In this Issue

🏖️    Build in the Offseason
🪜    It’s Ok to Demote
📝    Reverse Chronological Interview

🏖️  Build in the Offseason

With summer in full swing, many companies are feeling a seasonal slump. Customers are hard to reach. Production is down. Business is slow.

Never waste a good slowdown. This is the time to build capacity and capabilities for the next busy season.

From implementing software systems to filling open positions, catch up on all the projects that got pushed aside when things were too busy.

Make seasonal slowdowns a part of your planning and development cycles. Conduct a postmortem after the busy season:

• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• Where do we need to improve?

Then get to work. Choose one to two major projects for the offseason to improve systems, capabilities, and capacity. This pays dividends when things ramp up: less stress, more profitable, and higher customer satisfaction.

🪜  It’s Ok to Demote

It’s ok to demote senior employees. In fact, if you’re wrestling with the question, you probably should.

Long-standing employees grew into senior roles, deservedly. The challenge emerges when the business outgrows their management capabilities, and they become an unspoken throttle on growth.

Too often business owners make the wrong choice and do nothing. Left unchecked, the situation will deteriorate and inevitably lead to a toxic, expensive separation.

Deal with the situation before it becomes untenable. You have a good person in the wrong position.

A demotion is not a punishment, but it is a major change and you will bruise egos. How you approach it defines the outcome.

Go in prepared with clear and transparent communication:

• If you haven’t been checking the failings up until now, spend extra time to explain the decision.
• Document a new job description and transition plan. This is an important step, and it has to be in writing.
• Give them time to assess and review.
• Give them a way out. If they do not accept the new role, create a fair exit plan.

There is a risk. They may leave. That is ok. As a leader, putting the right people in the right seats is your job.

📊  One Stat to Watch

49%

of CEOs expect AI adoption to decrease junior hiring in the next three years, according to PwC’s 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer.

📝  Reverse Chronological Interview

To assess the best talent for your team, dig into a candidate’s backstory. Past experience is a predictor of their future potential.

The “Reverse Chronological Interview” is a simple, repeatable interview format that works for every position.

Start with a candidate’s education and work forward through each job. If there’s a hole in the resume or the dates of the positions don’t align, ask for them to fill in the missing sections.

For each role, ask three questions:

• What did you do?
• Why did you leave?
• What did you get paid?

Listen for trends and habits:

• Why did they change jobs?
• How often do they change jobs?
• What is their income and career trajectory?
• How do they interact with managers?
• How do they learn and apply themselves?

To assess job fit, integrate behavioral questions. For instance, “Tell me of a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty?” Anyone can tell you their strengths, but you have to be specific and relevant to answer a behavioral question.

Interviewing is a skill. By integrating behavioral questions in a reverse chronological format, hiring managers will dramatically improve their hiring accuracy.

🤔  Thoughts on Today’s Issue?

We’d love to hear your feedback. Message with any thoughts, comments, or ideas for future issues.