1: The global wellness economy is $4.4 trillion.
Wowza.
“With each new fitness gadget promising perfect abs and each new miracle health food promising youthful vigor, we are forced into a silent battle against the overwhelmingly strong and savvy energy of the world’s best marketers,” Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth.
“Their jobs depend on convincing us that we need all of it to … continue reading
1: In her book Imaginable, New York Times bestselling author Jane McGonigal takes her readers through what she calls “futures thinking” that “inspires us to take actions today that set us up for future happiness and success.”
The guided exercise has us imagine our future self in great detail.
Imagine that it is our 80th birthday…
“What are we wearing? Where are we? What’s around us? Who is around … continue reading
1: There are two traps CEOs and leadership teams fall into regarding innovation.
Trap #1: “The minute we think we truly understand the customer and can take our attention off discovering what matters, we’re dead,” Panera founder Ron Shaich writes in Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.
“Sooner or later,” Ron notes, “even the most brilliant and innovative concept will fall behind the times and become … continue reading
1: “Top-down innovation gets a bad rap,” Panera founder Ron Shaich writes in his terrific book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.
“The popular business press abounds with criticism of initiatives that come tumbling down from the peak of the org chart,” Ron observes.
“And yet, take a closer look at most companies, and you’ll find that organizations are still doing it that way.”
Why is … continue reading
1: “So tell me this,” the young executive asked, “Is Panera almost as good as Donatos?”
“Is he joking?” Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich thought to himself.
It was the early 2000s. Ron was sitting in an executive boardroom at McDonald’s headquarters outside Chicago. Ten years earlier, he had purchased the St. Louis Bread Company and renamed it Panera.
On the other side of the table were members of McDonald’s … continue reading
1: Yesterday, we looked at the wild story of Opsware’s acquisition of Tangram.
Which saved Opsware.
Because it allowed them to retain EDS as a client.
Which accounted for 90% of Opsware’s revenue.
“During acquisition talks,” Opsware CEO Ben Horowitz writes in his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, “both sides had agreed that Tangram’s CFO, John Nelli, would not become part of Opsware.”
2: But, … continue reading
1: The two Opsware leaders sat in a sterile conference room at the EDS headquarters in Plano, Texas.
EDS was their largest customer.
“Largest customer really understates it,” Opsware CEO Ben Horowitz writes in his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things. “EDS accounted for 90 percent of our revenue.”
On the other side of the table sat Frank Johnson (not his real name)—“a big guy who grew up … continue reading
1: In the middle of the dot-com crash, against all odds, Ben Horowitz had succeeded in finding a buyer for Loudcloud, the cloud computing company he had founded.
EDS agreed to acquire the firm for $63.5 million in cash, along with the associated liabilities and cash burn.
Not only that, “we would retain the intellectual property, Opsware, and become a software company,” Ben writes.
“EDS would then license … continue reading
1: It was the middle of the dot-com implosion in 2001. Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz sat in his office, arms folded.
Across from him sat two colleagues, both of whom had graduated from Stanford Business School.
They presented forty-five slides about why Ben’s decision to start a software division was “quixotic, misguided, and downright stupid,” he writes in his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
“They argued that … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we’re working on at PCI.
Last month, I shared my proven annual goal-setting process. For the past seven years, I have selected ten annual goals. Which I call “The 10.”
I select my goals from … continue reading
