The Agile Scaleup

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.

Gates’ Biggest Mistake; Best Article 2019; Jack Nicklaus Example; Reverse Bucket List

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

…it just all came back in how to play
	Jack Nicklaus, miraculous Masters win in 1986

Best Article of 2019, So Far --
Titled “Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think: Here’s how to make the most of it,” this epic Atlantic (July) article by the brilliant Arthur Brooks might be the most important article you read in 2019. Grab your favorite beverage this weekend and take 20 minutes to absorb his ideas as you navigate your own professional career. In short, innovate then mentor/coach/teach. More below, but first…

Bill Gates Biggest Mistake --
Sitting at over $1 trillion in market cap the past few weeks, it’s impressive that Microsoft is leading its younger rivals – Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, etc. And Microsoft would be even further ahead if Bill Gates hadn’t made one huge mistake, according to himself. This CNN Business piece details that mistake and what caused it – lessons for all of us (danger of distractions, wrong team, etc.).

Mythical “Head of Marketing” --
The CEO is the default “head of marketing” and not understanding this can put your designated CMO at a huge disadvantage. Marketing guru Seth Godin’s blog post last week is the finest explanation of this conundrum and what you must do about it – and he suggests a more accurate title might be “head of marketing operations.” All CEOs and CMOs please read Seth’s insightful thoughts on this important topic. Then sign up for his daily blog.

Jack Nicklaus, The Bear --

Last week I shared the stage with golf legend Jack Nicklaus at the Bloomberg CEO Summit and then had the opportunity to chat one-on-one with “The Bear.” I want to come back to some powerful insights he shared, but first let me revert back to the Brooks article I referenced above which will provide important context.

Professional Decline --
Notes Arthur Brooks in The Atlantic article, “The data are shockingly clear that for most people, in most fields, professional decline starts earlier than almost anyone thinks.” Clearly this happens with professional sports figures, like Jack Nicklaus, who felt extremely lucky to win a major after age 40. What ultimately depresses people as they get older is the feeling of becoming irrelevant. So what’s happening that causes this decline and how to remain relevant?

Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence (Two Best Paragraphs) --
Brooks explains, “A potential answer lies in the work of the British psychologist Raymond Cattell, who in the early 1940s introduced the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Cattell defined fluid intelligence as the ability to reason, analyze, and solve novel problems-what we commonly think of as raw intellectual horsepower. Innovators typically have an abundance of fluid intelligence. It is highest relatively early in adulthood and diminishes starting in one’s 30s and 40s. This is why tech entrepreneurs, for instance, do so well so early, and why older people have a much harder time innovating.

Crystallized Intelligence --
Brooks continues, “Crystallized intelligence, in contrast, is the ability to use knowledge gained in the past. Think of it as possessing a vast library and understanding how to use it. It is the essence of wisdom. Because crystallized intelligence relies on an accumulating stock of knowledge, it tends to increase through one’s 40s, and does not diminish until very late in life.”  This is why non-fiction writers - especially historians - peak much later than novelists!

Be Johann Sebastian Bach, not Charles Darwin --
So, what is the gist of the article? The key to remaining relevant is to pivot from doing to teaching. In Bach’s case, he spent the last 10 years of his life writing a book on how to create fugues - The Art of Fugue -- long after his ability to compose fugues had declined. In turn, Charles Darwin tried to continue to remain a relevant researcher and ended up deeply depressed the later years of his life. For Brooks, he’s taking his own advice and has resigned as President of the prestigious think-tank American Enterprise Institute just as this article was published -- and is going into teaching.

Serve, Worship, Connect --
Which brings me back to Jack Nicklaus. For a brief moment in 1986 Jack’s body “remembered how to play golf” on the back 9 of the final round of the Masters. Coming from four strokes back and winning by one-stroke, it’s arguably the greatest comeback in the game of golf. But more importantly, Jack kept it all in perspective, pivoting to designing golf courses and then spending the bulk of his life “in service.” As Brooks suggests, we need a “reverse bucket list” as we age, taking things off our plate instead of putting more on. To that point, Nicklaus is auctioning off his famed Rolex watch which he’s worn for 50 years. Expected to fetch tens of millions of dollars, all the proceeds will be donated to the children’s hospital Jack and his wife have supported for years. And Jack was at the Bloomberg CEO Summit to give back to all of us - to teach us what it means to age gracefully in our unique profession. Thank you Brooks for a beautifully written article; thank you Nicklaus for your sage example; and thank you Nathan Gray, one of my sensei’s as co-founder of Geoversity, who pointed me to this important article.

