Day: February 15, 2023

Business

How to Protect Your Expert Brand in a World of Sensationalism

by CEO Weekly Staff

February 15, 2023

This is a scary, new world we’re all living in, one where someone won’t think twice about spinning a fake ...

Business

Revolutionizing Lead Generation on 2 Fronts – How Biz Leadz is Helping Businesses Thrive

by CEO Weekly Staff

February 15, 2023

Sales and marketing lead generation are critical components of a successful business. Without effective sales and marketing strategies, it is ...

Business

Unlocking the Secrets of Success: The CEO.News and the Power of Microlearning in Entrepreneurship

by CEO Weekly Staff

February 15, 2023

The CEO.News is a media platform founded by Sasha Garcia to serve the entrepreneurial community globally. Sasha is a board ...

The CEO.News is a media platform founded by Sasha Garcia to serve the entrepreneurial community globally. Sasha is a board advisor, business consultant, and a dedicated mother who is deeply passionate about promoting the harmonious entrepreneurship philosophy and serves as a role model for it. Sasha, can you explain what the "Business School in Inbox" is? Business School in Inbox is a series of business cases that highlights the history and strategic moves of IT companies. These cases showcase the journey of creation, development, growth, and even failures, without any sugarcoating. Users of The CEO.News receive a newsletter with a business case twice a month. This gives them time to familiarize themselves with the first part of the case and think about how they can apply this experience in their company. After two weeks, we send the solution to the problem and how we implement this experience in our consulting projects. This way, users see which version of the strategic decision they can take in their business. Our goal is to help businesses "zoom in" and "zoom out" by showing them how a solution that worked for a business worth several hundred million dollars can be applied to a company of just 20 people. Our aim is to teach strategic thinking by encouraging users to think independently, view their business as an ecosystem, and apply these conclusions to the realities of their company and its current size. What prompted you to come up with this direction? The desire to find an effective and affordable solution for mass education, particularly in business training for CEOs and top management. I wanted to create a "brain gym" that would fit seamlessly into their busy lives while providing access to valuable stories and insights. I have a long history of educating IT entrepreneurs through my personal work, consulting, and teaching, but I always wanted to create an educational product that followed the blue ocean strategy, bringing significant value at an affordable price. I am thrilled that The CEO.News meets these criteria, and I see this as an opportunity to influence entrepreneurs and anyone looking to improve their strategic thinking. What makes microlearning unique? It's simple: people are naturally lazy. In today's world, with an abundance of information, the challenge is to break through the noise and capture people's attention in a meaningful way. People don't need a lot of content; they need high-quality information presented in an interesting and engaging form. Microlearning solves this problem by providing bite-sized, high-quality training that gradually sharpens the brain and helps form strategic thinking skills. The idea is to train the brain one case at a time, developing flexibility, alertness, and the ability to make strategic decisions. We focus on one company and one strategy at a time, helping our users become more strategic thinkers. It's like the saying goes, "water sharpens a stone." Microlearning is an effective way to fit into the busy and information-overloaded lives of entrepreneurs and top managers. What objections do you face while working? Many people do not understand or believe that you can learn something serious by reading someone's stories. The main objection that we have encountered is that people think, "Cases are very cool, and it's interesting to learn how companies with 40 or 100 million turnover, or a billion turnover, have achieved success. But what can I take from this if I'm just starting my journey? How can I apply these cases if I'm not aware of such budgets and opportunities?" To address this objection, we have added a second, methodological part to our product. CEO.News now consists of two parts: the history of a company and its ways and strategic decisions, and a detailed analysis of this story into molecules and checklists. We show the user how they can take the “chips” and key strategic decisions from the case and adapt them to their own business. I believe that this objection has made us better and stronger. Furthermore, we have added "Shorties" – short stories that take up no more than half a page. These are real cases and moves of small companies: unique turns of events and non-standard sales and growth channels. We have a large pool of small business entrepreneurs who find it easier to relate to similar cases. Fortunately, we have not encountered a serious objection like, "Will we really learn by reading stories?" Our clients are smart enough to understand that they can learn from reading stories, just like they can from reading Machiavelli or books on history and military affairs. They understand why to read cases. How do you prepare materials and cases for training? Good question, thank you! We are in the process of establishing a research center. Despite its small size, we take pride in doing most of the work ourselves, including myself. We approach each case thoroughly, using our own proprietary research template. We examine all available information about the company from open sources, analyzing their online presence and traffic (organic, paid, etc.), and evaluating their marketing strategy. We also review any open documentation available, including financial information and employee data. Additionally, we gather a list of questions related to their leadership team. We communicate with employees of various levels, from those who have recently joined the company to those who have been with the organization for a long time, from entry-level positions to senior roles. We collect feedback from both online sources and interviews with employees. Additionally, we gather any rumors and reputation about the company from our network. Thanks to our network, we are able to ask about the company's status in the market, what is known about it, and what has been heard about it. Next, we conduct open interviews with top management, being prepared to ask a range of questions - both pleasant and unpleasant. Our goal is to present a truthful case. Interestingly, we have yet to come across a case that is 100% “vanilla”. Companies no longer position themselves as perfect heroes, as they understand that such stories are no longer interesting to anyone. Instead, it is more valuable to show the truth, including mistakes and failures, to warn future entrepreneurs and managers. Companies often say to us, “Write this!”, “We lost a million here”, “We tried to open an office here, but it failed”. Our team as a whole values honesty and transparency, and we appreciate our audience for their understanding of this. We find that working with live interviews only confirms this further. Everyone realizes that it is much more valuable to hear the truth rather than a beautiful, idealized story. As a successful entrepreneur and mother, you know the craziness of the rhythm, the pressure of over-employment, and the significance of time management. How much time does a subscriber need to allocate for studying at The CEO.News? Yes, the rhythm is indeed hectic. But I believe that experienced and ambitious entrepreneurs understand that sprinting is not effective and that only a marathon mindset works. It is crucial to have time to recharge. The CEO.News is a product that helps replenish energy. It provides an opportunity to relax over a cup of tea or coffee on a weekend and immerse oneself in an intriguing intellectual story. This is not meant for quick scanning between meetings and calls, but a moment to unwind and delve into an interesting “detective story”, a research. A top manager or entrepreneur's brain requires numbers and algorithms, both of which The CEO.News provides. However, the essence of The CEO.News is not to add stress, but to offer a chance to relieve tension and escape the monotony of work. This is a major benefit.

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