The Agile Scaleup

Brain Can't Multitask

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

HEADLINES:

FRIENDLY REMINDER -- Please take five minutes and do a quarterly check-up on your company -- every 90 days it's vital to review the 10 point "Rockefeller Habits" checklist of disciplines that make for a well-managed company -- here's the link to the checklist -- just do it and pick one or two items on which to focus -- see next Headline.

Brain can't multi-task very well!!! -- if you read just one article this week, read this NY Times piece summarizing new research on the limits of your brain to multi-task. This is the article I've been waiting for! Less is more. Focus is key. ONE THING AT A TIME! And email is killing us -- you must answer it just once an hour, not every few minutes! And you can only handle a few big projects at a time. It's all here in this article!
 

Notes Rene' Marois, a neuroscientist and director of the Number Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University, the human brain, with its hundred billion neurons and hundreds of trillions of synaptic connections, is a cognitive powerhouse in many ways. "But a core limitation is an inability   to concentrate on two things at once," said René Marois.

A recent Microsoft study found a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites. "I was surprised by how easily people were distracted and how long it took them to get back to the task," said Eric Horvitz, a Microsoft research scientist and co-author, with Shamsi Iqbal of the University of Illinois, of a paper on the study that will be presented next month.
 
Speaking of single minded focus -- Rob Parker, new CEO of Kiwanis International, shared with us at the last Growth Summit his BHAG of 1 million members by the 100th anniversary of KI built around the theme of "Mission Possible." He then held a Million Member March in January. Here's an excellent video clip of that announcement posted on their website -- a way to keep the BHAG and Theme alive and visible. Watch it as a model for what you might do to bring your BHAG and Theme alive --  
 
Invitation from Rob Parker -- CEO Council for Kiwanis. At the   tender age of 91, Kiwanis is reinventing itself to respond to the needs of a next generation of leaders. With a fresh approach to leadership development, Kiwanis is equipping men and women to serve as leaders in their families, careers and communities. Kiwanis CEO Rob Parker told me he would like to hear from executives   of growth firms who are willing to serve on a CEO Council to help guide Kiwanis through this remarkable transformation. Rob can be reached at [email protected]

On-Site's Quarterly Employee Recognition -- Notes Chris Canada, CEO of On-Site, an IT services firm,   "we spend almost 25 percent of our quarterly meetings recognizing people which include annual acrylic tombstones for people and they love them. We etch the number of years of service into the reverse side for the tenure, translating the years of service into number of days." It's given to each employee whose annual tenure falls within that quarter. Here's a link to a photo of the plaque. They get these plaques from Jennifer Owens, 512-970-6388, [email protected]. Ask for "L Custom 4" x 6" x 1" with Embedded 2 color Acetate & Laser Engraved on Back."

Trimester vs. Quarterly Priorities -- again, speaking of focus, it's that time for most people to set quarterly priorities. However, many firms are finding it better, given the rhythm of their business, to do this once every four months. At Gazelles, we have three distinct seasons -- Jan - May; June - Aug; Sept - Dec. Do what works, but do set a handful of priorities.

"If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it." John D. Rockefeller. John Anderson, whose wife had me read "Titan," Rockefeller's biography, sent me this quote. Seems getting rich wouldn't be the best single focus! Pick a focus each day, week, quarter, year, and 10 years!

April 2 Deadline

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

HEADLINES: (Sales and Marketing Summit update)

URGENT -- April 2 hotel deadline -- for those participating in the Sales and Marketing Summit in Atlanta April 24 - 25, the deadline for getting the conference rate for the hotel is next Monday, April 2. Here's the hotel information: Marriott Atlanta Airport 1 (800) 228-9290 call for reservations -- ask for "Gazelles Sales and Marketing Summit" $169 room rate single/double -- again, cut-off date is April 2.

Always new program -- I've been asked by many if the Sales and Marketing Summit will be repeated. The plan is to host it each spring. However, it will be an entirely new program each year. The idea is to expose   you to the very best thought leaders each year and if you miss a year, you miss that group of thought leaders (like Dr. Victoria Medvec, the Jim Collins of Complex Negotiation!). This year's program is listed under DETAILS below.

