Part of being awarded a Westpac Top 20 High Potential Businesses of Tomorrow, I recently participated in a study tour designed to inspire and motivate leaders by learning from some of the best businesses in the world.
Travelling to Seattle, San Francisco and Shanghai, I visited the ‘who’s who’ list of inspiring, enduring and philanthropic companies. Think Google, LinkedIn, Uber and Boeing; who operate the largest factory on the planet with 44,000 staff, Airbnb; who have a goal to house 100,000 refugees and people displaced by natural disasters over the next 5 years, and importantly, the humble beginnings of HP; the garage where two friends created a company that today has over 300,000 staff and gives over $400 million to charity each year.
So – what did I learn? What was inspiring? What can be applied to all entrepreneurs, employees and organisations? I’d love to fill you in next time we catch up. In the meantime though, here’s my Top 20.
- Disrupt your business before someone else does.
- Solve problems, don’t create them.
- The business of business is to make a difference in the world.
- Create WOW stories every day.
- Start each day with the 3 things that will move your business forward.
- Hire very slowly and if you must, fire fast.
- Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
- Dream Big, Know how to have fun and Get shit done!
- CSR is the reason people join companies and it’s the reason people stay.
- Fail is not a 4 letter word
- Take risks, but don’t be reckless
- Don’t solve problems through code.
- If faced with a choice – hire on attitude over aptitude.
- Put your employees first but always be obsessed with you customers.
- Demand excellence always
- Don’t just build a better mousetrap, build a better business model.
- Better to have a deep well (10 customers that love you), than a shallow pool (100 customers that like you).
- Remember the greatest companies on earth all started in a garage.
- Be humble and stay grounded.
- Think BIG
I hope just one of these helps you and your business to make a difference.
Carpe diem,
Ash Rosshandler, CEO GoodCompany