Jellyfish’s Post

Not so long ago I shared how I “did nothing” in my first 30 days as CEO (spoiler alert, I didn’t literally mean nothing!). It’s time to zoom out. Here’s what the first 120 days looked like. > Right-sized leadership to focus headcount on front-end > Focussed efforts on streamlining tech (taking out tech for the first time ever)  > Grew average sales per employee by 20%  > Reduced third-party services and transportation spend by 80% The priority has been creating a robust customer pipeline. I talk a lot about people vs tech. Don’t get it twisted, tech is vital to innovation and progress. You need the right people and the right tech - one doesn’t succeed without the other. But, you have to cement your teams first - get the right people for the right roles, align objectives, and set CLEAR goals. Once you have high-performance teams, you can implement tech to accelerate their work. Cutting corners never works. Especially when tech is involved - it just complicates an already failing process. Learn from your observations, strip back all unnecessary components, and rebuild. As I’ve already mentioned, those first 30 days of observation, gave me everything I needed to take action fast and with certainty. This meant by day 120, we’ve got the results to show for it.

𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 🎤 This is how I kicked off my speech to help my audience to have more trustworthy transitions and transformations. This week, I had the incredible opportunity to inspire product professionals and change-makers with my talk at the Product Operations Meetup Berlin (POPs Berlin) organized by Antonia Landi at Netlight. And let me tell you, it was a blast! 🔥 Hugging a stranger at a meetup can feel a bit awkward, isn't it? Establishing trust is paramount in any transition. I kicked things off with a bold challenge for the ~100 participants. I wanted the audience to experience that initial resistance firsthand. After all, isn't resistance a common theme in transitions? 💡 But here's the twist: Imagine if I had shared the benefits of a good hug—how it boosts your hormones, lowers stress levels, and enhances overall well-being — before asking them to embrace their neighbor. Suddenly, it would have been much easier, wouldn't it? 👏 The response was beyond my expectations! The majority of participants eagerly embraced the challenge, demonstrating a level of devotion that was truly inspiring. Thanks Lars Hartenstein for this brilliant idea of hugging. ✋ Many in the audience expressed their desire to drive positive change at work, yet they hit roadblocks. Sound familiar? 💼 Fear not! In my forthcoming posts, I'll share practical tips on cultivating a trustworthy culture for successful transitions. Additionally, I'll provide strategies for gaining stakeholder buy-in and overcoming resistance with more trust and less pushback. Stay tuned for these valuable insights! 📞 I'm just a call away, ready to be your partner in trustworthy transitions. Let's make magic happen together! ✨

Welcome back Monday! 🎉 We are nothing without our community! Each week we share the top insights from our COO beta community. The need: 🙏 👉 Anchoring each offsite in a business goal is rarely done, but could be the game changer. The insight:💡 👉 If we focus on 'why' rather than 'where', the whole experience can be crafted with that goal in mind - then it makes sense to measure the outcome. We're on it! We’re building the next generation platform for leaders to plan, build and measure team connection across the year - and we’re creating it with you in mind. 😍 Our favourite quote from the session 💚   "What needs to happen for [an offsite] to work is for that team day and the OKR thing to come together somehow, to be able to demonstrate success is a 'team thing' - not be told that you're successful or unsuccessful as a business." ------------------------------------------------------------- We’re leading a movement to design a world where teams, not just individuals, are the catalyst for change, fuelled by distributed work, a celebration of our human skills, and a sustainable cycle of work. This is what we call the #FutureOfTeams Want to join our beta community, feedback, and get a new product that solves your connection pain points? Sign up here and check out all the benefits of being on our waitlist: https://lnkd.in/ecGjw7Cw #futureofwork #teamcoaching  #coos

LinkedIn brains trust – let’s talk productivity and efficient work habits… I’m constantly battling the lure of becoming a slave to my inbox and calendar, and need to intervene before I become a task-based, to-do list cross-off-aholic (a tempting habit of indulging in easy to complete tasks, often reinforced with a momentary injection of fulfilment…dopamine’s a helluva drug). These habits run the risk of distracting me from the true purpose of my role as a leader; innovation and thought leadership, cultivating strategic partnerships, driving and empowering delivery, and inspiring purpose and direction. I’ve considered all sorts of theory (MoSCoW, OKRs, 3-3-3, Pareto, Kano, time blocking, Eisenhower, RICE etc.), but want to hear real-world successes, trials and tribulations. How do I break free from the cycle and create more space to work on the true needle-shifters – what has worked for YOU?

