The Agile Scaleup

#1 Investment; #1 Biz Book; Top 5 Biz Books; Leaving a Legacy

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

…your culture is how your company makes decisions when you’re not there…
	Ben Horowitz, author What You Do Is Who You Are

Latest ScaleUp News --
5 Top Business Books 2019; Record Unicorns Birthed in 2019 (66); On-Demand Delivery Startup Glovo Over $1 Billion Valuation – this news and more at ScaleUps.com, your one-stop weekly update.

Top 5 Business Books 2019 --
My annual list is out, with details at www.scaleups.com. All five books did an excellent job digging under the bromides and delivering simple, specific, and actionable ideas to scale your business. Three of the five have keynoted our Scaling Up Summits and another, Ritz Carlton co-founder Horst Schulze, is keynoting our Dec 7 – 10 Scaling Up Master Class. FYI,

Excellence Wins, #1 Book of 2019 --
Required reading for our leadership team in preparation for our 2020 strategic planning session, Horst Schulze’s biography Excellence Wins details how he scaled a brand that entered our common vernacular. How many leaders have strived to be the “Ritz Carlton” of their industry? And he beat an incurable form of cancer along the way! Horst (80) is still going strong and I’m looking forward to sharing him with you from the stage. Please devour his book in the meantime (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases).

25 Ideas Shaping the 2020s --
As past and future “best of the decade” lists roll out, Fortune always does a credible and researched job. This list is no exception as it outlines 25 ideas that will shape the decade of the 20s – divided into categories: Economy and Markets, Health, Society, Tech and A.I., and Environment. Predictions of a gold standard of digital currencies and a 4-day workweek will drive further evolutions in how we fund and scale our organizations. It’s a substantial piece, so between my book list details and this article, grab a favorite beverage and chair and enjoy!

#1 Investment of the Decade --
Speaking of digital currencies, bitcoin was the best performing investment of the past decade! A dollar invested in 2010 would be worth $90,000 today even though it’s had a roller-coaster 10 years. This CNN piece outlines the best and worst investments – hope you bet wisely!

Leaving a Legacy (Video instead of Reading!) --
One of the highest rated speakers we’ve ever hosted, Jeff Hoffman, in this video, talks about Leaving a Legacy End of year is a time to reflect and plan for the future. Have you ever asked yourself if people will remember you or your business if you ceased to exist tomorrow? Truth is, it all boils down to the impact you had on individuals - and the world. Jeff Hoffman has taught leaders from all walks of life how to build empowering organizations that leave lasting legacies. Watch his 1-hour seminar Leaving a Legacy, published by Growth Institute as part of their library of seminars. Check it out through a free 14-day trial of the Scaling Up Club by clicking here!

Happy Holidays!! I’ll be back with more insights in 2020.

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. Jan 14 - 17; Mar 10 - 13; Jul 21 - 24; Aug 18 - 21, 2020.

ORDER a BOX of 20 SCALING UP BOOKS --
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

Write Your Own Book --
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you!

Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

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.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY:

Execute Scaling Up Faster and Drive Accountability -- Drive Execution with Scaling Up Scoreboard, the official software tool for implementing Scaling Up – available online and in a mobile app. The technology behind Scaling Up Scoreboard is proven to help you achieve 3.5x more goals. Learn more at https://scalingup.com/software/ - on your computer, tablet or 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.

Businessperson of the Decade; $2 Trillion First; Equality = Innovation; Women of Color Entrepreneur Scholarships

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

…(an) innovation mindset is six times higher in the most-equal cultures than in the least-equal ones.
	Accenture’s Report on Equality

Latest ScaleUp News --
Jeff Bezos Named Businessperson of the Decade; UK’s 10 Fastest Scaleups; Scaleups Thrive in Australia’s Wollongong Region – this news and more at ScaleUps.com, your one-stop weekly update.

