​Today, Arnason Industries is no longer just a collection of talented individuals. It is becoming an organized system. Sandy is no longer the firefighter; he is the architect of a company being built to last.

If you want to shift from being stuck in the day-to-day to focusing on strategic leadership, let’s talk. Email me or contact me on my website . Or look for my next 5 Minute Growth Tip where I’ll cover how to take the first step in getting out of the weeds. 

​Want to listen to the tip? Use the play button below.

In my last 5 Minute Growth Tip, “As a CEO, are you stuck in the weeds?”, we talked about how to get out of the weeds. We explored the four pillars that act as the ladder you need to climb out of day-to-day firefighting: Alignment, Execution, High Performing Leaders, and Culture.
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But today, I want to talk about a framework that helps bring clarity to this approach: the Rock & Sand model by Michael Synk. If you felt like my last article hit a nerve, Synk’s book, Rock & Sand Premium Edition, is a lens for seeing your schedule and your business in a new light.

How do you move beyond vague slogans and define the specific behaviors that ensure your executive team is living and defending a healthy culture?

In my recent 5 Minute Growth Tip “Is your executive team driving a healthy culture?”, I discussed the four proven practices for turning culture from a “soft” concept into a competitive advantage: defining values and behaviors, sharing culture stories, coaching for cultural alignment, and using Topgrading for hiring.​

3. Coach for Cultural Alignment 
The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. If a leader hits their KPIs but violates your core values, the CEO cannot look away. Doing so discredits the entire culture-building effort. Use the Job Scorecard and Quarterly Coaching Review to provide an objective framework for these conversations. By rating the leader on specific behavioral standards, you move the discussion from a subjective "feeling" to a clear gap-analysis that the leader can act upon.

4. Use Topgrading to Replace Low Culture Fit Leaders
If a leader is unable to make the shift after coaching, they must be replaced. While it may feel like a loss of results in the short term, removing a cultural misfit actually frees the rest of the team and organization to perform at a higher level. To ensure you don't repeat the mistake, use the Topgrading hiring process. While average hiring processes only result in an A-Player hire 25% of the time, diligently applying Topgrading increases those odds to 80% or 90% by forcing candidates to be honest about their past performance and true behaviors.

Your executive team driving a healthy culture is the connective tissue that supports executive alignment and efficient execution. Without it, your high-performing leaders will eventually burn out or move on. By defining behaviors, sharing stories, coaching to the scorecard, and hiring for fit, you ensure your culture becomes a competitive advantage rather than a growth tax.

If you want to get your executive team driving a healthy culture, let’s talk. Email me or contact me on my website. Or look for my next 5 Minute Growth Tip where I’ll cover how the book Metronomics, by Shannon Byrne Susko, goes deeper on these four best practices.

How do you go about conducting a Quarterly Coaching Review to ensure your leaders are truly developing into the high-performing A-Players your company needs to grow?​

He realized that for the leader struggling with Galvanizing, the weekly cadence was the most important support he could provide. By showing up every week, he kept the bar high and provided the coaching necessary to help that leader learn to lead their team better. These meetings weren’t about "checking off tasks" but rather "building the leader," ensuring the leader’s development efforts continued and that the culture of accountability remained firm.

The Result: From Frustrated to Free

The beauty of a high-performance system is that it brings clarity. Over time, one of Roger’s leaders developed significantly and became a stronger leader.

However, the increased accountability led another leader to realize they were no longer the right fit for the direction of the company. They decided to move on. While "losing" a leader can be difficult, it allowed Roger to hire a new leader who possessed the "Galvanizing" genius the team desperately needed.

Today, Roger has stepped back from the front-line firefighting. With the right leaders performing at a higher level, and a system to keep them there, he is finally free to focus on the strategic growth of Evident IT.

Are your leaders performing at an A-Player level? Or are you still doing their job for them?  If you want help implementing Job Scorecards and these developmental rhythms to help your team reach the A-Player level, let’s chat.

So, where can you begin to get your leaders to become high performing? Start with creating job scorecards with and for each your leaders. Then get acquainted with the Quarterly Coaching Review. We’ll cover that in detail in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip.

What does the best-selling book “The Strength of Talent” say about getting your leaders to be high-performing?

In my last 5 Minute Growth Tip, “Are you leaders high performing?”, we dove into the "how-to" of transforming your executive team from just "good enough" to high-performing. We looked at a specific rhythm - Quarterly Coaching Reviews, Personal Assessments, Quarterly Development Plans, and Weekly One-On-Ones - all designed to turn "A-Player" performance from a buzzword into a reality.
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If you’ve started implementing these, you might want to dive deeper into reading about these practices. I highly recommend The Strength of Talent by my colleague Mike Goldman in New Jersey.

Mike is a fellow leadership team growth coach, and his book provides a powerful framework that speaks more to why we focus so heavily on these developmental rhythms. Here is an overview of what Mike’s book says about how to develop your leaders to become high performing, and some other practices for building an A-player executive team.

The A-Player Definition

A core theme in The Strength of Talent is the uncompromising pursuit of A-Players. Just as we defined A-Players as those who achieve excellence while living the company’s core values, Mike emphasizes that talent isn't just about technical skill; it’s about "cultural fit" and "productivity" moving in lockstep. He reinforces the idea that you cannot grow a great company with "B" or "C" players in key seats.

The Job Scorecard

I’ve talked a lot about moving away from dusty job descriptions toward a Job Scorecard that captures results, accountabilities, and behavioral competencies. Mike is a huge advocate for this. 

Hiring with Certainty: Mike provides a deep dive into the selection process. While we talked about developing the leaders you have, he offers a rigorous approach to ensuring the people you bring in are A-Players from day one.

The Cost of "C" Players: He doesn't pull any punches regarding the "talent tax" you pay when you keep mediocre performers around. He offers more details on how to identify when it's time to move someone out of the organization

Succession Planning: The book looks further down the road, helping CEOs think about who is next in line and how to build a "talent bench" so the company isn't vulnerable if a key leader departs.

As a CEO of a prairie-based company, you know that the "war for talent" is real. You don't have the luxury of wasting time on leadership development that doesn't stick.

Mike Goldman’s The Strength of Talent is a fantastic read because it makes crystal-clear that the path to a thriving company isn't just a better strategy or more capital; it’s the strength of the people sitting around your executive table.

By applying these people development practices, you aren't just managing a team, you’re building a high-performance machine.

If you’re feeling like your team has hit a plateau, or if you’re struggling to turn "good" leaders into "great" ones, you’re not alone. If you want help implementing Job Scorecards and these developmental rhythms to get your team to that A-Player level, let’s chat.

In the next 5 Minute Growth Tip, I’ll share the story of one of the clients we’ve worked with in this area and others.