Many organizations have been set up globally to support and foster entrepreneurial growth. Organizations such as Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Vistage all have ‘forum’ programs.

Members join forums of eight to twelve other non-competing entrepreneurs who then meet monthly in a confidential setting to assist each other in growing their companies.  They provide invaluable ‘board-like’ learning, mentoring and accountability.

I can say that the years in an EO forum in Vancouver provided a quantum leap in my business learning and I wouldn’t be close to where I am today without that investment.

If you’re serious about building a fast growing, lasting company, spend time looking into different organizations in your area.  I’ll bet if you asked a successful entrepreneur what they’ve learned from these organizations, their comments would be outstanding.

When I meet people at meetings and conferences I take note of who is sharp and possibly how they could be of help to me in the future. I also make a note regarding their specific strengths on the back of their business card.

I’ll make sure to enter their contact information into my computer and write the word ‘mentor’ and also jot down a few key areas where they are strong, like, ‘mentor marketing,’ ‘YPO,’  ‘employee engagement,’ etc..  The idea behind building this database is to not only accumulate names, but to build relationships with them over time so I can turn to them for mentoring when I need it.  I have a friend who calls his list of contacts his ‘MBA’: Mentor Board of Advisors.

I’ve never been smart enough to know how to figure stuff out. I have, however, been wise enough to connect with the really smart people and do what they tell me. In addition to the lists I’ve built in my contacts on my laptop, I’ve also built lists of connections on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and reach out to those people often. You don’t need a formal board of advisors for yourself, just a long list of people you’ve met over the years who you can start calling on.  Start your list now.

“I don’t have all the answers – just all the questions.” – quote from a Fortune 500 CEO, but I forget who!

OK, based on requests from a ton of people who like to listen to books while driving or on planes, here it is…

The Audio version of Double Double is now available here…

Most of you know that I do speaking events as a core part of my business.  In fact, I’ve done them in 18 countries over the past year at major conferences, for major companies, and for YPO & EO Forums and Chapters.

What you may not know is that many groups also hire me to speak via a webinar or Skype. Months like August & December work great for webinars, as employees don’t want to travel to hear speakers.

I have some spots on my calendar that would work well, if you want me to speak but maybe aren’t ready to pay my rate for a keynote, or if it’s last minute and you need something extra for your event.

It’s certainly always better to have me out live – but certainly very worthwhile to book me this way for your group as well.  In fact, I’m doing three webinars next week for a company in Europe.

Drop me a note here – if you’d like to discuss.

The highest performing leaders and companies reach out to many outside experts for advice in addition to having a Board of Advisers.

As humans, we’re hard-wired to help each other. When people reach out to us for advice it makes us feel good.

I’m not old or bored enough to be on traditional boards yet, but advisory boards are a great way I help entrepreneurs make their dreams happen.

I’ve been coaching entrepreneurs for over twenty years now and have helped many establish and execute their strategic plans. I’ve also worked with them to teach them easy to implement, scalable systems in order to grow their companies.

Most high-ranking CEOs have coaches or mentors, even if they never talk about them. Successful people learn from other successful people.  Iron sharpens irons.

Get a coach (or some coaches). You’ll wonder how you survived without one.

Grieg Clark, Founder of College Pro Painters

25 years ago in Dec 1985 I was admitted to what I now know was my real world MBA.  And the guy in the picture Grieg Clark started it all in 1971.

Almost 40 years later, College Pro Painters is still, in my opinion, the single biggest reason I am where I am today in business.

That December I was awarded the Sudbury franchise of College Pro Painters.  And I was scared to death.  I remember my father telling me, go ahead, sign the 62 page franchise agreement.  Worst case scenario is you’ll go bankrupt, but what do you have to lose at 21.  You’ll learn a ton.  And wow, he underestimated what I learned.  And what I made.

I ran my franchise for 3 summers.  Over the three summers with College Pro Painters, I earned approximately $60,000 in profit.  I paid 100% of my own way through University.  And at 23 years old I invested the remaining money I had in my first house.  Yes, I was debt free, owned a house, and had paid my entire way through school.

In addition to making great money, and being able to take university girls to the top restaurants in Ottawa on dates, I learned a ton.  I had 12 full time employees at 21 years old.  I ran sales, marketing, advertising, operations, production, hiring, etc.  I learned how to interview, lead people, and even deal with lawyers.  I ran my own accounting system.  I literally learned how to run a business, and not from Professors who I quickly learned were all theory, I learned from brilliant leaders like Steve Rogers, James Jones, Mary Mowbray, Kevin Carter, Ron Martin, Paul Hayman, Don Darby and the list goes on.  It’s funny really.  I can’t tell you the name of a single professor I had, nor what I learned in University.

I’m so lucky I had what it took to get awarded a franchise, and to succeed at running it: early signs of Leadership, Attainment, Tenacity, Introspection, Precision etc.  However, what I really had were the systems of an awesome company, and the passion and skills of those people who taught me.  Everything I learned 25 years ago, I still use in building companies and coaching CEOs today.

Funny, my brother and sister both ran franchises with College Pro too.  And we all own and run our own companies today.  Sure glad I didn’t go get that high paying $15/Hr job at GM.

We’ve all heard some motivational speaker use this one: “God gave you two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio.”

Too many leaders race to get their two cents in, trying desperately to be heard, without hearing what others are saying first.

