The Agile Scaleup

Likable Badass; Pro Fakers; Founder Mode; Sept 19 Webinar

…hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.
                     Paul Graham (context below)

Your customers will never be any happier than your employees.
                     John DiJulius

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

John DiJulius – Customer Experience Revolution – Sept 19 Free
I’m noticing my own behavior – and veering toward firms that provide a better customer experience – and that requires a workforce willing to deliver on that experience. See below info on author John DiJulius’s Sept 19 webinar – no cost.

Founder CEOs 20x the Valuation – Fortune 500
Continuing the conversation around Paul Graham’s Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode, this Fortune article looked at the cumulative returns generated by the 22 Fortune 500 firms still run by the founder (Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.) and found:

The founder-CEOs’ companies delivered a median of 1,129% vs. 57% for the rest of the 500.

That’s 20x. They also outperformed their sectors by a median factor greater than 6x. Please invest 1-minute to read the article for the details.

Professional Fakers?
Paul Graham, founder of Y-Combinator, which has birthed thousands of firms including Airbnb, DoorDash, Reddit, etc. shared, after hearing Brian Chesky, founder/CEO of Airbnb describe the awful experience he’s had bringing in outside managers. Notes Graham:

Hire good people and give them room to do their jobs. Sounds great when it’s described that way, doesn’t it? Except in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.

Let’s also suggest “professional interviewers” as one of our CEO Boot Campers noted this week in Vail.

Likable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve
Warmth and Competence – the two dimensions most people are immediately judged on – is the basis for noted research psychologist, professor, and consultant Alison Fagale’s new book Likable Badass (I’m halfway thru – its excellent). Recommended by Adam Grant, Fagale’s book makes a key point – that status (perceived competence) is how you get influence and power vs. the opposite. How you attain this – along with warmth – makes you a Likeable Badass. This interview (start at 9:06) flushes out her many insights.

To Double Your Revenue, Stop Selling by Half
Terakeet, a leading SEO marketing firm, was selling $100,000 contracts with a 30% close rate. By weeding out every possible “no” before presenting, they were able to increase their average contract size to $800,000 and double their close rate using the Hunt Big Sales Process.

Mark Kennedy, the President, stated:
“We were going to double our sales staff until we used the Hunt Big Sales Process. It’s changed our whole revenue game plan.”

Hunt Big Sales is a key strategic partner helping our clients significantly increase revenue at a time sales seem to be getting tougher to make. They make it easier to double revenue.

Elevate Your Customer Service – Free Live Webinar Sept 19
Delivering exceptional customer service is non-negotiable in competitive environments. The challenge: How to train our employees in the top service aptitude skills to consistently meet and exceed customer expectations? The answer is crucial for every business, yet so often overlooked.

Join us September 19th at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT/8 PM CEST for the Customer Experience Revolution Free Live Webinar with John DiJulius. During this 90-minute session, you’ll discover how a thriving workforce translates directly into customer satisfaction and business success. Register for free here: https://hubs.li/Q02N_7qM0



Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Adelaide, Australia – Sep 23 & 24, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Founder Mode; Elle MacPherson; Graham Warning; Rick Sapio

Outsource everything but your soul.
                     Tom Peters

Delegate everything but your soul.
                     Verne Harnish

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

East African Firm Triples Revenue (Scaling Up Case Study)
Growing from $15 million in 2021 to $43 million in 2023, this ScaleUps.com article details how Patrick Mbonye, founder and CEO of Q-Sourcing ServTec, used Scaling up to drive this significant revenue growth. With the help of coach Elton Mutize, the firm has set a $500 million BHAG, serving small to mid-size firms with their outsourced staffing and training needs throughout East Africa including Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Please take 2-minutes to read all that Mbonye is doing throughout the region.

Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode
All the rage this week, at least in Silicon Valley, is Y-Combinator Paul Graham’s essay about the importance of staying in Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode (which you learn in MBA school, Graham suggests) when scaling a venture – all based on a talk Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky gave last week. This Inc. article provides the details and a link to Graham’s short blog post – worth the one minute to read. In essence, does the CEO fully delegate everything (manager mode) or remain in the muck of things (founder mode).

Graham’s Critical Warning – Misuse of Founder Mode
If you scroll down on Graham’s blog post, you’ll see this warning (Note 3):

I also have another less optimistic prediction: as soon as the concept of founder mode becomes established, people will start misusing it. Founders who are unable to delegate even things they should, will use founder mode as the excuse. Or managers who aren't founders will decide they should try to act like founders. That may even work, to some extent, but the results will be messy when it doesn't; the modular approach does at least limit the damage a bad CEO can do.

Please take a minute to read Graham’s post which includes reference to hosting meetings with a diagonal cut of your team, like the late Steve Jobs did.

