Follow the Leaders
“All In” With Keynote Speaker Chester Elton
Wow! Can I hear an “Amen!”? I say, “Ah, yeah!”
Among professional speakers, Chester Elton could be considered a rock star. His corporate culture presentation at the Retreat this year, complete with sound bites, video clips and deeply personal stories, made us literally shout “Amen!”, laugh out loud, clamor for carrots, and, yes, shed a joyful tear or two.
Fitting. Didn’t the experience embody the exact culture we want for our businesses? A rockin’ roller coaster of a good time, where the congregation members are all on the same page and you are the Apostle of Appreciation?
Remember this quote from his presentation? “My role is to get my team members to fall in love with our company and their jobs, just like I have.” (Manager, Coffee Bean Company store)
To get there, you — the CEO — need to get everyone in the wheelbarrow. Your employees need to believe. And you need to be ALL IN.
How do you make that happen? Lucky for us, Chester has developed a road map: seven simple steps powered by the relatively simple acts of engaging, enabling and energizing employees.
He reminded us to focus on the customer and root for each other. He reminded us that the smallest amount of negativity is strong enough to crush the strongest of culture. And we saw how one hand-written note changed a life.
Chester Elton’s advice? Reward behaviors. Do it often and be specific.
Remember, your employees are watching, so work to inspire people. Be ALL IN and bring it home.
(This video has one last takeaway. VACEOs members enjoy outstanding speakers and events all year long. Are you a member? Learn why you should join the Virginia Council of CEOs.)
About Chester Elton
Called the “Apostle of Appreciation” by The Globe and Mail, Canada’s largest newspaper, and “creative and refreshing” by The New York Times, Chester Elton is co-author of several successful leadership books. All In, The Carrot Principle and The Orange Revolution are all New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. His work has been called a “must-read for modern managers” by former CNN television host Larry King.
Chester has inspired audiences from Seattle to Singapore, Denver to Dubai, and Toronto to Istanbul. He was the highest-rated speaker at a recent national Society for Human Resource Management annual conference (Bill Cosby was the second-highest-rated speaker).
Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, on Creating Culture in the Workplace
This year’s VACEOs Annual Retreat program was chock full of outstanding speakers. After we were inspired by Rita Gunther McGrath’s “MarketBusting” session, we didn’t miss a beat and kept the energy flowing straight through lunch, where we asked Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path, Inc., about everything from fostering the right culture to choosing the right board members.
I saw heads nodding and a few “Aha!” expressions as I looked around the room while Matt spoke. And I couldn’t help but think that at least part of his success must be due to the fact that he regularly revisits his work-life checklist.
Several times a year, he asks himself:
1. Am I still learning?
2. Am I having fun?
3. Am I being adequately financially rewarded?
4. Am I having an impact?
If only two boxes are checked, he says it’s time to address the issue.
During lunch, I made note of several of Matt’s major points, including, “Culture is about being deliberate about it, and everyone plays by the rules.” And the biggie: “You, as CEO, must be ALL IN.” (I couldn’t help but love the way this message tied into our Retreat theme this year.)
I wonder, do you connect the dots between your vision and your employees’ daily jobs? Matt does — with frequent town hall events, scheduled meetings with his management team, and a weekly recognition and reward program.
Transparency, flexibility and learning are pillars of his company’s culture. Ask him about his “people team” and his internal training program and watch his eyes light up. Don’t like feedback? Don’t work for him. He’s passionate about performance reviews, so you can expect several each year. Yet another pulse check to keep him on track.
What are the pillars of your culture? As the CEO of your organization, do you embody the message — or shy away behind your desk and expense reports?
Matt Blumberg, CEO of Return Path
About Return Path, Inc., and Matt Blumberg, Chairman & CEO
Matt Blumberg founded Return Path in 1999. The company is now the global leader in email intelligence, helping businesses build better relationships with their customers and improve their email ROI. Return Path also assists ISPs and other mailbox providers enhance network performance and drive customer retention. Return Path has made the Inc. 500 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Small Companies multiple times and was listed as number 11 on Fortune’s “Best Companies to Work for” list in 2012.
Matt is the author of Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, based on his popular blog on entrepreneurship, Only Once. He is also co-author of Sign Me Up!: A Marketer’s Guide to Creating Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales. Among many other honors, Matt was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 2012.
MarketBusting with Rita Gunther McGrath
Rita Gunther McGrath
2014 VACEOs Annual Retreat Opening Keynote
It’s not every day you get to hear one of the world’s top experts on strategy and innovation speak, but that’s exactly how we began our 2014 Annual Retreat. If you missed the event this year, you missed an incredible opportunity.
Rita Gunther McGrath, nationally known speaker and Columbia Business School professor, inspired us with examples of “MarketBusters” – strategic moves companies made that allowed them to capitalize on significant strategic growth opportunities.
Here are a few takeaways I gathered from her session. What lessons did you learn?
Eight Takeaways: Rita Gunther McGrath on “MarketBusting: Finding Opportunities in Surprising Places”
1. GET the big picture: Innovation and strategy are more integrated than ever. The new strategy playbook involves continuous reconfiguration of your business. Seek out disruption. Small changes can add up to big results!
2. ASK, “How do I make sure I don’t stay in my existing model? How do I accumulate new ideas and get them into my business processes?”
3. AVOID defining yourself out of an opportunity (Q coin collection story). “We assumed that our customers would want this service for free. We categorized it as a cost to avoid.”