What about CFO, COO, HR, etc -- topics this year include Negotiations (everything you do in   business); Customer Service (all execs must encourage and practice); Branding (everything you do effects branding, including how you send out invoices); Sales (need I say more -- we had all better be selling all the time); and Marketing (getting people and money often more key than getting customers). The idea is for you to bring the executive team and have a learning experience together -- from the very top thinkers in each of these subject areas.

GE's execs at Crotonville monthly -- the best companies know you have to "keep executives great!" It doesn't happen by accident. The idea of the Summits is to provide a consistent, high quality, executive education experience twice a year -- providing you the same kind of educational rhythm we advocate in other aspects of your business. We want to be your "outsourced corporate university" and for you to feel there isn't a better executive education option twice a year.

YPO, EO, Vistage, Inner Circle and other CEO group participants -- the other key idea behind the Summits   is to provide an educational experience for the rest of the team equivalent to the kind of education we're privileged to receive via our CEO organizations. We need the team aligned and learning together.

Discounts -- the 10k program -- many of you see the significant discount our 10k members receive -- $1250/seat vs. the $1495 (3 or more) or $1695 individual. Our regular attendees simply commit to bringing at least four execs to each of the Summits -- that's it! Pre-paying $5k each six months guarantees the best seats. And you can use the 10k seats to get discounts on the DVD products and other workshops. We want to reward loyalty and consistency.

Consistent scheduling -- many firms have asked for advanced dates of the Summits -- they want to build their planning cycles around the education, particularly the fall Growth Summits. We're standardizing on the Tuesday-Wednesday closest to April 22 for the spring and the Tuesday-Wednesday closest to October 22 in the fall (Oct 23 -- 24, Vegas, 2007). Three weeks into new quarters, you should have some breathing room post the previous quarter. And a Tuesday-Wednesday lets you be in the office on Monday and back for Thursday-Friday.

Breadth plus depth -- the Summits are meant to provide your team a way to survey the very latest   in business thinking -- "you don't know what you don't know -- the most dangerous situation". The sessions are two to four hours so the presenters have time to provide depth. However, we recognize that it takes months to take something really deep -- it's why we're also structuring programs like the Doug Hall "Eureka! Winning Way" process introduced at the last Summit to help your team go deep with Doug's innovation process. The Summits give you a healthy depth and taste -- then you can pick where you want to dive even deeper.

Education is never urgent -- I'm doing what I do because education is THE key competitive weapon   -- knowledge truly is power -- and the hundreds of emails I receive regularly of the impact the education has had on your business are a testament to the impact -- like those that have been transformed by Marcus Buckingham and Doug Hall presentations at the last Summit.

DETAILS:

2 Days. Five Key Topics. 8 Speakers

Featuring...

Dr. Victoria Husted Medvec
Getting the Deal You Want: Maximizing Your Success
in Complex Negotiations
 
Adeline Barry Davee Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
 
Whoever names price first loses – right? Wrong. This and many other myths about high stakes negotiations have been challenged by the pioneering work of Dr. Medvec. Her ten steps for maximizing success in complex negotiations, especially where the relationship must be maintained after the sale, has brought her acclaim among top M&A and FORTUNE 500 firms. Growth firms spend a great deal of their time negotiating deals – mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and key contracts all capture the attention of top executives. How do you construct the best possible deal? How can you negotiate   effectively and secure value for your company while simultaneously building the relationship with the other side? This seminar will help you to improve your effectiveness in all types of negotiations. This will be a highly interactive seminar where you will have the opportunity to share your own negotiating challenges and create strategies for critical upcoming negotiations. Through her consulting, Professor Medvec has helped many executives and sales leaders achieve incredible success in high-stakes negotiations. In this session, she will highlight the ten tactics that have led to her clients’ success and teach you how to use these strategies. 
 
John DiJulius, www.johndijulius.com
Creating World Class Customer Service
 
President, John DiJulius consulting • Founder and CEO,
John Roberts Hair Studios and Spas
Author of: Secret Service: Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service.
 
Customer Service is back with a vengeance. It’s the key growth concept for 2007 – because word-of-mouth marketing can make or break your business. John DiJulius has literally written the book on creating a world-class service experience. Take your business to the next level using the same proven strategies he has used to grow his John Roberts Hair Studio and Spa to an award winning, $4 million business. DiJulius will share: The 10 non-negotiable principles of customer service vital to growing your business; strategies to identify what customers really want – not what you think they want; and ways to “walk your talk” 24/7, to exceed expectations during every customer contact. John’s dynamic, insightful session will give you the tools you need to deliver service so superior, it makes price irrelevant.

