The Growth Guide Training Program

The first version of the "Growth Guide Training Program" I built for CTC in 2020 has become the stuff of legend.

The 8 people that went through it now lead growth for well known brands or have started their own business.

Only problem was it was illegal.

Here's what it entailed pic.twitter.com/781fGqcNn8

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

First some context.

As a former athlete I have always been wired to think that your job performance is a bi-product of how you live your entire life.

Your sleep, fitness, nutrition, mental preparation etc. all contribute to how you perform on the field.

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

I also believe that while time is not the only variable that contributes to personal development it is the easiest one to control.

If you want the slope of your career development to exceed your peers one of the easiest things to leverage is putting in more time than them.

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

So that is how I approached this training.

I wanted to create disproportionately impactful people by asking them to prepare in unique ways and offer more time than their peers.

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

We had 4 goals with this training

1. Create an unmatched career development opportunity

2. Give you the skill development to operate at “Head of Growth” level.

3. Give you the confidence to lead meetings with CEO's.

4. Become a dispositional leader that makes your team better

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

This is the introduction email I sent to everyone at the start of the program:https://t.co/wGxu5Wsjex

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

The general framework of the training was this:

90 days covering three sections:

- Finance
-Marketing
- Client Service

I started with finance because it was the biggest area of development and hardest material right up front.

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

Physical Commitments:
No Alcohol During Work Week.
Fruit and Vegetable Only Snacks
Min. 30oz water each day

Time Commitments:
Monday Study Hall at 7:00am
T-F Study Hall at 7:30am

Leave work M,T,TH,F by no later than 5:30
Wednesday Night Class 430-630 pic.twitter.com/WZqMkFkaFp

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

Every week they had a reading assignment (list of required reading attached)

Then in class I would teach a lesson on the material we just read. pic.twitter.com/BuLg4XEsG4

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

At the end of each section they had to submit an essay and take a proctored exam on the material.

They also were required to get certifications from FB, Google and Klayviyo along the way.

If they didn't pass they didn't get to move on to the next section. pic.twitter.com/BRSBjNt7Xw

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

Of the 8 that started only 3 ended up passing.

Those meetings where people failed were hard.

It was emotional because they had put in a ton of time and there was a lot at stake for them.

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023

The time was incredibly rewarding for most people and we all look back on it fondly.

At some point in my life I'd love to develop this program further but I am not sure its a reasonable expectation in a corporate setting.

But maybe I have just gotten soft in my old age. ha

— Taylor Holiday (@TaylorHoliday) June 22, 2023