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/
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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.
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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].
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