Predictable Success: Getting Your Organization On the Growth Track--and Keeping It There [Hardcover]

Les McKeown (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 7, 2010

If you own, manage or work for any kind of organization, you have one goal above all else--success. And not just occasional, elusive or temporary success. You're looking for:

• Success that you understand and can control
• Success you can maintain indefinitely
• Success you can replicate
• Success you can scale
• Success that isn't dependent on you alone
• Success that you can teach to others

In short, you're looking for Predictable Success. In this timely, no-nonsense guide, experienced business advisor Les McKeown takes you step-by-step through a startlingly simple, intuitive and universal process that shows you how to bring sustained, lasting, predictable success to your organization. Steeped in a street-smart, savvy insider's deep understanding of exactly how business works in the real world, Predictable Success provides you with a precise road map to success, starting from wherever you are today.

Whatever your challenge, Predictable Success shows you the exact steps to take to restore equilibrium to your organization, re-ignite confidence in your own management skills and lead your team forward to the next stage in growth.

''Les McKeown is absolutely on top of his game. Les not only knows--and shows--how your businesses can grow and succeed, he explains it a way that is intuitive, entertaining and immediately actionable.''
--Darryl Hutson, Chief Executive Officer, American Express Incentive Services

''Les McKeown has for over 5 years assisted us in the growth and development of our distributorship network. His understanding of what makes a business succeed--and a passionate commitment to teaching others how to accomplish 'Predictable Success'--has been our secret weapon and can be yours, too.''
--Mel Haught, CEO, Pella Corp (world leading manufacturer of windows and doors)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

McKeown is the president and CEO of Predictable Success and an expert in how to start up companies. In a book that is essentially an infomercial for his own company, he addresses groups of people who have common goals and guides them in the achievement of their united goals—and, just as important, instructs them in sustaining success once it has been achieved. The author acknowledges the elusiveness of success in business, and to that end, he bases his ideas on the premise that it is fundamentally untrue—but almost universally believed—that success will just happen if we land on the right procedures. Guessing what those procedures are, or trying different ones on a Russian-roulette kind of basis, is simply wrong; what is right is to abide by the code McKeown prescribes. Sound advice. --Brad Hooper

Review

''Predictable Success provides an incredibly useful blueprint for any leader who is looking for sustainable growth.''
--Marshall Goldsmith, million-selling author of Succession Are You Ready? and What Got You Here Won't Get You There-a WSJ #1 bestseller

''Les really captures the integration of key business processes, people, and leadership to consistently deliver a compelling vision, comprehensive plan, and profitable growth for the benefit of all stakeholders.''
--Alan Mulally, President and CEO, Ford Motor Co.

''Predictable Success isn't a textbook - it's a sensible and strategic playbook for any leader seeking to take their organization to the next level, and provides the conceptual framework to ensure a successful outcome.'' --David A. Brandon, Chairman and CEO, Domino's Pizza

''I learned more from Les than in my cumulative 15 years previous business experience. Les came in from the outside and was able to both accurately identify our current and future business challenges as well as provide us with strategies and solutions for dealing with them effectively. It was like he had been there all along!''
--Gregg White, Vice President, Finials Doors & Windows

''It's difficult to predict success. Failure is far easier to predict because it's where most people end up. But if you want predictable success, then this book is for you. And, you might find that Les' formula for predicting success is not what you think.''
--Michael Port, author of the NY Times bestseller, The Think Big Manifesto

''Les McKeown has an intuitive understanding of why and how business works. Predictable Success is practical and easy to understand - exactly what any executive needs to grow his business.''
--Keith Ferrazzi, #1 NY Times Bestselling author of Never Eat Alone & Who's Got Your Back

''I've experienced first-hand the positive impact and lasting change that Les McKeown's Predictable Success brings to a growing business - and to its leaders. If you want to structure your organization to get to the next stage in growth, and also want to develop personally as a leader, I strongly recommend you get started with Predictable Success.''
--Matt Long, President, J.E. Higgins Group

''Predictable Success is the 'ah-ha' book. Les's insight and real-world stories are not only entertaining, they clearly detail the different stages in the lifecycle of a company, and more importantly, how to avoid declining into 'treadmill' and 'death rattle'. A 'don't-miss' business book!''
--David Greer, CEO, Wire Belt Company, Inc

''Les is the Butch Harmon of business consulting.''
--Graydon Bevis, President, Pella Windows and Doors, Colorado

''Over the past three years, Les McKeown's Predictable Success has completely revolutionized how I and my team manage our business. Working with Les vastly accelerated our success, and saved us from a multitude of potential 'dead-ends'. I'm convinced our investment in Predictable Success has repaid itself many times over. I thoroughly recommend Les McKeown and the Predictable Success program for any business wanting to break through to the next stage in growth.'' --John Estabrook, CEO, Horne Building Specialties, Inc.

