Ask a manager how their year went, and headcount often comes up before revenue does. Not because it’s the most important number – because it’s the easiest one to defend in a room full of people who don’t have time to dig into anything more complicated. Team of six grew to team of eleven? That reads as momentum, even if the actual output barely moved. Team of six stayed a team of six because six was exactly what the work required? That reads as stagnant, even when it’s the smartest call anyone made all year. Somewhere along the way, headcount growth became the scorecard nobody agreed to, and everybody plays by anyway.
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