Delegate Everything but Your Soul
Tom Peter’s quote above, warning firms that they need to hold onto for themselves the soul of the business i.e. Tesla writes their own software, the soul of their vehicles, which allowed them to pivot to whatever chips were available in the pandemic. All the other auto manufacturers were stuck. Same with what you delegate inside the firm. Design is the soul of Apple which is why Steve Jobs met DAILY with Jony Ive and the design team. What is the soul of your firm and stay in “founder mode” around this aspect of the business.

Bonuses Can Backfire
This Fortune article details research showing how certain individual bonuses (“certain individual” are the keywords) can decrease performance. Aligned with Chapter 4 in Scaling Up Compensation titled “Easy on the Carrots”, bonuses are meant to signal behaviors you want on top of the normal job. Giving bonuses for just showing up is an example of mis-signaling. Please invest 2-minutes to read how nuanced setting bonuses can be. And note…

Daily Huddles Drive Better Performance
…the above article goes on to note:

…daily set-up meetings, where employees are asked to present their progress on a project or task, can keep them accountable without having to introduce pay for performance.

We at Scaling Up couldn’t agree more. Another reason the daily huddle is indispensable in driving performance. Is everyone on the team in one?

Thank You Adam Gant
Received this note and photo from CFA Adam Grant:

…finished reading your book Scaling Up Compensation while on a climbing trip yesterday. Summitted Mt Colonel Foster and really love the book. Lots of great ideas I'm going to implement in the business immediately. 

Thx Adam – I’m sure that’s the highest point on the planet this book has ever been read.

Supermodel Elle MacPherson’s Integrative Medicine Journey
Following on the heels of Rick Sapio’s journey to recover from stage 4 pancreatic cancer, shunning the advice of traditional doctors and still alive a year later; Elle MacPherson also opted out of chemo and instead took an integrative medicine approach to recover and thrive post a breast cancer diagnosis. This BBC article provides the details. You might note, her team included two holistic dentists. We’ve found at the Riordan Clinic (I’m Vice Chair) a strong correlation between infections in the mouth and breast cancer. Not surprisingly, a day later various news organization have come out with “experts” criticizing her approach.

Benefiting from Insights – $20 to Rick – Please
Thank you to all of you who donated to Rick’s “find the cure” fund last week. If you benefit from these insights, rather than charge a fee, once a year I ask for a donation to a cause – this one is for Rick and his family. If all of you who open these insights donate $20, Rick will be covered. Please and thank you https://rickneedsacure.com/

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Chile – Sep 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Adelaide, Australia – Sep 23 & 24, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Courage; $2 - $20 billion; Dale Wolf; Rick Sapio; Please Help

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
                     Aristotle

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
                     T.S. Elliott

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Rick Sapio Needs Our Help – $20
See below my one personal request – thank you.

“Courage in the Boardroom” Award Winner
Our media partner Chief Executive magazine, in this article, honors their latest “Courage in the Boardroom” award winner, Dale Wolf.

Notes the magazine:

Like many family businesses, Molina Healthcare hit a wall under second-generation leadership, spurring its board to remove founding family members serving as CEO and CFO. Board Chair Dale Wolf was recognized with the 2024 Courage in the Boardroom Award for his role in navigating that difficult and contentious decision—and putting a flagging company back on a path to impressive growth.

Orchestrated over a week in 2017, Wolf installed an interim CEO and helped scale Molina Healthcare from $2 billion in market cap to over $20 billion in 2024.

Courage to Turnaround a Family Business
Please invest 3 minutes to read Chief Executive’s interview of Dale Wolf to read how he led this 10x increase in valuation. Notes Wolf, in leading the important changes at Molina Healthcare as a board member:

The first is trust your gut. We should have known that this was the right thing to do earlier than we did. The signs were all there. Replacing a family CEO, CFO, in a public company is no mean task. So, I don’t think anybody should take it lightly. But on the other hand, it’s like every employee matter I’ve ever dealt with, when it’s over, you say, “Geez, I should have done that earlier.” So, trust your gut and act. Don’t wait.

Don’t wait – trust your gut and act. What decisions are you delaying when your instincts tell you to act? Have the courage.

Help Someone Courageous – $20?
If these insights, and our body of work, have been helpful to you, please consider donating $20 to what I’m going to share next – and help Rick and our healthcare system reform. Please, please, please.

Rick Sapio’s Courage 
No one I know recently has shown more courage than fellow EOer, BOGer, GOTer, serial entrepreneur, and dear friend Rick Sapio. Bravely dealing with stage 4 inoperable pancreatic cancer, he’s alive over a year later because he’s challenged traditional healthcare which only wants to feed him chemo at $98k/month (which would have killed him by the 4^th month) with zero interest in learning how he’s “miraculously” remained alive 3x longer without it.

Experimental Treatments
A devoted father of four, each day is a race against time, and securing the critical care and experimental treatments he needs is essential for his survival. In a devastating twist, Rick’s wife, Melissa, has also been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. Now, both parents are fighting for their lives, leaving their children, ages 10, 12, 14, and 16, facing an uncertain future.

