The Agile Scaleup

The Lost Tapes; Steve Jobs' Big Lesson; PayPal Founder; Registration Reopened

"...keeping you great" HEADLINES: (short insight - swamped in India this week) PayPal Founder on Creative Monopolies -- Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and early investor in Facebook, is teaching in the Stanford Computer Science Department. In this excellent David Brooks' NY Times Op-Ed piece (which includes a link to Thiel's course notes!), Thiel argues "we often shouldn't seek to be really good competitors. We should seek to be really good monopolists. Instead of being slightly better than everybody else in a crowded and established field, it's often more valuable to create a new market and totally dominate it. The profit margins are much bigger, and the value to society is often bigger, too." I couldn't agree more. Take two minutes and read at least the first half of this short column. Steve Jobs: The Lost Tapes -- Brent Schlender (I love how he writes) discovers a bunch of lost interview tapes with Steve Jobs and pens a highly insightful FastCompany article about the lessons Steve Jobs learned during what people have called his "wilderness years" - the time between when he was fired from Apple and when he took back the reins. This article is going to take you a good ten minutes to read, so take that needed break between a couple grueling 90 minute sessions on your computer and dive in. Learned Radical Focus -- one of the most important lessons Steve learned, from his time with Pixar, was the power of just working on one major project at a time. He took the lessons from film production and applied them to the creation of the iPod, iPhone, iPad, and the retail store - the idea that you bring a diverse team of skills together for a set period of time and you accomplish just one big thing - like you do when creating an award winning animation. Tom Peters was the first to suggest that Hollywood was the best model for how all work would be best accomplished in the future - and he's absolutely right! Favorite Paragraph -- for those who just can't spare the time to read the article, Schlender notes about the wilderness years "The lessons are powerful: Jobs matured as a manager and a boss; learned how to make the most of partnerships; found a way to turn his native stubbornness into a productive perseverance. He became a corporate architect, coming to appreciate the scaffolding of a business just as much as the skeletons of real buildings, which always fascinated him. He mastered the art of negotiation by immersing himself in Hollywood, and learned how to successfully manage creative talent, namely the artists at Pixar. Perhaps most important, he developed an astonishing adaptability that was critical to the hit-after-hit-after-hit climb of Apple's last decade. All this, during a time many remember as his most disappointing. Favorite Sentence -- "Of the three companies Jobs helped create, Pixar was the purest corporate and organizational expression of his nature. If NeXT was a travail of spite and malice, Pixar was a labor of love." I also liked the insights about incentive structures Steve learned - worth reading the article just to glean these ideas - and how Brent outlines the biggest mistakes Jobs made along the way. Thanks to Paul Dunn, founder of Buy1Give1 (a cool website for doing micro-giving activities - over 10 million tracked) for pointing me to this important article. Registration Reopened and the Group Room Rate extended for the FORTUNE Leadership Summit - it's why we enjoy working with Marriott. They have extended our $169 group room rate until this Friday, April 27, and arranged for a larger ballroom (now expecting over 700!) so we can clear our extensive waitlist and admit a few more.

Three Key Questions; City Bin Theme; India Tour; Hotel Cut-off

"...keeping you great" HEADLINES: Mumbai 25th, Bangalore 26th -- I'll be leading one-day workshops in India next week, more below...but first Cut-off for Group Rate Tomorrow -- those signed-up for the FORTUNE Leadership Summit have until tomorrow, April 20, to book hotel rooms at the group rate of $169 - here's a link for details Sh*tCan It -- OK, so this isn't exactly the name of Galway-based The City Bin Co.'s latest theme. They've chosen the more appropriate title "Bin It", but the idea is the same. Notes CEO Gene Browne, "Most of the time we're adding to our subordinates workload with new initiatives, ideas etc. (recently I discovered that my assistant was updating a spread sheet each morning just as I asked her to do three years ago. The only problem is that I stopped needing it two years ago!). Most of the time, particularly in service businesses, employees just assume someone somewhere requires the output of what they are doing." Here's the visual they are using for the theme" Three Key Questions -- continues Browne, "Our theme seeks to root out these wasteful activities. They're usually small but when added up across the firm they waste a lot of time, energy, money or space. Now we are rewarding employees to eliminate activities that waste time, money, energy or space. Basically there are three criteria: Question every activity you do that involves time, energy, money or space. Ask yourself, who would be negatively impacted if you weren't doing this? If the answer is nobody, then stop doing it." Fun Rewards -- wraps-up Browne, "They fill out a 3x5 card and hand it to their manager for immediate approval or an explanation of why it's needed. We reward based on the number of approved cards. 5 = Two Cinema Tickets. 10 = Shopping Voucher, 15 = Meal for Two etc. It's been a great success so far. We will make this theme a permanent feature going forward." There is no better time to start spring (or fall for our Southern friends) cleaning. If you haven't picked a theme for April - June, shamelessly steal The City Bin's. Andreessen on Taxes -- in the what-its-worth category, with all the talk about taxes and the Buffett Rule this week in the US, I thought VC Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape (and Ben Horowitz's partner), had the most rational thoughts on the matter (because I agree with him!).

