The Agile Scaleup

Google's Coach

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

HEADLINES: Print Friendly Version

Coach to Google and Apple (the Ivy Lee of Silicon Valley) -- take five minutes and read FORTUNE magazine's latest article entitled "The Secret Coach" -- it's about Bill Campbell, coach to Eric Schmidt at Google; Steve Jobs at Apple; Scott Cook at Intuit; and many others (yes, they have coaches!). It provides some wonderful insights into the power of a coach and why the best have (and need) a coach -- and it outlines his five rules for success he's taught Silicon Valley giants.  Thanks to Matt Kuttler, founder of www.ReStockIt.com, who brought the article to my attention.  Two of my favorite moments in the article include:

Regular Sunday Walks -- notes Jennifer Reingold, senior writer for FORTUNE "At Apple, Campbell is not just a board member; he's also Jobs' friend, and the two take regular Sunday walks around the streets near their homes in Palo Alto, where Jobs says they discuss "the things that have got me concerned and things I haven't yet figured out," It highlights the power of having some unstructured talk time with someone Steve Jobs calls "deeply human."

Deja vu -- just like financier Andrew Carnegie recommended that Bethlehem Steel CEO Charles Schwab meet with coach Ivy Lee, coach to many of the great industrialists at the time (including Rockefeller); Reingold writes that "John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and one of Google's VC investors, suggested that Schmidt (Google CEO) might benefit from a session with Campbell. 'My initial reaction was 'I don't need any help,'" says Schmidt, who had previously been CEO of Novell. "I don't need a coach." But he agreed to a meeting (and the rest is history)." Concludes Reingold, "For Schmidt and others, having a foulmouthed angel on their shoulder -- one who isn't on the payroll, with no overt political agenda -- is a dream come true."

Team Coach -- speaking of coaches, dear friend, former head of YEO, and founder of Forum Resources Network, Mo Fathelbab, has just released a great book loaded with tools for your team entitled FORUM: The Secret Advantage of Successful Leaders. Those of you familiar with Mo's work know that he is "THE" Forum Guru. His book is a fantastic resource and is loaded with communication tools for management teams (not just forums). And if you enjoyed Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team, you will find Mo's tools invaluable for building trust and handling conflict, the first two critical steps in Pat's five-step process. I recommend you buy a copy for each member of your senior team or your Forum. The book is packed full of tips, easy-to-follow exercises and techniques to help form, maintain and grow healthy groups that continue to work together strongly and effectively to reach common goals.

Buntch (I've not misspelled) -- and this tool for driving "talk time." John McNeely, Research in Motion (RIM) (Blackberry fame), recently attended the Rockefeller Habits workshop in Canada. After I noted the importance of verbalizing your frustrations, concerns, and "stucks" in the daily huddle so that the thoughts move from the amygdale in your brain to the pre-frontal lobe (so you quit worrying and start acting!), McNeely noted that he had been hosting several buntches for his team -- a portmanteau combining the word for a female dog with the word lunch! These sessions have proved useful in helping everyone air their gripes and complaints so they can move on and be productive. It's about getting stuff "off your chest" -- or in this case "out of your amygdale!"

F1 Formula Racing -- 20 spots -- if a buntch doesn't relieve enough tension, the day before the Gazelles Growth Summit (October 20, 2008) experience the thrill of F1 racing combined with business breakthroughs and exclusive networking. There are only 20 spots available for you to join a small group of adventurous Gazelles for a special day racing F1 cars up to 140 mph+. Go ahead and strap yourself into a real Formula race car, rev the RPMs and forget about the speed limit for awhile. You'll also walk away with actionable business ideas, strategies and resources from other like-minded entrepreneurs. You'll participate in brainstorming sessions, Hot Seats, and "What's Working" sessions to share best practices. Plus, there will also be a special celebrity business icon to coach you along the way. Get all the details on this "Taste of Maverick: F1 Racing Edition" day here.

Rave Reviews for the Daily Huddle -- Dave Jaworski, CEO of Tennessee-based PassAlong Networks, sent me the following note this past week "It has been several months since I received your book and we exchanged emails. I stated that I did not buy into the daily meetings. I have since completed your book and am *totally* bought into the daily meetings. We have implemented daily meetings for one of our dev teams with fantastic results. We are now going to take them company-wide, with the full game plan as you outline it in your book (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly and Annual). I was wrong."

