The Agile Scaleup

1 Word; #2 Biz Book; Being Decisive in 4 Steps; April 8 Cutoff

"...out-learning the competition" 

HEADLINES:

One of the richest learning experiences today (National Growth Summit Australia) and a killer close - good job. When we first met 4.5 years ago our market cap was 12 million; today it's 170+/ Gazelles has contributed to that.
	Charles Gregory, CEO Silver Chef Limited

Your Success Hinges on One Word -- both your business and career success hinge on one word - something Richard Branson, Donald Trump, and others have nailed -- and my latest LinkedIn Influencer blog post provides the details. Take 2 minutes to scan the post and "follow" me if you would like automatic updates.

#2 Biz Book -- speaking of owning a word, Dan and Chip Heath release their latest book today, debuting as the #2 biz book (hard to beat Sheryl Sandberg's book right now). Brilliantly entitled Decisive, they outline a four-step process for overcoming bad decision making - and humans are notoriously bad given some inherent psychological issues we face including overconfidence and short-term emotional attachment. The four steps they abbreviate as WRAP:

1. Widen your options.
2. Reality-test your assumptions.
3. Attain distance before deciding.
4. Prepare to be wrong.

Worst Decision-makers -- when it comes to forecasting, pundits and experts are the worst - particularly in the realms of investing and politics. Drawing on Daniel Kahneman's brilliant book Thinking, Fast and Slow, this March 22 NY Times Op-Ed piece outlines how a Penn/Berkeley team seems to be besting everyone when it comes to forecasting - a space where it looks like foxes beat hedgehogs (vs. Jim Collins' conclusion when it comes to driving biz strategy). If more accurate forecasting is critical to your business, this article is worth the 3 minutes to read (and study!).

#1 Biz Speaker Dan Pink -- right now the undisputed #1 biz speaker on the circuit, Dan Pink keynoted the National Growth Summit in Australia hosted by our partner Karen Beattie, founder of The Growth Faculty. The new material from his latest book To Sell is Human is outstanding. Hard to believe there hasn't been a new book on selling in the top 100 bestselling books for quite some time. Dan is the opening keynote for our upcoming Leadership Summit in Orlando, May 9 - 10 - he's not to be missed.

YPO International Workshops -- I'm leading three 2.5 day "Making the Rockefeller Habits Rock" workshops for YPO in Europe, US, and Asia (India 2014). The US session just opened for registration this week - limited to 15 YPO firms - Oct 24 - 26, Las Vegas.

April 8 Cutoff -- our cut-off date for the $169/night group rate for the Leadership Summit hosted by Fortune is April 8. And the rate is available three days before and three days after if you want to stay a few extra days and soak in the sun or bring the family down. Here's a link to reservation details.

April Rockefeller Habits Workshops -- 4 Jacksonville, 10 Boston, 17 Milwaukee, 17 Vancouver, 17 San Antonio, 23 Houston, 24 Denver, 25 Memphis, 26 Las Vegas.

#1 Book; Bossy Girls; God's Architect; Four Things Men Need to Do; Grand Rapids March 20

"...keeping you great" 

HEADLINES:
 

As men get more successful, they are better liked by men and women; as women get more successful, they are less liked by men and women.
	Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook

#1 Book This Week -- a book for both men and women, Sheryl Sandberg's book entitled Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead soared to #1 this week of all books. Here's a link to a quick interview of Sandberg by Fortune magazine where she highlights the likeability gap I quoted above. As COO of Facebook, she is probably the most powerful and influential woman biz leader in the world. Take 3 minutes to read and watch her interview where she also outlines 4 main messages for men in helping women (outlined below at the end).

Bossy Girls -- and this 11 minute interview of Sheryl Sandberg, on the highly-acclaimed news program 60 Minutes, is something I'm having my 9 year old daughter watch tonight with the rest of the family. I particularly love her observation that when a girl is called bossy, it's because she's a leader!! Sandberg points to all kinds of credible research on why women get held back resulting in a loss to themselves, our companies, and the world.

