Mastering the Rockefeller Habits

About the Author

Verne Harnish is an entrepreneur, author, and founder of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a global network providing educational resources and networking opportunities to business leaders. He also founded Scaling Up, a company offering business consulting and educational courses. Harnish has written several books on business management, including Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and its revised version, Scaling Up.

Main Idea

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish is a guide to business success based on principles used by John D. Rockefeller. Harnish distills these principles into three core practices: Focusing on a Purpose, Tracking Progress Objectively, and Conducting Effective Meetings. These habits help businesses thrive during periods of growth and maintain organizational health.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Long Term: Your Core Values and BHAG
• The Medium Term: Your Unique Value
• The Short Term: Guiding Metrics
• Today: Focused Daily and Weekly Meetings

Introduction

Verne Harnish draws on the life of John D. Rockefeller to teach modern business leaders how to optimize their operations and achieve long-term success. Rockefeller's simple yet effective business habits are distilled into actionable practices that can be applied to any organization.

The Long Term: Your Core Values and BHAG

The first Rockefeller Habit is Focusing on a Purpose. Harnish emphasizes the importance of long-term planning, aligning your business with its Core Values, and setting a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG).

“To make your business a success, you must decide on a long-term goal you want the business to accomplish.” - Verne Harnish

Core Values

Core Values are the internal code of ethics that guide a company's decisions and behaviors. Identifying and articulating these values helps align the entire organization under a unified direction. Harnish suggests collaborating with trusted leaders to identify the core values exemplified by model employees.

“Every company has a set of implicit Core Values, but you can’t properly align the company under this unifying direction until you become consciously aware of what they are.” - Verne Harnish

Ben Horowitz, in his book What You Do Is Who You Are, argues that leaders have a responsibility to intentionally shape their company’s culture. While identifying the values of model employees is valuable, leaders must also impose and reinforce the core values they want the organization to embody. This deliberate shaping of culture helps ensure that the company's actions align with its values.

Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

A BHAG is an ambitious, long-term goal that inspires and motivates the organization. This goal should align with the company's core values and be set within a 10 to 25-year timeframe. Examples of BHAGs include significant industry achievements or defeating a dominant competitor.