Jan Kubinec (AV Media Events): Competitiveness used to work — now it's holding back our growth

“If you want to grow, you can't overload your best people and expect miracles from your weakest.” Jan Kubinec, CEO of AV Media Events, openly explains why a competitive culture no longer cuts it at his company — and what he wants to do about it. His experience at corporations like ACNielsen and Plzeňský Prazdroj taught him that companies' loyalty to their people is often an illusion. Today, he tries to lead differently — humanely, but with an emphasis on performance.

In this no-holds-barred CEO podcast, he reveals how a researcher turned into the CEO of a technology company — and why he started building the company's success on data, trust, and people's involvement. “At Prazdroj, I learned that if you approach change with numbers and reason, you can win over even the toughest salespeople,” he says. Even so, the corporate environment eventually drained the joy out of him — and that was the impulse to leave.

At the helm of AV Media Events today, he's grappling with a seemingly simple question: how do you grow once a performance culture stops working? A system where a salesperson only gets what they earn produces results — but also overload, competition for resources, and a lack of collaboration. “We overload our strongest employees, our weaker ones have no drive — so who's supposed to train the new hires?” Kubinec asks.

The solution? A gradual shift from a purely competitive culture toward a model that strengthens collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and onboarding for new people. “I want even a senior salesperson to know the standard a newcomer can measure themselves against. And I want every exception to be a conscious choice — not chaos,” he explains.

What else will you find answered in the podcast?

• Specifically, how does he plan to change the corporate culture, and why won't it be a revolution, but a deliberate return to standards?
• How does he measure employee engagement, and why does it matter to him just as much as customer NPS?
• What did he take away from consulting work with McKinsey, and how did it shape his view of management?
• Why won't he tolerate unethical behavior or double standards — and how does he set value boundaries at the company?
• How can you tell someone doesn't belong on the team, even if they're not formally breaking any rules?

This podcast is an inspiration for any leader who knows culture isn't a “soft” topic — it's a strategic necessity for a company's growth.