SweetRush Inc.’s Post

A quick guide to getting 30 smart people together for a week and making it hum. Our Senior Leadership Conference is drawing to a close and I’ve been thinking about the week’s wins (many) and losses (honestly, none so far). Essentially, you need a few stars to align to make it a success but you’ve agency over most of them. This is definitely not an exhaustive list (which is code for when I’ve missed something obvious I can point to this sentence as a feeble defence): 1️⃣ We have a really respectful senior leadership team and partnership. We listen to each other and hold space for one another to be heard. The room has a rhythm. Do we agree on every single point? Absolutely not and that’s a really good thing - you must avoid the perils of an echo chamber at all costs. ✅ You’re trying to reach a consensus and once the decision is reached there’s a cabinet collective responsibility. You own that decision as a group. 2️⃣ Have a wonderful partnership secretary. Susanna is essentially the partnership’s heartbeat. You need incredibly tight organisation and ruthless monitoring of the schedule. Everything that happens seamlessly inside and outside the room does not happen by chance. A good partnership secretary’s fingerprints are all over it. Typically, you’ve a lot of stuff to get through and you’ve a room full of some very articulate people who excel at talking. You also have me. Less articulate but even more of a talker. ⏰ You’re always against the clock. With Susanna’s help, we managed to stay on top of it. (Susanna is also far too cool to check LinkedIn hence why she’s not tagged.) 3️⃣ An all staff party. We often have these weeks away in jurisdictions where we don’t have offices. We might revisit that after this week’s success in the BVI. Basically, it’s a lot of fun making sure everyone gets a chance to spend time with people from different offices. 🗣️ It opens up conversations that are crammed with different perspectives. The energy from the night before is transferred to the room the next day. Win win for any business. 4️⃣ Make space for conversations outside the room. Often people haven’t seen each other in person for an age. Make sure there are lots of opportunities for organic catch ups. Our venue worked really well for that. 🐿️ Lots of nooks and crannies to squirrel yourself away in as well as a beach to stroll along. Perfect. 5️⃣ The tech break I talked about earlier in the week. Honestly, a real game changer for focus and intent. Are staged photos important? I couldn’t possibly say.

🎉 Attention incoming spouse club Presidents! Get started on the right foot. 🦶 1. Set a date now with the Executive board to discuss mission, vision and goals. 2. Meet with your advisors to discuss the goals and vision. 3. Promote open board positions. 4. Help all of your board members with training and onboarding. 5. Ask the entire board for their input about a theme for the year! ➡️ Download the entire President’s Checklist at CouncilforMSC.org

In my inaugural post of 2024, I talked about the importance of finding your North Star; that guiding star that leads you to the destination you’re aiming for. My North Star has two sides: on one side is my theme for the year (PPoP), on the other, my core values to make sure I'm doing things the way I believe they should be done. Most companies have core values. But have you ever stopped to ask why?  From one business owner to another, there are a lot of different ways to conduct business. Anyone can get out there and generate revenue but if all you have to show for it is scorched earth and a compromised integrity, you’re not walking away a winner. Now that I’ve shared one side of my North Star, our PPoP theme, I think it’s time to introduce the core values that ensure I’m staying true to this year’s theme in a way that aligns with what I value most. Here at Crazy Good Talks, our three core values are love, integrity and ownership. I look forward to sharing with you why each core value defines how we do business here at CGT! What are your core values (be it business or personal)?

💡 Guiding principle: People aren't led by inspiring speech makers; they're led by people who take inspiring actions. 💡 Make tough decisions, in line with your business mission, and your team will follow you. 💭 Here is an example - if you have a high performing member of staff that doesn't behave in line with your company’s values, don't put up with it. Remove them from the company. 👿 Be sure you are right, do it with respect and treat them with dignity, but act. 😇 Then you are step closer to a better culture and you've shown everyone that you will put your money where your mouth is. 🧗♀️ That is leadership - action, not words. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get in touch to find out how we can help you, or come and meet us (Mark Nesbitt - Scale-Up Business Mentor / Advisor Nesbitt and Thomas Lebor) at our London Business Network scale-up networking events that we lead at Home Grown Club - next one is 6pm on the 15th of April.🤝 Book here: https://lnkd.in/ey3rbNaZ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have 22 years experience of starting, scaling and managing purpose driven businesses, we can help you realise your vision. 🎯 As mentors, we empower values led and purpose driven leaders to scale their business effectively and create the life they want. 📈