If These Insights Have Been Valuable to You --
Please help fund 30 scholarships for women of color to scale their businesses, donating what you feel these insights have been worth to you in 2019 -- $1, $5, $10 or more per week (Donate Here.)? More below, but first…

$1.88 Trillion Aramco IPO (Fun Fact) --
The largest IPO in history, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco is the first company to exceed $2 trillion in market cap on the second day of trading this week – CNBC’s article highlights the milestone.

Saudi Arabia Ends Gender Segregation in Restaurants --
And coinciding with this milestone, Saudi Arabia ends gender segregation in its restaurants, highlighted in this accompanying CNBC article. 

Equality = Innovation --
Companies (and countries!) might pay attention to Accenture’s latest report on equality in the workplace. Summarizing the report, Alan Murray with Fortune notes:

Employees of companies with the most equal culture were more likely to say “nothing stops me from innovating” at work (40%) than those from the least equal cultures (7%); and they were far more likely to say “I am not afraid to fail in the pursuit of innovation” (85%) than those in the least equal cultures (36%).

It might be noted that the CEO of Accenture is one of the top women leaders in the world, Julie Sweet.

#1 Workplace Culture Factor Driving Innovation? --
Accenture measured 40 workplace factors in determining equality and innovation – and #1 was (drum roll, please) “The organization provides training to keep its employees’ skills relevant.” The key word is “relevant.” The only way you, your team, and your organization are going to remain relevant is to invest in training and development. And #3 workplace factor was “Company training times and formats are flexible.” It’s why we host our annual ScaleUp Summits (equivalent of reading a dozen books) and our online education to provide you with our outsourced Corporate University that is available 24/7 to your employees – see next for sample…

Artificial Intelligence: We can't get away from it, can we? --
Though it seems daunting to figure out how to incorporate AI into your business, it's not as difficult as you may think. Watch Doug Rose's 1-hour Learning Suite, How to Discover the Newest AI Products, published in Growth Institute's Scaling Up Club. Check it out through a free 14-day trial of the Scaling Up Club by clicking here! Note, Doug Rose, author of Artificial Intelligence for Business keynoted our Scaling Up Summit last year.

Equality for Women of Color Entrepreneur Scholarships --
Speaking of gender equality, Scaling Up is proud to support Million Dollar Women in their mission to help one million women entrepreneurs each get to $1M in revenues. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to create a thriving business, regardless of gender, race, age, sexual preference or geography.  Million Dollar Women is raising funds to provide 30 scholarships to women of color entrepreneurs, who face even higher obstacles in scaling up their businesses (less access to capital and fewer role models). Women of color run businesses currently make an average of $25,000- $50,000 per year. Can you help us help more women by making a donation of $50, $100, $500 or a donation of any amount to the Million Dollar Women Fund? You can see the full campaign and Donate Here.

Pay it Forward --
Again, if these insights have proven helpful to you in 2019, please pay it forward and donate to Million Dollar Women. I’m on the board of this fine organization and can attest that Julia’s curriculum truly helps women scale. It’s the only charity I promote in the insights and you won’t hear from me for another year!! Thank you for helping these women entrepreneurs.

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. Jan 14 - 17; Mar 10 - 13; Jul 21 - 24; Aug 18 - 21, 2020.

ORDER a BOX of 20 SCALING UP BOOKS --
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

Write Your Own Book --
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you!

Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

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.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY:

Execute Scaling Up Faster and Drive Accountability -- Drive Execution with Scaling Up Scoreboard, the official software tool for implementing Scaling Up – available online and in a mobile app. The technology behind Scaling Up Scoreboard is proven to help you achieve 3.5x more goals. Learn more at https://scalingup.com/software/ - on your computer, tablet or 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.

Google Founders Leave; Shocking Rules; Culture DOESN’T Eat Strategy; Dec 9 OPSP Webinar

Dear ScaleUps,

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

…your culture is how your company makes decisions when you’re not there…
	Ben Horowitz, author What You Do Is Who You Are

Latest ScaleUp News --
A small tech company tried it all to stop employee turnover. Only one thing worked (you’ll be surprised by the answer); Lazard focuses on European Scaleups; Three Point Guide for India to Survive Slow Growth – this news and more at ScaleUps.com, your one-stop weekly update.

