The Agile Scaleup

Wayne Huizenga RIP; His X-Factor; Best Strategic Priorities; Bloomberg Breakaway CEO Summit

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.
	Wayne Huizenga, 1937 - 2018

Bloomberg Breakaway CEO Summit -- As part of our new collaboration with Bloomberg LIVE, 30 of our ScaleUp CEO's will be eligible to apply and join Bloomberg's Breakaway membership (annual dues just $2500) which includes an invitation to their Breakaway CEO Summit June 20-21 in New York City. If interested in joining 150 other CEOs hosted by Bloomberg, click this link.

Wayne Huizenga -- the only founder of three Fortune 500 companies (Waste Management, Blockbuster, and AutoNation) and owner of three sports teams, Wayne Huizenga passed away last Thursday. His public memorial service was today and this NY Times article did a great job of summarizing his entrepreneurial impact on the globe.

Huizenga's Rules -- Mr. Huizenga keynoted the very first Fortune Summit in 2001. And it was Huizenga's insights that served as the foundation for the first substantial article I wrote for Fortune in 2002 on why entrepreneurs need to "stick to their knitting," a phrase Tom Peters popularized in his book In Search of Excellence. What I needed to understand from Wayne is how he could achieve such huge success in what appeared to be three radically different industries. However, Wayne shared with me that he had four criteria for choosing what businesses to be in. If he ended up in a venture that didn't follow these four criteria he almost always failed. One of those rules was pursuing businesses in industries typified by bad customer service and fixing it i.e. Blockbusters "Always the Hits" - he could beat the competition. Please take 2 minutes to read the importance of knowing what you're good at and sticking to it.

Huizenga's X Factor -- it was also Wayne who explained to me the importance of having an underlying 10x - 100x advantage over the competition. With this you don't just beat the competition - you crush them. These ideas led to my second major article in Fortune in 2002 describing not only Huizenga's X Factor for Blockbuster but that of other companies. Later the X Factor would be a key component of the 7 Strata of Strategy framework in Scaling Up. There is a reason only one entrepreneur on the planet has ever created three Fortune 500 companies in three different industries. Please take 2 minutes to read up on the X Factor and then find it for your industry!!

Strategic Priorities -- this MIT Sloan Management Review article emphasizes the power of boiling your strategy down to a handful of mid-term (3 to 5 year) strategic priorities. This is the best way to keep everyone aligned and not just thinking tactically while being short term enough (we prefer 3 years) to feel concrete. Scroll down the article until you see the 7-item checklist - that summarizes the article completely and is a good reminder to continue to articulate these medium term strategic priorities. Does everyone in your company know what they are? As most of us go into a new quarter (01 Apr) this would be a great time to articulate these priorities. Thank you Elaine Pofeldt, author of The Million Dollar, One Person Business (she'll be in New Orleans at the Summit as well), for pointing me to this article.

First Billion Dollar Revenue Sports Team -- for those interested, this Fortune article details the plans FC Barcelona has to be a billion in annual revenue by 2020. I still consider Ferran Soriano's book Management Ideas from the World of Football, detailing his plan for turning FC Barcelona into the powerhouse it is today, one of the best business books ever written (though it's expensive). And this Fortune article outlines what Soriano is doing now at Manchester City in what "Britain's Guardian newspaper calls the sport's "first truly multinational corporation-a Coca-Cola of soccer." Sports teams, as Huizenga found, are some of the most interesting and valuable assets on the planet.

Better Than Bringing Wine -- "never show up empty-handed" is the old adage when visiting friends/family/clients. Rather than bring a bottle of wine, bring a bottle of premium olive oil - something healthy they'll use every day. To help, my wife Julie has a gifting opportunity. With the purchase of a 12-pack of her award winning oil you will receive (separate shipment at no charge) gift bags, tags, colorful tissue paper with a post card explaining a little about the oil to give to your friends this spring and show them how "fresh and hip" you are! Notes Julie:

Giving Veritat is a symbol of heart. Your heart. Better than wine as a gift, it lasts longer, is incredibly versatile in cooking, and every time Veritat is enjoyed, they will think of you and get all tingly in appreciation of your thoughtfulness.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding you back, your business, and your industry. May 29 - June 1 (YPO-only); October 2 - 5; and January 15 - 18, 2019.

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.

