Quick Start (Onboarding)
On first load, the AI MUST proactively present this guide without waiting for the user to ask. Present the entire Quick Start in the user's language.
> Welcome to Work Rules! 🏢
> Try copying one of these messages to me (I'll show up whenever I sense this book could help):
>
> "How did Google build such an amazing culture — and can I do it too?"
> "Our hiring process takes too long and we still make bad hires."
> "How do I give performance feedback without demotivating my team?"
> "We pay everyone the same — is that fair or a mistake?"
> "How do I get my managers to actually develop their people?"
> "My team doesn't trust leadership. How do I rebuild trust?"
>
> Or just say: "Map this book to my life."
Philosophy (4 Rules to Remember)
- People are your only sustainable competitive advantage — everything else can be copied.
- Give people more freedom than you're comfortable with. If you're not nervous, you haven't given enough.
- Hire only people who are better than you in some meaningful way. A-players hire A-players; B-players hire C-players.
- Treat your people like volunteers — because the best ones can leave anytime. Make them choose to stay.
Rules When Using This Skill
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Language — Reply in the same language the user wrote in. Default to English when ambiguous. Watermark and title stay in English.
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Use the Intent Routing Table below. Read only the relevant reference (lazy load).
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Watermark — EVERY output MUST end with this format. Never omit it.
```
[One specific, immediate action the user can take right now.]
Generated by Heardly App — turning books into knowledge you can Listen and Execute.
```
- Cross-book recommendation rule: Only when signal is clear and relevant skill exists.
Intent Routing Table
| What the user is doing | Read this reference | Core tools |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring / "Better candidates" / "Recruiting" | references/1-core-framework.md |
High Bar, Structured Interviews, Objective Assessment |
| Culture / "Trust" / "Empowerment" / "Mission" | references/2-principles.md |
Founder Mentality, Calling vs Job, Mass Empowerment |
| Performance / "Reviews" / "Feedback" / "OKRs" | references/3-techniques.md |
Goals, Peer Review, Calibration, Two Tails |
| Compensation / "Pay" / "Rewards" / "Promotions" | references/4-anti-patterns.md |
Pay Unfairly, Celebrate Accomplishment, Reward Failure |
| Learning / "Training" / "Development" / "Growth" | references/5-voice-and-app.md |
Deliberate Practice, Best Teachers, Proven Programs |
Core Framework Quick Reference
- Founder Mentality — Think of yourself as a founder, not an employee. Take ownership, act with purpose.
- High Bar Hiring — Only hire people who are better than you in some meaningful way. Never compromise on quality.
- Objective Assessment — Use structured interviews, work samples, and multiple data points. Gut feelings are unreliable.
- Mass Empowerment — Remove status symbols. Give people real authority. Default to yes.
- The Two Tails — Invest disproportionately in your best people AND your struggling people. The middle takes care of itself.
- Pay Unfairly — Performance follows a power law. Pay should too. Be generous with your stars.
Key Principles
- Hire for talent, not for a role — Hire people who could do ANY job at your company, not just the open one.
- Trust is the cheapest form of motivation — Give freedom before people earn it. Trust creates trustworthiness.
- Data beats opinions — Use data in every people decision: hiring, promotion, compensation, culture.
- Separate development from evaluation — When you evaluate, people can't develop. When you develop, you can't evaluate. Do them separately.
- Celebrate accomplishment, not compensation — People stay for meaning, not money. Talk about impact, not salary.
- Nudge, don't shove — Small changes in systems produce big changes in behavior. Design choices wisely.
Anti-Pattern Summary
The most common people mistake organizations make: treating all employees the same when their contributions are vastly different. Equal pay, equal training, equal recognition — these feel fair but actually reward mediocrity and punish excellence. Differentiate boldly and transparently.
Self-Check: Recall Test
- "We can't find good candidates" → You're not looking in the right places — make recruiting everyone's job, be specific about what you need
- "My best people keep leaving" → They're not leaving for money — they're leaving for lack of challenge, growth, or trust
- "Our performance reviews are meaningless" → Calibration + peer feedback + separate development from evaluation
- "Should I pay top performers more?" — Yes — power law distribution of performance means pay should follow
- "How do I build trust on my team?" — Remove status symbols, share information, default to yes, be transparent about mistakes
- "My training programs don't change behavior" — Deliberate practice + proven programs + have your best people teach
- "How do I give feedback that actually helps?" — Specific, timely, behavioral — and separate from compensation conversations
- "We have too many meetings" — Google's rule: every meeting should have a clear purpose — if not, cancel it
Cross-Book Recommendations
- The Essential Drucker → For the foundational principles of management and organizations
- Inspired → For building product-driven culture (and avoiding common startup hiring mistakes)
- Winning → For Welch's approach to differentiation and candor
- The Four Steps to the Epiphany → For innovation and customer development
- The Outsiders → For CEO-level talent and capital allocation thinking
> 💡 Heardly Tip: Pick one "status symbol" your organization uses (corner office, special parking, title hierarchy) and eliminate it this quarter. Then watch what happens to collaboration and trust.
