The Agile Scaleup

Netherlands, Barcelona, Europe -- Fidelity vs. Convenience

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

How Starbucks Lost Its Fidelity -- the trade-off between fidelity (the quality of a consumer's experience) and convenience (the ease of getting and paying for a product) is a critical distinction -- and companies caught trying to provide both get crushed. In turn, those at either extreme do well. Here's a link to an exclusive Fortune magazine excerpt from Kevin Maney's book Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don't -- Maney has been a favorite tech writer for years. Take four minutes and read this important article -- then discuss with your team where you are on the continuum. Thanks to Douglas Wick, Positioning Systems, for bringing this to my attention.

Power Thank You -- take another 2 minutes and read Keith Ferrazzi's latest blog where he shares Mark Goulston's three step process for thanking someone properly in a note. In fact, print out the three steps and post next to everyone's computers in your office! Here's the link

Why It's Best to Operate a Global Business from Europe -- this is something Hermann Simon discusses in his latest book Hidden Champions of the 21st Century. Because of the way the time zones are constructed, with the U.K. at GMT 0, you can reach all the time zones between 8am and 8pm CET (Central European Time) if you're located in Europe. Personally, I found it particularly challenging conducting business in Asia and Australia from the U.S. However, now that I'm based in Barcelona I'm able to talk with Asia (including India) and Australia in the morning and the U.S. in the afternoon.

EO Barcelona University -- speaking of Barcelona, are any of you attending EO's University next week? My wife Julie and I will be hosting a session sharing tips and hints and lessons learned on our trip around the world with our four children. And I'll be leading a second session on the new "Me" one-page personal planning tool Gazelles created for the EO Injected Program. We're honored that our four One-Page "Growth Tools" will be foundational to the EO Injected Program aimed at EO members with businesses larger than $15 million and/or members in the organization for seven years or more. Let me know if you'll be in Barcelona.

Inside Advantage -- and this note from Brad Skelton, CEO of Brisbane-based Skelton Sherborne, referring to his workshop with Bob Bloom, author of Inside Advantage "Bob helped us cut through the crap and get to the essence of what Skelton Sherborne is all about. For the first time in my company's history, I am confident that we have perfected our brand promise and that our team is behind it." Here's a 2 minute video showing Bob Bloom in action. Nail your Brand Promise from the guy who did it for Southwest Airlines, Perrier, TGIF, etc. -- Bob will be hosting a half-day workshop immediately following the Growth Summit. And here's a link

The Netherlands -- and this from our partner in Amsterdam, Spark Leadership Foundation -- they are hosting David Meerman Scott for a one-day workshop Oct 15. Author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR and World Wide Rave, they were so impressed by his articulation of what business leaders must do to use Web 2.0 to drive their businesses (as was I), that they are flying him over to The Netherlands. Marketing is critical to growth companies and David shows how to use the modern tools of Web 2.0 to create a worldwide rave for your products and services. Here's a link to more info.

Jim Collins Opportunity -- LIVE Video Webcast

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

Bring the Muffins and Donuts -- create a learning event at your company. Emphasize the importance of learning by hosting your team in your conference room. Host your own mini "Growth Summit" a few hours each day on Oct 20 and Oct 21. Participate in the same group activities Jim Collins will lead at the Summit -- and receive his one-page summary of Action Steps he'll share at the Summit to grow your business without being there physically. Do the same with David Allen. How, might you ask?

Jim Collins LIVE Video Webcast direct from the Growth Summit . Jim Collins, author of Built to Last, Good to Great, and How the Mighty Fall, has been kind enough to allow us to beam-out his four hour presentation LIVE Tuesday October 20, 8am -- noon CST to your companies. This is a huge opportunity for those that can't make the Growth Summit. And for those participating in the Growth Summit, it's a way for other executives and managers back at the office and in the field to share in the learning -- it's so much easier to implement ideas when they are more broadly shared.

Australia/Asia Timing -- Collin's webcast will ONLY be available this one time, though available online via a password and user name for 24 hours so our Asian/Australian friends can view at a decent hour. This is also in case there are any technical difficulties -- your user name and password will be valid for 24 hours. And there's a 100% money back guarantee if your team has an emergency or the timing doesn't work out at the last minute or there were connection issues (beyond a couple minutes -- the internet is finicky) -- we simply want you to have a fabulous learning opportunity.

