So much startup advice comes down to one common element: Hiring the best people. Whether it’s Twitter threads about how the first 50 hires set the cultural tone, or blog posts recommending that a founder personally interview the first 100 employees, most pointers are about keeping an unwavering focus on the people who power startups.

But in Kevin Fishner's view, that misses half of the equation. "A company is a collection of both its people and its systems. People can come and go over the years, but the systems they put in place and gradually refine over time become part of the company — and companies ultimately compete based on if those systems are strong or not," he says.

Focus on Your First 10 Systems, Not Just Your First 10 Hires — This Chief of Staff Shares His Playbook

He's got a point here — most startup systems evolve organically, either hastily cobbled together as the speed of scale takes over, or neglected until they’re forlorn and rather inflexible. So what's Fishner's advice to founders? Care about your first 10 systems as much as you care about your first 10 hires.

"While early employees help set implicit norms, building systems early in a company's lifecycle sets explicit norms. How do decisions get made? How are meetings structured? How are goals set? These systems are much easier to build when the company is small, and very challenging to put into place as the company grows," he says. "The earlier you can understand what practices are important to you, the better. Turn those practices into systems as soon as you can."

In this exclusive interview, Fishner unpacks how to do just that, putting HashiCorp’s operations under a microscope and open sourcing his best practices and templates. He digs into the nitty-gritty details of two specific systems — how the HashiCorp team sets and tracks progress toward goals, and makes decisions through writing.

We found it to be a fascinating conversation, and we hope you agree. For starters, Fishner’s got the rare ability to flip between the philosophical and the practical — one minute he’s talking about how determinism influenced his thinking on company building, and then a few minutes later he’s walking us through the exact template HashiCorp uses in its highly-structured annual planning process.

Whether you’re eyeing a chief of staff role, or you’re a founder hoping to set the right foundation for your fledgling company, read on for a unique chance to dive seriously deep into how one company functions — and garner inspiration for your own startup systems.

As always, thank you for reading and sharing!

-The Review Editors

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