Bezos’s Insights; Reflection’s Impact; Lencioni’s Hub; Monday’s Webinar

"…insights for scaleups"

HEADLINES:
 

Want to Build a Healthy Organization? — Pat Lencioni, author of Five Dysfunctions of a Team, has created "The Hub" – all things to support a healthy organization (the #1 Rockefeller Habit). Sign up below (no cost), but first…

Reflecting on Q1 — made/missed your numbers? — It's a good time to reflect on what worked and didn't work and make necessary adjustments and corrections to ensure you can still reach your annual goals (my "council" just did this on Monday). Do you adjust strategy or fix execution problems? Do you lower your targets? Join certified Scaling Up coaches Chuck Kocher and Daniel Marcos for an open discussion live webinar on Monday April 26 at 2pm EST. Claim your seat here.

15 Minutes of Reflection — Research shows taking 15 minutes at the end of the day to reflect increased performance 23% over the next 10 days. This HBR article highlights this research and addresses the importance of taking time to reflect daily or weekly on what you've learned (did right, did wrong, etc.) – and why people have a hard time doing it! Recall T. Boone Pickens's team taking time at the end of each day to reflect on what they learned after battling it out in the oil and gas market for 8 hours. This daily habit turned $2.8 million into $4 billion. I'm thinking more of this type of conversation in the daily huddle might be useful, reflecting on the trends you're seeing in metrics, stucks, and activities. What did we learn this past 24 hours? But keep it to 15 minutes. Thank you to author Adam Grant for pointing me to this article.

Reflections of Bezos — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' annual letter to shareholders is becoming as popular as Buffett's annual letter (and much, much shorter). In his 2017 letter he reflects back on an idea he first presented two decades ago in his 1997 letter – the importance of why it's still "Day 1" for the internet and Amazon.com – and why they must maintain a Day 1 mentality. To quote Bezos:

His short letter then details what to do (and not to do) about each – a perfect formula for any scaleup that aligns with Rockefeller Habits 2.0:

1.     Gathering first hand customer and employee feedback WEEKLY

2.     Addition of the SWT tool which emphasizes the need to focus on external trends

3.     A robust meeting rhythm of decision making.

But what does he mean by a "skeptical view of proxies"? As an example, Bezos suggests:

Please take 4 minutes to read his letter for the details – and another 4 to read the 1997 letter – then 15 minutes (in your next weekly meeting?) to reflect on how his ideas might apply to your scaleup. Thank you to Brad Feld for highlighting Bezos's letter.

94 Years of Reflection — quite possibly the oldest Nobel Prize winning candidate? Might 94-year-old Dr. John Goodenough have the battery solution for the 21st century (just patented)? This NY Times article titled "To Be a Genius Think Like at 94-Year-Old" highlights how the most valuable patents are filed by those over 55. And Nobel Prize winners made their discoveries at the average age of 50. It seems youth do not have a creativity advantage over the baby boomers (and older)! It's a delightful story and full of some great stats.

Lencioni's "The Hub" — Pat's team has launched a new project specifically geared to all things organizational health. It's called "The Hub" and it's a web-site, a portal, a blog and an on-line magazine rolled into one. Its purpose is simply to provide fresher, more regular content for anyone trying to build a healthy organization. Please be one of the first to check it out at www.tablegroup.com/hub — and sign up – I did!

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.

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]

TECHNOLOGY:

Manage Daily, Weekly and Quarterly Huddles
Click Here to Watch a video example.

Always have visibility and insight into the groups priorities Participation creates alignment; everyone knows what's going on and who is accountable. Teams that are held accountable are more likely to act on 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.