Breaking the Bank – $20
Like most entrepreneurs, Rick’s wealth is tied up in his businesses – and he’s not able to put in a full day’s work. He’ll be OK financially in the long run, but the stress of the medical bills which insurance won’t cover, is breaking his back and bank in the short run. If each of you would please donate $20, we can provide a huge relief to Rick and his family.

Finding a Cure
The non-profit Riordan Clinic, of which I’m Vice Chair, has saved others from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I’m helping pay for Rick’s treatments at our clinic – and he’s part of our “N-of-1” study finding more ways to survive these deadly cancers. We need your help to find a cure and to support Rick’s life-saving treatments. Your support can make all the difference, offering hope and a chance for the Sapio family to continue their journey together. Please share their story and help us ensure a future filled with love and laughter for this incredible family. Learn more, Please donate and Join Team Rick: https://rickneedsacure.com/

RickNeedsACure.com #TeamRick #BigAsk #FindACure #PancreaticCancer

Be Brave, Have Courage, Make Decisions, Love All

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Sydney, Australia –  Sep 5, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Sep 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Adelaide, Australia – Sep 23 & 24, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Twitter Mistake; The ONE Innovation; Strange Tradeshow; Raptor 1 - 3

Possibly the most common error of a smart engineer is to optimize a thing that should not exist.
                     Elon Musk

We are intentionally building a culture around systems and processes from the top down, using Scaling Up and Topgrading.
                     Patrick Griffor, co-founder Heritage Hills Capital Partners

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Workforce Housing Developer Accelerates Growth/Returns
Cincinnati-based Heritage Hills Capital Partners, a vertically integrated real estate and private equity firm, experienced stalled growth. This ScaleUps.com article details how CEO Sean Blythe, with the help of Columbus-based Scaling Up Coach Rick Crossland, increased the number of A-Players from 68% to 88% and saw revenue growth jump from $20 million to $27 million in the 24 months they’ve worked together, delivering returns far above industry standards. Please take 2-minutes to read how the FACe and PACe tools, Scaling Up Cash, meeting rhythms, productivity enhancements, and relentless focus on weekly execution using scrums have helped them drive the cost of the “doors” they manage down to almost half new construction and increased profit and cash flow.

Jack Dorsey’s Biggest Mistake at Twitter
This brief IG Reel features Square and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s self-professed biggest mistake at Twitter and how he corrected it at Square. In short, he didn’t have a good system for seeing the numbers running Twitter, so he created an admin dashboard for Square. Do you have the real-time numbers/data you need, mobile ready, to have better visibility into the biz and make better predictions?

Only ONE Breakthrough Innovation Needed…
I keynoted Insper University’s Innovation Summit this week in Sao Paulo. My key message – you only need ONE stepwise innovation every two to five years (think Pixar). One that lets you leapfrog the competition and build a moat around the business. And it’s not necessarily a product/service offering. The innovation can be in the way you deliver, sell, or support the product or service. But you only need ONE.

Where to Start?
Start looking for this innovation at the intersection of your industry’s constraint and your business model constraint. For SpaceX, the key innovation was a reusable rocket. This 48-second video shows the first successful triple booster landing. Until SpaceX figured this out, nothing else mattered. For Rackspace, it was figuring out how to provide “Fanatical Support” (good to name your differentiation) that included having a Level 2 Tech answer the phone within 3 rings. Sounds easy but it was initially a staffing nightmare.

…Then It’s Continuous Improvement
To continue to drop the cost per pound of payload (the Moneyball stat of the space industry), it's next a process of continuous improvement requiring hundreds of incremental innovations. This photo of the evolution of the Raptor engine says it all – with a reduction in cost from $2 million to $250,000 (rumor has it).

Elon’s “Algorithm”
SpaceX’s version of Lean is based on what Elon calls the “algorithm.” This Inc. article provides a good summary of the five-step process. The key is eliminating as many steps/parts as possible BEFORE automating – otherwise, you’re just speeding up a mess. Below is a visual of the process:



Stay Focused on the Job to be Done
It’s easy to get distracted and innovate a bunch of stuff nobody wants. And be careful what customers do want – they might actually mess up your value proposition as I’m afraid is happening with IKEA (which has seen its profitability plummet) and now Southwest Airlines as it looks to provide advance reservation seating, putting at risk their key Moneyball stat – planes in the air 2 hours more per day than other airlines.

Please Attend a Random Tradeshow
Many of the breakthroughs in Elon’s firms came from the toy industry. Choose one industry tradeshow that seems as far from your industry as possible and walk the aisles, mining insights you can shamelessly borrow to innovate your industry.

What Is Your ONE Key Innovation for 2025?

