The Agile Scaleup

#1 CEO Job; Why We Suffer; Best Speech; Tyler Perry; Scaling Up Master Class

Don't stumble over something behind you.

Seneca

 

See things as the way they are, not as you wish they were.

Julia Galef

Michael Porter, Harvard Strategist -- #1 Job of CEOs
It’s Michael Porter’s classic HBR article “What is Strategy” I reference in Scaling Up (you’ve all read it, right?). Differentiation only occurs at what he calls the “activity” level of the business – in the end, it’s HOW you do the business (hiring, pricing, operations, etc.) that must be different from the competition in order to win big. In this one-hour fireside chat (via University of Colorado, Boulder), go to the 8-minute spot and learn about the data Harvard has on how CEOs spend their time and what, then, is their #1 job (which can’t be delegated!). Hint – strategy! But Porter explains what this means and why. Thank you to EOer Russ Straub, founder and CEO LoanBright, for sharing this link (his daughter graduates from CU Leeds biz school next Friday).

Speech of the Year? Tyler Perry
Billionaire entrepreneur extraordinaire and entertainer Tyler Perry has always taken the different path – strategy is about being different. And he did the same Sunday night at the Oscars. In the speech of the year (maybe decade), receiving the Humanitarian Award, he bluntly took on the hate filled 24-hour news cycle that continues to distort and poison our souls, sharing how most people don’t hate categories of other people. During Sunday's speech, he thanked his mom who "taught me to refuse blanket judgment” as he invited all of us to “meet him the middle.” Please take a few minutes to absorb Tyler’s message and please stop watching the news (yes, that is a blanket judgment – I get it)!

KPI Updates Easier! New Scoreboard Feature
The new Metrics feature in our CEO dashboard called Scoreboard, allows you to create a single metric once and track the same number in multiple places in Scoreboard. By connecting multiple Priorities to the same Metric, you will only need to make an update in one place, and the change will be applied across the board. Any metric can also be updated via the Salesforce and Zapier integrations to connect your Priorities to data from your other software applications. If interested in a demo click here. 

Borrego Institute for Living Design (BILD)
Biomimicry and organizational design guru and author of Teeming, Dr. Tamsin Woolley-Barker, purchased the Desi Arnaz ranch east of San Diego to host the Borrego Institute for Living Design. Join her for exciting conversations, in-person and virtual events, immersions and regenerative design group events. BILD membership is for artists and creatives, regenerative leaders, and mission-driven entrepreneurs – I’m a member. This Stanford article, details BILD and her work as Dean of our Geoversity School of Biocultural Leadership. Nature is informing us how to scale our own organizations in a new way – distributed leadership, shared responsibility, etc. – again, detailed in the article.

Why We Suffer – Michael Singer, Untethered Soul
Seneca’s quote above relates closely to this 10-minute video which provides beautiful insights from entrepreneur Michael Singer, author of the huge best-seller Untethered Soul. He discusses why your mind can be a dangerous place…or a great gift. And this determines the quality of your life, not what’s going on externally. Wisdom worth 10 minutes – and how to get your mind from bullying you!

Weekend Countdown -- 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from wise teachers.

Speed Implementation of Scaling Up 
Prepare for the second half of 2021 (and the Roaring 20s) -- Scaling Up is 10x easier to implement if more people in the firm are on-board with the tools/techniques. I’m teaching the next Scaling Up Master Class mid-May.1.5 hours for the CEO-only (May 18); 3 hours May 19; 3 hours May 20. Over 750 CEOs and CXOs participated in December. Here's a 1-min video I recorded on the benefits of the workshop. Outlearn the competition!

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

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

EDUCATION: 
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Louisville, KY - May 6, 2021 (Virtual)
Cairns, Queensland, AUS - May 11, 2021
Townsville, Queensland, AUS - May 12, 2021
Latin America - May 13 & 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Columbus, OH - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - May 20, 2021
San Francisco, CA - May 20, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam - June 3, 2021
Sydney, Australia - June 3, 2021
Phoenix, AZ – June 3, 2021 (In-Person)
Atlanta, GA – June 8, 2021 (Virtual)
Colorado Springs, CO - June 9, 2021 (Virtual)
WNY, Ontario, Great Lakes – June 11, 2021 (Virtual)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - June 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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

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.

