Meghan Stabler’s Post

Caught up w a top CEO. His last co. had incredible rev, EBITDA, and a 9-fig exit. He told me about the most incredible practice they had:   They had employees write down the top 5 people they’d ever worked with and wanted to work with.   The company then spent time, often years, building relationships with these people.   Eventually, they’d get a notable number of them to come join the company.   It was the best example I’ve heard of someone playing the long game on talent.   It’s no surprise I know very few other companies as successful as this one.   3 takeaways:   1. Real recognizes real.   2. Team is your #1 growth lever.   3. If you want an unstoppable team, find out who your A-team wants to work with and go get them. Full story via my newsletter 👆

I had a founder call yesterday that gave me pause. We need to stop telling first-time CEOs to be "confident". That advice is like telling someone with a broken leg to run. You can't just tell someone to be confident, especially when they're in a completely new role and business environment. Being a first-time ‘anything’ is hard. For a first time CEO, it’s F'in really hard. - setting expectations - managing people - selling perhaps when you havent sold before - hiring when you've never hired before - fundraising when you've never fundraised before. It's all new. And that's okay. Instead of pressuring new CEOs to be "confident", let's encourage them to be humble and self-aware. Ask questions, make mistakes, and learn by doing. Get kicked in the teeth. Its all good. That's how you become a confident first time CEO - by doing the work, failing, reflecting, and gaining experience. Propel forward. So let's stop pretending confidence is something you can just 'turn on'. It can’t be. Instead let’s support our first-time founders and CEO’s in a way that makes them feel safe. Dear founders, dear first-time CEO’s, You got this! I made it through.  You will too. Happy Wednesday, ya’ll.

🔥 You need to know this CEO. His last co. had 8-figure EBITDA and a $500M exit. He told me the most incredible story:   They had employees write down the top 5 people they’d ever worked with and/or wanted to work with.   The company then spent time, often years, building relationships with these people.   Eventually, they’d get a notable number of them to come join the company.   It was the best example I’ve heard of someone playing the long game on talent.   It’s no surprise I know very few other companies as successful as this one.   3 takeaways:   1. Real recognizes real.   2. Team is your #1 growth lever.   3. If you want an unstoppable team, find out who your A-team wants to work with and go get them.   👋 🚀 Full story here: moonwater[dot]studio/scale-mba

Consistency. - Here’s A Look Inside My Monthly CEO Letter - As evidenced in Atomic Habits, it can be the little things, done with consistency over time, that can have a massive, compounded impact on your company. At my prior company, QuickBox, there were many things we consistently did well (and they still do). One of those in particular I believe contributed to the incredible relationship we held with our employees was the CEO Letter. For the five years I held the CEO position, without fail, I sent out (and delivered aloud to hundreds of employees) a monthly letter to all our employees. This small, consistent act might seem minor on the surface, but its impact was profound. The format was always the same: -> Each letter starts on a positive note,  -> sharing good news to set an uplifting tone. Then, we dove into the heart of our performance -> a scorecard for the ONE critical metric that mirrors our company's health and performance. This wasn't just about numbers; it was about understanding where we stand and how we can grow; and, how everyone played a role in this number. But, what truly breathed life into these letters were the stories. -> Stories that echo our values, celebrate our culture, and give loud, public recognition to those nominated by their managers. This wasn't just acknowledgment; it was a testament to the extraordinary contributions made across the board. Why do I share this? Because it underscores the power of doing the small things consistently and well. These letters helped us build and maintain a shared consciousness and singular focus across the organization. It was a constant reminder that in the whirlwind of business, taking the time to connect, reflect, and recognize is invaluable. Let's not underestimate the compound effect of small, consistent actions that reinforce not just our company’s performance, but equally important, our norms and values. They are, my friend, the bedrock upon which great cultures and companies are built. ----- Here's the format of my CEO monthly letter. Free feel to borrow it, modify it, or use your own. Curious if you have your own format you'd care to share. #Leadership #Consistency #CorporateCulture #EmployeeRecognition #Entrepreneurship #leadership #LeanStartups #scalingup #ecommerce #cpg 

Some #smbgrowth advice to those stepping into roles in an underperforming company, where everyone is looking for you to turn it around... Each time I was put in that situation, whether I was stepping in as CEO, COO, or as a dept manager, I had two things on my mind... DO NOT be afraid to fail, and DO NOT be afraid to make the hard decisions. Each time I stepped into those roles, I knew the stakes, I knew the possible outcome, but I also knew that anything can be fixed. You have to be willing to get into the true cracks and crevices of the company. You need to spend some time simply learning what your issue even is. Then you make your game plan, and execute. This sounds simple, but the truth is, the fastest I ever turned around a company was 6 months, and that was a lot of sleepless nights and 7 day weeks (I don't recommend this for any seasoned exec, but when you're newer, it's one of the mistakes you make). But reading reports and talking to your leadership team (especially if they are hold overs) is not going to get you to the real meat of the problem. A good example of this is when I took over running a company, and by the books, it looked like we should have had good revenue flow and growth. For 2 months I couldn't figure out where the drain was coming from. Until I spoke to a few of the ditch diggers in the company. It turned out that one of the owners was having his houses basically rebuilt by our crews. That was destroying our real revenue stream, and wasting our resources. After considering what was best for the company, I ended up getting rid of our entire construction side, and reworking the company into a project managment firm. This drastically increased our revenue by 400%, lowered our operating cost by 35%, gave us the ability to grow nationally, and 5x our market share. So to those just now stepping into those "fixer" roles, don't fool yourself by thinking you'll be able to get to the root of the issue just by reading some reports. If that could fix the problem, someone would have already fixed it. You also need to not waste your time worrying about failing, and if you realize a change needs to be made for the betterment of the company, you make that change immediately upon making that decision. #telecom #businessadvice #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment

