Hyper-growth – a stage as exciting as it is demanding which all companies and businesses strive to get to.
My guest today is an expert and advisor on just that. With a background in engineering, Karen Walker shares her wisdom on some of the most indispensable processes, systems, and capabilities that organizations need to have to not only survive but thrive in hyper-growth.
Karen explains that the trials companies face entering hyper-growth are not just limited to the obvious, such as overcoming technical obstacles in a fast-paced environment or constantly having to refine standard operating procedures.
Join us as our guest sheds some light on the importance of the intangible yet very impactful issues that also define if a company is to be successful in hyper-growth.
We’ll discuss sense of purpose, employee engagement, cultivating the right culture, and other human aspects in the enterprise world that organizations can’t afford to ignore if their goal is to thrive in hyper-growth – especially during The Great Resignation.
- [00:03:33] What is hyper-growth?
- [00:06:06] Why companies struggle with hyper-growth
- [00:07:51] What skills does hyper-growth require?
- [00:10:17] Managing hypergrowth (how to be “directionally correct”)
- [00:13:27] Alignment – staying on course in hyper-growth
- [00:18:29] How to improve retention during The Great Resignation
- [00:22:10] What are the leading organizations doing to ensure retention?
- [00:31:15] The importance of culture in organizations
- [00:36:23] Tamar asks her quintessential final question
“People, in general, will be more productive when they're not just working on time when they're working on outcomes. Nobody gets up in the morning and says, “I'm excited to work eight hours today.” People get up and say, “I'm excited to create X or to provide service Y,” or whatever it is that they're doing.”
Karen Walker
The COO’s Corner, Episode 8
Karen Walker
Strategic Advisor and Board Director
Karen Walker is an executive coach, consultant, speaker, and author who advises CEOs and senior leaders on thriving in hyper-growth. She has worked with clients including Aetna, AWS, Pfizer, JPMorgan Chase, and BMC Software, as well as Inc. 5000 startups.
Karen has a B.S. degree in engineering from Texas A&M University and graduated from the ODHRM program at Columbia University. She is a contributor to Forbes, Fast Company, and Harvard Business Review’s Ascend.
Learn more about Karen’s work at https://karenwalker.us/
Connect with Karen on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenwalkerus/
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- No Dumbing Down: A No-Nonsense Guide for CEOs on Organization Growth https://www.amazon.es/No-Dumbing-Down-No-Nonsense-Organization-ebook/dp/B07J17261K
- The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Teams-Creating-High-Performance-Organization/dp/1633691063
- Jon R Katzenbach; Douglas K Smith. “The Discipline of Teams.” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83 No. 7-8 (JUL. 2005), p162-171
https://hbr.org/1993/03/the-discipline-of-teams-2
Reach out to Tamar at tamar@tamarnelson.com
Connect with Tamar on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamar-nelson/
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