Galen King’s Post

Do you think your company is creative? In my experience companies that are struggling or stagnant, don't have an operations problem... They don't have a people problem... They have a creativity problem. A "thinking outside the box" problem. Here are some recent experiences from working inside companies: Exhibit A: $30 Billion Global Company. Huge global company spins up an internal business unit. Tried to operate the internal "startup" like they do the huge company. Everything is cold, corporate, disorganized, ego-driven. On a scale 1 to 10, creativity is at a 1, and revenue is terrifyingly low. Exhibit B: A Legacy Brand Trying to go Digital. A 40 year old, high 8-figure retail-built brand has less than 10% of revenue coming from ecomm. They haven't been able to crack significant growth internally no matter how many people they hire. They decide to look external. Leadership gets scared they will lose control. They hire internal again. Weak growth continues... Creativity score? 3 (because at least they considered looking for outside help). But also 3 because they couldn't take the risk that would set them free. Exhibit C: Retail Brand Excited to Expand DTC A mid 8-figure retail brand wants to go hard on DTC. Everyone gets excited to dive in and build an additional revenue source. 6 months in DTC revenue is at like 300% growth, profitable...yet leadership poo-poos the results because Walmart and CVS want them to bend over bacwards. They cut DTC by a lot... 6 months later, retail and DTC are both in the red. Creativity score? 5 because they tried. But 5 because they reverted back to a poor business model. If you want your brand to be wild, free and profitable. Send us a note and say John sent you 👉 https://bit.ly/3AlDDQN

Is your digital product future-ready? Leaders, discover the 10 critical questions to assess and transform your digital assets for lasting success. Read the article here – https://lnkd.in/gRCc8re3 #Reimagine #ThinkFlagship #DigitalProductTransformation

Focusing on vanity metrics is the fastest way to undermine growth. Many of the most visionary founders I've worked with mistake vanity metrics for product<>market fit. This is not breaking news, but I still see it all the time. Too many times I've seen visibility poorly translated for value. But that's not how the best do it. Instead, they focus on metrics that reflect *real* user value. Here are 7 steps that will help you build a sustainable growth engine: 1. Define your North Star Metric *** Hint: It's not revenue. It's one metric that defines your high-engaged users, the ones that would be upset if your product or service disappeared 2. Identify leading indicators that drive the NSM and waterfall those into department-level OKRs *** I like cascading OKRs into OKRAs at the team or individual level, with a bottoms-up on Actions 3. Ruthlessly prioritize efforts within your team to move those leading indicators *** This can be the hardest part for high-growth companies: Focus 4. Cut efforts that don't show material impact on monthly/quarterly indicators *** Like yard signs in politics, executive leadership loves to "see" the work being done (e.g. social media) but these rarely move the needle alone 5. Implement a weekly meeting structure that allows for bottoms-up autonomy but still provides time for feedback and unblocking 6. Fail fast, but learn quicker *** It's okay to experiment but if you eat what you kill, you better learn to hunt. 7. Double down on winning bets; rinse, repeat *** It's okay to experiment but if you eat what you kill, you better learn to hunt. Remember — you're not chasing how many people know about you, but how many people can't live without you. 📈

It’s time to hit the reset button! Mark Kosoglow and Max Altschuler are two of the brightest, most fun, and inspiring leaders in the game. They’ve always been about pushing the limits, pivoting, evolving, and empowering the people around them to do their best. Max Altschuler taught me about creating community, building a personal brand, and always thinking big-picture. Mark Kosoglow showed me how to take a story, make it my own, and tell it better than anyone else! 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬: ✨ 𝐁𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐘𝐎𝐔—ditch the corporate jargon. 🔥 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲—if it bores you, it’ll definitely bore your buyers. 🎭 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞—relevance is the real flex. 👑 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐎𝐕—make ‘em love you or hate you, just don’t be forgettable. 🚀 𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧—surface-level is so last year. They’re on a mission to turn boring outreach into buyer magnets. If you’re ready to stand out instead of fade away, check them out. Sign up, get updates, and watch them build the future of GTM. ✨ www.operator.ai

My biggest announcement ever… I’ve rebuilt our Google Ads Revenue Growth System. To celebrate, I’m introducing an unparalleled offer. I'm looking for → 7 visionary eCommerce leaders who want to → Boost their Google Ads revenue in 30 days → Without spending a penny upfront Between now and the 23rd of April I'm offering → 10% off for my next 7 clients → Extra 1:1 session with me (valued at $500) → Custom performance report (valued at $800) → A 30-day performance improvement guarantee If maximising your Google Ads ROAS has been on your mind Or you’re ready for a change but seeking the right opportunity? Then now is the right time... If you are interested DM me “DTC Growth” and I'll share the details. PS - If you're still on the fence then check the comments section for my case studies.