Watch 20-Minute Keynote Bloomberg CEO Summit --
And for those interested, here’s a link to my keynote at the Bloomberg event - some new material focused around the critical topic of talent.

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, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Different Brownies; Better is Bad; Unique is Unstoppable; Culture Award

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

"Better is unsustainable, unique is unstoppable"
	Denise Lee Yohn, author of Fusion

ScaleUp Culture Award --
Is your culture unique? Powering your scaleup? Applications are being taken…more info below. But first…

Better vs. Unique --
Lots of people talk about getting better at something – but better is not sustainable – and there is always someone who will figure out how to do something even better. As Denise Lee Yohn, author of Fusion: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World’s Greatest Companies, noted in her keynote at the ScaleUp Summit, you don’t want to strive for better, you want to strive to be unique! Unique is unstoppable. Jesse Itzler, the Marquis Jet co-founder I highlighted last week, said they same thing when he shared his brownie story – and would continually ask “but how is your brownie different!” – not better.

Brand Strategy = Different --
You only have an industry crushing, competition dominating strategy if you’re different/unique. However, if you price the same way as the competition, you’re not different. If you hire the same people as the competition, you’re not unique. If your products/services do the same job for the customer, you’re not different. The key is doing almost everything different in a different way. How are you unique? How are your brownies different? Spend an hour dialoguing about this at your next “council” meeting.

Brand + Culture = Results --
How is your culture unique? Reflected in your Vision Summary (Values, Purpose, Brand Promises, and BHAG), how is the Employee Experience (EX) different at your firm and does it align with that same uniqueness experienced by the customer (CX). Southwest Airlines is the LUV airline built around Freedom (“ding, you’re now free to move about the country.”). As such, Southwest articulates the 8 Freedoms you get as an employee, unique from the other airlines – while showing everyone LUV in the process. And Southwest prices different – no baggage or change fees, branded as Transfarency – vs. the other airlines. Again, how are you radically different from the competition in all ways? And is this experienced by the employees as well as the customers – is there a Fusion of the two, thus the title of Denise’s book. Read it if you didn’t before the Summit. She received one of the highest ratings at the Summit.

Managers vs. Coaches --
If you want a different culture, you also need a different approach to managing. This quick read HBR article by Jim Harter, Chief Scientist, Workplace Management & Well-Being at Gallup, highlights how a different manager approach/experience (becoming a coach instead of manager) leads to a more engaged workforce. Concludes Harter:

You can’t change a culture without great managers who themselves are having an exceptional employee experience. This means they need to have challenging experiences where they, themselves, are engaged and developing through their strengths. They need to be coached, as they progressively become more effective coaches themselves.

The Master Coach program offered by Bluepoint Leadership is the best we’ve found – and a program our own certified coaches have attended. Their president, Gregg Thompson, keynoted our Summit last year. Thank you, Steve Hall, for pointing me to this well-written and short article.

ScaleUp Culture Award
We announced an exciting opportunity for our Scaling Up community at the ScaleUp Summit in Atlanta. In partnership with Emplify, we’re offering you all the opportunity to apply for the 2019 ScaleUp Culture of the Year award, that will be presented at the ScaleUp Summit Oct 15 – 16, Anaheim. Further details and the application can be found HERE. As a note, there’s a reason this isn’t named the “Best” culture award, it’s the “ScaleUp” culture award. We’re all on a journey and we want to take a moment and recognize those of us prioritizing unique culture initiatives as we Scale our companies. Apply HERE.

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; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Toughest Man; Just Love Him; Living with a SEAL; Oct 15 – 16 Anaheim

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

If you can’t convince them, confuse them!
	Jesse Itzler, rapper, serial entrepreneur, NBA owner

Jesse Itzler --
Jesse Itzler lit up our stage at the ScaleUp Summit a couple weeks ago. Co-founding Marquis Jet which he and his partner sold to Berkshire Hathaway/NetJets; pioneering the coconut water craze as founder of Zico coconut water which was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company; former rapper on MTV and producer of both the NBA’s Emmy Award-winning “I Love This Game” music campaign and the popular New York Knicks Anthem “Go NY Go; he’s also an owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and ultra-marathoner!