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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

Follow our new Instagram account: @scalingup2.0 

Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

New Influence Principle; Golf Lesson; 3 Questions; Replay Access

We need to learn how to feel intrigued instead of defensive when we encounter some information that contradicts our beliefs.    

Julia Galef, author of The Scout Mindset

 

Ask yourself this; if there was zero chance of failure, what would you do? Now, go do that.

Josh Linkner, author of Big Little Breakthroughs

Weekly Minute – Quotes to Ponder
Enjoy this one-minute countdown to your weekend – lots of wisdom in small packages.

McKinsey Report – Organizations Post Pandemic Use Daily Meetings
McKinsey’s view of the future of organizations, and how they operate, aligns with the Scaling Up methodology. It’s why franchisors, PE firms, and governments all noticed that the firms practicing our tools seemed to thrive during the pandemic vs. others. This specific quote from the report caught my attention:

As one executive we spoke with observes: “Our senior team meets every morning for 30 minutes. It’s incredibly productive. We make decisions and go. We don’t have full information, but that’s OK—we can’t afford not to move."

If you want to move faster; pulse faster. Sadly, our competition has dumbed-down our process in the name of simplicity – when it’s just simplistic and harmful. Thank you to Scaling Up coaching partner Andy Clayton for sharing this report.

Three Questions
Who we are? How we operate? How we grow? These are the three questions that anchor McKinsey’s framework for scaling post the pandemic. Like many McKinsey reports, it’s lengthy (15 minutes to read), but always insightful – and the detail behind the three questions, again, aligns with what you’re already doing with Scaling Up. If you’re using our tools/techniques -- you’re good to Scale!

Alan Mulally Led Boeing through 9/11 and Ford through Great Recession
Alan was simply great yesterday, sharing his wisdom on leading in a crisis on our virtual Scaling Up+ Summit. In my phone call with Alan leading up to the interview, he noted unprompted, “I’ve read every page of Scaling Up and it’s the one book that comes closest to how I scaled Boeing and Ford.” And during the interview he specifically talked us through his one-page “Working Together” framework which he used at Boeing and Ford. Here’s a link to the one-pager. 

There is a 7^th Influence Principle
The “godfather of influence” Dr. Robert Cialdini was insightful and practical with his insights. Yesterday he noted that his extensively updated edition of Influence (over 5 million copies sold) releasing May 5 includes a new 7^th principle of persuasion – Unity. Cialdini shared how this new principle works in action and included some specific examples. Also critical for all of you relying on social media and online marketing – the new book shares research that underpins how using the principles of influence vs. other techniques drives the best results by magnitudes. All 8-minutes of his presentation is worth the time (see below how to access)

The Other Three – Free Access
In earlier insights I highlighted Josh Linkner (Breakthroughs), Justin Roff-Marsh (Sales); and Julia Galef (Intel). All were outstanding yesterday in addition to Mulally and Cialdini. To gain access to the replays of each – and a professional summary of the summit – register at https://scalingup.com/april-22-summit/. Over 3100 have already registered – hope it’s not your competition outlearning you! Sharpen the saw this next week and absorb 90-minutes of new ideas/techniques/insights – just one is all you need to make it worth your time. 

Turnaround Guru Greg Brenneman – How Golf Guided His 3 Decades
Sports Illustrated’s Don Yaeger interviewed Greg Brenneman, Home Depot’s lead director and Chairman of one of the world’s top PE firms (who also keynoted our first virtual summit in the crisis last year). In short, Greg notes that you can’t overthink a turnaround. Notes Brenneman: “Time is tight; money is tighter. If you sit around devising elegant and complex strategies and then try to execute them through a series of flaw-less decisions, you’re doomed.” Lessons from golf – how you can’t let one bad hole turn into two – helped guide Brenneman on his approach to crisis management. Enjoy the interview.

High Stakes Negotiations Course– Last Day for Early Bird Discount
Dr. Medvec and her expert coach Sara Soderstrom are leading a 10-week negotiations course with Growth Institute and today is the last day to receive a $700 early bird discount. I’ve applied many of Dr. Medvec’s techniques to win significant contracts up against impressive competitors, to help improve margins with customers and to walk away with even stronger relationships. There is no other course that has made/saved me more money than Dr. Medvec’s “High Stakes Negotiation.” Learn more here. https://hubs.ly/H0LLy-L0

Bring the Rest Up-To-Speed and Outlearn the Competition
Prepare for the second half of 2021 (and the Roaring 20s) -- Scaling Up is 10x easier to implement if more people in the firm are on-board with the tools/techniques. I’m teaching the next Scaling Up Master Class mid-May. 1.5 hours for the CEO-only (May 18); 3 hours May 19; 3 hours May 20. Over 750 CEOs and CXOs participated in December. Outlearn the competition! 

