Bezos’ Approach; Leaders #1 Job; Appsters’ Co-founder; Global Economies

"…insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:

All Major Economies Expanding — the news out of Davos is more optimistic than ever and according to this NY Times cover story this week, after a decade of recovery, all major economies are expanding (nice data pictorial in the article). It's one of the reasons the best diversification strategy is to be doing business around the globe, not just in your own country. According to Dr. Hermann Simon, the "hidden champions" of the world (privately held firms that dominate their industry segments) are doing business in an average of 41 countries. How many countries are you in? The key to expansion? Find out where your existing customers are doing business in other countries and see if you can support them overseas. It gives you immediate revenue rather than swimming around in a new market looking for your first fish.

Bezos's Management Approach — speaking of world dominance, when Jeff Bezos's was asked in this 36-minute interview "what is Amazon", he answered by sharing a handful of management principles in a way I've never heard them explained so simply and clearly. These approaches have allowed Amazon to invent and scale over the past 22 years. Go right to 4:04 in the interview and in 4 minutes Bezos describes these approaches. Then grab your favorite beverage and listen to all 36 minutes (at least go to 18:02 to listen to the main job of a senior leader!) – it's a master's in business leadership! Thank you to Sebastian Ross for sharing this resource.

Amazon's Three Brand Promises — at 18:46 in the interview Bezos outlines Amazon's three brand promises (he calls them big ideas) for their retail business – low prices, fast delivery, and vast selection. And he's confident they will still matter 10 years from now (like Southwest's Low Fare, Lots of Flights, Lots of Fun) which brings stability and focus. The key, then, is to maintain a firm grasp on these simple ideas and focus on operational excellence, getting a little better every week at all three. At 20:16 he shares the three for AWS, his data services business. What are your company's three brand promises and are you keeping focused on improving all three over the next decade?

Morning Routine Drives Results — 26-year-old Josiah Humphrey, who has scaled Australia-based Appster from startup in 2011 to an expected $100 million in 2018, has a very specific morning routine which he credits to much of his success in driving the company with his co-founder Mark McDonald. A huge Rockefeller Habits fan and famous for 22-hour Topgrading interviews, Josiah has bought into the idea that "routine sets you free." Notes this story on News.com.au:

Please take 1 minute to read the rest of the details. What is your morning routine?

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. April 3 – 6; May 29 – June 1 (YPO-only); and October 2 – 5.

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COACHING:

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TECHNOLOGY:

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

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