The Agile Scaleup

Buffett's Loss; Whoopie's Support; Employee Happiness; Barcelona in Summer



"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

Help Make Crowd Source Funding Legal -- SEC laws from 1933 are the same for the big company raising capital as the small business owner seeking $50,000. With the financial meltdown, the traditional means of financing are no longer an option. So if the banks aren't lending, credit card companies are starting to charge insane interest rates, and private money is limited to a select few, where do entrepreneurs turn? Friends and family ... however, then you run into the 35 unaccredited investor issue. Woodie Neiss, one of my MIT/Birthing of Giants alum, has proposed some commonsense exceptions to the 1933 act (he even went to the SEC with it and they liked it). Now he's garnering support. Here's the petition: It took me 20 seconds to sign-it.

Whoopie Goldberg Helping Out -- and check out this latest WSJ piece on Neiss's crowd source funding initiative. Neiss also managed to get a hand delivered letter to President Obama and is talking with Bloomberg's people -- he's getting real traction, so let's help him - again, just sign the petition. So I asked him how he got to Goldberg. Basically through a friend of a friend who is her agent. Neiss has met with her 3 times and now she's lending her name and support.

Buffett's Loss -- though Buffett doesn't have difficulty raising money, he is having a rough week. David Sokol, CEO of Buffett's NetJets (and keynoter at the last Growth Summit), abruptly resigned this week. Sokol noted, in his resignation letter, that he wants to "utilize the time remaining in my career to invest my family's resources ... and ... provide opportunity for my descendents and funding for my philanthropic interests." Buffett indicated Sokol wanted to resign a couple years ago as well. Here is Fortune's reporting on the resignation which comes with some controversy.

Why Your Employees Might Resign -- Marshall Goldsmith, whom I consider second only to Jim Collins (he's also keynoting for 3.5 hours our upcoming Fortune Leadership Summit), wrote a blog this past week on why 49% of people aren't satisfied at work and how to make things better. BTW, what about all those people who toil long hours? Doesn't overwork lead to unhappiness? "No," notes Goldsmith, who is studying job satisfaction. "We didn't find the hours spent working correlated to happiness or meaning, or lack thereof. Nor did we find more hours spent outside of work in "fun" activities produced higher levels of satisfaction." Here's a link to Goldsmith's blog so you can see what does correlate to job satisfaction.

Why We All Might Resign...at least those in the "productive" sector of the economy. This is the premise of one of the most famous novels of all time, Atlas Shrugged. Considered by many a manifesto for entrepreneurs, the book is coming to the big screen appropriately on tax day in the US - April 15. It will be the first in a film trilogy encompassing the 1,368-page book, financed by businessman John Aglialoro, CEO of Cybex International and the 2004 US Poker Championship winner. Aglialoro has been pursuing his dream of seeing Atlas Shrugged in film for two decades! He's finally getting his satisfaction.

Barcelona Update -- we couldn't be more excited (satisfied!) that the new interim headmaster for our children's school, Ben Franklin International School, is the renowned Tom Northrup, Headmaster Emeritus of the equally famous Middleburg, VA The Hill School. Tom has been advising the school for three years and now is moving to Barcelona to further the mission of educating global citizens. BTW, if any of you are interested in spending a week or two in Barcelona this summer, we received permission from the owners of our 5 bedroom flat to sub-lease it while we're gone in July and August.

Legend Bill Bowerman; Cognitive Health; Where Good Ideas Come From; Rhythm Webcast

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

The Legend of Bill Bowerman -- co-founder of Nike, Bowerman is quite possibly the greatest track coach of all time, having trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers including the famous miler Steve Prefontaine. He was also a fan of starting meetings at an odd time -- like 7:27am, as explained in this 38 second clip from the movie about Bowerman's life (Donald Sutherland plays the role of Bowerman). Show this clip at your next weekly huddle and make sure your meetings start at an odd time! Thanks to Mike Norton, partner with Axiom One, for sending me the clip.