Bundled with David Allen and Robert Cialdini -- we're also webcasting execution guru David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and Making it All Work, LIVE from the Growth Summit the next day -- Wednesday, Oct 21, 1pm -- 3pm CST (archived and available for viewing for three months).

To finish the series, Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of one of the top ten business books ever written entitled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, will present a 90 minute webcast Tuesday, Nov 17, noon -- 1:30pm ET (archived and available for viewing for three months). Together, they represent three of the finest business thought leaders of our time. To summarize the Growth Series schedule:

	Jim Collins  -- Oct 20, 8am -- noon CST -- available for just 24 hours
	David Allen  -- Oct 21, 1pm -- 3pm CST -- available for 3 months afterwards
	Robert Cialdini  -- Nov 17, noon -- 1:30pm ET -- available for 3 months afterwards

7.5 Hours of Executive Education -- One Price for All Three -- for a fraction of the cost for one person to participate in the Growth Summit or for you to hire these gurus to speak to your executives (over $100k) your company can participate in these three learning events from your desk or conference room for $995. Of course, you can purchase the David Allen and Robert Cialdini webcasts separately -- $199/individual; $495/company license (unlimited browsers -- for those with executives scattered around the world) -- however, the Jim Collins webcast is bundled with the other two as a company license.

How to Choose -- have you noticed there must be a webcast every day in which you could participate -- many of which are free. Our focus at Gazelles is to choose only the best thought leaders who we feel have highly relevant ideas for growth firms -- and to make them available to you on a consistent basis without overwhelming you. They are lengthy enough for you to get the real meat of their ideas, but short enough that it doesn't consume more than a few hours per month. And I work directly with the thought leaders in structuring the content so it's applicable to you -- I'll be on a call with Jim Collins for an hour next week thinking through the content -- it's because Jim cares enough to want to deliver the highest value to you and your firm. And because your time is worth considerably more than the cost of the webcasts, why take a chance with the teaser freebies flooding the internet. It's no time for amateur hour -- why not learn from the best.

Sign-up for the final Growth Series of 2009  -- ideas are more important than money.

Living Longer; Leading Better; Giving Easier; Sept 21 Hotel Deadline

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

Deadline to Book Hotel Rooms Sept 21 -- the conference rate for the Growth Summit expires on Monday.

Participate in Leadership Research for PhD Thesis -- there's a two part anonymous survey that took me ten minutes to complete. Bill Schell, VP Strategy & Development for PrintingForLess, is working on his doctoral dissertation in the area of transformational leadership -- and wants to study entrepreneurial firms. For participating he'll share the full results with all of us. 

No Cost 360 Degree Survey -- and for participating in Schell's survey, you can also opt in to receive a no cost, confidential, 360 degree survey where they survey your colleagues about your leadership attributes. I've not had one completed on me in years and thought the feedback might be insightful (or scary) -- anyway, I liked the no cost! You'll get back a personal leadership report.

Two Virginia Tech Student Entrepreneurs' -- two seniors, Kevin Eberling and Joe Casola, have created a no cost way to earn money for charities (sounds like Alchemy!). All you do is click through NiceBuy.org, a nonprofit organization they founded, before shopping at affiliate sites like Amazon or Best Buy. Then the link percentage they get is passed on to a deserving charity -- right now it's providing renewable electricity for impoverished communities in Nicaragua. The students (whom I know) are not taking a commission or salary, just getting some business experience and raising money for charity. And your name, email, etc. are not gathered, so your personal info cannot be sold nor will you receive emails from NiceBuy.

Living Longer: The Blue Zones -- Bob Hubbard, CEO of Hubbard Family Swim School, saw my mention of the Sardinia bike trip last week and pointed me to a book he highly recommended entitled The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner. It highlights four areas in the world where a disproportionate percentage of the population lives to be 100, and Sardinia is one of the four. Buettner went on to study what it was about these places and the lifestyles that contributed to people's longevity (how about using NiceBuy to order the book through Amazon -- so many people win!).

