The Agile Scaleup

Elon's Mind Trick; Deep Work; 3 Keys to Branding; Deep Discount on Books

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

To remain valuable in our economy you must master the art of quickly learning complicated things.
	Cal Newport, Author of Deep Work

7 Minutes to Mastery (Scaling Up Club) -- Achieve rock star brand status with 3 practical tips from Denise Lee Yohn's "What Great Brands Do.". More below, but first...

Monday LIVE Webinar David Marquet -- Aug 29 12:00pm ET, the author of one of my favorite books on leadership and execution is hosting a webinar, more below, but second...

Great Deal on Two Kindle Books -- Thru Sunday 8/28 Mark Goulston's outstanding books on communicating/questioning/listening/connecting, "Just Listen," is available for $2.99 on Kindle and Talking to Crazy is available for $1.99 on Kindle.

Cal Newport's Deep Work -- subtitled Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, go to p28 and read "How to Become a Winner in the New Economy." Notes Cal:

In this new economy, three groups will have a particular advantage: those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, those who are the best at what they do, and those with access to capital.

And he suggests it will require two core abilities:

1. The ability to quickly master hard things.
2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality and speed.

How to do this is the topic of his breakthrough book. Cal is the next brilliant thought leader of the his generation. GPro and book club members will get a copy of his book next week. Then join 1000 CEOs and execs of growth firms to hear Cal keynote our upcoming Growth Summit in Dallas, Oct 25 - 26.

How to Think (Deeply) Like Elon Musk -- this Fortune article delves into how Musk has mastered, deeply, four different fields/industries. One key is that he's a "learning transfer" superpower. And how did he achieve this, according to Fortune:

• He spent many years reading 60 times as much as an avid reader.
• He read widely across different disciplines.
• He constantly applied what he learned by deconstructing ideas into their fundamental principles and reconstructing them in new ways.

Please take 3 minutes to read the details on how all this works. The point? Deep learning, something Cal Newport is going to teach us.

Following Your Passion is Bad Advice -- Cal is also the one who has challenged conventional wisdom and makes a case that "following your passion" is bad advice. In reality, 99% of people don't have a clue - and it's not how passions are developed anyway. Instead, you start doing stuff and then if you find you're good at something, it becomes a passion. I've seen this with my son and his jazz drumming. His 99U video is insightful (pointed to it earlier this year) - and the reason I became interested in all his work and ideas - ultimately inviting him to keynote, along with Pat Lencioni, Hermann Simon, Alex Osterwalder, Amana Lindhout, etc. at our upcoming Growth Summit.

Simple Wristband Scales Profits (Gazelles case) -- my latest Huffington Post piece highlights how Purity Life dramatically scaled up profits on its more than $63 million in revenue by focusing on a simple brand promise - which they put on everyone's wrist. Please take 2 minutes to read how CEO Matthew James and his team drove up profits 31% last year in this 32-year-old business.

David Marquet Webinar -- Today's organization needs a different style of leadership -- leadership that focuses on making sure that execution happens without permission. Join David Marquet (author of Turn the Ship Around) and learn what it means to embrace 21st century leadership. This live event will take place on Monday August 29th at 12:00PM EST. Claim your spot here.

7 Minutes to Mastery - Scaling Up Club -- In What Great Brands Do, Denise unveils the code she cracked on brand-building. She shows you what great brands do and how to achieve the kind of brand leadership that everyone -- from customers to employees to investors -- wants a piece of. In this clip, you'll discover 3 of the main steps a company should follow to connect with the customers and become a great brand.

To access the clip, go here!

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 email us at [email protected].

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.

#1 Strategy Question; Value Proposition Design; Slow-Deciders Better; Digital Stamp

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

What job(s) does the customer need this product/service to do?
	Clay Christensen, Harvard Business School

7 Minutes to Mastery (Scaling Up Club) -- Learn and master the 5 habits of digital leadership with Erik Qualman's Modern Leadership, but first...

Single Most Powerful Strategy/Marketing Question -- Clay Christensen framed the question highlighted above. Rather than focus on the features/benefits/attributes of your product or service, explore what is the job(s) the customer needs done. When you understand this, you can better improve your products/services. This classic 5-minute video highlights his famous milkshake example - this will greatly help illuminate the concept.

