310. Felix Velarde. Scale at Speed.
Felix Velarde
April 11, 2024
Listen to full episode :
”It is possible for hindsight to inform future plans.”
– Felix Velarde, Scale at Speed
Navigating growth can be both exhilarating and challenging. To shed light on this journey, we speak with Felix Velarde, the visionary behind the groundbreaking book "Scale at Speed: How to Triple the Size of Your Business and Build a Superstar Team." With decades of experience in entrepreneurship and digital agency leadership, Felix shares invaluable insights into the strategies and mindset required to scale businesses effectively, offering a holistic framework for navigating the complexities of business growth. By embracing strategic foresight, empowering teams, and fostering a culture of innovation, businesses can chart a path to sustainable success in an ever-changing world.
Topics discussed include:
The Need for Strategic Balance: Emphasizing the importance of striking a balance between speed and caution in scaling endeavors, it's crucial to avoid hasty decision-making. Rather than rushing into implementation, a thoughtful approach involving stepping back, assessing the landscape, and involving the right people in the decision-making process is advocated.
Starting at the End: One key takeaway from the approach is the concept of starting with the end goals in mind. By envisioning where they want to be in the future, businesses can work backward to identify the necessary steps to achieve those goals. This strategic framework helps in setting ambitious yet achievable milestones, akin to standing on the summit of a mountain and tracing back the path taken.
Setting Ambitious Goals: Drawing from goal-setting theory, the power of setting ambitious, big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAGs) is emphasized. These goals not only inspire teams but also compel them to devise concrete plans to accomplish them. By aligning financial, cultural, and service-oriented goals, businesses can create a roadmap for success.
Mitigating Risks and Embracing Change: With change being the only constant, the importance of risk mitigation and adaptability is stressed. Businesses that anticipate and prepare for potential risks are better positioned to weather disruptions and thrive in uncertainty.
Empowering Ownership and Collaboration: A fundamental aspect lies in empowering employees to take ownership of initiatives and drive change from within. By forming growth lab teams comprised of future superstars within the organization, businesses can foster innovation, creativity, and collaboration, leading to transformative growth.
The Continuum of Marketing and Sales: Challenging traditional notions by viewing marketing and sales as a seamless continuum, businesses focus on a crystal-clear proposition guiding both efforts. By aligning messaging with customer needs and facilitating a self-selecting sales process, businesses can streamline growth efforts.
Click here to purchase the book
Felix Velarde started one of the world’s first specialist digital agencies in 1994. His second agency Head New Media became the digital arm of Lowe in 1998.
Felix had a successful twenty years as a digital industry leader, innovator and serial founder. From 1994 to 2015 he was CEO of five award-winning marketing agencies. He’s also been chair of half a dozen more (including several agencies of the year), and CEO of an agency roll-up.
His career also included being an Adjunct Professor on Hult International Business School’s MBA programs, UK lead at Vint Cerf’s People-Centered Internet NGO, and a member of SRI’s Innovation for Jobs Leadership Forum.
In 2016 Felix Velarde founded 2Y3X, an international two-year growth acceleration program that routinely doubles participating agencies’ revenue.
Felix is the author of the manual for 2Y3X, Scale at Speed, published by Hachette and now in its second edition.
Felix also invests in marketing agencies, making strategic acquisitions in the US and UK, and applying 2Y3X to scale them rapidly.
Follow & Learn More:
Felix Velarde