Dear ScaleUps,
Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.
| One of the main responsibilities of a leader is to confront difficult, awkward issues quickly and with clarity, charity, and resolve. | |
| Patrick Lencioni author of The Motive | |
Latest ScaleUp News --
Microsoft Launches Scaleup Initiative in India; Shift Away from Culture of Personality; Amazon Opens First Full-Sized Grocery Store in Seattle – this news and more at ScaleUps.com, your one-stop weekly update.
Pat Lencioni’s New Book, The Motive --
Released this week, the author of 5 Dysfunctions of a Team* has written his 12th management classic titled The Motive*. More below, but first…
Adrian Wall Pricing Story and More…
Emmy award winning journalist Kate Delaney interviewed me this week on her highly rated talk show. Just 12-minutes, you can skip to 9:22 to hear YPOer Adrian Wall’s pricing story – worth the minute to hear.
Topgrading Success Story? Looking for Case Study --
In an email from Brad Smart, the godfather of Topgrading (the only interviewing process we recommend) “Do you know of successful companies using Topgrading that I could contact to see if the CEO might be interested in becoming a Topgrading Case Study (at TopgradingCaseStudies.com). Please email me if interested and I’ll connect you with Brad – [email protected] – thx.
Southland Trailer’s 1500 Improvements (Scaling Up Case Study) --
Scaling from $15 million to $37 million with just 100 employees, Alberta, Canada-based Southland Trailer has used a combination of Scaling Up and Lean to drive their cash conversion cycle down from 135 to 45 days; map out their processes (see photo); create huddle boards for all employees; and pursue a quarterly theme of “Continuous Improvement” with a goal of 1500 process improvements by 31 March, 2020. Please take 2 minutes to read the details of this fast-growing trailer manufacturer.
Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter --
Published last Saturday, Buffett’s (age 89) letters normally contain advice and wisdom beyond straight investment insights. This year’s is an exception – lots of investment insights, particularly around the underappreciated (morale, not real) value of retained earnings and why equities are expected to continue to provide good returns vs. bonds – but there are NOT the usual management insights I’ve come to expect. In short, Patrick Lencioni’s quote above nicely summarizes the ongoing Berkshire Hathaway leadership strategy. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading it word-for-word, enjoying his writing style and euphemisms like “gentlemen prefer bonds.” Grab your favorite beverage this weekend and learn from the Oracle of Omaha.
Motley Fool’s Take on Buffett’s Letter, Six Takeaways --
Of all the summaries of Warren’s letter, I thought the Motley Fool (investment advisors) did the best job, highlighting six “surprises” (overstating it for effect). Please take 2 minutes to get their take on Buffett’s letter – worth scanning.
Fun Fact to Share at Weekend Soirees --
To quote Buffett “In 2019, Berkshire sent $3.6 billion to the U.S. Treasury to pay its current income tax. The U.S. government collected $243 billion from corporate income tax payments during the same period. From these statistics, you can take pride that your company delivered 1.5% of the federal income taxes paid by all of corporate America.”
Is Leadership a Reward or Responsibility? --
How do you view your role as a leader? A reward for all your hard work or a responsibility? Depending on your view, it makes a huge difference in your effectiveness as a leader. Pat Lencioni’s latest book titled The Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibilities* explores these two leadership motives. Written in his signature fable style, it’s a quick read. Still short of time? Skip to page 125 where Pat details the five omissions of reward-centered leaders and warns that “the danger of leading for the wrong reason is high, not only for individuals, but for society as a whole.” And his hope is that people will stop using the term “servant leadership” altogether, because everyone will understand that it is the only valid kind!!
Future talent wants an experience - and their own AI assistants
What makes your company a great place to work? Jeanne Meister interviewed over 2,000 HR leaders to come up with the most ideal response to this question. Her work demonstrates how to embrace AI, the gig economy, and on-demand learning to create a workplace that your employees rave about - and that makes them that much more productive.
Jeanne's learning suite on Growth Institute’s Scaling Up Club covers the 3 main practices for creating this workplace - and includes an action plan to boot. In this clip, she gives you the top reason for why you should be paying attention to your company's workplace experience. Watch it here!
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. Mar 10 - 13; Jul 21 - 24; Aug 18 - 21, 2020.
Scaling Up Assessment
Many startup, but few scale up. What’s holding you back? In partnership with the former CEO of the leading survey firm in the world, Scaling Up has a new assessment that takes you 20-minutes to complete and then delivers an extensive scientific-based 30+ page report which includes comparisons with peer firms and customized advice driven by your unique point in scaling up. The $149 assessment includes a debrief by one of our certified partners and is the same assessment we’ve been testing and using in our CEO Boot Camps the last 30 months.
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.