Making his second appearance on the show is John Rossman. John hit my radar two years ago after he wrote The Amazon Way, which reached my Top 10 list of 2022 books. His newest book is Big Bet Leadership that he co-wrote with Kevin McCaffrey. This strategy and management book reads fast with practical and big ideas not just for high-tech organizations, but those that are low tech large or small. Nonprofits can gain value, too.
Interview Highlights
- Praise for John’s other two books, especially The Amazon Way
- A shoutout to John’s co-author, Kevin McCarthy
- The who/what/why of John Rossman Partners
- A book for low-tech businesses too
- John’s dress down from Jeff and how it ties to the definition of a Big Bet
- What a Big Bet is not
- Teams that don’t work in a Bell Labs environment
- The reason InBloom failed and lessons to be learned
- The wrong question to ask about a Big Bet vision and the three scenario questions
- Mark’s Lightening Round
- Big Bets are scary; that’s okay, but …
- The reason Mark calls the Appendix of Big Bet Leadship a grand slam
- John’s book mentions
The first leadership book for the age of artificial intelligence, equipping leaders with principles and tactics to achieve audacious outcomes and solve complex problems while smartly managing the inherent risks of bold moves.
Great Quotes
Every non-fiction book includes quotes from other people to elevate an idea or drive home a key point. Some are good, and others are thought-provoking. Some of the quotes in Big Bet Leadership fell in that second category, and below are a few that stood out.
Startups die of suicide, not homicide.
Paul Graham, Page 75, Big Bet Leadership
Companies that don’t continue to experiment, companies that don’t embrace failure, they eventually get in a desperate position where the only thing they can do is a Hail Mary bet at the very end of their cooporate existence. Whereas companies that are making bets all along, even big bets, but not bet-the-company bets, prevail. I don’t believe in bet-the-company bets. That’s when you’re desperate. That’s the last thing you can do.
Jeff Bezos, Page 78, Big Bet Leadership
Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.
Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.
Colin Powell, Section III Intro and page 158, Big Bet Leadership
I’m not naturally a risk taker. I don’t gamble. I don’t jump off bridges with a bungee cord. I don’t. I’m not a risk taker. But this company, to be here in the next generation, has to take risks.
CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, page 164, Big Bet Leadership
The biggest eyebrow-raising quote came from Jeff Bezos on page 29, “That is the most pathetic answer I ever heard.” The quote inside the bigger story will be memorable after you read it.
Selected Key Terms
I believe every small business should have a semi-formal book club where 2-3 books are selected to be read and discussed annually during a series of lunches throughout a 2-3 week time period.
This book clearly defines what a Big Bet is and is not. The rest of the book presents numerous simple frameworks in a logical and systematic manner. If you have a book club in your organization, consider setting aside one of those lunch discussions to go over the following terms from this book:
- Quivers (and explain the context and applicability in your business)
- Big Bet Planner
- MLP
- Lazy pivot
- Pressure testing (how could this be done in your organization?)
- The Chief Repeating Officer
- Einstellung effect
- The other two definitions of ROE
- Day 1 vs Day 2 business
- Relentless sequentially
Important Links
- LinkedIn – John Rossman
- LinkedIn – Kevin McCaffrey
- John Rossman’s website
- Rossman Partners
Episode Pairings
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