Founder's Mentality: The CEO Sessions

How did an “unqualified” CEO lead a turnaround that transformed our childhoods forever? 

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When he became CEO of the LEGO Group in 2004, Jørgen Vig Knudstorp was, in both his own words and his customers’ words, “unqualified” for the job. Twelve years later, Jørgen stepped down as CEO having not only engineered a financial turnaround, but having also cemented LEGO’s position at the centre of cultural relevance. Now, Jørgen reflects on his journey with an invaluable perspective that has been shaped by a decade of experience on multiple boards, and shares the key factors that enabled him to grow LEGO into the world’s leading toy company. 
  
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Jørgen as they discuss why you should hire a team that’s better than you, share advice for how a CEO should handle their board, and answer a simple but fundamental question that shaped Jørgen’s success: what can only the CEO do? 
  
Jørgen also shares a warning for his listeners: beware the all-in CEO. How can leaders find a work-life-balance on top of balancing their work inside the firm, to ensure they have enough free capacity to address important and unforeseeable things when they come up? 
  
This is a conversation about the beauty of making mistakes and the importance of understanding your role, that serves as a set of instructions for becoming the leader every firm needs. 
  
https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/ 
  
EPISODE CHAPTERS 
00:00 Introduction 
01:53 The "unqualified" CEO 
02:54 The process of discovery 
04:15 Jørgen's invaluable perspective 
05:12 Conversations with the family owner 
07:32 The fundamental question 
08:30 Three key answers  
09:32 What can only a CEO do? 
10:57 What should a CEO do? 
12:42 What Jørgen initially wanted for LEGO 
13:27 The importance of listening to customers 
14:12 Get your ego out of the way 
14:53 Build teams that are better than you 
17:12 The benefits of getting out of the way 
17:57 Three important lessons from Jørgen 
19:39 What is a good board member's job? 
20:55 Jørgen’s board member philosophy 
21:49 Jørgen's 95%, 5% rule  
23:22 How to work with sparring partners 
24:18 Jørgen's advice to CEOs about the board 
25:24 Learnings from both sides of the table 
27:12 How a CEO should handle their board 
27:57 Beware of the all-in CEO 
29:31 Reflecting on the journey 10 years on  
30:35 The beauty of making mistakes 
31:16 Instructions for becoming a better leader 
 
LINKS 
Focus. Upgrade. - Blog - Jimmy Allen [https://tinyurl.com/Focus-Upgrade] 
Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/] 
Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany]  
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/] 
 
About the Host: 
Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label [Abubilla Music] in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music.

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What can a CEO of a firm learn from a milk co-op?
  
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Peder Tuborgh joined Arla Foods as a marketeer, so no one expected that his first move as CEO would be to unite most of the company’s 100 brands under one name. But Peder’s purpose was clear. He built a shared conviction within Arla and developed a value proposition that has guided the company through two decades of turbulence and landmark mergers, all whilst driving relentless growth. Needless to say, there is a lot we can learn from the way Peder leads at Arla.
 
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Peder as they discuss the importance of focusing on volume growth, the power of thinking beyond the boundaries of a firm, and how Peder balances his ingenious value framework to build resilience within his team.
 
Peder emphasizes the dangers of looking too far into the future. Does a ten-year mindset take away from the work we’re doing today? How can leaders combine today’s values with tomorrow’s goals to build a company that can thrive in turbulence?
 
This is a conversation about value building and people driven leadership that redefines what strategy means.
 
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https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/  
  
EPISODE CHAPTERS 
00:00 Introduction 
02:42 Launching the Arla brand 
04:18 Betting on people 
05:41 Growth is in Arla's DNA 
07:42 The power of keeping it simple 
08:51 Envision, engage, deliver 
10:37 Engaging stakeholders 
13:10 The importance of volume growth 
15:10 How Arla's values help navigate turbulence 
17:40 Balancing the value framework 
19:47 Arla's DNA is not for discussion 
20:23 Building resilience through values 
22:47 The art of Peder's value framework 
23:58 Bringing the future into today 
25:56 How Peder has changed 
28:06 The importance of meaning 
29:40 The lessons we can all learn from Peder 
31:23 Thinking beyond the boundaries of the firm 
  
LINKS 
Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/] 
Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany] 
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/] 
Peder Tuborgh LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/peder-tuborgh-aba04935/] 
  
About the Host: 
Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label [Abubilla Music] in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music.

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How do you grow a billion dollar business in the face of extreme turbulence? 
  
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Bruno Lasansky is CEO of Localiza&Co, a Brazilian car rental company that began with just six secondhand VW Beetles in 1973. From surging interest rates to industry altering government policies, there are few companies that have faced adversity quite like Localiza. But for Bruno, turbulence is not something to be scared of. Under his leadership, Localiza&Co has become South America's largest mobility network, and today, it has more than 600,000 cars. 
  
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Bruno as they discuss Bruno’s playbook for the perfect storm: how to unleash the power of the unvarnished truth, how to balance pace and strategy to address turbulence face on, and the importance of culture in fuelling growth that will last for the long run. 
  
Bruno emphasizes the fact that success is not all about winning. Why should a leader shift their mentality away from winning, and towards valuing what they will learn along the journey? 
  
