Hello ScaleUps,
Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.
#1 Constraint to Scaling --
Here’s my latest 4-minute video detailing the key constraint to scaling a business.
Bluewire Media’s “Walk and Talk” (Scaling Up Case Study) --
About a year ago Toby Jenkins and Adam Franklin, co-founders of Brisbane, Australia-based Bluewire Media, tweaked their weekly council (strategic thinking) meeting. It’s now a Steve Jobs-like “walk and talk.” Notes Toby: “Adam and I walk up to 10kms, sometimes in the bush, other times by the river.” And the benefits, continues Toby:
- It "stacks" exercise, nature, work and friendship (35 years this year including 14 years in business together).
- Nurtures body, mind and energy at the same time.
- Much higher energy level and focus for the whole 2-3 hours
- A sense of moving in the same direction.
- Often feels like a much higher quality conversation
FYI, over the past five years Bluewire Media has scaled from 99% working only in Australia to now active in 44 countries.
Same Walk and Talk Format with Clients --
Bluewire Media uses the same approach with clients. “High quality 1-on-1 time with the key decision maker,” continues Toby. “I've found it useful in the negotiation phase, when we're both trying to get crystal clear on the higher-level context and then zoom in on the nitty gritty of an engagement. And it's been highly useful as a regular check-in process too.”
And Same with Family (Plus “Advances” vs. “Retreats”) --
“Luce (my wife) and I even do it sometimes when we need to talk something through. It's not yet calendarised like the work ones, but I consider it a great tool. Across all of these three (council, clients, spouse), I find there's something about architecting the circumstances that gives both people the best chance of being at your best for whatever needs to be figured out at the time.” Love this idea Toby. And appreciate that you noted in your email to me “we’ve basically followed your whole Scaling Up playbook, with 90 day ‘advances’ for a decade.” I love that you call them quarterly “advances” vs. “retreats.” We’ve begun calling our planning sessions “advances” as well.
Allure Medical Doubles Revenue in 24 Months (case study) --
This Growth Institute post details how Theresa LaBranche, COO of Allure Medical, is using the skills garnered from our online coached Master of Business Dynamics (MBD) program to double revenues from $20 million to $40 million – and how it’s helping to double again this year. Comparable to an online MBA, but at a fraction of the cost, this accredited program of six courses completed at your own pace (Scaling Up, Topgrading, ExO, Hyper Sales Growth, Mastering New Marketing, and Outthinking the Competition) continues to help leaders make a massive impact in their companies and communities. Theresa’s story reaffirms the importance of investing in executive education. You’ll also see Theresa and her team at the upcoming ScaleUp Summit – they normally bring one of the largest teams, earning them the table right at the very front.
Congratulations Steve Falk, Prime Data --
Kudos to President Steve Falk for creating a culture where his staff took it upon themselves to apply and be chosen for the Globe and Mail (Canada’s largest national newspaper)/Morneau Shepell Employee Recommended Workplace award. It was their responses to the questionnaires that shaped the outcome. Noted Falk, “I just wanted to say thank you for helping us develop a well-regarded workplace culture. We’ve taken many of the Rockefeller Habits to heart over the past 3 years.”
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. March 12 - 15; Jun 4 - 7, 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? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more.
We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.
For questions or more information contact us at [email protected]
TECHNOLOGY:
Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithgazelles.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.
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.