Freedom & Fun; Attracting Talent; Top Industry Valuations; April 26 Webcast

"...keeping you great" HEADLINES: April 26 Complimentary Webcast -- 1pm ET, focus on "KPIs that Link Strategy and Execution - more details below, but first... FORTUNE Stories Needed - hiring is heating up, so my next Fortune column is seeking tips on recruiting, attracting, and keeping talent - any best practices? More details below, but second... Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee, Philly - these are some of the many locations of upcoming 1-day Rockefeller Habits workshops starting next week - here's a list of locations and dates (and listed below under EDUCATION). $85 Million Increase in EBITDA - Peter Whiting, Chairman of the Board and CEO of PTC Alliance, emailed "10 years ago I took my senior team to one of your seminars. At the time we were struggling to turn round a technically insolvent business with a very messy ownership structure, $156 million of debt and around $20 million of EBITDA ($7 million the day I took over the company). Today we have two shareholders including myself, no debt and $92 million of EBITDA. In many ways I trace our success back to that one seminar." Real long-term outcomes are achieved attending the Rockefeller Habits workshop. 5 Time Winner - Notes Greg Diamond, President of Bethesda-based Clovis , "Over the last 5 years I have run Clovis based on the principles of rhythm and alignment I learned by attending multiple Rockefeller Habits workshops. We continually grade ourselves using the best practices checklist and are still striving to perfect the system. Between 2006 and 2011 Clovis was recognized five times as an Inc500 fastest growing company (Hall of Famer now) and five times by SmartCEO Fast 50 -- and I give the credit to The Rockefeller Habits." Our most successful clients attend workshops multiple times. Top Industry Valuations - continues Diamond, "In April of 2011 we completed a private equity transaction and one of the key reasons our deal was at the top of industry multiples was our accountability matrix and quarterly planning concepts that supported our 30%+ year over year growth through the deepest recession we have seen since the great depression. I have since informally evangelized the book to no less than 10 CEO's in my network and they love what they have read and are implementing various components of the Rockefeller Habits systems." Our clients consistently achieve top industry valuations using the Rockefeller Habits. Increased Freedom and Fun - notes Kim McConnell, co-founder of Canada-based AdFarm, "I am pleased to report that I have 'graduated' from running the day-to-day operations of our agency (thanks in part to the great business advise that I have received from Gazelles over the years) and today I get to play every day --- I made this decision when I turned 50 and it is a wonderful place to be. I still have an office and connection to the agency, work on special client and agency projects I agree to accept, and have the opportunity to mentor three growing entrepreneurial businesses and a number of younger AdFarmers. Life is really great." Routine sets you free - and this is what the Rockefeller Habits achieve for leaders like Kim. Speed Team Implementation - Gene Towle, Managing Partner of Mexico-based Softec, shared "I was frustrated that I would have to translate all the material so my team at Softec could really benefit from it. I applied some of the concepts but was limited as far as getting my group (who speaks little English) on board with the presentations and written material. I was very excited to meet Alnoor (Gazelles coach in Mexico) and find out that the Gazelles program is available in Spanish in Mexico. Alnoor did a spectacular job in helping our company get back on track using the methodology of the Rockefeller Habits workshop. Softec is in need of a transformation, as our primary market, housing, is in a serious crisis." Implementation is magnitudes faster and easier if you get your team to a workshop. Sign-up -- Most Important Day For Your Company - I receive dozens of notes each month from leaders of growth firms attesting to the impact of bringing their team to a Rockefeller Habits workshop - something we've been offering for over 15 years. It wouldn't survive if it didn't positively impact companies. Attend (or re-attend) a Rockefeller Habits workshop this spring April 26 Webcast -- The best companies track their strategy weekly and make critical adjustments faster than their competitors. Join Patrick Thean, CEO of Gazelles Systems, for a free webcast on April 26th @ 1:00 ET. The Most Important KPI's to Drive Your Strategy Faster Than Your Competition (for companies with at least $10M in annual revenue). You will learn about the right KPI's you need to track to make sure you are executing on your strategy weekly. Executing on your strategy is not an event (gathering once or twice a year), it is a process. FORTUNE Stories Needed - The next topic I'll be tackling is how to attract top talent. It looks like hiring is heating up, so there will be more competition for great people. Have you changed the way you handle vetting and interviewing candidates by tapping into technological innovations? What does your company do to keep talent in the pipeline, so you know whom to contact when you have an opening? Where do you look for talent? Do you use social networks like LinkedIn to find people? If so, how do you use them? And once you find candidates, what interview strategies are most successful for you? What do you have to offer the very best candidates these days to get them to come on board? Email me at [email protected].

