Hope it’s been a productive and purposeful week. Here are some insights to help you outlearn/outthink our reaction to the virus.

By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

Jim Collins, Pat Lencioni, Ram Charan and Me – June 16
Join thousands next Tuesday from 3pm-5pm ET -- replay available for 7 days after for those not able to watch LIVE. For more info, click here.

Alan Miltz’s Cash Course –
Creator of Cash Flow Story and star of our various virtual summits, Alan Miltz’s critical (and accredited) Cash Flow Master Class (perfect for the CFO/COO?) launches June 17, more info below. But first…

The Toughest Question – Layoffs?
This week, zooming in to share my new Scaling Forward framework (www.scalingforward.com) with a Harvard OPM reunion group, I was asked “what is the #1 question you’ve been asked by business leaders during this crisis.” No doubt, it’s, “do I layoff my people?” Having responsibility for the livelihoods of your team is a constant weight on your shoulders as a leader. For those of you that have had to make some super tough decisions, my heart goes out to you. And my hope is that you’ll never have to do it again.  

Run Your Business So You’ll Never Need Layoffs –
This HBR article highlights how proper preparation (cash management) is key to never having to resort to layoffs in the future – in addition to trusting your team to innovate. Pls take 3-minutes to read how Southwest Airlines, Gravity Payments (we use their platform), a home-remodeling firm in Boston, and a fine-dining restaurant in Seattle have weathered the storm. Thank you to Scaling Up Certified coach Dominic Monkhouse for pointing me to this insightful article co-written by the open-book management team of John Case and Bill Fotsch. 

The Resilient Leader –
Pls grab a copy of serial entrepreneur Christine Perakis’ book The Resilient Leader: Life Changing Strategies to Overcome Today's Turmoil and Tomorrow's Uncertainty (Kindle under $4). Besides scaling ten businesses, she was a professional rescuer on the mountains and sea. She’s weathered real and professional storms and details:

• The 6 Barometers of Pandemic Preparedness for Small Businesses
• The 3 Things Senior Leaders Must Do During a Crisis
• Creating a "Float Plan" For Dealing with Business Disruption
• Evaluating and Motivating Your Team During (and After) a Disaster
• How to Make Crucial Decisions Before It's Too Late
• Creating a Communication Plan (both corporate and individual)

She’s a wonderful storyteller and grabs you in the introduction – a delightful read this weekend. Congrats Christine.

Anti-fragile vs. Resilient –
My only pushback when Christine first shared info on her book was the title. Resilience implies “weathering the storm.” But those properly prepared/provisioned can actually benefit from the chaos. Next week, during my June 16 presentation for Chief Executive magazine (with Jim Collins, Pat Lencioni, and Ram Charan), I’ll discuss how critical it is to pivot your strategy/organization so you thrive even better during the next crisis. 

South Korea Wants to Be More Anti-Fragile –
Politico's Christian Oliver examines the question of whether Europe should be building champions such as South Korea's Samsung or Hyundai—and finds Koreans are sick of their chaebol conglomerates and would prefer to emulate Germany's Mittelstand SME model. He writes: "The chaebols rebuilt a country, but they can’t conjure up another miracle to take it to the next level in the showdown with China. Korea now realizes that it needs to change tack to unleash the country’s bottled-up talent and pump more oxygen into SMEs in areas like gaming, fashion, music, biotech and medical services." In short, scaleups make a country anti-fragile vs. the large conglomerates. Politico

WUSH and Bug Out Bags –
I’m in the middle of reading a thriller (and real world scary) trilogy by William R. Forstchen about the potentially devastating impact of a properly placed electromagnetic pulse. And reading this made me realize that one of the simple things every family can do, to build anti-fragility into their city/country, is to have a 72-hour Bug Out Bag and WUSH bag. It’s the first 72 hours of any crisis (hurricane, earthquake, riot, pandemic) that is critical as society awaits help to arrive (hopefully your government’s are anti-fragile) – and as citizens we need to do our part and be prepared (I know, some will think I’m crazy; others, why it’s taken me so long to wake up). Here’s a link to the few items you should have in a WUSH fanny pack  â€“ and this additional link for a list of items in a Bug Out Bag. I have a special forces friend coming over next week to brief me more fully. 

