10x YOUR BUSINESS SERIES: How to explode your business with key principles from exceptional companies…

Hi Bespokers,

We have a brand spanking new blog series for you to follow on from our leadership series. 

This month, we’re going to share with you what companies who are 10x-ing the competition are doing differently, and what you as business owners can do to start adopting the same habits, rituals and procedures in your business. 

What is a 10x company? 

A 10x company is a term that originated from the engineering space. The “10x” concept originated in the tech world to describe engineers who were 10 times (10x) as productive as the worst engineer in a company. 

Loren Fogelman, a business design specialist says professionals from digital marketing to athletic performance have now adapted the term to describe strategic growth.

In the next four weeks, we’ll cover four critical areas of growth that 10x companies have mastered. 

Why do some thrive, and others barely survive?

You may be asking yourself – “why am I not thriving the way I’d like to?”

You’re doing all the right things, you think you have all of the right processes in place, you’re in a thriving marketplace, and you have a great team. 

You may think you’re doing everything right, but what if you were missing a few critical ingredients within that equation that could absolutely turbo-charge your business?

You may even get frustrated at how other businesses seem to thrive in uncertainty – even chaos. Surely they must be doing something differently, right? 

It all lies in the principles that distinguish great organisations from good ones…

The first, and critical distinction of tremendous organisations lies in something we’ve already started to cover in last month’s series – having 10x leadership.

What is 10x leadership? 

“10X Leaders have purpose, long-term goals, severe performance standards and… the fanatic discipline to adhere to them,” states Jim Collins in his book – Great By Choice.

10x leaders are not “more of” something. They aren’t more creative, innovative, charismatic, risk-taking, ambitious, heroic, blessed by luck or visionary. 

They are not more prone to making big, bold, disruptive moves. 

Their leadership is in fact distinguished by three core factors, according to him. 

1. 10x leaders have empirical creativity.

It is not silly to believe that great leaders have an enormous amount of untapped and unlimited creativity. 

However it is not this one single factor that makes a leader stand out and drive its organisation to miraculous innovation. 

It is in fact adopting measured, evidence-based approaches that are mixed with a creative mind that makes the perfect formula of a 10x leader. 

“Relying on direct observation, conducting practical experiments and/or engaging directly with evidence is what makes 10x leaders stand out.,” says Jim.

“These such leaders make bold, creative moves from a sound empirical base.”

2. They have fanatic discipline.

It is also no surprise that discipline is a driving force behind any success within an organisation. 

However, it is relentless, insatiably consistent discipline over a number of years and decades that sets the 10x leader apart.

10x leaders are rigid in their commitment to a goal. They demonstrate extreme consistency of action, values and goals. 

They maintain mental independence in their thoughts and decisions, and have an ability to remain consistent in the face of herd instinct and social pressures.

3. They are productively paranoid.

10x leaders demonstrate the perfect balance of optimism and cynicism, throughout any circumstance or changes in direction. 

According to Jim, they maintain hyper vigilance in both good times and bad times. They know how to effectively channel fear into action, by developing contingency plans, building buffers and maintaining large margins of safety. 

What else do 10x leaders do differently? 

There’s a significant range of additional things that 10x leaders do in conjunction with the above points – which include a number of internal drivers, motivations and mindsets. 

10x leaders define themselves by their impact, purpose and contribution

They also have the ability to harness Level 5 Ambition, and motivate it within others – something we’ll cover in more depth in next week’s blog. 

Want to kickstart your 10x growth? 

The 90 Day Culture Accelerator is an immersive, comprehensive online program, delivering 12 action-packed, gold nuggeted modules covering a range of methods, blueprints and strategies to develop a positive, impactful culture. 

Click here to get started today.