This from Down Under -- More Rave Reviews for the Daily Huddle -- Jason Ellenport, who participated in my Australian webinar earlier this morning, sent this note from Melbourne (Jason is Managing Director of BOMweb Pty Ltd, a sourcing and procurement best practices firm) "We implemented daily huddles following your Sydney workshop in March. We run a daily '848' -- a 12 minute stand up huddle every morning at 8:48 AM. The process ensures WE ALIGN EVERY DAY to achieving our weekly, monthly, quarterly, 1 year, 3-5 year and 10 year goals. This alignment allowed us to dramatically improve our business strategy. We no longer go around in circles as we have a direct flight path to commonly understood objectives. Finally -- we celebrate our wins...something we never did previously!"

62% Ahead of Last Year -- so far sign-ups for the Growth Summit are running considerably ahead of last year. I've been asked repeatedly, given the economy, why I think this is. In essence, you don't have to be smart to do well in an up-economy. It's in tougher climates that the smarter, more savvy teams excel. And the Summits are gaining a reputation for being hard-hitting, practical, and providing the kind of fresh ideas in 48 hours that companies are able to implement quickly to boost bottom and top lines. "Whoever learns faster, wins!"

Seligman Defense

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

HEADLINES:

Martin Seligman Defends Himself -- I didn't expect to lead with this headline, but a note from Marty's friends this morning asked me to weigh in and help spread the truth. I'm a huge fan of Seligman, author of the famous book Learned Optimism and the Optimistic Child.  In a book released just this week entitled The Dark Side, it implies that Seligman helped the military develop torture techniques.  Marty's reply is below under DETAILS.

Foolish Love -- this was the German translation of an HIV medication that Choice Translating caught before the mistake was made. Congrats to Vernon and Michelle Menard, co-founders, whose Charlotte-based company is featured in the July issue of FORTUNE Small Business magazine. As more companies are expanding globally, you need to make sure your product names, taglines, and company name translate properly and Choice has carved out a niche helping large and small firms, for a fixed fee of $13k, make sure their brand translates in various markets. Choice is also helping firms make sure their visual brand (colors, images) translate as well. For instance, white often represents purity in Western cultures, but in China it's the color for death and mourning. Here's a link to the article.

Peru Talent -- and the Menards were having trouble finding sufficient talent in Charlotte, so even though most of their clients are U.S. based (and much of their work comes from local firms in Charlotte), they've opened a project office in Lima, Peru where they have 15 staff vs. 7 in Charlotte. Notes Vernon in the article "It was hard to find talent in Charlotte; we were often dealing with the leftovers after the banks had their pick. In Peru we are a top-tier employer." I'm surprised by how many local firms think there's no reason to think globally because all their business is local. However, you need to look globally for resources if you want to remain competitive even in your local markets. I appreciate greatly my assistant in India!

90% of Life is Showing Up -- or at least responding to media requests -- it's the best way to get great PR. Note's Vernon Menard in a recent email to me "This article would not have been possible without you. I contacted FSB a few months ago after you forwarded a request from FSB for stories about dress code issues in small businesses. After learning more about my company, the reporter, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, decided to write a full article just about Choice Translating. See you in October!" Thank you to all my Insight readers for responding to requests from reporters I highlight in the Insights. It has garnered great PR for many of you. And if you want to learn more about Choice Translating's services or staffing in Peru, they'll be in Atlanta at the Growth Summit.

"It's a VUCA World" -- this from a quote by P&G's COO Robert McDonald. VUCA, a term borrowed from the military, stands for volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. This is the world we face (but haven't we always!). Take five minutes and read this latest FORTUNE article entitled "The New New World Order." It highlights some important statistics on global growth rates and substantiates the figure that the world's middle class will grow by over 1 billion people between now and 2020 -- by 600 million in India and 500 million in China alone -- the biggest opportunity business has ever faced. It also substantiates why there's been a 40% decline in the Indian stock market. Even if your business is local, you need to be aware of general global trends.

Gazelles' Performance-enhancing Drug -- and this cartoon forwarded to me from Dan Turner, President of TCG -- you can only view if you open today, July 17 -- I'm working to get permission from the cartoonist to permanently use this cartoon as a follow-up to my cheetah/gazelle video. We like to think that our Summits and workshops are performance-enhancing!

