How to survive a PIP

👋 Hey, it’s Sundar! Welcome to a  paid subscriber only article of experiMENTAL: a weekly newsletter on B2C Marketing & data science how-to guides, frameworks, and stories from 15 years including early Uber. Free tier subscribers can continue reading for limited preview of the article.

When you look at someone’s resume or LinkedIn profile, you’re only seeing the polished version and the highlights. Behind every person is a career roller coaster that led them to where they are.

As more companies continue to make cuts (Meta just did another round yesterday), it’s important for people to be equipped to handle tough career situations. That’s why I decided to write a little more about the “dark side” of careers today and share the lowest point of mine.

What is a PIP?

A performance improvement plan, or PIP, is a statement indicating that an employee is falling short of expectations and identifies what needs to be done to improve (and stay employed). Essentially, it’s a notice to an employee that they need to change something in order to continue at the company.

This usually happens when the manager’s expectations of you do not align with the manager’s perception of you. It doesn’t have to be about the reality of the situation; it’s about expectation versus perception.

I 100% do not advocate for a PIP especially when it’s run by an inexperienced manager, but it’s a practice that still continues today. Marc Randolph (Co-founder at Netflix) wrote a great piece about why it sucks:

For many, a PIP feels like rock bottom but they aren't always death sentences. Let’s dive into my situation to understand where I’m coming from.

2017: The year of shit

In an ideal world, PIPs shouldn’t come out of nowhere. There should be some buildup where the PIP feels like a last resort. In the moment, it might not feel like it, but over time you’ll see that there were signs.

While I often write positively about my experience at Uber, it wasn’t always perfect. 2017 was a particularly challenging year:

1. I had been living in DC for almost 8 months, but I really missed my friends who mainly lived in New York. Even though it was my second time in DC, it didn’t feel the same because of the community I had built in New York.

2. Uber was going through a difficult year. We were always in the news, and it was just a tough environment to be in because of the constant negativity from people outside the company.

3. I had been let down in a part of my contract. It had to do with the timing of equity and some other factors, but it just felt like one unfair thing on top of another.

On reflection, it was too much for me to handle, but I wasn’t in the position to know that I needed to go to therapy. Regardless, I didn’t, and it all spiraled into how I performed at work. I’d miss deadlines, be defensive, and produce lower quality work than I had before. Not to mention, I had 4 different managers in 6 months. The final kicker is that the manager who put me on the PIP only managed me for a few weeks. I snapped.

However, once I got through my PIP, my career took off. I was promoted twice in two years and have gone on to build an excellent Data Science career. I haven’t looked back, and if I hadn’t pushed through the PIP, I wouldn’t have continued at Uber, and in hindsight, that would have been unfortunate.

But, enough about me. This is a tactical guide about how to survive a PIP, so here we go..

The first 48 Hours

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