"...keeping you great" Ten Minutes with the Growth Guy
HEADLINES:
Manufactured Crisis! -- this is my perspective on the financial meltdown in the U.S. -- my full response is under DETAILS below. FYI, Goldman Sachs wins! And if you want a fantastic read get Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success -- I just finished reading it a month ago and it gave me some real perspective into the workings of Wall Street.
Quarterly Theme Examples -- October 1 marks the beginning of another quarter for most companies (it's the beginning of the fiscal year for many traditional Indian firms -- dates back to the end of the monsoon season) and it's time to launch another Theme. Here's a link to our Quarterly Theme wiki where dozens of Themes are listed. At the top of the wiki is a link for adding your past themes (please contribute to the community) and at the bottom of the wiki are theme examples plus a link to my Quarterly Theme article.
Black Diamond Trimester Theme -- Naomi Simson, founder of hugely successful Red Balloon, hosted a successful trimester theme entitled "Black Diamond" -- if the company achieved $20 million in revenue to finish her fiscal year she would take the entire company (43 employees) skiing. Here's a link to photos of her artwork for the theme along with the celebration.
Warren Miller Ski Video Clip -- notes Simson "Every Monday we would blog a Warren Miller ski video clip. We had special music and then in the lead up to the event we would leave things on people's desks -- ski hats, scarves, etc. It was all about Revenue to finish the final trimester on the number."
Missed the Number -- What to Do -- continues Simson "Now we did not actually get the number ($20m) we got to $18.3 -- but I got up in front of the whole company and said, 'We are not going to make it -- the credit crunch knocked us around a bit -- but you've all played full out. So if you still want to go -- let's go skiing -- but it will be on a budget'. Everyone was sooo excited that we were all still going, they really pitched in. We stayed in hostel style accommodations instead of hotel...we paid for meals, they paid their own drinks."
Red, Yellow, Green, Super Green -- concludes Simson "One of the things I've learned is it is good to have a second prize...Rather than all or nothing." This is why we modified theOne-Page Strategic Plan to include Red, Yellow, Green, Super Green targets, effectively giving your team the chance to win bronze, silver, or gold!
Photo of Red Balloon's BHAG -- and Naomi sent along a photo of the big screen displaying her BHAG that I reported on last week -- this is impressive!