Join Verne in India -- he'll be leading one-day workshops Sept 5 in New Delhi; Sept 23 Mumbai; Sept 25 Bangalore -- here's a link for more information.

DETAILS:

Martin E. P. Seligman's Response to Allegations Attributed to Jane Mayer's Book, "The Dark Side" Here, with permission, is Marty's letter to his friends: July 14, 2008

The allegation that I "provided assistance in the process" of torture is completely false.

I gave a three-hour lecture sponsored by SERE (the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape branch of the American armed forces) at the San Diego Naval Base in May 2002. My topic was how American troops and American personnel could use what is known about learned helplessness and related findings to resist torture and evade successful interrogation by their captors. I was told then that since I was (and am) a civilian with no security clearance that they could not discuss American methods of interrogation with me. I have not had contact with SERE since that meeting. I have not worked under government contract (or any other contract) on any aspect of interrogation or any aspect of torture. Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Jessen were present in the audience of about 50 others at my speech, and that was, to the best of my knowledge, the sum total of my "assisting them in the process." I have had no contact at all with the American Psychological Association about their relevant policies. As of today, I have not seen Jane Mayer's book, only the blogs. If necessary, I will comment further on its contents. Most importantly, I strongly disapprove of torture and have never and would never provide assistance in its process.

Martin Seligman

Green Makeover Opportunity

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

HEADLINES: Theme -- Employees -- plus Global 500 List Released Print-Friendly Version

Susan Mealer's 31 "Daily Basics" for Employees -- several of you asked to see Susan's list of 31 "Daily Basics" that she reviews, one per day, during her daily huddles -- an idea she borrowed from Towne Park who modified a similar ritual practiced at the Ritz Carlton -- here's a link to see the nicely laid-out format of these basics.

Roger Hardy's "Book of the Month Club" for Managers -- Jenny Harvey, Coastal Contacts, sent this recent note "When going through your Rockefeller Habits Checklist at our last off-site management meeting, we noticed that the section on alignment had been a bit neglected. The number one thing that Roger (CEO) did that has made the entire management team feel aligned is to start a �Book of the Month' club. Every manager is given a book at the beginning of the month and we are tested on 3 chapters at each Monday morning meeting. After the test there is discussion on the chapters we have read and how it relates to Coastal Contacts. This has really brought the team together and helped us conceptualize the task at hand which we are to be aligned on." Whoever learns faster wins!!

Geoffrey Moore, from the Last Growth Summit, is Chosen -- Jenny continues "The first book Roger chose for us was Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey Moore. The book was great for our team as we were able to realize as a group exactly where we are in the tornado lifecycle, and what we need to do to get ourselves to the next step. We are currently reading Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore and Roger has asked a speaker from the book to give a presentation to the team at our next global summit." For a list of books I recommend all managers read go to mygazelles.com-- just enter your email address if you're already registered at My Gazelles.

"Green" Makeover Opportunity -- FORTUNE Small Business magazine is looking for a small business that would like to be the subject of a "green" makeover that will ultimately save the business money and provide a great ROI. A non New York-area company with a warehouse, factory, and fleet of trucks would be ideal as energy savings will likely be a big part of the ROI. The company we choose will be the subject of an FSB Makeover story, and will receive advice from 3 consultants who offer tips on growing green. Interested business owners should send an e-mail to [email protected] with the re: line "Green Makeover." In your e-mail, please provide basic information regarding your business (industry, city, state, number of employees) as well as your most recent annual revenue figures.

Paul Silvis on "Fostering Trust in the Workplace" Webinar -- I've been recently highlighting Paul's $60 million firm Restek in how he's re-strategized a $7 million division to grow to $200 million. Paul's team has also fostered an excellent environment for employees, being named one of last year's winners of the Top Small Workplace competition. Paul will be sharing his lessons on servant leadership and how they help their staff construct individual growth plans in a July 29, 10am CST webinar. For more information and to register for the webinar go to winningworkplaces.org. And if you think it's all soft stuff, notes Paul "It's just a happy fest if the environment doesn't lead to results."

Excellent Benchmarking Data on Employee Training, Benefits, etc. -- $44 million Professional Placement Resources came in at number 12 of the Top 25 "Best Small Companies to Work for in America." Here's the link to the list which provides a quick summary of the number hours of training/employee; percent of budget spent on training; percent of hires referred by staff; percent of internal promotions; etc. And there's a quick summary section of best practices from each of the 25 winners -- there will be a couple you can shamelessly steal -- review at your next weekly meeting!

Global 500 Largest Companies List Released Today -- Wal-Mart at $379 billion tops the list, edging out Exxon Mobil by $6 billion. And Toyota comes in at #5 as GM drops to #9 -- it's why we're focusing on Toyota's Lean process as it applies to companies our size at the Growth Summit, and ING, the Dutch banking firm, came in at an impressive #7 -- proves the power of focus as they continued to shed non-related businesses and laser focused on their simple business model -- provide the highest rates on deposits and the lowest rates on mortgages. Here's a link to the entire list and for nice thumbnail sketches of the top global companies which outline their key strategies go to money.cnn.com

Number One Contribution of Executives

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

HEADLINES: Print-Friendly Version

My Rationale for the Faculty Chosen for the Growth Summit Oct 21-22, Atlanta. Below is a list of the faculty keynoting the Growth Summit along with my explanation of their importance to growing your business. The main theme is People, Strategy, and Execution with a sub-theme of "Going Global, Getting Lean." I'm convinced every growth firm must be the first in their industry to implement Toyota's Lean Practices as applied to service firms; and to keep companies on the other side of the globe from entering your market, you need to enter theirs! Eat or be eaten. Headlining the Summit is the infamous Tom Peters featuring his newest book (August 2008) The New World of Wow! Whoever learns fastest wins -- and your main contribution to the business, as an executive, is ideas. Give you and your team two powerful days to THINK!

Best Seats Based on Order of Pre-reservation -- for those attending the Summit for the first time, preferential seating is given to those that pre-register the earliest and bring the larger teams. So if you want to know "how did they get that table so close to the main stage" this is how -- and pre-registrations are already twice what they were this same time last year. Deposit is only $250/executive with balance not due until 30 days before the event -- helps preserve your cash. Each team of four or more gets their own private round table -- we want to emphasize the importance of team learning and implementation. The number one reason executives and companies become irrelevant is they fail to keep up. List of faculty below.

Ad Hits July 1 in FSB Magazine -- If you're planning to join some of the top executives of growth firms from around the world, pre-register to reserve the best seats before the magazine ad reaches the bulk of the new attendees.

Growth Summit Faculty (More detailed bios and topic descriptions available at this link):

Tom Peters -- he's going to drive home the importance of firms "going global" and "getting lean" to compete internationally -- and he'll highlight the latest in management approaches in the kind of hard hitting manner that has made him an icon on the business stage for over two decades.

Annie McKee -- Emotional Intelligence is one of the most important determinates of executive success -- and one of the main reasons careers derail. As co-author of the international best seller Primal Leadership with Daniel Goleman (author of Emotional Intelligence) and Richard Boyatzis, she's one of the handful of experts in the field.

Sam Wyly -- Texas billionaire, he's built and sold businesses ranging from data communications to Bonanza steakhouses. I read an advance copy of his book (1000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire -- Sept 08) and was highly impressed by his methodical approach to changing industries and turning around businesses. And how he took on AT&T and broke that monopoly is an inspiration of all of us that are fighting Goliaths.

Jack Perkowski -- built a billion dollar business in China, he's the author of the most respected (and enjoyable) book on doing business in China entitled Managing the Dragon -- and he's the highest rated YPO resource in China.

Guy Parsons -- he helped build, with Jim Womack, the Lean Institute. Whereas Six Sigma, from my viewpoint, is over complicated and costly, Toyota's "lean" approach is built around a one-page document. And Guy is focused on applying Lean to the service sides of businesses -- accounting departments, call centers, etc. I'm convinced the first company in any industry that fully embraces Lean is going to win big -- like Toyota has in the auto industry.

Tom Stemberg -- founder of Staples, now an investor -- enough said.

Tom Travis -- author of Doing Business Anywhere he's been one of the top experts in helping companies go global -- and I found both his book and his style straightforward and insightful.