469 - Jim Weber - Outpacing Goliath, Impressing Warren Buffet, & Leading With Purpose

Text Hawk to 66866 for "Mindful Monday." A carefully curated email sent each Monday morning to help you start your week off right! Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12  https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Jim Weber joined Brooks Running Company as CEO in 2001 and is credited for the Seattle-based running company’s aggressive turnaround story. The business and brand success caught the attention of Warren Buffett, who declared Brooks a standalone subsidiary company of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in 2012. He’s the author of a new book called, “Running With Purpose, How Brooks Outpaced Goliath Competitors to lead the pack.” Notes: A purpose is a forever cause that can permeate everything from the business to the brand to the culture. It is a choice, not an outcome. The secret to success is “constancy of purpose” - Instead of a mission statement, Jim decided that a purpose was preferable to a mission. A purpose is a forever cause that can permeate everything from the business to the brand to the culture. The riskiest path is to look like your competitors. You can't just chase trends. They have distinct points of view: Focus Excellence in execution Trust: Charlie Munger has often spoken about the “seamless web of deserved trust” as a life pursuit. The Berkshire culture is built on trust Brooks is completely empowered Brooks is completely accountable There are no required meetings People choose to self-select into it "You're an outcome of your journey." What Jim looks for when hiring a leader: Competitive Culture driven - "Cultures are behaviors in action." Likes being part of a team Functional excellence Values: Word is bond Be active Authenticity The process Jim has in place to continue learning: He was involved in YPO in the early years His wife Mary Ellen A board of advisors - It's 6 former CEOs The one-page strategy that you relentlessly message to your team – Jim made the decision to walk away from non-premium running to concentrate on performance-running, eliminating 50% of his product line and 40% of his retail partnerships. He didn’t try to be all things to all people. Expectations and Messaging: After becoming CEO, Jim lowered revenue and profit projections so that he could establish some credibility by hitting his numbers. He brought in a new CFO, David Bohan… He shared a one-page strategy and told everyone they would get sick of you repeating it.