Running Halts Cognitive Decline -- brain fitness is essential to our information-driven economy. ExecuThink will share results at the Fortune Leadership Summit of the work they've been doing with a handful of execs of growth firms to return their cognitive functioning to that of a 20 year old (OK, no jokes!). Research also shows that just a few days of running will also create more grey matter. Check out this article on how one Canadian entrepreneur is actively improving the energy and "brain power" of his employees. Thanks to Craig Morantz, Leed's (who supplies our Summit bags), for pointing me to this important article.

Where Good Ideas Come From -- the most important thing execs of growth firms give their companies is good ideas. So how can you increase the number and power of these ideas? Steven Berlin Johnson, author of one of my top ten favorite books, Emergence, has a new Malcolm Gladwell-like book out entitled Where Good Ideas Come From (book club members will receive it this week with my recommendation of which chapters to read first). Challenging many long-held myths, Johnson provides 7 concrete "how to's" that will increase the flow of good ideas in your company. One key is the simple notion that piling in knowledge, over a long period of time, is critical to better ideas i.e. Bill Gates' "Think Weeks."

Drives Me Nuts -- this is why I go crazy when an exec says to me "we have enough initiatives going on that we don't want to learn anything else right now." Ugh!! Ideally, you want to pile in as much knowledge into your brain as early as you can so the information has time to incubate and combine with your life experiences. That's why I push hard to have your exec team at ALL of our Summits - we don't repeat speakers (except Jim Collins when he has a new book) so if you miss a Summit you miss an entire body of knowledge that won't be at your disposal when you need it, possibly ten years from now! And I pick the authors of the best dozen books, out of the 8000 published each year, to keynote our Summits. Invest two days every six months and you'll get a string of great ideas for powering your business.

Steven Berlin Johnson Online Seminar -- available on-demand 24/7 to educate your team, we just released a one-hour online seminar featuring Steven Berlin Johnson and his book Where Good Ideas Come From. $99 for an individual license; $495 for a company license; it's an inexpensive way to keep the knowledge flowing - and it's no risk since we have a full money back guarantee. We will continue to bring your team the latest ideas for growing your business -- one hour per month, four days per year. Click here for more detailed information on the program.

How to Track Cascading Priorities and Metrics -- to take a load off your brains and make your weekly management meeting much more effective, 3 years ago we launched Rhythm, software that helps you track (using a Red, Yellow, Green, SuperGreen scale) all the cascading priorities and metrics within your business (it can be a spreadsheet and paperwork nightmare, otherwise). We've just released Version 7.0 and are hosting a Private Webcast on Friday, April 13th at 1:00pm EST for those that want to see a demo. It's best for companies greater than $10 million in revenue. To Register or email/call Deb Colson [email protected] 704-728-1701.

Jorge Partidas, CEO of WAU Movil, the largest mobile integrator in Latin America, has been using our Rhythm system to drive his firm. As a preview, here are Partidas's thoughts in this 3 minute video. 



Second Favorite CEO; Gates Big Deal; Performance Reviews; Mobility Works Generosity



"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES: (Lots of great stuff from Fortune this week - and happy St. Pats!)

Atlassian Innovates the Performance Review -- as Aubrey Daniels notes in his book Oops, "there are a lot less expensive ways to piss people off." And the performance review process is one of those management practices Daniels lambasts. Australian-based Atlassian, one of the best run growth firms in the world, agrees, as described in this recent Fortune article. Though they are still innovating, in essence, they've replaced the annual review with a more ongoing process of conversations (what Daniels has always recommended) focused on enhancing strengths (Marcus Buckingham's point). Some key elements, to quote from the article:

·         Replace it with a series of monthly one-on-one meetings with a rotating agenda of "check-ins". Scrap the ratings and the distribution curve

·         Replace individual performance bonuses with top-market salaries, an organizational bonus, and stock options (don't fully agree - see below)

·         Redesign the review into "bite-sized chunks" of guided coaching conversations focused on strengths

·         Provide honest feedback without ratings: highlight instances of exceptional performance (and note frequency on a continuum of "never to always"); ask the question "how often have you stretched yourself"

·         Provide peer feedback and rewards

I strongly agree with all but the second point. Compensation, first and foremost, must align with your culture. Eliminating individual performance bonuses fits Atlassian's culture - but might not fit yours. Click here for my five rules for structuring compensation.

