Brad Feld; Bandwidth; 50s better than 30s; Workday Millennials

"...insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

Look for the one thing that you couldn't take away from your customers without them screaming at you...(then) make that one thing better
	Brad Feld and David Cohen, authors of Do More Faster

Business Icon Brad Feld -- serial entrepreneur, VC, co-founder of TechStars, author of a dozen books (containing such practical wisdom as evident by the above quote), and one of the most popular bloggers is one of our "celebrity CEOs" keynoting the fall ScaleUp Summit Oct 16 - 17, Denver. His classic book Do More Faster: Techstars Lessons to Accelerate Your Startup is applicable to all firms scaling up. It's being sent to the SPro and book club members. At least read the "Theme 2: People" section. Brad will be touching on a wide range of topics including his investment in Fitbit - he owned almost 40% of the stock when it went public. He'll also address the topic of depression - he's been one of the most open leaders to touch on this important aspect of living and leading.

#GiveFirst -- Brad will also share ideas from his forthcoming book (June 2019) titled #GiveFirst: A New Philosophy for Business in The Era of Entrepreneurship. Notes the description:

...if business is built on the strength of relationships, one must base those relationships on a culture of help and reciprocity. By giving first and expecting nothing in return, you'll build the type of relationships that matter. The more you invest in relationships, the more you will get help when you need it...

Brad will share the four actionable principles of a give first mentality that will drive whatever success you wish to achieve.

Bandwidth -- and if you're looking for a fun summer read (Northern Hemisphere) Brad, in his June 25 blog post, recommends Eliot Pepers' near-future science fiction technothriller titled Bandwidth . Brad highlights the NY Times review of the book (rare for any book to get this) in his blog post. Enjoy reading Bandwidth, which I'll be doing this weekend - a real glimpse into the future.

50-Year-Old's Twice as Likely...to have a runaway tech success as a 30-year-old. This CNBC post notes:

A new study found the average founder of the fastest growing tech startups was about 45-years-old - and 50-year-old entrepreneurs were about twice as likely to have a runaway business success as their 30-year-old counterparts.

And I've found this is the general case in all ventures. Please take 1-minute to read through the reasons why this is the case - including the David Duffield example. He launched Workday when he was 65 in 2005 and today the company has a market cap of $25.6 billion. Thank you to Steve Watkins (Entrex) and Dan Hoffman (Circl.es) for sharing this piece with me.

...And Workday is a Great Place for Millennials -- seems the 77-year-old co-CEO of Workday knows how to attract and keep Millennials. This Fortune article details what makes the company attractive to this younger generation that represents 53% of its 8600 employees. And how? Notes the article:

"What I've been able to get at Workday is continuous learning and new opportunities," Yang says. "I've never felt that I wasn't learning something new."

Please take 2 minutes to dig further into the details and then borrow a couple ideas for your own firm.

Bloomberg Breakaway Summit (Verne's 22-minute keynote) -- Last week many of our Scaling Up Breakaway members joined Bloomberg Breakaway members and entrepreneurs for Bloomberg's Breakaway Summit. The theme of the event focused on the paradoxes that leaders face, and leading in an age of disruption. Keynotes included Martha Stewart, Michael Bloomberg, Ursula Burns (former Xerox CEO), Wells Fargo's CEO Tim Sloan, and myself. Here's a link to my 22-minute presentation that shares practical ideas addressing the three barriers to growth.

Interested in joining our 2018/19 delegation of Scaling Up CEOs for the Bloomberg Breakaway Network? Please join me and your fellow CEOs in this invitation-only membership comprised of both established industry leaders and emerging disruptors who are looking to increase the competitive distance between themselves and their peers. Click to view member benefits or to apply for membership.

Breaking Cycle of All-Male Leadership -- Bev Perdue, former Governor of North Carolina, penned a Fortune article noting:

Despite decades of initiatives to increase diversity among corporate leaders, the percentage of female leadership hires has remained relatively stagnant.

So why is this? Please take 2 minutes to read through Perdue's insightful conclusions. Hint - it has a lot to do with the fact that we like to hire people like us, which is why the standard interviewing process is flawed.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. October 2 - 5; 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? Contact us at [email protected] for more information or visit https://scalingup.com/coaches.html.

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability – Drive Execution
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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.