= Crazy Growth Partners LLC Blog

archives, publish, reading list

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

“Conditions For Explosive Business Growth” by Richard S. Hawkes
Explosive business growth requires breakthrough thinking. It requires creating a work environment with a high level of creative collaboration. Most executives find it easy to make the case for collaboration, but many resist the idea of the collective creativity. Collective creativity is not easy. It requires a personal commitment to the success of the organization above personal comfort.
posted by @ 04:37 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Friday, February 11, 2005

"Checks and Balances: Developing Creative Tension For Business Growth" by Richard S. Hawkes
The idea of creative tension is not that different from the idea of checks and balances that the framers had in mind when they wrote the United States Constitution. The idea is to set up a business leadership team so that people need to work through differences to resolve tough strategic issues in order to get better overall solutions and, ultimately, faster business growth.
posted by @ 03:50 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Friday, February 4, 2005

Great Leadership Team Meetings: What They Look Like? by Richard S. Hawkes
Poorly planned meetings can be frustrating. How often do you experience a meeting where no time is wasted, you get buy-in from the right players, tangible progress is made and, to boot, you have fun? In my experience, surprisingly few executives know how to structure effective meetings.
posted by @ 09:38 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Thursday, February 3, 2005

"Metrics, Commitment and Accountability: What Works?" by Richard S. Hawkes
The question is: how do you develop business metrics for which you can truly hold people accountable? Of course this question includes a false assumption. Nobody can ever really hold someone else accountable. Ultimately, it is people who hold themselves accountable or not. And, people will only hold themselves accountable for what they believe they can control. In the real world, resources are limited and unexpected events occur. So, the real question is, “how do you hold people accountable for outcomes that they cannot fully control?” The answer can be found looking at the different types of commitments that people can make.
posted by @ 10:36 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

"Zeroing In On Leverage Points For Growth" by Richard S. Hawkes and Marsha Montgomery
This article provides a simple way to quickly zero in on the most significant obstacles that specifically keep your business from growing. The approach was developed by Crazy Growth Partners and has been applied very successfully with dozens of businesses.
posted by @ 10:41 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Saturday, January 29, 2005

"New Executive Assimilation Process" by Richard S. Hawkes
This article provides a process for new executives and their staffs to “feel each other out” and become more comfortable with their respective operating styles and expectations as quickly as possible. The approach has been used at GE among other companies. It creates a climate for two-way information flows and serves as a forum for the executive to demonstrate his respect for his staff by listening to their ideas, issues, and concerns about the team. It also serves as an excellent team-building exercise. The process is facilliated by an impartial third party or coach.
posted by @ 03:43 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

"The Human Side of Compliance In Pharmaceuticals" by Richard S. Hawkes, Marsha Montgomery and Ron Porter
With drugs and medical devices, unlike other industries, the end-consumer typically cannot try before they buy. Hence -- the mandate for the FDA is to ensure that "drugs that compromise safety or effectiveness never reach the public. This article includes some insights into why compliance can challenging.
posted by @ 03:24 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Friday, January 28, 2005

" IT Business Strategy: 5 Types of Value" by Richard S. Hawkes
In many businesses, the IT function is thought of more as a cost center than a competitive weapon. This is a loss considering that IT services impact all types of standardization, and standardization is a major part of making a business scalable so that it can grow.
posted by @ 11:41 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Thursday, January 27, 2005

"Changing The Rules," by Richard S. Hawkes
A pastry manufacturer couldn't get distributors to carry and sell enough of its products. Management tried making better tasting products, more innovative products and cheaper products, but that didn’t make much of a difference. Many large distributors just wouldn’t carry their products. This article is about how the company changed the rules in their favor.
posted by @ 02:40 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

"The Ideal Growth Organization" by Richard S. Hawkes
Contrary to popular belief, the top reasons that business growth falters are not: lack of time, lack of access to capital, lack of people, lack industry expertise, lack of technical expertise, or lack competitive intelligence. When a leadership team claims one of these excuses for not growing, the real cause lies elsewhere.
posted by @ 11:28 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

"Managing the Impossible" by Richard S. Hawkes
Two leadership capabilities comprise the bedrock for business growth.
posted by @ 11:25 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

Friday, January 14, 2005

"Getting Clearer About Your Sources of Growth and Profit" by Richard S. Hawkes
Every sucessful business has a growth and profit model. This article shows you how to specifically identify yours, so that you can improve it.
posted by @ 06:40 PM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

"Stretch Goals," by Richard S. Hawkes
The first step is to set a “BHAG” – big hairy audacious goal..
posted by @ 07:35 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

"Enrolling Others In The Impossible," by Richard S. Hawkes
One colleague said it this way “strong leaders have a reality distortion field around them that affects how other people feel and behave.” This article is about the source of that power.
posted by @ 07:28 AM EST [SEE ARTICLE..]

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