The Agile Scaleup

1 in 3 Children; Sisodia; Adele; Rosenzweig; Sept 26 Cutoff

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

Latest ScaleUp News --
SpaceX’s Orbital Starship; WeWork’s Rough Week; Facebook’s Supreme Court; and how a mine in Africa dramatically reduced employee theft - this news and more at ScaleUps.com, your one-stop weekly update.

The Full-Circle Biz Owner Experience --
Russ sold then bought back his firm - more below, but next…

The Healing Organization --
Raj Sisodia, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism with Whole Foods’ founder John Mackey - and co-author of the best-seller by the same name - has a new book out this week titled The Healing Organization. Another brilliantly written and timely book, it shares many real-world examples of how firms are taking a complete stakeholder approach - care for customers, employees, community, and shareholders - and driving superior performance. This Conscious Magazine article provides a good two-page overview and highlights Appletree Answers, the call center business that Scaling Up Coaching CEO John Ratliff scaled to 650 employees while driving down employee turnover to 18% -- one-tenth industry average.

Recession? Time to Prune? But Don’t Layoff? --
The nation’s top CFOs and other indicators are pointing to a recession fall 2020, just before the US elections. We’ve often suggested the talk of recession provides a good reason to clean house - reduce unnecessary expenses, streamline processes, etc - activities you should be doing quarterly anyway. But what about trimming back employees? The article, highlighted above, includes how Detroit-based DTE Energy, during the last financial crisis, went to its 10,000 employees and asked their help to survive, working more creatively and passionately, without laying anyone off The results -- a significant turnaround within a year and a much stronger culture as a result. Raj’s book is full of these specific “conscious” leadership decisions - SPro and Book Club members will receive a copy and Raj is keynoting our May 5 - 6 ScaleUp Summit in Dallas next year. 

1 in 3 Children in US Have One of the 4As (This Needs Healing!) --
Autism, Allergies (food), ADHD, and Asthma now inflict 1 in 3 children in the US earning them the label Generation Rx because of the amount of medication they are taking. Cancer is the leading cause of death in children under age 13. This is an epidemic of huge proportion and all epidemics have a trigger. Robyn O’Brien says it’s our food! Her TED talk has been viewed by millions around the globe and she’s been called “food’s Erin Brockovich” by Bloomberg and New York Times. This 28-minute video details her findings (7:38 in the video is where she shares the facts stated above). It’s our food and children that need healed - and is a true energy crisis in the US, given that our own happiness/energy is tied to the least-healthy of our children. This should matter to all our companies. Thank you to Scaling Up Coach Greg Eisen for sharing.

Again, Daily Huddle Works! (Scaling Up Case Study) --
QuickBox has scaled to over $60 million and 300 employees in 3 years and was just named by Inc. to the top 10% of the fastest growing private companies in America. Notes CEO Stephen Adele:

I too, want to send you an immense amount of gratitude for teaching us the importance of the “Daily Huddle” - among many other great business concepts. (Our growth) is in no small part to our internal mantra (because we serve ecommerce marketers/brands in health and wellness), “the internet doesn’t shut off, so we can’t either” and how that aligns with our daily huddles, across the business units.

14 Business Units, Morning Huddle 365 Days a Year --
Stephen goes on to explain:

EVERY SINGLE BUSINESS UNIT inside QuickBox (14 in total) has a morning daily huddle, 365 days a year. Our huddles are loved by everyone, because they are fast, organized, set priorities and build plans for the day - and we can make business decisions or course corrections quickly. They provide transparency and a high level of accountability. They are the bedrock of our success. Thank you, thank you, thank you! For staying persistent on the foundations of what makes a good business turn great!

Thank you, Stephen and team, for your persistence and discipline. 

Visualization of Major Award Works --
A consumer products company, aspiring to win a major international award, used visualisation. Notes their Australia-based Scaling Up Coach Rob Nankervis,“it was a bold ambition considering their current state of scale and performance. So, my colleague and I dressed in formal attire, dimmed the lights, stood behind a lectern and ran a mock ‘awards’ ceremony where we called them to the stage and asked ‘how did you get here?’. Two years later they were on the real stage in the USA getting the real award.” This stuff works!!!

Full-Circle, continued --
Russ Rosenzweig emailed me to let me know he just bought back the expert witness services firm he sold to Thomson Reuters in 2010. Called Round Table Group, Russ’s story runs the gamut of entrepreneurial journeys -- inventing a new industry, creating one of the first virtual companies, almost folding during the 2000 dot com crash, then growing from 0 to $15m fast, having an exit, and then buying it back. That’s how it works out sometimes. Congratulations, Russ!

