Lex Sisney is the author of Organizational Physics: The Science of Growing a Business. Business Insider noted, “As Co-Founder and CEO of Commission Junction, Lex grew the company from two employees to become the de facto leader in the world of affiliate marketing, beating Google in the process.” Lex spends his time now as a business coach for CEO’s and leadership teams in expansion-stage companies who are, “Committed to growing their business without compromising their values.” 

Organizational Physics takes a scientific approach to outlining a universal and sustainable process for approaching growth in an organization. Lex says that, “Being the CEO of a fast growing company can be exhilarating one week and frustrating the next. I know because I’ve been there. That’s why I created Organizational Physics, a proven method for building and managing high-growth companies that delivers breakthrough results.”

On the topic of writing, Lex shares two great nuggets for any aspiring author:

  • First is a piece of advice he received from Seth Godin, that every best selling author has to have one concept. When Seth reviewed the first manuscript he noted that there were several books in the content and encouraged Lex to scale his thoughts into one core idea.  
  • Secondly, Lex shares that both humorously and very practically, he has set a goal for himself to write a set amount every weekday. If he does not meet this personal benchmark, he will force himself to make a donation to a politician that he despises. To date, Lex gladly reports that he has not missed a day of writing. 

We also discuss various approaches to public safety and keeping the economy running as every decision related to COVID-19 has consequences. Lex brings up the vicarious trauma, which we discussed briefly during a LinkedIn exchange as well as dealt with in greater depth in an article on the work of Laura van Dernoot Lipsky. Navigating the stress of this time as a leader and as a team will be key to thriving through crisis. 

Helpful recent articles from Lex include:

  • Delegation Strategies: When NOT to Delegate which includes a matrix of conviction and consequences that will be helpful to any person in a position of leadership or management. 
  • Communicating for Better, Faster Change Management which includes the concepts we refer to in the podcast for Stop-Start-Ideal which help to better communicate process improvement within your business. 

It is important to remember that the fear of failure is more detrimental to a growth minded professional and an organization than failure itself. As Lex says, “Failure is feedback.” Be intentional with your people, process, production and progress (The 4 P’s) and set your team up for success, even in tough times. On The DYOJO Podcast Episode 20, Rachel Stewart discusses lessons learned from the 2008 crisis that lead to opportunity as well as principles that they continue to apply in these modern times. 

Keep an eye out for the soon to be released book Be Intentional: Estimating from Jon Isaacson. You can view our discussion via The DYOJO Youtube Page and you can listen to The DYOJO Podcast wherever fine podcasts are listened to (Spotify, Apple, Anchor, Google). You can read more on this topic, and many others, in Jon's monthly column The Intentional Restorer from Restoration and Remediation (R&R) Magazine.