Just Love Him --
Notes Sara Blakely, billionaire founder of SPANX and Jesse’s wife “George Foreman once gave me great advice. When I told him my husband ran 100 miles non-stop he said, 'Sara, don't try to understand a man like that. Just love him.'

Living with a SEAL -- 

And Jesse has written a “Hilarious book” notes LeBron James. Living with a SEAL (which all the attendees at the Summit will receive a copy) chronicles the 31 days the “toughest man on the planet” lived with his family. Please grab a copy of this book and enjoy over the weekend or summer/winter!!

Toughest Man on the Planet --
Itzler enlisted David Goggins, who, thanks to his outrageous feats of endurance, many consider to be the toughest man on the planet. Goggins’ range is impressive: he holds the 24-hour record for pullups-4,030, or 168 per hour-and has placed highly in numerous ultra-endurance races. In 2006, Goggins placed fifth in the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon after taking up running less than a year prior. This Outside Online article provides an excellent summary of the lessons Itzler learned from Goggins

29029 Jesse Itzler Event/Challenge --
Created in 2017 by Jesse Itzler, is a new category of endurance event in which he rents a private mountain, builds a basecamp village with luxury tents, and challenges you to hike 29029 vertical feet - the height of Mt. Everest. Hike up. Gondola down. Repeat. It is not a race. It is you vs. you. It is an invitation to bond with your team, deepen relationships with clients and invest in yourself. As described in the December issue of Outside Magazine, "29029 is pre-event lectures from professional athletes, Olympians, and coaches. It's post-event parties. It's LinkedIn meets Strava. It's a little bit TED and a whole lotta shred." Each event is sold out for 2019 but simply email matt@29029everesting.com to setup your team to hike with Jesse in 2020 at any of the three events.

Sizzle Reel --
Featuring Jesse Itzler and our other keynote speakers, take 2 minutes to look at the sizzle reel from our ScaleUp Summit (go to landing page and scroll down to video) – then mark down Oct 15 – 16, Anaheim, for the next where we’re hosting two former Navy SEALS and a host of top biz keynote speakers.

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; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Burrito Bonds; Recruiting Video Ex; Intro Mistake we Make; CEOs Jun 17 – 18 Bloomberg HQ

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

What people believe is not so much a function of what is being said, but rather who is saying it.
	Steve Martin, Messengers

Winner of Columbia Exec Program, YPOer James Drage --
Managing Partner of Halifax-based Atlantic Venture Capital, James Drage was the lucky winner of a $6500 Columbia University Executive Program with Messengers’ author Steve Martin and other top behavioral scientists. More information on this program below, but first…

Example of Effective Recruiting Video --
YPOer Ron Lovett, founder/CEO of Halifax-based Connolly Owens, used this video to successfully recruit a junior sales associate – a great example of messaging and using video to attract talent.

Mistake with Introductions --
Gathering a new group of people? Avoid “going around the table” and having each person introduce themselves – everyone will be more focused on what they are going to say then listening to others. Instead, have the senior most person make introductions of everyone, according to Steve Martin, author of Messengers (Oct 15, 2019) The leader’s status will better convey each person’s expertise and they can subtly set future expectations of performance i.e. “Margaret is project lead for xxx and consistently delivers on time and on budget.” And if you’re leading the meeting and you don’t know everyone? Prep accordingly!!

Power of a Single Word Brand Identity --
“Vibrancy” is Chilango’s brand identity. Co-founded by ex-McKinsey consultant Eric Partaker (communicating his competency), this UK-based Mexican restaurant chain conveys everything it delivers -- the food, atmosphere, messaging, and service approach – with a feeling of vibrancy. And this vibrancy permeated their two crowdfunding campaigns, using Steve Martin’s powerful influence/messaging techniques to raise awareness and millions of dollars. “Driving Experience” is BMW’s brand identity. “Scaling Up” is ours. What is the word/concept that permeates your brand?

Burrito Bonds --
Watch this 5-minute promotional video for Chilango’s “Burrito Bonds 2” campaign and note the various influence techniques. This campaign, aiming to raise £1m, was oversubscribed raising £3.7m. This article highlights the success of the campaign. One key insight Eric shared at last week’s Summit – when you share testimonials in a video like their one for Burrito Bonds, three is the ideal number.  Too many and it becomes suspicious, like you’re selling too hard.  Makes sense.  And note that the videos highlights, with larger font, the brands associated with the three investors they feature – former execs from Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, and Itsu.

