Three things you need if you want to build a behemoth.

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on April 20th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.

Here’s three things you need if you want to build a behemoth.

Miss one, and it doesn’t work.

Not good. Not above average.

Exceptional.

Like a flipping Jedi.

There’s no silver or bronze here. You’re going for gold.

By now, you’ll know where I believe your time should be spent if you want to build something big.

It comes down to three things:

Models. Managers. Marketing.

It clicked for me after years of reading, listening, and studying success.

From Ben Francis to Richard Branson,
from Walt Disney to Steve Jobs.

Different industries. Different personalities. Different eras.

Same underlying pattern.

They all deployed the same 24 hours we all get… but with far greater return.

More money. More impact. More notoriety.

Pause for thought.

Most of these people made personal trade-offs.

Family. Friends. Time. Balance.

That’s the uncomfortable truth.

Seriously driven people don’t switch it off. You can’t change them. They are wired that way. They will trade parts of life for the mission.

Sad? Maybe.

True? Absolutely.

And here’s the bigger point…

If the environment doesn’t suit them, they move.

Quickly.

These people are already conditioned to discomfort.

Risk, uncertainty, change. That’s their normal.

Relocating countries? That’s easy compared to what they’ve already done.

Like making a cup of tea.

That’s why economies should be very careful not to push them away.

Because they are the ones who build everything.

Back to what makes behemoths….

Models. Managers. Marketing.

I can tell how successful a business will be just by looking at these three.

1. Model

Choose a profitable model.

One where people love, want and need what you do.

Build something with:

• Sticky customers

• Strong brand

• High switching resistance

People rarely change:

• Banks

• Accountants

• Software they rely on daily

That’s not by accident. That’s by design.

2. Managers

Get operators better than you.

Not just good people. Real managers.

People who:

• Run the business

• Grow the business

• Improve the business

Your job is not to manage everything.

Your job is to build the thing.

Learn the difference early:

• Entrepreneurs create

• Managers optimise

You need both. Respect both.

Without great managers, you don’t scale.

3. Marketing

Get known.

Then get compelling.

Learn copywriting.
Understand demand.
Create desire.

Marketing is not about being loud.

It’s about making people act.

If you sell apples:

• Make yours the best

• Make them desirable

• Limit availability

Because if you’re just another apple seller…

You’re in a volume game.

And that’s a brutal place to be.

Few win there.

Here’s perspective:

Only around 7,000 companies in the UK employ more than 250 people.

That’s it.

Every single one of them understands:

• Models

• Managers

• Marketing

So the real question is:

Could you be one of the next 7,000?

If the answer is yes, focus your time accordingly.

Obsess over:

• Building the right model

• Recruiting exceptional managers

• Delivering outstanding marketing

And always remember:

Marketing should drive response.
If it doesn’t make people act, it’s not working.

And lastly, I was in B&Q at the weekend buying some “multi-purpose” compost.

Whilst there; I called the manager over and said, “I’ll use of of this for my plants… but out of interest, what else can it do?”

To your continued success,

James

P.S. Want to know if you have my eight traits of the greats? Check out what we think here.