Inside the Deal that Made Bill Gates $350 million -- on the 25th anniversary of Microsoft going public, Fortune has republished their 1986 cover story on the anatomy of the deal - a minute-by-minute blow of the negotiations, meetings, and decisions. For a business junky like me, it was so much fun to reread. For the rest of you, click on the link just to see what Bill Gates looked like back then and read the last couple of paragraphs of the article describing what Bill and some of his people did with the proceeds from their IPO - especially the programmer who used part of his $200k to expand his work hours by hiring a housekeeper - that's dedication!

Second Favorite CEO in the World -- next to Ratan Tata, Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM, is my favorite big company CEO. Taking over in 2002, while everyone else has used the "lost decade" as an excuse, IBM's earnings have quadrupled and the stock is up 57%. What can growth company leaders learn from Palmisano? Get out of the office and TALK TO CUSTOMERS EVERY WEEK!! I love this line about Palmisano in the latest Fortune piece on IBM "And when he travels, he often leaves time for a solo walk around town to see what people are buying. 'You can read all the economic data, but you're not going to get a sense" of your customers, he says, explaining, "If I'm not with somebody, I'm on the phone with somebody."

You Can't Fire Everyone...and Fortune deputy managing editor, Hank Gilman's, book came out today. Entitled You Can't Fire Everyone: And Other Lessons from an Accidental Manager, Gilman is a superb story teller who extracts lessons from the countless leaders he's interviewed and from his own experience as a writer who found himself thrust into managing people (prima-donnas mostly!), something he's been doing, now, for almost three decades. Chapter 9 entitled "There's No Such Thing as a Small Role" is particularly important for new managers to read. Chapter 8 covers ten etiquettes of email. And Chapter 6, entitled "The Well-Behaved Manager" is my favorite, including his advice to defend your staff. It's the basics, shared in an entertaining way, that matter the most to all new and experienced managers.

Mobility Works Generosity -- American Idol fans are well aware of Chris Medina's story, the contestant caring for his wheelchair-bound fiancée, Juliana, who was terribly hurt in a car accident just weeks before being married. After seeing the episode, Mobility Works, one of Gazelles best clients, donated a fully equipped vehicle to Chris and Juliana. "We know how much an accessible van can totally change her life and allow you to have the courage to just get out and go to a restaurant," said Bill Koeblitz, CEO of Mobility Works. We're so proud to be working with them. Here's a link to the ABC News story.

Deepening Relationships; Education for Customers; Leadership vs. Growth

"...out-learning the competition"

HEADLINES:
 
Build a Deeper Relationship -- one of the keys to GE's long term success is an initiative called GE Access where they invite top suppliers and customers to participate in their learning events at Crotonville, GE's executive education center. Not only does this give them specific one-on-one time with their best customers and suppliers away from the office, but the learning helps strengthen these firms, making them better customers and suppliers.

Invite Your Best Customer or Supplier...to join you at our upcoming  Fortune Leadership Summit May 10 - 11, Houston; and our  Fortune Growth Summit October 25 - 26, Phoenix. They'll benefit greatly from the education and you'll be the hero for recommending something so important to their business - while having some quality time away from the office to form deeper bonds.

