Rockin' like a 1980s waterbed!
Bob Robinson Jr., KAIVAC
Long vision, short stride.
Kyle Rossin, founder MangGear, a performance attire
CEO Boot Camp – Sept 19 – 22, Lake Tahoe
With just two spots left, join 6 other CEO/COO teams for 3 intense and impactful days with me. I’ll open my 40+ years of contacts and insights to you in helping you scale whatever aspect of the business or your life you want. Hosted in beautiful Lake Tahoe, CA everything is inclusive except your travel to get there. www.ceo-bootcamp.com
Going to the Moon – Elevate and Ignite
With 18 patents and 16 pending, KAIVAC is aiming for a billion in revenue. Inventors of the “no touch” restroom cleaning machine, in 2020 they brought on Scaling Up Coach Rick Crossland and saw revenues triple from $16 million to over $50 million in 36 months while their number of employees only doubled from 70 to 140. This Scaleups.com article details how Bob Robinson Jr. and his team are navigating a significant inflection point in their biz using our tools and have expanded into a wide range of flooring, kitchen, and other cleaning machines.
KAI – Kick Ass Inventions
Always up for having fun (a must if you’re cleaning restrooms and floors!), Robinson and his team take the first three letters of their company name and create inspiring phrases like Keep At It, Keep Always Improving, and Kick Ass Inventions! And hanging in their 250,000 sq ft. factory just north of Cincinnati are signs representing FIGS – core value-like phrases that set the tone for decision-making throughout the organization. Are your Core Values visible and actionable?
Four-Person Video Team
One of KAIVAC’s secret weapons is its four-person video team which creates first-class product demo videos (https://kaivac.com/demos). They also take time to create some fun videos to kick off their quarterly themes. Their latest 8-minute video highlights their “going to the moon” 3rd qtr. theme which they used to kick off their latest planning session a couple weeks ago. Please take 2 minutes to read through the article and take a look at their impressive website. No doubt they are heading to a billion.
Marshall Goldsmith – Avoiding Life’s Biggest Regret
This Chief Executive article details how CEO coach Marshall Goldsmith (of What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There fame) faced a scary life-and-death moment and realized his biggest regret: “I wished that I had done a better job of recognizing and thanking all of the people who had been so nice to me.” Marshall now has a system he uses and teaches CEOs to use in giving positive feedback an important and critical ritual. Please take 2 minutes to read his recommended system – it’s very easy and doable!!
Maybe Critical -- Accounting Function Working Remote?
This Fortune article notes that bankers are 5 times less likely to engage in financial misconduct when working from home. It seems bad behavior is contagious (groupthink) so it’s much less likely to occur if people are working remotely. Maybe it’s worthwhile having your accounting department work remotely as well?
Top 100 Brands by Value (Fun Facts and Cool Visuals)
Amazon nudged out Apple for the top global brand ranked by value with Google and Microsoft coming in at #3 and #4. This Visual Capitalist chart provides a nice visual of the results – and it’s a cool site for visualizing lots of interesting data! Half the brands are based in the US. Samsung at #6 was the highest outside the US. Thank you to Paul Berman for sharing.
Heading to Barcelona?
My youngest son Quinn (16) is heading to Barcelona for boarding school. With three of my four children based there, I’ll be spending more time between Boulder and Barcelona. If you come over, Barcelona’s Sips, an innovative “drinkery house” was just named World Best Bar!! See you over there!
Order a box of 20 Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Get the box of 20 Scaling Up books here and the box of 20 MRH books here for less!
Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >
Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with 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, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover 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). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].
SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive workshops to optimize your company’s performance.
(list of workshops below)
Boulder, CO – Aug 1, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Aug 10, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Aug 11, 2023 (In-Person)
Brussels/Paris/Geneva – Aug 16, 2023 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – Aug 16, 2023 (Virtual)
Denver/Englewood, CO – Aug 24, 2023 (In-Person)
Brussels/Paris/Luxembourg/Geneva – Aug 25, 2023 (Virtual)
Johannesburg, South Africa – Sep 4, 2023 (In-Person)
Brussels/Paris/Geneva – Sept 5, 2023 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia - Sep 5, 2023 (In-Person)
Barcelona, Spain – Sep 6, 2023 (Virtual)
Hong Kong / Singapore – Sep 6, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Sep 12, 2023 (In-Person)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad, India – Sep 13, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Sep 14, 2023 (Virtual)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 4, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Oct 12, 2023 (Virtual)
Dallas, TX – Oct 25, 2023 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 2, 2023 (In-Person)
Hong Kong / Beijing / Singapore – Nov 8, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada - Nov 9, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Nov 9, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Nov 14, 2023 (In-Person)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad, India – Nov 15, 2023 (Virtual)
Dallas, TX – Dec 6, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Dec 7, 2023 (Virtual)
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.
TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up 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
COACHING: 
Does it feel as if your business has hit a wall? If you don't see a clear path forward, it's a good time to bring in a coach. All of our Scaling Up Certified Coaches™ are masters at guiding you and your leadership team through the implementation of the Scaling Up Performance. Our promise is a custom diagnostic approach from Day 1, including how we match you with a coach. We even have a team member dedicated to helping you find the perfect Scaling Up Certified Coach.™ Schedule a complimentary, personal follow-up. Or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]
Did you miss previous insights? - read here
Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0
Connect with Verne on LinkedIn: Verne Harnish
Follow Verne on Twitter: @agilescaleup
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI
Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights
*This email newsletter may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
« June 2023 | Main | August 2023 »
July 28, 2023
July 14, 2023
McKinsey’s “Stagility”; CEO Excellence Revisited; 6 Mindsets; Aug 2 Launch
The CEO role is the intersection of all contradictions.
Jacques Aschenbroich, CEO of Paris-based Valeo
If everything is under control, you’re going too slow.
Mario Andretti, Race Car Driver
Thank you for investing 15 minutes to stay current as a scaleup leader.
CEO Excellence Revisited
What is the Fortune 500 CEOs reading? Among a few books, McKinsey’s CEO Excellence is one of the biggest vote-getters. In an exhaustive study (which I trust McKinsey to do), they identified six crucial mindsets, which I’ll list below. They note “the best CEOs are excellent in a few areas and do a solid if not exemplary job in the others.” More importantly, it’s full of very practical ideas any executive can utilize. Please read or listen to it.
1 Great Replaces 3 Good
In our Scaling Up Compensation book (hope you’ve read it) we emphasize you’ll find for ALL roles at least a 3:1 ratio between a great vs. good employee. Same with CEOs. Notes McKinsey:
As CEO counselors, we know that how a person performs in the CEO role matters. CEOs who rank in the top 20 percent of financial performance generate, on average, 2.8 times more total return to shareholders (TRS) during each year of their tenure than do average performers.
Focus on attracting and retaining these A-Players – whom you can afford to pay up to twice as much if they measurably deliver 3x or more performance.
The Six Mindsets
Grab a Kindle version of CEO Excellence and go to the Table of Contents (TOC). You’ll see the book is organized by the six mindsets with 3 “practices” each – so 18 practices in total. Simply reading through these I found helpful – a sort of CEO Checklist! I’ll highlight a couple ideas:
- Direction-Setting Mindset – Make big moves early and act like an outsider when it comes to allocating assets.
- Organization Alignment Mindset – Find the one thing and solve for “stagility”. They also recommend NOT putting employees first.
- Mobilize Leaders Mindset – use operating rhythm to get into a groove and make the team the star.
- Board Engagement Mindset – tap the wisdom of elders and focus on the future. Aligns with our idea of choosing advisers that align with your 3 – 5 year Key Thrusts.
- Stakeholder Connection Mindset – focus on having a social purpose and stay elevated above the fray.
- Personal Effectiveness Mindset – to manage your time and energy, focus on sprints -- and remain humble while living your “to-be” list
What is “Stagility”?
McKinsey uses the example of architecture. Early skyscrapers didn’t budge, which proved to be fatal. New skyscrapers are designed to flex. The same with your strategy and organization, which we call being an “Agile Scaleup.” Maintain strong structural integrity (values, purpose, BHAG, brand promises) while providing flexibility in priorities. That’s why believing anyone can identify “attainable goals” and swim lanes violates both the idea of being bold early and maintaining flexibility.
Great Employee Experience
Tiffany Bova, whom we’ve hosted on our stages, also has a complimentary and excellent book titled The Experience Mindset released a few weeks ago. Endorsed by the who’s who, her HBR article details the 5 factors that make for a great employee experience. In summary:
- Mutual Trust – it’s a two-way street between the C-Suite and Employees
- C-Suite Accountability – are you listening to your employees? Only 31% of employees agree.
- Alignment of Values and Vision – has the C-Suite clearly articulated both
- Recognizing Success – “what you appreciate appreciates”
- Seamless Technology – focused on making the employees’ jobs easier
Please take 2 minutes to read the details. As several who have emailed me suggested, implementing the Rockefeller Habits checklist accomplishes all five of these. Always good to see these ideas reinforced.