Living Longer: Vitamin C Update -- for those new to my Weekly Insights, I'm a huge proponent of high dose vitamin C. I take 6 grams orally a day and receive 50 grams intravenously every couple months (like taking 4000 grams orally). Here are three recent articles:

	IV Vitamin C Used to Recover Terminal Swine Flu Case -- amazing how this family had to fight the hospital to use IV Vitamin C (Vitamin C given intravenously). And sufficient Vitamin C seems to protect against swine flu (or any flu).
	Vitamin C Deficiency May Impair Brain Development -- a new study suggests that pregnant women need to have sufficient intake of vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid to prevent their fetuses from becoming victims of brain impairment that is associated with memory and learning capability later in their childhood. FYI, my wife Julie continued receiving her IV Vitamin C all throughout her pregnancy.
	Vitamin C Useful for Skin Healing -- study indicates a mechanism by which vitamin C could contribute to the maintenance of healthy skin by promoting wound healing and by protecting cellular DNA against damage caused by oxidation.

Hiring a Spouse; Katie Couric Interview; Crazy-Maker; Four More Books

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES: (NOTE: Hotel cut-off Sept 21 for Growth Summit)

Stanford Professor, Top Business Author -- join us for Chip Heath's LIVE webcast Tuesday, Sept 22, noon -- 1:30pm ET where he'll walk us through the six keys to making an idea stick from his huge bestseller Made to Stick and he'll give us a first glimpse into his new 2010 book Switch. If you miss the LIVE broadcast, you can watch the archived presentation. Sign-up now.

Idea from Summit Lands Greg on CBS -- this note from Greg Slamowitz, CEO of NYC-based Ambrose Employer Group "One big take away from the Sales Summit in New Orleans was education based selling. With that in mind, we had prepared a best practices seminar series on hiring practices and background checking for our clients and prospects. Shortly thereafter I was fortuitously contacted by CBS Evening News with Katie Couric who was looking to do a piece on fraudulent resumes. I was prepared and gave them an incredible amount of information on the topic and the next day they came down and interviewed me. The interview appeared nationally in prime-time! A solid take away from the Sales Summit. See you in Dallas for the Growth Summit." Take 2 minutes and watch the interview -- Greg is about a minute into the total piece. See, ideas are more important than money!

Hiring a Spouse -- speaking of hiring, one of the regular blogs I read without fail is Brad Smart's Topgrading blog. His latest shows how to apply Topgrading practices in your personal life -- to topgrade nannies, housekeepers, home contractors, even your spouse! (OK, read before jumping on me).

What's Your Personal Productivity Level? -- David Allen and his team have created a 2 minute Getting Things Done IQ assessment that measures your personal productivity level along two aspects -- perspective and control. I took the quiz and am classified as a Crazy-Maker, a description that my team would support. Whether you're coming to the Growth Summit to learn from Allen or not, take the assessment and cruise his site for personal productivity tools.

Four Additional Hours, Four Additional Book -- last Tuesday I failed to mention the four half-day Advanced workshops we're hosting in Dallas the day following the Growth Summit:

	People -- Aubrey Daniels' team presenting their Bringing Out the Best in People workshop - how to get 40% more discretionary effort from your people
	Strategy -- Bob Bloom, author of Inside Advantage, with Chris Bryant -- how to actually nail your Sandbox and Brand Promise and make it spread like wildfire
	Execution -- Patrick Thean, author of Execute without Drama -- how to execute your One-Page Plan with "no drama" metrics and the right KPIs
	Cash -- Rich Russakoff, author of Chapter 10 of my book on bank financing -- how generate and secure much needed cash

Here's a link to more detailed information on these four Oct 22 workshops in Dallas.

Steve Jobs; Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy; Randy Cohen; Tom Ball; Tony Hartl -- Living Life

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

Welcome Back Steve Jobs -- though he's been back on the job since June, it was great to see him "vertical" in front of an audience and the global community-at-large yesterday, sharing his continued passion for creating and making dreams come true.

