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Growth CEO Interviews

Interview with Push Operations CEO, Tina Lum

June 13, 2024

Kevin Lawrence sits down with Tina Lum, CEO and co-founder of Push Oper­a­tions, to unpack how she built a lead­ing pay­roll and work­force plat­form for restau­rants across North America.

Push didn’t start with a grand plan. It start­ed with Tina knock­ing on restau­rant doors, ask­ing ques­tions, and test­ing 25 ideas before land­ing on pay­roll. The break­through les­son: get out of the office and lis­ten to customers.

As the com­pa­ny grew, they hit pre­dictable ceil­ings. Break­ing through wasn’t about hus­tle — it was about dis­ci­pline. Week­ly exe­cu­tion rhythms. Clear account­abil­i­ty. Spe­cial­iza­tion over ​“every­one doing every­thing.” Mov­ing from fox to hedgehog.

Tina also shares the inner work behind the out­er growth — over­com­ing imposter syn­drome, invest­ing in mind­set, and bring­ing in out­side sup­port to imple­ment Scal­ing Up and cre­ate alignment.

Her advice is sim­ple and hard:
Stay focused on your hedge­hog.
Hire the right ​“who.”
Build dis­ci­pline ear­ly.
Pro­tect your culture.

It’s a con­ver­sa­tion about scal­ing with clar­i­ty — and doing the per­son­al work required to lead at the next level.

Here are some high­lights cap­tured in clips:

Get­ting the Fly­wheel Going
Biggest Lessons as an Entrepreneur
Advi­sor as a Growth Partner
Keep­ing the Disciplines
Or watch the full inter­view here:
Addi­tion­al Resources Relat­ed to the Interview:

About Lawrence & Co.
Lawrence & Co. is a growth strategy and leadership advisory firm that helps mid-market companies achieve lasting, reliable growth. Our Growth Management System turns 30 years of experience into practical steps that drive clarity, alignment, and performance—so leaders can grow faster, with less friction, and greater confidence.

About Kevin Lawrence
Kevin Lawrence has spent three decades helping companies scale from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. He works side-by-side with CEOs and leadership teams across North America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe, bringing real-world insights from hands-on experience. Kevin is the author of Your Oxygen Mask First, a book of 17 habits to help high-performing leaders grow sustainably while protecting their mental health and resilience. He also contributed to Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Based in Vancouver, he leads Lawrence & Co, a boutique firm of growth advisors.