m4 w6

32 FORTUNE.COM August 1, 2016

TIME SPENT THINKING Nothing creative will come out of your efforts if you don’t allow your best ideas to incubate. Follow the lead of Warren Buffett and allow time for quiet reading and thinking every day. I recommend devoting at least one hour daily to learning, as Ben Franklin did. Can’t find the time? While you’re commuting or en route to meetings, stay off the phone and listen to a podcast or contemplate what you’ve been reading. You’ll be surprised by what comes out of your brain if you give it a rest sometimes.

Number of meals with influencers Your most important job as a leader is nurturing relationships with the people who have the most power to make or break your business. Set a weekly goal for the number of break- fasts, coffees, lunches, and dinners you’ll have with the top 250 influenc- ers in your field, and you’ll greatly improve your ability to get big things done. Need a good reason to reach out to them? Set up search-engine alerts with their names to stay current on what they’re working on.

Hours in the “flow” Stop letting your job get in the way of real work that will add value to your business, and put your calendar where your priorities are. Spend an uninterrupted 90 minutes every day on average, or one day a week , to get into the flow state and address the biggest constraint you need to hurdle to move the organization forward. You’ll dramatically improve the results you achieve. If you can get a second session in, you’ll go twice as far.

Total brains applied The reason most unicorn firms get so big is they have enticed millions of people to give them input and ideas every day, whether through product reviews or posting content. The more brains you enlist inside or outside your company to help you tackle whatever big opportunity or challenge you are facing—whether by posting a question on Kaggle, crowd- funding an idea on Indiegogo, or asking for customer reviews—the greater your odds of shaking up your industry.

YOUR NO/ YES RATIO When you’re first starting a business venture, it pays to say yes to every- thing: customers (even demanding ones) ready to do business with you, employees willing to work for you, and potential partners and investors who want to team up. But once you get clear on your strategy, you should turn down more opportunities than you embrace. Aim for a 20-to-1 ratio of noes to yeses, and you’ll achieve the laser focus you need to beat the competition.

5 crucial

performance metrics

MEASURE WHAT REALLY MAT TERS AND YOU’LL MULTIPLY YOUR LEADERSHIP

IMPACT EXPONENTIALLY. By Verne Harnish

v e r n e h a r n i s h i s t h e a u t h o r o f s c a l i n g u p .

VENTURE THE GROWTH GURU

i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y DAN MATUTINA/TWISTEDFORK

Capital_One_Services_Inc Corporate Ad # CVCCO61505 Job # P63834 WO# 4 Studio PO# 24469 Print_Magazine, Online Cycling - "Gears Direct LLC" Magazine, 7.875" w x 10.5"h, 4C, Bleed

Team T. Campbell, B. Herzer, B. Dunker, S. Collander, R. Reinke, S. Koller, E. Ruby, A. Wells, T. Waterloo

Destination(s) Consumer Publications - 2016

Mechanical Size

Scale 1" = 1"

Final Output 100%

Bleed 8.625" w x 11.125" h Trim 7.875" w x 10.5" h Safety 7" w x 10" h

Final Output Size

Bleed 8.625" w x 11.125" h Trim 7.875" w x 10.5" h Safety 7" w x 10" h

For artwork inquiries, contact [email protected] | For print inquiries, contact [email protected]

Document Path DDB:Capital_One_Services_Inc:Active_Work:CVCCO_Capital_One:P63834_CVCCO_Spark_Cashback:Mechanicals:P63834_CVCCO61505_Cycling_Sparks_Ad.indd Links

P63834_Spark_Cycling_V2.psd (CMYK; 565 ppi; 53.01%), P63834_Spark_Cash_EMV_V1.psd (CMYK; 899 ppi; 66.72%), C1_WIYW_NG_CMYK_R.ai (27.82%)

Revision # 6 Date Created 5-6-2016 3:42 PM Saved 5-17-2016 10:24 AM Printed 5-17-2016 10:25 AM Print Scale None

Fonts

Slug Font Myriad Pro Family Trade Gothic LT Std (Bold Condensed No. 20, Condensed No. 18; OpenType)

Inks

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Creative Account Group Print Producer [email protected] Lead Digital Artist emily ruby Digital Artist emily ruby Retoucher tom waterloo

ProofreaderNotes None

InDesign CC 2015

File Name P63834_CVCCO61505_Cycling_Sparks_Ad.indd

S:7" S:1

0 "

T:7.875" T:1

0 .5 "

B:8.625" B :1 1 .1 2 5 "

ONE CARD COULD PUT

THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BACK INTO YOUR BUSINESS.

UNLIMITED 2% CASH BACK ON ALL YOUR BUSINESS PURCHASING.

CapitalOne.com/SmallBusiness Credit approval required. Offered by Capital One Bank (US A), N.A. © 2016 Capital One

© Time Inc., 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be duplicated or redisseminated without permission.