Org: headcount plan, key hires, departures
Show current headcount against plan, name the hires that matter, and disclose any departures the board hasn't already heard about.
Directors want to know if the org can execute the plan; Sequoia's guide includes headcount as a leading indicator, not a lagging HR report.
- Headcount actual vs. plan, by function or in total
- Named key hires this quarter and open key roles
- Any departures, especially at leadership level, stated plainly
- A full org chart with every individual contributor listed
- Softened language around a departure the board should already know is a problem
- A leadership departure mentioned for the first time in this deck, with no prior heads-up
- Headcount growing faster than revenue with no explanation
- Calling a firing a 'transition' to avoid the harder conversation
- Listing hiring plans without saying which roles are actually open right now
- · Has any director already heard about a departure privately, so this isn't a surprise?
- · Does headcount growth track against revenue growth, or outpace it?
Headcount: [actual] vs. [plan]. Key hire: [name/role]. Departure: [name/role], [reason, one line].
"We've made some team changes and are excited about our growing organization."
"Headcount: 14 vs. 15 planned. Hired: VP Sales (start Sept 1). Departed: Head of Support (Aug 15, performance), backfilled internally within 2 weeks."
Nimbus names the role, the date, and the reason for the departure, which is what keeps a board from hearing it secondhand.
Quick quiz
1. How should a leadership departure be handled in the board deck?
- ○ Omitted until asked
- ✓ Stated plainly with the reason, ideally after the board lead already got a heads-up
- ○ Buried in the appendix
- ○ Replaced with 'organizational changes'
A surprise departure in the deck damages trust more than the departure itself.
2. What should headcount be compared against?
- ○ Last year's headcount only
- ✓ The hiring plan, and implicitly against revenue growth
- ○ Competitor headcount
- ○ Nothing, headcount stands alone
Headcount outpacing revenue is an early signal of burn problems before it shows up in the P&L.