Maxwell Leadership’s Post

The #1 quality during start-up? 🔥 Resilience 🔥 The #1 quality during scale-up? 🎯 Alignment 🎯 According to Mark Wright, founder of Climb Online, which he scaled and exited with Sir Alan Sugar after winning BBC's The Apprentice. Mark is clear about the brutal reality of starting a company. But what truly intrigued me is Mark's insight into scaling a business. Alignment. It may sound straightforward, but achieving alignment is a monumental task for any CEO. 🧩 People: Do you have all the right people? (And no wrong people) 🔭 Vision: Does everyone know where the business is headed? The 5-year goal. 🚀 Focus: What is the one thing the business excels at? The cornerstone around which the company will scale. 💛 Values: Does everyone know and live the values? 🔥 Engagement: Is the entire team vested in the company's success? 🎯 Priority: Is everyone working on the few highest impact initiatives? (And saying No to all the other potentially great ideas) Mark is unequivocal — alignment can 10x your business. I agree completely. Any vision and strategy are worth nothing without alignment. And there is no alignment without vision and strategy. It's the most powerful force, but it's also a significant challenge. How aligned is your company? And aligned to what? ///////////////// Huge thanks to Ifty Nasir, founder of Vestd, whose conversation with Mark Wright I am drawing on above. Vestd is a fast-growing business enabling other good businesses to grow faster and better by enabling 'the ownership effect'. Check the comments below for a link to the podcast. ///////////////// 📣 Calling Founders & CEOs 📣 Is your company aligned? Are you confident of 10X growth? Can you see the next 2X or 3X? Consider RISE > RISE is a forum group I lead for founders and CEOs of scale-up and scale-out companies. Who else could challenge you as deeply and capably as 12 other scale-up company founders and CEOs? Find out more > DM / email / schedule a chat using the '☎️ Book a call ☎️' link at the top of my main Ben Wales profile page. #CEOlife #GrowthMindset #AlignTheTeam #ScaleUp #TheOwnershipEffect #RISE

"Leave yourself open to opportunities that may not fit your rubric, because sometimes the best opportunity just kind of breaks the mold a little bit…" The latest episode of our podcast featuring the visionary Shishir Mehrotra is live. In addition to sharing stories about his journey from YouTube to Coda, Shishir also shared actionable insights, including: The 'Small Pond, Big Pond' Framework: Invaluable career advice on navigating between large and small organizations and aligning one's growth with the company's potential. Angel Investing Insights: As an early investor in tech giants like Spotify and Pinterest, Shishir discusses the importance of access over guessing in investments, and how being helpful can lead to unexpected returns. Cultivating Great Teams: Shishir gave us a sneak peek at his upcoming book 'Rituals of Great Teams,' and how practices like "Dory" can democratize decision-making and reflect a vibrant company culture. Listen now on all major podcast platforms - or watch the video on the Arta website. 🖖🎧 #Podcast #Leadership #TechCommunity https://lnkd.in/gvvkhSrJ

I'm thrilled to unveil our newest 'Live Long and Prosper' episode featuring my friend, former colleague and Arta angel, the extraordinary Shishir Mehrotra As an investor, mentor, and visionary, Shishir stands at the forefront of innovation with Coda, a platform redefining collaborative work by merging documents, spreadsheets, and applications into a singular, dynamic canvas. His time leading YouTube, transforming it into a global hub for video content, and his strategic investments into trailblazers like Spotify, Pinterest, and Instacart, underscore his profound understanding of technology and business. For me, what truly distinguishes Shishir is his deep understanding of life, his systematic approach to challenging norms, and his relentless pursuit of technological potential. This episode delves into Shishir's insightful "small pond/big pond" framework for career choices, his perspective on angel investing, and his thoughts on how you can broaden your own access to transformative opportunities. This conversation is packed with wisdom and inspiration. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 🖖🎧

"Your pipeline is inflated and nowhere near what you think." I had to drop this in an Executive Leadership Team meeting last week 😬 You could hear a pin drop. Then, slight chaos erupted. This scene? It plays out with virtually EVERY new client: 1. Reset founder expectations 2. Re-align board expectations (they're often facing the same learning curve alongside their portcos) 3. Manage expectations daily with the Executive Leadership Team 4. Win trust quickly to earn the right to time Why? Because most startups are free-falling into the GTM Gap - that chasm between having a product and scaling revenue. It's not a speed bump. It's a startup graveyard. The solution? 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: • Pipeline Integrity • Team Capability Alignment • Process Flexibility • Product-Market Fit Recalibration • Data & Experience-Driven Decisions Stabilization isn't a one-time event. It's ongoing reality checks and strategic pivots. Get this right, and you're building a launchpad for category dominance. Curious where you stand in bridging the GTM Gap? 👉 Take our free GTM Gap Assessment: https://lnkd.in/gCBKj__z

