Hi, I hope it’s been a productive and purposeful month so far. From leadership and strategy to managing yourself and others, my Leadership Insights offer practical tips on the most essential business topics to help you succeed. Maximise both your own and your organisation’s performance and become a more effective, well-rounded leader who can make better decisions to gain better results. Here are some insights to help you outlearn and outthink the competition.
Cheers, Jonathan Herps
Reading room
Jim Collins’ latest 46-page Turning the Flywheel monograph is a companion guidebook to the number-one bestselling Good to Great, focused on implementation of the flywheel concept, one of Jim Collins’ most powerful ideas that has been used across industries and the social sectors, and with start-ups. It’s such a brilliant and quick read that I couldn’t put it down.
Collins teaches that the key to business success is not a single innovation or one plan. It is the act of turning the flywheel, slowly gaining momentum and eventually reaching a breakthrough. Building upon the flywheel concept introduced in his ground-breaking classic Good to Great, Jim Collins teaches readers how to create their own flywheel, how to accelerate the flywheel’s momentum, and how to stay on the flywheel in shifting markets and during times of turbulence.
Combining research from his Good to Great labs and case studies from organisations like Amazon, Vanguard, and the Cleveland Clinic which have turned their flywheels with outstanding results, Collins demonstrates that successful organisations can disrupt the world around them—and reach unprecedented success—by employing the flywheel concept.
As an example of how a Flywheel works, this article outlines that Hilton Hotels Business ‘Flywheel’ Will Lead To Above-Average Returns For The Next Decade.
“The Hilton business flywheel is a self-reinforcing loop that leads to loyal customers and satisfied owner partners. Shares should compound over 13% annually over the next decade and beyond.”
“The “flywheel” for Hilton’s business and economic returns is summarised nicely by the following slide from the company’s recent investor presentation. 1) Leading hotel brands serving virtually any lodging needed anywhere lead to 2) Satisfied Loyal Customers, which lead to 3) Premium, Growing Market Share, which leads to 4) Satisfied Owners, which leads to 5) Leading Hotel Supply & Pipeline, which leads to 6) Hilton’s Financial Performance.”
How does your flywheel turn? Does turning your Flywheel build relentless, unstoppable momentum? Please watch this two-minute Jim Collins video for more details on his flywheel concept.
Please read this asap – it will take about an hour – then bring Jim’s key questions to your weekly “council” meeting over the next few weeks. Figuring out your flywheel is one of the most important strategic decision you’ll make – personally and professionally.
Things to know
Australia’s First Tech Billionaires –
This NY Times article details how Atlassian co-founders Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes, who scaled their firm to a market cap of over $20 billion ($24.74 billion today) while holding onto 75% of the ownership, have lobbied for change. Unlike other wealthy people in Australia, they have been vocal about the political changes that need to occur in their country. Please take 4-minutes to read about two of the world’s top entrepreneurs who defied Silicon Valley – and who now live next to each other (with a hole in the fence so their children can play together) in the two most expensive homes in Australia.
Weekly roundup
Each week I will share 3 articles that I believe that you will find of value.5G Wireless Will Boost Employee Productivity, Customer Experience: Survey Research
This is the No. 1 Role You’re Missing on Your Leadership Team
Tools – One-Page Personal Plan
As busy executives, if we’re not careful, we can find our personal lives end up neglected. As entrepreneurs, personal and professional lives are often intertwined. A fulfilled personal life provides a foundation for success in one’s professional life.
A Scaling Up tool for personal growth is the One Page Personal Plan (OPPP). The OPPP is a great tool to develop and implement a plan in key areas of focus and time frames:
- The Five Fs (the areas that are ultimately the most important in life): Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Finance.
- The Four Key Decisions: Relationships, Achievements, Rituals, and Wealth.
- The Time Frames: 10-25 years (Aspirations), 1 Year (Activities), 90 Days (Actions).
Created in the spirit of the One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP), the OPPP concentrates on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that matter most for our personal lives.
Here is a link to a video from Verne Harnish who provides an in-depth tutorial on how to use the OPPP. In the video, Verne recounts how he filled out the OPPP plus he also shares real examples from Mark Zuckerberg and others.
Verne Harnish is the author of Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Verne is the ‘foundation thought leader’ of the methodology, framework and tools that I use in my advisory practice.
BTW, Scott Farquhar, co-founder of Atlassian, wrote a foreword to Scaling Up “Scaling Up a significant business requires precisely the kind of discipline and focus detailed in Verne’s practical and ‘how-to’ driven book.”
I hope you have enjoyed these insights. Have a great week, and stay growth-focused! Interested in hearing more? Call me on +61 408 748 980 or email me at jherps@hgadvisers.com.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
PS:
Whenever you’re ready, if you need support scaling your business and determining how to make things easier there are a few ways I can help.
- Schedule a call with Scaling Up Coach and founder and chief adviser of Scale Up Growth Partners, Jonathan Herps.
- Find out more about how Scale Up Growth Partners can help you scale your business.
Do you know another business leader who might benefit from Jonathan’s Insights? Have them subscribe to Jonathan’s Insights on our website
Scale Up Growth Partners is an Australian Business Advisory and Coaching firm that works with mid-market growth companies with revenue between $1M and $100M. We equip growth company leaders and executive teams with the knowledge and tools they need to scale their businesses.
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? Contact us at jonathan@scaleupgrowth.co or more information or visit https://scaleupgrowth.co/
