Amp It Up: Leadership for Business Growth

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

11 hours 5 minutes
Sessions

On-Demand
Subtitles

English

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Overview

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Based on the best-selling book Amp It Up, by Frank Slootman. This course explores leadership strategies that drive hypergrowth and organizational scaling. Focused on raising expectations, increasing urgency, and elevating intensity, it teaches you how to create a high-performance culture that fosters rapid growth. Through real-world examples, leaders will learn how to challenge the status quo and make bold decisions that propel businesses forward. Key topics include prioritizing execution, building a mission-driven culture, and hiring top talent to accelerate scaling. The course emphasizes practical, actionable strategies for leaders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs in fast-growing companies. Whether you're leading a startup or managing a growing organization, this course will equip you with the tools to lead with intensity and achieve sustainable growth. From Amp It Up Copyright © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Syllabus

Introduction: The Power of Amping Up Amp It Up

In this section, we explore how focused leadership and clear priorities can significantly enhance team performance without major structural changes. Key concepts include raising standards, aligning teams, and transforming strategy to drive sustained success through intentional leadership choices.

My Journey from Teenage Toilet Cleaner to Serial CEO

In this section, we examine how disciplined work habits and diverse professional experiences shape effective leadership and long-term success. It highlights the importance of maximizing personal input through consistent effort, drawing from real-world challenges and lessons learned across various roles in business and technology.

Make Your Organization Mission Driven

In this section, we explore how mission-driven organizations foster employee engagement and productivity through clear, ambitious, and purposeful goals. Key concepts include defining big, clear, and non-monetary missions, as seen in companies like Snowflake, Data Domain, and ServiceNow, to inspire teams and drive collective success.

Declare War on Your Competitors and on Incrementalism

In this section, we explore competitive strategies through real-world examples, analyzing industry dynamics and tactics used by companies like Data Domain, ServiceNow, and Snowflake. We examine how to outmaneuver competitors by understanding market challenges, leveraging product superiority, and navigating internal and external politics.

Put Execution Ahead of Strategy

In this section, we examine the critical role of execution in transforming strategies into tangible outcomes, emphasizing its rarity and competitive value. It highlights the importance of aligning teams, identifying process gaps, and building scalable frameworks to ensure disciplined, effective implementation of ideas.

Hire Drivers, Not Passengers, and Get the Wrong People off the Bus

In this section, we focus on identifying and nurturing "drivers"—those who take ownership and contribute to success. We discuss strategies for attracting, retaining, and rewarding proactive team members while transforming passive ones into active contributors.

Build a Strong Culture

In this section, we explore how to align organizational culture with mission to drive performance, emphasizing its impact on team behavior and long-term success. Key concepts include shaping values, sustaining cohesion, and leveraging culture as a competitive advantage through strategic frameworks.

Teach Everyone to Go Direct and Build Mutual Trust

In this section, we address the challenges of organizational silos and their impact on collaboration. We explore strategies to improve communication, build trust, and promote lateral cooperation, with a focus on leadership's role in breaking down barriers to enhance teamwork.

Put Analysis Before Solutions

In this section, we stress the importance of thorough analysis before business decisions, using examples like mergers. We highlight data-driven methods, critical thinking, and the need to avoid intellectual laziness and political narratives for informed decision-making.

Align Incentives for Customer Success

In this section, we examine how to align company-wide incentives to ensure customer success is a shared responsibility, avoiding siloed departments. We focus on implementing strategies that promote cross-departmental collaboration, analyzing incentives for a unified customer-centric approach, and designing processes that align team goals with customer outcomes.

Ramp Up Sales

In this section, we examine how to evaluate sales productivity metrics, lead generation pipeline efficiency, and realistic sales target timelines to determine the optimal time to scale a sales team. The focus is on aligning team performance, pipeline health, and strategic planning to avoid common scaling mistakes and ensure sustainable growth.

Grow Fast or Die Slow

In this section, we explore how to prioritize growth over short-term profitability using McKinsey data and real-world insights to build scalable models for long-term success. Key concepts include analyzing unit economics for inherent profitability, designing growth models that stretch goals, and understanding the importance of growth as a driver of value, even when it requires significant investment.

Stay Scrappy as You Scale Up

In this section, we examine the evolution of leadership styles as companies grow through distinct developmental phases, emphasizing the need for adaptive management practices. Key concepts include the embryonic, formative, and scaled-up stages, with a focus on maintaining early-stage agility while implementing scalable strategies for sustained productivity and innovation.

Materialize Your Opportunities - The Data Domain Growth Story

In this section, we examine strategic transformation at Data Domain, focusing on its growth strategies and operational shifts. Key concepts include real-world application of strategic planning, decision-making frameworks, and lessons for business adaptation.

Open the Aperture - The ServiceNow Expansion Story

In this section, we explore ServiceNow's growth from a niche IT tool to a scalable enterprise solution. We discuss key success factors like market trends, strategic execution, and competitive positioning. The content covers the challenges of scaling IT solutions and the role of strategic decision-making in long-term success, offering insights into effective service management strategies.

Swing for the Fences - The Snowflake Growth Story

In this section, we explore strategic planning for market expansion and data platform evolution. We focus on anticipating market shifts, overcoming data warehouse limitations, and designing scalable cloud architectures. Key topics include cloud-native solutions like Snowflake, adaptable data systems, and aligning data strategies with long-term business goals.

Amp Up Your Career

In this section, we explore how to manage your career as a product, emphasizing the importance of balancing education and experience to build a compelling professional brand. Key concepts include leveraging product management principles, refining your resume as a marketing tool, and focusing on long-term goals with measurable milestones to stand out in competitive markets.

Just for CEOs - Dealing with Founders and Boards

In this section, we explore strategies for managing CEO-founder transitions and navigating complex board dynamics. It emphasizes long-term success, effective leadership, and practical approaches for building strong relationships with governing bodies.

Conclusion - Great Leaders Have Great Outcomes

In this section, we examine how leadership effectiveness directly influences business outcomes through personal growth, experience-based strategies, and disciplined execution. It emphasizes the importance of developing a unique leadership style, learning from challenges, and fostering cultures that prioritize long-term value and resilience.