The Agile Scaleup

Brad Feld; 20 Million; 27 Growth Opportunities; Aug 18 – 21 CEOs

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week for you. Here are some insights to help you outlearn/outthink our reaction to the virus.

There are two things that are really educational. One is being with a bunch of really smart people. The other is being all by yourself.

Beat Poet Gary Snyder
Quoted by Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's

German Hidden Champions play in the very top league…(and) we have hundreds of suppliers in Germany.

Tim Cook, CEO Apple

 

Aug 18 – 21 CEO Boot Camp – 1 Seat Left –

Join me and 6 other CEOs for 3 intense days of interaction, learning, one-on-one sessions, and fun in Estes Park, CO – an opportunity to open my connections and apply insights to scale your business – www.ceo-bootcamp.com. Dates in December and January posted as well (Florida Keys location).

Brad Feld’s New Book –

Entrepreneur, VC, TechStar’s Co-Founder, and community builder Brad Feld has his 9^th book out this week titled The Startup Community Way: Evolving an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Please purchase a copy for your mayor, governor, and other community leaders – or just purchase to help the cause!  Every region wants to be the next “Silicon Valley” but that’s not possible or how it’s accomplished. Brad’s book details the real way entrepreneurial ecosystems evolve. Help your community, fellow entrepreneurs, and yourself create the right ecosystem in your city.

…And Brad’s Interview with Tim Ferriss –

Titled “The Art of Unplugging, Carving Your Own Path, and Riding the Entrepreneurial Rollercoaster” this wide-ranging 150-minute interview is classic Tim Ferriss/Brad Feld – and one of the best interviews I’ve enjoyed in a while, opening with how Brad deals with his wife Amy being “done” and problems with his portfolio – and how he saved at least one (the most important one)! Take some quiet time this weekend and learn about how to deal with the ups and downs of biz and life from someone who has almost done it all.

18 Insightful Minutes – Viewed by 20 Million in China –

Mentor/sage Hermann Simon’s short 18-minute lecture on the 7 attributes of “hidden champion” firms – those that dominate niches around the globe – was aired two weeks ago by CCTV in China and was viewed by over 20 million. The SME’s in China (you’ll see it was a physically attended event) are taking his lessons to heart – as we should throughout the rest of the world. Please take 18 minutes to absorb these 7 key factors and then engage in some serious discussions with your strategic thinking team. 

27 Growth Opportunities – Frost & Sullivan –

For years I’ve used Frost & Sullivan’s trend data as part of our SWT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Trends) tool. And I find their newsletter highly insightful as supposedly 91% of the Global 1000 use the data as well. Here’s a link to their“Growth Opportunity Newsletter”. First, you’ll see their sector specialties – if applicable, check out their detailed analysis. In addition, scroll down (quite a ways) to a section called Growth Opportunity Briefing. Go to 4:44 in that video to see an important chart that details 27 Growth Opportunities in 9 categories being driven by three major trends: Connected Work, Health and Wellness, and Global Supply Chains. Have your head of marketing/strategy pull up the chart and consider your options as a company. 

Zinc Protective Against COVID? –

In short, for decades scientists have known that zinc blocks the replication of viruses in our body. And scientists understand deeply how it does it and what it takes to get zinc across the cell membrane (cinnamon, green tea, turmeric, chloroquine, etc.). This Medical News Today article reports on a recent study providing an extensive review of the role of zinc and COVID and published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine.

Getting Some Quiet Time to Think? –

Gary Snyder’s quote at the top of these insights is a great reminder of the need to disconnect and get some quiet time alone (something Brad Feld has mastered) – critical to making the decisions that matter most. I know I throw a lot of books, article, videos, and audio interviews at you – and hope you can find some time to explore these important ideas. 

 

Save Restaurants – Ari Weinzweig Support

Last Friday my four children and I had brunch with Ari Weinzweig, the iconic co-founder of the #1 deli in the world, Zingerman’s. With a strong global mail order business, he’s been able to survive, but it’s been rough. And as he stated it “It’s simple – restaurants are dying.” He further explained how gov’ts have bailed out banks and Fortune 500 firms in the past – so maybe they could help out what are mainly small businesses driving lots of frontline employment (how many of you started out waiting tables?). To take action, call your Congressional leaders and ask them to pass the RESTAURANTS Act. For more info www.saverestaurants.com. 

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books –
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

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.

