S3E4: How coaches need to make themselves obsolete in order to be successful - with Alper Tonga from Runtastic

Welcome to our latest episode of the Superkinetics Podcast. 


Today's guest is Alper Tonga, Agility Coach at Adidas Runtastic,
who has more than 9 years of experience in organizational
transformation. He has helped engineering and non-engineering
departments, such as product development, business strategy,
infrastructure, operations, purchasing, marketing, and human
resources. 


In 2016, his experiments on Lean Transformation were awarded
second place in the medium-sized enterprise category by the
Turkish Ministry of Science.


We have invited Alper, to talk about his experiences in coaching,
his definition of the role of an external coach, and his unusual
approaches using Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Theory of
Antifragility. 


Listen in to find out what Hydras, Phoenixes, and "Please
Misuse"-Stickers have to do with Alper's point of
view. 


Here you can find the separate sections of this interview:


(01:29) Alper's way into agile transformation concepts like
Kanban, OKRs, and more
(04:32) An exemplary agile transformation Alper led with
McKinsey
(08:33) Unexpected challenges - like getting fired twice - Alper
faced during his first years as an agile coach
(10:32) Why external catalysts are wasted if there are no
internal capacities for sustainable change
(14:29) The Phoenix Moment: Why coaches need to diminish their
services in order to be successful
(20:24) A practical approach to Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Theory of
Antifragility
(29:54) What's the role of Runtastic in the major context of its
parent company Adidas?
(32:52) Our three favorite questions on role models,
inspirational quotes, and books


People referred to:


- Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Simon Wardley
- David J. Anderson 


Book recommendations:


- Antifragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- On being Lost by Simon Wardley
- From Contempt to Curiosity by Caitlin Walker





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