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Brussels, Belgium – Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia –  Sep 5, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Sep 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Adelaide, Australia – Sep 23 & 24, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Brutal; Starbucks; Compounding; Sept 5 Jack Daly – All Proceeds Donated to Ruhlin

Our ceiling is your floor.
                     Dr. Kevin Fleming, parents for children

It blows my mind that we routinely screen for several health issues (mammograms, etc.) yet a proactive diagnostic for the leading cause of death in the US is rarely performed.
                     Lisa Ridley, Scaling Up Coach

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

All Proceeds to Ruhlin’s Family – Jack Daly’s 4-Hour Sales Course
Sales coach extraordinaire, Jack Daly’s, highly rated 4-hour Virtual Sales Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, September 5, 2024, and all proceeds will be gifted to Giftology guru John Ruhlin’s wife Lindsay and her four daughters after his sudden passing last week. The fee for the workshop is discounted to $300 per participant. If you have salespeople in your organization, get them "Jack'dUp!" Register here - John Ruhlin Memorial Sales Workshop - Jack Daly – thank you Jack.

Jack’s Hyper Sales Growth Self-Paced Course – Also Donating
Jack is also donating all his proceeds from his self-paced course featuring over 8 hours of video content. Jack shares the strategies and methodologies behind his book Hyper Sales Growth, empowering you to achieve consistent, predictable sales success. Get immediate access here: https://hubs.li/Q02LnHr40 -- now is the time to boost revenue.

The Zoom Stretch
This Seth Godin quick post suggests teams take regular “Zoom stretches” – a few seconds every dozen minutes to give people a mental break – and test if worth continuing the meeting.

AI + A-Player – The Future
My latest Chief Executive magazine column suggests the future belongs to firms that match the right A-Players with AI – otherwise you’re just automating a mess. It’s a warning for team members to step up their game and continue to reinvent themselves…and for companies to settle only for A-Players matched with AI. Please take 2-minutes to scan the article for details and resources – and then share with your team.

Leaving the Better Candidate Behind -- Compounding
You are probably hiring good people. However, without using Topgrading (book Foolproof Hiring), you’re likely leaving a better candidate behind – see my column for a real-world example. If each hire is 10% better, 1.1x1.1x1.1, etc. quickly means you have a team twice as effective as the competition. The Olympics remind us that the difference between gold and making the podium is hundredths of a second/mm.

Starbucks’ New A-Player CEO?
I have some egg on my face since highlighting Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan’s “Triple Shot Reinvention” strategy, emphasizing the importance of naming your strategy and having three priorities. Though I didn’t say they were right, clearly Howard Schultz wasn’t happy with revenues down 3%, letting Laxman go immediately (after a year on the job) and hiring Chipotle’s CEO Brian Niccol. Let’s see if a fifth successor to Schultz is the charm.

CEO Niccol’s Greatest Lesson
This Fortune article highlights Starbucks new CEO’s greatest lesson – staying curious. Notes Brian Niccol, emphasizing the importance of asking questions if you don’t really know the answer:

If you know the answer to the question, that’s probably not the question to ask. If you’re asking for clarity, you’re asking to learn, you’re asking because you’re curious, that’s fine. But if the questions aren’t thoughtful, then you’ve gone too far.

He also notes the worst piece of advice he’s ever received – to find someone to fire so you can demonstrate your leadership skills. Notes Niccol:

I think everybody comes to work wanting to succeed, and that’s just the wrong frame of reference.

Brutal Thought Experiment – Turnaround of Robinhood
Tripling the share price, Vlad Tenev turned around investing site Robinhood. This Fortune article details his strategy, noting:

In a move few other leaders would emulate, Tenev engaged in a brutal thought exercise: holding quarterly meetings that envisioned him being replaced by a veteran executive like former Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman, who excels at taking over companies in trouble.

Please take 2 minutes to pick up more hints from Tenev.

Leading Cause of Death – Pls Get Screened
Lisa Ridley (quote above) wants to alert all of us to the AI-driven Cleerly CCTA assessment. Given her family’s history of heart disease, she had her first baseline assessment last year and her cardiologist just ordered the follow-up.

Clarify – Earlobe Crease
Just because you DON’T have a crease, you should still get your heart checked with a Coronary Calcium Score (ten-minute, non-invasive scan) and/or the Cleerly CCTA assessment. Several of you emailed that you didn’t suspect any heart issues yet had a calcium scan done and it came back dangerously high. And there are natural ways to clean out your arteries without taking pharma drugs. Do your research.

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Brussels, Belgium – Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia –  Sep 5, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Sep 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Adelaide, Australia – Sep 23 & 24, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Earlobe Crease; Rough Week; Two Died – John and Gene Lessons

Whatever you have to say, say it with love.
                     The Universe (daily post)

If it’s not coming from a place of love, it’s probably about you.
                     Sebastian Ross

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Coronary Calcium Test – Please Get One
Do you have a Diagonal Earlobe Crease (DELC)? More on that below, but I lost two friends – not sure why one collapsed Sunday, but it’s normally a heart condition. And the other died of heart disease. An early warning is a crease in your earlobe. And one of the least expensive, non-invasive tests you can get is a coronary calcium test – mine cost $150. It’s an early, early warning sign of potential heart issues. Please get one.