Room Cut-off Extended to Sept 26th --
Attending the ScaleUp Summit? To secure the discounted conference rate for hotel rooms at the Anaheim Marriott, the cut-off date is Sept 26 - go to this link. And let us know if you need anything special. See you in Anaheim in a month.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

ORDER a BOX of 20 SCALING UP BOOKS --
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

Looking to take a deeper dive? Join the align5 team at the Exit Strategy Retreat Oct 21-24 in Marathon, FL - same amazing venue as CEO Bootcamp! This event is limited to 5 growth company entrepreneurs. All aspects of the exit process will be covered in depth. Additional benefits for attendees and Retreat amenities detailed at the Exit Strategy Retreat site.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

First Canadian; T. Boone Quotes; Dashboard Saves Life; Sept 19 Room Cutoff

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck.
                                           Philosopher Paul Virilio as quoted in Indistractable

I guess these visualizations really, really work…
                                           Bianca Andreescu, US Open Tennis Champ

Room Cut-off Sept 19 ScaleUp Summit Anaheim --
Attending the ScaleUp Summit? To secure the discounted conference rate for hotel rooms at the Anaheim Marriott, the cut-off date is Sept 19 - go to this link. And let us know if you need anything special. See you in Anaheim in a month.

How a Dashboard Saved Doug’s Life --
This week on ScaleUps.com read how Doug Wick used the same dashboarding system he uses with clients to save his own life - from zero percent chance of survival to cured (know someone battling for their life? Please have them read!). And Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, retired at 55 worth $41.8 billion. This and more news about scaleups at ScaleUps.com.

Indistractable by Nir Eyal --
Released this week and titled Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life” Nir has done it again - written another beautifully titled and written book on the heels of his runaway hit Hooked. Please go to page 228 and review the “Chapter Takeaways” (he summarizes the main point from each chapter - wish I would have thought of that!). Then pick a chapter/topic and dig in - my two favorites are Ch 34 and 35 dealing with indistractable relationships. SPro and book club members will receive a copy next week; then come hear Nir keynote our ScaleUp Summit May 5 - 6, 2020 in Dallas - mark your calendars for two-days of insightful exec ed.

5 Lessons in Mental Strength from US Open Champ --
Last Saturday 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu beat Serena Williams to become the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam tennis title. This Thrive Global article details five mental tactics she used to win, available to any of us. My favorite was writing herself a mock $3.25 million check when she was 15, representing the winner’s check that year at the US Open.  She then updated the check each year, as the amount raised, until she received the real check for $3.85 million on Saturday. Her reaction? “I guess this visualization stuff works!!” Here are the five strategies:

• Visualize, visualize, visualize – she did more than just write a mock check
• Write the check – just like Canadian Jim Carrey
• Be present (with every shot) – her meditation routine honed this skill
• Breathe! – deep breathing calms mind and body
• Dream Big and Get Big – something she learned from her mother

Please take 1-minute to scan the details - and then share with your children!!

Mr. Jenkins’ Two-Questions (Biz Biography) --
Scaling to over $100 million and 453 employees, Jonathan Bancroft, President & CEO of Charlotte, NC-based Morris-Jenkins, shares the lessons he learned from his mentor Dewey Jenkins in a book released this week titled Mr. Jenkins Told Me…. At the heart of Morris-Jenkins’s success were two questions:

1. “How can we give our customers a better experience?”
2. “What can we eliminate, or make easier, so that doing business with us is effortless, happy, and fun?”

Not surprisingly, these two questions are at the heart of what we’re teaching scaleups. First, its not just about the product or service but the entire customer experience. Is every touch point in the business a great experience? Second, the ultimate strategy for every business is to make something easier for the customer. Are you easy to find? Is your website easy to navigate? How does your product/service make a customer’s life/work easier? These two questions are key - ask them at your next quarterly/monthly/weekly gathering.

The Daily Huddle Works (Scaling Up Case Study) --
Eric McDonald shared the following story:

I wanted to relay a quick, funny story with you and show a bit of gratitude. My wife Rachel and I were just on vacation for a week. She learned Gazelle’s methodologies years ago when she worked for a company called Plant Interscapes, and it was years after I had worked with you guys, but your core teachings were still the same.

Anyway, at breakfast, every morning last week, both of our phones pinged at exactly the same time and said exactly the same thing. “Reminder - Daily Huddle”. We’re both people leaders in our respective organizations, and we both, to this day, have a daily huddle with our direct reports. I know you have tons of testimonials, but by my calculations I’ve been practicing a daily huddle for about 20 years now, and her for 10. In case anyone asks, yes, IT WORKS! Thank you!

T. Boone Pickens Has Died at Age 91 --
Both a big thinker and doer, T. Boone Pickens passed away this week from natural causes. Working up until a year ago, I shared, again, from the stage in Mexico City how T. Boone implemented just one-daily routine and turned $2.8 million into $4 billion, which he proceeded to give away. And that routine was the same as John D. Rockefeller and Steve Jobs. He would have breakfast every morning with his senior team to talk and set priorities for the day after an hour of working out (he once challenged Barack Obama, 33 years his junior, to a fitness challenge) and gathering intel from the marketplace. He understood if you want to move faster you have to pulse faster - the daily huddle works!! This Fortune article shares T. Boone Pickens life and philosophies in a series of memorable quotes - please take 2 minutes to take in the wisdom of this “Oracle of Oil” icon of the entrepreneurial world.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

ORDER a BOX of 20 SCALING UP BOOKS --
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

Looking to take a deeper dive? Join the align5 team at the Exit Strategy Retreat Oct 21-24 in Marathon, FL - same amazing venue as CEO Bootcamp! This event is limited to 5 growth company entrepreneurs. All aspects of the exit process will be covered in depth. Additional benefits for attendees and Retreat amenities detailed at the Exit Strategy Retreat site.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Elon in China; Modern Day Rockefeller; Huddle Golden Rules; Chief Executive Interview

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

“Routine sets you free.”

