40 Strategy Blog

Plenty of businesses measure their growth (or lack thereof) after the fact, via a profit and loss statement. But what if you could measure potential growth before it even happens? That actually is possible — with a high-level sales strategy, in which a company focuses on leading indicators like “quality” sales calls (not just calls).  Our guest this week has built his company using one of those strategies, and he shares details of that process in this episode. Dan Ducote is the CEO of Enginuity Global, a member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the American Academy of Entrepreneurs. He’s also a shareholder of the Green Bay Packers and an owner of a 2020 Kentucky Derby horse. Tune into the full episode for more about how Dan used his background in sales to build his business, why he’s taken business lessons from “The Rookie,” advice for recruiting (and keeping) top talent, and more. Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Learn:  More about Dan’s company, Enginuity Global, and why its inc

“Recession” is one of the hottest words in economics right now—and it (rightfully) has many small business owners worried. But the good news is there are steps you can take to prepare for whatever is coming. They just might not be what you would expect. This week’s conversation is with Bill Conerly, a second-time guest on the Measure Success Podcast. He’s a senior contributor at Forbes, and a consultant who connects the dots between the economy and business decisions. He has the unique combination of a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and over 30 years’ experience helping companies adapt to changing economic conditions. Tune into the full episode for more on how to prepare for a potential recession, some of Bill’s forecasts for what’s coming next, when and why small businesses should raise prices, and more. Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Learn:  What’s surprised Bill the most about the economy from Q4 of 2021 to now, plus what he thinks about the Federal Reserve Where Bil

Did you know that only about one-third of businesses will survive a decade or longer?  The good news: there are a few tactics any entrepreneur can use to grow their company, take their revenue to the next level, and ensure their business survives.  The bad news? Fear—and analysis paralysis—holds many company leaders back from doing so. In this episode, 40 Strategy founder and CEO Carl J. Cox outlines the three ways that entrepreneurs can move past that fear and scale their company, no matter the outside circumstances.  Tune in for more on those three strategies, the power of elimination when setting goals, how to plan and execute strategic “sprints,” and the specific ROI you should be aiming for when you begin a new strategic initiative.  Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Learn:  The percentage of businesses that fail in the first year, first 5 years, and first 10 years of existence The 3 ways an entrepreneur can shift past fear and take their business to the next level Why focus

As an entrepreneur, there will almost always be fires to put out. But prioritizing which ones get your attention—and when—is a huge component to growing and scaling companies (and not burning out as a CEO).  In this episode, we revisit our most popular interview to date, with Fireflies.ai co-founder and CEO, Krish Ramineni — with a few new updates, including why Krish found himself on the phone at 4 a.m. with his team recently to put out one of those fires. We also revisit our conversation from a few months ago, where Krish shared some of the biggest lessons he’s learned along his entrepreneurial journey. Krish Ramineni is the co-founder and CEO of Fireflies.ai, an AI meeting assistant that helps transcribe, take notes, and complete actions during meetings. After graduating from UPenn, Krish started as one of the youngest product managers at Microsoft, where he also led projects around customer voice and growth engineering. He’s previously guest lectured at Stanford on deep learning

Shifting from working “in” a business” to instead working “on” it is one of the most common (and sometimes most difficult) challenges CEOs and entrepreneurs face. They’re used to doing a little bit of everything, and it can be hard to zoom out for a bird’s-eye view. But if business owners want their companies to reach their full potential, making this shift is one of the most important changes a CEO can make.  Our guest this week is an expert on helping entrepreneurs do just that. As a former IBM employee, a multiple successful entrepreneur, a nonprofit technology executive that helped Louisiana become one of the fastest growing technology states in the country, Mark coaches and consults entrepreneurs and small businesses for success by moderating multiple CEO Roundtables each year.  Tune into the full episode for more on how Mark guides CEOs and entrepreneurs on growing their business, some of the most common challenges he sees small business owners face as they try to scale their c