Exponential growth is a primary goal for almost any emerging venture. Although it may seem hard to come by to some, turbocharging into your growth potential is a matter of strategy. Start with a strong posture and focus on the mission, and the right leadership mindset to go along with it.
Serial CEO Frank Slotman has done that exactly with three consecutive companies in 18 years, taking Data Domain, ServiceNow, and Snowflake to the public. Most recently, he led Snowflake Inc.’s record 2020 IPO setting, and took the lead Inc. The magazine’s 2021 ranking of “Best Led Companies.”
In his new book AMP IT UP: Leading for Hypergrowth with High Expectations, Urgency, and Intensity, Slootman shared his proven strategy to unlock the growth potential of any company to win competitive advantage. He detailed the key steps to drive meaningful change, including these 5 principles:
1. Raise your standards
Too often, our day-to-day existence feels like making moves, checking boxes, and getting things off our desks. Enough has become the norm. The life of organizations is annoying. It doesn’t take more mental energy to raise the level. “Expect and ask that we’re excited and excited about what we’re doing,” Slootman said. “The standard is not passable. This must be the call of the late Steve Jobs it’s insane. Try to apply that standard every day. “
2. Line up your people
The lack of alignment in organizations is everywhere because it doesn’t just happen by osmosis. People are not known for pulling the same paddle in the same direction. If you’ve ever seen a five -year -old play soccer, you know what it looks like. “Lack of alignment results in friction and low productivity, and marginal growth becomes more pronounced as organizations grow,” Slootman said.
3. Narrow your focus
Most organizations don’t have much orientation. They’re trying to thrive on a million things to do, a mile wide and an inch deep. Like swimming in glue, moving like honey. “Narrow down the plane of attack. Instead of moving uniformly, sequence the priority. Find out what needs to happen first, now, what doesn’t, Park everything else on the backburner,” Slootman notes. “Remove things from people’s plates instead of putting more things.
4. Get up to speed
Lack of leadership will cause people to move at a glacial speed. Have you ever seen the inside of a California DMV? No purpose, no direction, no urgency so naturally, things slow down to a drop. Slotman advised us to start compressing time frames and questions and challenge timelines at every turn. It’s actually pretty easy because most people don’t know why they timeline things in a certain way. Comfort is what they are looking for, not purpose.
5. Change your approach
Most of Amp It Up is execution-centric but also clearly has a strategic vector. The issue precedes implementation. Slootman said you can’t change strategy without optimizing implementation because it’s impossible to know what’s wrong. Why transform strategy if you’re just a bad executor? You will be a better strategist when you become a better operator because it will fix and magnify the issues properly.
“Most of the problems tend to be implementation-related but people prefer to tweak the strategy instead,” Slootman said. “Especially in places like Silicon Valley, where strategy conversation is a kind of high-minded parlor game. You get far from world-class execution, whereas you have nowhere to go without it, no matter how good your approach. “
Amp It Up extends these principles and uses examples and studies from three companies (Data Domain, ServiceNow and Snowflake) to illustrate the ideas.
Leading for growth requires relentlessly focusing on your mission, fighting mediocrity, breaking the status quo, and making difficult choices each day. But with the right thinking and dedication, leaders of all types can unlock the growth potential of their company.