Value Proposition Design -- Christensen's question is a key component of designing an effective value proposition. Alex Osterwalder, author of Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want, starts with the Customer Jobs question, then has you describe the customers' pains and gains. All of this feeds into a simple, yet powerful, one-page tool which guides you in designing a product or service customers truly want, as the subtitle of his book suggests. GPro and book club members will receive his book next week - go right to section 1.1 and start answering his simple questions. Then join Alex in Dallas at the Growth Summit Oct 25 - 26 where he'll walk you through the entire value proposition design process - just in time for your 2017 strategic plan.

Revenue Growing Fast Enough? -- this is your main indicator if you have an effective value proposition. If you have all the highly profitable business you can handle, then don't let anyone mess you up. But if revenues are not growing fast enough, or you're having to cut margins to make the sale, then it's crucial you work on this aspect of your business. Alex's book, along with our 7 Strata of Strategy in Scaling Up, will be very helpful.

Slow Deciders Make Better Strategists -- and this HBR article highlights how "slow deciders" make the better strategic decisions. Notes author Mark Chussil:

I think the essential lesson for competitive-strategy decision-makers is not so fast, in both senses of the phrase: take your time and don't be so sure. That's the mindset used by the new VP and the I-don't-knows

And it appears that women have a general advantage when making strategic decisions. Take 2 minutes to scan this insightful article.

7 Minutes to Mastery - Your Digital Stamp -- In this clip, understand one of the main shifts Erik Qualman notes of the digital era: the death of privacy, leading to the birth of our digital stamp which we need to control in order to be successful. Show this clip to your children as well. To access the clip, go here!

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 email us at [email protected].

Murray’s 2x; George’s 5x; TSA’s Huddle; 2fer deal; Amateur Hour

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES: (short one - on vacation)

Murray Seward cut his hours to 10 hours a week, yet he has grown his Survivor-style adventure outing business from $3 million to $8 million in revenue in just three years.
	Verne's latest HuffPost piece

Murray Seward's Results -- my latest Huffington Post piece this week highlights how Murray Seward brought in more Rockefeller Habits discipline to his 32-person firm and was able to reduce his time working in the business down to a day while over doubling revenues. Take 2 minutes to see the specific decisions he made (and how he made them) to accomplish these results.

Work Less, Make (a lot!) More -- that's one of the simple promises of our Scaling Up tools. Other copycat gurus make similar promises, but cut corners in the name of simplicity (simplistic is the real word for it) - thus causing you to leave tons of money and time on the table. It's what &*$# me off. No time for amateur hour when it comes to scaling up the business.

Pricing Results -- and this note from Lance Pederson, COO of Fairway America:

We just read Confessions of a Pricing Man and basically sat down and changed our entire pricing structure this morning because of it. I'm assuming you were the one that sent Matt the book. He read the first chapter and told us to buy it and read it over the weekend!!!! Thanks for continuing to add value! You the man!!!

Again, I encourage you to read Hermann Simon's book (GPro received last week) - then come listen to and meet Simon when he keynotes our Growth Summit Oct 25 - 26, Dallas. No time for amateur hour when it comes to pricing.

5x Worldwide Metric Inc. -- George Contos took over his family business in 2000 and has since 5x'ed the revenues using our tools and what he's learned from gurus at our Summits. George has captured all his learnings into a book called Growing Up Metric. I personally worked with George in reviewing the manuscript and providing feedback. And to his full credit, it's an outstanding (and quick) read - very detailed on the decisions he's made and the disciplines he's put in place to get the business on its way to $50 million as it continues to dominate a very specific niche - the distribution of metric-sized parts for the shipping industry!

2 for 1 Deal from George -- if you purchase a copy of his book from Amazon (great summer evening read), send him a copy of the receipt to [email protected], along with your mailing address, and he'll send you a second SIGNED copy for free, including shipping fees. In return, he gratefully asks:

1. Please gift your unsigned copy to another biz leader growing a company.
2. When finished reading, write a review on Amazon

Again, George has written an excellent book (most biz bios are amateurish). Plus you're supporting a fellow biz owner and he's giving back. Send your receipt to [email protected] and enjoy the read!

TSA Using Daily Huddle and Metrics -- we're travelling a bunch this summer and the TSA lines have moved quickly (OK, we're TSA Pre but we see the other lines). Matt Kuttler, our partner in Miami, pointed me to a WSJ article that highlights how they attribute their recent success this summer to a morning conference call (huddle) and daily metrics. They work, yet one of our copycat competitors doesn't even encourage the daily huddle for the sake of simplicity (more a cop-out). The daily huddle is critical - to winning wars, moving lines, and driving your business. To read the article for free, best to Google "WSJ TSA security lines" and you'll get a link that lets you read the entire article.

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 email us at [email protected].

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.