Eric Dupuy is Global Chief Business Development Officer at Teleperformance.

All startups want to grow, but sometimes companies can lose a bit of magic over the course of that transformation. Organizations at any level of development can benefit by re-examining the core principles so many start out with. And rededicating itself to a startup mentality can help even the largest corporations gain some of that magic back, which can benefit the business.

The world has learned many lessons over the past few years—some good, some bad. Our team, like many, found itself scrambling to get half of our over 400,000-person global workforce up and running remotely in under six weeks—without suffering professional quality.

This unplanned digital transformation was only made possible by our leadership team’s dedication to maintaining a startup mentality, regardless of our size. Leading with adaptability and versatility is a principle written into our company’s DNA by our founder Daniel Julien, and I found it to prove very beneficial to us during the crisis.

This event reminded me of one principle that was the secret to our global success: Knowing the difference between managing and leading, which is critical within a startup.

What is our 10-Desk philosophy?

When Daniel Julien started my company Teleperformance in 1978, it was comprised of ten desks in a small meeting room in Paris. In under 50 years, Daniel built those ten desks into an industry leader in the CX space, providing services to customers in 80 countries with a workforce of around 420,000.

One of our core values throughout our exponential growth has been maintaining that same entrepreneurial business mindset.

Our organization’s 10-Desk philosophy, covered at more length here, is simple: Leaders can achieve significant results by focusing daily on the small things that matter. Their goals and dreams aren’t small, but their areas of focus are. By making a difference at the micro-level every day, leaders drive results. Our continued adherence to the 10-Desk Philosophy has been a critical factor in our success, enabling our ability to respond quickly to the pandemic.

How can leaders promote a startup mentality?

This mindset helps an organization keep the aggressive posture of a startup even as it continues to expand. Startups are hungry: The people on the ground floor know it requires hustle—and they are passionate about it, nonetheless. They don’t shy away from hard work, long hours or sleepless nights. Here are five ways company leaders can nurture a startup mentality within their organization—regardless of size.

1. Embrace innovation.

Newer companies don’t have the luxury of falling back on complacency or the sense that “this is the way it’s always been.” However large their organization has grown, leaders must make sure they are looking for ways to re-establish a dedication to innovation so that innovative ideas aren’t met with resistance.

2. Focus on agility.

When you’ve got ten desks and a dream, there’s no bureaucracy to slow you down. Leaders of organizations at all levels must ensure they are applying a startup mentality when it comes to assessing problems as they arise and changing course as necessary. Every challenge is an emergency when a startup is fighting for survival, so it must act accordingly. Big companies may be able to better weather the storm, but it can be very dangerous to lose that sense of urgency that leads to genuine breakthroughs.

3. Customer service is key.

Given their newly acquired client base, startups can’t lean into their relationship with clients as a promise for success. However, a startup’s early relationships with its first customers can make or break its endeavors, so devoted customer service is critical. Leadership at organizations of all sizes must continue to gather first-hand knowledge of the company’s operating environment that leaders at larger corporations too often struggle to maintain.

4. Lead with discipline.

Tackling problems ten desks at a time requires a ruthless dedication to results. Leaders must practice self-discipline so that they can only move on to the next ten desks after fixing that first set. We executed our own remote-work transformation ten desks at a time. That wouldn’t have been possible without a disciplined leadership team dedicated to maintaining a startup mentality.

5. Understand the difference between leading and managing.

This transformation reintroduced me to the differences between leading and managing. Both are vital to operations—neither is better than the other. During our digital transformation, we managed our teams by guiding them in the right direction and focusing on how we responded to the pandemic.

Management set the conditions for success and kept us on the right path. Meanwhile, our leaders aimed to lead our people by providing them with the how and why. Even when we face significant uncertainty about what lies ahead, leadership must recognize their responsibility to lead teams with a clear vision and the inspiration to keep them going.

Discover your own 10-Desks.

Vouloir, c’est pouvoir—when there’s a will, there’s a way. Maintaining a startup mentality as a company grows is challenging. Large companies may not be fighting for survival but must instead find ways to synchronize efforts across a team of thousands. Re-investing in that level of drive and attention to detail intact can benefit companies of any size. With that guiding philosophy, you can move mountains.

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