Why We Replaced the Sales Summit with the Leadership Summit -- and what is the difference between the  Fortune Leadership Summit and the Fortune Growth Summit. Several of you have asked these two questions. In response:

1.       We ran out of what I considered high enough quality speakers (with new ideas) to make a viable Sales and Marketing Summit on that topic alone

2.       Instead, we're incorporating the best sales and marketing gurus into the two Summits - spring and fall - and hosting several gurus via our online seminars

3.       In general, the Leadership Summit is about "growing the individual exec"; the Growth Summit is about "growing the company"

4.       Both Summits will have different faculty, so it's still the equivalent of reading a dozen books per year -- and we don't repeat faculty, so if you miss the Leadership Summit, you're not going to hear them keynote the Growth Sum

5.       Finally, both Summits appeal to the entire management team - our goal is for the whole team to learn together twice per year, mimicking Bill Gates twice-yearly "think weeks."

Are There Early Bird Special Deals? -- No, maybe we're wrong, but we have just one standard "everyday low price" pricing structure. Growth firms want to be guaranteed that no one paid less than them. The reward for registering early is you get the better seats (and it's just a $250 deposit, so you can preserve your cash). We seat in order of registration and size of team. And any team with four or more execs gets their own round table at the Summit.

Faculty for Fortune Leadership Summit:

Marshall Goldsmith -- most famous executive coach in the world, he'll discuss 20 bad habits that block executive performance

Greg Brenneman -- one of the top turnaround CEOs, he's the past CEO of PwC, Burger King, Quiznos, and the President that turned around Continental Airlines, he'll share his tools for turning around and growing any company

Josh Bernoff -- co-author of two recent bestsellers, Groundswell and Empowered, he'll share four steps in this "IDEA" framework: identify mass influencers, deliver groundswell customer service, empower with mobile, and amplify fan activity. He'll show how empowering your staff to use these technologies will transform your business.

Darren Hardy -- as Publisher of Success Magazine, Darren has been at the forefront of executive excellence. His book, The Compound Effect, provides the tools for executing the habits Marshall Goldsmith will suggest. That's why we paired them up at this Summit.

Mark Aesch -- YPOer, whose book Tom Peters has called "quite possibly the best management book I've ever read", heads up a Mass Transit authority in Rochester, NY where he reversed a massive debt while reducing fares while increasing both citizen and employee satisfaction.

Graham Weston -- co-founder of Rackspace, Graham led one of the most successful IPOs this past decade, tripling the stock price post IPO. Known for its "Fanatical Support", Graham will share how he and his team drove the business during one of the toughest decades in recent history.

Resilient Execs; Disrupt Your Industry; What is Pambazuka; Latin American Summits



"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:
 
The Resilient Executive: A Better Way to Work -- this is the title of my latest March syndicated "Growth Guy" column pulling together the best tips from Tony Schwartz's book Be Excellent at Anything. The column highlights the four kinds of energy leaders must maintain and how to use ultradian rhythms to drive up, immensely, your productivity. Tony covers, in more depth, this material in his one-hour online seminar available on-demand 24/7 for a fee - perfect for a weekly or monthly management meeting educational activity.

Disrupt Your Industry -- Luke Williams, author of Disrupt, wrote a great "how-to" article on disrupting your industry, providing a 3 step process and several killer questions to get you to "think the unthinkable." His process will also help you find the X-Factor in your industry - a 10 to 100 times underlying advantage over your competition. Thanks to Toby MacKelden, with the Australian-based Indigo Media Group (Real Weddings magazine), for pointing me to this important article and Luke's work - I'm reading his book next.

"Pambazuka" Morning Huddle -- Pambazuka is Swahili for "new dawn" and is what Barclay bank workers call their morning huddle in Africa. Notes The Telegraph writer Damian Reece, "Staff at every branch across the country gather before the doors open for a prayer, a song, applause and a general feel good moment about their day ahead." Consider it an alternative daily huddle agenda!! Here's a link to the article on how Barclay's new CEO is forging ahead in Africa, where the GDP growth rate has been twice that of the UK and US. Thank you to Kevin Lawrence, our global coach (India, Middle East, and Canada), for pointing me to this news item.

Why You Might Need a 60% Interest Rate Loan -- if you're short of funds and need money for a couple months to fund an inventory deal where you'll make 30%, then a 5% per month loan if better than nothing. The point - there's a lot of ways to look at bank financing and Ami Kassar, founder of Multifunding, is helping small business owners access these banking options. Here's a recent NY Times article on his work. Or meet him at our May 18th "Four Decisions: Rockefeller Habits" workshop in Philly - he's helping sponsor the workshop.