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

EDUCATION: 
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Louisville, KY - May 6, 2021 (Virtual)
Cairns, Queensland, AUS - May 11, 2021
Townsville, Queensland, AUS - May 12, 2021
Columbus, OH - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan – May 20, 2021
San Francisco, CA - May 20, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam - June 3, 2021
Sydney, Australia - June 3, 2021
Phoenix, AZ – June 3, 2021 (In-Person)
Atlanta, GA – June 8, 2021 (Virtual)
Colorado Springs, CO - June 9, 2021 (Virtual)
WNY, Ontario, Great Lakes – June 11, 2021 (Virtual)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - June 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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

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.

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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

Follow our new Instagram account: @scalingup2.0 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!

Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 


Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

 

BE-CI; Free Book; Sandra Joseph; Camp Pillsbury; May 18 - 20

If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.

Confucius

 

Three things in life – your health, your mission, and the people you love. That’s it.

Naval Ravikant

Digital Scoreboards on Everyone’s Desk (Scaling Up Case Study)
Scaling from $3 to $11 million and 11 offices, Destin, FL-based BE-CI uses digital scoreboards sitting on every one of their 67 employees’ desks to keep everyone focused on their individual goals feeding into achieving their BHAG of 162,500 site visits by 2030. In the “building envelope” space, CEO Joseph Ferrell brought in Scaling Up Certified coach Doug Wick to guide their implementation of our tools over the past 7 years. This article details their use of daily huddles, core values, and scoreboards to drive their successful growth. 

Scaling Up Scoreboard Adds eNPS for All
Without the need for a license for every employee, run your employee net promoter score survey with your whole team with the new Scoreboard eNPS tool. Priced as an add-on for Scaling Up companies using the software, get a complete company engagement measurement complete with an anonymous feedback loop. Consistent eNPS surveying of your entire organization is a vital part of scaling a healthy company culture. Schedule a demo https://scalingup.com/software/

Health – Dr. Tom Levy’s Book on COVID/Viruses – Download Free
Health is critical to having the energy to scale. And fear is debilitating! “Dedicated to ending COVID and all future pandemics, and to all who have needlessly suffered and died” – please download Dr. Tom Levy’s book on recovering rapidly from any virus as more pandemics are expected. On the board of the Riordan Clinic with me, I’ve shared his protocols with hundreds (including close friends and family). And thousands of doctors around the world have used his protocols to help patients rapidly recover from COVID and other viruses. Author of 13 books, medical doctor, and lawyer, read the short Foreword by Dr. Richard Cheng, M.D, PhD to start. Thank you, Dr. Levy, for this important gift – no reason for people to fear viruses.

Mission – Come with a Problem; Leave with a Project
One of the better pieces of advice I’ve received over the years as a CEO – if someone comes to you with a problem; they leave with a project. At Zingerman’s Deli the associate with an idea for improvement follows a four-step process (in my words):

1. Create a short “envisioned future” (Jim Collins’ language) – describing how things will be easier/better after the change – the key is to use vivid language i.e. “the customer will relish in how easy it is to open our new cheese packaging while sealing completely to maintain freshness.”
2. Make a list of all the people touched/affected by this change – the same as making an influencer list to get anything accomplished.
3. Visit each person, share your envisioned future, and get their buy-in
4. If successful with step three, then make it happen

If you have 50 employees, that’s potentially 50 missions (hills to take). Everyone is contributing to making improvements and building cross-functional relationships in the process. Win, win, win.

The People You Love – Camp Pillsbury
EOer and Scaling Up fan Vonda White (former YPOer) is one of the few camp operators who managed to successfully keep her summer performing arts camp (circus, dance, magic, musical theatre, art, etc.) open last summer. This summer she’s taking it up a notch and bringing in Sandra Joseph (longest running female lead on Broadway as Christine in Phantom) to perform and her husband Ron Bohmer (her Phantom!) to lead several Master Classes for the students. Many of you might recall Sandra and Ron performing at our Scaling Up Summit. If you’re looking for a transformational experience for your 6 – 17-year-old this summer (3, 6, and 9 week fully boarded sessions), check it out. And yes, Pillsbury College, which Vonda purchased, is named after the famed Pillsbury family of Pillsbury dough boy fame!

