How Companies Lose Elasticity as They Grow

Chris Brogan shares some brutally honest insights about leadership, growth and being helpful. He's a self-proclaimed expert at failing, but what does that mean? And how can leaders learn from it to keep their organisations flexible and effective even as they grow at speed?

Ten-time author, executive coach, strategic advisor, writer, photographer and co-host of the internet’s Backpack Show and Playing For Time, Chris is a master communicator. As Chief of Staff at Appfire, he most recently helped steer the B2B SaaS company from $10m to $275m of ARR (annually recurring revenue). Despite this, he claims he's never been ‘capable or qualified’ for anything he's done professionally. 

This is a conversation packed with wisdom, experience and smart thinking. And a very dry reference to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers that went right over my head at the time. Listen to discover:

• what Chris thinks is crucial about failure and failing,
• the traits that make for great (and not so great) leaders,
• why companies lose their elasticity as they grow - and what you can do about it,
• what he wants to do for the rest of his life,
• why he’s learning to code,
• some excellent tips for cold email marketing, and 
• the philosophical lessons we should take from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbrogan/

Sign-up for his newsletter:
https://chrisbrogan.com/#newsletter

 

Check out that Anthony Kiedis/Red Hot Chilli Peppers reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DyziWtkfBw

 

Due credit goes to The Adaptavist Group's Jari Worsley for the story about his dad training spreadsheet users back in the day. Read more here:
https://bit.ly/4onTjXJ

 

Further reading:

Chris Brogan ‘Social Media 101’ (affiliate link)
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15792/9780470621004

 

Chris Brogan & Julien Smith ‘The Impact Equation’ (affiliate link)
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15792/9780670922406

 

Ryan Holliday ‘ Ego Is The Enemy’ (affiliate link) 
https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15792/9781781257029

 

Chris Whipple ‘The Gatekeepers’ (affiliate link)
https://amzn.eu/d/1m2wNHl

 

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Thanks for listening to Curious Business, the business podcast that brings you fresh insights, experiences and ideas to help you think differently about your business and marketing.

My name is Stephen Morris. I help start-ups and scale-ups gain clarity, take action and ignite real momentum in their marketing and pipeline generation. If you'd like to know more, book a discovery call or sign-up for my monthly newsletter - The Prompt.