Ghostwriting (and video) for CEOs -- Lou Bortone, who has ghostwritten several of the CEO books I've recommended, the latest being Tony Hartl's Selling Sunshine, has finished his last book and is available. I continue to strongly recommend that every company leader write a book - it puts you at the top of your industry instantly and the book serves as a great recruiting and marketing tool - and should be on every leader's "bucket list" - a great legacy for your children. The great news is you can hire someone to do it for you. Lou is also helping companies produce killer videos. Let me know and I'll connect you to Lou.

Latin American Growth Summits -- May 24 Mexico City; May 25 Monterrey, here is a link to the program (I'll be sharing our new 7 Strata of Strategy framework). Liz Wiseman, author of my favorite leadership book Multipliers; and Guy Parsons, guru of executing Lean, will be keynoting as well.

Buffett's #1 Priority; Buffett's #1 Rule; Apple's #1 Ranking; Ford's #1 Discipline

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:
 
Good to See Steve -- thanks for the feedback on my choice of Dennis Crowley for replacing Steve Jobs, hopefully no time soon. It was great to see Steve debut the iPad 2. And congrats to Apple for four-peating as #1 on Fortune's Most Admired Company list released this week. Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Southwest Airlines, Proctor & Gamble, Coca Cola, Amazon, Fedex, Microsoft, and McDonalds round out the top 10.

Buffett's Annual Letter -- upbeat about the future of the US, I didn't find his letter as interesting as past letters. However, go to what is page 26 of the PDF (marked page 104) and read his two-page Memo to all Berkshire Managers (what he calls his "All Stars"). In this biennial memo, he reemphasizes his number 1 priority and asks for letters outlining who each manager has chosen to replace themselves if something happens to them. It's also worth reading his "PS" in the memo.

Always have Liquidity -- p23 of Buffett's letter is a copy of a letter his grandfather, Ernest Buffett, sent to his youngest son (all the children received a similar letter). In essence, it emphasizes the importance of having spare cash sitting around to cover unseen challenges and opportunities. For Warren, this #1 rule means that Berkshire will always have a minimum of $10 billion in cash, and normally $20 billion, so they can always weather the storms or jump on bargains. How much cash do you keep stowed away? Please read Ernest Buffett's letter.

$136 Billion Revenue -- Fortune magazine, as always, does a nice summary of Buffett's letter. Though Buffett didn't outperform the S&P 500 in 2010, his firm will break into the top ten in revenue for the first time. And as discussed last year, his acquisition of Burlington Northern appears to have been a brilliant move, given that a ton of product can be moved by rail for one-third the fuel it takes by truck. Buffett's now on the look-out for his next big purchase.

Ford's Rockefeller Habits -- check out paragraph two in the BusinessWeek article on Ford CEO Alan Mulally's management disciplines which includes a 2.5 hour weekly meeting with his 15 top execs where they review 300 posted charts, color-coded red, yellow, and green. Quoting the article, "As the CEO likes to say, 'You can't manage a secret. When you do this every week, you can't hide.'" And notes Anne-Marie Renoud, the "Soap Queen" and founder of Brambleberry, who alerted me of the article, "Sounds just like the Rockefeller Habits." The basics are the basics!

Rockefeller Funds Apple and Intel -- in doing some research for a speech comparing entrepreneurship in Europe and the US, I stumbled across the fact that Laurence Rockefeller, considered one of the founders of the venture industry back in the early 1930s, funded Apple and Intel through his venture firm Venrock. Makes me a little more proud of the Rockefeller connection.

Limited to 15 YPO Firms -- YPO International is, again, hosting a 2.5 day advanced "Making the Rockefeller Habits Rock" workshop October 27 - 29 immediately following our Fortune Growth Summit in Phoenix, AZ. The YPO link.