"How can you scale your business AND keep your culture?"
This was the topic Andrew Paton-Smith (CEO & Founder of Jazoodle) asked me to talk about in my very first podcast interview.
Some of the areas we covered during the conversation included:
- Why is culture and cohesive leadership so important for scale ups?
- The common pitfalls of scaling
- The importance of team dynamics
- Leadership behaviours that drive success
- How to influence a culture of high performance and build leadership capability
- How to best manage conflict in a team
- Simple and practical advice to scale your business and keep your culture
For those football (the 'real' football) supporters out there, we also have a bit of friendly banter about why my team (Liverpool FC) is a far more high performing team than Andrew's team (West Ham FC). We also don't miss the opportunity for a dig at one of our mutual friends who is an Everton FC supporter.
In all seriousness, it was such a great opportunity to talk about my passion and share with Leaders in the start-up world the importance of culture, leadership and teamwork before they scale, as well as during the life of their business. If the Founder focuses on this, they won't fall into the common trap that many before them have come across - the 'cliff of death'.
The starting point of progressing to the 'cliff of death' is often seen in customer complaints. The start-up product and service levels begin to deteriorate. This is often linked to a lack of clarity around the start-ups reason for existence and the behaviours they value as a foundation for their culture. If the Leader does not take the time to get clarity around the companies reason for existence and their behaviours (core values), the recruitment process becomes a game of chance. When the Leader has clarity, they will attract potential employees that have the same beliefs and values that the start-up Leader has.
Getting clarity early is the key.
To listen to the podcast, click here. Enjoy!
If you enjoyed this article and podcast, please check out my other articles here.
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