• Hire Smart and Motivated
    • In conjunction with finding good people, hiring the right people is imperative. Hire smart people, and hire motivated people that believe in the mission and strategy. One without the other is useless. If every person you hire is better than 50% of the people currently in the organization, you will constantly get better.
  • Diversify
    • Diversity is not a corporate policy, it's a mindset. Find people that think differently. Find people that embrace different points of view and find people that will challenge ideas for the betterment of the mission. People can think differently and bring different points of view with a united mission. Do not let diversity slow you down, let it speed you up. A sum of parts approach
  • 90% today is better than 100% tomorrow
    • Perfection in the enemy of good. Test ideas and capture data to continue to move forward. The last 10% can be very difficult and the last 1% most likely impossible. Roll things out today vs tomorrow and use the data to get you closer to capturing that last 10%.
  • Pay for Performance, not for hard work or good effort.
    • Work from home, work from the beach, work whenever and wherever necessary so long as you are delivering results. It's important to note, part of doing your job is exceeding expectations. The minimum is meeting expectations. Make your job obsolete by making it so proficient.
  • Win; Relentlessly Compete
    • Have a hunger to win. Be obsessed with being the best. This drives growth and continuous learning. Have high standards, set targets and strive to get there. Once you are there, increase the standards. Be the tennis ball, not the egg.
  • Radical Transparency
    • Speak your mind and have open discussions. Be open to feedback and always be thinking constructively about yourself. Speak your mind, but commit to the consensus once it's reached. If you want to make the best decision, you want the most possible information. Part of that information isn't always pleasant. If you are going to have brain surgery, you need to know the death rate, not just how it will improve your life. Utilize feedback tools such as, surveys, 1:1’s, real time ratings, personality test. When I think about my most open conversations, I think of my family. My brother tells me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.
  • Spend Time to Learn
    • Explore new initiatives and interests. Use people cross functionally. Give people the freedom to have uninterrupted time to learn. Everyone benefits from it. $10K for a great week long training course brings more value to the employee than $10K in salary. $10K in south beach for a “conference” doesnt.
  • Make Information Available
    • Allow access to information to make decisions and get things done. If things are being done the right way, what is there to hide? Remove gatekeepers that serve no purpose. Yes we should lock the front door, but not every room in the house.
  • Speed Kills (In a good way)
    • Go! Do! Act! Roll things out and make calculated decisions. Most things can be reversed. Small fast wins lead to big ones.
  • DATA, DATA, DATA
    • Capture data and listen to data. Understand what to look for in the data to make quick and strategic decisions. Your ‘gut’ feeling should have some data behind it. Don’t discount instinct, but always supplement it.
  • Output is Key, But Focus Upstream
    • It's always key to look at the scoreboard, but basketball players don't win games by looking at the score, they win games by shooting 1,000 free throws a day, watching film to identify mistakes, and fine tuning their craft.
  • Eliminate Weaknesses
    • Determine where you are vulnerable. Have a healthy paranoia that others are trying to beat you. Don’t open yourself up to be challenged or defeated. Fill your weakness in the form of people, work ethic, and thoroughness.
  • Have Fun
    • Enjoy what you do. If you fall in love with the process, you become passionate about it, and ultimately the process loves you back. Work weeks don't exist when you are having fun.
  • Ownership
    • Profit share or give equity. If you own something, you care for it in a special way. Think about a home or car that you own vs rent. If you own it, you make the best decisions short term and long term. You operate with frugality. You don't let problems build up to the point where they cannot be fixed.
  • Cross Functionally Collaborate
    • Groupthink and a sum of parts is a powerful thing. Everyone in the operation should have a small understanding of different areas or avenues to leverage those areas. In the military, all soldiers need basic medical training. If the doctor goes down, the mission cannot be aborted. The mighty morphin power rangers. Boyz II Men
  • Eliminate Waste
    • Remove unnecessary checks and balances. Gate keepers lead to information hoarding. Streamline administrative duties. Barriers slow things down and take focus off improving the business
  • Get Out of The Castle
    • If you are at the top of an organization or team, literally and figuratively get out of your chair. Trust but verify by exploring all levels of the organization down to the bottom to ensure things are running correctly. The more layers, the harder it is to uncover or find problems. It's also harder to uncover gold.
  • The Human Element
    • Value Opinions of all. Pay fair and then add some on top of that. Care about people. Follow through. Take into account the psychology and sociology of people.
  • Customer Mania
    • Define the customer. Listen to the customer. Know the customer. Change with the customer. Innovate for the customer.