Influence Principles Applied to Tips --
Jason Robbins, CEO/Chairman of ePromos (custom logo merchandise), sent me the image below noting “They must have read the book on pricing. Even the tips are being shown in declining order!” As Steve Martin, one of the top 3 influence experts in the world, found in his research, by suggesting three options (best, better, good) and listing the tip options from highest to lowest, this restaurant is likely generating greater overall tips. My guess is that most people would tip $30 (which Jason did, though he recognized the psychological trick). If reversed, I’m guessing most people would tip $28.

Understanding People to Drive Results--Columbia University Graduate School of Business, New York.
The program has been developed in collaboration with world-leading researchers and practitioners in the field. You will be learning from some of the most noted experts, leading scholars, and best-selling authors including Scale Up Summit 2019 opening speaking Steve Martin who leads this program. Engaging, fascinating, and challenging yet always relevant and practical, this program equips you with new insights, tools, and skills in the field of behavioral science to inform and optimize your business strategies by better understanding and influencing people's behavior.

Jack Nicklaus, General Stanley McChrystal, Dov Seidman, Verne Harnish --
For CEOs Only, June 17 (evening) – June 18 (all day) is Bloomberg’s CEO Breakaway Summit at Bloomberg HQ in NYC.  Join me and a first-class lineup of keynotes – along with 150 of the top mid-market CEOs from around the globe. Global membership is just $5k and includes the NYC Summit ($2500), London Summit, Bloomberg Driving Experience, Bloomberg Gala, and 14 other events. And it includes one seat at our fall ScaleUp Summit ($2k value). For more info take a look at this short video. See you in NYC.

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. Jun 4 - 7 (Sold Out); Aug 20 - 23, 2019; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Uber’s Prediction; Economic Outlook; Apple Does it Again; Streaming LIVE ScaleUp Summit

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

CEO Boot Camp Open Seat --
One of the CEOs signed up for the June 4 – 7 Boot Camp needs to postpone if anyone would like to take his seat. Aug 20 – 23 (Estes Park, CO), is the next CEO Boot Camp (4 of 7 seats open).

Fortune 500 2019 --
Released yesterday, Walmart, Exxon Mobile, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Amazon made the top 5 of the Fortune 500 list. Average revenue/employee of the 500 is $477,351, roughly 4x mid-sized firms; and profit/employee averaged $38,327. The average profitability was 8.0%, up from 6% last year. And once again, Apple’s profit/employee of $450,992 was almost equal to the other 499’s revenue/employee! Amazing!! Find a firm on the list, in your related industry, and see how you compare (Laureate Education is one I track).

CEO Sentiment Good Sign for Economy --
People are not logical, they are psychological (which is why we get pricing and compensation so wrong – but that’s for a later post). That’s why it’s important to pay attention to what the Fortune 500 CEOs are thinking. Alan Murray of Fortune reported yesterday:

61% of Fortune 500 CEOs think the economy will stay the same over the next 12 months; only 21% think it will get worse. And slightly over half think a recession won’t hit in the next two years. 76% think the Federal Reserve has been “just right” in its conduct of monetary policy. And 74% say the U.S. remains the best region for them to invest over the next two years (for a decade they said China)

And with an expected $88-trillion-dollar global economy this year, up from $34 trillion at the turn of the Century, if you can’t make a million or a billion, it’s your fault.

Why 4x Rev/Emp over Mid-Market Firms? --
It seems crazy that these “elephants” would be almost 4x more efficient in generating revenue per employee vs. the “gazelles.” Why? People, Pricing, and Process. First, they are able to attract top talent and have corporate universities to train them (smart talent vs. cheap labor). Second, they have brand (strategy!) which gives them pricing power. And third, they focus on keeping their processes lean. When fully implemented, Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) does the same for mid-market firms. It’s why tracking Rev, and more importantly, Gross Margin Dollars/Employee, is critical. Is this KPI heading in the right direction?

Top 10% Generate Almost 50% --
And fun fact, the top 50 Fortune 500 firms generated almost 50% of the total revenues. And the combined revenues of the entire list, $13.7 trillion, represents 2/3rds of the US GDP. I hope many of these firms, and their employees, are your customers – they have all the money.

