The power of habit - we usually think of the guilty conscience when, for example, we collapse on the sofa (again) or only heat up the frozen pizza (again) in the evening instead of cooking. But habits also work in the other direction: we can also “get used to” behavior that helps us move forward.

After their deal in “The Lions' Den”, the founders Jan Stratmann and Andre Sierek took off: BitterLiebe grew from two employees to ten today (plus five freelancers!) and while they sold a few thousand products in 2018, today they have already sold over a million! They have had to adjust their corporate goals and plans upwards twice, says Jan with a laugh. Andre estimates that the DHDL appearance and the deal with Judith accelerated her company by five years. But with success, complexity also grew. "You simply need fixed processes when you're growing so much. Without them, efficient work wouldn't be possible."

The most important ritual that Andre and Jan have introduced is the Daily Huddle. In English, “huddle” refers to a “heap”. In American football, this refers to the moment when the players put their heads together and discuss their game strategy.

This is now transferred to the office: As soon as Jan, Andre and their marketing manager get together in the morning, each of them answers these three questions in the daily huddle:

• What are my top 3 priorities for today?
• What did I achieve yesterday?
• Where am I stuck?

The BitterLiebe team leaders also do the Daily Huddle with their employees.

“You simply get more out of the day because everyone knows where each other and the company are at,” says Jan. You also avoid two people tackling the same thing and wasting important time. Having to answer others' questions about what you're planning also forces you to have structure in your day and "not just start working on it."

You can easily ask yourself these three questions on your own. The best thing to do is to write down keywords for the individual points and thus fix your thoughts (and you can always read them again later). This way you can make sure again the big picture and doesn't get tangled up in the small and small details of everyday business. Every day you know where the biggest challenges lie and what has already been achieved.

In the beginning, Jan and Andre had no time limit for the Daily Huddle - which led to it getting completely out of hand. “Sometimes someone talked alone for over half an hour,” remembers Jan. “Of course that was total nonsense, because we wanted to make the work more effective with the tool and not slow it down.” Means: Now there is a fixed limit. Everyone has exactly five minutes to answer the three questions. This creates structure and you don't get stuck.

Jan and Andre's basic mantra when it comes to prioritization: the most important things get done first (regardless of whether you feel like it or not). But how do you know which are the most important tasks? The two founders use the so-called OKR model, which became famous because Google grew rapidly with it.

What is it about? OKR stands for “Objectives and Key Results”. Simply put, this method makes it easier for companies to set goals, implement them, and track progress.

And it works like this: Each objective is assigned certain results that are needed to achieve the goal. This makes an initially vague goal or vision concrete. For example,...

… the listing on dm (target)…

... the necessary results:
- successful contact with the responsible buyer

- Proof of delivery and production capability

In practice, you can now assign individual results and deadlines to yourself (and your colleagues).

By the way: As far as setting goals is concerned: These are not dictated “from above”, but rather discussed between bosses and employees. And: There shouldn't be too many so as not to overwhelm yourself - a maximum of five goals with no more than four results each, recommends Rick Klau, former product manager at Google, in this video lecture.  

As a special treat, Andre reports on an unusual morning ritual outside the office. He swears by...yep, a cold shower. So a really, really cold one! And that doesn't just apply to hot summer days: once the body gets used to it, it can also be endured on already bitterly cold winter days - at least that's what fans of this method say (wink smiley).

The cold water has various effects - among other things, it protects the body from colds. Many founders who have also discovered the method for themselves also report an emotional kick - true to the motto: Once I've done that, I can achieve a lot more! Others have the feeling that they are clearer and more present in their head... Andre says that the cold shower makes him suddenly awake and in the here and now. "You're there straight away and ready to go. You'll get a complete shake-up, but it's worth it," he laughs.

By the way: “The Iceman” Wim Hof ​​made the method popular. He was a guest at Gwyneth Paltrow's “Goop Lab” and sent her team into the ice-cold lake. On Netflix you can watch Gwyneth's team shivering in the ice - very entertaining but also moving to see what the cold water does to people!

After the shower, Andre lies on an acupressure mat for ten minutes. This is said to relieve pain and tension, promote blood circulation, provide better energy and release endorphins. It's a little painful the first few times (and your back looks funny when it's been stabbed!), but once your body gets used to it, the needles are found to be soothing.

“The appearance at DHDL and the deal with Judith accelerated our company growth by five years.”