The Beatles: Rock Band -- speaking of dreams-come-true, a must-read article this week concerns the two young founders of Harmonix, Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Creators of the highly popular Guitar Hero, they released a Beatles version yesterday, after two years of negotiations and development directly with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison. This story will re-ignite your passion for dreams, thinking big, handling defeat, and sticking to your core purpose. Take five minutes and read this CNN/Money interview (and then share it with your children!)

"Enable everyone the experience, the joy, of making music" -- note Alex and Eran in their interview, "One thing we're proud of -- if you look back to 1995 and read the mission statement of our first business plan, it's exactly the same as it was today, which is to enable everyone the experience, the joy, of making music...As an entrepreneur you never want to lose sight of the mountaintop you're trying to get to, but you have to remain incredibly flexible about the path that you take to get there, which often needs to change direction. Fortunately, we didn't have to abandon the mountaintop." This is both a powerful One-PHRASE Strategy and Core Purpose wrapped into one. Again, take five minutes and read their interview -- and don't abandon your mountaintop!

Ticket to the Limit -- someone that has never abandoned his mountaintop and accomplished yet another personal goal, writing a book, is Randy Cohen, founder of Ticket City. Known for his "woo-woo" philosophy of business and life, Cohen just released his new book Ticket to the Limit: How Passion and Performance Can Transform Your Life and Your Business into an Amazing Adventure. And it's a good book (unlike many personal story books)! Besides giving the reader a glimpse into the mega-sports industry, his story inspires you to build a business that fulfills your life instead of your life being just about the business. Randy -- superb job!! And all you entrepreneurs reading this -- order a copy from Amazon right now and show support for a fellow business owner -- and bring it to the Growth Summit where Randy will be autographing copies.

Enthuse Your Customers (great idea for your business)...and in response to my insight last week, Tom Ball, founder of UK-based Cognac, sent me the following note "We started getting a few "like minded companies" to throw a party to thank our clients/partners/friends together... That was four years ago -- last Christmas 12 small companies (many of them 2-5 people) came together and we had 1200 guests at the London Hippodrome for a Moulin Rouge party - and this year looks like it will be even bigger. There has never been a more important time to show how much you appreciate the people that keep you in business! Doing it with "like-minded" companies gives everyone more bang for buck." Tom, brilliant idea!

Bike the Island of Sardinia with My Family -- and if you want to party with the Harnish clan, we're joining Gazelles' fan Lauren Hefferon's family and owner of Ciclismo Classico on a week-long multi-sport adventure of the beautiful island of Sardinia (off the western coast of Italy) June 20th, 2010. Here's a link to the itinerary -- and you don't have to have any experience biking -- fun for the entire family.

FYI -- in a note from Tony Hartl, who recently sold his tanning business and is now travelling the world, which included one of Lauren's bike tours "I had a great time cycling in Piedmont Italy. This was my first time ever, I mean ever clipping into a bike and now I'm hooked. I'm already checking out different road bikes in Dallas. Please let Lauren know that everything was a 10 -- guides, accommodations, routes, and everything in between." And he's set to go on another tour this October. Lauren does have the best family and individual bike tours in the world! You'll see the discipline of the Rockefeller Habits in action (and see her in Dallas at the Growth Summit).

Fourteen Books; Jim Collins Four Hours; What Top Leaders Do

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

How Many of These 14 Books Have You Read? See list below...

2856 Hours Left...until the end of 2009. And I figure we have six to twelve months left, while the competition is weakened and still in survival mode, to grab market share and prepare for ongoing turbulent times. How are you going to spend the remaining hours of 2009 as you prepare for 2010?

What Top Leaders Will Do -- ideas are more important than money (per the last insight) -- the founder of Kinko's, Paul Orfalea, described how one idea he had generated $30 million to the bottom line. It's why Bill Gates continues his Think Weeks as he runs his foundation, plowing through hundreds of books, manuscripts, etc. It's why Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, emphasizes his habit of shutting off his Blackberry on weekends and reading a book or two. I believe teams versed in the latest business ideas and drive a "learning culture" will continue to dominate their market.

14 Books in 24 Hours -- at a minimum, you should be well versed in the following books, many released in 2009. You can read all these books or commit 24 hours and learn directly from the authors themselves. Invest 1% of the hours left this year, some without leaving your office, to make the other 99% more powerful, equipping yourself to remain a few crucial steps ahead of your customers and competitors.