7 Bad Questions; Google's 2 New Traits; Unified Theory of Scaling; Prediction Intelligence

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

Life did not take over the globe by combat, but by networking!
	Tamsin Woolley-Barker, author of Teeming

Stop Asking These 7 Questions of Children (and Adults) -- here's another great blog post by Mr. Contrarian Ozan Varol on the seven questions you should stop asking and the one's you should ask instead. As an example:

"What did you learn today?" vs. "What did you disagree with today?"

I'm printing, posting, and asking the new 7 questions - I'll let you know how it goes. Hope you find them equally insightful.

Unified Theory of Scaling -- One of the more entertaining yet insightful books I've read in years is Tasmin Woolley-Barker's Teeming: How Superorganisms Work Together to Build Infinite Wealth on a Finite Planet (and your company can too). Notes Tamsin:

How does nature build infinite wealth on a finite planet? After spending a few decades studying all kinds of superorganisms, I've distilled twelve deep patterns and five broad components that unite them in their quest for compounding value. We can apply these principles to our own organizations as well.

For this quick list of deep patterns and components go right to the short chapter titled "The Mycelial Way: A Quick Guide." SPro and book club members will get her book next week and Tamsin will be keynoting our ScaleUp Summit May 22 – 23, New Orleans

Five Keys to Super Growth -- these are like super powers. The five broad components superorganisms have utilized to survive and thrive for billions of years, which we can utilize in our firms, are:

1. Cultivate Collective Intelligence
2. Nurture Swarm Creativity
3. Rely on Distributed Leadership
4. Depend on Reciprocity and Sharing
5. Compound Regenerative Value

Again, I've read extensively and this is the closest I've seen to a unified theory of what organizations must do to scale exponentially. The 12 deep patterns distributed among these five components are the real "how to's" that all AI and human driven systems will use to build infinite wealth. Plus, she's so funny in how she teaches these ideas. I look forward to meeting and learning from Tasmin, one of the three women keynoters, at our ScaleUp Summit in New Orleans. See you there.

Google's Two New Traits of Great Managers -- Google measures everything, and that includes what makes great managers. Interestingly, coaching is #1 on their list of the eight traits they discovered back in 2008 when they embarked on Project Oxygen - I still maintain the term "coach" needs to replace the term "manager" i.e. sales coach vs. sales manager. As the company has evolved Google went back to test the original eight and discovered two additional traits that have proved critical to team effectiveness, retention, engagement, etc.:

1. Facilitates collaboration across teams
2. Is a strong decision maker

The first one is critical because real work gets done cross functionally. The second because generally a good decision now is better than a great decision later. And nothing constrains progress like a non-decision and non-decision maker. Take two minutes to read the details of all 10 traits in this Google Re:Work article. Thank you to Troy Schrock, The CEO Advantage, for sharing this link.

"Prediction Intelligence" -- this is the unifying theme of our upcoming ScaleUp Summit. The late Dr. Deming noted that the primary job of a leader is prediction and this is precisely the role of Artificial Intelligence (the #1 topic at Davos) according to the authors of Prediction Machines (keynoting our Summit). Add in "intelligence" - as in collective intelligence, conversational intelligence (great questions!), etc. - topics addressed by our other keynoters - and you have a powerful combination to dominate your industry.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding you back, your business, and your industry. May 29 - June 1 (YPO-only); October 2 - 5; and January 15 - 18, 2019.

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.

Sumo Advantage; Bad Sumo; Bloomberg Live Event; FrogSlayer Profit; RIP Hawking

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

Those who live in the shadow of death are often those who live most.
	R.I.P Stephen Hawking, The Guardian

The Sumo Advantage -- co-founder of TrueCar.com Bernie Brenner has written a powerful (and quick read at 151 pages) book on the importance of identifying, wooing, and working with massive partners - sumos! This was the key to YEO's early growth when I partnered with both MIT and Inc. magazine in launching the "Birthing of Giants" executive program (now EMP). With just 156 members, these partnerships helped propel YEO (now EO) to 7500 members before the Inc. partnership ended.

When it was time to scale Gazelles I did the same, striking a partnership with Fortune magazine which lasted 16 years. Many of the techniques for attracting and maintaining these critical relationships are outlined in Brenner's book. SPro and book club members will get a copy next week - and Brenner is keynoting our upcoming ScaleUp Summit May 22 - 23, New Orleans. Which Sumos should you partner with?

