What was a pivotal moment where your business made a big leap forward?
When the Kirby team turned into shareholders in our new company. The feeling of owning the company together as a team had a big, positive impact on me.
What do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
Small, consistent steps get you a lot further and are more sustainable than exhausting jumps. It sounds like such an obvious learning, but to choose exciting jumps over boring small steps keeps being way too tempting.
What shift in perspective / mindset has allowed you to see things differently?
I was a solo freelancer for too long and that blocked me from being a good team player. To truly see myself as part of a team and not just as an individual within a team was a very important shift in mindset.
What's a skill that we should pay more attention to in the workplace?
As design students, we had to learn to be very critical with our work and throw it in the bin without regrets. It's a skill that still helps me a lot, although I'm far from perfect at it. It's more like constantly training a muscle. Keeping your ego in check and learning how to be good at receiving, but also giving constructive critique is often seen as a given, but in reality it comes with hard challenges for everyone.
What do you do to maintain balance in your life?
Turning away from the screen whenever possible. No matter if it's time with the family, sport, building physical objects or playing guitar – I can really feel how my brain and my heart need more screen antidotes the longer I work in the digital realm.
What’s an important guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
Trust. I trust us as a team and each one individually, that we make the right choices together, that we are honest with each other and that we make mistakes but also manage to learn from them together.
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Here’s More, From Other Founders Around the World
What's a question you like asking — yourself or others?
I like asking, "What can I learn from this experience?" This question helps me reflect on challenges and successes, fostering continuous improvement and a mindset of growth and learning.
What’s an important guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
“Lead by ideas, not by hierarchy.” The “position” of a person has nothing to do with the ability to contribute great ideas to improve the company. You should always strive for a company culture where everybody can talk to everybody.
What shift in perspective has allowed you to see things differently?
Understanding that you cannot control the decisions other people make, you can only influence and inform them. Not every deal or decision will go your way and this mindset helps avoid self-loathing, anger, and depression.
What was a pivotal moment where your business made a big leap forward?
Understanding the 80/20 principle or even 64/4 and that it's a law of nature applicable everywhere. It's one of the biggest levers for doing more with less or in less time. (E.g. 20% of the streets in the world handle 80% of the traffic.)