5 Critical Questions; Top 10 Masterminds; Giving to Grow; Would You Hire This Guy?

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

Free e-Book -- Next week, October 2 - 6, is National Customer Service Week. To celebrate, Shep Hyken, customer service guru, is releasing his sixth book, Be Amazing or Go Home. And he's giving away the eBook for the entire week (this week it's just $.99). Here's the link - please take advantage of it and enjoy.

Caring Challenge by ZogSports -- Mike Mortellaro, COO of ZogSports wrote a blog challenging every leader to ask themselves five questions about their team:

1. Have I asked about their dreams and career aspirations?
2. Do I know what they want to learn professionally and outside of work?
3. What do they do for fun and am I challenging them to make space for those activities?
4. Would I be comfortable chatting with their parents about the work environment I've created?
5. Would I want my own child's manager to care for my kid the same way I care for my team?

Mike was inspired by Bob Chapman's presentation at our last ScaleUp Summit. CEO of Barry-Wehmiller and author Everybody Matters, Chapman shared what we all call his "wedding story." Notes Mike:

Bob Chapman's epiphany was realizing that every member of his team is someone else's precious son or daughter. Therefore, like a parent "giving" his child to their future spouse, it is his responsibility as a leader within his organization to care for his team like family.

Please take 1 minute to read Mike's excellent blog post. FYI, Bob Chapman is going to make another presentation at our upcoming ScaleUp Summit in St. Louis, the home of his firm Barry-Wehmiller.

Give to Grow (Gazelles case study) -- to continue the caring/giving theme, my latest Huffington Post piece features founder and CEO Alex Yastrebenetsky and his Cincinnati-based digital analytics firm InfoTrust. One annual tradition is their Thanksgiving Basket Brigade which has expanded to supporting 140 families in their local community and another 20 on the west coast. Besides bringing all the employees together around a common cause, it's a reason to reach out and cleverly thank customers. As I note in the article:

The experience is so meaningful to Yastrebenetsky that during the holidays, he wrote a letter to his customers. "I explained how much we appreciate their giving us an opportunity to contribute," he says.

And it's garnered them important recognition, useful to attracting additional talent. Specifically:

InfoTrust's focus on giving has contributed to an outstanding culture that is winning considerable third-party recognition. The company made it onto Inc.'s Best Places to Work for 2017 and made the Best Employers in Ohio list issued by Best Employers in Ohio. InfoTrust is one of only a handful of companies in its state certified as a Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Congratulations to Alex and his team for understanding the power of giving. Please take 2 minutes to scan the article for more details.

Would You Hire This Guy? -- and this fun 1 minute video highlights one man's approach to getting hired at Zappos - by performing its core values. Thanks to Gazelles coaching partner Jim Jubelirer for sharing.

Top 10 Mastermind Event - our 3-day CEO Boot Camp was just named one of the Top 10 Mastermind Events in Entrepreneur magazine. Limited to 10 CEOs each session, the boot camp is an opportunity for me (since I don't personally coach anymore), along with entrepreneur John Ratliff, to share our combined 60 years of experience, knowledge, and contacts in helping these CEOs scale. And it's in a fun and engaging environment. For more information and dates in 2018.

EXITING: Thinking about selling the business for $40 million or more? Want to get 25% to 200% more than you thought? Request the whitepaper from the Exit Strategies Summit at Harvard from Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at [email protected]

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please go to gicoaches.com/becomeacoach for more information. If you determine that we're a fit and wish to join our premier organization, we invite you to contact our Dir. of Coach Engagement at [email protected] or 877.217.2253 ext.700.

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability – Drive Execution
Click Here to Watch a video example.

Align is your cloud based business operating system designed to keep you on your path to executing your goals. 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, tablet or phone. $5.00 per month gets you started.

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.