C-Suite Leadership Model – Master 9 Skills Online Ex Ed
To bring all the above together for you, we’ve partnered with the creator of Rand Stagen’s leadership program – and are bringing this powerful C-Suite Leadership Model to you online -- transforming leaders across the globe. There are 3 fundamental leadership pillars you’ll master that align perfectly with Scaling Up: Strategy, Team, and Execution. Then you'll master 9 unique skills for a powerful leadership transformation.
Click here to learn more: https://hubs.li/Q01Xvz9S0
Order a box of 20 Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Get the box of 20 Scaling Up books here and the box of 20 MRH books here for less!
EDUCATION:
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course
Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >
Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with 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, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover 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). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].
SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive workshops to optimize your company’s performance.
(list of workshops below)
Denver, CO – Jul 17, 2023 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad, India – Jul 19, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Jul 20, 2023 (In-Person)
Boulder, CO – Aug 1, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Aug 10, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Aug 11, 2023 (In-Person)
Denver/Englewood, CO – Aug 24, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Sep 5, 2023 (In-Person)
Grand Rapids, MI – Sep 12, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada – Sep 14, 2023 (Virtual)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 4, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Oct 12, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 2, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Nov 9, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Nov 9, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Nov 14, 2023 (In-Person)
Dallas, TX – Dec 6, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Dec 7, 2023 (Virtual)
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.
TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up 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: 
Does it feel as if your business has hit a wall? If you don't see a clear path forward, it's a good time to bring in a coach. All of our Scaling Up Certified Coaches™ are masters at guiding you and your leadership team through the implementation of the Scaling Up Performance. Our promise is a custom diagnostic approach from Day 1, including how we match you with a coach. We even have a team member dedicated to helping you find the perfect Scaling Up Certified Coach.™ Schedule a complimentary, personal follow-up. Or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]
Did you miss previous insights? - read here
Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0
Connect with Verne on LinkedIn: Verne Harnish
Follow Verne on Twitter: @agilescaleup
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI
Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights
*This email newsletter may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
July 07, 2023
Eat mor chikin; Virtuous Flywheel; Hire Culture; Covert Cows
A good name is to be more valued than great riches.
Chick-fil-A referencing Proverbs 22:1
Culture is the soil from which great brands grow, but only if leaders cultivate the soil.
Steve Robinson, former CMO Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A – YPO Southern 7 Family U
Last week I keynoted YPO Southern 7’s Family University. With over 700 in attendance, one of the highlights for me was former Chick-fil-A CMO Steve Robinson’s keynote and workshop. He held that role for 34 years and was responsible for the “eat mor chikin” campaign among other brilliant marketing and strategy moves. I learned so much about what makes Chick-fil-A so phenomenal from this amazing leader. Following are some of the key points – read and emulate!
Simple and Straightforward
It’s hard to be simple. There’s not a lot of fluff in what Chick-fil-A does. They’ve listened intently to the voice of the customer and have innovated a simply stated strategy in a straightforward and uncomplicated way. That’s the genius of their business model. Here are some examples.
Virtuous Flywheel
What great brands accomplish is getting people to come more often, pay full price, and tell other people. One key – rather than discount, they give away over 20 million sandwiches each year at events as a way of letting people sample the product.
Where Good Meets Gracious
Can you state your strategy simply? Chick-fil-A’s is “Where Good Meets Gracious.” Good reflects the technical quality of what they deliver, and Gracious reflects the style of service they provide. Notice they are not claiming to be great food. In turn, thanking the customer with “our pleasure”; making sure all tables have flowers; tables are cleaned without asking; drinks are refilled before requested; and people outside at drive-thru’s -- these are ways customers are treated graciously.
Who, What, How (Strata 2 of our 7 Strata of Strategy)
Whom we serve: For choosy people in a hurry.
What we give them: We are the premium fast-food restaurant that passionately serves America’s most loved chicken by people who really care.
The way we do it: In a way that is generous, uncomplicated, unexpectedly fun, innovative, and enthusiastic. In short, we aim to be “REMARK”able.
How Do They Maintain and Measure REMARKable?
They do massive amounts of mystery shopping in their stores to maintain a “consistent hospitality experience” -- consistency is key to a brand. Using the Net Promoter System (NPS), they’ve learned that customers that give them a 10 (on a scale of 0 to 10) account for 60% of their sales; 9s and 10s account for 80% of sales. Presently, 20% of customers give them a 10 – these are their customer ambassadors – raving fans. Impressive that they know this and manage to this precision. As Steve stated “all measurement is customer and store up” not corporate down.
