HEADLINES:
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Mistrust doubles the cost of doing business. |
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Professor John Whitney
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War for Talent -- take
1 minute to scan these 5 tips for hiring and keeping the best young talent -
my latest Venture column in
Fortune.
And see what Quik Trip has done to keep 13,000 frontline employees happy -
details below.
Global Middle Class
-- this is why I'm bullish -- this 2 minute video produced by the BBC outlines
the facts and figures re: the new Global Middle Class (defined as earning $10 -
$100 per day). Like what the baby boom did for the US; an expansion from 1.8
billion to 3.2 billion by 2020 and 4.9 billion by 2020 (3.2 billion of whom are
in Asia!) of the middle class will raise all boats - so long as you're on the
right side of this tsunami. Watch
the video to see which country will have the largest Middle Class. Thanks to
IESE Professor and serial entrepreneur Conor Neill for sharing.
The
Speed of Trust
-- when there is trust - between partners, with suppliers and customers, among
employees - then everything goes faster. And speed is one of the most important
competitive weapons. I've seen it among my own team of CEOs. When trust is high,
we can get decisions made quickly; when there's distrust, everything slows down.
And costs go up!! That's why trust is far from a 'nice to have" in business -
and why it's at the base of Pat Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions pyramid. Everything
starts with trust.
Stephen M.R. Covey
-- son of the late Stephen R. Covey of 7 Habits fame, M.R. wrote
The Speed of Trust,
one of those classics every business leader should read. Start four pages into
the first chapter and read the sub-section entitled "The Crucible." He describes
the merger between Franklin Quest and Covey, which he led, and how distrust made
the deal painful. He then explains how he regained, in a one day meeting, the
trust necessary to make it a successful venture. Book club members (and Gazelles
200 members) will get the book next week.
(SxE)T = R
-- Covey suggests that in the classic equation Strategy times Execution equals
Results, the hidden variable is Trust - and I couldn't agree more. Covey's book
lays out in clear ways how to build and maintain trust. Go to chapter 2 and read
the opening story - a story his father told in 7 Habits about his son (M.R.) and
then get M.R.'s side of the story. He goes on to suggest that trust is a
function of two things: character and competence. Most people think trust is
just a function of character, but both are vital. This is a critical addition to
what most people think of as trust i.e. the doctor you trust is the one getting
great results, not just a nice person!!
See,
Speak, Behave
-- Covey outlines 5 waves of trust, a major organizing principle of the book -
and goes on to note "from a pragmatic standpoint, I am equally convinced that
speaking and behaving differently can have an enormous impact on the way you see
and the results you get." His "See, Speak, Behave" cycle is another key
framework in the book. The book is very well written and a quick read - and one
that should be scanned once per year. Then come hear him present his ideas LIVE
at the
Growth Summit in Vegas Oct 22 - 23.
Generous Time Off
-- the Zappos of convenient stores, $10 billion privately held QuikTrip builds
trust with its 13,000 employees through an unheard of time-off policy for
frontline employees. Notes John DiJulius (author of
Secret Service) in his excellent
blog "Not only do employees get from 10 to 25 vacation days a year (depending on
tenure) plus 10 days of sick pay, they can buy two extra weeks off, and request
an additional 10 days without pay, no questions asked. Rather than calling in
sick on the morning of an absence, an employee can just request in advance a day
off, giving management a heads-up opportunity to re-staff without a disruption
of service. As a result, Quiktrip has created an "employer market" resulting in
over 1,000 job applications a week." Here's
a link to John's blog on this
Fortune
"Best Place to Work" company.
Best
Employers 2013
-- and congrats to Employment
Innovations in Sydney Australia for competing against much bigger and
better-known companies and winning an Australian Aon Hewitt Best Employers 2013
award. Notes Ben Thompson, CEO, "...our engagement score of 85% was exceptional
(and why we won). I have attributed our results to our awesome team culture,
values and our disciplined execution of the Rockefeller Habits over the past 7
years." Congrats Ben!!
September - October Workshops Announced -- besides heading to Australia to lead workshops, Gazelles
will be hosting workshops in 12 cities in North America. Updated list and links
below.
Go for Growth - Verne Harnish
Sydney, AU - 10 September 2013
Brisbane, AU - 11 September 2013
Perth, AU - 12 September 2013
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Workshops 2013
Los Angeles, CA - 24 September 2013
Miami, FL - 26 September 2013
Allentown, PA - 3 October 2013
Costa Mesa, CA - 3 October 2013
Austin, TX - 8 October 2013
Orlando, FL - 10 October 2013
Cleveland, OH - 15 October 2013
Denver, CO - 16 October 2013
Houston, TX - 16 October 2013
Tulsa, OK - 30 October 2013
Nashville, TN - 30 October 2013
WA, DC - 30 October 2013