172: Scaling Up Insights — Coach Panel with Roland Siebelink and Cheryl Biron
Release Date: 10/16/2019
Ingraining Culture with a Manifesto
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this episode Bill emphasizes the significant impact of crafting a company manifesto as a foundational tool for embedding cultural elements deeply and swiftly into the organizational fabric. This manifesto should articulate the company's purpose, its emotional core, the vision for the future, the values guiding its operations, promises made to customers, and a long-term transformational goal, commonly referred to as a "big, hairy, audacious goal" (BHAG). By doing so, a manifesto provides a comprehensive overview of why the company exists, its direction, how it plans to get there, the...
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Culture, creating a strong one
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this episode, Bill delves into the significance of creating a powerful and positive company culture as a foundational strategy for scaling businesses effectively and sustainably. He likens the ideal company culture to a "good cult," emphasizing the need for intentional, cult-like qualities within a company to foster unity, commitment, and shared values among team members. By drawing parallels with companies like Disney and Apple, known for their strong, cult-like cultures, Bill outlines how such a culture can significantly contribute to a company's success by enhancing...
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Managing a Positive Cash Flow with Peter Kingma
Scaling Up Business Podcast
If maintaining positive cash flow is keeping you up at night, this is the conversation you need to hear. Once you’ve got cash figured out, everything runs more smoothly. Peter Kingma works with multinational clients and leads EY Working Capital services in the Americas. Corporate leaders entrust him to help liberate cash through operational improvements, which help in reducing costs and improving service quality. His new book, Cash Is King, discusses why your company’s cash position should be on an equal footing with sales, cost, and service, and how to make that happen. ...
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Core Values, how to develop and use them
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this insightful episode, Bill delves into the essence and significance of company core values, demystifying how to get them right and why they are so crucial for creating a thriving, scalable business. He emphasizes that core values are not mere aspirational statements or the embodiment of desired traits but rather a reflection of how a company operates at its best. Bill argues that core values should guide the behavior and decisions within a company, ensuring it grows in a way that remains true to its founding principles without becoming overwhelming or diverging into something the founder...
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Delegating as a Leader with Dave Kerpen
Scaling Up Business Podcast
Effective leaders know how to delegate the things they don’t do well — or don’t want to do well — so that they can focus on their strengths and move the company toward greater success. Dave Kerpen is currently an advisor to many companies and is the CEO/Co-Founder of Apprentice, a platform that connects entrepreneurs and business leaders with smart and motivated college students looking for real-world experience and mentorship. Dave’s new book, Get Over Yourself, shares the roadmap for how you can shift your mindset (and your workload) to focus on the things most important for...
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Perfecting your pitch
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this episode, the focus is on mastering the art of pitching within the context of growing a company, emphasizing the importance of engaging people effectively despite their inherent complexities and irrationalities. Recognizing that people, including ourselves, operate in ways that might only make sense to them, the episode delves into how to craft a pitch that resonates and leads to more affirmative responses. The key lies in sharing a compelling vision of the future that addresses a problem or gap and depicts an improved future state. This approach not only demonstrates an understanding...
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Don't Self Sabotage with personal worries
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this episode, Bill delves into the psychological barriers that hinder our ability to secure affirmative responses in business interactions, emphasizing the detrimental impact of personal concerns and self-doubt. He identifies common worries, such as fearing one is too salesy or arrogant, and illustrates how these internal fears can prevent effective communication and diminish the enthusiasm in pitches or proposals. Bill proposes a solution to shift focus away from oneself and towards understanding and addressing the needs and interests of the other party. By acknowledging and setting aside...
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Designing a Company That Can Get Rich with Christopher Volk
Scaling Up Business Podcast
The ultimate goal of building a company is to build its value. Designing a company that can get rich is not always top-of-mind for business owners, but it should be. Christopher Volk is the author of The Value Equation. Christopher was instrumental in leading and publicly listing three successful companies, two of which he co-founded. A 2019 regional winner of EYs’ Entrepreneur of the Year award, Christopher is a frequent university lecturer and serves on multiple non-profit boards. Not all companies are created equal. While many companies focus on their goods or services that...
