On hiring for attitude, measuring outcomes vs tactics and human-first customer support with Lav Crnobrnja

Is your team culture prepared for the challenges of modern remote work?

Lav Crnobrnja, co-founder and CEO of Vacation Tracker, shares his journey from building a leave management tool to scaling a fully remote, thriving startup. 

Learn how Lav’s team grew from a small experiment in Slack to a 19-person global operation, his hiring philosophy, and how he cultivates confidence and gratitude in his team.

Key Takeaways:

• Delegation is about accountability, not micromanagement. Lav explains how shifting from overseeing tactics to focusing on outcomes allows teams to take ownership and deliver results.
• Hiring for attitude over experience. Lav emphasizes identifying “diamonds in the rough” with intelligence and the right attitude, guiding them to develop their skills and grow within the company.
• Customer support with a human touch. Despite advances in AI, Lav insists on maintaining excellent, human-first customer service to ensure customers feel valued and understood.

Key Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:03:17 - The first $25

00:06:11 - Why Vacation Tracker integrated with Slack

00:09:27 - Evolving the ideal customer profile

00:11:11 - Lav’s hiring philosophy: diamonds in the rough

00:16:56 - Balancing jack-of-all-trades vs. specialists

00:19:25 - How Lav identifies talent

00:22:32 - Definition of excellent customer support

00:23:42 - Learning delegation during COVID

00:27:12 - The importance of building confidence in teams

00:29:01 - Lav’s tacos of gratitude

Key Topics Discussed:

remote work, Vacation Tracker, hiring strategies, customer support, employee confidence, delegation, team culture, Slack integration, bootstrapped startups, HR solutions

Mentions:

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mind,_Beginner%27s_Mind

Build Stronger, Connected, More Engaged Teams:

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About the Amazing Teams Podcast:

We started this podcast because we love teams, especially amazing ones. Michael Jordan said it best, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." This is what we're all about!

Our mission is to help others build amazing teams by having authentic conversations with remarkable people who are building amazing teams. We will explore the tactics, strategies, and frameworks that have helped them succeed.

The Amazing Teams Podcast is produced by HeyTaco and edited by Lifetime Value Media.

Learn more about LTV at: https://www.lifetimevaluemedia.com