Top School Leadership -- one of the top women biz gurus and former VP of Oracle University, Liz Wiseman (author of Multipliers), has a new book out next Tuesday entitled The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools. I've already gifted a book to the headmaster of our children's school. Co-authored with two educators, the book takes a deep dive with more than 100 of education's best leaders and explores the five disciplines that distinguish Multipliers from Diminishers and how these leaders attract and develop talent, as well as harness new ideas and energy to drive educational innovation.

Read the foreword by Clayton Christensen (Innovator's Dilemma guru) here: Get access to Chapter 1 of the book here:

Accidental Diminisher Quiz -- Is it possible that, despite good intentions, you've been accidentally diminishing the people on your team (like me over all these years - why Liz's first book was so painful for me to read)? Take this 5-minute quiz to find out.

Why The Multiplier Effect is an important Idea for both Business and Education

1. We face what might be the challenge of this decade: To rethink and revitalize education at a time when the life we are preparing students for is changing as fast as our budgets are shrinking. We need leaders who can mobilize all the energy and intelligence in their schools. And, we need to do this across all our schools.
2. In the current economic realities, we can't afford schools that operate on a fraction of the intelligence inside them.
3. Our businesses need an education system that delivers new graduates who enter the workforce with critical thinking skills and able to lead in a new era where a leaders job is to access and unleash the talent and intelligence of others.
4. The Multiplier Effect has a suite of extremely practical tools for any leader (in business or education) who want to begin practicing Multiplier Leadership. The ten, one-page "Multiplier Learning Experiments" and the "Accidental Diminisher Workarounds" are alone worth the price of this book.

Four Things Men Can Do - back to Sandberg's book, below is the short list she outlines in her short interview and elaborates in the book - and she tells a couple relevant stories in the interview that highlight what she means:

1. Help women sit at the table; help women reach opportunities
2. Push back on the success and likeability gap
3. Have the honest conversation about sponsorship and mentorship
4. Help women navigate through the child rearing years

And I like how she describes her brother's handling of the pregnancy question in the interview

God's Architect - Antoni Gaudi -- BTW, check out the short piece 60 Minutes produced on Gaudi's famous SagradaFamilia - another reason I love Barcelona. It aired during the same episode as Sandberg's interview.

Grand Rapids, MI -- first one-day workshop of the spring season - March 20. This is our 15th year of offering workshops - going strong because the tools/methodologies work. Below is list of full spring schedule - book a refresher course.

Don't Read This Book; What Strategy Isn't; Scorecard Sample; Crowdfunding for Dummies

"...out-learning the competition" 

HEADLINES:  

Reading the books you recommend is changing the way I think and work for the better.
	Jamie Johns, Managing Director Sky Accounting Solutions

Sample Topgrading Scorecard -- superior to a job description, constructing a scorecard for a position is the first step in the Topgrading hiring process. Toby Jenkins, CEO of Australia-based Bluewire Media, has written an excellent blog on how to construct a Scorecard along with a sample. And he explains why his team enjoyed doing the process for each of their jobs. REMEMBER: Certification as a Topgrading Practioner is available (every company should have one) - the online classes start this week with private coaching (go at your own pace) - and 50% discount for additional executives/managers from the same firm wanting to take the classes together.

What NOT to Read -- the biz world has been a buzz about the former CEO of P&G's new book Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works (love the title). So I grabbed a copy and dug in this past weekend. Wow, I couldn't have been more disappointed. It's definitely not a book for mid-market companies - too vague, too complicated - and it doesn't seem like P&G really had to make the kinds of tough choices the rest of us mere mortals have to make. Plus P&G isn't doing so great right now, so whatever they learned hasn't stuck. The measure of a great CEO is if their predecessor is able to succeed.

Five Questions -- in turn, I love these five key questions upon which the book is based (my interpretation in brackets), but I didn't get any real help figuring these out - there are much better resources, like Bob Bloom's book Inside Advantage (best strategy book I've ever read):

1. What is your winning aspiration? (BHAG)
2. Where will you play? (Sandbox and Core Customer)
3. How will you win? (Michael Porter's differentiated "activities")
4. What capabilities must be in place? (Key Thrusts/Capabilities)
5. What management systems are required? (this is new)

What Strategy Isn't -- and I thought Lafley did a great job of outlining what strategy is NOT - taken from Fortune's summary of the book:

• Strategy isn't a vision. A vision tells you nothing about how to achieve your goals.
• Strategy isn't a plan. That's just a set of tactics. A recent blog post by Martin called "Don't Let Strategy Become Planning" has gone viral in managerial circles.
• Strategy isn't optimizing the status quo. Getting more efficient is always good, but it's a far cry from a strategy.
• Strategy isn't following best practices. Some managers think getting really good at what the best players are already doing is a strategy. No, say Lafley and Martin: "It is a recipe for mediocrity."