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Talent Assessment and Development
Scaling Up Business Podcast
In this episode, Bill introduces a comprehensive approach to talent assessment aimed at enhancing team performance and fostering a positive work environment as businesses grow. He emphasizes the critical importance of assembling a team that not only performs well but also aligns with the company's values and culture. Bill introduces the concept of a talent assessment tool and process that focuses on two main criteria: fit with the company's values and performance in their current roles. This straightforward assessment provides a clear strategy for managing team members, highlighting the need...
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Dignity in The Modern Workplace with Ari Weinzweig
Scaling Up Business Podcast
Does dignity in the workplace really matter? Plenty of companies seem to get by without upholding dignity, but with over 40 years of experience and $60 million in annual sales, today’s return podcast guest knows there is a better way. Ari Weinzweig is the co-founder of Zingermans Delicatessen. Ari, alongside his co-founder, Paul Saginaw, started Zingerman’s in 1982 as a restaurant and specialty food retail space. Now the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses has 23 partners, employs over 750 people, and generates over $60 million in annual sales from ten separate businesses. ...
info_outlineWe have two amazing guests for you this week, Roland Siebelink and Cheryl Biron, to weigh in on some of their thoughts about what’s new in the world of scaling up. Stay tuned as Bill and our guests dive into the health of an organization, developing better leaders and people, and how to brace for the upcoming market storms ahead.
Roland Siebelink is an award-winning tech startup CEO as well as one of Bill’s former clients. He is a coach that focuses on mid-stage tech startups and works one-on-one with CEOs to scale their businesses. Cheryl Biron has an MBA in Marketing from The Wharton School and serves as a CEO for One Horn Transportation. She has used the Rockefeller Habits to reduce her demanding role and obtain more freedom. Charyl is also a coach and is the author of The Hot Tub Manifesto!
This panel’s first topic of discussion is the health of an organization. Rajendra Sisodia has an upcoming book on the subject about how to align multiple stakeholders, customers, and employees into a purpose-and-values-driven company. The purpose of a company should not be solely to make money. The ability to make money is definitely in a scorecard, it’s an indicator of company health, but it is a very weak ‘core purpose.’
In order to develop a healthy organization, their leader must be self-aware, and open to being coachable. One in five executives quit the coaching process because it’s uncomfortable to shine the mirror onto themselves and look at their flaws. Roland shares that in this coaching process, it goes a long way to just be kind than to be right. Cheryl agrees. To her, it’s about finding the right battles to fight for and let go of.
The next topic is about the value of people! There are forecasts that there is going to be another recession soon, so what does that mean for leaders, today? Cheryl shares an example of how people can work together for the greater good of the company so that no one does get laid off by taking pay cuts and allowing staff to go on vacation without pay. It’s not an ideal scenario, but it benefits everyone as a whole because they still have jobs during tough times.
Roland agrees with this approach. By being conscious of the market volatility and adapting your workforce to it, you also have the ability to retain industry knowledge. If you had initially laid off your workforce and were seeking the same level of expertise two to three years from now when the market has somewhat recovered, it would be nearly impossible to find these individuals again.
The next topics cover the customer experience, going the extra mile the way Airbnb does, upcoming Scaling Up workshops, the benefits of a daily huddle, getting lost in communication platforms, and visualizing company BHAGs.
Interview Links:
Mr. Jenkins Told Me… Forgotten Principles That Will Grow Any Business, by Jonathan Bancroft
Connect with Roland:
Scaling Silicon Valley Style: Growing Big But Not Corporate, by Roland Siebelink & Doug Miller
Connect with Cheryl:
Hot Tub Manifesto: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Having It All, by Cheryl Biron, and Louis Biron, with Carl Gould
Resources:
Scaling Up Workshop: Interested in attending one of our workshops? We have a few $100 discounts for our loyal podcast listeners!
Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops.
Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.)