I had a great visit last week to Zappos where I took a tour of their facility and had lunch with CEO, Tony Hsieh. We took a trip out there to see how Tony keeps his troops focused on customers as well as plugged into the mission of the company. (Especially considering that they just embarked on ten years of service and currently hold the number-one position for shoe sales on the Web.)  I’ll share my takeaways on this along with a couple of additional thoughts. (Read more…)

As promised a couple weeks ago, I wanted to provide a little update on how we’re doing with each one of our 2009 annual priorities. It’s important to me to maintain this transparency and open communication as to the progress we’re making together to revolutionize the way small businesses grow.

As you know, I’m very proud to cross these milestones, provide valuable services for customers and attract new ones. And we have many more goals set ahead of us to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. (Read more…)

Not too long ago, I shared our planning methodology with you about Infusionsoft. I talked about our Strategic Intent, Primary Objective, Strategies, Annual Priorities, Quarterly Tactical Operating Priorities (TOPs) and SMARTs. I decided to take a moment to tell you about how this planning methodology plays out at Infusionsoft and tell you about the progress we’re making on our plan. (Read more…)

Not long ago, I posted about the need every business has to effectively blend strategy and operations. I’ve included the basic methodology we have used at Infusionsoft for over five years, and I must say, it works amazingly well. From high-level strategy to daily tactics, it all ties together. I’ll explain how. (Read more…)

For the past several years, I have read six books per quarter. During that time, I’ve read a ton of great books that have shaped my thinking and enlightened my management style as well as my life as an entrepreneur. Several employees have asked me for a book list of sorts, so I figured I’d toss it up on the blog, in case it’s of use to others. It was hard to narrow it down to 25, but here they are, in no particular order. (Read more…)

One problem that plagues nearly every business on the planet is how to strike the right balance of strategy and operations to drive the progress of the company. Big businesses, small companies, entrepreneurs, everyone grapples with this challenge. (Read more…)

I’m excited about 2009! I might be a bit late in writing this up, but I wanted to spend a moment to follow up to our predictions for 2009 in greater detail. The excitement of the New Year always fires me up. That’s especially true this year. Why am I so excited for 2009? Because we’re in a recession. (Read more…)