 

Reverse Innovation; Gatorade's Real Back Story; Mike Maddock; Favorite Paragraph

"...out-innovate the competition" HEADLINES: (32 seats left for the Fortune Leadership Summit)   You can't read the label when you are sitting inside the jar.   Mike Maddock, Free the Idea Monkey Reinvention: The New Reality -- my April Growth Guy syndicated column is published, but first... Free the Idea Monkey -- Mike Maddock's one-hour online seminar outlining practical ways to unleash innovation in all departments in your firm is available (100% money back - no risk to watch), but second... Huge Opportunity for Growth Firms -- a groundbreaking book is being released today entitled Reverse Innovation: Create Far from Home, Win Everywhere by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble. Both profs at Dartmouth, Vijay served as GE's first Professor in Residence and Chief Innovation Consultant. Vijay sent me an advance copy to preview and I immediately booked him to keynote our fall Growth Summit. Reverse Innovation is exactly how growth firms compete with the giants. Here's a link to a website describing the book in detail. Gatorade was a Reverse Innovation -- get a copy of the book and go right to the Introduction and read the opening story about Gatorade. Yes, it was formulated by doctors associated with the University of Florida "Gaters" football team, but they found the formula in a British medical journal that documented a centuries-old treatment used in Bangladesh to rehydrate patients suffering from cholera. Next read in the Introduction the sidebar story of Mahindra and Mahindra's success against Deere tractor. Book club members will get the book early next week. Most Important Paragraph -- my favorite paragraph in Vijay's book "GE was playing a traditional market-share game in India, China, and other developing nations. The company was trying to sell lightly modified global products into markets that instead needed fresh ideas -- breakthrough innovations engineered for local realities. Consequently, it was my opinion that if GE expected to tap into these trillion-dollar opportunities in a significant way, it needed to play a market-development game, not a market-share game." Concluded Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE "For GE to win in the U.S., it must win in India and China." Harvest Innovation from Emerging Countries -- in reality, most large firms will struggle with reverse innovation (Vijay and Chris have contributed a new biz term). This provides a huge opening for growth firms to beat them to the punch. Book a trip to India (I'll be there the week of April 23) and explore how emerging market solutions might be brought back to your own markets. In turn, figure out how you would deliver your products and services to a market where you have ten people who can spend a dollar vs. one person who can spend 10 dollars (another favorite line from the book) - then bring those solutions to the developed world and crush your competition. Two Books Featured -- my latest Growth Guy column (750 words) highlights both Vijay's Reverse Innovation and Mike Maddock's Free the Idea Monkey books. Take two minutes to read the short column for some practical tips from both books (three guiding principles of Reverse Innovation and three strategies for preventing innovation myopia) - and how Gazelles has already benefited from reverse innovation ourselves. This is your most efficient overview of these important books. Innovation: Quarterly Theme -- if you're struggling for a theme this quarter, have everyone in your firm execute one innovation that will make what they do better, faster, or cheaper. Watch Mike's online seminar (his firm is one of the G200 participating companies as well); choose Reverse Innovation for your book-of-the month; then ignite everyone's imaginations and see what they come up with. Use the guiding principles and strategies outlined in my column. Get the innovation train running full steam inside your firm in 2012 and meet Mike at the Leadership Summit and Vijay at the Growth Summit.

