What do you really learn about leadership when you’ve worked at giants like Google and scrappy startups like Waze?
In this Best Bits from WMYT? What Makes You Tick Tech Leaders Career Stories podcast, Finlay Clark (ex-Google & Waze) talks about life inside Google
A place he calls a “machine” where your business card gets you the first meeting, but only your thinking earns you the second.
He shares how the systems, structure, and scale taught him a lot about strategy, but also what you don’t learn when everything is so well-oiled.
We also get into what changed when he left that safety net to join Waze as their first UK hire.
Suddenly it was a blank sheet of paper: no machine telling you what to do, just curiosity, risk, and the chance to build something from scratch.
Fin opens up about how he decides which opportunities to take - using head, heart, and gut together - and why curiosity has been the thread through his whole career.
He explains why “falling in love with the problem” matters more than chasing shiny logos, and what he learned (the hard way) about leadership: don’t just hire people like yourself, remember that all problems are people problems, and execution matters more than talk.
It’s an honest look at what Google and Waze taught him about leadership, risk, and building teams - and why stepping into the unknown can often open more doors than following the safe path.
👉 Catch the full episode for Fin’s complete journey and lessons learned along the way: https://youtu.be/n8qpyygp3MM?si=VuxhJK0QsF5l_RnT
Connect with Finlay on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finlayclark/
🔗 Follow Richard on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/
Read his newsletter Growth Magnet → https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7083793079794556928
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#Google #Waze #LeadershipLessons #CareerGrowth #WhatMakesYouTick #WMYT