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Read Time: 3 minutes. |
Autumn was in the air briefly the last week in the Northeast. |
Combined with back-to-school shopping and fantasy football drafts, perhaps no seasonal change is more evident than summer to fall. |
Unfortunately, the seasons in business don't always announce themselves quite so clearly. And even when they are clear, we don't always love the current season. |
And so we drift. We straddle. |
This past week, I caught one of the CEOs I coach straddling. |
It wasn't obvious at first. The primary symptom was fatigue teetering burnout. |
But as we dug deeper for the root cause, we found that he was focusing more on a season of growth when reality called for dealing with the current conditions: existential risk. |
This mismatch created a vicious cycle. |
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He was half in two games and losing both. |
I wish I could say he was alone, but this happens constantly. |
And even if your focus is in the right season, keeping your team there is an ongoing challenge. |
Here's my cheat sheet for knowing which season you're in and hitting the biggest risk head-on. |
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A counterintuitive secret the most impactful leaders figure out is that you want to create more conflict on your team, not less. Conflict drives creativity. Conflict increases connection. Conflict is how diversity becomes a competitive advantage. |
Learn how to get more team more comfortable challenging each other. |
Join us: September 10 @ 1 PM ET |
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Startup |
Biggest Risk: Confusing Motion for Momentum |
If your company or function is new, you have a blank canvas.
Unfortunately, you don't have a blank check. |
You have to figure out two things asap: |
Can you convince someone to pay you? Can you deliver sufficient value when they do?
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Is your team focused on snazzy designs or overcomplicated processes? |
Chances are they're building for a season they'll never see. |
Your only focus should be fit. |
Existential Downturn |
Biggest Risk: Moving too slowly |
Cash is oxygen for business. You cannot survive long without it. |
When an existential downturn hits your business, you need to act fast. And there's no secret to generating more cash: |
Drive up sales Drive down expenses
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Chances are you need to start with expenses (if driving sales had an obvious solution, you'd already be doing it). |
Be clear. Be compassionate. Be quick. |
Recurring expenses keep recurring until you cut them.
And you can't survive a season unless you keep breathing. |
Hyper Growth |
Biggest Risk: Degrading Culture |
Hypergrowth is a balancing act. |
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How do we allow the culture to evolve vs erode? |
Successful scale-ups consistently did three things to get this right: |
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Align the behaviors, systems, and stories, and you won't just survive the season. You'll thrive. |
Stable Operations |
Biggest Risk: Distraction |
Many of the best leaders I know see business as a game. It's a series of puzzles to solve that unlock new, more challenging levels. |
But look at every successful business, and you'll see a second reality: |
A willingness to solve the same problem over and over and over. |
Operations is how you make puzzle-solving profitable. But how do you get your puzzle solvers to keep solving the same puzzle? |
Typically, you don't. You're better off getting a team into place that loves the puzzle of operations. |
Missing the moment of realignment is how you lose A-player talent. |
Reorganization |
Biggest Risk: Rigidity |
The one constant in business is change, and that change almost always appears in the org chart. |
Some changes are small, like when a manager leaves or gets hired.
Some are dramatic, like when multiple companies merge. |
But every change offers a choice: |
See it as a threat See it as an opportunity
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The leaders who lose entrench in the past.
The leaders who win imagine the future.
And take the steps to build it. |
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What You Missed |
Here's what you missed from me on LinkedIn: |
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Here's what you missed from me on X/Twitter: |
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I'd also love to know what playbooks would be most helpful to you. Hit reply and tell me your biggest management challenge. |
You'll always remain anonymous unless you tell me otherwise. |
| | | | MGMT Accelerator: Open For Enrollment | We start our last MGMT Accelerator program for 2024 on September 17th. | In 12 hours over 4 weeks, we'll work together to unlock your most pressing leadership challenge while building out systems that allow you to manage your team more effectively and efficiently. | We're one month away and already 50% full. | |
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Thank you for reading. Appreciate you! |
Dave |
| | | | Ways To Work With Me | MGMT Accelerator - Enrollment in the 10th cohort of our flagship program is now open. We've even included 5 seats, each with two 50-minute 1:1 coaching sessions with me. Sign up today. | MGMT Fundamentals - Our summer weekend sprint was our highest-rated program yet. We're running it back on November 2 & 3. | Customized Leadership Programs - Bring our MGMT Accelerator in-house for a tailored, two-day intensive workshop. Ideal for 20+ managers. | 1:1 Executive Coaching - I only work with 5-6 CEOs at a time. Hit reply to setup time to see if I'm the right coach for you. | Speaking - We're now booking keynotes for Q1 2025. Hit reply on this note, and we can set up a time to discuss topics and pricing. | MGMT Playbook - If you're here because someone forwarded this email, please subscribe before you leave. | |
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