Hiring the right people early on is key to shaping your company’s culture and driving its success. When attitude and aptitude align, you know you’ve made a winning choice 💥 #PeterTaunton #KeepClimbing🏔️ . #BusinessMastery #EntrepreneurLife #StartupSuccess #BusinessStrategy #InnovateAndGrow #LeadershipGoals #EcommerceExpert #SuccessInBusiness #ScaleUpSolutions #BusinessInsights #EntrepreneurialMindset #LeadershipMatters #StrategicPlanning #FinancialFreedom #BusinessGrowthTips #CreativeEntrepreneur #MarketDominance #BusinessMindset #ProfitableVentures #EntrepreneurJourney #LeadershipWisdom #SalesAndStrategy #BusinessExpansion #InnovativeThinking #MarketLeadership #BusinessOpportunity

Hiring the right people early on is key to shaping your company’s culture and driving its success. When attitude and aptitude align, you know you’ve made a winning choice 💥 #PeterTaunton #KeepClimbing🏔️ . #BusinessMastery #EntrepreneurLife #StartupSuccess #BusinessStrategy #InnovateAndGrow #LeadershipGoals #EcommerceExpert #SuccessInBusiness #ScaleUpSolutions #BusinessInsights #EntrepreneurialMindset #LeadershipMatters #StrategicPlanning #FinancialFreedom #BusinessGrowthTips #CreativeEntrepreneur #MarketDominance #BusinessMindset #ProfitableVentures #EntrepreneurJourney #LeadershipWisdom #SalesAndStrategy #BusinessExpansion #InnovativeThinking #MarketLeadership #BusinessOpportunity

Family-owned businesses come with unique challenges. 👉 Balancing Blood and Boardroom 👉 Succession Struggles 👉 Cultural Quirks 👉 Breaking Traditions For family-owned businesses developing their strategy at an Executive level for 2024, these factors should be considered to ensure they give themselves the best possible chance of success in terms of elevating the business to reach the next stage of their journey. At Lignum Executive, we’ve had a couple of conversations with CEOs and Boards within these types of businesses about how they approach navigating the challenges before hiring an “outsider” in the shape of a senior leader to come in and drive the business forward. With that, Liam Gover and I cover this in more detail whilst sharing my recommendations on practical steps to take. Have a watch, and I’d be interested to hear from owners and aspiring executives from both sides of the fence looking for advice. #executivesearch #recruitment #businessgrowth #familyownedbusinesses #challenges #advice #video #content

If you're a Founder or CEO of an early stage start-up, you should 💯 hire a Fractional Exec. They can be a force multiplier for your business. 🚀 Similarly, if you’re an individual with the skills to help founders and CEOs solve important problems, becoming a fractional executive might also be the right move for you. In my latest blog post, I make the case for why founders should hire fractionally and why seasoned execs should consider this path including:  🔥 World-class experience on demand 🔥 Avoiding costly mistakes  🔥 Built-in mentorship 🔥 Finding the right fit 🔥 Access to a broader network Check out my latest blog post to hear real-life examples from my work over the last 18 months as a fractional executive. And if you're a fractional exec or considering going this route, I have a lot of stories to share! 🙌 Link to the blog post in the comments below. Thank you to Deborah Liu for guest publishing me and for referring me all her founders to work with. I am grateful to call her a friend and on my personal Board of Directors. And a shout out to my awesome business partner Garrett Kelly for providing the inspiration for this post and for going on this fractional journey with me. I have learned so much from both of you! 🙏

The biggest mistake a 7-figure CEO made in 2023. Avoid this at all costs in 2024: --- The Downfall of Success: An old client of mine, out of California, was doubling revenue year after year. For 4 years! More wins brought more expenses. They upgraded to a lavish skyscraper office in Los Angeles. But the market began to shift And they were too busy upgrading their company image, they forgot to focus on what was doubling their revenue. Now they’re making cutbacks and going back to their old office size. All because they forgot about the Harvest Principle… --- The Harvest Principle: "You don’t measure a day based on what you're reaping. You measure it by what you're sowing.” High performers focus on what they are sowing this season so that they can continue to reap the fruits in the next. However, most fail because they focus on what they’re reaping rather than planting new seeds to sow. --- The Lesson: Thus, the key to high-performance is: Always focusing on the seeds you’re sowing, not what you’re reaping from the previous season. Don’t worry about the fruit that’ll take care of itself. Just keep sowing seeds. --- That’s it for today. In the comments let me know what seeds you’re planting this season. And follow me, Miles Welch, if you like to learn about: → Leadership → Public Speaking → Team Productivity That’s why I am here.