Spend any time with me talking about lead generation or sales, and the term “layers of the onion” or “onion layers” will come up – a lot.  I’ve found that this concept is a great analogy to help teams think through laying out their products and offers. The goal is to make it easier for […]

Note: I first published this post exactly one year ago. Unfortunately it bears reposting again before 2009. I have a feeling this same post will be relevant for another few years until the conventional wisdom evolves. Also, I’ve published an overview of my new Sales Advisory Program at www.CEOFlow.com/services. ———– For companies selling products worth […]

I put together and uploaded a bunch of new sketches this week for CEOFlow.  Preview them at: www.flickr.com/photos/aaronross Full set (includes some PebbleStorm sketches too): www.flickr.com/photos/aaronross/sets/72157605840085105/

Although the post is about PebbleStorm sketches, it’s the same process for my CEOFlow sketches… 1) Imagine: Sometimes an image comes to me while I’m trying to think of a visual way to represent an idea.  Sometimes it just comes, like the sun one 🙂  When an image comes to me, I jot it down […]

The ideas in this post I just put up on PebbleStorm are relevant to any CEO or executive who’s working at building a long-term company and wants to sustain their motivation and energy.  It’s probably not as relevant if your exit horizon is less than six months or a year, although I feel you could […]

CEOFlow empowers CEOs and their organizations to create predictable revenue through enjoyment. Events are still all free, but invite-only (except for the conference call).  Trusted referrals welcome – including ‘wildcards’, people who may not be CEOs, but who you know could contribute to the cause!  Contact me at aaron (at) pebblestorm (dot) com. 1) Conference […]

Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi is the widely recognized guru of “flow” and the author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Below are some of his definitions & attributes of flow. CEOFlow helps CEOs get into the flow by empowering them and their organizations to make money through enjoyment. The “make money through enjoyment” part is specific […]

1) Be PATIENT. Developing a sales engine that predictably generates revenue can take 12-24+ months, depending on the state of your company. Even any one new program in b2b sales can take 3-6 months to be defined, show measured progress, and become integrated & habitual (i.e. machine-like). 2) Experiment. With everything. Constantly. …Full post on […]

Which kind of company would you rather build (or work in): 1) A company in which the CEO inspires the employees, or 2) A company in which the employees inspire the CEO (and each other)? One screams exhaustion to me, the other, enjoyment.

Here’s a download of a variety of mostly edgy topics and ideas that came up at dinner last week…keep in mind that while some of these seem obvious to you, they aren’t always obvious to everyone.  And they’re always great reminders! Theme: increasing inherent employee motivation (more “pull”, less “push”) Peer-managed discretionary spending * Sasha […]

Back in July I had dinner with some founder friends in San Francisco.  Chris Kenton, a true expert on social media and CEO of www.socialrep.com, wrote up a blog post about it: “As often as possible I try to spend time with smart people who make me think differently and deeply about what I’m doing […]

I sent the RSVPs out this evening, so if you didn’t get one but should have, or you haven’t reached out yet and want to attend…send me a note at aaron [at] ceoflow [dot] com. Los Angeles CEOFlow Dinner Theme: “Push vs. Pull Management Systems” and increasing inherent employee motivation. Date: Tuesday, September 9th Time: […]

Last Wednesday, we had conference call with about eight CEOs on the topic of transparency – both internally and externally. Here’s a summary of some of the highlights. 1) More transparency is better with investors and the board. OK, this isn’t new news for many readers here, but it can be a valuable reminder for […]

John Girard, CEO of Clickability: “There is something extraordinary that happens when smart business leaders sit down to talk about their ideas for transforming business, and Aaron Ross is a master at guiding these conversations to help find the real gems.  I think a best selling business book could come out of every one of […]

Intrinsic (internal) versus extrinsic (external) motivation A significant contributor to a state of CEOFlow is an environment in which employees are motivated primarily intrinsically by their own work, enjoyment and purpose (all in alignment with the organization of course!)…rather than motivated primarily by extrinsic motivators like fear, exaggerated incentives or control. While 100% intrinsic motivation […]

I sketched these out yesterday, on the 4th of July. Funny – I it didn’t occur to me until now that I was was sketching a form of CEO Freedom on Independence Day! “Board” (also including any investors and advisors) and “Employees” (which includes executives) are self-explanatory, but here are two short descriptions of what […]

Semco is a company that has been incredibly inspirational to me – I love it!  However, some people get the creepy-crawlies when they learn about it and how the executives let go of control: “Semco has no official structure. It has no organizational chart. There’s no business plan or company strategy, no twoyear or five-year […]

The ends of the push v pull management motivation spectrum are: There are some fundamental management values or operating principles that a CEO and managers can take to heart to move their culture away from push and closer to pull: Trust, Transparency and Alignment. The CEO must be the one to lead by example in […]

Recently, James Surowiecki wrote here about Toyota and their consistent march to the top in the car industry. There’s one paragraph that really stands out as important to absorb: According to Matthew May, the author of a book about the company called “The Elegant Solution,” Toyota implements a million new ideas a year, and most […]