Scaleups.com, the Medium for Growing Firms --
This week we launched a new media property called ScaleUps - the latest up-to-date news, articles, and videos featuring growing firms. Curated each week by Elaine Pofeldt, who led Fortune Small Business online, take a few minutes to scan through the site and read about the “50 Best Private Equity Firms for Entrepreneurs” and how Elon Musk went to China and received tax breaks for Tesla…and more…

Chief Executive Magazine Interview --
One of the most extensive interviews I’ve done lately, for the premier CEO magazine in the world, I loved Editor Dan Bigman’s opening question about what John D. Rockefeller would think of businesses today (hope you agree). I also share what is the most important leader KPI; what is the biggest challenge facing mid-market firms; and we explore a host of other topics including important routines that drive growth. Grab your favorite beverage and take 3-minutes to scan the article. And I keynote their annual CEO Leadership Summit in Dallas. 

Modern Day Rockefeller - Keys to Scale
Not surprisingly, Microsoft is the largest market cap firm. This HBR article details four habits/routines Microsoft uses to maintain a sense of community and “learning culture” among its 144,000 employees – all available to us mere mortal mid-market firms. Specifically:

1. Enterprise-Level Social Networking - key to staying connected around the globe
2. Daily Pulse Checks -- snapshot of how employees are feeling about the company, its culture, and other timely topics
3. Monthly Live Events - chance for employees to connect directly with CEO Nadella
4. “Growth Mindset in Action” Video Series -- to model the shift toward creating a learning organization, to spark dialogue, and to prompt employees to talk about their learnings.

“Routine sets you free.” Check out the short article for more details about each routine. Thanks to Mirko Wormuth for sharing. 

Golden Rules for Daily Huddle (Scaling Up Case Study) --
Intraway CTO Matt Torchinsky attended our 2.5 day Scaling Up workshop with his senior team and came away committed to the daily huddle (the importance of which our competition downplays!). To fine tune his 9-person huddle, he instituted some simple rules. Notes Matt, in an email to me:

What I did?

1. I setup what i called "Huddle Golden Rules" which are:
2. Daily Huddles take, maximum, 15'. Then the call will shut down (no matter who is speaking)
3. If you arrive late, you have the right to listen but not to talk, and must share your updates with the team through slack/hangouts/mail/etc.

What was the Outcome?

1. Everybody started attending the huddle on-time (Everybody wants to talk!!)
2. The team auto-regulates. Having in mind golden rule #1 it turns out that when someone takes too much time the team pushes them to stop (We all want to talk!)
3. Our Daily Huddles take (maximum) 15', therefore we are learning day by day how to improve our messaging and share relevant information!
4. Focus: People understand this is THE call were we (the team) sync up (and it takes maximum 15'!!!), we need them all to focus on the call.

And most importantly, the Daily Huddle works – if you want to move faster you want to pulse faster – and every minute in a daily huddle, if operated correctly, saves everyone 10 minutes – a 10x return on time!  Let us help if your daily huddles need a tune up!

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.
 

Great Scoreboard; Reward A-Players; Moon-Shot Questions; Philly SMP

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

ScaleUp Summit Anaheim --
Join the largest gathering of executives leading scaleups - along with a dozen+ authors of the top business books to outlearn the competition - and have some fun. Ben Horowitz, Chip Conley, David Meerman Scott, John DiJulius, Robert Glazer, Alden Mills, Mark Divine, Santiago Jaramillo, and the infamous Molly Bloom (of the movie Molly’s Game fame) and more.  We’ll host a fun casino party in Molly’s honor with the band Policed. And I’ll be leading an optional half-day Scaling Up workshop included in the registration price. Executive education is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s the single highest ROI of any marginal dollar invested - and the Summit is like reading a dozen biz books, the pace of A-player execs. See you in Anaheim Oct 15 – 17. 

Red Balloon’s Latest BHAG and Scoreboard --
In 2005 Red Balloon founder Naomi Simson, having sold just 7500 experiences, set a BHAG to sell 2 million experiences (representing 10% of Australia’s population) by 2015.Equally important, she put up a big scoreboard and tracked it real time. Results? Her team achieved the BHAG two years early, in 2013. Her latest BHAG is based around “velocity of experiences served” with the goal being 1 per second! Currently they are at 1 per 49 seconds. Are you tracking your BHAG real time? Posted on big scoreboards? 

6 Questions Before Launching a Moon-Shot Project --
This HBR article uses Jeff Bezos’s space ambitions to demonstrate six questions to evaluate the likely success of a significant project. Notes the authors:

We have come to realize that the success of a project largely depends on six questions. Six simple, straightforward, yes-or-no questions. Below, we’ll apply them to Bezos’s space ambitions to analyze and assess the likelihood of his moon shot’s succeeding (literally and figuratively). As you read, apply these questions to your own moon shot projects and make your own assessment.