Smartest One in the Room? Bring the Rest Up-To-Speed
Prepare for the second half of 2021 (and the Roaring 20s) -- Scaling Up is 10x easier to implement if more people in the firm are on-board with the tools/techniques. I’m teaching the next Scaling Up Master Class mid-May. 1.5 hours for the CEO-only (May 18); 3 hours May 19; 3 hours May 20. Over 750 CEOs and CXOs participated in December. Outlearn the competition! 

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

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!
Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

EDUCATION: 
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Tweed Heads / Byron Bay, AUS - April 22, 2021
Louisville, KY - May 6, 2021 (Virtual)
Cairns, Queensland, AUS - May 11, 2021
Townsville, Queensland, AUS - May 12, 2021
Columbus, OH - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan – May 20, 2021
San Francisco, CA - May 20, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam - June 3, 2021
Sydney, Australia - June 3, 2021
Phoenix, AZ – June 3, 2021 (In-Person)
Colorado Springs, CO - June 9, 2021 (Virtual)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - June 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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

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.

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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

Follow our new Instagram account: @scalingup2.0 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.


Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Cialdini Update; Best Article 2021; Simplest Strategy; April 15 Negotiations Webinar

Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others.

Pablo Picasso

 

The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.

B.B. King

Godfather of Persuasion/Influence – Dr. Robert Cialdini April 22
One of the top 10 business books of all time, with over 5 million copies sold – Dr. Robert Cialdini has greatly updated and expanded his classic book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Due to release May 4, Dr. Cialdini will share some key updates during our April 22 Scaling Up+ Summit! Joining him are Alan Mullaly, the iconic former CEO of Ford and Boeing; Justin Roff-Marsh, sale author; Julia Galef author of The Scout Mindset; and Josh Linkner, author of the brand new book Big Little Breakthroughs(releasing April 22!). Register for this complimentary idea-packed 90-minutes – the equivalent of reading 5 books! Outlearn the competition.

“Persuading the Unpersuadable” – Adam Grant Article
The best article I’ve read this year, this HBR excerpt from iconic Wharton professor Adam Grant’s new bestseller Think Again details how to persuade four types of difficult people in business and life. The subheads for each give you a clue to the technique – then read the article multiple times to master each:                  

• Ask a Know-It-All to Explain How Things Work
• Let a Stubborn Person Seize the Reins
• Find the Right Way to Praise a Narcissist
• Disagree with the Disagreeable

Adam shares specific instances where associates in Apple used these techniques to persuade Steve Jobs. Very insightful. BTW, I know it’s HBR, but if there is ONE subscription you maintain, it’s with this important business resource. Invest in your education.

3 Strategies to Win High Stakes Negotiations, Strengthen Relationships, & Save Millions!
The challenge negotiating in business (vs. purchasing a home or car) with customers, vendors, partners, key employees, etc. is that you are normally entering into a long-term relationship with that person. So how do you triumph while strengthening the relationship? This is precisely what I have learned from Northwestern U Professor Dr. Victoria Medvec (Goldman Sachs is just one of her many clients). Everything is a negotiation, as such, it is one of the most crucial skills to master. 

Negotiations Webinar April 15 Noon ET
I’m hosting a webinar with Growth Institute next week, April 15^th, to share how I’ve applied many of Dr. Medvec’s techniques to win significant contracts up against impressive competitors – and other applications to help you improve your margins with customers and walk away with even stronger relationships. There is no other course that has made/saved me more money than Dr. Medvec’s “High Stakes Negotiation.” No charge for the webinar – come learn. Sign up here! 

The Happy Leader
Fellow Scaling Up Coach and Entrepreneur Shawn Johal launched his new book this week - The Happy Leader. Shawn has been teaching business leaders for years how to level up their habits to achieve both professional success and personal happiness at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive! You can find your copy here: The Happy Leader. It seems Shawn is destined to pursue Happiness as his Indian name "Sukhraj" actually means The Happy Leader in punjabi. Pretty cool story! You won't be disappointed.

Goddess of Kundalini – Maya Fiennes
During my two-week “Sabbatical” session at hotelier/author Chip Conley’s Modern Elder Academy Baja retreat (fabulous experience), I was introduced to Kundalini yoga by one of the most recognized practitioners and former concert pianists, Maya Fiennes. In essence, Kundalini stimulates your vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in your body connecting your stomach and brain and everything in between.