Laura Ries, www.ries.com
Exploiting Divergence to Achieve Market Dominance
 
President, Ries & Ries
Co-author of: The Fall of Advertising and The Rise of PR and The Origin of Brands.
 
What’s the most effective way to create a new brand in today’s marketplace? Laura Ries, together with her father, partner and co-author, renowned marketing strategist Al Ries, made the marketing world sit up and take notice with a startling answer to that question. Their controversial work, The Origin of Brands, forms the heart of Laura’s riveting presentation. Using thought-provoking logic and impassioned delivery, Laura Ries will reveal: How to push beyond gaining mere market share, to creating profitable, new markets; the five immutable branding laws you must use to focus your business and increase your profits; ways to narrow the scope of your business – for surprising revenue gains; and what best-practices branding shares in common with the pioneering work of Charles Darwin. After this lively, informative session, you’ll see why Ries has established herself as a go-to voice on marketing matters for Fox News Channel, CNBC, CNN and ABC World News Tonight.

Randy Schwantz, www.thewedge.net
Driving Organic Growth with The Wedge Sales Culture
 
Founder, President & CEO, The Wedge Group™
Author of The Wedge: How to Stop Selling and Start Winning and How to Get Your Competition Fired
(Without Saying Anything Bad About Them) 
 
In demand as a speaker, coach and consultant, Randy Schwantz has taken the sales training world by storm with The Wedge®, his innovative selling system based on winning business away from incumbent vendors. He has coached hundreds of companies and thousands of sales professionals in the US and Canada to take sales growth to a higher level. In a lively, colorful style unique to this West Texas native, Schwantz will reveal why conventional sales methods fail to cut it in today’s complex market. Boost your firm’s sales – and profits – by understanding: the 3 relevant players in every single sales scenario; how to generate more revenue from top clients; and ways to unseat incumbent suppliers (without resorting to criticism). Randy Schwantz will equip you with the best practices and actionable tools you need to achieve increased sales in a forward-thinking, growth environment.

Erik Darmstetter, www.salesby5.com
Innovative Sales Growth Strategies
 
Founder and CEO, Sales by 5 • Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year • San
Antonio Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” 
 
What’s a truly new idea worth to your business? Chances are it’s pricelesswhen you want to sell more, increase profits and dominate your market. Erik Darmstetter shatters the ceiling of tried and true with his innovative and creative take on growing your small or mid-market company. Erik will share:   Surefire, new ways to turn “warm leads” into hot sales; how to forge an unbeatable service team ready to exceed customer expectations – even in the face of increased demand; and how re-branding and “secret shopping” could catapult your business growth by as much as 200%. Gain critical insights that will turbo-charge the power of every sales and marketing strategy in your arsenal.  
 
Cameron Herold, www.1800gotjunk.com
Turning Junk into Profit
 
COO, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? 
 
Cameron Herold needs no introduction. As one of the principle architects of the 1-800-GOT-JUNK? brand, Herold is COO of company now known as “the FEDEX of junk removal.” His unique understanding of brand marketing and PR has helped grow this entrepreneurial venture into the $119 million company   it is today. Herold has overseen the company’s exponential growth from a modest, Vancouver-based business to one with a presence in nearly every major North American city. A sought-after speaker among entrepreneurs worldwide, his high-energy approach to growing a business is contagious. Herold’s innovative strategies have received attention from Associated Press, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune and many others. 
 
Dave Kurlan, www.objectivemanagement.com
Raising Expectations, Elevating Performance
 
Founder, Objective Management Group, Inc.
Author of: Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales
Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball.  
 
In today’s uncertain economy, can your sales people step up? If not, you risk losing market share, profits and hard-won growth. With more than 30 years of experience in all facets of sales training, management and consulting, Dave Kurlan knows how to identify and coach sales superstars. His eye-opening presentation reveals exactly what it takes to build a top-flight sales team who will grow your company’s profits. In this engaging, interactive session, Kurlan will shed new light on: Hiring sales professionals who can overcome the increased resistance in today’s marketplace; how the hidden strengths and weaknesses of your salespeople influence profit; and ways to accurately predict future sales revenue, once your A team is in place. Leave with tools you can integrate immediately – at any size business, in any industry. 
 
