Jim Collins; James Dyson; Tech vs. Auto Companies; congrats biz-growth Dubai

"…keeping you great" 

HEADLINES:

Growth Summit's Dozen Books —
looking forward to seeing many of you in

Las Vegas Oct 22 – 23 for our next Growth Summit presented by Fortune.
Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Ram Charan, Stephen MR Covey, Dina Dwyer-Owens (Undercover
Boss star), Mark Johnson, Mark Goulston, James McQuivey, Luke Hohmann, and
Ariane van de Vin representing over a dozen of the most important biz books are
keynoting. If you don't know these thought leaders and their work, hope your
competitors don't beat you to implementing their ideas!

Re-Education of Jim Collins — why are West Point cadets much happier than any of the
students Jim Collins taught at Stanford? And what lessons can we all derive from
what he's learned? Take 4 minutes to read this outstanding


Inc. magazine article. Besides exploring the critical importance of
failure in driving growth, Collins, who is West Point's Class of 1951 Chair for
the Study of Leadership, offers some key lessons drawn from his two years
interacting with the cadets that translate to building an incredible workplace:

• 
  
  Service to "a cause or purpose we are passionately dedicated to and are
  willing to suffer and sacrifice for."
• 
  
  Challenge and growth, or, "What huge and audacious challenges should we give
  people that will push them hard and make them grow?"
  
• 
  
  Communal success, or, "What can we do to reinforce the idea that we succeed
  only by helping each other?"

Importance of Frontline Leadership — and
my favorite paragraph in the Inc.
article "His time at West Point has also given Collins a new appreciation
for some aspects of leadership that he had not previously thought much about.
The first has to do with frontline, or unit-level, leadership. 'I have come to
see how important it is,' he says. 'We tend to think that what matters is having
outstanding leadership at the senior level. But great leadership at the top
doesn't amount to much if you don't have exceptional leadership at the unit
level. That's where great things get done.'" This is why a company with middle
and frontline managers needs to structure an effective monthly meeting where the
DNA of the senior leadership can be passed down. Here's
a short article that details a suggested agenda.

Most
Innovative Companies 2013 — Boston Consulting Group (BCG) just released their annual
list of the most innovative companies. Apple topped the list with Samsung coming
in second, pushing Google down to the third position. The most surprising
outcome: more auto companies (9) than technology companies (8) in the top 20! Here's
a link to the BCG list with some useful insights by BCG like the most
innovative companies listen to customers. This is why we like to see every
senior leader and middle manager formally talk with one customer per week.

Interview with James Dyson — speaking of innovation, James Dyson, the British
multi-billionaire and engineer (think vacuums and hand dryers) has a team of
1500 engineers inventing solutions to some of the most mundane challenges. This
delightful Fortune
interview captures Dyson's quirky and direct approach to business – worth 3
minutes to absorb his energy and insights. I actually didn't know why he had a
passion for vacuums until reading this interview. And I wish the US would take a
page from the UK – consider this
Fortune question and Dyson's answer:

Moral Character Wins — Companies that
build teams with strong moral character win. Their teams are happier, perform
better and are more successful overall. This bold claim stems from the work of
Jim Loehr, renowned performance psychologist and author of the book


The Only Way to Win,
who keynoted our Leadership Summit this year. In
my latest "Growth Guy" syndicated column co-authored with Sebastian Ross, we
highlight how Blinds.com, Boston Centerless, and Next Jump, three mid-market
growth firms, have built character development into their people systems (I love
the replicated run-down alleyway Blinds.com built in their new facility). Take 3
minutes to read about these companies and the success Loehr has had using these
same ideas in developing winning high school tennis players.

Congrats biz-group in Dubai — kudos to Gazelles marketing partner in the Middle East,
Hazel Jackson and her team at biz-group
for being awarded the #1 SME to work for in the UAE by great place to work
institute yesterday.

Dubai
Oct 7; Singapore Oct 9 — I'll be leading one-day workshops in Dubai
and Singapore
next week – hope to see those of you in the region at the events.

COACHING:

Need help implementing the Rockefeller Habits?