OK, those were the two good parts. Now go re-read Bob Bloom's book Inside Advantage.

Crowdfund Investing For Dummies -- and a shout out to Sherwood "Woodie" Neiss and his partners who single handedly pushed through crowdfunding legislation in the US and just released a book, Crowdfund Investing for Dummies, helping entrepreneurs prepare for this funding opportunity to publicly raise up to $1 million without filing expensive IPO documents. WARNING: the SEC missed the Dec 31, 2012 deadline for setting the new rules. UGH! Here's a quick update on the situation.

You Already Know How to be Great -- Alan Fine, a top tennis, golf, and executive coach, has written an excellent book on how to get out of your own way. He's found the biggest obstacle to improved performance isn't NOT knowing what to do; it's not doing what you already know. Considered one of the fathers of modern executive-coaching, Alan has created a one-hour online course that outlines his GROW model for peak performance (something he's taught several PGA and Ryder Cup champs as well as top execs at IBM) plus how to have real faith in your own abilities!! Those that have watched the course are already raving about it. However, like all our online courses, there's a full money back guarantee. Watch at your next monthly management meeting or play in the background as you do email.

India and Australia Growth Summits -- I'll be in India next week and Australia the following week for our Growth Summits. Dates and locations below.

Everyone a Salesperson; Dan Pink's Latest Book; 4 Keys to Economic Growth; Ft. Myers Jan 9

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:  

The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is, you're a salesman, and you don't know that.
	Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman

Need Acquisition Capital? -- I met up with a friend over the New Year who is distributing $100 million of capital for acquisition financing of private companies. If you need $10-30 million for acquisitions in Q1 or Q2 this year... shoot me a note and I'll introduce you.

Everyone a Salesperson? -- an insight reader asked me for a great book that all the non-sales people in their company could read that made the point that everyone is really in sales!! I struggled to come up with a book, though I thought Dan Pink's (author of the huge bestseller entitled Drive) upcoming book To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others might be the perfect read (Dan had mentioned he was writing this book to me a year ago after keynoting our 2011 Growth Summit). And it is!! Released Dec 31, it's already in the top 10 of all biz books and will surely be one of the smash hits for 2013.

1 in 9 in Sales -- this, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is the number of Americans in some form of sales position. In turn, as most growth firm leaders know, the other 8 play a role in sales as well. The key is helping them understand this and giving them the support and skills to be helpful. This is what Dan Pink's book does - in a highly entertaining and readable format. One interesting trend, not only in Pink's book but others, is the focus on introverts - and why they are able to "move people" in ways extraverts can't. The first review on Amazon provides a great summary of the book, but you'll need to scan it for the specific "how to's." This book is worthy of your book-of-the-month club.

Antifragile Children Part 2 -- if you're looking for an overseas experience for your high school student, without having to move the entire family, Pam Krulitz, Managing Partner of Isis Associates, sent two recommendations. Her daughter has participated in both - thus the references to her below:

1. School Year Abroad - Year-long programs with rigorous academics and living with families in China (where my daughter went), Spain, Italy or France. The program was founded by a consortium of boarding schools, and draws heavily from about 40 independent schools around the country, but anyone is welcome to apply. Its boarding school prices, but need-based scholarships are available.
2. United World College - 2-year residential IB program in one of twelve United World Colleges around the world. Over 130 countries, including the US, have national committees that select students to represent their country at the UWC's, so the kids literally live and study with students from around the world. 50 American students are selected each year to attend, and receive a full scholarship courtesy of Shelby Davis. 25 go to the school in New Mexico and the rest go to the other schools around the world (Wales, Canada, Norway, India, Swaziland, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.). My daughter is finishing her second year at the UWC in Hong Kong. It's a fabulous program, and I'm always surprised that it's not better known.

Concludes Krulitz, "Both programs have a very good track record of college placements."Pam thank you for sharing this information.