6-minute Interview – Watch for Production Value
Maya interviewed me for her BEOND TV show. Though a quick podcast-like recording, I was impressed by the post-production value she added – a lesson for everyone hosting podcasts. And it was a fun interview where I share 4 specific ideas for scaling your business in 6 minutes – hopefully some quick and important reminders for you. 

The Power of a Walk
Steve Jobs was the master of the “walk and talk” – inviting numerous influencers to join him on a walk near and around his home as a way to ferret out solutions and build relationships. This HBRarticle (thank you Steve Hall for recommending) details why walking helps us think, is the simplest strategy to remain healthy, etc. I took a 2-mile walk yesterday and it did as described, enjoying a couple phone calls with clients and friends in the process. Keep it simple – take a walk, preferably with someone!

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

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!
Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

EDUCATION: 
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Ann Arbor, MI / Indianapolis, IN - April 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Gold Coast, Queensland AUS - April 14, 2021
Nashville, TN - April 16, 2021 (Virtual)
Tweed Heads / Byron Bay, AUS - April 22, 2021
Louisville, KY - May 6, 2021 (Virtual)
Cairns, Queensland, AUS - May 11, 2021
Townsville, Queensland, AUS - May 12, 2021
Columbus, OH - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan – May 20, 2021
San Francisco, CA - May 20, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam - June 3, 2021
Sydney, Australia - June 3, 2021
Phoenix, AZ – June 3, 2021 (In-Person)
Colorado Springs, CO - June 9, 2021 (Virtual)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - June 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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

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.

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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

Follow our new Instagram account: @scalingup2.0 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.


Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI 

Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights  

Stupidity; Need Examples; Canada’s Needs; Asia Master Class Next Week

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits

Albert Einstein 

 

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

Oprah Winfrey 

Asia Scaling Up Master Class – Next Week April 6 - 8
Set for morning Singapore time next week (90-minutes Tuesday for CEOs only, 3 hours Wed and Thursday for teams), a way for you to jumpstart implementation of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0).And if already implementing the tools, but have new people that need trained? It’s a powerful refresher – with new content around pricing, organization structures, strategy, and the gamification of the business. Time to be ambitious and have the tools to go big! Register here.

Go Big Now
Julia Pimsleur's new book Go Big Now teaches 8 essential mindset practices used by entrepreneurs, leaders and high achievers to reach their goals. Mindset is so fundamental, and as Margaret Heffernan suggested, it’s time to be ambitious – Go Big Now! Grab your copy at juliapimsleur.com/gobignow. I’m the cover endorsement and on Julia’s board for Million Dollar Women. Purchase a copy and give it to your children, your team, and anyone that needs to think bigger – a modern version of the first book my dad ever gave me – The Magic of Thinking Big.

Daily/Weekly Meetings 10x ROI
The daily and weekly meeting rhythms are generally well established and effective with the clients we coach – and the benefits are 10x (every minute in a daily, if done correctly, returns 10 minutes of time – so a 10-minute daily returns over an hour and half to your day!). However, in chatting with our coaching partners, the 4 to 8-hour monthly meeting is often missing, as detailed in Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). 

Looking for Examples – Monthly Meeting
Are you using a broader monthly management meeting to connect more cross-functionally and address a critical topic/constraint more deeply? Hosting training and development monthly? We’re looking for companies we can interview and feature in an article on the monthly – email me: [email protected]

Monthly Meeting – Why it’s Critical
P. 187 in Scaling Up details why this monthly leadership meeting is important. In short, there are a dozen significant opportunities/constraints/challenges each year that are only going to be resolved when you get the broader leadership team (senior and frontline leaders – the sergeants!) in a room/zoom for several hours and figure out how to resolve. And in the process of debating, discussing, and deciding – there will be a lot of learning going on – cross-functionally, especially. It was Gene Kirila who first showed me the power of this meeting.

One Thursday Evening Each Month
Gene holds the distinction of being the youngest designated “Hero of Manufacturing” in the US by Fortune magazine – he transformed four industries, including how boat hulls are manufactured. I was coaching Gene at the time and remember participating, for the first time, in one of his monthly gatherings. At 4pm on a Thursday, the broader leadership team of 20 would travel over to Gene’s lake retreat, just miles from his factory in Sharon, Pennsylvania. For hours, sometimes lasting late into the evening, they would debate, discuss, and decide usually one big opportunity/challenge that was facing the company. And I watched as Gene used this meeting to “pass along his knowledge and reinforce the DNA” of the company – lots of teachable moments for everyone. 

