ADAPT or die
When disruption hits, average leaders freeze—great ones adapt.
Former tech-CEO–turned-leadership-coach Andreas Pettersson sits down with C-suite executives, founders, and change-makers to dissect the exact moment they faced a make-or-break challenge, the mindset pivot that unlocked progress, and the measurable success that followed.
Every episode delivers:
- Challenge → Adaptation → Success — a tight, three-act story you can steal.
- A 60-second “Hot-Seat” mini-coaching segment that turns insight into action.
- Concrete metrics, battle-tested tactics, and candid reflections you won’t hear on the PR circuit.
If you’re scaling a team, steering a turnaround, or future-proofing your career, this show equips you to adapt and thrive—because in leadership, the alternative is extinction.
ADAPT or die
Alex Wendling & the Flavor Factory: From ERP Chaos to Triple-Year Hyper-Growth
Supply-chain whiplash, 40 % ingredient hikes, and an ERP rollout that face-planted—2022 nearly soured Alex Wendling, 28-year-old president of Custom Flavors. In this episode of ADAPT or Die, Alex reveals how scrapping a six-figure system (and 13 months of work) became the catalyst for three straight years of double-digit growth.
- Challenge → COVID demand spikes and runaway costs exposed brittle pricing models while a “can’t-fail” software switch ground production to a halt.
- Adaptation → Alex pulled the plug, rebuilt on a real-time operating system, and shifted from hands-on “chief problem solver” to process-first strategist—empowering leads to own decisions and standardizing every meeting, hand-off, and metric.
- Success → Lead times shrank, margins rebounded, and a coast-to-coast expansion (new North Carolina plant +15 staff) will push headcount past 100. With tariffs now hitting raw materials, the team’s live-cost pricing engine lets them adjust before profits erode.
🔥 60-Second Hot Seat: Alex’s inbox rule and “remove the choke-point” test for founders stuck in the weeds.
If you think letting go means losing control, Alex’s story will change your flavor—and your playbook.
Visit ADAPTorDIEpod.com for show notes, free resources, and coaching programs.
Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/andreas-pettersson/