In this episode of Mastering Tech Growth, Mike looks at the challenge of scaling tech operations without compromising growth. To do this he is joined by Andrew Parsons, an industry veteran who, for decades, has been transforming operations for Vive Bank, HSBC, MasterCard, Admiral Group and more. Andrew shares his insights on achieving operational excellence without slowing the pace at which a startup grows and evolves. A critical but often overlooked factor of tech scaling. 

Whether you're in a fast-growing startup or managing an established venture, this episode offers actionable strategies to help your operations grow.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Be aware of the risks, but still be bold enough to innovate and break the mould. 

• Use Jeff Besos´s decision-making process to make sure you don´t become so risk-averse that progress freezes.

• Set clear goals, clearly define your roles and set clear accountabilities.

• Fail fast, move forward, and spend your money wisely.

• Leverage frameworks, to improve operational consistency. This is especially important when you grow through mergers. 

• Effective change management is the key when scaling. Set clear goals, take a structured approach to communicating them effectively and monitor the impact of the change.

• Communicate clearly in a calm, measured and consistent way, especially during mergers. 

• Be an active listener – read between the lines.

• When things go wrong, calmly evaluate why and logically assess the problem layer by layer.

• Put automation at the core. Everyone should be driving it.

• Think carefully before automating decision-making.

• At the growth stage you will need to quickly hire the talent you need. Prepare for this, in advance.

• From an early stage encourage testing failure modes, to build resilience.

• Turn each crisis into a learning opportunity. 

BEST MOMENTS

04:04 "Risk management is the daily day buzzword. You're always trying to do something to make sure, it is the right thing for now." 

16:03 “Clear goals, clear roles, clear accountabilities. If those are all correct, the people with those accountabilities will be the first to say, I need another person." 

21:52 "You can never really communicate enough." 

32:32 "Find a way of asking your questions that's not going to negatively charge the conversation and take things in the wrong direction." 

47:05 "Gen AI will, and should, be used to augment and make life better for everyone." 

01:11 .14 “Make sure you've got a risk management framework that you can log these things into." 

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-parsons-49b6135

Jeff Besos decision making - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxsdOQa_QkM

ABOUT THE HOST

Meet Mike, a seasoned tech entrepreneur and visionary with over two and a half decades of invaluable experience in founding and scaling successful tech start-ups. Mike brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge, and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and tech professionals.

As a host, Mike is dedicated to sharing actionable insights, strategies, and stories gathered from conversations with industry leaders, innovators, and experts. With a remarkable ability to distil practical wisdom from guests, Mike curates engaging discussions that resonate with both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals.