One Powerful Index

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

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One Powerful Index -- compare your company's revenue growth performance with the Private Company Index (PCI), Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P Small Cap. Go to www.privatecompanyindex.com and click on the "PCI Challenge" link and see how you compare with other mid-market firms and the public market space. And it's completely confidential. YTD, the PCI index is up 6% vs. a dramatic decrease in the public markets. "Gazelles" continue to be a powerful economic force -- keep up the great work.

Two Powerful Words - there are two key words, when used in conjunction with each other, which can dramatically improve your conversation skills and make you more likable -- and they come from improv training. It's the "Yes...and" technique. CNN.com featured an interesting story on the technique on Tuesday (also effective in getting a job or date!) so I thought I would give it a try. My son was having some issues with our move to India yesterday and I responded "Yes, I can see the move is bothering you...and it reminds me of when our family moved from Colorado to Kansas...." I proceeded to share some of my own experiences with him and sure enough, it seemed to help (at least in the short run). He felt I had heard him (the "Yes" part) and then opened the door for a healthy dialogue (the "and" part). Take five minutes and read this powerful article -- then apply it at home and work.   

Three Powerful Questions - you and your team/associates have been working through a difficult issue/decision/process or you've just taken the team through a training session or vision-sharing session and you want to make sure your message is getting through. Ask these three questions at the end of the session:   

1. What did you hear?
2. What questions of clarification do you have or what do you want to know more about?
3. What are your reactions (thoughts AND feelings)?   

If it's a small group, just go around the room, taking one question at a time. If it's a larger group, break people up into teams of 6-8. For the clarification questions, you might have to get back to them later with answers -- the key is making sure you do get your people answers.

Notes Cheryl Beth Kuchler, founder of CEO Think Tank "we've used these with dozens of client organizations (even in my "pro bono" work with the Union League of Philadelphia when they were going through a massive master planning process) and they are very effective at helping leaders to hear how their message is being received as well as what's catching people's attention and what isn't. The process also gets people involved - thus creating buy-in and commitment. And people actually ask questions! It's much better than when you ask at the end of a team meeting Do you have any questions?'"

Four Powerful Webinars - four complimentary webinars will be co-hosted by Verne Harnish and top thought leaders focused around the four major decisions that drive your business: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. One hour in length, the first 30 minutes will highlight the respective One-Page tool and the second 30 minutes will highlight the expertise of a recognized thought leader -- to sign-up click here.  Here's the schedule:

People Webinar -- 12:28pm - 1:28pm EST September 4, 2008 -- "People: Getting the Right Butts in the Right Seats" -- featuring the updated Gazelles' One-Page People Plan, the webinar will be co-taught by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, co-authors of the about to be released best-seller Who: The A Method for Hiring (Random House Sept 30, 2008). These co-creators of Topgrading® conducted the largest set of interviews with billionaire entrepreneurs, over 20, and discovered their best advice and stories about how to build a talented team. New research, new insights, new practical best practices you can use to grow your business."

Strategy Webinar -- 12:28pm - 1:28pm EST October 9, 2008 -- "Strategy: The New One-Page Strategic Plan" -- featuring the updated Gazelles' One-Page Strategic Plan, the webinar will be co-taught by Bob Bloom, best-selling author of The Inside Advantage. Bloom is the 74 year old "grand master" behind the brand strategies of Southwest Airlines, Perrier, TGI Fridays, and BMW. He'll share his simple, yet powerful, four-step process for determining your Brand Promise and how to bring it alive in the minds of your core customers.
       
Execution Webinar -- 12:28pm - 1:28pm EST November 4, 2008 -- "Execution: Driving Profit and Reducing Time" -- featuring the updated Gazelles' One-Page Execution Plan, the webinar will be taught by Patrick Thean, best-selling author of Execute Without Drama: The Red, Yellow, Green Series. Patrick has built and sold several growth firms and has led a team to build an electronic dashboarding system called Rhythm. See the latest demonstration and review the 10 Habits that drive flawless execution.
         
Cash Webinar -- 12:18pm - 1:28pm EST December 4, 2009 -- "Cash: Dramatically Improving Your Cash Position" -- featuring the updated Gazelles' One-Page Cash Plan, the webinar will be taught by Rich Russakoff, co-author of Getting Bank Financing, chapter 10 in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. Rich has helped hundreds of firms dramatically improve their cash conversion cycle (CCC) and raise significant amounts of money to fuel their growing businesses.