Economic Formula for Growth -- my January "Growth Guy" column weighs in on four significant challenges countries and economies are facing around the globe - education, R&D, exports, and competitiveness. There's some surprising statistics and suggested best practices from economies/countries that are thriving.

Ft. Myers, FL Jan 9 -- this is the first Rockefeller Habits workshop in 2013 and our 11th year of offering the course.

Google CEO Interview; Antifragile Businesses; Kaggle.com; Brain Hurt

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

WARNING: maybe I've been drinking too much spiked eggnog this holiday season, but this insight is full of a lot of stuff that hurt my brain just trying to digest the ideas - but I sense it's important stuff.

Google CEO Exclusive Interview -- Larry Page, co-founder of Google, and CEO since April 2011, granted only his second wide-ranging print publication interview since taking over the reins. Therefore, I was excited to see what he had to say. Sadly, unless I missed something (re-read the interview three times - first brain hurt), I learned nothing. Was he hiding all the good stuff? If so, why give the interview. If there's nothing more, should we worry about Google? Here's a link to the Fortune interview - seven minute read.

Simplicity? -- Or is it the case that Page's brilliance is in the ultra-simplicity of his thinking/focus (he has better focused the teams within Google). Take his response to the question about the future of search "The perfect search engine would really understand whatever your need is. It would understand everything in the world deeply, give you back kind of exactly what you need." Huh? I could use some help here from my insight readers - if you have the inkling, please read the interview and help me see what I missed! I'll reprint the best insights.

$10k Prize Saves Company Millions -- Get the crowd solving your problems using prizes. And with prizes you only pay the winners vs. funding a bunch of losers (why don't governments take this approach!). Peter Diamandis's latest blog outlines how you can use the competition platform Kaggle.com, like Allstate did, to improve the algorithm they use to set your rates. Take 2 minutes to peruse Kaggle.com to see some of the competitions hosted by GE ($3 million prize), Facebook (prize -- you get hired!), and the Colorado Department of Education ($5000 prize) - OK, a government agency did host a prize. Then read Diamandis's blog outlining the 4 steps for creating your own competition.

Hire 600 Scientists for $10,000 -- notes Diamandis "In that (Allstate) competition, 600 data scientists, composing 300 teams, sought to improve Allstate's internally developed vehicle-risk assessment algorithm (brain hurt #2) -- what it uses to set your rates based on your probability of having an accident. The winners of the $10k prize demonstrated a 340 percent improvement in predictive accuracy over Allstate's best internal algorithm!" Continues Diamandis," I can't imagine how much such an improvement is worth, but I have little doubt that this $10k purse will eventually drive hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars of additional profits." Do you have a bunch of data that needs crunched to identify new patterns/opportunities? Create a competition on Kaggle.

Antifragile (BIG BRAIN HURT) -- this is the title of genius Nassim Nicholas Taleb's latest book (27th Nov). Subtitled "Things that Gain from Disorder", I just started reading it this past weekend and it is another brilliant and game-changing piece of thinking/writing on par with my favorite book of his last decade, The Black Swan. In essence, anything that is antifragile is more than resilient; it actually gets better when stressed or shocked or exposed to risk and uncertainty - like our bodies, the economy, and our businesses.

Overprotective -- A key premise of the book is that naturally occurring antifragile (and complex) systems that have survived for eons are weakened, even killed, when deprived of stressors, the same way muscles atrophy if you spend a month in bed. So in our attempt to take all the risk out of situations, like neurotically overprotective parents, those trying to help are often hurting us the most - in education, healthcare, the economy, our businesses, etc.

Skin in the Game -- and my favorite line in the book so far, which summarizes another key premise of the book "...the largest fragilizer of society, and the greatest generator of crises (is the) absence of 'skin in the game.'" Continues Taleb "we are witnessing the rise of a new class of inverse heroes, that is bureaucrats, bankers, Davos-attending members of the I.A.N.D. (International Association of Name Droppers), and academics with too much power and no real downside and/or accountability. They game the system while citizens pay the price. At no point in history have so many non-risk-takers, that is, those with no personal exposure, exerted so much control." That's why it's so important to create systems where everyone has some skin in the game - in our societies and our businesses ala Jack Stack's classic book "The Great Game of Business."

