More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
September 18 - November 25, 2020
The fundamental structure of a successful business is the organization chart because it defines who is responsible for every outcome and deliverable of the business.
consider creating an “Outcome Based Organization Chart” which has outcomes and deliverables in each box instead of titles and people’s names.
Create the Culture: How people talk to each other and treat one another is the essence of culture—not how many jelly beans are in the kitchen or whether you can bring your dog to work.
Jelly beans and dogs are perks and have nothing to do with culture.
The CEO sets the example and the tone of the business culture. Show me a lousy culture and I will show you a lousy
In light of the seven fundamental jobs of a CEO, where have I dropped the ball and what do I need to do differently to cause us to get better?
As I am thinking about the next 100 days and what I will do differently, what are the things I must do less of to make room for the things I need to do more of?
A Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Log of Lessons Learned
Strategy
A lack of rules, skepticism, and discipline caused ever...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Emotions, when mixed with unbridled greed and easy access to capital, prod...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Catching a big wave is not the same as being a good swimmer.
A good market tends to hide mistakes. Nothing takes the place of being actively engaged in the running of your business and being thoughtful (as well as skeptical) about the future.
Last week’s marketing report has absolutely nothing to do with where the market is headed, what the economy is doing, or what the demand will be next year.
You must keep a conservative strategy during the good times because you generally don’t know you’re in bad times until it’s too late.
Speed kills. True wealth is built slowly.
Speed and greed necessitate aggressive leverage and increase the odds of catastrophe. It is better to go slower and avoid the do-overs.
every aspect of the business. We acted like it was a sin to miss a revenue opportunity. That makes as much sense as needing to eat everything at a Sunday buffet.
The best way to avoid losses and to stay financially healthy is to “sell too soon.”
Don’t fall into the trap of believing you can sell it for a higher price tomorrow. The future is unknown (and unknowable) and fraught with risk.
In the future, I would rather miss an opportunity than lose capital.
If you don’t understand it, don’t do it.
Any fool can make money in the good times.
Deals
When the market is bad, there are NO buyers . . . at any price.
Don’t let what your competition is doing influence your decisions.
You do not have to swing at every pitch that is thrown. Do fewer, better deals.
Too many deals consume time and draw attention away from the really good ones.
Financing
Debt gives the illusion of wealth. True wealth is assets, cash flow, and manageable (minimal) debt.
Excessive debt and hope are the root of all financial crises. You can never ignor...
This highlight has been truncated due to consecutive passage length restrictions.
Never finance long-term assets with short-term debt.
Too much money makes you stupid. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Personnel
Bench strength is critical. Find the best people and compensate them VERY well. It saves money in the long run.
Adding/keeping mediocre people weakens the organization, which dilutes your results.
Every hire we make should raise the average.
The cost of tolerating an incapable or misplaced employee is far greater than the discomfort of having a tough conversation and speedy termination.
Ordinary Things, Consistently Done, Produce Extraordinary Results!
anytime we start something new, we generally suck at it. We get good at stuff as a result of practice, mistakes, correction, more practice, more mistakes, and more correction.
I will remind you that the intensity of your practice is a critical driver of the speed at which you attain proficiency or mastery.
Think about one of your bad habits or business practices that is sabotaging you. Is this habit the result of some ginormous thing you did a couple of days ago? Doubtful again. It was an ordinary thing, consistently done.
Unfortunately, the root of most if not all my problems is the need for instant gratification.
We self-sabotage when we look for the one massive thing that can be the game changer. We tend to want the results immediately.
O Baby!
She doesn’t really care whether or not I’m “passionate” about writing daily notes. She just wants the note. It turns out that because Sandi loves getting it, I love writing it. (There is a lesson in here for you about pleasing your customers!)
This story illustrates one of the most powerful principles to attract customers and gain significant traction in any business.
FOWTW: Find Out What They Want. This is anticipating problems, identifying pain points, and discovering needs.
As Peter Drucker commented, “When marketing is done right, selling becomes unnecessary.” And his definition of marketing? Finding out what customers want.
