Interested in Making Better Strategic Decisions? Start Here.
Interested in Making Better Strategic Decisions? Start Here.
Join over 800 leaders and executives responsible for driving growth and strategy within their organizations by making better decisions.
Welcome to your unfair advantage to making better strategic decisions for your organization and life.
Every Tuesday at 5 am PST / 8 AM EST, you will receive three ideas that will help you approach your strategic decisions differently. You will gain insights from different industries, the best companies—Starbucks, Nike, Amazon—and seemingly unrelated fields such as religion, politics, economics and culture at large.
The Growth Needle™ is where you can get the best guidance on:
Creating your ideal future
Feeling more confident about tough decisions
Getting your team involved in decision-making
Increasing revenue, profits and market share
Thriving through uncertainty and volatility
Dealing with common business challenges
Here’s what you get when you subscribe for free:
A Tuesday post containing fewer than 1,000 words
Three ideas extracted from my client work
Audio version of the weekly post
Learn from other readers through their insightful comments
Books and links to dive deeper into specific ideas
If you want to read a few of the past editions, here are three of the most popular ones:
What qualifies me to do this?
I'm Ruben Ugarte and my day job is helping organizations create exciting strategies to create radically different and better futures. Here are the highlights of my professional experience:
Helped more than 90 organizations, across five continents
Worked across multiple industries including tech, retail, education, real estate and finance
Publish two commercially published books: Data Mirage and Bulletproof Decisions
My work occurs in three languages (Spanish, English and Italian)
Appeared in publications such CNN, Fox Business, AdWeek, HR.com, and NBC Telemundo
My ideas have helped hundreds of thousands of people over the past 10 years
Started my own company at 20 and sold the software a few years later
One of fewer than 100 people certified in Sentient Strategy, a 21st century framework for strategy formulation
This is not your typical McKinsey/Big Four approach to strategy. I’m blending Christianity, political theory, economics, culture and much more to give you a unique perspective on what it means to make fantastic strategic decisions.
Here’s a short selection of my clients say about my work and ideas:
“Ruben's expertise and guidance were instrumental in the successful development of the 24-month strategic planning for EOA. The session was incredibly productive, and the outcomes far exceeded our expectations.”
“Ruben did an outstanding job leading our team through a 2-day strategic planning session. Through his guidance, we were able to gain clarity as we prepare to go into our 20th year of service.”
“We utilized his originally-designed strategic approach and outlined what are the key areas of focus for the next 18 months. It was a dynamic and fluid process that naturally led the focus items to bubble to the forefront. Ruben was a pleasure to work with, and his energy and enthusiasm were infectious!”
Here’s a shortlist of the companies I have helped:
A bit about me
There’s a longer bio in my website's about page if you want to dive deeper into who I am as a person. In the meantime, here are the highlights:
Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Moved to Vancouver, Canada when I was 12
Started freelancing when I was 16 and my own tech startup at 20
Dropout out college to pursue business outside of academic circles
Spend the last 10 years diving deep into how organizations and leaders can make better strategic decisions.
I love to read and one of my favorite book series is The Story of Civilization (all 11 volumes) by Will and Ariel Durant.
Own a 2-year old golden retriever who has a “job” as pet therapy.
The last bullet point is my favorite so I have to include a picture of Remy and I working. We visit a local hospital every week and he loves the attention and treats he gets.
I’m excited you’re here
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and comments. I learn as much from all of you than you do from me. This is a community where we are all trying to make better strategic decisions.
If you’re a leader, executive or someone who will one day be responsible for the future of an organization, subscribe now for free.
Talk soon,
Ruben