Work ON the Business
All the leaders in that monthly meeting were salaried, so it was expected by Gene that they would give up one evening/month to work ON the business. In fact, everyone looked forward to the gathering -- there was plenty of fun and connecting as they would share dinner together, in addition to the formal problem-solving sessions. Again, please go to page 187 in Scaling Up and read how Asiana Housing used their first monthly (70 leaders) to find a way to triple sales. And please email me if you host a monthly meeting similar to what I describe – [email protected]

Canada (and other countries) Needs to Prioritize Scaleups
This Financial Post article, citing multiple studies around the globe, reaffirms that scaleups generate the majority of new jobs and innovation – and specifically urges Canada to support existing scaleups vs. trying to identify potential scaleups. Access to late-stage growth capital is a key barrier – though we find that our Cash tools help alleviate this need, finding that many firms can internally fund their growth via better pricing and customer funding. Thank you to Halifax-based Scaling Up Certified coach James Drage for sharing this important article.

Scaling Up’s Canadian Gov’t Contract
Scaling Up won a pilot contract with the gov’t of Canada to support scaleups. This came about because those Canadian gov’t officials working with scaleups in the crisis noticed that those practicing our tools for thriving vs. the other scaleups – something we’ve seen globally. Scaling Up Certified coach Andy Buyting is leading our efforts to fulfill this contract. Stay tuned. 

Daily Minute – 60 Seconds of Insight
Again, I love quotes, like the one’s above – lots of wisdom in a few words. Here’s a link to this week’s “Daily Minute” to take you into the weekend – share generously and subscribe – they give my day a boost! 

Scaling Up+ Free Virtual Summit - April 22 - Alan Mulally + More... 
Join top Scaling Up partners from around the globe for our second Scaling Up+ Summit of the year, April 22, 2:44pm-4:22pm ET. Speakers include Alan Mulally (former CEO of The Ford Motor Company), Justin Roff-Marsh (founder of Ballistix and author of The Machine), Julia Galef (co-founder of Center for Applied Rationality and author of The Scout Mindset), and Josh Linkner (NYT Bestselling Author and innovation expert). Register for free and learn more. 

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

EDUCATION: 
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
San Antonio, TX - April 7, 2021
Wellington, NZ - April 9, 2021
Ann Arbor, MI / Indianapolis, IN - April 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Gold Coast, Queensland AUS - April 14, 2021
Nashville, TN - April 16, 2021 (Virtual)
Tweed Heads / Byron Bay, AUS - April 22, 2021
Louisville, KY - May 6, 2021 (Virtual)
Cairns, Queensland, AUS - May 11, 2021
Townsville, Queensland, AUS - May 12, 2021
Columbus, OH - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN - May 14, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan – May 20, 2021
San Francisco, CA - May 20, 2021 (Virtual)
Amsterdam - June 3, 2021
Sydney, Australia - June 3, 2021
Colorado Springs, CO - June 9, 2021 (Virtual)
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - June 15, 2021 (Virtual)
Lowell, Michigan - Jul 22, 2021
Salisbury, England - July 6, 2021
Dallas, TX - Aug 12, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Aug 25, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Sep 7, 2021 (Virtual)
Lancaster, PA - Oct 26, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Oct 27, 2021
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)

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

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.

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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here 

Follow our new Instagram account: @scalingup2.0 

COACHING:
Ready to scale but looking for guidance?
Work with a Coach! Scaling a company is hard, but you don’t have to go it alone. Elevate your business with the only end-to-end solution for entrepreneurs that are ready to move past the plateau and get exponential results. Whether you’re in growth mode, planning strategy, raising capital, or navigating a complex economic landscape, Scaling Up's globally recognized coaches leverage effective tools and an evidence-based methodology to empower you to achieve results. Over 70,000 businesses have done it!
Learn more about what it’s like to work with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™ by scheduling a complimentary, personal follow-up. CLICK HERE! Or check out our FAQ’s. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]. 

TECHNOLOGY: 
ScalingUp Scoreboard
Integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems), use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) a real time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.


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