80 Seats Left; Saving Massive Amounts of Time; Four Short Interviews; EO Ft Worth

"...keeping you great" HEADLINES:     Just 80 Seats Left - "You deliver more value per $ than anyone else in the business!" notes YPOer Henry McGovern, founder/CEO of AmRest (billion dollar restaurant chain). He'll once again have his team, from Poland and the US, at the FORTUNE Leadership Summmit - will you? More below...but first:   Saving Massive Amounts of Time - my own team at Gazelles, experiencing overload, huddled and reviewed three critical rules:   Everyone must set aside one 90-minute uninterrupted session/day to focus on one big thing (this doesn't mean catching up on email); two 90-minute focused sessions per day for our head of operations (others must protect her); and as CEO I must get three 90-minute focused sessions per day. No problem-solving without getting ALL the affected parties on the phone - and in most cases, many of the effected parties are on our Monday calls. If key people are missing (like a supplier), invite them to participate for a few minutes on the call. It drives me nuts (not a far drive!) when people try to solve problems via email over days and weeks! No long emails - and only one subject per email with the subject line matching the topic. It also drives me crazy when the email topic changes but people are too lazy to update the subject line! And, again, no problem solving using email, just confirmation of decisions. In addition, taking a page from Jim Collins, we must always ask a "who" question first i.e. "who already has the solution so we don't have to waste time figuring it out ourselves." Four Practical Tips - please take 2 - 4 minutes to watch each of four Short Interviews I conducted at our recent Growth Summit in Sydney. Jim Collins also beamed in for two hours and delivered a powerful four-part framework for thriving in turbulent times - what he'll share in Atlanta. The four quick interviews:   Fred Reichheld - author of the Ultimate Question 2.0, discusses an important name change - NPS doesn't just stand for Net Promoter Score anymore! Remain current on the latest biz lingo. And tune-in to Fred's latest one-hour Growth Institute Online Seminar as well. Jack Daly - he's well-known for his sales and sales management training, but what is the third critical ingredient to high performance sales teams? Jack explains in his short interview. Halley Bock -- as president and CEO of Fierce Inc., Halley contributes a very insightful idea - that "conversation is the workhorse of organizations" - and that conversations drive relationships which drive culture. Lucy Cornell -- designated LinkLater Voice Coach describes the four keys to commanding more attention and power when you voice your thoughts in any situation. You have a voice; learn to use it properly. Thank you to our Australian partner, The Growth Faculty , for co-hosting a first class Growth Summit with Gazelles.  Changing Face of Massive Wealth - Wall Street isn't the best way to a billion. NY Time's Dealbook Spring Edition Spring Edition has some interesting articles today, including how the heirs to old money are plunging into high tech. Zero to ?25 Million - continues Selman, "We used the one-page strategic plan, the meeting rhythm, everything. The company has grown to Euro 25MM in sales in five years with strong double digit net profit margins. I'm not working in the company on a day to day basis now but the team is still doing the daily huddles, the rocks, the one page plan etc. and is still growing like crazy."   Latest Venture - Selman concludes, "I started another company two years ago and with a tiny team we again use all the stuff. In the photo below you see a picture from my desk here in Spain with the one page plan in the back. Underneath the left computer screen you see a small piece of paper glued to the screen. Those are the five annual goals. Just looking at it every day makes it almost inevitable that they will be met. The team in Amsterdam has it as well and we refer to it at least weekly. Living here in Spain now, I can say its life changing stuff!" New EO Chapter - speaking of the power of EO, Jeremy Brandt, founder of X5 Ventures, is heading up the launch of a new EO chapter in Fort Worth, TX. Contact Jeremy and visit their new chapter website. Join Henry's Team in Atlanta -- "More practical ideas per hour than any other executive education program, guaranteed." We've had several clients, including Henry McGovern, attend competitive events and confirm we score at least 3:1 on this critical practical idea metric. And we already have the largest audience ever for the FORTUNE leadership Summit, May 15 - 16, Atlanta. Over a dozen top business books represented by our faculty -- Jim Collins, Peter Diamandis, Jim Stengel, Brad Hams, Brian Souza, and Kevin Daum. "Outlearn the competition" and grab the last remaining seats for your team.