Why “Tour of Duty” Is the Best Hiring Mindset I Know
Teams grow stronger when you celebrate the season someone gave you, not the length they stayed.
Why “Tour of Duty” Is the Best Hiring Mindset I Know
Lesson: Not Everyone Is Forever (and That’s the Point)
One of the most powerful concepts I’ve borrowed for building teams is the “Tour of Duty.” In fast growing companies, the business changes faster than people do, and that’s not a flaw. Some people thrive in the zero-to-one chaos but don’t want the structure that comes later. Others shine in scale but not in the messy beginning. I even learned this about myself: I’m strongest in early stages. Put me in too much corporate structure and I become a liability, not an asset.
Insight: Seasons Create Stronger Teams
Here’s why the Tour of Duty mindset works:
- It Honors Contribution: People don’t need to stay forever to have been valuable; their season still moved the mission forward.
- It Reduces Misalignment: When you accept that roles evolve, you stop forcing people into chapters they’re not built for.
- It Frees People to Be Great: When someone’s tour ends, it’s not failure - it’s graduation. It creates space for their next win and yours.
Teams grow stronger when you celebrate the season someone gave you, not the length they stayed.
Action Item: Define Your Team’s Tours of Duty
- Identify Each Person’s Strength Stage - Are they zero-to-one builders, one-to-two optimizers, or scale operators?
- Match Their Season to Your Needs - Align roles with where the business is today, not where it was.
- Plan Graceful Exits & Transitions - If someone’s tour is ending, honor it, celebrate it, and set them up for their next chapter.
If you like this content, you can watch the video version of this.
Also, Young was featured as a guest on the podcast A Gamer's Guide to Productivity, in the episode “Podcast Interview Series #70 | Young Han | Scaling Success with Systems & Service” Don’t miss it!
