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#09 How to initiate and maintain 4x growth every year – Felix Plog

Felix Plog is SVP of Global Operations for Delivery Hero, and previously co-founded Foodpanda (acqu. by the group in 2016) which was the leader in emerging markets.

As a growth expert he will share the challenges of ramping up operations in one of the most competitive and disruptive industries, mass-launching new markets, consolidating operations across many business units and leveraging technology to be ahead of competitors.

Summary:

  • Importance of challenging oneself and hiring people who question and challenge (08:20)
  • Hiring challenges in different cultures and the need for local context (08:55)
  • Adapting organizational structure and processes to handle growth and complexity (10:01)
  • Balancing agility as a startup with the need for alignment and goal-setting (11:32)
  • Discussing the challenges of maintaining agility in a larger organizational structure (19:39)
  • Emphasizing the significance of the market size for scalability (22:20)
  • Tips for starting a high-growth venture: choosing the right market and gaining professional experience (23:56)
  • Dealing with stress and finding ways to decompress and relax (26:38)
  • Recommended approach to business and management: building self-sustainable teams (29:29)
  • Leveraging a strong network for guidance and advice (31:46)
  • Continuous self-reflection and learning from mistakes (32:16)
  • Importance of being open to criticism and learning from outcomes (33:19)
  • Book recommendations: “The Kindly Ones” and “Business Adventures” (34:36)
  • Advice to 20-year-old self: be bold, start early, and embrace opportunities (36:18)

Interesting Quotes:

Growth is the most addictive drug you can hand out

Hire – Never compromise on quality – find the best people

Culture Fit comes naturally mostly you hire similar people to you

Be bold don’t wait to long

Just learn, don’t be scared of failing

Look on structure and processes together – change it in close alignment

Growth – make sure that people still have impact

Allignment & GoalSetting:
OKRs – gets you out of the Fire-Modus of a Startup – Brings you in Strategy-Modus
OKRs not from day one otherwise you are not agile enough

When you start, don’t be scared of big players

Book Recommendations:

The Kindly Ones: A Novel – Jonathan Littell
Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street – John Brooks

#Growth, #Hire, #Culture Fit, #Be bold don’t wait, #Don’t be scared of failing – just learn, #OKRs, #don’t be scared of big players