 

EDUCATION: 

We’re Still in Business Coaching and Training Firms:

Adelaide, AUS  -  Aug 4, 2020
San Francisco, CA - Aug 6, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Australia Region – Aug 18, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Brisbane, AUS - Aug 18, 2020
United Kingdom - Aug 18, 2020
Puebla, Mexico - Aug 18 & 19, 2020
Phoenix, AZ - Aug 20, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Melbourne, Australia - Sep 8, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Sep 10, 2020
Dallas, TX - Sep 10, 2020
Sydney, Australia – Sep 14 - 16, 2020
Portland, OR - Sep 15, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Michigan/Indiana - Sep 16, 2020 (VIRTUAL) 
Georgia – Sep 17, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
San Diego, CA - Sep 18, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
United Kingdom – Sep 22, 2020
Brisbane City, Australia - Sep 23, 2020
Los Angeles, CA – Oct 1, 2020
Wellington, New Zealand - Oct 1, 2020
Waltham, MA – Oct 6, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Oct 15, 2020
Lancaster, PA - Oct 27, 2020
Colombia - Oct 27 & 28, 2020
United Kingdom – Nov 3, 2020
Chicago, IL - Nov 10, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Costa Mesa, CA - Nov 10, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - Nov 10, 2020
Mexico City - Nov 10 & 11, 2020
Guadalajara, Mexico - Nov 12 & 13, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Nov 19, 2020
Atlanta, GA - Dec 9, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Dec 10, 2020
San Diego, CA - Dec 16, 2020
Waltham, MA – Jan 14, 2021
United Kingdom - Jan 14, 2021

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: 

Scaling Up Scoreboard – Slack and Salesforce Integrations
Get automated real-time updates on your critical number and your most important team metrics directly from your Salesforce reports now. Setup is fast, simple and secure. Learn More here.

And streamline daily communications. Connect your Slack and Scoreboard accounts to update your Scoreboard Huddles and Top Priorities and read Huddle digests (especially helpful if someone misses a huddle) all inside Slack. Learn more here.

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.

Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

Did you miss previous insights? - read here 
  
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

The Generals Aug 11; PulsePoint’s Game; Scoreboard Zapier; Jeff Thull July 23

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week for you. Here are some insights to help you outlearn/outthink our reaction to the virus.

Chance favors the prepared mind.

Louis Pasteur

The harder I practice, the luckier I get. 

Attributed to Gary Player, Golfer

Surend Dayal, CEO of Magia Drives 65% Growth (Scaling Up Case) –
Scaling his first firm and selling it to Oracle, he stayed on at Oracle for a decade running the division his acquisition created – Surend gets technology! He then joined Oracle Platinum partner Magia (based in Australia) as CEO and has used Scaling Up and our software Scoreboard (powered by Align) to drive outstanding performance, especially during this crisis with remote teams. Kevin Chin’s book HyperTurnaround, which I’m reading, details Surend’s ascent! This short video by Surend details how he is using daily huddles and our software to drive 65% growth through this crisis (fiscal year ending June 30, 2020). 

PulsePoint Gamifies Reading –
120 employees and just under $100 million in revenue, some of the credit for PulsePoint’s ongoing success goes to their gamified reading program. To date, employees have read a combined 280 different books – that’s a lot of learning! This ScaleUps.com article details their process and their top recommended business and health books. Thanks to Scaling Up Certified coach Rich Manders for alerting us to this gamified reading initiative.

Sharpen the Saw –
Summertime (northern hemisphere) is a good time to do some deeper work in preparation for the fall. I’m reading three outstanding books:

John Maxwell’s The Leader’s Greatest Return 
Toby Beresford’s Infinite Gamification 
Kevin Chin’s HyperTurnaround 

Our coaching organization has a quarterly theme focused on process improvements. And my Scaling Up team is implementing new technologies like Atlassian’s Confluence to give our firm a common Wikipedia-like reference site – I’m tired of hunting info down inside our own company (or paying others to do it)! What are you and your team members doing to prepare? Here are some additional options:

Jeff Thull’s “Mastering the Complex Sale” Free Webinar – July 23, 2pm ET
Jeff is the grandmaster of the complex sale. His 10-minute Sales 3.0 presentation during our Summit received such positive feedback and a request for more of his data-driven, precise sales approach, we’re hosting him for a longer complimentary webinar next Thursday, July 23, 2pm ET. He’ll address the three main challenges you’ll face closing sales in Q3 and Q4. Pls have your Head of Sales tune in to sharpen their saw – to register, click here.

