The Agile Scaleup

ROL vs ROI; Luckiest Country; Share the Luck; WorldReader Vote

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

Those who don't read, barely have an advantage over those who can't. And the more I learn, the luckier I get.

Sourcing Great Advisors -- for my next Fortune column, I'm looking for stories of how you (creatively and/or luckily) found and lured top talent to advise your firm - lawyers, accountants, board members, etc. - more details below.

Return on Luck (ROL) -- I consider this concept the most important new biz term in 2012 (and maybe the century so far). Coined by Jim Collins in his bestseller Great by Choice (must read book!), he's the first to scientifically study the impact of luck - good and bad - on companies. The key is not to squander the good luck that comes your way; and to turn bad luck into an advantage. His book is full of other powerful insights as well - and the first to focus on the success of firms from start-up - firms like ours.

ROL Key to ROI -- My latest "Growth Guy" column encourages companies to focus on your return on luck both during planning for 2013 and every day moving forward!! The column provides more details on ROL. NOTE: I can already say without a doubt that consciously evaluating where I've failed to maximize good luck in the past and adjusting my decisions accordingly has already netted significant gains. And looking at every situation through an ROL lens has changed my perspective dramatically. Take 3 minutes to scan through this short December column.

Share the Luck -- 20 seconds of your time to vote could result in $1 million of e-readers and e-books being delivered to disadvantaged youth across 20 countries through WorldReader.org. Education, and specifically the ability to read, is something sacred. Through technology, WorldReader can send books electronically without the cost of shipping heavy volumes huge distances. And it prevents corrupt governments from getting their hands on the aid!! If a young Pakistani girl is willing to risk her life in support of education, we can all take 20 seconds to vote.

Vote 27th Nov - 4th Dec - OK, I have a thing for the power of books - and it costs you nothing to vote. Here's the low down:

WorldReader is 1 of 25 finalists for the Giving Awards that will air on NBC 8th December. You can vote for Worldreader here Chase customers can vote twice: once on the Chase Giving Website and once on the Chase Giving Facebook Page. Many credit cards, including the Amazon credit card, are Chase. The winner can win up to $1 million. Voting happens from Nov. 27 - Dec. 4. Why WorldReader wants to win? -- read more: We Need You and You and You.

Please help spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, your blog and your newsletter. WorldReader has put together a kit where you can grab banners, Facebook posts, tweets...whatever you need to get the word out. Click here: What More Can I Do

Lucky to be Born in Switzerland -- The Economist, in a recent article entitled "The Lottery of Life", highlights how countries have switched positions over the past several decades in terms of prosperity for future generations. Especially stark has been the drop of the US from #1 in a related ranking in 1988 to #16 today. Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Switzerland (#1) have all moved ahead. Take 4 minutes to look at the factors considered and how they play out for your children.

What Really Smart (and Lucky) People Do -- Kevin Daum has another useful column in Inc., encouraging leaders to not get in the way of their own learning. He provides five tips for stepping aside and continuing to increase your smarts:

Quiet Your Inner Voice Argue With Yourself Act Like You Are Curious Find the Kernel of Truth Focus on the Message not the Messenger

It's this last one I hope all insight readers take to heart!!! Spend 2 minutes reading Kevin's column.

Sourcing Great Advisors -- For my next Fortune column, I'm looking for advice on choosing great advisers for a business--lawyers, CPAs, consultants and the like. It's really tough for many of us to evaluate someone outside of our own core discipline. If you are an accountant, lawyer or consultant, what questions would you ask folks in your own field to figure out if they're any good--and the right fit? Are there any red flags that would warn you not to hire someone? I'd also like to know if word of mouth is the only way to find good professional advisers in your field. Are there any online marketplaces for talent that you consider a worthy place for an entrepreneur to look for professional help? Have any of you hired a professional adviser after reading a blog post, book or white paper he or she wrote?

I'd also like to receive anecdotes from entrepreneurs who have taken an interesting route to hiring a professional adviser--and gotten great results. Please let me know the name of your business, what it does, where it is based, what its annual revenues are and if it's profitable (Fortune requires some financial details). Email me at [email protected].

Holiday Biz Gifts -- What a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over the next month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits with a personal note in each) - maybe one of the top 5books I've named for 2012 or The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business and provide important historical information on 18 of the greatest business decisions ever made. Bulk discounts available.

Urgent Vote before 11am ET; 5pm GMT

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

URGENT: Calling all Fans of PankajGhemawat -- all the YPOers that heard IESE/Harvard's PankajGhemawat keynote the 60th anniversary celebration in Barcelona, please take 1 minute NOW to vote for him as Professor of the Year. And all other fans, please vote as well by 11am ET today; 5pm GMT.

Note: Rest of Insight Same as Tuesday -- second chance to read it (especially those post-Thanksgiving festivities!).

Gratitude at Work -- Toby Jenkins, CEO of Australia-based Bluewire Media, notes "we've been inspired (by Barrett Ersek's gratitude video) to implement gratitude as a key part of our Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly rhythms. Here's a blog post Toby wrote on their initiative - Gratitude At Work. One key is encouraging peers to show gratitude with each other for living the company's values and brand promises - a powerful way to keep your culture strong. And here's a link to Barrett's complimentary 15 minute presentation on the importance of Gratitude - something powerful to re-watch during this Thanksgiving season in the US - just register and enjoy.

Businessperson of the Year -- ...and Fortune Magazine's winner is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Driving revenues up another 31% this past year, Bezos has some unusual management practices, including what he calls "narratives" - six-page memos that his senior team read in silence together!! Take seven minutes (it's long but worth it) and read this fantastic narrative on Bezos and Amazon.

Communal Reading -- Notes Fortune, "Bezos says the act of communal reading guarantees the group's undivided attention. Writing a memo is an even more important skill to master. 'Full sentences are harder to write,' Bezos says. 'They have verbs. The paragraphs have topic sentences. There is no way to write a six-page, narratively structured memo and not have clear thinking.' This is exactly why we at Gazelles discourage leaders from sending around big documents for people to read ahead of time. Better to bring it to the meeting and have everyone read it right then and there - and then debate, dialogue, and decide.

Better to be Kind than Clever -- known as a tough, straight-talking CEO, Bezos, nevertheless, learned a lesson about kindness vs. cleverness - a story Bezos shared about a time when he made his grandmother cry. This and a classic Panera Bread story in Bill Taylor's HBR blog from August - worth 2 minutes to read.

When Not Growing Is Growth -- Home Depot has seen its stock skyrocket 70% this year after pulling out of China and halting the expansion of more stores. Sometimes the best growth strategy for 2013 is to not grow, but to get your own house in order first. Take 3 minutes to read how Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, along with Starbucks and Ford, has bucked the trend to grow, for the time being, to affect a major turnaround of the business.

4-Hour Chef -- Tim Ferriss's new book was released today - which has less to do with cooking and more about how to master/learn anything. I must downloaded and look forward to reading over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend - probably a 4 hour read!

Thanksgiving Gifts -- Thanksgiving in the US - a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over the next month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits with a personal note in each) - maybe one of the top 5 or The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business and provide important historical information on 18 of the greatest business decisions ever made. Bulk discounts available.

Businessperson of the Year; Unusual Management Idea; Don't Grow; Perfect Holiday Read

"...out-learning the competition" 

HEADLINES:

We're fully stored, why don't we focus on improving the existing stores that we have rather than growing for growth's sake?
	Frank Blake, CEO, Home Depot

Gratitude at Work -- Toby Jenkins, CEO of Australia-based Bluewire Media, notes "we've been inspired (by Barrett Ersek's gratitude video) to implement gratitude as a key part of our Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Quarterly rhythms. Here's a blog post Toby wrote on their initiative - Gratitude At Work. One key is encouraging peers to show gratitude with each other for living the company's values and brand promises - a powerful way to keep your culture strong. And here's a link to Barrett's complimentary 15 minute presentation on the importance of Gratitude - something powerful to re-watch during this Thanksgiving season in the US - just register and enjoy.

Businessperson of the Year -- ...and Fortune Magazine's winner is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Driving revenues up another 31% this past year, Bezos has some unusual management practices, including what he calls "narratives" - six-page memos that his senior team read in silence together!! Take seven minutes (it's long but worth it) and read this fantastic narrative on Bezos and Amazon.

Communal Reading -- Notes Fortune, "Bezos says the act of communal reading guarantees the group's undivided attention. Writing a memo is an even more important skill to master. 'Full sentences are harder to write,' Bezos says. 'They have verbs. The paragraphs have topic sentences. There is no way to write a six-page, narratively structured memo and not have clear thinking.' This is exactly why we at Gazelles discourage leaders from sending around big documents for people to read ahead of time. Better to bring it to the meeting and have everyone read it right then and there - and then debate, dialogue, and decide.

Better to be Kind than Clever -- known as a tough, straight-talking CEO, Bezos, nevertheless, learned a lesson about kindness vs. cleverness - a story Bezos shared about a time when he made his grandmother cry. This and a classic Panera Bread story in Bill Taylor's HBR blog from August - worth 2 minutes to read.

When Not Growing Is Growth -- Home Depot has seen its stock skyrocket 70% this year after pulling out of China and halting the expansion of more stores. Sometimes the best growth strategy for 2013 is to not grow, but to get your own house in order first. Take 3 minutes to read how Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, along with Starbucks and Ford, has bucked the trend to grow, for the time being, to affect a major turnaround of the business.

4-Hour Chef -- Tim Ferriss's new book was released today - which has less to do with cooking and more about how to master/learn anything. I must downloaded and look forward to reading over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend - probably a 4 hour read!

Thanksgiving Gifts -- Thanksgiving in the US - a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over the next month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits with a personal note in each) - maybe one of the top 5 or The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business and provide important historical information on 18 of the greatest business decisions ever made. Bulk discounts available.

CFO Outlook; Top 5 Biz Books 2012; Reverse Aging; Holiday Gifts

"...keeping you great (and healthy!)"

HEADLINES:

CFO Outlook Report -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch is proud to have sponsored the 2012 FORTUNE Growth Summit. For insights on what CFOs are thinking on the economy, priorities and prospects of business growth, please view their complete CFO Outlook report - worth the read!!!

Top 5 Biz Books 2012 -- my annual Top 5 Must-Read Book list is published in the latest Fortune magazine (Nov 12) and online. Those attending our Fortune Summits this year heard from three of the authors; the fourth, Jim Loehr, will present at the Leadership Summit May 9 - 10, Orlando. Take 2 minutes and see how many of the five you've read.

Thanksgiving Gifts --Thanksgiving in the US - a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over the next month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits) - maybe one of the top 5 or The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business. Bulk discounts available (36 to a box).

Reverse Aging/Look Younger/More Energy. More years and more energy -- what every growth company executive needs to fulfill their vision. As such, I've been part of a five-year initiative to slow, and in many cases reverse, the aging process. The key nutraceutical supplement is Stem Cell 100. So far no side effects, just subtle positive changes over time.

Manhattan Beach Project -- David Kekich, the founder of Maximum Life Foundation, started the Manhattan Beach Project to Reverse Aging by 2033 and works with virtually everyone in the life extension field including Ray Kurzweil, Aubrey de Gray (author of Ending Aging), Michael Fossel (author of Reversing Human Aging), Bill Faloon (co-founder Life Extension and editor of their magazine), Michael West (founder of Geron and CEO of Bio Time, Inc.) and many others.

Smart, Strong, and Sexy at 100 -- this is the title of David Kekich's ebook. Subtitled New Skin, New Hair, New You...7 Simple Steps to Strive at 100, spend $150 and get Stem Cell 100; David's 318 page ebook; three products that rejuvenate the stem cells in your face to look younger; and an anti-aging diet and exercise plan - and you'll also be sponsoring his Boulder, Colorado-based Centagen project. David is running an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign. I signed on for the $1000 level and had my 45 minute call last week with one of the top life extensive PhDs in the world, Dr. Bryant Villeponteau - picked up 8 ideas. He's also the project director of the Centagen initiative and formulator of Stem Cell 100, which has benefited me greatly. This is as serious team doing serious work.

Relevant at 87 -- Gazelles200 member Mike Maddock posted a moving Forbes column on what entrepreneurs have in common with Mother Teresa (who passed away at age 87) - and references a needlepoint that Mother Teresa had placed on the wall of her small concrete room in Calcutta. Its famous words are likely familiar to you, but always worth re-reading.

Two Short Interviews -- Max Nisen with Business Insider interviewed me last Friday and produced two very short online articles (1 minute each to read) - one on how "Entrepreneurs have a Superman Complex that holds them back and the other on "When success is the biggest roadblock to success.

18 Buffett Lessons; 101 Deal-Making Maxims; Go Big or Go Home; Tom Searcy Seminar

"...out-learning the competition"

HEADLINES:

"Think big or go home. At the beginning of an annual stockholder's meeting, Buffett tapped the microphone to see if it was on: "testing . . . one million . . . two million . . . three million."
	Tom Searcy, author of How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett

101 Deal-making Maxims -- above is just one of the 101 fun and insightful maxims Tom Searcy highlights in his new book How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett: Lessons From the World's Greatest Dealmaker. Author of several books including Whale Hunting and RFPs Suck, Tom specializes in helping companies land the big deals that are transformational to your business. In his latest book, he shares 18 specific lessons from Warren Buffett like "Only Deal with Dealmakers" (boy is that true!!). Sprinkled among the specific lessons are the maxims - makes for a fun read as he shares the details of some of Buffett's biggest deals.

Four Most Important Lessons -- and in the online seminar he just produced for Gazelles Growth Institute, he goes deep into the four most important lessons for landing big deals - including specific "how to's" and a great Buffett story to anchor each lesson. He then touches on three additional lessons of the 18 from the book. I like when an author chooses the best of their own list to save us time and provide additional focus. It's a useful presentation for your next sales meeting or for anyone in the firm that needs to think bigger. There's a nominal charge for the online seminar and always a money back guarantee if you didn't find it insightful. Here's a link to the seminar.

One of Us -- before Tom Searcy was 40, he had headed four corporations, each of which he took from annual revenues of less than $15 million to more than $100 million. Notes Tom, "Those were fantastic experiences for me, but I discovered along the way that what I really love doing is working with others to help them have the kind of experiences I had." The first step is adding a few zeros to your own thinking.

Highlights -- Amazon does a nice job of highlighting some of my favorite "Warren Ways" from the book:

Warren Way #22: Choose quality. "It's better to own a portion of the Hope diamond than 100 percent of a rhinestone." Warren Way #41: Deal making is a no-called-strike game. "You don't have to swing at everything--you can wait for your pitch." Warren Way #75. Think long term. "Our favorite holding period is forever." Warren Way #92. Don't do deals just to do deals. "We don't get paid for activity, just for being right." Warren Way #98. Think for yourself. "My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror."

Likeable Business; Owning a Word; Listening for Leads; Smarter Hearts

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

I sold my company and part of our success came from your Rockefeller Habits which provided us with a great framework for growing our business. Thank you.
	Brendan Byrne, CEO and Founder of Wolf Medical Systems

Likeable Business -- this is the title of Dave Kerpen's latest book released last Friday. Gazelles 200 and book club members will receive their copy next week. He outlines the 11 principles of likeable businesses: listening, storytelling, authenticity, transparency, team playing, responsiveness, adaptability, passion, surprise & delight, simplicity, and gratefulness - and then goes into detail about how to executive on each one. Dave will also keynote the Leadership Summit next May 9 - 10, Orlando.

Listening At Scale -- when you get the book, go right to the section entitled "Listening at Scale Through Social Media" (middle of Chapter 1). He suggests going to twitter.com and enter the name of a product or what you do i.e. if you're a dentist, enter the words "dentist" and "looking for" and see what people are saying. If you're a big enough company, also enter the name of your company and the words "I wish." It's amazing what you'll learn - I know I did.

Listening for Leads -- ...then continue in that same section and read about IBM's Listening for Leads program. These are the kinds of detailed specifics I appreciate Dave sharing throughout his book. It's time for all of us to up our game in the social media space.

Fast Growth Company -- FYI, Dave's firm Likeable Media, started in 2007, made the Inc 500 list of the fastest growing firms in 2011 (#118) and 2012 (#149) with triple digit revenue growth for four consecutive years, so he's one of us - and practices what he preaches as he helps thousands of small businesses become "likable" to their customers.

Owning a Word -- the side lesson to learn from Dave is the power of jumping out and owning a word - Likeable -- and then taking to heart David Meerman Scott's admonishment that "we are what we publish." This is why his firm is growing so rapidly. Dave has latched onto a concept and has written extensively on the topic - books, blogs, articles, etc. What is the word(s) you need to own in the mind of your best target customers (the first strategic decision you need to make) - and then hire a journalist or videographer to help you start "owning the ink and images" around those words.

US Air Listening? -- Seems they are. I have noticed a change in the airline many of us enjoy affectionately calling US Scare - and that's because Doug Parker, the CEO of US Air, is listening. Taking a page from the Rockefeller Habits (Checklist item #5), Doug is taking one hour each week to meet with 40 pilots and flight attendants - he talks for 10 minutes and listens for 50 minutes. This is the kind of qualitative data leaders must gather WEEKLY and use to adjust course. Take 30 seconds to read the Fortune "Best Advice" segment on Doug's weekly routine.