Not surprising, the six questions are summarized as Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why - the same that have driven the One-Page Strategic Plan for almost two decades. And we would add “should or shouldn’t” - a core values/ethical question Anyway, the more detailed questions in the article are excellent and serve as a quick way to evaluate your ambitious projects. I have a new moon-shot project to bring together the owners of sports team in the US and Europe and using these 6 questions during a key meeting today to assess the likely success - stay tuned. Thanks to Steve Hall for sharing.

Rewarding A-Players --
Our 180+ coaching partners participate in a Yammer channel where they support each other in coaching you. This week one of the partners posted “A client has asked how she should better understand the drivers/motivations of her A-Players and appropriately reward them to inspire and retain that valuable talent. Interested in what others have done.” Another partner responded with an excellent list:

• Provide them with stretching assignments, challenges and projects.
• Ensure that they have a line manager/ leader as their Boss/ Coach. Nothing pisses off A players more than having a poor boss
• Remove C players from the team. Again, nothing frustrates A players more than having to put up with DoDos
• Provide regular coaching and 1-2-1s. Ensure that they have a clear progression route to grow up through the company
• Provide them with ongoing business education. Gazelles Growth Institute is great for this and you can set up specific pathways.
• Take the time to recognize their efforts and thank them for their contribution. Employee recognition is one of the key facets of employee engagement.
• Conduct a strengths finder exercise and ensure that they are in a role that plays to these strengths.
• Make sure that you are removing all the barriers that are preventing them from doing their job.
• Ensure that you are rewarding them with the right remuneration for the results that they are achieving

ScaleUp Masters’ Program (SMP) Coming to Philadelphia --
Feb 24 - 26 is the kickoff of our next SMP. It’s an opportunity for five firms to coming together quarterly for a year to master the tools/techniques of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0).  The program integrates all our offerings - coaching, learning, and our technology platform that gives you a real time scoreboard to drive execution. For more information go to this link.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Ben Horowitz; Tim Ferriss; Significant BRT Statement; Two Webinars

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

Leading Two Webinars Next Week --
Aug 27 2pm – 3pm ET I’ll be with Emplify’s founder/CEO Santiago Jaramillo (keynoting our Summit) to discuss 5 strategies for employee engagement. Aug 28, 1pm ET, I’ll share the top 3 Barriers to Scaling Up.

VC Ben Horowitz’s New Book --
Following on his huge bestseller The Hard Thing About Hard Things (hope you read) venture capitalist Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz fame and co-founder of LoudCloud, which he took public, has a new book coming out this fall called What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture Hardcover. Reserve your copy now. And we’re thrilled that Ben is keynoting our upcoming ScaleUp Summit along with a dozen other top biz thought leaders and authors - Oct 15 - 17, Anaheim. A chance for your team to meet a thousand other leaders of scaleups and immerse yourself in the latest executive education powering the top scaleups in the world. Outlearn your competition.

This from Tim Ferriss - “Email policy I’m still using and benefiting from” --
I remain a huge fan of Tim’s “5 Bullet Friday” blog. This is from his blog last Friday and aligns with a preference I’ve expressed within our own firm:

Five.sentenc.es. “Five.sentenc.es is a personal policy that all email responses regardless of recipient or subject will be five sentences or less. It’s that simple.” Here is an example text to place in your signature: “Q: Why is this email five sentences or less? A: http://five.sentenc.es.” I discovered this ages ago in a guest post from Leo Babauta. As he wrote, “I limit myself to five sentences for each reply (at the maximum - many replies are even shorter). That forces me to be concise, to choose only the essentials of what I want to say, and limits the time I spend replying to email. Keep them short, but powerful.”

One Topic Per Email and Subject Line Matches --
In addition, I prefer just one-topic per email with a Subject line that matches the message. This way you can easily forward/connect people that need to help address the email. And if sent an email with more than one topic/request, reply to each separately, changing the subject line to reflect the specific topic.

Significant Business Roundtable Announcement --
It’s been all over the biz news this week - 181 CEOs, members of the Business Roundtable, signed a joint statement saying that corporations should no longer value shareholder profit above all. This Fortune article details the 300-word statement by some of the world’s top CEOs. In essence, corporations should balance the needs of customers, employees, suppliers, and communities with that of shareholders. Duh!

Harvard’s Dr. John Kotter Discovered This 30 Year Ago --
Balancing the needs of employees, customers, and shareholders has been at the center of Scaling Up/Rockefeller Habits from the beginning. And this was based on the landmark research done by my friend Dr. John Kotter at Harvard. In an 11-year study of 200 blue chip firms spanning 22 industries, he found that companies which equally balanced the needs of these three stakeholders wildly outperformed (by over 700%) those firms that put “customers first” or “employees first” or “shareholders first.” This was documented in Dr. Kotter’s classic book Corporate Culture and Performance published in 1992. I had just launched the MIT “Birthing of Giants” program and I put his research at the epi-center of our teachings. It seems practical ideas take decades to enter the mainstream - happy large corporations are finally catching up!

