Calling Operator with Laura Nicol Ep 48. Paul Redfern on Growth, Scale and Staying Human
Laura Nicol connects with Paul Redfern, Chief Operating Officer at Big Picture Medical. He’s someone who’s spent most of his career toggling between product and operations, and getting pretty good at living in the grey. And becoming “reasonably okay-ish” in a whole bunch of different worlds.
This episode is all about a tension every operator knows too well: the never-ending juggle between growth and scale. Serving today’s customers while building for tomorrow. Every decision has a cost. The real skill is knowing which ones are actually worth it.
Inside this conversation:
- The journey from Bank of Queensland, Tyro, Brighte and now Big Picture Medical
- What scaling a global healthtech startup looks like behind the scenes
- The Red Line Framework for sustainable leadership and life moments
- How to grow up as a company (we’re talking communication maturity for scaling orgs)
- Context switching and energy management as a new parent-leader
- Why the chaos never really ends. It just shapeshifts
- Treating operations like a product and how that changes what you optimise for
- [Relationships] The power of weekly Notion check-ins. A quick gut-check on what’s happening, where you need flex, and how you’re showing up for each other
- What it feels like to have an imaginary infinite battery
- A tiny mental trick: asking “Will this move me closer to my goals this week?” And sometimes “Will this move me closer to my goals, full stop?”
- For every operator out there, pausing to rethink your own operating system and patterns is a real level-up moment
Want to connect with Paul? Find him on LinkedIn.
Also mentioned:
- The psychological reason journaling makes you better.
- Kate Glazebrook
- Jackie Rabec
- Priya Vase
- Dr Tom McKinnon
- Ben Colley
Guest ideas?
Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.
A note from your host, Laura:
My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.
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