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Longevity in this business is about being able to reinvent yourself or invent the future. |
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Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft |
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Most entrepreneurial ideas will sound crazy, stupid and uneconomic, and then they’ll turn out to be right. |
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Reed Hastings, Founder Netflix |
Bucket List Item – Bike, Hike, Canoe Atlantic to Pacific in 6 Days
Space for 8 biz leaders/guests each adventure – a once in a lifetime opportunity in Panama to bike, hike, and canoe from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 6 days through Jaguar Country – what we call the Transcon for Business Leaders adventure. By special arrangement by the Minister of Tourism and the Kuna Tribe, we’ve hosted a half-dozen of these over the last few years (David Meerman Scott on the first one). Jan 5 – 12; Feb 13 – 20 are the next two. $15,000 ($10k of which is a tax-deductible donation). For more info (the brochure is beautiful).
Getting Important Decisions Right – 4 Steps
There are a few decisions that are so critical you need to get them right! There is a four-step process I learned from a top Russian PhD candidate at MIT who researched good and bad decision making at the senior level. Here is how to know if the decision is good or not:
- Ask yourself/team if you feel like you have 70% of the information needed to make the right decision. You’ll never have 100%. In the case of Coastal Contacts (case in Scaling Up) I could tell they didn't and assigned the senior team a priority of interacting with the clients (4Q questions) for 3 months -- then they came back and made the right decision
- Next, literally put yourself in the alpha state (for me, in the shower or while meditating)
- Speak out loud the decision (don’t just think it) in present tense i.e. "we are launching..."
- Literally check in with your gut – does it feel right in your stomach or did you get a squeezy feeling.
Verbalize the Opposite Decision
Repeat steps 3 and 4 by verbalizing the present tense of the opposing decision. The key is NOT to use the word “not.” So, an opposing decision is not “we are not launching…”. Instead, you would want to verbalize the alternative “we will delay the launch and focus on…”. Does that feel better or worse. BTW, it works!! You can trust your gut if you have sufficient first-hand information, quiet your mind, speak your decision, and check in with this powerful sixth sense.
4-Steps for Dealing with Zoom Fatigue – Stanford Research
Adam Grant’s blog pointed to this Stanford News article by researcher Vignech Ramachandran on a 4-step approach to dealing with zoom fatigue:
- Increase mobility: give permission to walk around
- Reduce eye contact intensity: sit farther away
- Reduce self-consciousness: turn off the self-view
- Reduce cognitive load: hold audio-only sessions
Please take 2-minutes to read the article to understand additional specifics behind these 4 important steps.
The Innovation Stack – Crushing Your Competition
The theme for next Thursday’s complimentary virtual Scaling Up Summit is “Innovation”. Specifically:
- Billionaire Square co-founder Jim McKelvey’s approach to beating Amazon, detailed in The Innovation Stack
- Ron Lovett’s keys to Scaling Culture (the title of his new book)
- Eric Partaker’s simple system for personal performance base on his new book The 3 Alarms; and
- Liz Wiseman’s breakthrough book written for employees titled Impact Players
4 top authors, 24 minutes each – then a “Happy Half-hour” with Song Division. 90 minutes of outlearning the competition – invest in you and your team and “sharpen your saw” as you continue to scale. Oct 21, 2021, 3:21pm – 5:05pm ET. Register for free and get the replay.
Forbes 400 Wealthiest – Fun Facts
A record net worth of $2.9 billion is required to make the cut, $800 million more than a year ago, as the fortunes of the nation’s wealthiest rise a collective 40% over the last year. Jeff Bezos #1 on the list for 2020; but you’ve seen the news that Elon Musk has overtaken him, for now. Fun list to scan this weekend. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
Weekend Countdown – 1-Minute of Wisdom
Enjoy this kickoff to your weekend – some bits of wisdom from a fresh set of wise teachers, updated each weekend.
https://vimeo.com/showcase/weekendcountdown
Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link.
Planning to Exit?
It’s the most critical decision a business owner will make in their lifetime – and over my 40 years of helping firms I’ve seen owners taken advantage of time and time again – leaving tens of millions on the table. You’re up against sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions – whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works. Seeking help, owners find the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). They are not your friend in the process, just another transaction. Email me to get a white paper on what to avoid when exiting verne@scalingup.com.
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.
EDUCATION:
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course
We’re still in business coaching and training firms:
Annapolis, MD - Oct 26, 2021 (Virtual)
Vancouver, BC - Oct 27, 2021
West Chester, PA - Oct 27, 2021 (In-Person)
Lowell, Michigan - Nov 4, 2021
Sydney, Australia - Nov 17, 2021 (In-Person)
Salisbury, England - Nov 18, 2021
Melbourne, VIC, AUS - Nov 23, 2021 (Virtual)
London, UK - Nov 25, 2021 (in-person)
Dallas, TX - Feb 24, 2022 (In-Person)
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.
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. Our Scaling Up Certified Coaches™ are masters at guiding you and your leadership team through the implementation of the Scaling Up Operating system, all with a custom and diagnostic approach to each unique company.
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 coaching@scalingup.com.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI
Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0