Aligning and empowering employees for accelerated growth
Managing growth and change? There's a hack for that.
Denver Startup Week 2017 Session Pitch
“Growing pains” resonates with just about every startup. Some days you feel like everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing. Most days, though, tech, marketing, sales, operations, HR(?!) and the constantly evolving team continue to vy for resource and vision priority. And half the time they are moving so quickly, they forget to talk and align. Inefficiencies and frustrations pop up everywhere. But we all want to believe!
Aligning and empowering an organization for accelerated growth requires a shared client-, employee- and stakeholder-centric mindset. It’s far too easy for shared mission and goals to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the every day. Having spent ten years in Fortune 500 "corporate" communications and digital strategy positions, Kaptivate President Kate Peabody saw how innovation, culture and profitability collapse when silos are intentionally, and unintentionally, built.
In fact, corporate giants are now spending millions to shed the shackles of bureaucracy and bring back conditions for innovation, drive, aligned action and profit. They're spending millions more to foster a shared understanding and client-centric mindset in each individual in their organization. As someone who has been part of leading the change for tens of thousands of employees, Kate can tell you it’s exhausting and painful for everyone involved.
Lucky for startups, they've had the secret weapon all along -- the idea of personas and user experience. BUT they may not be using it to their full potential and may already be unintentionally fostering silos as they rapidly grow. Additionally, many startups lack the business and change management experience to make decisions in confidence, and get overwhelmed with business jargon and decisions.
It is Kate’s objective through this session to help startups connect a familiar tool - user experience and personas - to broader areas of business management, so they remain agile and healthy even as they grow to be our next “corporate giants”. There’s no reason for startups to lose their groove as they grow, and there’s no reason that a startup leader can’t build some basic business management savvy fast.
Kate, President and Senior Strategist of Kaptivate, LLC, would be presenting and leading the discussion, drawing best practice examples, and missteps to avoid, from her decade of experience transforming how global Fortune 500 companies communicate and collaborate, as well as her education in communications and graphic and web design from Santa Clara University, an MBA from the University of Denver, and ongoing UX learning and certification from IDEO and General Assembly.
The largest event of its kind in North America, Denver Startup Week is the summit of entrepreneurial energy, innovation, and connection. Powered by the local community, our sessions represent the very best in tech, design, DIY-making, marketing and leadership. Whether a founder, developer, designer, marketer, maker, or anything in between - Denver Startup Week will inspire.