A Scorecard is a weekly report containing five to 15 high-level numbers for the organization. (Location 245)
Gaining traction requires two disciplines. First, everyone in the organization should have Rocks, which are clear 90-day priorities designed to keep them focused on what is most important. The second discipline requires implementing what is called a Meeting Pulse at all levels in the organization, which will keep everyone focused, aligned, and in communication. (Location 288)
In summary, successful businesses operate with a crystal clear vision that is shared by everyone. They have the right people in the right seats. They have a pulse on their operations by watching and managing a handful of numbers on a weekly basis. They identify and solve issues promptly in an open and honest environment. They document their processes and ensure that they are followed by everyone. They establish priorities for each employee and ensure that a high level of trust, communication, and accountability exists on each team. (Location 302)
Above all else, your leaders need to be able to simplify, delegate, predict, systemize, and structure. (Location 437)
There was probably a time when your business demanded that you fly by the seat of your pants. This involved reacting to every customer request, thinking on your toes, and being creative on the fly. At some point, though, certain actions have revealed themselves as redundant. That’s when you should systemize them. (Location 481)
Systemizing involves clearly identifying what those core processes are and integrating them into a fully functioning machine. (Location 484)
Your company needs to be organized in a way that reduces complexity and creates accountability. (Location 495)
The members of the leadership team weren’t growth-oriented, either internally or externally, nor were they willing to be vulnerable or open-minded. (Location 524)
1. You must build and maintain a true leadership team.       2. Hitting the ceiling is inevitable.       3. You can only run your business on one operating system.       4. You must be open-minded, growth-oriented, and vulnerable. (Location 535)
Clarify your vision and you will make better decisions about people, processes, finances, strategies, and customers. (Location 555)
“If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time. (Location 560)
but the key factor was that the company had no central vision. (Location 563)
Most people are sitting on their own diamond mines. The surest ways to lose your diamond mine are to get bored, become overambitious, or start thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. Find your core focus, stick to it, and devote your time and resources to excelling at (Location 826)
TO (Location 863)
First, you and your leadership team should define, with absolute clarity, your two truths: your reason for being and your niche. (Location 864)
With life and business moving as fast as it does in the 21st century, there is little value in detailed strategic planning beyond a three-year window. A lot can change during that time span. (Location 1130)
One new client’s range was between $20 million and $100 million. Can you imagine how different those individual future views must have been? (Location 1144)
I would tell him to limit the company goals between three and seven, and each year we set goals, he would keep piling on more. (Location 1173)
Schedule two hours with your leadership team. When everyone is sitting at the table, decide on the future date. (Location 1179)
With the three-year picture in mind, discuss, debate, and decide on the three to seven most important priorities that must be completed this year in order for you to be on track for your three-year picture. (Location 1184)
The sooner you accept that you have issues, the better off you’re going to be. You will always have them; your success is in direct proportion to your ability to solve them. (Location 1211)
The number one reason employees don’t share a company vision is that they don’t know what it is. The only way you can determine if your vision is shared by all is simply to tell them. (Location 1228)
issue. The poll revealed that 37 percent of employees didn’t understand their companies’ priorities. (Location 1231)
People need to hear the vision seven times before they really hear it for the first time. (Location 1261)
you. If you’re a typical business owner, you often wake up at 2:00 a.m. with an uneasy feeling. (Location 1706)
My business mentor, Sam Cupp, showed me how he used his Scorecard to take the pulse of his companies, which totaled over $300 million in sales. In his teachings, he forced me to do the same with my business. (Location 1738)
One category would be new revenue/sales. If you only monitor revenue as it comes in, you’ll react to downslides too late. Look at your sales process and follow the steps as far back as you can. (Location 1769)
By understanding these formulas and these ratios, you’ll be able to predict the number of closes two, three, and sometimes four months down the road. (Location 1777)
If you’re still stuck, a great place to find numbers for your people is your completed Accountability Chart. Look at each of the five roles for each function. One, two, or three of those five roles can be measured by a number. For example, let’s say a project manager’s five major roles are as follows:      • complete projects on time      • achieve margin goal on each job      • client satisfaction      • weekly reporting in on time      • achieve quality standards Of these five, you can measure (Location 1856)
If it can be solved at a departmental level, push it down. (Location 1923)
diverse as company Rocks being off track, a bad number in the Scorecard, key employee issues, major client difficulties, and process- and system-related problems. (Location 1923)
These issues are on a more local level. These include all the relevant departmental issues for the week that must be tackled during the weekly departmental meetings. (Location 1925)
One is a true problem that has to be solved. (Location 1970)
The second is information that needs to be communicated and agreed to by the team. (Location 1970)
The third is an idea or opportunity that needs feedback, brainstorming, insight, and/or a green light from the team. (Location 1970)
The old days of shoving issues to the side so you can make it to next week have to come to an end. (Location 2016)
The first is when the issue is solved and requires action. (Location 2019)
The second is when the issue is merely awareness, and the conclusion is that everyone concurs with that awareness. (Location 2021)
The third is when the issue needs more research or facts. (Location 2022)
Those business owners complaining about lack of control and freedom need to get off the nail and work on systemizing their businesses. (Location 2129)
Unfortunately, most will go unrealized due to an inability to gain traction. Visionaries like to stay on a high plane, not at ground level. After more than 20 years of observing failures, I realized how to bridge the gap between vision and execution. (Location 2307)
A luftmensch is an “air-person,” someone who has his or her head in the clouds. (Location 2310)
You need to learn from two quarters with only your leadership team setting Rocks before you roll out the Rocks process to everyone else. (Location 2452)
Make sure that when rolling out Rocks, you’re fully committed to them every quarter. (Location 2455)
Don’t give people outside of the leadership team more than three Rocks. The responsibility (Location 2458)
That is the magic number—we took 280 steps in the right direction over the past 12 months. Amazing (Location 2464)
The fact is that well-run meetings are the moment of truth for accountability. (Location 2467)
When people have to get something done for a meeting, they wait until the last minute and usually finish it—that’s the spike. (Location 2479)
Once the quarterly priorities are set, you must meet on a weekly basis to stay focused, solve issues, and communicate. (Location 2674)
If you’re on track for the week, then you’re on track for the quarter, and if you’re on track for the quarter, then you’re on track for the year, and so on. (Location 2675)
When a Rock is off track, it’s dropped to the IDS portion of the agenda. “On track” simply means that the owner of the Rock feels he or she will accomplish it by the end of the quarter. Even if a Rock is on track but someone wants an update or has a concern, it should be dropped to IDS. Rock review should take no more than 5 minutes. (Location 2719)
from their (Location 3221)