Verne Harnish, www.gazelles.com
Marketing Savvy for Fast-Growth Firms
 
CEO of Gazelles, Inc. • Founder, Young Entrepreneurs
Organization (YEO)
Author of: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the
Value of Your Fast Growth Firm 
 
Sales and Marketing are not one in the same. Sadly, many fast-growth companies ignore marketing strategy entirely, in favor of immediate – and sometimes overwhelming – sales demands. It’s a shortsighted error you can’t afford to make. To grab and keep new customers continuously, a dedicated marketing effort is crucial. Based on insights from many of the world’s top marketing experts, Verne will share ways to launch a powerful marketing effort that yields long-term success. Discover: The key approach Regis McKenna used to drive marketing during meteoric expansion at Apple, Intel, and Genentech; how to distinguish key sales metrics from key marketing metrics; and must-have technologies that will turbo-charge your marketing process. An engaging, dynamic speaker, Verne will offer a use-it-on-Monday plan for enhancing marketing strategy in your fast-growth environment.

Best Website

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

HEADLINES:

Growth Summit Update -- Fred Reichheld, author of the best selling book "The Ultimate Question", will keynote the Growth Summit in Las Vegas. His Net Promoter Score (NPS) is changing the way companies think about customer satisfaction.

Outstanding Website Design -- check out Caroline Caskey's Identigene website, the leaders in DNA   testing. What catches your eye FIRST is the bold brand promise backed with a guarantee of "3 Days or Free." They state clearly their "only ones" position in the marketplace. The contact info and hours is top left, making it easy for the customer to contact them. The "What's wrong with a $99 test" is going right at their competitors. And their "Get SECURE answers to your questions, ONLINE" box in the lower right shows a clear understanding of the customers sensitivities while providing clear answers to the top four common questions. Best use of web real estate I've seen on a site.

Identigene's "Test" Site -- it's obvious a great deal of research and thought has gone into their site, so I asked Caroline how she did this. The key is that they have a private labeled site which they use to play around with pricing and other changes to see what impact those changes make. Noted Caroline "Identigene's site converts far more clients than the private label site, even when the test site offers much lower pricing. It's been interesting to see what works." LESSON -- be your own competitor. Set up a competitive site with an unrelated URL and see what you can learn by tweaking layout, offerings, etc.

10 Website Domain Name Strategies -- speaking of websites, Eric Shannon, President of LatPro, Inc,   the leading job board for Hispanic and bilingual professionals, has written a very concise 10 commandments for getting the right domain names (and getting   plenty of them) -- the key is creating a moat around your existing domain name by getting names that are slightly misspelled and making sure you have domain names that mirror your brand promise and product/service names. Notes Eric "this   is the kind of knowledge that can make a 20 fold difference in your outcome. I learned it the hard way: LATE!" Here's a link to his 10 commandments

5 Million Contacts and Email Addresses -- this might be old news for many of you, but Steven Krane, President of Therasage pointed me to www.jigsaw.com, an online database of over 5 million contacts complete with email addresses. I've looked up several of you and surprised to find many of you in this "world's largest rolodex." Founded by Jim Fowler, a veteran sales executive, in a previous life he was owner and operator of Lookout Pass, a ski resort in Idaho, and served in the US Navy as a Diving and Salvage Officer!

Best and Worst Customer Service Stories Needed -- for a FORTUNE Small Business cover story on customer service, Justin Martin plans to include a sidebar on "Service Highlights and Lowlights." This will feature CEOs describing their best and worst service experiences from a consumer perspective.   You can discuss notable experiences, good or bad, with an airline, restaurant, bank, you name it. There's no need to identify the company that furnished the experience, though you can if you like. March 21 deadline email [email protected]

Best Place to Work in Dallas-Forth Worth 2007 -- congratulations to Tony Hartl and Planet Tan for this latest recognition. With 10 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, they count among their spokes persons the infamous Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. And Tony runs a very Rockefeller Habits-disciplined organization, while having a loads of outrageous fun -- the two can co-exist!!

Best Employment Ad

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

HEADLINES:

Outstanding employment ad -- Scott Nash, President/Owner of MOM: My Organic Market, received outstanding response to his ad seeking a CFO/HR Director. I particularly loved his list of questions including "Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit trapped inside a CPA body?" and "Do you want to come to work in jeans?" This is the kind of "sell the vision" ad you need to attract talent. The full ad is under DETAILS below.