Time for Strategic Planning and the OPSP – Dec 9 Online Workshop
Check out the upcoming One-Page Strategic Plan Online Workshop. The One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP) is a proven tool to help you get your team on the same page and enables quick, daily decision making at all levels of your organization.  My clients often find the OPSP the most rapidly transformative tool, but it’s not easy to fill out. That’s why next Monday, Dec 9th, the Growth Institute and four of our Scaling Up Coaches are hosting an online workshop to guide you through the process of filling out your OPSP, step-by-step. Register today.

Google Founders Step Aside --
This NY Times article does the best job of any I read this week on detailing the departures of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Notes NY Times:

In a letter announcing the change, Mr. Page and Mr. Brin compared their 21 years at Google to raising a child, saying now was the “time to assume the role of proud parents.”

And this note in the article is a nice summary of the reach and scope achieved by Page and Brin:

Google has grown to be dominant in several markets. Its search engine handles nine out of 10 internet searches, and the company’s Android software powers roughly three-quarters of the world’s smartphones. And for a generation of young people, YouTube, which Google acquired in 2006, has all but supplanted television.

Please take 3 minutes to read this informative NY Times article – it’s an historic week in biz.

Does Culture Fit Hurt Diversity – and Other Myths --
The most important article I’ve read in a while is this HBR article that addresses four myths around hiring people for culture fit. It was a huge topic at the Bloomberg Breakaway CEO summit in London – and a key topic in Ben Horowitz’s new book (see below). My take, after reading and hearing a bunch of experts on the topic – you want to narrow the “culture fit” down to just a handful of very specific values (and you need to make sure they are the right ones that truly represent your unique organization). The rest of what makes for a culture needs to remain fluid and change as strategy, markets, and times change. Please take 2 minutes to read the article.

What You Do Is Who You Are --
The must-read book of 2019, Ben Horowitz has written another classic What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture. I took away three key ideas among many:

1. It is what people do, not what they say, that determines culture
2. Culture doesn’t eat strategy – in fact, strategy shapes the culture – and when strategy changes the culture changes
3. Interesting idea – strong cultures include a “shocking rule”

Ben also prefers the term virtues over values.  And because the book is rooted in history, it revealed some interesting historical facts I was unaware of which made the book fun to read.  It’s a book worth reading over the holidays (FYI, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases if you get the book).

Create Shocking Rules --
One of the really new ideas around culture is Ben’s discovery that successful cultures tend to include a “shocking rule” (Section in Chapter 2) that fits four rules:

1. It must be memorable
2. It must raise the question “Why?”
3. Its cultural impact must be straightforward
4. People must encounter the rule almost daily

It has me and my council thinking about that rule for Scaling Up.  Examples Ben shares:

Coach Tom Coughlin’s “if you are on time, you are late” Jeff Bezos’s “no PowerPoint presentations in meetings” Mark Zuckerberg’s “move fast and break things”

And after Facebook scaled considerably, Zuckerberg changed to “move fast with stable infrastructure.” It’s an example of how strategy, though it doesn’t change values, does often require a change in culture i.e. “how we do things.”

Join Me Feb 10 Sydney ScaleUp Summit --
More info next week and at this link

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. Jan 14 - 17; Mar 10 - 13; Jul 21 - 24; Aug 18 - 21, 2020.

ORDER a BOX of 20 SCALING UP BOOKS --
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

Write Your Own Book --
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you!

Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

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.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY:

Execute Scaling Up Faster and Drive Accountability -- Drive Execution with Scaling Up Scoreboard, the official software tool for implementing Scaling Up – available online and in a mobile app. The technology behind Scaling Up Scoreboard is proven to help you achieve 3.5x more goals. Learn more at https://scalingup.com/software/ - on your computer, tablet or 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.