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Looking to sell the business in the next 18 to 36 months? Want to avoid the traps many sellers fall into with today's buyers? You can download the white paper Seven Traps Sophisticated Buyers Deploy Against Unwary Sellers from align5 advisors here

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Email Mistake; Saban’s Advice; Walmart’s Response; AMC’s Record Results

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

Mediocre people don’t like high-achievers - & high-achievers don’t like mediocre people.
	Coach Nick Saban

$2.99 Kindle Version - Steve Mariotti
Favor?  If you’ve received at least $2.99 of value from my insights; if you think youth entrepreneurship education is worthy; and if you believe school teachers are important - please support my dear friend Steve Mariotti’s new book Goodbye Homeboy: How My Students Drove Me Crazy and Inspired a Movement. Steve founded NFTE, teaching entrepreneurship around the world to inner city youth. It’s a fun story and worth $2.99 to support Steve!  Please purchase or gift to someone - maybe a school teacher - thank you.

Happiness vs. Engagement --
It’s a critical distinction and one Santiago Jaramillo, founder of Emplify (a SaaS tool for measuring and managing employee engagement), details in his book Agile Engagement: How to Drive Lasting Results by Cultivating a Flexible, Responsive, and Collaborative Culture. Go right to Chapter 2 and understand that happy employees aren’t necessarily engaged and acting in the best interests of the organization. SPro and book club members will receive a copy of Santiago’s book - then come hear him and a dozen more biz thought leaders keynote our fall ScaleUp Summit in Anaheim Oct 15 - 16.

Walmart CEO’s Instagram Post --
It’s instructive to see how biz leaders respond in a crisis. Here’s Yahoo Finances’ post highlighting Walmart CEO Doug McMillon’s response to the shootings at their El Paso store. He notes “we’re a learning organization” and he promises to be “thoughtful and deliberate” in their decisions arising from this tragic act of violence.

Was Email a Mistake? - A Case for the Daily Huddle
This New Yorker magazine article by past Summit keynoter Cal Newport traces the history of asynchronous communication starting with the “tubes” at CIA headquarters. In short, what organizations are discovering is that email is a terrible way to address challenges and solve problems. Notes Cal:

Recently, the founder and C.E.O. of a publicly traded technology company told me that he spends at most two or three hours a week sending and receiving e-mails; he has replaced most of his asynchronous messaging with a “regular rhythm” of meetings, which allows him to efficiently address issues in real time. “If you keep needing to send me urgent messages, then my assumption is that there’s something broken about the way you’re doing business,” he said.

Cal goes on to describe how Silicon Valley discovered the power of a daily huddle:

The idea that a quarter of an hour of structured synchrony is enough time to enable a full day of work might sound preposterous, but, for more than twelve million software developers, it seems to be working.

Bingo! The Scaling Up daily huddle brings the power of this synchronous communication to the entire organization - something our competitors dismiss as too difficult to implement, thus allowing organizations to leave massive amounts of money and time on the table. A regular “meeting rhythm” has been at the heart of our performance platform from the beginning and will be forever - humans were designed to talk.

No Bad Industries; Just Bad Leadership --
In an industry which saw revenue drop almost 4% this past quarter, AMC Theatres, based out of Kansas City, saw revenue jump over 4%, profits 122%, and record-setting attendance according to this Forbes article. Not surprising to me given I spent over $150 last night taking my three sons to the movies (dine-in) to celebrate my youngest son’s 12^th birthday. And because I’m a member of AMC’s loyalty program, I don’t even think to go to any other theatre. Lesson? There are no bad industries; just bad leadership. Hope you’re leading your industry or give us a call!

Nick Saban on “A” Players --
The famed college football coach Nick Saban, in this 1-minute Facebook post, makes a great case for having all A Players on your team. His advice includes the quote above. Thank you, John DiJulius, customer service guru, for sharing this link with me when my sons and I visited his family this week outside of Cleveland.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Soul Dies; “Warbers”; Best Biz Dev; Want Industry Attention?

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

Soul of a ScaleUp - 3 Keys --
This July HBR article by Harvard Prof Ranjay Gulati, though titled for startups, captures perfectly the three things his research found drive the “soul” of an organization:

1. Business Intent - how do you plan “to make history” (great question)
2. Customer Connection - Nike’s Ekins gathered customer insights and fed back to HQ
3. Employee Experience - less about “fun” and more about giving “voice” and “choice”

Though these might not seem novel, I really like how Gulati frames each in the article – using plain language (like voice and choice) and examples. It’s worth 2-minutes to read and then ask “are we doing these three simple things” in our company? 

How the Organization’s Soul Dies --
Gulati goes on to detail how a vibrant soul ends up dying inside the organization.  He acknowledges that as companies scale they need to add discipline and systems.  However, if not done carefully…

…there is a danger that added bureaucracy and “new blood” will cause workers to feel stifled, customers to feel disconnected, and an organization’s entrepreneurial flair to disappear. I interviewed several seasoned “growth stage” CEOs who’d been brought in to replace the founders of companies and who, despite the best of intentions, quickly squelched the spirit of those enterprises.

