ClearPurpose

Another Way tells the story of former VC Dave Whorton’s discovery that there’s a better way to build highly valuable companies than the Silicon Valley model. It teaches what he calls the Evergreen model using the 7Ps Principles.

I really enjoyed reading Another Way. I spent most of my career in the tech industry. My first startup was an Internet company launched months before the Netscape IPO which redefined how the world thought about entrepreneurship and startups. Over the years I’ve worked with Silicon Valley VCs and many of the companies they’ve funded. So as Dave Whorton begins telling his story, first at the most powerful VC of its time, and then trying to launch his own VC-backed startup, I could very much relate to the history he was describing. But like Dave, over the past decade, most of the companies I’ve worked with have been built using a different model. I would argue that it’s not a new model, but rather the way that companies have always been built outside of the Tech/Silicon Valley bubble that Dave and I (and many others) “grew up” in.

Bottom line, Another Way is an enjoyable telling of one man’s journey of discovery. For many like him, it will be an eye-opening revelation that the Silicon Valley model isn’t the only way to build valuable companies. For others already building (or wanting to build) companies “the old fashioned way”, the book will encourage through the examples given, and provide a helpful framework to consider as they seek their own path to building valuable companies that last for many generations.

Read my full review here.

Like by Martin Reeves and Bob Goodson tells the story of the Like button in social media (and beyond) — from its origins to its impacts to its potential futures. 

Readers will gain a deeper appreciation for the messiness and unpredictability of innovation. Many of us will also walk away from the book with a better understanding of how our Likes are used and the scary implications for where those applications might lead.

Like will appeal to those that enjoy the history of innovation and “like” thinking through how technology advances impact our lives, our businesses, and our world. While the book provides little of immediate practical application, for the right audience, it provides insights into how innovations develop and how unexpected implications emerge.

Read my full review here.

From Panic to Profit by Bill Canady is a refreshingly honest look at the challenges of turning around a struggling business and a collection of helpful tools for making the hard decisions required to do so successfully. It’s the kind of book that most business leaders hope to never need, but if you find yourself needing a turnaround, I strongly recommend giving the book a read to see if it might give you some ideas for tackling the challenge.

Bill is an executive brought in by Private Equity firms to turn around struggling businesses. In this book he presents his Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS) — a 4 step process for turning around struggling companies so that they earn the right to grow. Based on the Pareto principle (e.g. 20% of products produce 80% of profits), the premise of the PGOS is to over-resource the “critical few” and under-resource the “trivial many.”

The 4 steps are:

1. Get a goal.

2. Frame the strategy.

3. Build the structure.

4. Launch the action plan.

In the book, the author introduces a number of tools and frameworks related to performing each of these steps and walks through the process with a very helpful example from one of the companies he was asked to fix. While the author lays out a very specific approach to engineering a turnaround, he acknowledges that every situation will be unique and dynamic. You can’t just implement his 4 step plan and assume everything will work out perfectly. It won’t. As one of the chapter titles explains “Thinking is Required.”

I really like the author’s writing style. It’s not your typical fancy business speak. It is practical and direct — exactly what you need to hear when your business is struggling, when urgency and a bias for action are required if you hope to survive. I also really like the conceptual framework he provides. The approach the author outlines resonates with my personal experience.

Read my full review here.

The old saying goes “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.” But, probably more accurate is Yogi Berra’s version: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”

Whether leaders have written it down or not, there’s a deeper reason behind every company’s existence. If you haven’t thought about what that is for your company, then you’re likely to be disappointed with what the business becomes.

Too many businesses define their purpose or mission in purely functional terms. We exist to make this. We exist to serve these customers. We exist to maximize shareholder returns (i.e. make money). Those details about your business are important, but they don’t provide the compelling reason for you and your team to fight for the company’s survival through the tough times that inevitably come for all businesses.

Read the full article here about creating a mission and vision for your business that glorifies God.

If we have the right attitudes, if we are disciplined in spending time with God, and if we focus on growing in Godliness, by the grace of God, then we will act like mature Christians. As business leaders, our actions are most evident in the decisions that we make. As mature Christian business leaders, our decisions will honor God, love people, and reflect the character of Christ.

Of course, our decisions will also be focused on operating our businesses with excellence. They will take into account all available information; will demonstrate wisdom relative to trends in our business, our industry, and the broader world; and will seek to ensure our business is increasingly successful in achieving its mission.