Custom motorcycle company opportunity -- U.S. "Hero of Manufacturing" winner Gene Kirila, and close friend, has suffered health issues that are necessitating lifestyle changes and forcing him to step aside from Hardbikes, his fourth venture launched in 2005. The company has a full senior team in place, capital, and a dealer network established. Hardbikes is seeking a strategic partner or purchaser with marketing skills to take over day to day operations. Hardbikes is the world's only build to order licensed custom motorcycle manufacturer that can deliver tricked out custom bikes in 60 days. To learn more contact Hardbikes CFO John Kelly [email protected] or Michaelene Harris [email protected] at 724-981-7000.

Bill Gates recommended book -- I just finished reading "Emergence" by Steven Johnson (one of the brightest guys I've ever read!), who is also author of "Everything Bad for You is Good" which makes the case, among other things, that video games might just be critical to your child's development!   Here's a link to Johnson's blog where he details his encounter with Geoffrey Moore moderating a panel with Bill Gates and the CEOs of Google, Cisco, and Skype at Davos where they are discussing the "digital lifestyle." And I'm excited that Johnson has agreed to keynote the Growth Summit in Vegas -- where he'll also encounter the very famous Geoffrey Moore (our opening four-hour workshop).
 
Congratulations to Paul Hogan, founder and chief executive officer of Home Instead Senior Care® who was just named Entrepreneur of the Year - one of the highest honors in franchising - by the International Franchise Association (IFA). Past winners of this award include franchise greats such as J. Willard Marriott and Fred DeLuca (Subway). I look forward to keynoting their 450 person international convention in a few weeks and you'll usually see their team at our Summits.
 
Congratulations also to The Marena Group, recently chosen as the #1 apparel company in the U.S. by Apparel Magazine. Noted William (Bill) Watkins, Founder and COO, "yup, little, tiny us was pitted against the biggest and baddest apparel retailers and manufacturers in America and after careful review, our industry chose us. Gazelles was a ‘behind the scenes' part of our success (your book and seminars like Rockefeller Habits, Dell visit, Topgrading, and much more). Thanks for the help." And they are really helping people. Their scientifically developed products are designed to be worn after a surgical procedure in order to help minimize bruising and swelling. And they were the first to feature antimicrobial technology in their products.

DETAILS:
Here is the My Organic Market Ad

           

Title:       Classification:       Target Work Week:       Department:       Reports to:       Direct Reports:       Location:       Salary Range:

CFO / HR Director       Full-Time, Exempt       45 hours       Finance / Human Resources       Owner / President       5 (1 HR, 2 AP, 1 Payroll, and 1 Reporting)       Rockville, MD       Negotiable

HELP ME MAKE MOM's A GREAT COMPANY!...
"As the Owner of MOM's- My Organic Market, I am looking for a talented and successful CFO/HR Director to oversee and guide our finance, accounting, and human resources functions. Working side-by-side with myself and other members of the Leadership Team, you will also need to provide insight for company-wide strategic planning and initiatives. I am looking for someone with a "partner mentality", to help innovate, strategize, and move this company forward!"... Scott Nash, President/Owner
 
At MOM's, we are committed to organic products, our Purpose of environmental restoration, training, a great culture, and strong Values.

For the A-player looking for something special who can answer "yes" to all of the following questions, this is the opportunity for you.

 

• Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit trapped inside a CPA body?
 
• Are you seeking meaning and purpose in your career?
 
• Do you hate office politics as much as we do?
 
• Do you want to come to work in jeans?
 
• Do you excel in accounting but want to do more?
 
• Are you seeking an atmosphere of open and direct communication, debate, and creative brain-storming?
 
• Are you professional and results driven, yet lighthearted and fun?
 
• Can you see the forest and work in the trees?
 
• Are you level-headed and able to see both sides of the coin?
 
• Do you exceed people's expectations of you on a regular basis?
 
• Is it in your bones to seek continual improvement?
 
• Do you have passion?
 
• Would you rather work for David than Goliath?
 
• Do you want to make a difference?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, we want to meet you! Please visit our hiring website at myorganicmarket.iapplicants.com. Phone calls are not accepted.