Gulati concludes by sharing how to “Preserve the Soul” with concrete ways Warby Parker (using “Warbers”) and Netflix did just this.  It’s a well written article worth the time to read.  Thank you to Susan Packard, founder of HGTV and author of Fully Human (keynoted our last Summit), for alerting me to this article. 

Customers, not Technologies, Disrupt Markets --
I’m jumping up and down -- I love when a book/article discerns a key insight different from the norm. In this HBR article, Thales S. Teixeira, author of Unlocking the Customer Value Chain, shares a fantastic insight:

Disruptive startups enter markets not by stealing customers from incumbents, but by stealing a select few customer activities (emphasis added). And the activities disruptors choose to take away from incumbents are precisely the ones that customers are not satisfied with.

Please read that paragraph again and again – it’s at the “activity” level (where Michael Porter says differentiation happens) that disruption occurs. Find out what activities within an industry/service are driving customers crazy and fix those!!! Please read this article for the extensive list of examples. Thank you, Steve Hall, for sharing.

9 Best Biz Dev Books --
This is a little dated (May 2019), but I like both Benzinga’s list of top business development books and how this online publication summarizes each below the list. And several are industry focused – biz dev for law firms, biz dev for professional service firms, etc.

Most Interesting Obscure/Insightful “Fact” for the Weekend --
Things are not always as they appear. Why do most Egyptian sculptures have broken noses? Seems they were damaged on purpose. Sculptures were not art; they were representative of a specific person/tribe. What every part was damaged indicated what power they wanted to take from that person’s spirit i.e. grave robbers would break off the nose of the sculpture (representing breath) to “kill” the spirit so it wouldn’t haunt them. If the left arm was broken off, that prevented the spirit from giving; and if the right hand was broken off that prevented the spirit from receiving alms. This article provides more details, but now you know!!

Want Positive Attention in Your Industry? --
Involved in your trade association? I enjoy keynoting these industry-driven events and having you introduce me on stage. I generally rate highly and I’m able to incorporate one of your best practices in my presentation - giving you broader visibility (and kudos) among your peers. Email me verne@scalingup.com if I can help. 

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Who’s #1; Pay Daily; Most Profitable; Publicity for Your Firm

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

A fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.
	Ageless wisdom

Fun 2-Minutes --
Enjoy this 2-minute sizzle reel from the last Summit - and yes, the young man in the video is my 11- year-old son Quinn. See you in Anaheim for the next Summit.

It's About TIME: How Businesses Can Save the World (One Worker at a Time) --
Are you scaling your business on the backs of your employees’ cash? This is the first book published by Conscious Capitalism and authored by Safwan Shah. Founder and CEO of PayActiv, this 21-minute keynote details why business owners need to think seriously about the frequency with which they pay employees, particularly frontline workers. It used to be that workers were paid daily, so why aren’t they today? Seems fair and would eliminate the payday loan industry. And if you’re not paying daily, then you have to consider that you’re scaling your business using cash due employees! Safwan’s firm allows companies to do just this - pay workers daily, critical for those employing lower paid frontline people. Please consider it.

It’s About Time for Canada (and all countries) to Focus on Scaleups --
Reinforcing the importance of scaleups - the unsung heroes of economies - this IT World Canada article highlights how Canada, like most countries, doesn’t need more startups. What it needs are more scaleups - a message we’re shouting from the rooftops in the countries in which we operate. Thank you to Scaling Up Certified coach Rob Nankervis for sharing.

Publicity for Your Firm? --
The “scaleup” message is important to all your communities. As such, one angle you might take, in garnering some local or industry publicity, is to talk to the publication editors about the importance of featuring scaleups - and that you’re a viable example if they are looking for one. And if they need an outside expert to validate this important economic fact, I’m happy to help add some color commentary to the piece in support of your firm and scaleups in general. The article above can be a useful starting point in your conversation with the editors.

Global 500 List - Fun Facts
For the first time China has more companies on the list than the US - 129 vs. 121. With a total revenue of $32.7 trillion (roughly 40% of global economy) and combined profits of $2.15 trillion the average profitability of the Global 500 was 6.57% in 2018. And employing just 69.3 million people, less than 1% of the global population, the average revenue per employee is a whopping $471,861. Hail the Fortune Global 500 for their amazing productivity.

Walmart, Aramco, Walmart, Apple --
Walmart took top honors, again, for both revenue ($514 billion) and number of employees (2.2 million). In turn, Saudi Aramco beat out Apple for most profit -- $110 billion vs. just $59 billion! Where Apple continues to crush the entire list is not revenue, but profit/employee -- $451k -- just under the average revenue/employee for the entire list. Conclusions for us mere mortals? Profit should be 3x - 5x your industry, so pick a firm or two off the list and compares numbers. Second, brand and process matter - which is why these firms have pricing power and can drive 3x the revenue/employee of mid-market firms.

…And Only 14 Female CEOs --
This is up from 12 last year and will go to 15 in September when Julie Sweet takes the helm at Accenture.

