Happiness is a solid and joy is a liquid.
                     JD Salinger, Author

Gross margin tells you how unique your product is and how much people are willing to pay for it.
                     Doug Leone, Sequoia Capital

An invitation to invest 2 to 22 minutes in your executive education this week.

Pat Lencioni, Fred Reichheld, Ram Charan, Carolyn Dewar—Nov 6 – 8 Phoenix
Our LIVE summit events are back in partnership with Chief Executive magazine. Join over 750 CEOs and their mid-market teams in Phoenix Nov 6 – 8 for first-class executive education. Discounts for teams, you can see the full program and more at this link.

#1 Metric — Gross Margin Dollars/Total Compensation
Please ask your accountant/CFO to give you the total gross margin dollars divided by total compensation (including benefits) for 2019, 2022, 2023, and YTD (I skip the pandemic). Because of inflation, this number has been plummeting for many firms. Get this number heading in the right direction quickly. Call us if we can help.

Hire Spikey People — Sequoia Capital’s CEO — Video
Celebrating 50 years since Sequoia launched its first venture fund in 1974, CEO Doug Leone shares what’s required to build an enduring firm in this 42-minute interview. At minute 7:02 he discusses the importance of hiring “spikey, non-linear, slightly injured” people – Daniel Cable’s notion that you need to hire strange people. He goes on to explain it's often a product problem; you have to architect the firm, not just the product.

Rocks in a River – Job of CEO to Identify and Clear
Leone, at minute 16:04, describes a business like a river – “there are rocks in the river and your job as CEO is to remove as many rocks as possible.” Our use of the term “rocks” in Scaling Up is precisely this meaning. And in the new versions of our books, I’ve moved us away from the “climbing a mountain” analogy to one of a river flowing, noting that nature moves down the mountain, not up it. Thank you to Aditya Tulsian for sharing this video.

Gross Margin – Key Metric Measuring Uniqueness
At minute 25:01 Leone rifts on the importance of gross margin. Back to my ratio above, the real measure that you’re building an enduring firm is gross margin. Notes Leone “gross margin tells you how unique your product is and how much people are willing to pay for it.” Please listen to those 3-minutes if not the entire 42 min. So much wisdom in this short interview.

Why Joy is More Valuable Than Happiness
The JD Salinger quote above opened Chip Conley’s blog post this morning. It’s worth 1 minute to read thru Chip’s perspectives on joy and happiness.

Joy Party
One biz note – on the 20^th anniversary of Chip’s hotel chain Joie de Vivre (he even named his hotel chain after the word), they hosted a Joy Party inviting the 10,000+ Californians with the name Joy– clever. How might you celebrate your customers in a clever way? Themed parties are usually a winner.

Use of Lighters for Candles = Smoking
This Fortune article on Bic details how this French firm has remained innovative and nimble. Led by Gonzalve Bich, grandson of founder Marcel Bich, one of the fastest growth engines are temporary tattoos that last a few weeks. And fun fact – the use of lighters for candles equals their use for smoking. Please take 2 minutes to read how this multi-generational biz has navigated the markets for almost 80 years.

Order a box of 20 books
Save 50% over the price on Amazon for Scaling Up, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, and 12 Habits of Valuable Employees books here for less!

Additional Books 
Scaling Up Compensation, a quick read helping you get much greater impact and outcomes from one of your largest expenses; and The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, which provides you with some great ideas to borrow/steal for your own business are available on Amazon.

TECHNOLOGY:
Scaling Up Scoreboard is AI-enabled and integrated with Salesforce, Slack, and Zapier (allowing it to connect with 1000s of systems). Use Scoreboard to provide your team (working remotely even more important!) with a real-time visual dashboard of cascading priorities and metrics. Get a personalized tour of the Scaling Up Scoreboard to see how you can use it to better implement Scaling Up in your business.

EDUCATION: 
Scaling Up Master Business Course
Scaling Up Free Mini Course

COACHING: Unlock Explosive Growth with a Scaling Up Coach
Is your business hitting a growth ceiling? Break through with a Scaling Up Certified Coach™. Our elite coaches master the Scaling Up methodology to reignite growth, align your team, and chart a clear scalability path. From day one, we provide a custom-tailored approach - conducting a comprehensive diagnostic, hand-picking your perfect coach match, and providing dedicated support. Whether a $5M or $250M firm, invest in coaching to propel your business to extraordinary new heights.
Schedule a complimentary follow-up or check out our FAQs. Additional questions can be sent to coaching@scalingup.com.

Have you considered becoming a Certified Scaling Up Coach?
Learn more about what it takes to certify and what being a coach is like. Pop into our Coach Office Hours to talk with our coach certification coordinator and a certified Scaling Up Coach. Learn More & Register for Office Hours here >

SCALING UP WORKSHOPS:
Engage your team with interactive Scaling Up workshops. Here's our list of workshops

San Francisco, CA – Jun 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Boulder, CO – Jun 20, 2024 (Virtual)
San Diego, CA – Jun 25, 2024 (In-Person)
Washington, DC – Jun 27, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Jul 11, 2024 (Virtual)
Chile – Jul 23, 2024 (Virtual)
Hong Kong – Jul 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Bengaluru / Hyderabad / Dhaka, India – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Jul 31, 2024 (Virtual)
Adelaide, Australia – Aug 13 & 14, 2024 (2 Day, In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Aug 15, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA –  Aug 28, 2024 (Virtual)
Sydney, Australia –  Aug 29, 2024 (In-Person)
Melbourne, Australia – Sep 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada – Sep 12, 2024 (Virtual)
Denver, CO – Sep 17, 2024 (In-Person)
Columbus, OH – Sep 20, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Sep 24, 2024 (Virtual)
Nottingham, UK – Oct 1, 2024 (In-Person)
Brisbane, Australia – Oct 2, 2024 (In-Person)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oct 7, 2024 (In-Person)
Phoenix, AZ – Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Ontario, Canada - Oct 10, 2024 (Virtual)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Oct 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Fort Lauderdale, FL – Oct 15, 2024 (In-Person)
San Francisco, CA – Oct 16, 2024 (Virtual)
Melbourne, Australia – Nov 12, 2024 (In-Person)
Sydney, Australia – Nov 14, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Nov 14, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Nov 19, 2024 (Virtual)
Franklin, TN – Dec 5, 2024 (Virtual)
San Antonio, TX – Dec 10, 2024 (In-Person)
Ontario, Canada - Dec 12, 2024 (Virtual)
San Francisco, CA – Dec 18, 2024 (Virtual)

Planning to Exit – Critical Whitepaper
Selling your firm, for its maximum value, is the most important negotiation in which a business owner will participate. You are typically negotiating with sophisticated buyers who have done hundreds of acquisitions whereas this is often your first rodeo. And these buyers have a formula for ripping you off – and it works, stealing tens of millions from you. Seeking help, owners discover the big M&A firms, especially those specializing in your industry, are more beholden to the buyers than the sellers (they will tell you otherwise). Email me to get a whitepaper on how to maximize your valuation and avoid the psychological games buyers play verne@scalingup.com.

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