I used to think this saying was only applicable to CEOs but it should be applied to everyone at your company.

Are you arguing a point because you want to be right or is it because you’re passionately trying to explain yourself?

Here’s a hint: if you’re communicating with others only to tell them how you want things done, then you’re not communicating effectively.

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” wrote Steven Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Often the key to great communication is simply listening— really listening to what the other person has to say and waiting to respond once you’ve digested what they’ve said.  Then, if necessary, after you’ve asked a couple of clarifying questions–and only then–is it worth discussing your points.

Here is the TEDx talk I gave a few weeks ago.

I have a tendency to be hyper critical of myself and this one especially so.  I was really nervous. Felt a ton of pressure to deliver a new idea to the masses.  I went too fast. I rambled at times. I was distracted with my A.D.D. even though I’d spent about 80 hours on this talk. And I think I could have used a few different words besides ’sucked’ so often.

Anyway, I’m passionate about this. Hope you can get that sense.

Kids really can create companies to solve every problem the world has, and to capitalize on all the ideas they have already.

Let’s help them.

Let’s teach kids the skills they need to be Entrepreneurs. Let’s teach them that being an Entrepreneur is an awesome career.

I’ve never been a good student.  I got about 64% in both high school & university.  I’ve never felt smart.  I’ve often felt like I have no idea what I’m really doing.  And I often feel like I must be doing something wrong otherwise how could it be so easy?  My mind would spin with thoughts of ‘How could someone that was always told by the education system they were a C or D student actually be smart enough to really teach CEOs how to grow companies?’

Something started to change for me about 6 years ago, when I was already 38 years old.  I was taking a course trying to learn how to get better as a leader and I came across my ‘unique ability’.  I realized that I’m awesome at using quick intuitive alternatives to help CEOs reverse engineer their dreams.  Like architects help homeowners put their ideas into blueprints and get them built into a home, I help CEOs get the ideas out of the heads, and help them build the teams and systems to make their dreams happen.  To me it feels easy.  To me I wonder why they’d pay me to do what feels so simple.  And to me I keep thinking I’d do it for free – but my kids like to eat and I like expensive toys.  So I gotta charge for it. From there, I became a more effective business coach.

Once I learned what I was great at, I began eliminating everything else from my day-to-day.  I began to focus on finding clients that fit me.  I found that I work best with young, fun, entrepreneurial, high viral, high growth, pre-public companies.  My ideas resonate with them.  They get huge value from my systems.  And they feel like I’m cheap compared to paying for someone with my skills full time.

The more time I spend in my ‘unique ability’ now coaching & mentoring CEOs and the teams running entrepreneurial companies the more I feel I’m on my game.  Malcolm Gladwell said a person needs at least 10,000 hours to be an expert.  I’ve been coaching or building entrepreneurial companies for 60,000 hours (45,000 hours alone in the franchising space).  No wonder I’ve more than maintained my nerve.  My company is growing very fast and I’m helping tons of great companies globally with my coaching programs & training DVDs on leading and building companies.

I realize now that the teachers and professors who told me I didn’t know what I was doing had never built a company.  They’d never run great teams of people to lead. They had however perhaps unknowingly destroyed my nerve and confidence for years upon years.  Five years ago I started writing down the things I’d accomplished each week.  Weekly writing down my successes like this helped re-build my confidence.  Now companies that I helped build and lead are case studies in textbooks and are studied at MBA programs around the USA & Canada.   And last year I was the highest rated lecturer at MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program.  It wasn’t easy but I have definitely got my nerve back.

A quote I read by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 has given me the confidence now that I’m smart and perhaps my teachers weren’t as smart as I thought…

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement.”

If Monkeys could be Business Mentors

I threw out the corporate 360 Reviews years ago in favor of something I made up that I call ‘Monkeys Looking Sideways’.

Years ago at a seminar I heard a story about monkeys in a tree.  When the monkey at the top looked down all he saw was smiling monkeys looking up.  However, the monkeys below had an entirely different view.

It was at this seminar that I thought about doing 360 Reviews live and in front of the rest of the team.  I always try to build teams that embrace healthy conflict and that want to build more trust.  Well open communication like this takes trust up to an awesome level.  I built this exercise so everyone on a team would know what everyone else thought and they’d hear it in person so they could grow together.

The Monkeys Looking Sideways exercise works like this.

Essentially it is a verbal, in person, group 360 feedback. Ideally get everyone out of the office for a half to a full day.  It’s a great exercise to do on company or team retreats too.

1) Give everyone 1 pad of Post It Notes and a pen.
2) Do the review of the groups leader or CEO first.
3) Have each person write down the TOP 5 things that the person being reviewed:

a) Should continue
b) Should improve on

4) Then with the person being review staying in their seats, have one person at a time stand up and read out each post it note.  Start with all the positives first and then they read the stuff to work on second.
5) The person being reviewed can only say thank you or ask a clarifying question.  There is no debate.
6) Have all of the Post It Notes put up on a flip chart and give them to the person being reviewed so they can type them up and refer to them in their one-on-one coaching meetings with their supervisor over the year to keep working on improving.
7) Repeat the process for each person in the room.

This exercise done properly takes about 45 min per person but will be way more effective than the garbage that comes out of any online or 3rd party 360 Review Process.

In addition to using it in your company try it with an EO, YPO Forum or TEC/Vistage group on a retreat too.  It’d be awesome…