Jason Rodriguez
Jan 30, 2026 - Aug 21, 2026
4
Decisions
0
Active Todos
3
Patterns
Categories
Decisions (4)
Say yes to the Nikola Kolev hire only against a handshake that it starts a timer on Jason Rodriguez - and reject the three-or-four-more-people gate outright
Mariah reported that Nathan had told her he needs three or four more people in before anything moves on Jason Rodriguez, and would not be ready to start until October. Peter told Mariah flatly that is not going to be true, then took it to Nathan in their 1:1 the same afternoon. He drew the line precisely: he will shake hands on you can hire a Jason Rodriguez replacement before we do anything about Jason, but not on we filled every role that we could possibly fill before we are doing something. He then made Nikola conditional - if you want to move forward on Nick because you think it will allow you to remove Jason, then I will say yes, but I would like it to come with a handshake that you are getting super aggressive then with Jason. Nathan agreed to the handshake. In the roundtable an hour earlier Peter had held the same question open in front of the panel, saying the manager conversation had to happen separately.
Sensitive Decision
Approve Jason Rodriguez performance exit path
Approved Nathan's plan to tell Jason Rodriguez he's 'not meeting expectations' and create an exit path. A 1-month exit plan is acceptable if Jason agrees. Performance gaps include missed deadlines (shim review for Rocky 9 late, Rocky 7 review pending) and unshippable code (large PR unlikely to pass review).
Sensitive Decision
Related Patterns (3)
Proactive Talent Pipeline Investment
Invest in building leadership bench and talent relationships before there is an urgent need. Use proven relationships from past experience to create optionality.
Accountability Follow-Through
When you issue a warning or mandate with stated consequences, you follow through. Warnings are not threats - they are commitments. The credibility of future accountability depends on following through now.
Three-Lever Talent Management
When pursuing a velocity or performance mandate, simultaneously operate on all three talent levers — upgrade (hire better), retain (protect key people), and exit (remove blockers) — rather than sequentially. This creates compounding momentum: exits free capacity for upgrades, retention preserves institutional knowledge during transitions, and upgrades raise the performance bar that justifies further exits.