50 Most Valuable Sports Teams – More Fun Facts
Forbes released their list with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (yea!) and New York Knicks comprising the top five. In general, sports teams have been a great performing asset class. Why? Because they are “shows” people want to watch real time, so no one is skipping through commercials - and the merchandising potential. 

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Thinking about selling the business for $40 million or more? Want to get 25% to 200% more than you thought? Request the whitepaper from the Exit Strategies Summit at Harvard from Verne Harnish at verne@scalingup.com   

WRITE AND PUBLISH A BOOK to Grow Your Business and be THE Authority in your space. My publisher and friend Adam Witty at ForbesBooks has streamlined the process. forbesbooks.com/scalingup  for more information and to take their Authority Assessment

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Molly’s Game; Must Break Rules; Mktg the Moon; London and Shannon, Ireland

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

New 2^nd Wealthiest --
This week the world has a new #2 wealthiest person, moving ahead of Bill Gates. Representing the power of brand, Bernard Arnualt saw the stock of his LVMH firm (Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, etc.), the largest luxury goods firm in the world, soar. The Frenchman’s net worth of $107 billion is 3% of France’s economy! Lesson? With all markets becoming increasingly more crowded, it’s important you establish a solid (luxury?) brand in your industry so you can maintain strong margins and lower marketing costs. Do you have a strong brand? Enough hyper-focus on a niche? A good actual name to create brand?

Youngest “Hero of Manufacturing” Available --
Gene Kirila, who transformed several industries and was named by Fortune magazine the youngest “Hero of Manufacturing” at the time he was recognized, is available. After suffering a health scare, he’s back in the game to assist anyone in the manufacturing world wanting to revolutionize their industry - he has this unique ability. And he’s one of my “students” who taught me more than I taught him. Feel free to email Gene directly genekirila@trepsystems.com. Welcome back Gene - the world needs your genius.

Molly’s Game - Come Meet Molly!
Did you see the movie Molly’s Game (link to movie trailer)? It’s based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe. The real Molly Bloom is keynoting the ScaleUp Summit Oct 15 – 17, Anaheim - her story is not to be missed! And enjoy the movie this weekend if you’ve not seen it.

The Way of the SEAL --
Mark Divine was a CPA with an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business - then he became a Navy SEAL. Along the way he’s launched six multi-million-dollar businesses. Combining all this with 25 years of martial arts training and fifteen years of yoga training, he’s created a program to help anyone become an elite operator. He’s codified all this in his award-winning book The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed. Book club and SPro members will get a copy next week; then come hear Mark keynote our fall ScaleUp Summit Oct 15 – 17. 

Think Offense, All the Time --
Maybe it’s because of some tough situations I’ve faced this year, but my favorite chapter in Mark’s book is Principle 8 “Think Offense, All the Time” -- and specifically read “Rules to Break Right Now” - there are 8 of them. As they say, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. In that same chapter is a section titled “Execute with Velocity and Agility.” Mark’s book provides an entertaining reminder of some core attributes of successful leaders of scaleups. It’s a quick read - enjoy! Then see you in Anaheim!

Marketing the Moon, Apollo 11 50th Anniversary --
Saturday marks the 50^th anniversary of landing the first person on the moon. Here's a 6-minute mini-documentary by Retro Report and New York Times about the marketing aspects of Apollo that features marketing guru David Meerman Scott who co-authored the book Marketing the Moon (worth showing your children). It’s a preview of the PBS American Experience mini-series that David helped produce. The lesson? NASA, using video and images and wonderful writing, turned reluctant taxpayers into fans and these fans into supportive taxpayers.

Fanocracy --
David’s new book Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans (releases Jan 2020) details how us mere mortal biz leaders can do the same as NASA. It means getting savvy using content. David will be keynoting our ScaleUp Summit Oct 15 – 17, Anaheim and will open with a mid-market company example. So be one of the first to hear one of the two biggest marketing gurus share his lates ideas. And borrowing from David’s book title, the theme of the fall Summit is “Raging Fans.” The Tuesday evening event should not be missed!

Verne In London and Shannon, Ireland --
Join me in London 24^th September for our ScaleUp Summit where I lead a half-day Scaling Up workshop followed by several well-known CEOs and biz thoughts leaders. Then I head to Shannon, Ireland 26^th September for a one-day “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0” Scaling Up workshop.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Thinking about selling the business for $40 million or more? Want to get 25% to 200% more than you thought? Request the whitepaper from the Exit Strategies Summit at Harvard from Verne Harnish at verne@scalingup.com   

WRITE AND PUBLISH A BOOK to Grow Your Business and be THE Authority in your space. My publisher and friend Adam Witty at ForbesBooks has streamlined the process. forbesbooks.com/scalingup for more information and to take their Authority Assessment

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.

Travel Warning; Global Warning; Core Competencies Riff; March 10 – 13, 2020 CEO Boot Camp

Dear ScaleUps, 

Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights/opportunities to help you outlearn/outthink the competition.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
                                                     Anne Lamott from Tim Ferriss’s Blog

Core Competencies: A Critical Understanding About Your Business --
Below I riff on this important aspect of your business strategy, but first…

CEO Boot Camp March 10 – 13, 2020 --
We’ve added an additional CEO Boot Camp hosted in Marathon, FL. The website includes a short video by CEOs who have participated.

