Book Review: Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters

In September of 2018, I was really feeling the crunch of leading my team as the lone wolf at the top. I went to a workshop where a fellow agency owner recommended I read Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters and it was as if the sky opened up, the sun shone down and all made sense again in the world.

This book was exactly what I was looking for exactly when I was in desperate need of it.

For any entrepreneurs out there who are flying solo at the top and starting to feel the heat, you are not alone. I had an inkling that something was missing, like I needed someone who was at my level, but had complimentary skill sets. I wasn’t quite sure how to divvy up the needs/strengths and then I read Rocket Fuel in a weekend and all my questions were not only validated but answered.

Rocket Fuel basically states that a company doesn’t just need one great entrepreneur, it needs two: the Visionary and the Integrator. When I first heard this, it was like “aha!” Made so much sense.

The Visionary tends to be (but not always) those of us who actually start the company:

• We built a company because we wanted to do the thing we wanted to do.
• We get excited, we stay forward-focused, we’re ideas people.
• We’re super creative, have big imaginations and unusual foresight.

The Integrator is the person I was looking for (and I think many entrepreneurs are) and they get shit done. They’re the ying to the yang of Visionaries because they typically:

• Love the numbers, finances, forecasts, invoicing, budgets, etc.
• Are the owners of process and keep the company operating like a well-oiled machine.
• Helps the Visionary stay focused, aligned and accountable.

I can’t even begin to tell you what a gamechanger this book has been for me. It wasn’t necessarily revolutionary, as I had an inkling this was what I needed to do, but it was so helpful in assisting me in getting out of my own head and formulating my needs into words and concepts I didn’t have to come up with on my own.

I absolutely recommend reading this book. It was an easy read, but instrumental in helping to create a more sustainable and successful infrastructure in my business!