What if the difference between a business that stalls and one that
scales past $100M isn't talent or budget, but whether you build
your team the way elite sports teams build theirs? In this episode,
Paul Avins sits down with Kevin Mark-Watts, author of The 10
Ten-Minute Rules, a specialist in peak performance, and a leader
with over 30 years across retail, HR, and commercial leadership,
including seven years as Commercial Director of Crystal Palace
Football Club. His work has been published in CEO World, and his
framework takes the principles of elite sports performance science
and applies them directly to business. Kevin's own story starts a
long way from boardrooms. Dropped from his school football team as
a ten-year-old for a cheeky comment to his coach, he spiralled into
failing his exams and left college before finishing his A-levels. A
retail job selling made-to-measure suits changed everything: within
weeks he'd found he was a natural salesman, and by his early
twenties he was running stores, then managing areas, then leading
HR for a 700-store, 7,000-employee retail chain. A redundancy led
him to Simon Jordan's fast-growing mobile phone business, which
scaled past $300M in turnover, and from there into Crystal Palace,
where he helped run the club through promotion, relegation, and one
of English football's more chaotic dressing rooms. Paul and Kevin
get into the moment a Crystal Palace manager assaulted a player,
refused to admit the mistake, and lost the entire dressing room
within weeks. They talk about the ProZone data system that helped
get Palace promoted through marginal gains most clubs weren't
tracking yet. Kevin explains the $400K ceiling he hit as an
entrepreneur, why second and third generation hires are rarely as
invested as the founding team, and why only 7% of businesses ever
break past the $1M mark. He also makes the case for treating
founders like athletes: pre-season kickoffs, recovery, and
reinvesting 10% of income back into yourself. What you'll learn:
Why a school coach dropping him at ten years old shaped how Kevin
leads teams today. How a redundancy from a corporate HR role led to
running a $300M mobile phone business. The Crystal Palace story: a
manager who assaulted a player, never admitted the mistake, and
lost the dressing room within weeks. Why leaders must get their key
influencers on side before they can fix a culture problem. How
ProZone's match data and marginal gains helped get Crystal Palace
promoted. Why he built a "seat avatar" to track whether the right
people are in the right seats as a business grows. Why the team
that gets you promoted isn't always the team that keeps you there.
Why he hit a $400K ceiling, and how second and third generation
hires are rarely as invested as the founders. Why only 7% of
businesses ever break past the $1M mark. Why meeting rhythms have
to change as a team grows past five or six people. Why he treats
entrepreneurship as a full contact sport, with no off-season unless
you build one in. Why he spends 10% of what he earns on his own
personal development. Why he's proud of being made redundant twice,
because it proved his teams were self-sufficient. His definition of
a grown-up business: when the person at the end of the chain talks
about your values as passionately as you do. Apply this: Get your
key influencers on side before trying to fix a culture problem,
they carry your message further than you can alone. Track the data
on your team the way elite sports teams do, not just how people
feel about their performance. Reassess whether the people who got
you to your last milestone are the right people for your next one.
Build a pre-season into your year, a kickoff, a half-year review,
don't assume a team performs at full speed from day one. Put 10% of
what you earn back into your own development. Have the
uncomfortable conversation and admit the mistake before it costs
you your best people. About Kevin Mark-Watts Kevin is the author of
The 10 Ten-Minute Rules and a specialist in applying elite sports
performance science to business teams. With over 30 years across
retail, HR, and commercial leadership, including seven years as
commercial director of Crystal Palace Football Club, his work has
been featured in CEO World magazine. He now works as a coach and
advisor to founders and leadership teams building high-performing
cultures. Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mark-watts-13123822/ Scale with
Paul Avins If this episode resonated, Paul's work focuses on
helping founders step out of the day to day and scale with
structure and confidence. Connect with Paul:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulavins/ Book a call with Paul:
https://www.paulavins.com/book-a-call Subscribe to the Scale Up
Newsletter: https://www.paulavins.com/newsletter-opt-in Level Up.
Team Up. Scale Up. Fire Up.
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