SPRING 2018 ANDY BAILEY 15
“ It was like introducing a breath of fresh air when I was on the verge of serious career burnout ,” Bailey said .
By 2011 , Bailey had sold his company , and at the age of 43 , took some time to ponder his next career move . Having spent so much time implementing the Rockefeller Habits himself — a sprint , not a marathon , he says — he started helping other businesses who were looking for help in this area as well . He also traveled globally , talking with organizations while doing work for Entrepreneurs ’ Organization ( EO ). In a matter of months , he was hooked — not just on the Rockefeller Habits themselves but on helping other organizations implement its principles .
Now , through his firm Petra Coach , Bailey works with small- to medium-sized companies of between $ 5 million and $ 500 million in revenues to implement the Scaling Up system . “ Many of these entrepreneurs have difficulty seeing their own blind spots , and their employees and families either don ’ t know or are afraid to tell them the truth ,” says Bailey . “ They really appreciate hearing someone like me boldly tell them what is hindering their progress .”
Identifying these truths is a key part of the formula , establishing trust that can eliminate barriers and enhance efficiencies . “ Transparency and hard conversations help the business grow faster ,” says Bailey .
One way to help pave the way is regular meeting rhythms . Starting with daily 15-minute huddles that outline company goals and align individual priorities for the day , the team can eventually progress to practicing more efficient — and typically shorter — weekly , monthly , and eventually annual meetings too .
“ Basing meetings on Harnish ’ s methodology not only makes the organization better , but its people too ,” says Bailey . “ If the business is growing quickly , the people inside need to get better , faster , and smarter too — or the company probably won ’ t make it .”
Bailey ’ s firm , Petra Coach , has succeeded in growing 80 percent a year on average over the past few years , and Bailey expects to continue that progress in 2018 . Not only is Bailey now running the practice ’ s consulting business , but he recently hired a CEO to run his second business , which develops the software to scale the original coaching business .
This approach to setting a strategy and then putting the right systems in place to execute on it is exactly what Bailey recommends to his clients . “ The key is to make a plan and then do the work ,” says Bailey . “ Some organizations set goals , but very few actually do the work needed to achieve a true transformation . We help them set goals , create their plan , and then we hold them accountable . That ’ s been a real road map for success .”