🎙️ Exciting news! Our latest podcast episode has just dropped! Join us as we embark on a fascinating journey into the world of performance marketing with XOR Labs. Discover how XOR Labs, a dynamic performance marketing agency, is revolutionizing the industry with innovative digital marketing strategies. In this episode, we sit down with Mr. Nitan Jain, the visionary Founder of XOR Labs, for an insightful conversation moderated by Devika Batra. Gain valuable insights into entrepreneurship and the dynamic world of performance marketing. Don't miss out on this enlightening discussion - Subscribe to our YouTube channel now for the latest updates. Link will be in the comments below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/gyfcfSNb #businessmarketing #businessmanmindset #entrepreneurmind #agencyadvertising #advertisingandmarketingagency #advertisingindustry #entrepreneurslifestyle #marketingtips4you #StartupStoriesIndia

The art and skill of storytelling are crucial in our industry with all of its complexity and nuance. I am a big fan of the team at Mighty Spark. #biotechnology #raredisease #rarediseases #pharmaceuticalindustry #drugdevelopment #geneediting #biotech #investing

The latest episodes of Wondery's #BusinessWars podcast are GRIPPING! I'm sure everyone has some basic knowledge of #SamAltman's ouster and rehiring at OpenAI This latest series of episodes delves deep into what exactly happened and gives us an almost day-by-day development of that rather strange incident. Do listen! Link: https://lnkd.in/ehCuSF5B #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #ChatGPT #DeepLearning #Business #Microsoft

Where did I find the best support during the rapid scale up phase? I was asked this question recently. My answer: Talking to other people doing the same job. I read lots. Listened to podcasts. Went to meet-ups and conferences. But the thing that helped most Was making sure that - at *least* once a month - I had breakfast, lunch or coffee With someone else doing the same job. Comparing notes provided - Inspiration - Reflection - Solace It helped you realise that others were wrestling with the same things. Provided you with ideas for things to try that had worked for them. And made you reflect on your own practice: what was working and what you could do more of. Product and leadership jobs can be lonely. Often you are the only person doing the job you do. Go and find others in the same situation. They will have genuine understanding. It’ll be one of the best kinds of support you can get. 🙏 Thanks to Susan Lin for the conversation that inspired this post. 🗓️ On my EdTech fellowship programme I aim to help people build a supportive network. Next cohort March. Admissions close 28 Feb. #productleadership #scaleup #edtech

Revenue enablement seems to be constantly evolving. As an enablement professional, you'll know how important it is to stay up-to-date with news, updates, and insights from experts in enablement! 🏹 So, this week I'm chatting with Enablement expert, Jerry Pharr, a man with many strings to his bow. Jerry is the Founding Member & Former Chapter President of the Revenue Enablement Society, Advisor at Regie.ai, Playboox, and OneView, and Owner of Sales Excellence Advisors. 🤯 Since 2015 Jerry has been behind the scenes as a sales enablement & sales ops leader, exclusively in venture-backed, high-growth tech startups. He currently leads a team of sales enablement practitioners who are responsible for helping internal sales teams have better conversations. 👉 Tune in today and you'll learn the following, plus MUCH MORE: 🎉 Why measuring behaviour change is superior to measuring learning or business outcomes 🎉 How separate cadences for manager-led coaching can work (and why they typically don't) 🎉 What most sales leaders get wrong about sales stage exit criteria Tune in now for industry expert views on the changing landscape of enablement. Visit https://lnkd.in/dsyarfwx or search for Sales Coach on Apple Podcasts. #behaviourchange #coaching #salesstrategies #salesconversion #enablement #salesops #salesleadership #salesteam #leadershippodcast

Revenue enablement seems to be constantly evolving. As an enablement professional, you'll know how important it is to stay up-to-date with news, updates, and insights from experts in enablement! 🏹 So, this week I'm chatting with Enablement expert, Jerry Pharr, a man with many strings to his bow. Jerry is the Founding Member & Former Chapter President of the Revenue Enablement Society, Advisor at Regie.ai, Playboox, and OneView, and Owner of Sales Excellence Advisors. 🤯 Since 2015 Jerry has been behind the scenes as a sales enablement & sales ops leader, exclusively in venture-backed, high-growth tech startups. He currently leads a team of sales enablement practitioners who are responsible for helping internal sales teams have better conversations. 👉 Tune in today and you'll learn the following, plus MUCH MORE: 🎉 Why measuring behaviour change is superior to measuring learning or business outcomes 🎉 How separate cadences for manager-led coaching can work (and why they typically don't) 🎉 What most sales leaders get wrong about sales stage exit criteria Tune in now for industry expert views on the changing landscape of enablement. Visit https://lnkd.in/dEHMHSgP or search for Sales Coach on Apple Podcasts. #behaviourchange #coaching #salesstrategies #salesconversion #enablement #salesops #salesleadership #salesteam #leadershippodcast