4. LOOK for new opportunities inside and outside of your marketplace. Start with reevaluating your customer segments. (Remember the elevator story?) Ask, “What do my customers really need? How are they solving problems? What other business spaces do I need to play in?”
5. KNOW your customers’ experience, know what EXCITES or enrages them or keeps them up at night, and then FIND the next beverage cup holder or aircraft brake shoe!
6. CONSIDER how you’ll retain and reward your employees. Employees of the future are moving away from wanting a stable career path to pursuing a “series of gigs.”
7. REMEMBER, your people are watching. As CEO, your actions signal to your people what is important and how they should channel their energy.
8. MAINTAIN your discovery-driven mindset. Think about how a change in one or more industries could dramatically impact your business, like it did for the shipping company Rita told us about. Above all, make time for thinking space!
About Rita Gunther McGrath
Rita Gunther McGrath is regarded as one of the world’s top experts on strategy and innovation, with a particular emphasis on developing sound strategies in uncertain and volatile environments. Her teachings are followed by leading organizations around the world, and her thinking has been described as “sometimes provocative, but unfailingly stimulating.” She is the author of three books, including MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth.
2013 CEO Retreat Recap
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2013 Retreat Highlights, Takeaways, Videos
Rethink. Rework. Results. Right out of the gate our first speaker, Bill Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company Magazine, asked us to “embrace one of a kind ideas in a world of copy cats.” With that, the tone was perfectly set for our time together at Kingsmill Resort.
Between our opening and afternoon sessions, our members sparked our imagination and interest with twenty, 5 minute presentations — the topics were as varied as our members themselves. We heard about business strategies, employee woes and how to discover the best things in life. Clearly, we are a group of passionate souls embracing endeavors far beyond the business community in which we live.
If you missed the 2013 Retreat, or, if you are still recovering and want to relive the event, take heed. At the top of this page is a fast-paced, Retreat Day 1 video recap for you. I’ve also included one of the most popular Ignite presentations. (Day 2 and other Ignites are forth coming.) As Steve Kimball said, “Hold on to your hats, we’re going for a ride!”
Lastly, here are some of the key takeaways from our three workshops — I hope this information will rekindle your enthusiasm to RETHINK. REWORK and produce the RESULTS you desire.
Thanks again to everyone who attended. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!
–Scot McRoberts
Executive Director, VACEOs
Bill Taylor, VACEOs Retreat Speaker, Founding Editor, Fast Company and Best-Selling Author.
Top 5 Takeaways
Bill Taylor Founding Editor, Fast Company.
Presentation: Change is the Name of the Game
1. The middle of the road is the road to nowhere.
2. Ask yourself: What is the core idea that defines / distinguishes my business? What is my sentence?
3. Now take it further: What is your sentence as a leader?
4. The most successful companies simply care more.
5. Successful companies in the future will a) Offer something that is hard to come by b) Embrace an idea c) Will be intensely human.
Top 5 Takeaways
Stuart Diamond, Author “Getting More.”
Presentation: Negotiate Your Way to Success
Stuart Diamond, VACEOs Retreat Speaker, leading expert on negotiation.
1. Negotiating pizza toppings is exactly the same as negotiating a billion dollar deal. The facts change, the process doesn’t.
2. People don’t expect to agree with you, but expect you to be straight with them.
3. If you are just talking money you are not a good negotiator. Ask yourself, what kind of intangibles can I find in this deal? How can I use this information to add value to this conversation?
4. Know your goals. Are your actions meeting your goals?
5. You are the least important person in the negotiation.
Sam Horn, VACEOs Retreat Speaker, marketing/branding expert.
Top 5 Takeaways
Sam Horn, marketing and branding expert
Presentation: What’s Your Sales & Marketing Story?
1. Brand story: a true, put ‘em in the scene example that resonates with your target audience because it shows what you are special at.
2. Avoid “info-besity” — marketing is about examples, not information.
3. Remember to WAVE when you tell your story: Who/where/when + Adversity + Victory + Emotion …. then hook and dovetail to the person you are speaking with!
4. Tackling or rethinking a new campaign or new product, think: Purpose, Person, Problem, Premise, Process, Pop!
5. Best way to corner a niche to create niche; best way to create a niche, coin your own word. Tip: Use Half/Half technique!
Verne, NPS, and 2 Cool Things
If you aren’t subscribed to Verne Harnish’s weekly email, do it now. He routinely shares compelling stories from fast growing companies (Gazelles), and shares the strategies, tools and tactics they use to be great.
Cool thing #1. This week’s edition discusses Net Promoter Score and a Gazelles online seminar that I plan to attend — after I hear Amy Case’s presentation “NPS Demystified” at our CEO Retreat on April 26. We have tracked our NPS for several years, but have not implemented an NPS strategy.
Cool thing #2. Larry Weinberg, the CEO of BOWA, the construction firm he highlights in this issue, is a high school classmate of mine. I haven’t seen him in thirty years, but I had the misfortune of being in his weight class in wrestling. Think muscle-bound, wrestler-tough guy vs. very skinny boy scout. Anyway, his firm BOWA is averaging an NPS of 97 in 2012, after booking a 93 for 2011. This is simply unheard of. Most companies score below 50, and the 80s are for the very few, like Apple.
By the way, NPS for the VA Council of CEOs, measured just this month, is 79. Not too shabby. But … Larry is still beating the crap out of me!
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