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 "𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰" 𝘰𝘳 "𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧"? Months before COVID-19 hit, I was guiding a newly inherited team through a massive organizational change. Simultaneously, I was navigating a new line of business and spending half my week in closed-door meetings with leaders, redesigning our marketing organization's operations. Then COVID struck. Like many working parents, I suddenly found myself homeschooling a kindergartener and 4th grader while managing work transitions and grappling with the pandemic's implications. Overwhelmed doesn't begin to describe it. Recognizing the need to build resilience, I hired executive coach Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan. In our first meeting, she asked me to approach a wall, step closer until my nose touched it, then step back. When close, I saw nothing. From a distance, I could describe the wallpaper's details clearly. This exercise illustrated the concept of being "𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰" versus "𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧" - ideas from Robert Kegan's work, The Subject-Object Theory. When you're in "𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰", you're too close to see clearly, operating on unquestioned assumptions. Shifting to "𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧" allows you to observe and reflect objectively, questioning your beliefs and adjusting your thinking. This simple yet profound tool helped me: ✅ Gain new perspectives when feeling overwhelmed ✅ Clarify priorities and distinguish between critical and non-urgent tasks ✅ Approach conflicts with fewer assumptions I learned from this simple exercise that in times of rapid change and uncertainty, the ability to step back and see the bigger picture can be transformative. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 "𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰" 𝘰𝘳 "𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧"?

Today was one of those days that reminds me why I love what I do. I had the chance to meet with a group of incredibly sharp business minds at our office. We had an amazing discussions about growth strategies, people's management, and company structure. Here are a few golden nuggets I took away: 1.Growth Strategies: - Data-Driven Decision Making: Emphasize the importance of leveraging data analytics to inform growth strategies. It's all about making informed decisions that drive results. - Customer-Centric Approach: Focusing on customer feedback and experiences to refine and improve product offerings. Happy customers lead to sustainable growth. 2. People's Management: - The best leaders are those who understand and empathize with their team's challenges and aspirations. It's not just about managing, but inspiring. - Encouraging a culture where learning and development are prioritized. When your team grows, so does the company. 3. Company Structure: -Structuring the company to be adaptable to changes in the market. An agile organization can pivot quickly and efficiently. - Ensuring everyone knows their role and how they contribute to the bigger picture. Clarity drives accountability and performance. It was an energizing experience filled with new insights and actionable ideas. I’m excited to start implementing some of these strategies and see the positive changes unfold. To all the brilliant minds I had the pleasure of meeting today – thank you for your invaluable insights and for pushing the boundaries of what's possible.

Have you ever thought about how small changes in our work habits can lead to big breakthroughs? Let's explore this idea together! Yesterday, we tried something new at work, and it worked wonders: • We started talking and sharing ideas like never before. • Making decisions became a breeze! • And we got super creative with our projects. But before all these, our team was struggling a bit. We had trouble getting organised and staying on track. So, what changed? Here's the deal: • Our leaders gave us clear rules to follow, which made it easier to try out new stuff. • We all got to share our thoughts without any fuss. • And our way of working became super flexible, so we could adapt to anything. And the best part? We didn't need someone watching over us all the time. We trusted each other and got things done. Excited to learn more about how simple changes can lead to big wins? Follow for more Insights .

Doubled my productivity last month. Here's how. It's all about ruthless prioritization. Top founders make the right moves while others struggle. Let me share my framework. First, assess impact. Look at your traffic sources. Which 3 channels bring in the best leads? Focus there. Now, the core focus check. Every task should contribute to selling, coding, or building. If not, delegate or cut it. Keep your company vision visible. Before starting anything, ask if it aligns. Set specific weekly goals. Only do tasks that impact these metrics. Finally, estimate effort and project impact. Use time-tracking tools. Calculate ROI based on past data. Consider how many users it'll affect. Remember, saying yes to one thing means saying no to ten others. That's the key. What's your biggest prioritization challenge? Let's figure it out together.

✨ "𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠." - 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞 ✨ At SOUTHWORKS, we're all about embracing a can-do attitude when it comes to problem-solving. 🦾 Our customers' challenges are the fuel for our passion, driving us to create and deliver solutions that catapult their success to new heights. Echoing the wisdom of Adam Savage, I too have found that deadlines are not just about keeping time; they're a powerful catalyst for motivation and innovation for both myself and my teams. 🚀 We tackle big milestones by breaking them down into smaller, manageable tasks, each with its own clear deadline. This approach doesn't just keep the momentum going; it's key for prioritizing effectively, ensuring we're always focusing on the right tasks at the right time. By keeping a diligent track of our progress and maintaining open lines of communication with our clients, we lay the groundwork for our Development on Demand model. Starting with bite-sized initiatives, we evaluate their impact and strategically scale up the most impactful solutions. I'm curious about your approach: How do you tackle challenges? Are deadlines a cornerstone of your strategy? Drop your thoughts and strategies in the comments below. #Business #Culture #Leadership #Engineering #DevelopmentonDemand

This discussion got me thinking about why it's so hard to fundamentally change how a company is organized. It's not just about lines of reporting in a human organization. Every time you change structure, you change the concentration of power. To allow the individual teams to make decisions together, whoever was in charge MUST cede a level of control. This is why it's so hard to start or rebuild a product discipline. Product's job is to make better decisions, and someone was making those decisions before. To support the creation of a strong product discipline is to concentrate that decision power across the organization. A great deal of trust and leadership alignment is needed to shift organizational models. This is not a cheap or easy move, and it takes time for people to readjust to the new systems. Do you have the company culture to support this new way of working? So much to think about. It was a good conversation.