Welcome back to The Memo!
Failure is inevitable as a leader.
We can’t choose if we fail…. But we can choose what to do once we have.
So take a piece of advice from Ryan, a stop tying your identity to your failures.
Messing up is only the end of the world if you let it be.
Now, let’s dive in.
9 Templates to Improve Productivity and Communication Within Your Teams
We’re coming into Q2, which means it’s time for quarterly planning again (Woo!)
We talk a lot about the planning aspect, but there’s one critical aspect of the process that many leaders gloss over—communicating changes in the plan.
After all, a plan is only effective if your teams know how and when to execute it.
This collection of templates will help you get the word out to your teams in an efficient and engaging manner.
There are also some great newsletter templates, if you’re looking for a way to provide consistent communication with your employees, and opportunities for suggestions, feedback, and encouragement all around.
Related: Ryan’s Guide to Writing an Internal Newsletter
35 Podcasts For Founders and CEO’s
There’s one thing that every Founder or CEO can’t get enough of… and that’s podcasts.
As one of the ultimate on-the-go learning tools, they’re only getting more and more popular.
That’s why we loved Simon Blogs ultimate list of podcasts for Founders and CEO’s.
There are some well-known spotlights, like a16z podcast and NPR’s How I Built This, but there are also a few lesser-known podcasts you can check out to switch up your routine, and gain new insights.
Related: Business Lunch Podcast with Our Own Roland Fraiser
Embrace Risk in Your Marketing
“‘Focusing on existing customers benefits CMOs by being low-cost and low-risk,’ says Jay Wilson, VP Analyst, Gartner. ‘But low risk is matched by relatively low return. At the same time, we see CMOs being overly ambitious about the change they expect to bring to how their organizations interact with customers.’”
We are quickly approaching the 1-year mark since the beginning of the pandemic and lockdowns in the US.
And even a year later, we are still seeing shifts in the ways in which we operate as business leaders. For one thing, there is still a lot of uncertainty.
This piece by research group Gardener highlights the difficult decisions leaders like us will have to face, during and after the pandemic, when it comes to structuring our marketing efforts, and analyzing risk.
As leaders, the decisions we make will shape “the next new normal,” so it’s important to focus on serving your customers, and paying close attention to their changing needs and habits.
Related: The Next Normal Arrives: Trends That Will Define 2021—and Beyond
A Consulting Blueprint to Help Build Wealth Outside of Your Business
“Now, you have a good understanding for the niche, you need to craft your own value proposition. What you are doing is essentially helping these businesses grow their revenue, and become bigger, better businesses. “
If you’re looking for a way to diversify your income, and build wealth in 2021, growth consulting is a great option.
Those of you who have been around a while know that Roland has been preaching about the benefits of investing in other businesses for years!
This guide to growth consulting provides a ton of resources to help you develop the knowledge and tools to help other businesses grow. Plus it’s got a cheat-sheet for helping small businesses solve their most common problems.
If you’ve ever thought about consulting, or are interested in investing, scaling, then selling back shares in a business for profit, this resource is a great first step in exploring the space.
Related: Join The EPIC Challenge
Coming Soon: The Collective
“At Scalable, we’re building a community…
…a community of entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to admit that they don’t know it all.
…a community of founders who are committed to growing themselves and their teams.
…a community where ego is banished, and sharing is celebrated.
…a community of accidental entrepreneurs ready, willing, and able to support other accidental entrepreneurs.
…a community where you can be respected for who you are, but not left where you are.
And above all else…
A community that will band together to eradicate Entrepreneurial Imposter Syndrome once and for all.”
As you know, we’ve been hinting at some changes to our Insider program for a while now…Well, we’re happy to report that our new program, The Collective, is set to launch in the coming weeks!
So if you’re looking for a community of like-minded leaders who are hell-bent on scaling their business, collaborating with others, and supporting and growing fellow accidental entrepreneurs, you’re going to love The Collective.
Keep your eyes on your inbox over the next 2 weeks to learn more about the programs perks, and how you can join.
We can’t wait to see you inside the community!
One last thing…
Last week we asked you for your leadership and business book recommendations, and boy did you deliver!
So as promised, here’s some of the titles you recommended…
- Lost and Founder
- Crossing the Chasm
- The Obstacle Is The Way
- Contagious
- Blue Ocean Strategy
- The E-Myth
- PEAK
- Good To Great
- Thinking Fast & Slow
- Ready Aim Fire
- Built To Sell
… as well as some more of our Exec team’s favorites.
- Radical Candor
- Profit First
- Extreme Ownership
- Managing Oneself
- Made To Stick
If you felt like your reading list was running on empty, well… it’s not now!
See you next week,
– The Scalable Team