Rough Week
So many articles, videos, etc. I wanted to share with you this week – including the numbers from the Fortune Global 500 released this week– they averaged $581,560 rev/employee and $42,127 profit/employee as a benchmark. But I’m just heartbroken and unable to write further about anything but my two friends who passed…

…John Ruhlin Passed Away Sunday
Leaving behind his lovely wife Lindsay and 4 beautiful young daughters, Giftology author John Ruhlin was vacationing with his family when he collapsed on Sunday, unable to be revived. The EO, author, biz, and his friend community (and he had so many) are shocked. Many of you might remember the times we’ve had John keynote our Fortune Summits – and share his wisdom with our coaching community on the power of gifting and how to do it beautifully. This IG post provides details of his passing and sites to offer support for his family.

Memory of John – Sara Blakely Interview
…the first memory that immediately came to mind, when I heard the news, was of John’s sit-down interview of Sara Blakely and Jesse Itzler for EO’s GLC which was held virtually because of the pandemic. EO clearly chose the right guy to host this amazing interview of two of the most iconic entrepreneurs of our time. I remember tuning in LIVE to watch and being blown away by John’s interview.

Important Lesson – Take That Extra Leap
This LinkedIn post captures the post excitement for John’s interview and notes:

Sara mentioned on stage that she has never had anyone fly down the day before and grab a meal prior to an interview with her.

John goes on to note, and this is the lesson:

I say it all the time when it comes to gifting, but it also applies to life in general too. Most people settle for “what’s the least I can do” vs “what’s the most I could do” take that extra leap when it comes to your business and watch things change around you.

Best Gift Ever – Portrait Made of Spanx Packaging
John then precedes, post the interview, to present Sara and Jesse with the most special gift to thank them for giving back to our EO community during such a crazy time for most of us during the pandemic. It was a massive (must have been 6ft or 7ft tall) portrait of Sara, Jesse, and their children comprised of pieces of packaging from Spanx. It might sound strange, but it is stunningly beautiful and memorable and one-of-a-kind. So many people have been touched by the special gifts John has given and made happen, including a $1000 coffee mug I was gifted by coach Andy Bailey that captures the history of my life beautifully. It’s one of the few cherished items I packed up and brought to Spain after moving from Boulder.

…and Gene Kirila Passed Away – Youngest Hero of Manufacturing
Last Saturday I attended the memorial for my dear friend Gene Kirila (60). Named by Fortune the youngest hero of manufacturing for revolutionizing several industries and featured in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up, Gene passed away from a long-standing heart ailment leaving behind his lovely wife Ginger and four grown children. A family friend as well, Gene a specialist coach for Scaling Up, was an EO/Birthing of Giants grad, and early Rockefeller Habits client. And I learned more from Gene than I’m sure Gene learned from me.

Monthly Meeting Master
He was a master at Lean and the first to show me the power of hosting his broader leadership team for a monthly meeting (4pm - ?) at his lake retreat. It was these longer meetings that helped bond the team over a fun dinner, dig in and resolve a key constraint or two, and give Gene a chance to pass along some of his wisdom as the team used their own company as a working case study from which to learn and grow.

Gene’s Personal Framework – Family, Self, Spirit, Work
In addition to Ginger, all four of his children spoke at his memorial, with each addressing one of the four pillars of Gene’s framework for setting goals – something he passed down to his children and all the people who worked closely with Gene. Literally expressed as a picture frame, he encouraged everyone to set goals that equally focused on Family, Self, Spirit, and Work.

Gene’s Obituary
Gene, I miss you dearly and thank you for the wisdom you’ve shared with so many, including myself. Here’s an image (click to view in full) of his obituary.



Coronary Calcium Test
This Stanford Medicine article discusses what is referred to as Frank’s sign, a Diagonal Earlobe Crease (DELC) – and it includes photos. It’s correlated to arterial disease. I recently noticed that I’ve developed this crease and showed it to my doctor at the Riordan Clinic. He had me get a Coronary Calcium test, and sure enough, mine is elevated. Not in the super danger zone, but high enough that I’m addressing it. Please get tested.

