ABOUT THIS EPISODE
In the last episode of Studio Shift, we talked about what it really means to walk in your customer’s shoes — not as a slogan, but as a daily way of making decisions. And when you genuinely do that, one thing becomes immediately clear:
Speed matters.
Customers don’t experience your org charts. They don’t see your internal processes, approval chains, or meetings. They just feel the delay. In this episode, Mark explores what speed really means in business — not rushing, not chaos, but the ability to make decisions quickly, learn fast, and move.
The episode opens with a moment from Mark’s corporate life that completely reframed his thinking. While working inside a startup hub, he watched a small team debate the direction of a new app. Mid-conversation, one team member quietly stood up and revealed a working prototype he had built on the spot. In a couple of hours, with real feedback and live iteration, they had a true minimum viable product. Something that would have taken weeks in a large organisation happened in a single session — and it changed how Mark thought about speed forever.
That lesson came into sharp focus during COVID.
Overnight, Sydney Pole went from more than 2,000 people a week coming through the doors to zero. Revenue stopped immediately, but rent, salaries, and bills didn’t. With no committees and no layers of approval, the business had to act fast. Within a day, makeshift TV studios were built using whatever technology was available, and online classes were launched almost immediately.
Was it perfect? Not even close.
But it was live.
And being live meant learning quickly. Sydney Pole assumed customers wanted online pole classes. In reality, most people didn’t even have a pole at home. What they wanted was connection — familiar faces, movement, and a sense of normality during a period of extreme uncertainty. Because the business moved quickly, it was able to listen, pivot, and turn the offering into a community touchpoint rather than a direct translation of the studio experience.
This leads to one of Sydney Pole’s most distinctive ideas: the Goat.
Coined by instructor Suzie Q, the Goat is someone who drives action. Goats don’t overthink or wait for permission. They jump in, try things, and create momentum — sometimes leaving a mess behind. But no one ever accuses a goat of being lazy. During COVID, Sydney Pole needed goats.
Just as importantly, it also needed the anti-goats — the people who come in behind, clean up the mess, refine the process, document what worked, and make change stick. Speed comes from goats. Sustainability comes from anti-goats. Real progress comes from having both.
The episode closes by exploring the link between speed and failure. In small business, failure is uncomfortable but survivable. In large organisations, failure can be career-limiting — which makes people cautious and slows everything down. Mark challenges businesses to think honestly about what they mean when they say they’re “agile.” If mistakes aren’t safe, speed isn’t real.
At Sydney Pole, decisions aren’t always perfect — but they’re made quickly, especially when customers are affected. Speed isn’t recklessness. It’s shortening the distance between decision, feedback, and change.
And that mindset, more than any framework or buzzword, is what keeps businesses alive in a world that’s only moving faster.
