233 Andrew Bartlow - Clarity is the Magic Wand

Andrew Bartlow is the Founder and Managing Partner of Series B Consulting, which advises PE and VC-backed organizations. He co-authored “Scaling for Success”, published by Columbia University Business School, and teaches at some of the world’s leading educational institutions. Over his long in-house career, Andrew participated in over a dozen M&A transactions, IPOs, bankruptcies, and successful PE sponsor exits. He advised scores of C-level executives, supported employee populations of 5,000+, built numerous HR functions, and learned from the best while at Pepsi and GE. His last in-house role was as the head of HR for what is now Invitation Homes, which he helped take from a small private organization to a public company with a market cap of over $20B.

In this episode Jason and Andrew discuss:

• Scaling businesses through mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and private equity exits
• Effective people management strategies for high-growth companies
• Pitfalls of blindly following trendy management practices
• Four C's of leadership: clarity, consistency, communication, and consequences
• Leveraging AI and technology while monitoring its workplace impact

Key Takeaways: 

• Fuel both personal and professional growth by embracing ambition, taking calculated risks, and gaining diverse experiences. Success is achieved by aligning personal fulfillment with career advancement.
• Effective people management in rapidly growing businesses relies on mastering the leadership fundamentals four C’s—clarity, consistency, communication, and consequences—while avoiding one-size-fits-all management trends.
• Experiment with emerging technologies like AI to boost workplace efficiency but remain mindful of their broader impact on work environments and industry structures.
• Remote and hybrid work models are shifting demand toward larger homes and home offices while decreasing the need for traditional commercial office spaces.
• Upskill HR professionals and structure teams around clear goals and accountability to foster growth, productivity, and long-term success in an evolving business landscape.

“Success is meeting your goals or achieving or surpassing your goals. But to have success, you have to have a goal. You have to have some destination in mind. So, if you don't have a destination, if you don't have a goal, you cannot have success. So, you need to be able to chart your course. You need to be able to articulate what good looks like for you. If that's a certain revenue number, if that is delivering a certain number of shoes to the undeveloped world, whatever it is, have a goal, and that will be a very important first step on your road to success.”

 - Andrew Bartlow

Connect with Andrew Bartlow:

Website: https://www.seriesbconsulting.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartlow/ 

Andrew’s BOOK: https://www.scalingforsuccessbook.com/

Connect with Steve and Jason:

LinkedIn: Jason or Steve

Website: Rewire, Inc.: Transformed Thinking 

Email: grow@rewireinc.com

Show notes by: Angelo Paul Tagama

Audio production by