leadership Archives - Paul David Mather 💡

Ever Feel Like You Should Have Achieved More in Your Career by Now?

Ever feel like you should have achieved more in your career? Paul David Mather

Recently I shared my career autobiography on LinkedIn, with all its ups and downs. Many said you want to try it for yourself. Here’s why it’s helpful to reframe your career failures as valuable experience. Followed by a simple guide how to write your mini career bio. And finally, my own as an example…

Being Shot At Isn’t The Most Stressful Thing I’ve Experienced

Paul David Mather leading soldiers in Afghanistan

Hearing I was a British Army officer in Afghanistan, people often say: “wow, you were so brave!” I appreciate the sentiment, but I beg to differ. I wasn’t brave. I was well-trained, motivated by a clear mission, and supported to achieve it. You can reduce stress in your organisation by becoming a better leader…

How To Become A Better Leader With Effective Delegation

Delegating effectively doesn’t come naturally to most people. I’ve coached many managers who struggle with workload because they spend precious time doing tasks their team is capable of. In my experience, great leaders and high performing teams have typically mastered the art of effective delegation…

The Most Important Leadership Lessons I Learnt At Deliveroo

Leadership lessons from Deliveroo by Paul David Mather

I reflected this week on my personal leadership principles. Then I remembered my “3 life-changing leadership lessons” from Deliveroo. I shared them with the company when I left in 2019, having joined as employee number 15ish 5 years prior…

The Truth About Startup Operations Consultants

Shhh..! Don’t tell my clients. There are lots of consultants out there, offering all kinds of services, using a variety of approaches. But what is a startup operations consultant exactly? What do they do? And do you even need one..?

3 Great Reasons To Define Roles And Responsibilities In Startups

Roles and responsibilities – sounds a little dry, right? But working in the world of startups, I’ve come across too many employees who simply don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing.

You know: the green as grass operations associate, who scurries round the office sheepishly asking how they can help…

The Truth About Work-Life Balance: It’s For Gurus And The Gullible

The internet is full of self-styled experts promoting work-life balance. You may have heard:

You need a better work-life balance!
Nobody lies on their deathbed wishing they’d worked harder!
Work to live, don’t live to work!

But is this helpful advice? Or is it a fool’s errand? That all depends on you…

Easy Operations In A Startup – Keep It Simple Stupid!

It’s easy to overcomplicate operations in a startup and make them hard to manage. It’s comparatively hard to simplify them and make them easy to manage. In 1960 US Navy engineers coined the design principle KISS – “Keep It Simple Stupid”. Here’s how to give your startup operations a big KISS…

How To Grow Your Startup By Scaling Operations

How To Grow Your Startup With Scalable Operations

This is a guest post by operations executive Keir Tutt about scaling operations (learn about him below).

Building a startup seems like a simple formula. You come up with a great idea, perhaps you seek seed funding, then you develop a Minimum Viable Product, acquire customers and sell, sell, sell! Nothing else matters, right..? But once you get some pioneer customers on board and it becomes clear your MVP has legs, how do you progress quickly from hustling to scaling operations for growth – without everything falling apart?

What Is Operations In A Startup? Don’t Worry, It’s Simple…

OK I lied, it’s not simple at all! Startup operations eludes straightforward definition, as does operations in general. There are however some commonly used frameworks to help you get your head around it.

4 Simple Steps To Make A Sustainable Startup

4 Simple Steps To Make Your Startup Sustainable by Sustainable Steve @lifeoflast

This is a guest post by sustainability expert Stephen Last on how to create a sustainable startup.

I’m going to show you four easy steps to make your startup more sustainable.

During my time working in some of the world’s most fast-paced companies, and specifically as the person responsible for driving sustainability at Deliveroo, I realised there’s a lot of confusion around what sustainability is and what it means to be a sustainable business.

The Best Career Advice For Military Veterans Entering Startup Operations

Transitioning from the Armed Forces to “civvie street” pushes you out of your comfort zone – I know from experience. These days there’s an abundance of free advice and resources available to help service leavers navigate the plethora of civilian jobs on offer. But if, as I did, you want to explore a career off the beaten path – like in the world of startups – it can be more challenging to find useful guidance. How do military operations translate to civvie street?

I spoke to three former military officers from the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (learn about them below). Since hanging up their boots, they’ve each pursued unique and fulfilling careers in the startup space. I asked them what they’ve learned from making that bold career change – good and bad, about startups and the military – and what advice they’d give someone looking to follow in their footsteps.

Risk Management: How Pandemic Panic Can Change Our Attitude

Coronavirus – Fear Divides Us: Risk Can Unite Us

There’s nothing quite like this pandemic to make us reevaluate our attitude to risk management.

Pay Transparency: The Truth About Fair Pay

Fair pay and pay transparency: good for business?

Pay transparency remains a taboo subject for many – employees and employers alike. But why? Here’s my take on why pay secrecy is bad for business. And how to achieve fair pay, transparently.