The Generals Are Coming – Aug 11, 1pm – 4pm ET
The military coined a term for times like these: VUCA. Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. It demands leadership that is stronger, more resilient, more engaged—and prepared to handle whatever happens next. On Aug 11, take a mini-break, gather your leaders, and join General (Ret.) James Mattis, 26th Secretary of Defense, Lieutenant General (Ret.) Tom Bostick and Major General (Ret.) Barbara Faulkenberry as they draw lessons from their own careers that can help your organization win in this unparalleled time of disruption. For more information, and to register, click here.

ScalingUp Scoreboard Integration with Zapier – 2000 Applications
Following on integration with Slack and Salesforce, our ScalingUp Scoreboard mobile-ready app now integrates with Zapier, allowing our dashboarding software to automatically connect with over 2000 other biz applications to save you time inputting data. Summertime is a great time to get your cascading KPIs, Priorities, and one-page plan easily visible and trackable throughout the organization. Have your COO or CFO talk to our team to learn how you can implement Scaling Up faster across your remote teams with Scaling Up Scoreboard.

One Course, One Book, One Process, One Technology –
Pick something. Do something. Prepare.

CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 – 21 
We’re re-opening with our next CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 – 21, Estes Park, CO. Limited to 7 CEOs (4 seats taken already), spend 3.5 days with me, including one-on-one sessions, to scale forward your business. www.ceo-bootcamp.com

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books —
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

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.

EDUCATION: 

We’re Still in Business Coaching and Training Firms:
Colorado Region – July 1, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Queensland & Brisbane, AUS Region – July 8, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Michigan Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Southern California Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Texas Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Western NY & Ontario Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Ohio Region – July 15, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Sydney, Australia - Jul 16, 2020
Nashville, TN - July 23, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
San Francisco, CA – July 29, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Philadelphia Region - July 30, 2020 (In-person or Virtual)
Adelaide, AUS  -  August 4, 2020
San Francisco, CA - August 6, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
United Kingdom - August 12, 2020
Brisbane, AUS - August 18, 2020
Puebla, Mexico - Aug 18 & 19, 2020
Phoenix, AZ - August 20, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Melbourne, Australia - Sept. 8, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Sep 10, 2020
Dallas, TX - Sep 10, 2020
Sydney, Australia – Sep 14 - 16, 2020
Portland, OR - Sep 15, 2020
Georgia – September 17, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
San Diego, CA - September 18, 2020
United Kingdom – Sep 22, 2020
Brisbane City, Australia - Sep 23, 2020
Los Angeles, CA – Oct 1, 2020
Perth, Australia - October 5, 2020
Waltham, MA – Oct 6, 2020
Adelaide, Australia - October 7, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Oct 15, 2020
Ohio Region - October 21, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 27, 2020
Colombia - Oct 27 & 28, 2020
United Kingdom – November 3, 2020
Chicago, IL - November 10, 2020
Costa Mesa, CA - Nov 10, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - November 10, 2020
Mexico City - Nov 10 & 11, 2020
Guadalajara, Mexico - Nov 12 & 13, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Nov 19, 2020
Atlanta, GA - Dec 9, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Dec 10, 2020
San Diego, CA - Dec 16, 2020
Waltham, MA – Jan 14, 2021
United Kingdom - January 14, 2021

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: 

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.

Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

Did you miss previous insights? - read here 
  
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights 

 

 

Mize Dies; Face-to-Face Decision; AI Tool; CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 - 21

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week for you. Here are some insights to help you outlearn/outthink our reaction to the virus.

Scott Mize Dies of Hemorrhagic Stroke – July 11 Zoom Celebration of Life
EO may have never launched without the efforts of my dear friend Scott Mize – more below. If EO means anything to you, please zoom into a Celebration of Life for Scott tomorrow July 11, 2pm CT (noon PT, 3pm ET). Zoom link here. Sadly, 140,000 die in the US each year from strokes. 

Face-to-Face or Not?—
Top of mind are the risks associated with getting back face-to-face with your executive teams, clients, suppliers, colleagues, etc. This study of more than 17 million people in England, as reported by the NY Times and many other news agencies this week, details the risks of dying from COVID. Hopefully this data is helpful in making these decisions.

AI Driven COVID Prognostic Tool —
To further help you decide with whom you feel safe having contact and having in the office, 909 Healthcare, in conjunction with George Mason University, has developed and launched an evidenced-based prognostic screening tool for COVID-19. CoV19™ is a probability assessment that provides early and accurate evaluation of an individual's likelihood of contracting active COVID-19 and differentiates between influenza and influenza-like illnesses...for both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. This link provides a PDF explanation and video. I know the people involved (no financial incentive) and have heard from others that this tool is the most comprehensive. 