They Hire Culture, They Don’t Train for It
Interviews of store owners/leaders can take months!! If chosen, you become wealthy. And no store owner has more than two stores – they want ownership to be onsite. Interestingly, Chick-fil-A owns the stores, land, etc. The local “owner” instead gets 50% of the profit. The other 50% goes to HQ and underpins a bonus structure at HQ that encourages everyone to help store owners become more profitable – everyone is rowing in the same direction. FYI, Chick-fil-A also gets 15% of the topline to support marketing, innovation, and operations. Your compensation design matters!!
Marketing Matters
I emphasize in Scaling Up that marketing is the key function for scaling. Chick-fil-A agrees. Every store has a marketing director – and most of the marketing spend is at the street and store level with decisions made locally by the store’s marketing director!!
Every Customer Contact Is a Brand Point
Steve’s team identified almost two dozen customer touch points – like the drive-thru experience. Each touch point has a cross-functional team (designer, engineer, finance, team lead, etc.) that is responsible for continually improving and innovating that specific brand point of contact with the customer. Insights and decisions are driven by constantly seeking the “voice of the customer.” In their case, focus groups work in addition to constantly measuring using NPS, phone calls, and mystery shoppers. Many of the innovative and improvement ideas come from the store level up.
Internal 10x Advantage
One key was studying Lexus’s approach to lean and moving from a 20% defect rate (inconsistency) to 2%. This was their internal 10x improvement – what we call the X Factor in Scaling Up.
Cannot slow things down!!!
And ALL decisions are measured against one final metric – it cannot slow things down!!! What is your Moneyball stat?
Product to Experience to Emotion
Overall, Steve helped move Chick-fil-A, thru the “eat mor chikin” campaign and other attributes, from being just a product to an experience to creating an emotional connection with the market. Whereas all other fast-food restaurants are advertising their food, offering discounts, etc. – the “eat mor chikin” billboards and commercials (with mor and chikin spelled wrong!) created an emotional connection with customers. How can you do the same in your market – the key to creating raving fans who “come more often, pay full price, and tell other people.”
Let us, at Scaling Up, help you accomplish the same
Our coaching partners were briefed last week on what I learned – and we continue to learn. Scaling Up has the most up-to-date 250+ educated coaching partners in the world. We’re continuing to learn and grow from the proven practices of others and ready to help you scale.
Order a box of 20 Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits books
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Get the box of 20 Scaling Up books here and the box of 20 MRH books here for less!
COACHING:
Does it feel as if your business has hit a wall? If you don't see a clear path forward, it's a good time to bring in a coach. All of our Scaling Up Certified Coaches™ are masters at guiding you and your leadership team through the implementation of the Scaling Up Performance. Our promise is a custom diagnostic approach from Day 1, including how we match you with a coach. We even have a team member dedicated to helping you find the perfect Scaling Up Certified Coach.™ Schedule a complimentary, personal follow-up. Or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to [email protected]
EDUCATION:
Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course
Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >
Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with 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, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover 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). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play [email protected].
SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive workshops to optimize your company’s performance.
(list of workshops below)
Houston, TX – Jul 11, 2023 (In-Person)
Hong Kong / Singapore – Jul 14, 2023 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Jul 17, 2023 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad, India – Jul 19, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Jul 20, 2023 (In-Person)
Boulder, CO – Aug 1, 2023 (Virtual)
Toronto, Canada – Aug 10, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Aug 11, 2023 (In-Person)
Denver/Englewood, CO – Aug 24, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Sep 5, 2023 (In-Person)
Grand Rapids, MI – Sep 12, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada – Sep 14, 2023 (Virtual)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 4, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Oct 12, 2023 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 2, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Nov 9, 2023 (Virtual)
Grand Rapids, MI – Nov 9, 2023 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia - Nov 14, 2023 (In-Person)
Dallas, TX – Dec 6, 2023 (In-Person)
Toronto, Canada - Dec 7, 2023 (Virtual)
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.
TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up 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.
Did you miss previous insights? - read here
Follow Verne on Instagram: @scalingup2.0
Connect with Verne on LinkedIn: Verne Harnish
Follow Verne on Twitter: @agilescaleup
Read Verne's Insights on Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SX13YI
Sign up for Verne's Weekly Insights
*This email newsletter may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.