I have big news to share about the Growth Needle™

New features and opportunities to learn how to design and execute a winning strategy

Hello everyone!

As hinted in recent Tuesday emails, there are big changes coming to the Growth Needle. I’m introducing paid subscriptions (monthly and annual) as additional options for all readers. You can always continue as free reader and I’m always grateful for your support.

This post will help you understand all the changes and the opportunities available to you.

What is the Growth Needle?

As a reminder, this is what you subscribed for.

The Growth Needle™ is a community of strategists who want to learn how to design and execute a winning strategy. Subscribers include executives with P&L responsibility, business owners and other leaders who are responsible for strategy within their organizations.

My goal is create a space online where you can all learn about strategy and how to apply these insights to you organizations. You’re most likely familiar with the Tuesday Insights emails and I will be adding new elements, including a new Friday thread, the new podcast episodes (Stratagems), quarterly calls and more.

The addition of paid subscriptions will make it possible for me to add these elements and sustain them over the long term. I’m also looking for individuals who want to dive deeper into specific topics and I believe a paid subscription will do both.

What are the paid plans?

There are now four options you can choose from: free, monthly paid, annual paid or a “I can expense” it paid plan.

You can choose to remain a free subscriber or you can upgrade to one of the paid options. The following bullet points explain what each tier offers.

Free subscribers get:

• One Tuesday Insight post per month in written and audio format

• Previews of all other posts, including Stratagems podcast episodes

• Occasional other posts or insights.

• Books and links recommendations within the footnotes

Paid subscribers get:

• All Tuesday posts in written and audio format, including the entire archive

• All Friday Threads where the you can learn from others and share your insights

• All Stratagems podcast episodes, each one averaging around two hours

• All bonus content for each Stratagems episode (the first one is live!)

• Books and links recommendations within the footnotes of all posts

• The ability to post comments to share your insights and learn from others

• Quarterly calls where we will have a conversation on the most popular topics covered in the community

• Suggest future topics and questions using this form.

• A 30-minute introduction meeting with me, Ruben, to talk about your specific strategic questions or challenges (only available in some paid plans)

Paid subscribers get all of these benefits for $15/month or $150/year. There are also group discount available if you purchase more than one subscription.

You will receive around 100 posts per year (most Tuesdays and Fridays), several in-depth case studies from the Stratagems podcast, multiple quarterly calls and other insights along the way.

For paid subscribers, this is a small investment in one of the most crucial elements for any organization: how to design and execute an effective strategy.

Bonus, if you subscribe to a paid plan by June 9, 2024, you will receive a 20% discount for the lifetime of your subscription ($12/monthly or $120/yearly). This applies to all plans including monthly, annual and “I can expense” it option. Use the following link or any of the buttons on this page: https://rubenugarte.substack.com/launch

How do I subscribe?

First, click on the any of the “Subscribe Now” buttons on this page, including the one below this sentence or click this link to get a 20% discount on the lifetime of your subscription (expires on June 9, 2024):

Second, you will be presented with an option to enter your email address or if you are already subscribed as a free member, you will get the paid plans mentioned above. The prices will be shown in your local currency, converted from USD.

Third, after choosing your paid plan, you will be asked to enter confirm your payment details.

Fourth, click “Subscribe” to finalize the payment process and start your subscription. You will then be presented with optional screens, which you can skip.

Fifth, you will receive several emails in your inbox confirming your payment and providing links to manage your subscription at any moment. You can also log into the website and click on the “Manage Subscription” from the profile menu.

When will this go into effect?

All posts older than four weeks will now be paywalled. The first Tuesday of every month will be the free post and all other posts will now be partially paywalled. I will always include a preview of all posts (including the Stratagems episodes).

What if I don’t want to pay?

No problem! Feel free to remain a free subscriber for as long as you get value out of these emails. Be on the lookout for the free Tuesday post and the free previews included in all posts. If you ever change your mind, you can follow the steps above to start a paid subscription.

Thank you for supporting the Growth Needle and your own growth.

I’m excited for the next chapter in this community.

The new Friday Threads are going to allow paid subscribers a chance to share their insights and learn from others. The first Friday Thread goes out this week on May 31, 2024.

The second episode of Stratagems is going live in a couple of weeks and it will look at the strategy Boeing used to launch the 747, a plane that would change air travel forever. Expect that around mid-June 2024.

I published bonus content for the first episode of Stratagems, including a short video of the 1897 Sears catalog I used during my research.

The Tuesday posts will contain to provide actionable insights to help you improve the strategy within your organization.

I look forward to hearing your comments and thoughts.

Ruben

P.S. You can use the following button to subscribe today and get a 20% discount on the lifetime of your subscription (expires on June 9, 2024).