🚀 What Should a Company CEO Do to Improve Business? 🚀 As a CEO, improving business is a journey of consistent growth, adaptability, and strategic focus. Here are a few steps every leader should prioritize: 1️⃣ **Stay Customer-Centric**: Understand and adapt to customer needs. Build solutions that truly resonate and add value. 2️⃣ **Empower the Team**: Foster a culture where employees are motivated, valued, and encouraged to innovate. Empowered teams build better businesses! 3️⃣ **Data-Driven Decisions**: Use data insights to make informed decisions and stay ahead of market trends. 4️⃣ **Build Strategic Partnerships**: Collaborate with businesses that align with your vision to expand reach and create new growth opportunities. 5️⃣ **Adapt Quickly**: Embrace change, and be ready to pivot when necessary. Adaptability is the key to staying competitive. 6️⃣ **Define Your Vision**: Clearly communicate your company’s mission, ensuring everyone is aligned and working toward shared goals. Leading with purpose, empathy, and strategy are the cornerstones of business success. What strategies have you found effective in driving growth? Share your insights below! 👇 #CEO #BusinessGrowth #Leadership #TeamEmpowerment #CustomerFocus #DataDriven #Adaptability #Visionary #StrategicPartnerships #SuccessTips #BusinessStrategy #hiring #business #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia #contentstrategy #digitalmarketing #content #management #sales #research #training #strategy #community #brand #branding #engagement #building #advertising #help #sociamediapost #articlewriting #artificialintelligence #socialmediamanager #digitalamarketing #smmarketing #awareness #videomarketing #contentmarketing #shortvideos #promotionalvideo #promotionalmarketing #marketing #experience #facebook #statistics #commerce #searchengineoptimization #marketingstrategy #seo #emailmarketing #digitalamarketing #instagram #linkedin #writing #share #people #digital #network #b2b #networking #like #success #opportunities #videoads #productvideoads

It’s tempting to throw more bodies at a growth problem as a leader. Need more leads? More customers? Get more sales development reps. Get more marketers Spend more on ads. The problem here is the gloss over the mechanics. You can’t drive a car faster if it’s got no fuel. Just because you need to reach your destination faster doesn’t change that reality. Without the fundamentals in the business nailed you can’t scale to drive volume. • Is your product highly desirable? • Have you nailed your messaging? • Are you differentiated? • Have you sorted your UX flow? • Is your tracking working properly? • Do you have the right leadership team? • Are you well funded enough (fuel)? • Is the cap table sorted? • Are projects tightly managed? • Are quality standards consistent? • Is there a clear and defined plan? Nailing product market fit is hard. Getting past that next hurdle is a real mission.

I recently had the privilege of giving a session on Digital Marketing, focusing on Paid Marketing, Performance Marketing, Programmatic Advertising, and the Future of Digital Marketing with AI. It was incredibly rewarding to see the engagement and hear that many found the session informative and useful. For me, that is the definition of success - knowing that I have made a positive impact. As a people Manager at Amazon, I am committed to continuous learning and growth. Whether it's delving into leadership principles, emotional intelligence, positive psychology, productivity hacks and tools, digital marketing or the latest in artificial intelligence, I believe that empowering others is the key to personal and professional success. In a corporate world where many think politics and putting others down is the way to climb the ladder, I have always believed that true growth comes from lifting others up. By educating, inspiring, motivating, and constantly learning, we not only advance ourselves but also build a stronger, more collaborative environment. With this mindset, I am confident we can all climb the corporate ladder faster and more effectively, together. To all the managers, let's continue to empower, educate, and elevate each others. #Leadership #Empowerment

Creating solutions that perfectly balance user demands and business impact is TOUGH. But that doesn't mean you don't even try. Here is an example (of what not to do): 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 ‘𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲’ 𝗮𝗱𝘀 I know, it's easy to mock strategic decisions as an outsider. I also get it. The bottom line is important. And the people should be thinking of doing things to improve it. What I fail to understand is how do you think of ideas that completely overlook (read: ignore) the user experience. What do you think happened here? Why would PMs, leaders, execs be OK with this knowing that no user will every appreciate this feature?

Stop focusing on "winning." Focus more on your getting better. Focus more on building for your customers. Focus more on what you're learning in the process. You need to adopt an "infinite mindset." Let me explain: Finite vs Infinite Games 1) Finite games → (like sports) Clear rules, scorekeeping, and endpoints. 2) Infinite games → (like business) Evolving rules, shifting players, and no final winner. 50% of Fortune 500 companies disappeared in the last decade. Why? 5 key reasons: 1) Slow to react 2) Poor company culture 3) Lost the lead innovating 4) Product & service quality gaps 5) Strategic bets missed key trends Treating business like a finite game leads to a lot of the above. How you can shift to an infinite mindset: 1) Recognize you can't "win" business, only keep playing 2) Focus on your visionary leadership over "best practices" 3) Build a high performance culture over short-term performance Infinite-minded companies don't just compete in existing markets. They create new ones, knowing the playing field will shift. That's what we're doing at GRIN. The creator economy is pacing to hit $480B by 2027. Influencer marketing now impacts your entire customer journey. And we're betting big on it continuing to shape how everyone buys. So think infinite → not finite. Play for the long game. Not just to "win." P.S. Check out Simon Sinek's book "The Infinite Game"