Back to Cash (which you need in both bags and business) –
Today it's all about cash. We are now operating in different times. As the leader of your business, you are responsible to have the cash flow you need to keep the company operating. However, your leadership team needs to have a deep understanding of the company's financials and make decisions that support increasing that cash flow. 

To help you and your team get control of your business, we partnered with Alan Miltz and Growth Institute to launch the Managing Cash, Profit, & Value Master Business Course.
This program will help you:

• Understand the 7 levers that can make a dramatic impact on your cash flow & profit
• How to integrate your financial story into everyday decisions that your management team can control
• How to make your bank & investors true partners in your business growth
• And much more!
  

This has been a game-changer for the over 20,000 companies already using it.
The course starts on June 17th. Would love to see you there!

Order a box of 20 Scaling Up books â€“
Want to save 50% over the price on Amazon? Go to this link. 

Write Your Own Book –
Whether you want to make it to the bestseller lists or just sell a lot more of your goods or services, with a profound competitive edge over the competition, Book The Business: How to Make BIG Money With Your Book Without Selling a Single Copy is for you!

Request your free copy of this ground-breaking book at advantagefamily.com/scalingup.

EDUCATION: 

We’re Still in Business Coaching and Training Firms:
Nashville, TN  â€“ June 16, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Las Vegas, NV – June 16, 2020
United Kingdom – Jun 23, 2020
Nashville, TN – June 23, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Australia Region – June 23, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Western NY & Ontario Region – June 24, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Colorado Region – July 1, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Brisbane City, AUS - July 8, 2020
Australia Region – July 13, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Michigan Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Southern California Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Texas Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Western NY & Ontario Region – July 14, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Ohio Region – July 15, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Sydney, Australia - Jul 16, 2020
Adelaide, AUS  -  August 4, 2020
Australia Region – August 18, 2020 (VIRTUAL)
Puebla, Mexico - Aug 18 & 19, 2020
Dallas, TX - Aug 27, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - Sept. 8, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Sep 10, 2020
Sydney, Australia – Sep 14 - 16, 2020
Portland, OR - Sep 15, 2020
United Kingdom – Sep 16, 2020
San Diego, CA - September 18, 2020
Brisbane City, Australia - Sep 23, 2020
Los Angeles, CA – Oct 1, 2020
Waltham, MA – Oct 6, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Oct 15, 2020
Lancaster, PA - Oct 27, 2020
Colombia - Oct 27 & 28, 2020
Chicago, IL - November 10, 2020
Costa Mesa, CA - Nov 10, 2020
United Kingdom – November 10, 2020
Melbourne, Australia - November 10, 2020
Mexico City - Nov 10 & 11, 2020
Guadalajara, Mexico - Nov 12 & 13, 2020
Sydney, AUS - Nov 19, 2020
Atlanta, GA - Dec 9, 2020
Sydney, Australia - Dec 10, 2020
San Diego, CA - Dec 16, 2020
Waltham, MA – Jan 14, 2021

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? The Scaling Up team is prepared to support you. We have helped 40,000 other organizations over the past 30+ years, in scaling up their organizations through coaching, workshops, online training and more.

We would like to offer you a complimentary, personal follow-up from our Scaling Up team to share how we can support you in scaling your organization. 
YES! I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHING & RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY FOLLOW-UP (CLICK HERE)

For questions or more information contact us at [email protected]

TECHNOLOGY: 

Scaling Up Scoreboard – Slack and Salesforce Integrations
Get automated real-time updates on your critical number and your most important team metrics directly from your Salesforce reports now. Setup is fast, simple and secure. Learn More here.

And streamline daily communications. Connect your Slack and Scoreboard accounts to update your Scoreboard Huddles and Top Priorities and read Huddle digests (especially helpful if someone misses a huddle) all inside Slack. Learn more here.

Better Book Club -- What's your team reading? Increase your books read per team member. Easy, Proven, and in the Cloud at http://www.BetterBookClub.com.

Growth Institute Online Executive Education:
Master of Business Dynamics
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Exponential Organizations Master Business Course
Topgrading Master Business Course


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