Our Company
MOM's- My Organic Market is a successful locally owned organic grocery chain. Everyday, MOM's promises and delivers to our customers the highest quality 100% produce, an incredible selection of products, and remarkable customer service. MOM's is much more than a successful retailer of healthy foods, we are a proactive leader for environmental restoration. MOM's mission is to "restore the environment to the maximum extent we are able." Currently, MOM's has 4 stores located in Rockville, College Park, Alexandria, and Columbia and we have 1 additional store slated for opening April 2007 in Frederick, MD. We launched our "15 X 15 Initiative" in 2005, when we currently had 3 existing stores... 15 additional stores by the year 2015.

The Position
The role of the CFO/HR Director has 4 primary components consisting of (1) Leadership Team -- Provide consistent and positive input, results, & leadership; (2) Accounting Dept Head -- Provide timely and accurate financial reporting, (3) Financial Leadership -- Provide useful financial insight, monitor cash flow, control costs, etc.; and (4) Human Resources -- Design & implement systems to hire A-players.

At MOM's, success in this role will be measured against performance in the following areas:

 

• Monthly financial reviews (key metrics include, but not limited to, financial statements, cash flow, AP aging, monitoring line of credit, projections, cash controls, etc.)
 
• Cost Cutting Progress (metric includes setting goals, reviewing project status, and accomplishments to reduce costs)
 
• Human Resources (ability to manage and continually improve the 'people process'; metrics primarily include turnover rates, days to fill open positions, employee tenure, morale, etc.)
 
• Positive leadership team contributions & company-wide contributions
 
• Maintain positive & favorable external relationships (banks, vendors, suppliers, etc.)
 
• Other accountabilities, as assigned.

Qualifications
At MOM's, your values, abilities, and track record of success are more important than direct experience. That being said, an ideal candidate would have the following:

 

• Strong competencies in intellect (the ability to learn, understand, and innovate), personal skills (integrity, candor, excellence, etc.), and interpersonal skills (oral and written communication, customer service, etc.)
 
• Candidate is a CPA with at least 5 years of successful experience in accounting, payroll, human resources, and financial reporting. Experience and knowledge of consolidation and retail inventory accounting a plus.
 
• Proven ability to multitask and follow-through.
 
• Excellent proficiency in using QuickBooks (or similar accounting software) and Microsoft Office Suite. Experience and knowledge of ADP a plus.

Benefits
MOM's goal is to maintain a diverse, motivated, and positive work environment full of great people. Take pride in working for a company that lives its Purpose/Mission and Values and continually provides quality food for consumers, while working to improve the environment. As a salaried exempt position, benefits include:

 

    o Competitive salary
    o Medical coverage
    o Paid time off / comp time
    o A matching socially responsible 401k plan
    o 20% Employee discount on all store products
    o Generous $3,000 company contribution towards the purchase of a hybrid vehicle
    o A "Green" Benefits Package
    o And more!

Contact
If you are interested in this opportunity please visit http://myorganicmarket.com/iapplicants.com   to fill out an application online (all candidates must fill out the online application to be considered). You can also submit a cover letter and resume to the HR Manager, Katie Ennis, at [email protected]. Phone calls are not accepted. Please visit our web site for additional information on our company and this position at www.myorganicmarket.com.

Warren Buffett Letter; CEO Survey; More Energy; Best Buffett Line

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

HEADLINES:

Warren Buffett’s annual letter -- released yesterday evening, this is your "must" reading assignment for the weekend! Buffett’s firm once again beat the S&P 500 by 2.6% -- 18.4% vs. 15.8%. Notes Buffett, "We believe that $16.9 billion is a record for a one-year gain in net worth -- more than has ever been booked by any American business, leaving aside boosts that have occurred because of mergers (e.g. AOL’s purchase of Time Warner). Here’s   a link to download the letter.

Power of productivity gains -- most telling was Buffett’s praise for GEICO, which saw policies increase from 5.7 million to 8.1 million, a jump of 42% between 2003 and 2006. Yet during this same timeframe the number of fulltime-equivalent employees FELL 3.5%. This is a productivity gain of 47%! "And GEICO didn’t start fat," notes Buffett. In turn, GEICO over doubled its advertising budget. Success formula -- get more operationally efficient and then plow a good chunk of the gain into driving sales!

