"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
100 Best Companies to Work For 2010 -- SAS, the world's largest private software company and still led by its founder Jim Goodnight after 34 years, is Fortune Magazine's Best Company to Work For announced today. Rounding out the top 10: Edward Jones, Wegmans, Google, Nugget Market, Dreamworks, NetApp, Boston Consulting Group, Qualcomm, and Camden Property Trust. And a couple Gazelles' clients are getting large enough to make the list including The Scooter Store and TD Industries. Congrats to both of them!
Better Intel; Faster Action -- lessons for all of us in business, the best "behind the scenes" analysis I've read of Tuesday's surprise election of a Republican, Scott Brown, in Massachusetts is today's NY Times article entitled "Energy and Stealth..." In essence, the Republican Party had insights from some early polling of likely voters that gave them a jump on the Democrats who were flying blind with no intel. And Brown simply worked harder!
Talk to Customers Weekly -- this is why I'm so adamant about TOP executives talking directly to customers each week -- this is the critical intel you need to outmaneuver your competition, even if they are better funded. Take five minutes and read the NY Times articles on Tuesday's election for the lessons you can apply to your business -- and the continual importance of better intel and quick action.
Discipline the Key -- there's that word again, discipline; Jim Collins used it to describe the Good to Great firms (disciplined people engaged in disciplined thought and disciplined action). And it's the word they most used to describe Scott Brown the person in another NY Times article this morning entitled "Discipline Helped Carve Path to Senate." In the end, it always comes down to discipline -- those day to day habits that add up to success.
Chief of Staff -- continuing with political analogies, Fortune magazine yesterday posted an excellent short article entitled "Latest CEO accessory: A chief of staff." Notes the article, a chief of staff is "a top-level adviser who's part confidant, part gatekeeper, and part all-around strategic consultant." This might be the best title for the #2 to a founder/CEO that I discussed last week. It lets you keep the COO title intact, for the person overseeing all the processes, while avoiding giving up the CEO title or opting for a President. Take two minutes to scan this short article .
Go To Person -- we all need a special projects person -- a "go to" person that can take our ideas and make them reality, the role Rob Deeming plays at Gilt Groupe for CEO Susan Lyne (see article) . I would love to hear your thoughts and examples where you have the equivalent of a chief of staff.
HEADLINES:
100 Best Companies to Work For 2010 -- SAS, the world's largest private software company and still led by its founder Jim Goodnight after 34 years, is Fortune Magazine's Best Company to Work For announced today. Rounding out the top 10: Edward Jones, Wegmans, Google, Nugget Market, Dreamworks, NetApp, Boston Consulting Group, Qualcomm, and Camden Property Trust. And a couple Gazelles' clients are getting large enough to make the list including The Scooter Store and TD Industries. Congrats to both of them!
Better Intel; Faster Action -- lessons for all of us in business, the best "behind the scenes" analysis I've read of Tuesday's surprise election of a Republican, Scott Brown, in Massachusetts is today's NY Times article entitled "Energy and Stealth..." In essence, the Republican Party had insights from some early polling of likely voters that gave them a jump on the Democrats who were flying blind with no intel. And Brown simply worked harder!
Talk to Customers Weekly -- this is why I'm so adamant about TOP executives talking directly to customers each week -- this is the critical intel you need to outmaneuver your competition, even if they are better funded. Take five minutes and read the NY Times articles on Tuesday's election for the lessons you can apply to your business -- and the continual importance of better intel and quick action.
Discipline the Key -- there's that word again, discipline; Jim Collins used it to describe the Good to Great firms (disciplined people engaged in disciplined thought and disciplined action). And it's the word they most used to describe Scott Brown the person in another NY Times article this morning entitled "Discipline Helped Carve Path to Senate." In the end, it always comes down to discipline -- those day to day habits that add up to success.
Chief of Staff -- continuing with political analogies, Fortune magazine yesterday posted an excellent short article entitled "Latest CEO accessory: A chief of staff." Notes the article, a chief of staff is "a top-level adviser who's part confidant, part gatekeeper, and part all-around strategic consultant." This might be the best title for the #2 to a founder/CEO that I discussed last week. It lets you keep the COO title intact, for the person overseeing all the processes, while avoiding giving up the CEO title or opting for a President. Take two minutes to scan this short article .
Go To Person -- we all need a special projects person -- a "go to" person that can take our ideas and make them reality, the role Rob Deeming plays at Gilt Groupe for CEO Susan Lyne (see article) . I would love to hear your thoughts and examples where you have the equivalent of a chief of staff.