New Sumo Partner -- We're excited to announce Bloomberg Live will be our new 2018 Spring ScaleUp Summit media partner. As part of this collaboration, 30 of our ScaleUp CEO's will be eligible to apply and join Bloomberg's Breakaway membership (annual dues just $2500) which includes an invitation to their Breakaway CEO Summit June 20-21 in New York City.

ScaleUp delegates will join current Breakaway members (who are CEOs of established industry leaders and emerging disruptors), Bloomberg hosts and Verne Harnish at this year's event. To learn more about membership qualifications or if interested in being considered as a delegate please contact our team@ [email protected] or email me [email protected].

Bad Sumo? -- this TechCrunch article titled "When Venture Capital Becomes Vanity Capital" poses the question "would you rather be the founder of Zappos or Wayfair?" Most savvy students at Harvard choose Zappos, and Tony Hsieh did well when he sold to Amazon. But the founders of Wayfair, who held off raising outside money until they had over $500 million in revenue made 10x Hsieh when their company IPO'd. The key is to take as little capital as possible for as long as possible - plus early dilution has other negative consequences as the article outlines. Instead, get your customers to fund your growth as detailed in John Mullins' book The Customer Funded Business. Or consider bank debt - money is really cheap right now. Please take 2 minutes to read then rethink raising money!

FrogSlayer Scales 80%+ per Year with 2x - 3x Industry Profits (Gazelles case study) -- Ross Morel, President & CEO of College Station, TX-based custom software developer FrogSlayer, shared some fun facts after turning around his company in 2014 using Scaling Up. Noted Morel:

Some fun growth facts about FrogSlayer (all made possible by trusting the Scaling Up framework): 3-year growth (2015-2017) - 83.7% YOY Profitability - 16% to 21% (2x to 3x industry peers) Revenue per employee - $163k Cash reserves - 12 months net burn, 3 months total burn (never thought we'd be able to ditch our line of credit in 2014) Debt / investment - $0 in debt and no outside funding needed (we've had our clients pay for our growth) Client ROI - $350M since 2011 (average 23x payback within 2 years of engaging with us) Employee Retention - 100% past two years Named #1, #25, and #16 best company to work for in Texas past three of four years Best of all, it took 2 minutes to look up this data now that we track everything.

Please note the "Debt/investment" bullet point! Morel went on to note "I've been attending the summits since 2013 and have brought my leadership team to the past few. We'll be in New Orleans in May." And he's implemented the BetterBookClub, sharing:

...it's been fun seeing our whole team really live out the "readers are leaders" mantra. My hope is that this program will expose them to big ideas, inspire them grow as leaders, and continue to strengthen our alignment as we communicate using similar concepts and language.

Morel also noted he will participate in the October CEO Boot Camp if you want to learn how he's applied Scaling Up to garner these results. Leaders are learners! Congratulations Ross on all your firm's success.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding you back, your business, and your industry. May 29 - June 1 (YPO-only); October 2 - 5; and January 15 - 18, 2019.

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.

4 Behaviors; Unwavering Reliability; Make Less Decisions; One Week Bath Theme

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

And so it is that a garbageman without a degree becomes a CEO who is recognized by employees and competitors as one of the most passionate, respected, and effective leaders.
	The CEO Next Door

London May 2 - 4 Scaling Up Executive Program -- I'll be leading a 2.5 day executive program for 10 companies. For more info

The 4 Behaviors that Transform Ordinary People into World-Class Leaders -- this is the subtitle of a hugely insightful and well written book published on Tuesday titled The CEO Next Door by Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell. Based on a detailed study of over 2,600 leaders (G.H. Smart's database), this book debunks a lot of myths around what it takes to become a great leader. And it's excellent from the first page. Chapter 1 opens with the story of Don Slager who rose up through the ranks to become CEO of Republic Services (quote above). SPro members are getting a copy of the book and the authors are keynoting our fall ScaleUp Summit Oct 16 - 17, Denver.

Unwavering Reliability -- notes The CEO Next Door authors:

Don's leadership behaviors and choices - not his pedigree - propelled him to the top of the waste services industry. Don's father, whose motto was "Show up every day," had always given his son a long leash as long as his grades were good and his chores completed, planting the seeds for unwavering reliability, a key attribute of successful CEOs.

