Ep 345 | There are Levels to This cover art

Ep 345 | There are Levels to This

Ep 345 | There are Levels to This

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  • CEO coaching impact at Rydel → ex-CEO facilitator drove future-only focus, defined 8 KCIs tied to a 2031 revenue goal; owners present progress tomorrow

  • Org alignment → mitigate siloed thinking as team scales (3 → 120 relationships), assign single-threaded KCI owners, and demand outcome-focused, data-backed cases

  • Marketing leadership → new head prioritizes reliable data, base ad-spend momentum, and annual ROI thinking; December 19 staffing gap forces ad budget decision

  • Alternative considered → split stations but run between each to simulate fatigue; consensus leans to true solo baselines first

  • Capability clarifications → Amer can complete 1,000m ski/row by pacing vs intervals; confidence-building needed via measured tests

  • Role split in race → teams rarely go 50/50; align to strengths (e.g., sled push load feasibility), and choreograph transitions together

  • Performance goals → stretch: top 25; sub-60 min likely unrealistic given current run pace; use Ottawa trial to set aggressive but real targets

  • Ottawa trial → Feb 15 in-person dry run to test pacing, transitions, and failure points safely; highest learning ROI vs individual practice

  • Pairing model → Adel matched with retired ex-CEO (Crayola/Hallmark) via profile of stage, personality, and challenges; 2 full-day team sessions/year

  • Facilitation craft → future-only framing with explicit yes from each attendee; redirected any past-focused remarks on the spot; met 1:1 at lunch to vent/close loops

  • Talk-time split → ~25% facilitator, 75% team; brief teaching blocks (~20 min) + moderated discussion

  • Intake & agenda → anonymous prework surfaced strengths/weaknesses → day focused on defining top initiatives to “deserve” 2031 revenue goal

  • KCI outcome → group debated 17 → 8 KCIs; each KCI has a single owner accountable for orchestration across silos; progress review meeting is tomorrow

  • Decision hygiene → facilitator stayed neutral, pressed for objective business value, and required owners to translate passion into cross-functional outcomes

  • Relationship explosion → management grew from 3 to 16; interaction lines grew 3 → 120 (N*(N−1)/2) → more conflict/coord needs

  • Whole-thinking lens → consider each object’s relationships to all others, not only “my function vs the thing”

  • Meeting mechanism → everyone pitches priority initiatives; group selects few; single owner quarterbacks cross-functional execution

  • Strong-but-timid ideas → owners expected to self-advocate; light prompting on outcomes; “natural selection” if the case lacks clarity

  • Emotional spikes → facilitator acknowledged care, insisted on translation to business value; did not match energy; kept room grounded

  • Hiring journey → struggled to find autonomous marketing owner; new leader from a different industry is working due to depth on metrics + ownership

  • Data discipline → focus on fewer, reliable, raw data points that tell a coherent city/trade/lead-cost story; avoid noisy inferred metrics

  • Spend momentum → maintain base ad spend in off-season to preserve algorithm learning; annual ROI > monthly; educate franchisees at network scale

  • Stakes ↑ → guidance affects 30+ owners; requires taking stands with clear why

  • Seasonal wrinkle → Dec 19–early Jan sales capacity near-zero; must adjust ad budgets to avoid unserviceable lead inventory vs losing algo momentum

  • Project management gap → difficulty isolating bottlenecks from noise; risk of over-involvement; needs sharper owners, milestones, scorecards, comp linkage

  • Solver addiction → urge to fix everything reduces team self-advocacy; practicing boundaries to let owners own outcomes

  • Definitions matter → deepen rigor on integrity, responsibility, accountability; “how” now outweighs “what” at scale

  • Identity vs results → over-attached to monthly sales; learning to accept short-term dips to grow managers and systems

  • Anxiety management → hired PA (Ben) for 2–3 hrs/week as prioritization sounding board; structured check-ins, guided questions, RICE scoring to de-conflict urgency vs impact


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