Holiday Biz Gifts -- What a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over this month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits with a personal note in each) - maybe The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business and provide important historical information on 18 of the greatest business decisions ever made. Bulk discounts available.

CFO Outlook; Top 5 Biz Books 2012; Reverse Aging; Holiday Gifts

"...keeping you great (and healthy!)"

HEADLINES:

CFO Outlook Report -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch is proud to have sponsored the 2012 FORTUNE Growth Summit. For insights on what CFOs are thinking on the economy, priorities and prospects of business growth, please view their complete CFO Outlook report - worth the read!!!

Top 5 Biz Books 2012 -- my annual Top 5 Must-Read Book list is published in the latest Fortune magazine (Nov 12) and online. Those attending our Fortune Summits this year heard from three of the authors; the fourth, Jim Loehr, will present at the Leadership Summit May 9 - 10, Orlando. Take 2 minutes and see how many of the five you've read.

Thanksgiving Gifts --Thanksgiving in the US - a perfect time to thank customers for making a great decision to do business with you. And what better gift over the next month of holidays than a book (put a box in your trunk and pass out at biz luncheons and customer visits) - maybe one of the top 5 or The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time - something quick to read that will spur ideas for their own business. Bulk discounts available (36 to a box).

Reverse Aging/Look Younger/More Energy. More years and more energy -- what every growth company executive needs to fulfill their vision. As such, I've been part of a five-year initiative to slow, and in many cases reverse, the aging process. The key nutraceutical supplement is Stem Cell 100. So far no side effects, just subtle positive changes over time.

Manhattan Beach Project -- David Kekich, the founder of Maximum Life Foundation, started the Manhattan Beach Project to Reverse Aging by 2033 and works with virtually everyone in the life extension field including Ray Kurzweil, Aubrey de Gray (author of Ending Aging), Michael Fossel (author of Reversing Human Aging), Bill Faloon (co-founder Life Extension and editor of their magazine), Michael West (founder of Geron and CEO of Bio Time, Inc.) and many others.

Smart, Strong, and Sexy at 100 -- this is the title of David Kekich's ebook. Subtitled New Skin, New Hair, New You...7 Simple Steps to Strive at 100, spend $150 and get Stem Cell 100; David's 318 page ebook; three products that rejuvenate the stem cells in your face to look younger; and an anti-aging diet and exercise plan - and you'll also be sponsoring his Boulder, Colorado-based Centagen project. David is running an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign. I signed on for the $1000 level and had my 45 minute call last week with one of the top life extensive PhDs in the world, Dr. Bryant Villeponteau - picked up 8 ideas. He's also the project director of the Centagen initiative and formulator of Stem Cell 100, which has benefited me greatly. This is as serious team doing serious work.

Relevant at 87 -- Gazelles200 member Mike Maddock posted a moving Forbes column on what entrepreneurs have in common with Mother Teresa (who passed away at age 87) - and references a needlepoint that Mother Teresa had placed on the wall of her small concrete room in Calcutta. Its famous words are likely familiar to you, but always worth re-reading.

Two Short Interviews -- Max Nisen with Business Insider interviewed me last Friday and produced two very short online articles (1 minute each to read) - one on how "Entrepreneurs have a Superman Complex that holds them back and the other on "When success is the biggest roadblock to success.

18 Buffett Lessons; 101 Deal-Making Maxims; Go Big or Go Home; Tom Searcy Seminar

"...out-learning the competition"

HEADLINES:

"Think big or go home. At the beginning of an annual stockholder's meeting, Buffett tapped the microphone to see if it was on: "testing . . . one million . . . two million . . . three million."
	Tom Searcy, author of How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett

101 Deal-making Maxims -- above is just one of the 101 fun and insightful maxims Tom Searcy highlights in his new book How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett: Lessons From the World's Greatest Dealmaker. Author of several books including Whale Hunting and RFPs Suck, Tom specializes in helping companies land the big deals that are transformational to your business. In his latest book, he shares 18 specific lessons from Warren Buffett like "Only Deal with Dealmakers" (boy is that true!!). Sprinkled among the specific lessons are the maxims - makes for a fun read as he shares the details of some of Buffett's biggest deals.