It was fantastic to get so many thought-provoking questions from our audience at yesterday's fireside chat on creating an effective board of directors. Our hosts Tom Bogan (Workday), Jennifer Dulski (Rising Team), and Sergio Monsalve (Roble Ventures) were upfront and honest about their stories from the boardroom. Some high-level takeaways: 👥 Be intentional with building your board → Choose members who have a passion for the problem you are solving and bring various perspectives to the table. “When you choose investors, you are choosing a board” — so make sure you're choosing people with similar values, while also balancing strengths, backgrounds, and personalities. 👥 Set board norms early → As Tom mentioned, invest time in working with your board to agree on norms for how to operate, which may include pre-work and agreed-upon objectives for your meeting. Jen, personally, prefers to call her board members individually ahead of tricky or sensitive topics to ensure a productive conversation. 👥 No need to be perfect! Just honest → As Jen mentioned, “I share the good, the bad, and the ugly” with and asks for help from her board. No matter your experience, founders should always be willing to learn how they can empower their board members, and take workshops if necessary. To see more highlights or watch the full recording, be sure to catch our May newsletter on Thursday 💡

Some of the most successful people on the planet credit their success to a small group of like-minded peers. a.k.a. their Personal Board of Directors. ➡️ Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone would meet every couple of weeks to exchange ideas and help each other grow their businesses. ➡️ CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and Charles Williams were part of The Inklings — an informal literary discussion group that we can probably thank for books like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. ➡️ In high school, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had “business lunches” where they would nerd out on acting. ➡️ Mr. Beast was on Skype every day from 7 am - 10 pm with 4 other Youtubers studying videos, exchanging notes, and trying to master things like — What makes a great thumbnail? What did they all have in common? They each had a Personal Board of Directors. So what exactly is a Personal Board of Directors? Just as most companies look to a board for guidance, your personal board is that same support network for YOU. 5-10 people you assemble for the purpose of developing and navigating your career. A trusted peer group you can turn to for diverse perspectives and experience, tactical discussions, and brutally honest feedback. I personally credit so much of my growth and success to my own network of peers who help me level-up way faster than I ever could on my own. So, what characteristics should your board have? • Trust - a close group you can rely on. • Diversity - people with different perspectives, experience, and backgrounds. • Honesty - people willing to hold you accountable and shoot you straight. • Accessibility - people who you can reach easily when you need them. • Empathy - people who always listen and seek to understand you. Where do you find these people? Luckily there are plenty of places where product marketers can build their board over time, like: • Meetups and events • Communities • LinkedIn • Coaching programs • Courses • Past companies But no question, it takes time. Which is why I love what Sidebar is doing. Lexy Franklin and team created a highly-vetted, private community where they match you with a small group of brilliant peers to accelerate your learning. Helping you build your Personal Board of Directors. If you’re interested in learning more, I dropped a link in the comments. I’ll leave you with this quote from Dan Peña - “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” #productmarketing #career #personalgrowth

Founders, I’m giving a talk at HBS in a couple of weeks on “How To Find a Co-Founder and Build a Lasting Relationship.” Question for you: Is there ONE co-founder communication technique; or process; or habit that most noticeably improved your co-founder relationship? I’d love to hear examples and stories of what has worked for you. A few examples from clients and friends: ▪️ Choosing to fight problems, not each other. ▪️ Making a napkin agreement to prioritize each other over investors. ▪️ Making an agreement that whenever one of them felt “pinched” to pause the conversation and zoom out to discuss why. ▪️ Committing to monthly co-founder dinners where they focused on putting work to the side and having a good time together, no matter how stressed they were. Please share your stories below. I won’t include any of them directly in my talk, but I love hearing the unique strategies co-founders employ to keep working effectively together through the stress of building a company. Also, if you want to see the slides of the talk after I give it, comment “+1” in the comments below and I’ll add you to the list of folks I share the deck with.

