The Second Decision

Are you the right person to lead your company? You’re in the driver’s seat of a growing company that an entrepreneur—possibly you—made the First Decision to start. Now, imagine your Board of Directors asking you question after question about your business knowledge and decision-making process. Pass—you leave the meeting knowing you have the skills to lead your organization for the next three years. Fail—you are put on an improvement plan or need to find a replacement. Author Randy H. Nelson knows that business doesn’t work this way—the majority of Entrepreneurial CEOs are not required to be Qualifi ed to lead their organizations. In The Second Decision, Randy has combined his 6 years of Naval service, 25 years of business experience, and thousands of hours with business leaders to develop, The Entrepreneur Qual Card™. Chapter by chapter, you will discover whether you are a Leader that will put the company on your shoulders, a Role-Player that takes another position in the company, or a Creator that moves on to the next big idea. Determine your role and make the hard leadership decisions to help your company beat the odds and keep growing for years to come. Whichever role suits you best, The Second Decision will give you the self-awareness andthe step-by-step guide to be—or to train—the Qualified leader that your company needs.

Author RANDY H. NELSON comes to this third book in his best-selling four-volume The Decision Series for Entrepreneurs® bringing a long history of leadership in education, the US military and entrepreneurial business. Randy has been an award-winning member of global CEO Peer Groups, Vistage and Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), for 40+ years combined. For the past decade, he has been the CEO of Gold Dolphins, a global executive coaching, advising and leadership development firm serving entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and leaders who seek excellence at the helm of their growth-oriented organizations as well as in their personal lives. Randy has co-founded, built, and sold businesses that are built to last, that collectively have been in business for over 70 years, and have produced well over $1 billion in sales and remain atop their industries today. Randy and his wife Kristi have six grown children and seven grandchildren. For more information on Randy’s background and his service offerings, visit www.randyhnelson.com.

FOREWORD The Qualified Entrepreneur What Is the Second Decision? The Challenge of Startup Success Start by Stopping...and Slow Down to Speed Up! What Kind of Leader Are You? How To Develop and Brief Your Three-Year Vision Execution: Goals and Accountability and Key Leadership Decision #1 Six Months’ Cash and Covenants and Key Leadership Decision #2 COGS-nizance: Profit and Expense Leadership Metrics: Mining for Gold Values-Based Leadership Career-Long Learning Bor-E-Gaged Crisis Leadership, Contingency Planning and the RESET Button Reflection: Peer Advice and Insights The Second Decision APPENDIX A An Excerpt from The Third Decision APPENDIX B The Entrepreneurial Qual Card APPENDIX C The Seawater Question Answered! APPENDIX D Line Officer Submarine Qual Card (Excerpt) NOTES THANK YOU’S