Four Most Important Lessons -- and in the online seminar he just produced for Gazelles Growth Institute, he goes deep into the four most important lessons for landing big deals - including specific "how to's" and a great Buffett story to anchor each lesson. He then touches on three additional lessons of the 18 from the book. I like when an author chooses the best of their own list to save us time and provide additional focus. It's a useful presentation for your next sales meeting or for anyone in the firm that needs to think bigger. There's a nominal charge for the online seminar and always a money back guarantee if you didn't find it insightful. Here's a link to the seminar.

One of Us -- before Tom Searcy was 40, he had headed four corporations, each of which he took from annual revenues of less than $15 million to more than $100 million. Notes Tom, "Those were fantastic experiences for me, but I discovered along the way that what I really love doing is working with others to help them have the kind of experiences I had." The first step is adding a few zeros to your own thinking.

Highlights -- Amazon does a nice job of highlighting some of my favorite "Warren Ways" from the book:

Warren Way #22: Choose quality. "It's better to own a portion of the Hope diamond than 100 percent of a rhinestone." Warren Way #41: Deal making is a no-called-strike game. "You don't have to swing at everything--you can wait for your pitch." Warren Way #75. Think long term. "Our favorite holding period is forever." Warren Way #92. Don't do deals just to do deals. "We don't get paid for activity, just for being right." Warren Way #98. Think for yourself. "My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror."

Likeable Business; Owning a Word; Listening for Leads; Smarter Hearts

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

I sold my company and part of our success came from your Rockefeller Habits which provided us with a great framework for growing our business. Thank you.
	Brendan Byrne, CEO and Founder of Wolf Medical Systems

Likeable Business -- this is the title of Dave Kerpen's latest book released last Friday. Gazelles 200 and book club members will receive their copy next week. He outlines the 11 principles of likeable businesses: listening, storytelling, authenticity, transparency, team playing, responsiveness, adaptability, passion, surprise & delight, simplicity, and gratefulness - and then goes into detail about how to executive on each one. Dave will also keynote the Leadership Summit next May 9 - 10, Orlando.

Listening At Scale -- when you get the book, go right to the section entitled "Listening at Scale Through Social Media" (middle of Chapter 1). He suggests going to twitter.com and enter the name of a product or what you do i.e. if you're a dentist, enter the words "dentist" and "looking for" and see what people are saying. If you're a big enough company, also enter the name of your company and the words "I wish." It's amazing what you'll learn - I know I did.

Listening for Leads -- ...then continue in that same section and read about IBM's Listening for Leads program. These are the kinds of detailed specifics I appreciate Dave sharing throughout his book. It's time for all of us to up our game in the social media space.

Fast Growth Company -- FYI, Dave's firm Likeable Media, started in 2007, made the Inc 500 list of the fastest growing firms in 2011 (#118) and 2012 (#149) with triple digit revenue growth for four consecutive years, so he's one of us - and practices what he preaches as he helps thousands of small businesses become "likable" to their customers.

Owning a Word -- the side lesson to learn from Dave is the power of jumping out and owning a word - Likeable -- and then taking to heart David Meerman Scott's admonishment that "we are what we publish." This is why his firm is growing so rapidly. Dave has latched onto a concept and has written extensively on the topic - books, blogs, articles, etc. What is the word(s) you need to own in the mind of your best target customers (the first strategic decision you need to make) - and then hire a journalist or videographer to help you start "owning the ink and images" around those words.

US Air Listening? -- Seems they are. I have noticed a change in the airline many of us enjoy affectionately calling US Scare - and that's because Doug Parker, the CEO of US Air, is listening. Taking a page from the Rockefeller Habits (Checklist item #5), Doug is taking one hour each week to meet with 40 pilots and flight attendants - he talks for 10 minutes and listens for 50 minutes. This is the kind of qualitative data leaders must gather WEEKLY and use to adjust course. Take 30 seconds to read the Fortune "Best Advice" segment on Doug's weekly routine.

The Heart Grows Smarter -- loved this this NY Times Op-Ed piece and this line "In case after case, the magic formula (success and happiness) is capacity for intimacy combined with persistence, discipline, order and dependability. The men who could be affectionate about people and organized about things had very enjoyable lives." Worth the 3 minutes to read.