Risks of Dying from Stress —
Adam Grant pointed me to this important NY Times article detailing how we can put stress to work for us. I know I’m stressed – and my Oura ring is confirming! The key is your mindset towards stress. Notes this article:

In one study of 30,000 Americans, those who had the highest levels of stress were 43 percent more likely to die only if they also believed that stress was bad for their health. In contrast, those who experienced high stress but didn’t view it as harmful were the least likely to die compared to any other group in the study — including people who experienced very little stress.

Please take 2 minutes to read this article and share with your team – then embrace your anxiety!

4Ps of Scaling Forward – Short Videos and Interview —
People, Pivot, Process, and Price. These four critical moves, to grab opportunities, are detailed at www.scalingforward.com. The site includes four short videos about each and a 28-minute concise interview detailing all 4Ps – though please skip the first 2 minutes of introduction and go right to 2:45 in the interview. Hope its useful to you.

CEO Boot Camp Aug 18 – 21, Estes Park, CO – 3 Seats Left
Join 6 other CEOs scaling companies during this crisis for 3.5 days of assessment, strategy, conversation, debate, and insider insights (stuff I don’t normally share publicly) – and some fun. Go to www.ceo-bootcamp.com to hear feedback from those CEOs that have attended multiple times and why. And we’ll be using the 909 Healthcare AI tool to assess the health of those attending.

Honoring Scott Mize —
Like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, Scott Mize also dropped out of Harvard’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences to launch his first business. Just before doing that, he reached out to me when he heard I was launching the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ (ACE) back in 1983. He kicked into gear and organized the first meeting of collegiate leaders (Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, Babson, etc.) in the basement of a restaurant in Harvard Square – and the rest is history. Scott was my wingman throughout the launch of our first major event held at MIT in 1984 – and remained helpful and supportive as ACE pivoted into the launch of YEO (now EO). And it was his contact (Scott was one of the first to hold the position of Evangelist at Apple) which led me to meeting Steve Jobs and hosting his first public speech after being fired from Apple. Please join me and others for a Celebration of Scott’s life – Saturday, July 11, 2pm CT https://everloved.com/life-of/anthony-mize/funeral/

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books —
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

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.

EDUCATION: 

We’re Still in Business Coaching and Training Firms:
Colorado Region – July 1, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Queensland & Brisbane, AUS Region – July 8, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Michigan Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Southern California Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Texas Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Western NY & Ontario Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Ohio Region – July 15, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Sydney, Australia - Jul 16, 2020
Nashville, TN - July 23, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
San Francisco, CA – July 29, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Adelaide, AUS  -  August 4, 2020
United Kingdom - August 12, 2020
Brisbane, AUS - August 18, 2020
Puebla, Mexico - Aug 18 & 19, 2020
Dallas, TX - Aug 27, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - Sept. 8, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Sep 10, 2020
Sydney, Australia – Sep 14 - 16, 2020
Portland, OR - Sep 15, 2020
Georgia – September 17, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
San Diego, CA - September 18, 2020
United Kingdom – Sep 22, 2020
Brisbane City, Australia - Sep 23, 2020
Los Angeles, CA – Oct 1, 2020
Perth, Australia - October 5, 2020
Waltham, MA – Oct 6, 2020
Adelaide, Australia - October 7, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Oct 15, 2020
Ohio Region - October 21, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 27, 2020
Colombia - Oct 27 & 28, 2020
United Kingdom – November 3, 2020
Chicago, IL - November 10, 2020
Costa Mesa, CA - Nov 10, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - November 10, 2020
Mexico City - Nov 10 & 11, 2020
Guadalajara, Mexico - Nov 12 & 13, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Nov 19, 2020
Atlanta, GA - Dec 9, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Dec 10, 2020
San Diego, CA - Dec 16, 2020
Waltham, MA – Jan 14, 2021
United Kingdom - January 14, 2021

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: 

Scaling Up Scoreboard – Slack and Salesforce Integrations
Get automated real-time updates on your critical number and your most important team metrics directly from your Salesforce reports now. Setup is fast, simple and secure. Learn More here.

And streamline daily communications. Connect your Slack and Scoreboard accounts to update your Scoreboard Huddles and Top Priorities and read Huddle digests (especially helpful if someone misses a huddle) all inside Slack. Learn more here.

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.

Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course

Did you miss previous insights? - read here 
  
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights