipeline Is a Lie We All Agreed to Tell
Providing an honest assessment as to whether you are wired to be a Chief of Staff
Rachael Goldfarb·7 min readRead the issue → -
The Ash That Remains After Burning Down a16z's "How to Hire a Chief of Staff" | Part 3 of 3
Why incinerating a16z's guide is the only option.
Rachael Goldfarb·11 min readRead the issue → -
Burning Down a16z's Chief of Staff... in the Nicest Way Possible | Part 2 of 3 | Posts 6-8
Have a glass of milk on standby. This gets spicy — fast.
Rachael Goldfarb·10 min readRead the issue → -
Burning Down a16z's Chief of Staff Guide... in the Nicest Way Possible
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) initially wrote about the Chief of Staff role in January. I argued why their version was problematic. Their response? Making it worse.
Rachael Goldfarb·10 min readRead the issue → -
You Just Hired a Chief of Staff. Start the Countdown Clock. They're Leaving. Soon.
The average Chief of Staff hire costs $150K–$200K. Most are set up to fail before they send their first Slack message. This isn’t a people problem. It’s an architecture problem.
Rachael Goldfarb·9 min readRead the issue → -
Five Pillars to Determine if a Chief of Staff Has the Architecture to Do Their Job
There are five pillars of trust in a Chief of Staff's job. This is a teaser of the kind of frameworks we're going to provide to paid subscribers.
Rachael Goldfarb·3 min readRead the issue →
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