This is a conversation about transparency, discipline, and becoming a leader that not only guides teams through unforeseeable adversity, but sets them up to thrive before turbulence even arrives. 
  
https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/  
  
EPISODE CHAPTERS 
00:00 Introduction 
02:03 The perfect storm 
03:05 The turbulence Bruno was facing 
04:43 Resisting the typical temptations 
06:55 Strategy starts with a reality check 
07:39 Next comes the point of arrival 
09:38 How Bruno leads through turbulence 
10:13 The importance of adapting fast 
11:19 Responding to the unvarnished truth 
12:43 The importance of transparency 
13:55 Be prepared to exit when it’s necessary 
14:28 Never forget the customers or the team 
15:57 The power of people, culture, and the mission 
17:43 Bruno's acid test 
19:05 Entering turbulence with a full battery 
21:13 Bruno’s biggest lesson 
23:32 Winning is a consequence, not the main goal 
25:24 The things that drive Bruno 
26:43 Bruno's perfect storm playbook 
  
LINKS 
The Fifth New Rule of Scaling: Fall Back in Love with Process - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/FallBackInLoveWithProcess] 
Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/] 
Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany] 
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/] 
Bruno Lasansky LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brunolasansky/] 
  
About the Host: 
Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label [Abubilla Music] in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music. 

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When did showing up become optional? 
  
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In 2009 Michelle Zatlyn co-founded Cloudflare, a tech startup that powers 45% of all Fortune 500 companies through solving problems that were keeping their leaders up at night. The surprising thing is, Michelle had no background in engineering. She developed an expertise through showing up, leveraged her own strengths to build a billion dollar business, and wrote a playbook all founders can learn from in the process. 
  
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Michelle as they discuss the importance of solving problems that people care about, how to build teams that thrive off cross-functional collaboration, and how to balance delivery and development agendas throughout moments of hyperscale. 
  
Michelle’s story highlights the importance of showing up. Not all leaders start off as experts, but they can become one through being in the room where it happens. How can founders push themselves to show up, even at times where they don't initially have the expertise? 
  
This is a conversation about balancing delivery with growth, building a team that will drive progress through collaboration, and becoming an expert through showing up in the process. 
 
https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/  
  
EPISODE CHAPTERS 
00:00 Introduction 
00:48 No founder has the perfect skillset 
02:31 Finding the right problem to solve 
04:19 Building a customer-led tech company  
06:42 How Michelle became an expert 
08:15 The importance of showing up 
12:37 Navigating moments of hyperscale 
15:18 Scale demands decentralization 
16:20 Empowering cross-functional collaboration 
17:13 Protect the steady state, disrupt the status quo 
18:30 Balancing delivery and development 
19:35 How Cloudflare delivers and develops 
21:43 Scale changes a founder's role 
22:40 Recruiting for spiky capabilities 
24:39 The Cloudflare way 
26:10 Michelle's playbook 
  
LINKS 
A Beginner's Mindset: The Art of Showing Up - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/TheArtOfShowingUp] 
Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/] 
Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany] 
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/] 
Michelle Zatlyn LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellezatlyn/]
 
About the Host: 
Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label [Abubilla Music] in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music.

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What does it take to build a business that can pass the purpose-driven test? 
  
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Before becoming group CEO and Office of the President at Mars, Poul Weihrauch led a generational transformation of Mars Pet Care that was defined by the things he didn’t do. Poul didn’t pursue a rapid integration or underestimate complexity, and he refined financial strategies by rejecting synergy. Through these unconventional leadership decisions Poul doubled Mars Pet Care’s size, and tripled its organic growth rate. 
  
Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Poul as they discuss the value of embracing complexity in the name of the customer, how growth doesn't necessarily require synergy, and how Poul built a leadership development program which not only strengthens his leaders but also underpins the company’s growth. 
  
Poul’s story sets a powerful example for any CEO aiming to build a successful purpose-driven business. How can leaders enable a company to stay true to its purpose even during the most testing challenges? 
  
This is a conversation about the importance of CEO restraint, embracing the complexity that comes with growth, and the role of a leader in building a company that can pass the purpose-driven test.
 
https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/  
  
EPISODE CHAPTERS 
00:00 Introduction 
02:40 A trip to the graveyard 
03:48 Moving purpose from the walls to decisions 
05:54 Restructuring the leadership team 
07:35 The role of communication 
09:02 The engine one, engine two problem 
10:46 Navigating complexity 
12:31 Focus wins over synergy 
14:53 Poul’s philosophy 
16:12 Refusing synergy is a financial strategy 
17:45 The founder dilemma 
19:02 Poul’s pathfinders program 
20:18 The value of cross-functional collaboration 
21:20 Embracing complexity for the customer 
23:00 The cyber attack 
24:25 Living up to their purpose 
25:56 What it means to be purpose-driven 
27:25 Organization first, self last 
29:45 The lessons Poul learnt 
30:51 Poul’s most important stakeholders 
32:03 The things Poul didn’t do 
  
LINKS 
A Graveyard of Good Intentions - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/agraveyardofgoodintentions] 
Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/] 
Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany] 
Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/] 
Poul Weihrauch LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/poulweihrauch/] 
  
About the Host: 
Jimmy Allen is an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company with over 35 years’ experience advising leading organizations. He’s the author of multiple best-selling books on growth and leadership and the host and founder of Bain’s Global CEO Community Forum. Jimmy is a regular speaker at global business events, including the World Economic Forum, and serves on the Botswana Economic Advisory Council. Outside of consulting, Jimmy started his own record label [Abubilla Music] in 2008 and supports Singing Wells, a project dedicated to preserving Kenyan village music.

>>> Have your say!
Fill out our short listener survey, and help us form the future of the show
https://www.podpolls.com/founder