So, we will be wise stewards of the business God has entrusted to us, but our approach to hard decisions will be different from the non-believing business leaders around us. We will be self-sacrificing, gracious, and focused on God’s glory. 

We will do this because we have the right attitude and because God has developed in us the right character.

Read the full article here.

Exciting news to share! Today marks a special milestone for me as I venture into the world of fiction writing. The journey of crafting a captivating story arc has always seemed like a daunting task, but today, I am thrilled to announce the release of my first two historical fiction children’s books.

Historical fiction presents a unique opportunity where the foundation of a compelling narrative is laid, allowing me to infuse my creativity into the intricate details. This endeavor has been a delightful side project, and I am genuinely pleased with the outcomes. Leveraging AI technology, I not only improved the quality of my writing but also brought the stories to life through full-cast audiobook adaptations.

A special shoutout to Andrew Schwilling for his remarkable artwork and to the dedicated historical researchers whose factual insights served as the backbone for my storytelling. For more details, click here

These engaging books are now accessible through various online book retailers or directly from my website.. Dive into the world of historical fiction and embark on an adventure with these (hopefully) captivating reads!

It seems like everyone is trying to figure out what role we humans will play in the future of work. The incredible advances of artificial intelligence over the past several years seem to imply that there’s almost no job that machines won’t soon be able to perform better than those of us with flesh and blood. “More Human” by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter is the latest book to cross my desk that seeks to help us understand how best to make the most of our humanity in this evolving reality.

The bookpresents a framework for combining the best strengths of technology and our humanity to be the best leaders we can be. Specifically, the authors focus on strengthening core human qualities of Awareness, Compassion, and Wisdom by using AI to develop and enhance the mindsets and skills underlying those qualities.

“More Human” is largely conceptual in nature and it strongly promotes the authors’ worldview. If you don’t buy in to their worldview (as I don’t), you may be tempted to reject the book outright. At the same time, the framework it presents is helpful for thinking about important human qualities that technology may never replace, and practical ways that AI can help us in nurturing and developing these qualities in our own leadership practices. The authors try hard to give the book a long shelf-life by avoiding specific technology details that will quickly be surpassed, and yet, like many, they are making unproven hypotheses about how humans can continue to play valuable roles in the workplace as technology continues to advance and perform a wide variety of tasks better than humans have been able to do it in the past. 

Some will likely find the book helpful as they work to become better leaders in the age of AI.

Read my full review here.

Farmers have been harvesting hazelnuts in the Pontic Hills region of Turkey for thousands of years and today they export more than $1 billion of the crop annually. More than half the world’s hazelnuts come from the region. Millions of people are involved in the industry and it is the backbone of the regional economy.

However, the system is broken and many of the farms are failing. Ninety-nine percent of hazelnut farms are less than 5 acres. There are 500,000 orchards in 10,000 villages. These farms are too small to fully support the families that own them, so the owners need to leave their homes to find work, only returning for harvest time. Since their farms are neglected most of the year, yields are falling and profits have dropped 30% over the past decade, creating an out-of-control spiraling problem for these families. Many are considering whether or not they can justify continuing to operate their farms.

Jeremy Welty started Full Harvest Agricultural Solutions to solve this problem. Jeremy and his team have developed a model that is saving small family farms. They evaluate candidate farms, identifying those that could be operated together more efficiently. They sign long-term leases with the owners to provide guaranteed income and often hire the owners to work their own land, providing year-round employment. They make investments in the orchards and patiently wait the years it takes to earn back a return on the investment. They are the only ones offering a turnkey solution that is saving these farms that have been in families for many generations. They bring in professional management, but also train the owners in new skills and modern techniques. Yields are tripling and quality is improving.

Read the full story here.

A popular saying suggests that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This notion is evident in society, where individuals with significant power often succumb to arrogance and intimidation to fulfill their desires. However, that’s not God’s way. The only truly absolute power is God and God is holy, the opposite of corruption.

As we grow in godliness, through the Holy Spirit’s sanctification, we aim to reflect qualities like gentleness, kindness, and graciousness in our lives. Unlike a bully who relies on intimidation due to insecurity, a godly leader exhibits gentleness rooted in confidence in God’s power, without the need for validation from others. True confidence breeds peace, secure in our responsibilities, and wanting the best for others.

Read more about how gentleness interacts with other God-honoring character traits and how we can use gentleness to glorify God in our businesses here.

Gentleness, far from indicating weakness, actually showcases real strength and security.