I had a conversation this morning with a potential investor who reminded me what it takes to grow (and asked me point-blank if that was what I really wanted). He reminded me that it’s really, really, really hard. And not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for most entrepreneurs. As a “get it done” person, that’s a tough pill to swallow.

Here at Actionable, 2015 is off to a substantial start.  We’ve grown our team by 25%, our Actionable Consultant community by 30%, and revenues are roughly double what they were last January. Growth is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. To maintain my own sanity (and some semblance of a “balanced” life), I like to keep two models firmly in mind: The first was introduced to me by Roger Martin in his book The Design of Business. What Roger calls […]

“How would you accomplish your goals if they were 10-times larger than what they actually are today?”

I raised this question with the Actionable Books team at our last annual retreat. Unanimously, it was the most interesting and exciting exercise we went through and continues to be something the team references regularly, even 8 months later. I strongly believe it’s one of the key reasons we grew by over 120% this year. And here’s…

… or, you know, your way could work, too. If we claim we want, “self motivated employees who innovate proactively”, do we honestly believe that scripting / micro-managing / doing-all-the-thinking is the best path to get there? Paint the picture of what’s possible.  Clearly communicate the “out of bounds” behaviors.  By all means, be available to answer questions and provide direction, when asked and when they’re stuck.  But by-and-large, get out of the way. Sure, it could be easier (short term) […]