Eliminating Competition

"...keeping you great" Ten Minutes with the Growth Guy

HEADLINES:

Any CEO Council examples I can feature? -- my next "Growth Guy" column will be on CEOs embracing the formation of a "council" -- the weekly breakfast or lunch meeting giving you talk time around the important issues driving the business -- the kind of "council" Jim Collins outlines on pages 114 -- 116 in his book "Good to Great." Please let me know if you have one and the impact it's having on the business. I believe this is the MOST important meeting of the week.

Inform middle management first -- this came up during my first monthly conference call for Rockefeller Habits DVD owners (a great way for me to stay connected to our most active customers). It's key, when you have something important to announce, that you brief any and all middle managers first. Include anyone between you and the frontline employees -- from supervisor up to senior executive. Entrepreneurial firms tend to mess this up by announcing things broadly, only to have frontline employees ask their immediate manager "so what's this all about" and them saying "I don't know, I'm hearing this for the first time just like you." Difficult to grow the business if you don't respect, honor, and grow a middle management team.

Jack and Suzy Welch weekly podcast -- one of the other participants on the conference call (my apologies for forgetting who) suggested I check out the free weekly 5 to 7 minute podcast featuring Jack Welch of GE fame and Suzy Welch, former editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review. Each week they answer two specific questions from readers. The latest podcast (listen via your computer   or download to your iPod) deals with how an entrepreneur chooses their successor. To sign-up to receive the audio podcast each week go to http://www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm   and scroll down until you see the "The Welch Way" link. Good stuff from a savvy business leader -- and its something you can listen to while answering emails.

Vitamin C case study -- Vernon Menard III, COO of Charlotte-based Choice Translating, emailed me   after my last Insight "I've been taking 6 grams of oral C every day for a year with amazing results...I have severe hypothyroidism and I was catching every virus and bacterial mess that came within a mile of me. I even resorted to wearing surgical masks whenever I traveled on planes. After starting the vitamin C treatments I have rarely been sick at all."

Dubai success story -- congratulations to Spencer Brod, long time client and close friend, who left the comforts of his Colorado home and moved to Dubai, where it was just announced he's joined premier Dubai developer, Nakheel, as Senior Development Manager of the Dubai waterfront project. Dubai Waterfront is a master development covering 72 km of the last remaining coastline of Dubai and eventually will be home to almost 1 million people, once fully completed--this is a massive project!

Eliminating competition from Australia to Asia -- and this   note from Alex Koo, who is chairing this year's "Taipan: The Making of   Asian Giants" May 16 -- 18 in Kuala Lumpur "I'm sold on the Gazelles   Growth Tools...while being part of a family business, I started a new animal health business. By applying your Rockefeller Habits I took it from $0 to US   $8 mil in 5 years. Not just outperforming, but eliminating competition from Australia to Asia! I can't wait to take it to $50 mil in the next 5 years!" The firm is called Tallahesse which operates in and out of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Australia, including 6 retail stores called JC Milton & Co. throughout Australia. Congrats

Alex.

Christchurch, Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth -- speaking of "down under," I'm touring New Zealand and Australia in a couple weeks. Hope to see many of my friends and Insight readers when I'm in your town.