Biz Person of the Year; Think Bigger; $1.4 Billion Score
November 27, 2014
Five questions to ponder for 2015
December 4, 2014

2% Mistake; End of Human Race; Bias for Action; Jan 26-27 Abundance Invite

"…keeping you great"


HEADLINES:  (Audio version of Scaling Up now available on Amazon, iTunes, etc.)

Need Ideas for Video — what recent well-known events come to mind that represent a "bias for action" – someone or team/organization that faced adversity, took action, and triumphed. Sports, adventure, political, social, business – like Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient. Please email me at [email protected] – thanks.

Hawking: AI could end human race — Prof Stephen Hawking, one of the world's leading scientists, is in the news this week. He warns that artificial intelligence "could spell the end of the human race." He goes on to explain, "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded." This BBC article also notes that Elon Musk fears artificial intelligence as well. Why am I bringing this up…

…New Technologies are Disrupting ALL our Industries — the #1 job of a leader is prediction, working to keep your company just ahead of customers and competitors (and the kid working in his garage). In 2015 Gazelles is partnering with Peter Diamandis, founder of the X-Prize and Singularity University, to keep you up-to-date monthly on the latest advances in infinite computing, synthetic biology, robotics, 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, etc. and their practical applications to your industries. The initiative is called Abundance360 (A360). Here's a short video describing the program, which Peter has committed to supporting for the next 25 years.

A360 Sign Up — the yearlong initiative kicks off with a Summit (250 CEOs and leaders) Jan 25 (3pm) – 27 (5pm) in Beverly Hills, CA. Gazelles will host a "meeting within a meeting" using the new Strengths, Weaknesses, Trends strategy tool and for you to discuss implications with your peers — limited to 20, so let us know if you sign up for A360. At the Summit itself you'll receive practical tools from Peter and his team that you can immediately apply to your business to help you use these exponential technologies. You'll also become part of a tight-knit, extraordinary group of individuals who collaborate and take "moonshots" at creating a world of abundance. Then you'll be updated monthly on new companies and technologies continuing to disrupt industries. The service fee for the year which includes the Summit, webinars, and ongoing updates is $10k. You can sign up at http://www.abundance360summit.com/ — again let us know and we'll invite you to our Gazelles event as well.

What Consumes Most of our Time? — "At most companies, people spend 2 percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes," notes Richard Fairbanks, CEO of Capital One, in this Harvard Business School article yesterday. How true, which is why one of the three most important skills all leaders need to master is how to recruit, interview, and hire.

Even if Only One Applicant — what if you only get one applicant for a position and you're desperate? Using Topgrading, the only method we trust in interviewing and hiring, at least lets you know who you're getting so you don't go into the relationship blindly. You'll know their strengths and weaknesses so you can adjust accordingly. Most people think Topgrading is only useful if you have lots of applicants. To get someone in your firm certified in the Topgrading methodology email Juan Gonzalez at [email protected] or call him at +(512) 773 5465.

Cost of mis-hires — according to extensive research by Dr. Brad Smart, the creator of Topgrading, the average cost of a mis-hire is:

  • Sales Rep = 6 TIMES Annual Salary
  • Manager = 15 TIMES Annual Salary
  • Executive = 27 TIMES Annual Salary

Classes to become certified in the Topgrading methodology online (video and interactive webinars) are launching all the time. If you have any questions or would like a copy of the Class' Syllabus please email Juan Gonzalez at [email protected] or call him at +(512) 773 5465.

Bias for Action — don't let new technologies, bad hires, etc. co-opt your dreams. The best way to control the future is to create it – make it happen!!

COACHING:

Need help implementing the Rockefeller Habits?

Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish
Verne Harnish is founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and chaired for fifteen years EO’s premiere CEO program, the “Birthing of Giants” and WEO’s “Advanced Business” executive program both held at MIT. Founder and CEO of Gazelles, a global executive education and coaching company with over 150 coaching partners on six continents, Verne has spent the past three decades helping companies scale-up. The “Growth Guy” syndicated columnist, he’s also the Venture columnist for FORTUNE magazine. He’s the author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0); Mastering the Rockefeller Habits; and along with the editors of Fortune, authored The Greatest Business Decisions of All Times," for which Jim Collins wrote the foreword. Verne also chairs FORTUNE Magazine’s annual Leadership and Growth Summits and serves on several boards including chairman of The Riordan Clinic and the newly launched Geoversity. He is an investor in many scale-ups. A father of four, he enjoys piano, tennis, and magic as a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.