Never Use Airport USB Charging Ports – Or Cords Laying Around
This Forbes article details how hackers are targeting travelers using public USB charging stations. In addition, never use a charging cord or random USB storage device you may find laying around – chips hidden inside can hack your computer and steal your data. This intel courtesy of X-Force Threat Intelligence at IBM Security. Thank you, Matt Giltner (our team member Missy Giltner’s son), for sharing this important article/warning as we travel.

Going Global – 75% of the Global Market Outside US
This year the global GDP is estimated to be $88 trillion, up from $34 trillion the end of 1999. This one chart cleverly shows the distribution of this GDP (from 2017 – latest actual numbers).

For businesses based in the US, please note that the US is less than a quarter of the global economy now (used to be 60+%). Thus, if you DON’T go global you’re missing out on 75% of the opportunities. And for firms in other countries, the opportunity is even larger! Plus, the best defense is offense – get in other markets before your competitors get in yours. Yes, there are barriers, but this is an advantage if you can figure it out. It’s why Scaling Up is in 16 languages with coaches on six continents. Here’s a link to that chart.

5 Ways to Foster a Global Mindset --
The best way to go global is to find an existing customer doing business in other countries and see if you can support them there – this way you have immediate revenue to support your next overseas activities. And it’s helpful to foster a global mindset within your organization/culture. This July HBR article details 5 ways to do this. Written by Nataly Kelly, VP of International Operations and Strategy at Hubspot, these are the two most important in my experience:

1. Brand your global initiatives i.e. let’s get “global ready” – make it a theme
2. Hire people with international expertise and exposure – and travel yourself

At our fall ScaleUp Summit (Oct 15 – 17, Anaheim) we’ll be hosting a ScaleUpX talk by a firm that helps place international interns in companies. And for those of you in CEO organizations, take advantage of your global networks and attend their “universities” so you meet members from other countries. Thanks to Steve Hall for pointing me to this article and reminding all of us to “think global” – and hope your vacation travels take you to faraway places like Sitges, Pula, and Halifax, where I visited the last couple of weeks! All beautiful.

Core Competencies --
Taking a line from Wikipedia “A core competency is a concept in management theory introduced by C. K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel.^[1] It can be defined as "a harmonized combination of multiple resources and skills that distinguish a firm in the marketplace" and therefore are the foundation of companies' competitiveness.”

Most companies only have one or two. What Hamel warned was confusing "what we're good at" for core competencies -- though the #1 brand promise often points to the core competency. Apple's core competency is design. Honda's is engines. FedEx’s is logistics. And you can discern a core competency often from a core product as well. I found this article to be helpful.

In the article it uses this additional definition "a core competency refers to a company's set of skills or experience in some activity, rather than physical or financial assets." When I was working with 3M, it was just two -- innovation (now they are calling it "science") and partnering with distribution partners.

The other thing that's critical is that an organization, like 3M, can decide it needs to become competent in a specific thing -- and as the literature states, this is something that takes years of prioritization, process improvement, and resource allocation i.e. you decide its critical and you invest time and attention. Toyota did this when it fully embraced Dr. Deming's methodologies and has been refining them ever since into what we call Lean. Back to 3M, they continue to refine what it means to do "science" right.

So, for growing firms is more "we need to become competent at something." I feel like that's what we've done with our online learning. Daniel Marcos’s team has continually refined "how" to deliver online education that is practical and useful -- the hybrid model -- and the results of their years of efforts are starting to show. A major venture firm is rolling out our online MBD to the 800 firms in their portfolio. Hilton, which was named the "Best Place to Work" this year (surprisingly) for their investment in education, has been using some of our online courses. London Business School switched from Coursera and went with our learning platform for their John Mullins' “cash” course. We knew we needed to gain a competency in online education two decades ago if we were going to make it convenient for firms all over the globe to access the top thought leaders.

What are your one or two core competencies? And what core competency do you need to continue to hone to give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace? Take time to explore this during your weekly “council” meeting.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 6 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. Aug 20 - 23, 2019 (Sold Out); Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24; Mar 10 - 13, 2020.

EXITING: Thinking about selling the business for $40 million or more? Want to get 25% to 200% more than you thought? Request the whitepaper from the Exit Strategies Summit at Harvard from Verne Harnish at verne@scalingup.com   

WRITE AND PUBLISH A BOOK to Grow Your Business and be THE Authority in your space. My publisher and friend Adam Witty at ForbesBooks has streamlined the process. forbesbooks.com/scalingup for more information and to take their Authority Assessment

COACHING:

Have you ever wondered if working with a coach might accelerate your company's growth, exponentially? Do you have what it takes to move the dial from good to great? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more. 

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization.

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at coaching@scalingup.com

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability - Drive Execution with Align, cloud-based software designed to scale up your Rockefeller Habits implementation. www.alignwithscalingup.com - on your computer, tablet or phone. Click here to watch an introductory video.

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.