''Using the Predictable Success process, Les helped us identify the changes we needed to make in how we were running the business, guided us each step of the way, and held us accountable for implementing the actions we agreed. With Les's facilitation, we re-defined our management roles, brought in new expertise to the management team, and restructured our group interactions and communications. If you're a business owner or a CEO looking to take your business to the next level, I'd strongly recommend you contact Les McKeown. The best investment you can make in your future growth is in the Predictable Success program.''
--John Higman, President & CEO, Pacific Architectural Millwork

''If you want a road map to get the next stage with your organization, I urge you to get on board with Les McKeown. Quite simply - there is no better, more intuitive, results.'' --Jeff Stanley, SVP Human Resources, Wells Dairy, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press; 1 edition (June 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608320316
• ISBN-13: 978-1608320318
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Les McKeown is the President & CEO of Predictable Success. He has has started over 40 companies in his own right, and was the founding partner of an incubation consulting company that advised on the creation and growth of hundreds more organizations worldwide.

Since relocating from his native Ireland to the US in 1998, Les advises CEOs and senior leaders of organizations on how to achieve scalable, sustainable growth. His clients range from large family-owned businesses to Fortune 100 companies, and include Harvard University, American Express, T-Mobile, United Technologies, Pella Corporation and Chiron.

Based in Marblehead MA, Les now spends his time consulting, writing, teaching, and speaking. Les has appeared on CNN, ABC, BBC, Inc, Entrepreneur magazine, USA Today and The New York Times.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp, Insightful Business Strategy Book- A Must Read June 7, 2010

By Carol Roth

Format:Hardcover

While it is often easy to see patterns of failure in business, it is very challenging to replicate success. That is why I was so intrigued with the methodology behind Les McKeown's new book Predictable Success. I have engaged with over a thousand entrepreneurs and businesses in my career and Les' insights on how to structure and manage an organization would provide value to every single one of them, from start-up to Fortune 500.

Les describes seven stages of the business lifecycle, with Predictable Success being at the peak.

First he describes how every business starts out in a struggle to find a sustainable and profitable market for your products/services before your capital runs out. This can take up to three-five years to master and there are pretty much two options- you succeed and move on to the next stage or if your capital runs out you fail, which happens to upwards of 85%+ of all new businesses. I know there are a lot of folks professing bootstrapping strategies, but as Les's model demonstrates, if you run out of capital before you find that sustainable, profitable market, you will end up in that majority end of the statistics. The compromise: be frugal and scrappy in your expenditures, but still have that capital available to give your business enough time to get its legs underneath it.

If you make it out of the early struggle, Les says you get to a high-growth stage called "Fun" (his highly technical term for it). The business grows rapidly, you begin to see the fruits of your labor, but as you grow, your business becomes more complex. Eventually, in your business' growth, you will get to a point where systems and processes are needed and the entrepreneur(s) can't just manage the business viscerally. This moves you from Fun to a stage called "Whitewater", which can be recognized by the fact that you start dropping the ball, so to speak, in one or more areas of your business. The bad news- it is an unavoidable part of growth. The good news- if you put the right processes and systems in place, you will make it out and put yourself into Predictable Success.

One of the biggest takeaways for entrepreneurs is that Whitewater is an unavoidable stage, but that there is a light at the end of the tunnel (or waterway, if you will).

While Les says that it is theoretically possible to stay in Predictable Success forever, just like people age, businesses can age too. And sometimes, managers go a bit berserk with the systems and processes to the point that everything has a system or process, often favoring form over function. When your business starts expending tons of energy and not moving forward (i.e. growing), then you are on the "Treadmill". This stage is critical- in Treadmill, you can fix things and infuse more entrepreneurial spirit in your organization and go back to Predictable Success. If you don't fix things in Treadmill, you head into the "Big Rut" and lose the ability to self-diagnose (and change).

There are many key insights for mature business in the book that describe what to do when the entrepreneurial spirit has been sucked out of your organization.

Regardless of the stage of your own business (and definitely if you advise other businesses) this is a very worthwhile read that will really help you hone your business structure.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and useful June 8, 2010

By Julie Lenzer Kirk

Format:Hardcover

Being a recovering entrepreneur myself and having taught entrepreneurship for the last 6 years, I've read a lot of books and reviewed a lot of frameworks. After a while, they all tend to sound the same. Not so here.

Les describes the stages of business growth (and decline!) in a simple but powerful way. With his ability to express complex business phases in a way that is easy to relate to, you can't read this book and NOT find yourself nodding as you get to the stages you've experienced in business. For me, the Whitewater phase in my own business sent me cowering into the middle of the boat and running back to Fun. Reading his description of how I got there (and why I ran away!) was incredibly insightful and it gave me ideas on how to approach it differently the next time.

Regardless of where you are in your business cycle, there is value here. With actionable examples and recommendations throughout the book, Les presents a clear framework to help you get to or stay in Predictable Success - a place where businesses should aspire to live!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Organization Lifecycles - plain and simple June 7, 2010

By Rajesh Setty

Format:Hardcover

I have to admit that I started "Predictable Success" with a lot of skepticism. I have read a lot about Organization Lifecyles and was wondering what new information could be there in this book.

I was pleasantly surprised and by the end of the book, I was glad that I read it. This is a book that will make learning and more importantly using that knowledge about "Organization Lifecycles" - plain and simple.

For those of you who may be new to this topic - let me elaborate a bit. Every organization goes through a lifecycle ( Les takes you through seven different stages in the book ) and what works in one stage may or may not work in the other stage. So having that knowledge will help you prepare well and the "do" the right things that will work for "that" stage.

I am giving a copy of this book to founders of all the companies that I am involved with.

Five stars for sure!!