For CEOs only, a chance to be heard -- speaking of CEO insights, if you want your opinion to be heard and compared against the NYSE's CEO's and Deutche Bank's recent "Alternative Investment Survey"; here's your chance. Logon and take the Private Company Index's 10 minute survey of Private Company's CEOs to share your thoughts about the economy, the market and the challenges...

Want more energy? Mixed nuts and fresh fruit -- plus breakfast. Mark Brownlee, Managing Director of Nightlife Music and Video, an international leader in providing music videos to businesses, was in our Rockefeller Habits workshop in Brisbane. To maintain energy among their employees, they are providing healthy snacks throughout the day and are initiating breakfast service in a couple weeks. Mark emphasized the importance of serving unsalted nuts, otherwise people will tend to eat too much (and get too much salt) and serving sun dried fruits vs. sulfur dried.

Best Buffett line -- "Once you’ve flown NetJets, returning to commercial flights is like going back to holding hands."

Branson Luncheon

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

HEADLINES:

10 Richest Americans Ever (Rockefeller maintains his lead!) -- just released, a fun list to click through -- I didn't realize that there were four people ahead of Bill Gates

Speaking of rich! -- this conglomerate outperformed Warren Buffett's firm the past 20 years --   this got my attention. BusinessWeek had a must read article this week on Steven and Mitchell Rales' company called Danaher Corp -- the best unknown conglomerate   on the planet (based in DC) -- they've acquired boring niche businesses, applied outstanding management principles, and are now each worth over $2 billion. I had never heard of these two guys. Anyway, highly informative article, especially for those of you building your own mini-conglomerates and doing acquisitions. Here's a link

Danaher Business System -- to quote BW "DBS, as it's called, is a set of management tools borrowed liberally from the famed Toyota Production System." The Rales have been applying Lean principles to their businesses since 1987. I'm meeting with the head of the Lean Institute next Monday evening -- we're going to explore how we can adapt the Lean tools to growth firms -- stay tuned. Strategy drives revenue; streamlined processes drive profit -- you need both! Interestingly, they say Steve Rales is strategy focused while his brother Mitchell is operations oriented -- great combination.

Two screens: Little Improvements Add Up -- this note from Raymond Roberts yesterday, CEO of Cairo Corporation (www.cairocorp.com) "the whole team has two LCD screens on their desks now and everyone loves it. They are all saying that it improves productivity. Thanks for encouraging us to do this." The Lean approach is about making constant productivity improvements. Saving time opening and closing windows adds up over time!

Controlling the Ink in Your   Industry -- congrats to "Soap Expert" Anne-Marie Fiaola. Notes Anne-Marie this week "I just wanted to let you know that we took   your book idea one step above - we created two DVDs positioning us as soap experts!   Here's the link to the DVD's on our site: (first two listed)." You'll find the two articles I wrote about book writing, blogs, wikis and squidoos in the left hand column of this insight.

Dinner with Sir Richard Branson -- Mike Faith, CEO of San Francisco-based Headsets.com, has launched a brilliant idea -- he's been combining his philanthropic obligations; his insatiable appetite   for knowledge and scratching his entrepreneurial itch by hosting dinners with well know business luminaries in the interests of charity. Successful intimate dinners for ten to twelve, with the likes of Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin and Rob Carter CIO of the $33B FedEx have kicked off what looks to be an educational and inspirational venture -- and have raised almost $100,000 for charity. More   info at www.reservedinners.com and let Mike know if you want to attend one of these celebrity dinners. All of you could replicate this in your own town! Brilliant Mike!

Best BHAG from NZ tour -- I had an outstanding week in NZ, hosting over 400 executives of growth firms   with our coaching partners The Results Group. One of the neatest companies was Hamilton Jet which has a BHAG to "Kill Propellers!" Hamilton Jet is one of the pioneers of waterjets, dating back to 1950. And you have to check out their new MouseBoat technology -- you literally use a mouse-like device to steer a boat -- move the mouse sideways and the boat moves sideways!

Best Quarterly Theme in NZ -- Generation Developments' "M.A.S.H." theme, giving them all a reason to kick back and sip martinis (as if the Kiwi's need any more reason to party). David Mansel, Director of Generation Developments (www.generation.co.nz), has been a client of The Results Group for almost a decade during which they've maintained their massive "gazelles" growth pace and dominated their niche within the homebuilding industry. I first met David and his team when they flew up three years ago to Malaysia and participated in their first of three Rockefeller Habits workshops.