Next Five Minutes; Excellence Dividend; People and AI; Hotel Cut-off

"…insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

April 17 Hotel Room Cut-off — if you're planning to attend the ScaleUp Summit May 22 – 23 New Orleans, please reserve a hotel room. The cut-off date for the discounted rate is April 17 – and given the beautiful location (French Quarter) and time of the year, this Marriott tends to sell out.

Role of People in AI World — legendary Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence, published his 18th book this week titled The Excellence Dividend Fitting with our upcoming ScaleUp Summit theme "Prediction Intelligence," Peters squarely addresses what is the critical role of people in an AI driven world – and much of what he's predicted in the past about how work would be structured today has come true – so I've learned to listen to this sage. SPro and book club members will get a copy of his book next week – then you're all invited to come hear Tom and 9 other top thought leaders keynote our ScaleUp Summit in collaboration with Bloomberg LIVE May 22 – 23, New Orleans

Execution is Strategy — I'm not sure I completely agree with General Omar Bradley, whom Tom quotes as saying "Amateurs talk about strategy. Professionals talk about logistics" but I get the point. Victory ultimately comes down to excellent execution and as Tom notes above, it's all about what you do next, in the next five minutes. Notes Tom:

This is a checklist worth formatting and posting in front of every person in the company!

Be the Best. It's the Only Market That's Not Crowded — your reputation for excellence is simply the sum total of all the little things you do and don't do over the next five minutes, and then the five minutes after that. It's a never ending "search for excellence" – and must include, as Tom preaches, an increased role for women in leadership positions; an understanding of the importance of scaleups in the global economy; the interplay between technology and people; and the power/impact that culture and "putting people first" have on driving flawless execution of a simply stated (Vision Summary) strategy.

Enough — hopefully the list above gives you enough to ponder over the coming week. And, again, please format and post the list in front of everyone in the organization. I'm simply out of time to write any more, leading with serial entrepreneur John Ratliff our latest CEO Boot Camp this week. It's always an intensive 24/7 kind of event and Tom's list has been prescient in helping me focus on the next one-on-one session, the next conversation, the next presentation, the next…as we work to guarantee an excellent experience/outcome for these CEOs and their firms. Tom's messages are always inspiring and insightful for me and I look forward to having him light a fire under all of you in New Orleans. See you soon.

CEO-BOOTCAMP: spend 3.5 days with Verne, serial entrepreneur John Ratliff, and 9 other CEOs in a beautiful retreat setting, addressing the constraints holding back you, your business, and your industry. May 29 – June 1 (YPO-only hosted by McKeel Hagerty); October 2 – 5; and January 15 – 18, 2019

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 [email protected]

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? Click here to watch Gazelles International President Keith Cupp describes the four most important attributes of successful clients. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

And if you're interested in becoming a world-class certified Gazelles International coach, please go to gicoaches.com/becomeacoach for more information. If you determine that we're a fit and wish to join our premier organization, we invite you to contact our Dir. of Coach Engagement at [email protected] or 877.217.2253 ext.700.

TECHNOLOGY:

Create Accountability – Drive Execution
Click Here to Watch a video example.

Align is your cloud based business operating system designed to keep you on your path to executing your goals. See, in real time every person in your organization and how they are progressing on their priorities – alongside how they Align to the Company Priorities! Scale Up your Rockefeller Habits implementation with www.aligntoday.com – on your computer, tablet or phone. $5.00 per month gets you started.

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.