Be Well

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Brussels, Belgium – Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia –  Sep 5, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Sep 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
London, UK – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Oct 15, 2024 (Virtual)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH – Oct 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Chile – Nov 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Dec 10, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Quitting; Bomber Jackets; Best Bars; Aug 6 Freebie

Giving up is a waste. Quitting, on the other hand, is a fine thing to do.
                     Seth Godin

Everything was just hard
                     Dana Tatana, Journey

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

NZ-based Digital Agency Triples Revenue Since 2019 (Scaling Up Case Study)
…and the firm tripled revenue with the same number of staff. This Scaleups.com article details how Journey’s Managing Director Dana Tatana, with the help of coach Adrian Pickstock starting in 2019, has rapidly scaled his digital agency using the tools/techniques of Scaling Up. Notes Tatana in the article:

“Everything was just hard,” recalls Tatana. “We were constantly firefighting. There were client issues, people issues, trying to find profit, working month-to-month on sales, making sure we hit the wage bill, and chasing debtors.”

Scaling doesn’t have to be this hard. Let us help you scale up easier with less drama as we have Dana and his team at Journey.

Giving Up vs. Quitting – Important Distinction
One of the daily posts I read every day is from marketing guru Seth Godin. This post on the distinction between giving up and quitting is simple yet profound. Where are you giving up? What do you need to quit? Please take 10 seconds to read – then a lifetime to ponder – Seth’s insightful post. Thank you, Seth.

Important Supreme Court Ruling – Lyft and Uber
Giving people the “freedom to work when and how they want” has been supported by California’s state Supreme Court when they ruled yesterday that Lyft and Uber can continue to treat drivers as independent contractors, capping a year-long case. It’s an important ruling for all small to mid-sized firms and gig workers. This NBC News video reports the details.

Golden Bomber Jackets and Bonuses
This Fortune article details how CEO Sundar Pichai has gone back to basics hosting fun, yet vital, competitions inside Google using golden bomber jackets and bonuses to prompt (pun intended) winning “golden prompts” to make their AI tool Gemini more user-friendly. What fun, yet critical, competitions are you hosting inside your firm this last half of 2024?

Winning Prompts – Highlights Practical Uses
Quoting from the same Fortune article:

The winning prompt in this scenario, BI reported, was: “Every time I get a new Google review from a customer, add it to my Reviews Sheet, and suggest a response. Let me review the response before publishing to Google Maps.”

Seven winners of the competition were chosen, with their prompts spanning examples from tracking and following up on business leads to flagging customers who need an urgent response. Other cases included keeping track of invoices and receipts, as well as helping users find research on leads.

Driving Sustainable Growth: The Critical Four Decisions of Scaling Up
On the fence whether Scaling Up can help you like it has Journey (featured above) and 102,000+ other firms, please join us on August 6th at 2 PM ET for an enlightening free live webinar where we delve into the four pivotal decisions every business must master to achieve sustainable growth: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. Daniel Marcos, Co-Founder and CEO of Growth Institute will share practical insights and actionable strategies to help you build a high-performance team, craft a winning strategy, ensure operational excellence, and manage your finances effectively. Save your seat here: https://hubs.li/Q02HCG_s0

Fun Facts – World’s Best Bars
Notes Forbes this morning:

Farm-to-bar Cartagena, Colombia cocktail lounge Alquímico was named World’s Best Bar at the 18th annual Spirited Awards in New Orleans, (Forbes is the official media partner). Denver’s Yacht Club won Best U.S. Cocktail Bar, and New York’s Superbueno was named the Best New Cocktail Bar in America.

Thank You Immensely – Reviews MRH 22^nd Edition
Thank you to all who took a moment to write a quick Amazon review for Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 22^nd Edition released in April – your support is appreciated as I was getting killed by a bogus 1 rating claiming the book was written by AI. Your support means a great deal to me.

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Dhaka, India – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Brussels, Belgium – Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia –  Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Columbus, OH – Sep 20, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)
Washington, DC – Jan 28, 2025 (In-Person)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Never Enough; Sunscreen Dangers; MacArthur Park; Complimentary One Hour

It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.
                     Charlie Munger

…sunlight in a pill has turned out to be a spectacular failure
                     Rowan Jacobsen

…low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased rates of stroke, heart attack, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, depression, osteoporosis, and many other diseases.
                     Rowan Jacobsen

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Never Enough by Andrew Wilkinson
Looking for a summer biz read (winter down south) that catches you with its first sentence, this Fortune article provides an excerpt from Andrew Wilkinson’s July 8 release Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire. Love the title and enjoying the book immensely. I quote Charlie Munger above because he was of help to Andrew and his partner in scaling Tiny, modeled after Berkshire Hathaway.

Free 5-Day Online Scaling Up Mini-Course
Take time this summer (winter in Southern Hemisphere) to transform your business with our free 5-day online Scaling Up mini-course. Each day, when you start, you'll engage with a 5-15 minute video session that covers essential principles and actionable steps in the four critical areas of Scaling Up: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. Invest an hour and review/learn at your leisure (while in the sun?) the fundamentals for scaling easier with less drama. Sign up here.

