Amp It Up

About the Author

Frank Slootman is a highly regarded business executive known for leading technology companies to success. With a remarkable career, he has held CEO positions at Data Domain, ServiceNow, and Snowflake, where he drove substantial growth and innovation. His approach focuses on raising standards, increasing urgency, and elevating intensity to achieve hypergrowth. "Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity" encapsulates his leadership philosophy and provides a blueprint for driving performance and achieving exceptional results in any organization.

Main Idea

The central premise of "Amp It Up" is that organizations have significant potential to enhance performance without major changes to talent, structure, or business models. Frank Slootman argues that by dramatically raising expectations, increasing urgency, and elevating intensity, leaders can drive their organizations to achieve hypergrowth. The book offers practical advice on how to create a mission-driven culture, align people and strategy, and execute with excellence to reach new heights of performance.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Science of Scaling
2. Raise Your Standards
3. Make Your Organization Mission Driven
4. Align Your People and Culture
5. Sharpen Your Focus
6. Pick Up the Pace
7. Grow Fast or Die Slow
8. The Amped-Up Leader

Introduction: The Science of Scaling

In the introduction, Frank Slootman introduces the concept of amping up organizational performance. He emphasizes that the key to achieving hypergrowth lies in raising expectations, increasing urgency, and elevating intensity. This approach does not require significant changes to existing structures or talent but focuses on maximizing the potential within the current framework. By setting higher standards and driving a sense of urgency, leaders can unlock tremendous growth and performance improvements.

Raise Your Standards

Raising standards is the cornerstone of Slootman's philosophy. He believes that organizations often settle for mediocrity and that setting higher standards can lead to extraordinary results. This involves redefining what success looks like and pushing teams to achieve beyond their perceived limits. Slootman explains:

"A clear purpose was common a few decades ago, but these days more and more companies are fuzzy, if not hopelessly confused, about why they exist." — Frank Slootman

He emphasizes the need for a well-defined mission that energizes and aligns the organization. A great mission should be big, clear, and not primarily focused on financial gains but on bringing positive change to the world.

Make Your Organization Mission Driven

Being on a mission is a visceral experience that transcends intellectual understanding. Slootman argues that a mission-driven organization feels energized and purposeful, with employees who are deeply committed to achieving greatness together. He outlines three criteria for a great mission: