The Agile Scaleup

Most Disappointing Leader; World’s Greatest; Founders are Best; Forum Equity Partners; 7 Minutes to Success

"...insights for scale-ups"

HEADLINES:

No one is worthless, they can at least serve as a bad example.

Scaling Up Club -- delivering 7 minutes of curated and practical executive education to your desk every week, below is the first selected video clip based on Salim Ismail's powerful and groundbreaking book Exponential Organizations, but first...

Most Disappointing Leaders -- Fortune has named 19 leaders around the world that had terrible a 2015. And they ask you to vote for the most disappointing - how fun is that! BTW, I don't think Tony Hsieh, Zappos, should have made the list - and happy to see he's at least in last place for worst leader in the voting. And #1 right now? Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan (Flint water situation). Fortune's commentary on why each failed is instructive - worth 3 minutes to scan down through the list.

Founders Make the Best CEOs -- USA Today also studied 19 leaders, CEOs of the S&P 500 who were the original founders and still at the helm, including Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) and Reed Hastings (Netflix). Over the last three-year period, the founders drove their stocks up 97.5% vs. 31% for the hired guns - the magical 3x ratio we see between good and great firms! And it seems Pandora is reading the trends, which announced on Monday that they are replacing their current CEO with the original founder, Tim Westergren. The article goes on to detail results of companies that bring back their founders, like Starbucks did. It's worth 2 minutes to scan the article and glance at the charts.

World's 50 Greatest Leaders -- Fortune's annual list has a new #1, Jeff Bezos (age 52) at Amazon (and as owner of The Washington Post and sole owner of rocketship company Blue Origin). Angela Merkel, Paul Ryan, an NBA basketball player, and an Australian marathoner are four of the other World's 50 Greatest Leaders. Notably missing were most of the other heads of state, including Obama, and the candidates for US President! Adam Lashinsky's piece on Jeff Bezos and 2-minute video are worth the time - and the big hint to Bezos's success? Delegate heavily - he's moved from being at the center of a hub and spoke org structure to becoming a "great leader of leaders"! Spend your spare 6 minutes reading through the Bezos piece.

Forum Equity Partners' 30ft 3D Mural (Gazelles case study) -- Toronto-based Forum Equity Partners has financed many "P3" deals-public-private partnerships-such as arts centers, student housing, courthouses, prisons and an $82.5 million pedestrian tunnel to Toronto's city airport. After founder & CEO Richard Abboud attended my 2.5 day YPO Scaling Up program in 2012, he brought on Gazelles Certified Cboach Les Rubenovitch, adopted Topgrading for getting the right talent on the bus, has executed on a series of quarterly themes, and introduced two new lines of business. Given the rapid growth since, they recently moved into spectacular new offices with electronically controllable standup desks. And to emphasize their company values they installed a 30-foot high 3D mural in their new space. Take 1 minute to scan through the details in this Huffington Post piece and take a look at the photo of the mural.

7-Minutes Per Week -- The Impact of Doubling Patterns -- thank you to the hundreds that signed up for the Scaling Up Club last week. This week's 7-minute clip (see below for how to access) is from Salim Ismail's groundbreaking book, Exponential Organizations. If you want to understand the impact of doubling patterns, you'll want to watch the below clip. Salim focuses on specific and practical examples of disruptive technologies that are impacting both your business and industry. The full course, Exponential Organizations, gives you a guideline for how to leverage specific business attributes in order to grow, disrupt, and lead your industry.

Have 7 minutes? See slides 7 to 21 (minutes 3:20-10:36). Only have one minute? Still valuable to check out slides 78 and 79 that detail the 10 attributes that drive Exponential Organizations.
To access both clips: Scaling Up Club Members go here, Non members can join here to enjoy!

Heading Down Under -- my annual tour of Australia has just been posted, leading one-day workshops in Sydney (12 Sep), Brisbane (13 Sep), and Auckland (14 Sep). For more info.

Bethlehem, PA (12 Apr), Mexico City (14 Apr), Edmonton (28 Apr) -- and our Certified Coaching Partners continue to host one-day Scaling Up workshops throughout the year - these three in April.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if your company would be a good candidate to work with an executive growth coach? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please contact Jean Carpenter at [email protected] / (360) 798.9471.

TECHNOLOGY:

Align Software puts everyone on the Same Page - Literally! See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities - alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer and on your phone.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Titan Lost; Serious Threat; Art of People; Thank You Davids

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

CyberCrime is Serious -- my latest Fortune column addresses this important topic, more below, but first...

The Art of People -- this is the title of Dave Kerpin's new book. Notes Adam Grant, author of Give and Take and Originals, "This book is like How to Win Friends and Influence People-only better suited for today's world." I couldn't agree more. Subtitled "11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want" it's all about how to be likable - in meetings, in networking situations, etc. -- and Dave Kerpin is the king of this space. It's the next book I'm having my teenagers read as well. Congrats Dave on writing this insightful and important book.

Silicon Valley Mourns Andy Grove -- former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, was an icon of the Valley -- and someone who mastered the art of people and took the role of leading a company seriously, having written several classic books including High Output Management, the bible of tech entrepreneurs (new Kindle edition released last year). He passed away this week at age 79. Here is one of Fortune's tributes.

Grove Tribute Video -- and go right to :44 in this 23-minute video VC Ben Horowitz published honoring Grove - you have to love the fact that Grove corrected the television interviewer on the pronunciation of Intel - we should ALL be so bold and protective of our brands! The rest of the 23 minutes is worth playing in the background while cranking emails - this is how you honor someone!

CyberCrime is a Serious Threat -- its real and it threatens all of our companies. My latest Fortune column highlights five specific recommendations:

1. Declare your own Orange Alert - get all employees up-to-speed
2. Lock down your phones -- some inexpensive technologies exist
3. Strengthen your firewalls -- add DPI-SSL services
4. Confer with competitors -- we have to help each other
5. Avoid hostage situations -- again, some technologies can help

I did two things immediately - sent an email to our IT team to give me recommendations on which technologies to enhance our security based on the recommended technologies. Second, I realized my own Android phone wasn't fully protected (call me stupid) - so I downloaded the suite of Avast apps - anti-theft, anti-viral, etc. - to monitor and give me full remote tracking and access to my phone. Take 1 minute to scan down through the column for more details. And take this seriously!

Thank You David and David -- much thanks for help with the CyberSecurity column to David Stelzl, author of Data@Risk and founder of the consultancy Stelzl in Charlotte; and David Davenport, CEO of MotherG, a managed IT services firm in Chicago.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if your company would be a good candidate to work with an executive growth coach? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please contact Jean Carpenter at [email protected] / (360) 798.9471.

TECHNOLOGY:

Align Software puts everyone on the Same Page - Literally! See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities - alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer and on your phone.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Invitation Scaling Up Club – Marshall Goldsmith tomorrow live online

"...out-learning the competition"

HEADLINES:

What got you here, won't get you there.
	Marshall Goldsmith, author of 35 books on leadership

Zuckerberg, Cuban, Gates, Buffett, Page -- leaders are readers - and with the new technologies, you can read the equivalent of a couple books per month (Zuckerberg's goal) by accessing the guru's online courses and watch/listen while doing email, working out, or driving. We've done the hard work of curating the best of the 13,000 biz books published each year - putting it all into our Scaling Up Club - and the videos include the slides which help summarize the material and make it easier to share with others.

7-Minutes per Week -- As club members, we'll curate and send you the best 7-minutes of video content each week - sharing ideas/techniques you can put to work immediately - then you can watch more if you like. Sadly, most leaders don't get even 7 minutes of formal education a week - making their decade of experience just one-month done 120 times!

Exclusive Access -- Each month Scaling Up Club members are invited to interact live with one of the top biz thought leaders in the world - and have 24/7 unlimited access to our library of over 75 online management courses (and growing) - Marketing, Negotiations, Sales, Hiring, Operations, and much more. It makes it easy and affordable to invest in your most important asset - your mind.

Mobile App (and accredited) -- this makes it easy to access the learning anywhere at any time - and the app syncs up with the online course so you never lose your place. Plus, you can go right to certain slides and refresh your memory on key points you can share with your teams. Be the one in your company that curates the best ideas for everyone else. And all the courses are accredited if you need credit for your professional licenses.

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith Tomorrow March 23 -- this month we're excited that Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, recognized perennially as the #1 leadership guru in the world - and top coach to executives and CEOs is joining us for a live conversation tomorrow, March 23rd, and only available for active Scaling Up Club Members.

Save 30% -- During the launch of the Scaling Up Club we are making it available for just the cost of a few books -- $70/month instead of the regular $100/month price (offer expires March 31st). Click here for more information and to sign up!

Out-source Your Education -- let me continue to do the heavy lifting for you - read the books and pick the best to feature and add to the growing library. And your monthly Scaling Up Club membership helps to fund this important and valuable activity. Thanks.

SXSW Highlights; Reindeer Firms; Reputation Protection; Firsts in Detroit

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

We don't have a choice on whether we do social & mobile, the choice is in how well we do it.
	Erik Qualman

SXSW -- VR and IOT -- Austin's big tech (and music) gathering is happening this week and the two big technologies dominating the show are virtual reality and the internet of things (IOT) - both of which are impacting every industry. This 2-minute Fortune video provides the highlights.

What Happens in Vegas Stays on Youtube! -- this is the title of a must-read book by all leaders, parents, and teenagers - no less than your precious reputation is at stake! Erik Qualman, sitting professor at Harvard and MIT's edX labs and Pulitzer Prize nominated author, will keynote our upcoming ScaleUp Summit May 24 - 25, Atlanta. GPro and book club members will receive a copy of Erik's book next week. Erik is joining General McChrystal, Jim Whitehurst (RedHat CEO), David Bulter (Coca-Cola), and a half-dozen other top biz thought leaders at the Summit.

36 Social Media Tips -- go right to Chapter 1 of Qualman's book which opens with a list of 36 Social Media Tips - scan down and pick a few. Then work through the rest of this outstanding list as he provides quick tips/links for each. I particularly like #21 - and in a fitting way, this week at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellin, Colombia (in front of 7500) I officially announced our ScaleUp Institute which plans to help 150 cities around the globe establish ScaleUp Eco-systems - with a goal of working with 150 high potential companies in each. This is a 10x for Gazelles as we'll work directly with over 20,000 of the best scaleups around the globe.

Three Promises to Cities -- this Crain's Detroit interview highlights our new ScaleUpU city initiative. Most cities have robust startup eco-systems. However, many startup (11,000/hour in the world), but too few scaleup. We're promising cities we'll help deliver over 10 years, as we work with a handpicked group of high potential firms:

1. One home-grown billion-dollar firm - we've helped create dozens already (many endorsed the latest book)
2. Help 5 - 10 firms scale and then exit for a combined $1 billion to $3 billion - getting the owners 50% - 100% more for their firm than anticipated through our partnership with STS Capital
3. Help 75% - 85% of the other 140 companies/city (we're not always successful) in continuing to scale.

This will bring cities real wealth and economic activity. Again, you can read more in this Crain's Detroit interview.

Detroit - a City of Firsts -- FYI, I'll be in Detroit May 20 celebrating the 20th anniversary launch of the local EO chapter and the 15th anniversary of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits (which was birthed in Detroit), all thanks to John Anderson, our first ever Gazelles coaching partner. Detroit was also the location of the first YPO chapter at which I ever spoke. Now we need to do more to help the city!! The Crain's interview is the first of several leading up to the celebration.

What are Reindeer Firms? (Fun Fact) -- so you keep up on the growth company lingo, reindeer firms are those that achieve market value of more than $2 billion in five years vs. unicorns that create $1 billion! Also learn about dying donkeys and lean cockroaches in this business animal lexicon story - 1 minute to read.

Summit Video (96 seconds) -- BTW, if you've never attended one of our Summits, here's a quick look at the last one in Dallas where over 900 CEOs and their executive teams gathered for two days of learning from the top biz top leaders of our time. Each Summit hosts a new set of top biz authors - so the equivalent of reading a dozen of the most important books to out-learn the competition. Thank you to SnapShot Video, an experienced Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) practicing firm, for shooting this short 96 second video.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if your company would be a good candidate to work with an executive growth coach? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please contact Jean Carpenter at [email protected] / (360) 798.9471.

TECHNOLOGY:

Align Software puts everyone on the Same Page - Literally! See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities - alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer and on your phone.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Balmer’s Big Lesson; Zappos Out; Demand Pricing Key; Vyral Marketing Doubles

"...insights for scale-ups"

HEADLINES:

Steve Balmer's Big Lesson -- former Microsoft CEO and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers (pro basketball team) has learned a big lesson - he doesn't want to be an investor after seeing his 4% stake in Twitter plunge 45%. My experience -- most biz leaders make lousy investors - they believe the vision too much! For more on Balmer, take one minute to read this Fortune interview from last night.

Demand-Based Pricing? -- Amazon changes the price of my book, by the hour, based on demand. So do the airlines, which is why their load factors and profits have soared. And now Disney has announced the same. What are you doing to up your game in pricing? Again, I recommend Hermann Simon's new book Confessions of The Pricing Man: How Price Affects Everything. And for business-to-business companies I recommend Victoria Medvec's online Negotiations course which emphasizes the importance of always submitting three proposals and varying the price based on your strength (brand promise) to shine a bright light on it and to crush the low bidders (unless that's you!). Being more strategic with pricing is KEY to driving profits and demand.

Best Companies to Work For (Fairness Theme) -- Fortune's annual list is out and Google (Alphabet) is #1. And the big theme that emerged from the winners this year is fairness - in pay, recognition, gender equality, etc. - a theme that is also at the heart of the US presidential race. This Fortune article provides a quick summary of what Salesforce.com, Whole Foods and others are doing to make the workplace fairer - takes 2 minutes to read.

Top 100 List (Zappos out!) -- and here's the entire list. Who didn't make the list was Zappos. For those interested, this related Fortune piece reports on how Tony Hsieh shared the brutal facts with his company that their scores tumbled on 48 of the 58 questions. Yet he's not worried - he says Zappos achieved its highest operating profits in 2015, though they've been supposedly lowered for 2016. My take -- the command and control style is fading, even in the military. Using the holacracy approach was Zappos' mistake - but they are learning from it - and willing to take some arrows as innovators, showing us the way to team-based organizations (we hope).

"Vitamin" C -- more than a vitamin:

It is the master controller of electron distribution and flow in our bodies. It is needed in over 10,000 biochemical reactions. It is a major antioxidant in the body, the immune system is practically useless without it, and the list goes on and on.

More on this important anti-oxidant in the latest Riordan Clinic newsletter (I'm chairman of the board). Dosage matters (like with all drugs/supplements) - and for now the only way to get the full chemo-like impact that clears inflammations and cancers, it needs to be taken intravenously. For over two decades I've received an IV of 50 grams every six to eight weeks. And thousands of doctors administer - go to www.acam.org to find one near you. Here's an article I wrote on the executive health benefits of this potent master controller.

Cool Tech Helps Vyral Marketing Double Size (Gazelles case) -- my latest Huffington Post piece highlights how Frank Klesitz, CEO of Vyral Marketing uses free and inexpensive technologies like Slack and Google Hangouts to streamline communications, like the daily huddle, within his rapidly growing firm. What adds to the challenge is that Frank lives in San Diego while a majority of his employees are based in Omaha, Nebraska. Take 2 minutes to scan through the specifics on how each employee has an advisor; how his "managers" are expected to be coaches to their direct reports and are measured by their frequent communications with customers. Lots of good tips in how Frank as rapidly scaled his firm.

TECHNOLOGY:

Align Software puts everyone on the Same Page - Literally! See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities - alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer and on your phone.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if your company would be a good candidate to work with an executive growth coach? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please contact Jean Carpenter at [email protected] / (360) 798.9471.

Buffett’s 3 Leadership Lessons; His Prosperity Blueprint; Lean HQ; Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona

"...insights for scale-ups"

HEADLINES:

The role of a leader is to define reality and give hope.               Ken Chenault, CEO American Express (Geoff Colvin's article)

Amsterdam May 10, Berlin May 11, Barcelona May 12 -- join us for our European Growth Summits hosting several top biz thought leaders and their latest books.

Real Leadership -- pre-order by March 8 former co-CEO of $2 billion market cap Primerica John Addison's new book Real Leadership and get a one-year digital subscription to SUCCESS magazine and John's online course - all for $25. More below.

Buffett's Three Leadership Lessons -- Geoff Colvin has extracted three leadership lessons from Warren Buffett's latest shareholder letter (released this past weekend) in this short FORTUNE article:

1. He's optimistic
2. He explains what he's doing so that anyone can understand it.
3. He admits mistakes and makes no attempt to sugarcoat them.

It's worth one minute to read - three important leadership reminders.

Profits are Sanity, Cash is King (fun facts) -- Buffett (age 85) reports that profits are up 21% and Berkshire ended the year with $71.73 billion in cash - again proof that it pays to hold cash - you age slower, sleep better, and can jump on opportunities more quickly. Here's a link to Buffett's annual letter with my highlights below.

Productivity (Rev/Emp) -- Buffett highlights on p21 how his various companies focus on productivity - and he goes on to list the huge gains many have made. This is a weakness for most small to mid-market firms which have a tendency to just throw people at a problem. The best measures are Revenue and Profit per employee. For Berkshire, it's $584,000 and $48,163 respectively for its 361,270 employees ($814,675 Rev/Emp for Primerica!). Take a moment to calculate yours and then for a large company in your similar space. In general, I find the FORTUNE 500 generate 3x the revenue per employee of their smaller counterparts. This is a SIGNIFICANT issue. A focus on process improvement is key (in the spirit of Paul Aker's "5-Second Lean" initiatives - 1000s of YouTube videos).

Prosperity - Buffett also puts our current economic situation in perspective. On p7 he notes:

American GDP per capita is now about $56,000. As I mentioned last year that - in real terms - is a staggering six times the amount in 1930, the year I was born, a leap far beyond the wildest dreams of my parents or their contemporaries. U.S. citizens are not intrinsically more intelligent today, nor do they work harder than did Americans in 1930. Rather, they work far more efficiently and thereby produce far more. This all-powerful trend is certain to continue: America's economic magic remains alive and well.

He acknowledges that how this expanding pie is divided will remain a fierce battle; but that even those on the "losing side" will continue to enjoy the benefit of more goods and services at a lower price. He notes that most people live better than John D. Rockefeller could have ever imagined when it comes to transportation, communications, entertainment, and medical access - something that shouldn't be overlooked.

Simple Blueprint for Continued Prosperity -- I found particularly insightful Buffett's 5+1 keys to taking advantage of the American economic engine. Notes Buffett on p8:

Considering this favorable tailwind (American economy), Berkshire (and, to be sure, a great many other businesses) will almost certainly prosper. The managers who succeed Charlie and me will build Berkshire's per-share intrinsic value by following our simple blueprint of: (1) constantly improving the basic earning power of our many subsidiaries; (2) further increasing their earnings through bolt-on acquisitions; (3) benefiting from the growth of our investees; (4) repurchasing Berkshire shares when they are available at a meaningful discount from intrinsic value; and (5) making an occasional large acquisition. Management will also try to maximize results for you by rarely, if ever, issuing Berkshire shares.

Lean HQ -- and one of Buffett's final thoughts:

In 2015, Berkshire's revenues increased by $16 billion. Look carefully, however, at the two pictures on the facing page. The top one is from last year's report and shows the entire Berkshire home-office crew (25) at our Christmas lunch. Below that photo is this year's Christmas photo portraying the same 25 people identically positioned. In 2015, no one joined us, no one left. And the odds are good that you will see a photo of the same 25 next year.

Concludes Buffett "no one is hired unless he or she is truly needed." That's keeping it lean and productive!

Buffett -- First Time to Stream -- Gazelles isn't the only one making a LIVE online stream of our FORTUNE Summit available to those who want to share the learning more broadly with all their employees, Berkshire has decided to do the same for the first time in history. Notes Buffett:

Charlie and I have finally decided to enter the 21st Century. To view the meeting, simply go to https://finance.yahoo.com/brklivestream at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Saturday, April 30th. The Yahoo! webcast will begin with a half hour of interviews with managers, directors and shareholders. Then, at 9:30, Charlie and I will commence answering questions.

March Scaling Up Workshops - Mar 15 Chicago; Mar 17 Grand Rapids; Mar 24 LA Join us as we dive deeper into game-changing and productivity driving strategies that have propelled over 40,000 companies around the globe. For more cities and dates - and to Register Now.

Real Leadership: 9 Simple Practices for Leading and Living with Purpose -- John Addison shares his straightforward practices for successful leadership through his own personal and professional journey, helping leaders at any level understand and emulate the nine principles that fostered enduring results on his path to success. John's experiences - from small-town southern boy to influential CEO of Primerica which he took public- will help you make an impact and lead better in every aspect of their lives. With the pre-order of Real Leadership, you will receive free, instant access to the Real Leadership Roadmap digital course ($149 value). The Real Leadership Roadmap also comes with a workbook designed to help participants create their own personal roadmap. In addition to the digital course, each copy of Real Leadership also includes bonus codes for a 1-year digital subscription to SUCCESS (owned by my friend Stuart Johnson) as well as 20% off a purchase from store.SUCCESS.com. This special pre-order offer is available now for $25, including tax and shipping. The book will be shipped after its March 8, 2016 release date but the digital course will be available immediately. This exclusive offer is only available until March 8.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if your company would be a good candidate to work with an executive growth coach? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please contact Jean Carpenter at [email protected] / (360) 798.9471.

TECHNOLOGY:

Align Software puts everyone on the Same Page - Literally! See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities - alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer and on your phone.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.