1:  This week in RiseWithDrew, we’ve explored the power of vision to galvanize an organization.

“Reframing the game doesn’t necessarily mean creating a vision that departs from a company’s heritage,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in their powerful book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.

“Our research found,” the authors note, “that the best CEOs often … continue reading

1: When soccer sensation Lionel Messi sprints down the field and scores, he gets an assist from his high-tech Adidas soccer boots. 

“Sure, Messi has a sponsorship agreement with Adidas—the world’s second-largest athletic apparel maker after Nike,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. 

Lionel’s shoes, however, do more than help him … continue reading

1: It was the summer of 2012, and electronics retailer Best Buy was on the brink.  

That year, the company would lose $1.7 billion.  

Ouch

New CEO Hubert Joly was swimming with crocodiles: “Amazon and various technology companies were vertically integrating, service quality in stores had plummeted, trust in leadership was low, and the share price was dropping rapidly,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra write in … continue reading

1: Mastercard’s former CEO Ajay Banga was walking through the office one day when he noticed a slogan written in a staircase: 

“Mastercard, the heart of commerce.”

“It made me think,” he reflects in Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra‘s powerful book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest. 

A thought struck him: “Commerce is mostly in cash, right? … continue reading

1: On July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to declare independence from Britain.

“That these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved,” so read the motion.

But “there … continue reading

1: “Monday, July 1st, 1776, began hot and steamy in Philadelphia, and before the morning was ended a full-scale summer storm would break,” David McCullough writes in his Pulitzer-Prize-winning biography John Adams.

John Adams, then one of Massachusetts’s delegates to the Second Continental Congress, was up before sunrise. 

Early that morning, he wrote a long letter to Archibald Bulloch, the new president of Georgia: “This morning is … continue reading

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 are working on at PCI.

1: Question: What do we do when we achieve our long-term vision?

Answer: It’s time to create a new one.

For the past 20 years, our long-term vision at PCI … continue reading

We’ve prepared for and held our annual planning session with our leadership team.  

We’ve articulated our long-term vision and agreed upon our HOT, our Huge, Outrageous Target.  

We’ve outlined our roadmap for the year ahead.

Now what?

Step one “is calling a company-wide meeting and sending an all-company recap video from the CEO,” Mark Moses and his co-authors write in Making Big Happen: Applying The Make Big Happen System … continue reading

1: It was happening.  

Sarah Dusek and her husband, Jacob, had started Under Canvas, a “glamping” business on ten acres of land six miles outside Yellowstone National Park. It was their first season, and excitement was in the mountain air.  

“The camp was filled with eager glampers clamoring for a slice of Mother Nature, and Sarah was ecstatic that the business was up and running after immeasurable hard work,” … continue reading

1: Dr. Carol Clinton was an ER doctor and a stage 3 ovarian cancer survivor.  

She decided to change her own life and that of her patients by founding Timeless Skin Solutions, a nonsurgical medical company. As an entrepreneur, she adopted the “Make Big Happen” system to build and grow her business.  

A system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; … continue reading