5 ways to help your employees’ salaries go further
June 12, 2014
Next Steve Jobs?; Now to Say Your Name; Internal Shark Tank; Verne Interview
June 19, 2014

5 Minute Rule; Power Tools for Dads; Worst Question; Never Eat Alone

"…keeping you great"

HEADLINES:  

I've come to believe that connecting is one of the most important business – and life – skill sets you'll ever learn. Why? Because, flat out, people do business with people they know and like. Careers – in every imaginable field – work the same.

 

Keith Ferrazzi

Don't Ask Your Children How Their Day Was my latest podcast, which you can listen to while doing email, is led by Toby Jenkins with Bluewire Media in Australia. The meat of the 28 minute interview starts at 4:55 where I discuss the power of "owning the ink" in your industry to drive marketing; and at the 24:00 mark I discuss some ideas for applying the Rockefeller Habits to your family, including the 15 minute daily with my wife and why you shouldn't ask your children "how was your day" – it just annoys them — and what to do instead.

Never Eat Alone – Updated — Keith Ferrazzi, the master of networking and author of two hugely successful books Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back, has a greatly expanded and updated version of his first book which was released last week. Considered the modern day version of How to Win Friends and Influence People (my teenagers love this book), Never Eat Alone is full of very practical advice on how to build and maintain a network of "who's." Some hints:

  Don't keep score: It's never simply about getting what you want. It's about getting what you want and making sure that the people who are important to you get what they want, too.

"Ping" constantly: The ins and outs of reaching out to those in your circle of contacts all the time — not just when you need something.

Never Eat Alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you're working at a corporation or attending a social event — "invisibility" is a fate worse than failure.

Become the "King of Content": How to use social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to make meaningful connections, spark engagement, and curate a network of people who can help you with your interests and goals.

The book has three new chapters that clarify and strengthen the book for the digital era. Book club and GazellesPro members will receive a copy next week. Then come hear Keith keynote our Growth Summit Oct 28 – 29, Las Vegas.

Future of Work — to build on Keith's message, take 2 minutes to peruse this insightful FORTUNE article about the future of work. My favorite paragraph:

  Jones' approach acknowledges that no single organization will ever be able to directly employ all of the relevant, talented people who could make valuable contributions. And, just as important, that colleagues aren't necessarily the people who sit next to you at work, but rather the people who are working on the same problems with the same passion that you have. The organizations and leaders who figure out the most clever and compelling ways to connect those people and organizations will be the real winners in the creative economy.

5 Minute Rule — and to further build on the idea of everyone using their network, here's a great idea from Dutch entrepreneur Victor Allis, CEO of Quintiq:

  We tell people, "Don't try to figure it out all by yourself." We have a five-minute rule. If you're sitting at your desk for five minutes and you can't figure out whatever you're working on, go ask someone. There's always someone who's more senior who may know about that. Even if they can't help you, they're probably a good sounding board, and may be able to point you to someone who says, "We already solved that, and you can find it here."

Take 2 minutes to scan the rest of his NY Times interview for some other keys to their successful venture and culture.

"Power Tools" for Dads and Husbands — my wife and I are huge fans of the Celebrate Calm lessons taught by Kirk Martin. His latest series is entitled "I Want to Be a Good Dad and Husband" (love the straight forward title) where he shares 25 practical and concrete strategies men can use each day to deal with the challenges of parenting and marriage. I can't think of a better Father's Day gift – and it's available in CD or download. Happy Father's Day (US).

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.