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Pull The Alarm, Skip The Meeting
Jon Matzner
February 25, 2025
I've been thinking a lot about how we handle “PROBLEMS” at work.
Specifically, when they're PREDICTABLE problems.
Here's what happens every week:
(Using a recruiting company as an example)
We sit in meetings.
People report issues.
"We don't have enough candidates for the Johnson role."
"The Peters account changed their requirements again."
"Our top candidate just got a counteroffer."
We nod.
We sympathize.
We brainstorm solutions.
Then we do it all again next week with slightly different (but fundamentally the same) problems.
It's exhausting.
And completely unnecessary.
Fire departments don't have brainstorming sessions
I have a lot of weird Youtube fascinations (ask me about cruise ships when I have a few beers in me).
Last month I went down a rabbit hole learning about how fire departments operate.
With GoPros these days, the footage is INCREDIBLE.
I’ve been studying how they operate in ambiguous and fast paced environments.
I could write pages from what I’ve learned!
How they communicate, plan, integrate, strategize, etc
Here’s one of my favorite lessons.
When a fire breaks out, firefighters don't gather the team to discuss how to handle it.
They don’t send a slack.
They don't form a committee.
They send a truck (a “one alarm fire”)
Once the truck gets there, if they need more resources they “Pull another alarm”.
Each level triggers a specific, pre-determined response.
Two-alarm fire?
That gets exactly X number of trucks, Y number of firefighters, dispatched from Z specific stations.
Three-alarm fire?
The response scales up automatically.
No meetings.
No debates.
No confusion.
Just a system that unleashes the right resources at the right time, QUICKLY.
The on site commander knows the criteria to “Pull a second alarm” and the department kicks into gear when that gets called.
Most of our "business emergencies" aren't emergencies at all.
They're entirely predictable events that happen over and over.
Crew has a job that is running late?
Sub contractor doesn’t show up?
Truck breaks down?
THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME…. so why do we treat them like shocking surprises each time?
What a business alarm system could look like
Here's what I'm thinking:
(These are made up numbers, but I’m just using Sagan as an example).
If less than 10 candidate apply within 2 days, that's a one-alarm situation.
It automatically triggers 10 extra hours from our outbound sourcing team. No approvals needed. No meetings required.
If less than 10 candidates apply within 4 days, that’s a two-alarm situation.
It automatically triggers turning on facebook ads. It also gets assigned to a Senior Recruiter or a pod leader. No approvals needed. No meetings required.
If less than 10 candidates apply within 8 days, that's a three-alarm situation.
Director of Operations handles this one. Unlimited budget to solve the emergency. Briefed to executive leadership. Should be very rare, but should be plugged as quick as possible.
A debrief with leadership team the week after to review what went wrong
Speed to solution.
The hardest part isn't the system
A “system” is a decision made in advance.
As managers, we love to believe every problem needs our unique wisdom.
That we must be consulted on everything.
Information flows up, decisions flow down.
But most problems aren't special.
They're routine.
And waiting for managerial approval or a meeting just adds delays.
This works beyond recruiting
Maybe you're in manufacturing.
Your alarm could be:
"If defect rates exceed 3% for 2 consecutive days, quality team automatically adds a second inspector."
Maybe you're in software.
Your alarm could be:
"If customer support tickets on a feature exceed 5 per day, a developer automatically shifts to addressing those issues."
The magic isn't in the specific responses.
It's in making the responses automatic, fast, and effective.
Most businesses are slower than they need to be because they mistake recurring problems for unique challenges.
If something happens every month, it’s not a surprise—it’s a process flaw that needs a system.
Yallah Habibi,
Jon
Here’s a video of how it looks. It’s already become the most used tool in our team’s tech stack. Watch me use it at the link above. Available only if you are a member.