Uber’s Original Pitch Deck --
Check out Slide 20 in Uber’s 2008 original pitch deck. It outlines what they thought were three scenarios (BHAGs):

Best-Case – Market Leader with $1 billion annual revenue Realistic-Case – 5% of Top 5 Cities with $20 - $30 million annual profit Worst-Case – 10 car, 100 client service in San Fran

In reality, they hit $1 billion in 2015 and $11.3 billion in 2018; they are in 100% of the top US cities (and 30% of countries!); but may never be profitable! Instructive to see how they saw the business in 2008 and how it is now – what they got right and missed totally. Lots of pivots along the way. Thank you for Scaling Up Certified coach Judy Guido for pointing me to this.

ScaleUp Summit Next Week – Streaming LIVE --
Our team of coaching partners, and some of the smartest mid-market company teams, will gather next week in Atlanta for our ScaleUp Summit to “outlearn the competition.” Streaming LIVE, you and your team can still sign-up to dial in remotely – just $2495 for both days. Gather in a conference room or alone on your laptop/phone and choose from the top authors presenting their latest tools/techniques for scaling. My goal each Summit is to pick up just one killer idea – and pack my brain with a 100 others I can assess at a later date. The next ScaleUp Summit is Oct 15 – 16, Anaheim.

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. Jun 4 - 7 (Sold Out); Aug 20 - 23, 2019; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Paris; What Kills You; Ariel View of HQs; London June 13 - 14

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

You teach that which you need to learn the most.
	Paraphrasing Richard Bach

Join me in Paris 26 – 28 June --
I’m keynoting and attending this Scaling Business Summit in Paris. The hosts are providing a significant discount if you sign-up by May 15.

Hardiness, and How to Think About Stress --
Last week’s insight highlighted how a key characteristic of top leaders is hardiness. Seems this is related to how you think about stress. Research indicates that it’s not stress that is killing you, but thinking that stress is killing you which is killing you! It’s all mindset.

The Upside of Stress --
Scaling Up Certified coaching partner Lisa Ridley requires all her clients to read The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It by Dr. Kelly McGonigal. Here is a link to McGonigal’s insightful TEDx talk on the subject. Notes Ridley, “it completely changes the conversation around ‘I’m so stressed, I have too much to do, etc.’ and has them re-frame not only how they approach their work, but their life.” Thank you, Lisa.

It’s Not Stress, It’s How You Think About Stress --
Maybe I’m repeating this for my own sake (thus the quote above), but again, what the research found is that it’s not stress that harms you. It’s thinking that stress is harming you that harms you. Instead, if you see stress as good for you, those people had the lowest death rate!! Change your mindset and change your life – you’re either winning or learning – there is no losing!

ForbesBooks Interview, a Good 11 of 14 Minutes --
At the Conscious Capitalism Summit I was interviewed by ForbesBooks on a wide range of topics I don’t normally address like the role of Capitalism and Government (3 minutes into the interview – where I would start); the need to shift toward the feminine in our businesses over the next few decades (7 minutes into the interview); why planning can be dangerous (8 minutes in); what nature can teach us in scaling; the need to bring silicon and carbon together; and the three books I’m reading right now. Maybe worth playing the 14-minute interview in the background while doing email, starting at minute 3. Go to the link above and then scroll down the list of interviews and click on the Verne Harnish interview. Hope it’s helpful.

Why Every CEO Should Write a Book --
It is the best calling card you can offer to potential and existing customers, employees, advisors – establishing you as an expert in your industry with any relationship you’re nurturing to scale the business. That’s why I’m excited about our new partnership with ForbesBooks (my dear friend Adam Witty’s firm) – it’s a great brand which all our future books will don, including the future print runs of Scaling Up. Let Adam’s firm help you get the book completed in “24 hours.”

How to Structure Your Book --
The simple structure of your book? Write one chapter on each of your core values, purpose, brand promises, and BHAG – so 8 to 10 short chapters of stories where you’re living each of these components of your Vision Summary. Then write an opening chapter that summarizes the rest, because that’s the one most everyone will read if they crack open the book at all. That’s why the two MOST important components are the Title and the design of the Cover – it needs to look and sound great (first impression). The title should include the “words you want to own in the marketplace” and better if you also have your equivalent of the Nike “swish.” The title “Scaling Up” are the two words we want to own in minds around the globe, and the “S” curve on the cover is our swish.

Ariel View of Silicon Valley HQs --
Quick and interesting – 9 ariel views of Apple, Facebook, Oracle, etc. HQs. I like dreaming about the Scaling Up world HQ we’ll build someday!! I hope you are dreaming about your world HQ as well. Physical space matters.

London June 13 - 14 Scaling Up Master’s Program (SMP) --
Organized by our Scaling Up Coaching Partner Neale Lewis, these are the dates for our next launch of the ScalingUp Master's Program (SMP) in London. Here's a link to the overview including a 2-minute video. Limited to five companies at a time, it's an 8-day local program spread over a year that installs the Scaling Up tools and a learning culture within a company. It's the most effective program we've designed combining over 30 years of experience in helping companies scale. To apply 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. Jun 4 - 7 (Sold Out); Aug 20 - 23, 2019; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.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.

Meet Jack Nicklaus; Trait of Great Leaders; Onboarding Gift; May 8 Webinar “7 Strata of Strategy”

Hello ScaleUps, 

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

How do great leaders find such courage while most people don’t? Research points to a personality style called “hardiness.”
	Fortune

Invitation to Meet Jack Nicklaus --
Exclusively for CEOs of firms over $20 million, more below. But first…

Dominate Your Industry, The “7 Strata of Strategy” Webinar --
3pm ET Wednesday May 8^th I teach a 90-minute webinar (including 30 min Q&A) going deep into our strategy framework for dominating your niche. Please register here. Thank you.

THE Emotional Quality of Great Leaders --
One common characteristic of Fortune’s “50 Greatest Leaders” is courage – willing to make bold moves and decisions when necessary. This short Fortune article links this capability of bravery back to a personality style called “hardiness.” Notes Fortune’s Geoff Colvin (I’m framing this quote and staring at it each day):

Hardy individuals don’t see the world as threatening or see themselves as powerless against large events; on the contrary, they think change is normal, the world is fascinating, they can influence events, and it’s all an opportunity for personal growth.

Hardy individuals are simply less afraid and don’t feel stress the way most people do. Please take one minute to read this quick and insightful article.

How to Become Hardy, the 3 C’s --
All this begs the question, if hardiness is the crucial leadership trait, can it be learned? I found this 2012 Psychology Today article highlighting the research of The Hardiness Institute.  According to the founder Dr. Salvatore Maddi, the most important characteristics of hardiness are commitment, control, and challenge.  

View Stressors as Opportunities to Grow --
I found the last characteristic, challenge, particularly useful given some big stressors I’ve been facing. The key is viewing these stressors as opportunities to learn with almost a child like curiosity i.e. “I’m curious what’s going to happen next.” Redirecting/reframing that self-sabotaging voice in your head is a big part of developing hardiness. Please take 3 minutes to read this insightful article – which includes how parents can help their children to become hardy.

New Employee Fun --
First impressions matter. Coming out of my two-day Scaling Up workshop for 260 YPOers and their teams in Brisbane, Australia this week, Chapter Chair and Managing Director of Wiley, Tom Wiley, noted:

I’ve already embraced improving our new employee onboarding experience using your movie voucher idea…I sent out the first one today.

 

Integrate Culture into Website --
I was equally impressed with Wiley’s recent integration of their culture into their website. I particularly love the title “Our anthropology” and the closing quote from Tom “This is not what we do, this is who we are together.” How many companies share what “We Love;” “Our traditions”; and “Our tribe.” It’s worth a few minutes poking around the site, maybe giving you some ideas for your own! Does your website and other marketing materials reflect your culture?

Scaling Up Best Practices --
Want to fine tune your implementation of the Rockefeller Habits 2.0? Consider our Scaling Up Users Conference organized around the Four Decisions: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. Interact with executives and coaches who share practical tips on how they’ve successfully deployed our tools/techniques to scale – May 23, Atlanta (9am – 5pm)– at the same hotel as our ScaleUp Summit May 21 – 22. Attend one or both. See you in Atlanta for some serious learning and fun!

Jack Nicklaus and David Rubenstein --
Join me June 17 (evening) and all day the 18th, NYC, for Bloomberg’s CEO Summit. In addition to the already star-studded program, Bloomberg just announced David Rubenstein, Carlyle Group co-founder and co-Executive Chairman, will host a special live taping of his Bloomberg TV show with "The Golden Bear" Jack Nicklaus, legendary golfer, businessman and philanthropist. It’s an intimate group of 200 CEOs by invitation only – please email me at verne@scalingup.com if interested in attending (let me know your revenues confidentially).  Here’s a link to more information.

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. Jun 4 - 7 (Sold Out); Aug 20 - 23, 2019; Jan 14 - 17; Jan 21 - 24, 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 Denise Richmond at (610) 299-6466 or email at drichmond@stscapital.com

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.