Honoring your commitments. Giving 110% to deliver on promises. Always showing up, day after day, week after week, even when you don't want to. These behavioral traits are more important than pedigree (only 7% of the 2,600 leaders were from Ivy League schools, and 8% didn't go to college). Please scan through the book and then come hear the authors along with Geoff Smart, Chairman of G.H Smart, keynote our fall summit.

Simplify (Less is More) -- Clarity, energy, success. These three words have replaced over 100 things employees need to remember to succeed at Microsoft. Notes this HBR article titled "Tell Employees What You Want Them to Strive for (in as Few Words as Possible)":

When Joe Whittinghill came into his role as general manager for talent, learning, and insight at Microsoft, the tech giant's leadership model was characteristically thorough. There were eight competencies leaders needed to succeed, 10 behaviors that marked inclusive diversity, five things employees had to do in order to flourish, and over 100 skills you needed to train on, depending on your profession. These components "were not memorable," Whittinghill said. "They were exhaustive."

The article shares the cognitive science that supports why leaders must simplify their messages so they can be recalled - if you aren't already convinced. This is why I'm anti mission/vision statements that no one can recall. Instead, because the brain needs to "chuck" material to remember it, keep the core values separate from the purpose, three brand promises and the BHAG. Four simply stated components of a Vision Summary (our simplified one-page plan in Scaling Up). Add in a single theme for the quarter and you're good to go. Thank you to Gazelles coaching partner in Sweden, Pelle Tornell, for sharing this article.

Spark, Ignite, Elevate - SBA Reimagined -- Yesterday I keynoted SBA's (Small Business Administration) Leadership Conference. The day before billionaire Linda McMahon, SBA Administrator, delivered her opening remarks. What impressed me was the clarity of her message. When she arrived last year she organized the first "Spark Leadership Conference" to jumpstart new ideas. This led to her "Ignite Tour" where she's visiting all 68 field officers and hosting listening sessions - with changes already made based on the last few months. This led to this week's "Elevate Leadership Conference" to focus on elevating everyone's game. All of this is the drive their "SBA Reimagined" theme. The Administrator's right-hand person shared how Ms. McMahon brought the power of themes over from her leadership of the WWE. This is why we're excited to be hosting her in New Orleans at the ScaleUp Summit. What are your themes/messages for this year?

Make Fewer Decisions -- back to The CEO Next Door, go to page 29 in the book. Notes the authors:

A powerful additional benefit of simple decision frameworks is that once they are embraced by the organization, CEOs (leaders) can step back from the vast majority of the decisions that now can be made by their employees.

The authors go on to describe how Madeline Bell, CEO of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), pushed a particularly hot debate that landed on her desk back down to the frontline of the organization rather than make the decision herself. Are you making too many decisions that could be made by others? Successful leaders make fewer decisions!

One Week Bath's Quarterly Theme (Gazelles case study) -- Matt Plaskoff, founder & CEO of Van Nuys, CA-based One Week Bath, shared his latest quarterly theme. Noted Plaskoff in an announcement to his team:

For those of you that have read the section in Scaling Up on "Themes", this will really make sense. If you haven't read this section, please take a look at Page 149 and the Chapter on Priorities. Thank you to the team for coming up with the 2018 First Quarter Mini Games/Themes. We have two games or challenges going. They are both centered around the very important Labor Efficiency Ratio (LER). This is the ratio of gross profit to labor costs.

There is a racing theme for the Production Installation Crew called "ExceLERate to a Win!" and a downhill skiing theme for the overall company called "ExceLERate Down the Hill!" Here's a photo of the scoreboard, updated weekly, for the company theme.

The gates represent the red/yellow/green/super green milestones and the medals the prize amounts for the team members that reach each milestone each week. This week their LER was 2.38. I'll check in with Matt to see how the quarter ends and if they reached the finish line! Do you have a theme this quarter? Next? What is your simple leadership message?

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding you back, your business, and your industry. May 29 - June 1 (YPO-only); October 2 - 5; and January 15 - 18, 2019.

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.

Why Norway?; Tom Peters is Keynoting!; Billionaire McMahon; GetSmarter

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

The role of the director is to create a space where the actors and actresses can become more than they have ever been before, more than they've dreamed of being.
	Robert Altman, movie director

Why Norway Won the Most Olympic Medals -- breaking the previous record set by the US, Norway won the most winter Olympic medals in history. This insightful Sports Illustrated (SI) article details the reasons why, which might come as a surprise. First, notes Tore Ovrebo, director of elite sport for the Olympiatoppen, an organization of scientists, trainers and nutritionists who work with Olympic athletes across Norway's sports federations:

Ovrebo says that in Norway, organized youth sports teams cannot keep score until they are 13. "We want to leave the kids alone," says Ovrebo. "We want them to play. We want them to develop, and be focused on social skills. They learn a lot from sports. They learn a lot from playing. They learn a lot from not being anxious. They learn a lot from not being counted. They learn a lot from not being judged. And they feel better. And they tend to stay on for longer."

The second main reason is the same reason Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors team won another NBA championship last year. It's all about the team having fun together. Notes SI:

The Norwegian Olympians play cards and charades before their competitions. "We think it's a good way building the team up, if you have fun with each other,"

Please take 1 minute to read some of the other reasons Norway came out on top. Then think how you might apply these same ideas to your team!!

Tom Peters' New Book -- Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, and Tom Peters - the three that put biz books front and center. And you might recall Tom received the coveted Jack Covert Award in 2017 for his contribution to the biz book world. He now has a new book coming out in April titled The Excellence Dividend (Tom owns the word Excellence!). Tom has been a dear friend all these years, so I couldn't be more excited that he's keynoting our ScaleUp Summit May 22 - 23 New Orleans. Here's a chance for you and your team to meet and learn from one of the legends of business. We'll be sending the SPro and book club members his book when it publishes.

It's EXCELLENT -- Tom was kind enough to send me an advance copy Tuesday which I've been devouring ever since. All I can say is WOW! If you measure the impact of a book by the dog-eared pages, it's almost every page. This is a MUST-read book!! One immediate example - the quote above and Tom's question if this shouldn't be the role of all leaders. Pre-order so you have a copy for Tom to sign. He's staying all morning and will be our guest at the private lunch on Tuesday at the ScaleUp Summit. He loves the mid-market companies and has an entire chapter on the impact our firms have on the economy - 80% of the job growth. It's why he accepted my invitation with enthusiasm.

Billionaire Linda McMahon -- this Feb 24 NY Times article provides an excellent update on the SBA Administrator who is our other main keynoter at the ScaleUp Summit. Linda McMahon, of WWE pro wrestling fame, has already increased loans to women entrepreneurs by 7% and has approved over $6 billion in loans to help with disaster recovery. Her keynote is titled "From Zero to a Billion" and this article will give you a sense of the journey she's been on, from bankruptcy to billionaire. Please take 2-minutes to read her story and then come meet and hear from one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world.

Largest EdTech Deal in South Africa's History (Gazelles case study) -- this BIZCommunity article highlights how two brothers, using the Rockefeller Habits, scaled their South African edtech company GetSmarter to 350 employees and then sold it to 2U for $103 million (R1.4 bn). Notes the article:

...they (Rob and Sam Paddock) would make decisions on the go which they soon realised wasn't working, and it was only when they were advised by a business leader in the US to read Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm by Verne Harnish, and told to do 90% of what Harnish suggests, that the company really started to take off.

Further notes Sam Paddock on the One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP):

This format allows us to think together, as a broader executive team and as an organisation, to take this business that back in 2013 with 70 people in size was almost falling over and turn it into something which could become a future powerhouse in the Cape Town environment to show the world that Cape Town is capable of not only playing on this stage but also winning.

This is a huge win for both the brothers and South Africa - congratulations. Please take 2 minutes to read their story.

Inc. 5000 Analytics -- Rajeev Agarwal, founder/CEO of Seattle-based MAQ Software, 9-time Inc. 5000 winner, and Rock Habits fan, analyzed the eleven Inc. 5000 lists published since 2007 and shared his insights in a recent article. Notes Agarwal:

My takeaways from this longitudinal study of the most productive and successful Inc. 5000 businesses echo the adages pounded into first-year business students: Revenue growth takes time. It may take 1,000 days or more to earn a profit. Be prepared for economic conditions that are out of your control. Despite the economy, business opportunities are always out there. Go where the customers are. Cash flow is king.

Please take 2 minutes to read more of the details. Rajeev, thank you for this important analysis.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding you back, your business, and your industry. April 3 - 6; May 29 - June 1 (YPO-only); October 2 - 5; and January 15 - 18, 2019.

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.