SECOND WIND
02 / Executive Development

Executive DevelopmentDeveloping Business Leaders

Win business on your own, incorporate and close the books yourself, generate profit, and build a circle of allies. With these four goals, we develop future founders and next-generation executives through real work, in a curriculum built backward from the goals: problem framing, purpose design, and innovation.

GoalsGoals of the program

  1. 01 Sales

    Win new contracts independently

    One new contract a year, owned from prospecting to proposal and close.

  2. 02 Accounting

    Incorporate and close the books yourself

    The accounting knowledge a manager needs, from incorporation to monthly figures and year-end closing.

  3. 03 Profit

    Achieve ¥10M in profit

    Judge the business by profit, not revenue, with contracts and operations that pay.

  4. 04 People

    Build a circle of ten allies

    Not friends, but ten people who will create innovation with you: gathered, developed, and trusted with responsibility.

Typical challenges

  • You want to go independent but have never won a contract through your own sales effort
  • Accounting and closing are left to others, and you do not know what incorporation will require
  • You can see revenue but do not know how to build a business that keeps profit
  • You have hit the limit of working alone and do not know how to find and develop the people to build a business with
  • You want a successor or next-generation leader to become capable of running the whole business (for companies)

Curriculum

01

Problem framing

From the gap between goals and reality, find the problem that really needs solving, the one that moves the business, not the one in front of you.

02

Purpose design (Why)

Put into words why this business exists and what it means to customers. This becomes the basis for judgment and for persuasive proposals.

03

Innovation

Learn to create value beyond the extension of what exists: form hypotheses from customer observation, test small, scale what works.

04

Strategy and marketing

Decide who to sell to, what, and how; design the path from lead to close; execute in the real market.

05

Accounting and closing

Read P&L, cash flow, and deal economics through your own business, and go through monthly management to year-end closing.

06

People and organization

Hire, develop, evaluate, and delegate in practice; learn how to gather allies who create innovation with you and build a team that delivers without you.

Why Design

Why Design: start with why

WHY
HOWWHATINSIDE → OUT

People are moved not by what you do but by why you do it. Simon Sinek's Golden Circle describes thinking and communicating from the inside out: Why, then How, then What. Most companies start with what they sell; leaders and organizations that move people start with why. In this program, leaders begin by designing their own Why, in their own words.

WHYPurpose
Purpose, belief, reason to exist. Profit is a result, not a Why.
HOWProcess
The distinctive way you realize the Why. The source of differentiation.
WHATProduct
The actual products and services. They exist as proof of the Why.

Why is the basis for judgment

When in doubt, the Why is what you return to. Decisions on pricing, proposals, hiring, and exit stay consistent with belief rather than short-term gain.

Why moves people

Customers and staff act on why you do it, not on what you do. Your first customers and colleagues are the people who believe your Why.

Communicate in that order

In proposals and interviews alike, speak Why, then How, then What. The same content lands differently depending on the order.

In the curriculum

  1. STEP 1

    Put your Why into words

    Write down why this business exists and what it means to customers, in your own words rather than borrowed ones.

  2. STEP 2

    Derive How and What

    Decide the distinctive way you deliver the Why and the products and services you offer, and connect them to the business strategy.

  3. STEP 3

    Use it in real situations

    Start with Why in sales proposals, interviews, and team briefings, and test it against reactions and results.

Reference: Simon Sinek, TED, "How great leaders inspire action" ↗

The year, step by step

  1. 01

    Set the goals

    Make the four goals concrete for the person and the company, as an annual plan.

  2. 02

    Frame the problem and the Why

    Define the problem to solve and the reason the business exists, as the premise for strategy.

  3. 03

    Strategy and practice

    Build the strategy, execute sales and marketing in the market, and track the numbers.

  4. 04

    Close and review

    Review monthly, close the year-end accounts yourself, and carry the lessons into the next year.

Why SECOND WIND

Clear goals

Sales, accounting, profit, and people: four goals that keep development outcomes unambiguous.

Developed through real work

The market, live deals, and your own numbers are the classroom. The service businesses SECOND WIND operates are available as a training ground.

Direct involvement of our founder

Our founder, with 30 years of experience, works directly on strategy, negotiations, and decisions.

For future founders and for companies developing successors

Whether you want to start your own business or develop a successor or business unit head, reach out even before the goals are fixed. After you incorporate, we continue alongside you through IT and management consulting.

Get in touch →

Other businesses