Strategy 4 Saturday (<4-minute read)
- Business Rocket Fuel
- Introducing Our Integrator
- Lost at CEO Update | Holiday Gift for You
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- Measure Success Podcast | Founder and CEO | Riaz Kanani
- Coming up this week | Co-founder and Chief Galvanizer | Patrick Galvin
- Read all our Blogs on our 40 Strategy Website
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Business Rocket Fuel
In 2016, EOS founder, Gino Wickman wrote the book Rocket Fuel. Gino is an extraordinary entrepreneur and teacher. In fact, he has personally delivered 1,900 full-day training sessions to more than 135 companies. Yet, he learned through these experiences that there was one key ingredient between the average companies and the companies who grew at an exponential rate. It was what he called Rocket Fuel.
A company has Rocket Fuel when it has two key leaders, a Visionary and an Integrator.
In general, the Visionary person has the following characteristics; solve big company challenges, generates lots of ideas, great leaders, optimistic, and creates the vision. By comparison, the Integrator, identifies the problems, makes the best ideas work, are excellent managers, realistic, and they execute the vision.
In my personal experience, working in seven different organizations that grew from 2x-7x, this was true, every single time. Looking back, I have played both roles, the Visionary and the Integrator. In fact, less than 15% of executives, lead in strategy and execution. Most individuals naturally fall into the Visionary or Integrator role.
If your current organization does not appear to be moving in the right direction, it is often because they don’t have these current roles operating effectively. Other times, it is because the Rocket Fuel, applied for a certain stage of the companies’ growth, but due to a multitude of factors, it may need to be changed for the next stage of growth. In some cases, the two leaders may no longer share the same vision and friction occurs. An organization that does recognize this problem and solve it, may cause stagnation and frustration for everyone.
Approximately, half of my business is turnarounds. I am recommended by the banks and private equity firms, to identify the source of the problem and help resolve it. Indeed there are always multiple challenges in these scenarios, however generally speaking, a common problem is the lack of Rocket Fuel. As a Gallup Certified Coach, the Clifton Strengths assessment survey, combined with internal interviews, can help surface the leadership challenge that an organization struggles with. Solving this problem is a key strategy to getting the company back on track.
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Introducing Our Integrator
In my first 3 years, 40 Strategy exceeded every goal and expectation. We tripled in size and I started to hire talent to support our marketing and accounting efforts. However, there was still a gap. I was playing both the Visionary and Integrator role. As we completed multiple assets in 2023, Lost at CEO book, a new website, this blog, speaking engagements, weekly podcast as a host and now more commonly a guest, a new outbound marketing strategy, and a strategy course, my ability to serve my clients and deliver these strategies, was limiting my client availability.
On the whole, when your client availability is limited, we tend to hold back on sales because, “we can’t take on any more clients.” However, I recognized this is a huge problem for the long-term, because I have seen it with my clients. If you don’t continue to prime the pump, your sales pipeline will ultimately dry up, despite our wonderful referral clients.
Over the past year, Tonya Smith, PMP, joined our team as a contractor, as she was working on her doctorate in management. As she continued to learn about our company’s client deliverables and marketing efforts, she has taken over more responsibilities, which has freed up my time for client work. A short while ago, Tonya completed her doctorate studies, and she is now Dr. Tonya Smith!
Last week, I finally had the epiphany…Tonya is my Integrator! She is the Rocket Fuel that I am missing that is holding 40 Strategy back to reaching the next level to reach our long-term goals. After completing her doctorate, she has more availability. This past week, we agreed in principle that Tonya, will be a full-time employee and Director of Operations. Tonya, this is my public welcome and official thank you for joining our team! This role will start in January, to launch our 5th year in business. |
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Lost at CEO | Holiday Gift For You
It’s hard to believe, it’s been six months since we launched Lost at CEO. Legendary author, Tommy Breedlove, shared with me, that once you get 10,000 books in circulation, it becomes a standard. Keep in mind, the average self-published book sells only 250 copies in its lifetime. Our goal is to exceed that 10,000 book standard within 3 years.
We have learned that if a business leader, entrepreneur, owner, not-for-profit director, reads this book, they are inspired. They apply the principles taught in the book, which makes a difference in their strategic thinking and execution. Most of all, it’s very exciting when we see our clients using our terminology. It has also led to new business. We are very grateful!
Therefore, if you are on our subscriber list, we are offering you a free signed copy of our book through the holiday season (applies to US subscribers only.) Email carljcox@40strategy.com and we will ship you a copy. My only request in return is that you complete an Amazon review and take a picture of the book in a fun location.
Thank you to our good friend, Ann Clifford, CEO, Safari Solutions, based in Florida, for this Lost at CEO pic. She is one of our key partners and who shared with us the Hunter / Farmer analysis for sales personnel. That is for another blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!
First, I wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with your friends and family. Safe travels! Our family has an annual tradition, and I am looking forward to seeing my immediate family together for the first time since July.
Second, I am very excited about next week’s blog! However, you will not receive that until the Thanksgiving holiday is over. We will be talking about how we can show our Thanks Giving and I will give you a sneak preview of our extraordinary Measure Success Podcast guests that will inspire you throughout this holiday season!We currently have a 5-month backlog for guests as our ratings continue to climb. If you know of an extraordinary guest, CEO, entrepreneur, author, and/or crazy high-achiever, that may want to be on the show in 2024, please let us know, now! Email measuresuccesspodcast@40strategy.com and/or carljcox@40strategy.com.
Do your sales prospects know that you exist?
It’s no secret that we live in a noisier (internet) world than ever.
Customers could potentially need to see something about your organization a dozen times or more before they’re even aware of you — much less be willing to buy from you.
The marketing world is saturated with endless messages, offers, and content. So how do you stand out from the crowd?
My latest guest, Riaz Kanani on the Measure Success Podcast is someone who guides business owners on exactly that. Riaz Kanani is a serial entrepreneur returning to the B2B world to build a go-to-market platform for the new buyer. Check out his website.
Listen to the full conversation at the link below or wherever you get your podcasts for more on the evolution of marketing over the last several years, how to make sure people actually pay attention to your emails and content pieces, what the impact of generative AI could look like in this industry, and a lot more.
As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up.
Patrick Galvin I How to Build Your Business with Relationships
What’s the most important element of any successful business?
- The company’s products?
- Market share?
- The sales team?
- Profits?
- Something else?
All those are significant elements, of course. But at the top of the list is…relationships.
No matter your industry, you won’t find success without building the right relationships.
But how do you actually do that?
My Measure Success Podcast guest this week is the expert who can teach us.
Patrick Galvin is the Co-founder and Chief Galvanizer of The Galvanizing Group, a learning and development company in Portland, Oregon founded in 2001 with a focus on helping people build better personal and professional relationships. He’s also an accomplished speaker and author of two business parables, “The Connector’s Way” and “The Trusted Way.” Tune into the full conversation here or wherever you get your podcasts for more about the power of relationship-building (and what many business owners get wrong about it), how to move past analysis paralysis, when to know whether to pivot your business, and a lot more.
As our podcast and blog are free for you, here is the link to share with someone else to sign up. |
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