Unveiling Authentic Success with Cortney McDermott - A Journey Beyond the Conventional Today, I want to share something that deeply resonated with me. It's about redefining success beyond the glitz and glamour, beyond the societal benchmarks. I had the privilege of sitting down with @CortneyMcDermott – a former corporate high-flyer who realized that true success lies in authenticity and inner fulfillment. Cortney's story is not just a narrative; it's a mirror to our lives. Many of us are caught in the whirlwind of chasing "success," as defined by others. But what if success is more about internal peace than external validation? In our conversation, Cortney unveils her transformative journey – from feeling “miserably successful” to discovering joy in authenticity. Her insights on giving ourselves the permission to be true, to listen deeply, and to embrace our genuine selves are both profound and practical. This is more than just an interview; it's a wake-up call to all of us who are in pursuit of success to pause and ponder – are we chasing what truly matters? I invite you to read about this enlightening conversation. Let's start a dialogue on what success truly means. Explore the journey at https://vist.ly/qqpb #AuthenticSuccess #CortneyMcDermott #RedefiningSuccess

Keep your business small, perform big. ~ When small companies become medium sized companies, let's say past 10 people, the first thing they do is... hire middle management. And in my experience this is often unnecessary and has many downsides including: 💰 EXPENSIVE: Middle managers cost a lot, and you're business is small (one department I worked with, has saved £50k every year by not replacing their manager. I only worked with them 3months so it's a huge ROI) 🦋 LOST PERSONAL GROWTH: Middle management can take away responsibility from people on the frontline, which prevents them from growing and therefore contributing more to your business. This is effectively taking away the most effective L&D function in the business. 🐌 REDUCED BANDWIDTH: An extra layer of hierarchy can add extra bureaucracy, more bottlenecks, reduce decision making / processing speed and bandwidth 🦠 WEAKENED RESILIENCE: Adding management adds points of failure. Because people needn't take responsibility for management tasks, they shrink and even shirk and their motivation drops. The system doesn't take shared responsibility. And many more potentially issues I could cut different ways. The alternative I've implemented is 'Autonomous Teams' (https://buff.ly/3JsgmOs). In the past couple of years I've helped one business grow from 8 to 25 people without hiring any managers. They've avoid big salaries and have instead focussed on growing from the inside. Like a football club that has an awesome academy. The personal growth has been impressive, the team cohesion has been lovely to see and the amount of initiative and responsibility has been wonderful. Rather than using middle management as a sticking plaster, they're treat root causes by having difficult conversations, building an adult <> adult culture, creating a feedback culture and putting in places processes so the system can self-regulate. If you're a small business growing, consider not jumping to the middle management route. I'm not saying it's never needed, but I am saying it can at the very least be postponed a long long time with many other benefits and nowhere near the cost. If you're interested to find out more, ask questions in the comments or even put 30mins directly in my calendar: https://buff.ly/3TUEAFu Best, Jon #autonomy #leadership #culture #management

💡 Guiding principle: Accept short term pain for long term gain.💡 If you put up with bad behaviour to keep high performers, you will create a toxic culture and are building a house of cards. 👿 A ‘great’ person is talented at their job AND has great character AND they share you company’s passions and values. 😇 Compromise on ANY of those things and you are diluting your culture and pushing your truly great people out of the door. If you want to build an enduring company, it means saying no to profit today where it undermines its foundations. You have to be willing to sacrifice growth in order to hire the right people.🤝 As Jerzy Gregorek says – “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get in touch to find out how we can help you, or come and meet us (Thomas Lebor - Scale-Up Business Mentor / Advisor and Mark Nesbitt - Scale-Up Business Mentor / Advisor ) at our London Business Network  scale-up networking events that we lead at Home Grown Club  - next one is 6pm on the 15th of April.🤝 Book here: https://lnkd.in/ey3rbNaZ See you there Ishtar Govia , Joshua Coombe , Metra Rowe, Rob Whitaker ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ We have 22 years experience of starting, scaling and managing purpose driven businesses, we can help you realise your vision. 🎯 As mentors, we empower values led and purpose driven leaders to scale their business effectively and create the life they want. 📈