MacArthur Park – Jimmy Webb’s Genius
This latest cover of Jimmy Webb’s classic MacArthur Park by Micah McLauren and Amber Riley and made famous by Donna Summer is one of the first biopic songs in history. “Someone left the cake out in the rain…and I’ll never have that recipe again” are some of the memorable lines/imagery in this song recounting lost love. Enjoy 6+ minutes of a 60-piece orchestra and Amber’s amazing vocals (while in the sun?).

As Chief Energy Officers (CEOs)…
…it starts with our own energy and health. Health is the KEY constraint to scaling, which is why I’ve been a part of the Riordan Clinic for 39 years and on their board the past two decades. And key to our health is time in the sun.

Please Get Some Sunlight Without Sunscreen…
…but please don’t get burnt. In this 56-minute interview, Rowan Jacobsen, a science journalist who has spent years investigating the health impacts of sunlight, unpacks the underappreciated benefits of sun exposure, and that, crucially, they’re not primarily a function of the production of vitamin D and can’t be replaced with a pill.

Vitamin D is a Hormone
UV-B is the one that makes Vitamin D – essential bone mineralization – better metabolism, and less cancer. The Vitamin D supplements fail – while we know that Vitamin D indicates lower rates of all kinds of diseases – but it’s only what you get from sun exposure. And UV-A is key to lowering blood pressure – increased sun, decreased blood pressure – with high blood pressure being the number one risk factor to lowering your life expectancy. Sunlight also improves immune function and it’s important to get sunlight outside in the morning – a cloudy day outside is better than inside by a factor of 50x. Makes you feel much better when you catch rays. Please be informed and have your family listen to this 56-minute podcast.

Those Who Get BCC Are Quite Healthy!
Basal cell carcinoma is mislabeled cancer, freaking people out. Rowan shares the precise statistics and why the people who get BCC is generally a sign of health and BCC is easy to treat. It is melanoma which is the deadly form of skin cancer that is rare and mainly shows up among very fair-skinned people with extended exposure to sun causing severe burns. The point – the deadly health effects of NOT getting sun exposure without sunscreen blocking the benefits outweigh the risks of melanoma – though, again, don’t get burned. The lack of people (especially Americans) getting unscreened sunlight is a huge health crisis – something even the Australian government has learned. Please grab a few rays and listen to Rowan’s interview.

Please Help Me – Report Bogus Review
Please “report” a bogus review on Amazon – it’s just one click to do it. A review claiming my Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 22^nd Edition is generated by ChatGPT, etc. is the dominating review. This book is the updated version (2024) of my original book published in 2002 that garnered almost 4000 reviews averaging 4.7. Please scroll down, see the bogus review by “Sky” and click the “Report” link under it. And if you left a review for the original book, a quick additional review is appreciated. Amazon changed its rules this year in porting over reviews for a revised edition. Thank you immensely.

Enjoy the Sun!

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less! 

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Chile – Jul 23, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – July 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Hong Kong – Jul 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Dhaka, India – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Brussels, Belgium – Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia –  Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Columbus, OH – Sep 20, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
London, England – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Key Question; Charisma Keys; Four Seasons CEO; July 11

Tactics before strategy is the noise before defeat.
                     Sun Tzu

If someone else can do it, it’s not for me to do. Being fully present in each interaction is also very important and I’m intentional about it.
                     Alejandro Reynal, CEO Four Seasons

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Try This Question
“What’s the chance…” is an effective way of influencing someone to do something – give it a try.

Alejandro Reynal’s Zero “In-box”
First, I didn’t know Bill Gates owned the Four Seasons hospitality chain of luxury hotels, resorts, experiences, etc. This Fortune article shares insights into Four Season’s CEO Alejandro Reynal’s leadership style and approach – including maintaining “inbox zero” so he’s not a bottleneck to others. Up at 5 am to meditate and exercise, his precision sets the tone for the kind of personalized service Four Seasons provides its customers. And because a CEO is the Chief Energy Officer, the book he’s reading now is Young Forever by Mark Hyman and endorsed by Wim Hof. The article is worth 1-minute to read.

Charisma = Warmth + Competence
Vanessa Van Edwards is the author of Cues: Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication. Brett McKay’s 44-minute interview with Vanessa provides an excellent summary of some simple things you can do to come across as warm and competent – approachable and credible.

Voice Control and Head Nods/Tilt
I’ve been practicing several of Vanessa’s techniques since learning about them a few months ago – and they seem to work. Some of the easier:

• Simplest is leaning in slightly when someone is talking – in person or on Zoom
• A slow triple nod and a tilt of the head exposing your ear
• Go from no expression to a slow smile
• End sentences with a downward inflection of your voice when giving your name, price, timelines, etc.
• Relax shoulders to give maximum length between head and shoulders.
• Share a piece of good news when first meeting someone

Overall, simply slowing down everything – hand gestures, entering a room, talking (with pregnant pauses), slow nod and slow grin. Please take 40 minutes to listen to her interview and read her book. I’ve only touched on a few of many ideas that help you connect with people.