10 Books in 15.5 hours at the Growth Summit, Oct 20 -- 21, Dallas

Jim Collins -- How the Mighty Fall; Good to Great; Built to Last Aubrey Daniels -- Bringing Out the Best in People; OOPS!:13 Management Practices that Waste Time and Money Hermann Simon -- Hidden Champions of the 21st Century; Beat the Crisis: 33 Quick Solutions for your Company David Allen -- Getting Things Done; Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life Lynne Twist -- The Soul of Money

5 books (2 duplicate) and 4.5 hours via the Growth Series LIVE Webcasts

Chip Heath (Sept 22) -- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die; Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard David Allen (Oct 21) -- Getting Things Done; Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life Robert Cialdini (Nov 17) -- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

1 book and 4 hours via the Growth Workshops -- Four Decisions: SuperGreen™ Execution

Patrick Thean (various dates) -- Execution without Drama

Let us equip you and your executive team with the best ideas as you prepare for 2010!

More Important Than Money; Making Ideas Stick; Big Parties; Webcast Sept 22

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

"Ideas are more important than money" -- my uncle, Walter Hickel, just celebrated his 90th Birthday. Twice governor of Alaska, Nixon Cabinet member, and entrepreneur, Uncle Wally has provided me inspiration (writing, business, and politics) for a half century with his emphasis on thinking huge and being fearless. And one of his most quotable lines is the one I used to open this insight. From helping bring Alaska into statehood to his latest initiative, the Northern Forum, this former Golden Glove boxing champ arrived in Alaska with 37 cents and became one of its wealthiest and most influential global citizens. Take three minutes and read this quick summary of his life it will provide inspiration to children and entrepreneurs alike.

Next Big Idea -- And if you can handle the rough language, watch this short interview of Wally (remember, he was a boxer) -- it's the video clip in the right hand column, at this link, showing him with the Pope. I can only hope to have his energy and huge ideas at age 90 -- and his ability to execute those ideas. I particularly liked his response when asked about his goals over the next ten years! Happy Birthday, Uncle Wally.

Making Ideas Stick -- Six Keys -- Stanford professor Chip Heath, co-author of bestseller Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (which is still one of the top business books over two years later) is presenting his powerful ideas Sept 22 in a 90 minute LIVE webcast -- noon -- 1:30pm ET. Heath will cover six key principles in getting your message heard and shared: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions and stories. He'll also pull for his new book "Switch" which will be published in 2010 (we get a sneak preview).

Ideas for Growing the Business -- Heath kicks off our final Growth Series for 2009. October will feature David Allen (Getting Things Done fame), broadcast live from the Growth Summit Oct 21; and the Influence guru who helped get President Obama elected, Dr. Robert Cialdini, will finish out the year November 17. Purchase all three and save money.

Big Parties are More Important Than Money -- and Gail Davis, in her blog, pointed me to this Texas Roadhouse CEO's interview -- and why spending $2.5 million on a big event for his people is critical during these tough economic times! I particularly like how his annual event includes having his people spend one day in their host city doing charity work, where they spend upwards of $1 million on supplies.

Ideas About Managing Money -- Fortune Small Business magazine is seeking retirement-related questions from business owners (not employees or prospective business owners) for a future Wealth Building column like "how do I hedge against the inevitable high inflation the latest budget deficits will create." They will take your questions to a panel of experts and the answers will appear in the magazine. The questions can be on anything related to retirement, for example: what are the best plans for small business owners, how to plan for a Roth conversion in 2010, maximizing your estate planning, good strategies for exiting your business during a downturn, what to do if my exit strategy was to sell my business, and now I can't find a buyer, good strategies for rebuilding my nest egg, or anything else! Email [email protected] or 917-309-5801. They should be willing to have their name, business name, title and location appear in print.

Fall and Spring Workshop Schedule -- we'll be running a series of half-day workshops entitled Four Decisions: SuperGreen™ Execution -- this is the new Rockefeller Habits workshop -- see list of cities and dates below. We have four more in the works -- stay tuned.