The Heart Grows Smarter -- loved this this NY Times Op-Ed piece and this line "In case after case, the magic formula (success and happiness) is capacity for intimacy combined with persistence, discipline, order and dependability. The men who could be affectionate about people and organized about things had very enjoyable lives." Worth the 3 minutes to read.

Advisory Board Tips; More Sh*t Sandwich Reaction; Flamenco Guitar; Nov Workshops

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

This Saturday Nov 3 Flamenco Guitar -- Juanito Pascual, the world's leading flamenco guitarist (and entertainer at the Summits), and his trio have a Kickstarter campaign to support their new album - at least get a few pre-release copies for supporting the arts. And for those in the Boston area, his trio has a performance this Saturday in Somerville, MA at 8pm - double billed with JulanLage Group. Here's a 90 second video trailer. Not to be missed (perfect date night)!

Doubling Revenues with an Advisory Board -- my latest November "Growth Guy" column addresses the importance of having an advisory board, including how Nurse Next Door, Information Experts, and Endai Worldwide have structured their advisory boards to deliver results. One of them even had to resort to an Advisory Board 2.0! Take 3 minutes to scan the short column for ideas.

How to Choose Advisory Board Members -- the key is deciding your company's top 3 to 5 year key thrusts and then picking the smartest people you know who have already been where you're about to go and seek their advice/help i.e. when we decided we needed more of our revenue outside the US by 2012 (2009 goal), we pursued Herman Simon, the Hidden Champion guru, to advise us on our global strategy.

Reaction to Sh#t Sandwich -- Aubrey Daniels, the leading human behaviorist and author of the classic Bringing Out the Best in People, reacted to Ben Horowitz's blog posting I highlighted two weeks ago. He suggests it is NEVER a good idea to sandwich criticism between two bits of praise. "There is no data to support it and from the behavioral science research it is clearly a bad thing to do." Aubrey specifically writes about this in one of my favorite books OOPs: 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money. Other wasteful practices include annual performance reviews and many incentive programs - it's a quick read.

Opinion About Everything -- Liz Wiseman (of Multipliers fame) took the challenge and responded to Ben Horowitz's blog about CEOs and feedback. Note's Wiseman, "I agree with Ben's point that a CEO needs to have an opinion on every aspect of the business, but I think it is important to consider the context of his advice. First, many of the CEOs in tech and other venture backed business are technologists and thus need to learn to be as passionate and observant about all facets of the business as they are about the product."

Frequency of Feedback (highway bumpers!) -- continues Wiseman, "Ben offers his suggestions in the context of frequency of feedback not intensity. I don't think he is suggesting CEOs need to bark orders, dictate actions and micromanage the details. I think he's saying that a CEO needs to have a clear point of view that guides the detailed feedback and coaching they offer. Their opinions shape the corrective feedback they must give. And by having a clear point of view, the feedback is directional and consistent rather than arbitrary. Their feedback should be like the bumps placed on highway boundaries that guide drivers when they get off course. If the bumps were spaced 1/4 mile apart, they wouldn't be very helpful in keeping people on track and moving fast."

Hard and Soft Opinions -- concludes Wiseman, "A simple technique I've seen great (and opinionated) CEOs use is to distinguish between their hard opinions and their soft opinions. Soft opinions are suggestions, ideas to consider. Hard opinions are reserved for clear guidance or corrective feedback. No one wants a CEO who is asleep at the wheel and who doesn't have clear opinions. People just need them to be directionally consistent and leaving enough space for people to perform and bring their own best thinking to the work."

November Rockefeller Habits Workshops -- celebrating our 15th year, the Rockefeller Habits workshops continue to thrive because of the positive impact they have on companies. Speed up and deepen the impact of the Rockefeller Habits by bringing your team to a one-day workshop:

Geneva, Switzerland – Nov 7 Chicago, IL - Nov 7 Boston, MA - Nov 7 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Nov 8 Philadelphia, PA - Nov 8 Portland, OR - Nov 8 Denver, CO - Nov 14 Vancouver, BC - Nov 14 Nashville, TN - Nov 15 Toronto, ON - Nov 21 Seattle, WA - Nov 29

Election Video -- stay tuned for my latest election video - I'll send it out via my personal email address vs. the insights -- with plenty of warning.