Afaya Plus – Important Cancer Treatment/Middle Eastern Plant
Dr. Ron Hunninghake, our Chief Medical Officer at the Riordan Clinic (I’m Vice Chair of the board), interviews Jason West of Hyatt Life Sciences in this Real Health podcast. They discuss what might be referred to as the “Chicken Noodle Soup of the Middle East” – a plant called Arum Palaestinum known locally as “loof.” Doc Ron includes a cancer patient who benefitted from the effects of this supplement. Some of these old-time remedies are the best.

Upcoming Scaling Up Master Business Course - July 11th, 2024.
Even experienced business leaders can find scaling their companies without drama challenging. What often holds back their success? Drawing on years of experience and the principles of Scaling Up, this course focuses on mastering the four critical pillars: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. Learn from top industry experts and gain access to practical tools and resources designed to transform your business growth journey with less stress and drama. Download the course outline and discover how mastering these pillars can lead your business to success. Learn more here: https://hubs.li/Q02DkrYc0

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less!

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Ontario, Canada – Jul 11, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – July 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Jul 23, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – July 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Hong Kong – Jul 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Dhaka, India – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia –  Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Columbus, OH – Sep 20, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Best Biz Bio; Great Employment Ad; What not Why; Felix Culpa

Delusional people don’t learn well.
                     David Novak, co-founder Yum Brands

Anyone who tells you to follow their passion is already rich!
                     Scott Galloway

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Summer Read – How Leaders Learn
From living in 30 trailer homes to co-founder and former CEO of $32 billion Yum Brands, this Fortune article details the lessons David Novak has learned along the way. I love great biz biographies, and his book How Leaders Learn is the best so far in 2024. Start with chapter 11 “Are you Delusional?” and then read the rest – there is so much practical wisdom in this book.

Pizza Hut’s Critical Number
Great leaders boil immediate strategy down to one metric. Notes Fortune, when Novak was hired to lead marketing for Pizza Hut, its numbers needed help, so one question his team asked was, “How could we get weekday volumes much closer to weekend volumes?” That’s a perfect strategic metric – Moneyball stat. Read the article above to see how they did it. Then read Novak’s book.

Follow Your Talent (not Passion)
Marketing guru Scott Galloway riffs on the reasons “follow your passion” is bad advice in this 3-minute video. It was author Cal Newport who first pointed out the fallacy of this overused commencement address bromide – to follow your passion. Here is a link to Cal Newport’s important 20-minute video which is the best career advice you can offer your recent college grad – a video I shared during EO’s Family University this week in Ocean Reef with my son Quinn (16).

Start with What (not Why)
I witnessed it again this week – how confusing “starting with why” can be for leaders. What is supposed to be a “purpose” question, I normally get an answer that is closer to the “brand promises” i.e. why do people buy from us, because we deliver fast, quality service. The much better question is a “what” question i.e. what difference are you trying to make? What problem are you trying to solve in the world? What do you want to do with your life? What is your purpose? You’ll notice whenever someone describes their purpose it's with a lot of “what” statements as well.

“Why” is Not a Friendly Question Anyway
Most of the communication literature I read suggests avoiding “why” questions. Why did you do that? Why are you saying that? Why are you thinking that? Asking “why” has a finger-pointing, accusatory tone. Work to eliminate the word “why” from your communications with people. The better word is usually “what” i.e. what caused you to make that decision? I even suggest when looking for the root cause of something to ask 5 what questions vs. why questions. It just feels less offensive/accusatory. Start with What.

Vibecession (not Recession)
27-year-old Kyla Scanlon first coined this term in 2022. Considered Gen Z’s favorite economist, this Fortune article details her rise to fame. Maybe not that interesting, I do find her term fascinating – which represents the “disconnect between peoples’ malaise about the economy and rosy official metrics like GDP growth and the low unemployment rate,” according to Fortune. Save 2 minutes and skip the article.

Felix Culpa – Good Bad Luck
Tim Ferriss shared this:

“Felix culpa is a Latin phrase that comes from the words felix, meaning ‘happy,’ ‘lucky,’ or ‘blessed,’ and culpa, meaning ‘fault’ or ‘fall.’ In the Catholic tradition, the phrase is most often translated ‘happy fault,’ as in the Catholic Exsultet. Other translations include ‘blessed fall’ or ‘fortunate fall.’” More broadly and put another way in Oxford Languages: “an apparent error or disaster with happy consequences.”

Love This Employment Ad
Taking a page from MOM’s Organic Market’s CFO/COO ad in Scaling Up, Skyco Group created this highly successful recruiting ad for Concreter/Formwork tradespeople. Note the “Would you like to work for a company that…”



Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less!

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected].

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

Ontario, Canada – Jul 11, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – July 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Jul 23, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – July 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Hong Kong – Jul 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Dhaka, India – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia –  Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Columbus, OH – Sep 20, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

*This may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.