Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Question Everything and
Find a Better Way
To Do Anything
Chapter Two
What Do You Want Most?
Chapter Three
Be Nice No Matter What
Chapter Four
It’s The Tough
Things That Teach You
Chapter Five
If You Don’t Like
What You’re Doing, So What?
Chapter Six
Seek Improvement Everywhere
and In All Things
Chapter Seven
Stand Out From The Crowd
Chapter Eight
Take People With
You On Your Journey
Chapter Nine
Work-Life Balance
Chapter Ten
If You’re Going To Do Anything,
Do It All The Way
Chapter Eleven
Give Back To Everyone You Can
Chapter Twelve
Heal Yourself With Your Mind
Conclusion
Chapter Eight
Frameworks and Etiquette
I’m a people person. I enjoy meeting people from all different places and backgrounds. The best way to meet people is to ask them questions about themselves. Most people like to talk about themselves and what is going on in their lives, good or bad. If you’re curious about them, ask good questions. You will frequently find out you have the same challenges or hobbies. Once you find a common interest, conversation becomes easier. You might find a person to train for a marathon with or a partner to share your life.
Taking people with you on your journey means even more when talking about business. When you find great people to work with you in business, as I have been lucky to do, you’ll find that the journey is more fun, and you get where you’re going faster.
This is never truer than when I’m riding my road bike with a group. This is an easy analogy for a cyclist. When riding a road bike, the bigger group you have, the faster you’re going —the strongest ride in the front, and the weakest fall into the wake and get pulled along. I’ve seen people in business who do everything themselves. They hire people if they feel like they have to, but they don’t want to break free of the few dollars it costs because they either want to keep all the money for themselves or can’t trust someone else to do the work. I’ve coached people on the topic of delegating work, so I understand the lack of trust involved. If you don’t trust that the work will be done correctly, you either have not trained this person enough or need to find someone you can trust.
In doing all of the work yourself, your business never evolves. It never grows. And if it’s not growing, it’s dying. You can only go so far by yourself; if you have intentionally determined to do so, that’s okay, but I’d say it’s short-term thinking. It’s the easy way out. It’s an easy way out because hiring can be so difficult.
Since I’ve always had an incredibly positive attitude toward life and people, it seemed like it was easier for me to find great people. As with that newspaper ad that generated so many good interviews, we found more great people than we needed to hire. And if they were great, we hired them anyway. If your hire doesn’t work, for whatever reason, shake hands and wish them well. However, don’t give up looking for people to join your company who are positive, uplifting, and looking to learn and grow. Your company will grow if these people are able to ask questions and do things differently, not just to be different, but to make sure the way you’re going is the right way.
When someone who’s been with me for years decides it’s time to go, it’s never a surprise because it was always my objective for them to come and stay for a period of time, grow, learn, evolve, and then move on to bigger goals. Hopefully, they can find more success, make more money, and be fulfilled. We never want the people who work with us to leave, but we know when we find the good or the great ones, there is a chance, often a big chance, that they will eventually go. They’re looking to improve all the time, so when they outgrow the company and it’s time for them to move on, you applaud them and wish them well. It’s no different from when a client decides they need to move in a different direction or do some other form of marketing that doesn’t include us. Our clients have to make the best business decision they can make for themselves, and if it doesn’t include us today, it doesn’t mean it won’t include us later. Some will come back, and some will not. But why not be nice regardless? I wish them well and root for their success because they’re on a journey, too.
The need for a business to grow and adapt has shown itself to me many times over the years, but never as clearly as in the last two years. While I traveled to see my customers and ask questions about the products they were selling, I found that the market was changing. My company was making more money than it ever had, but that money was going back into our future growth—hiring salespeople with different skills than our current in-house team, developing new products, and traveling around the country to establish personal relationships with our customers. But while my company was making so much money, so were several of my competitors. These companies have been competitors of mine for all the thirty-plus years I have been in business. But in nearly all of my travels, they were not there. They weren’t meeting the customers face to face where they live, and they weren’t adapting to the changes I could see coming. They were making money and not rein vesting. They were taking the easy path. They were not trying to grow. As I’ve said already, a business that isn’t growing is dying, and now, all three of my major competitors are barely existing.
With almost fifty people now who like coming to work and lifting each other up, our company is on a journey and moving faster than ever. The challenge as my company grows—and one day, this will be your challenge—is to come to work every day ready to do the work and lift everybody up along the way. It’s not challenging for me because I like it. It’s part of me. It’s who I am. I hope the people working there can see that I like it, that I smile at them and laugh with them. And when we find out we’re in debt, we work our way out of it together. Our company is asking the right questions, being intentional, and working together, and we’re always looking for great people who want to join in on our journey. You may have to hire two people to find one great one. You may have to hire four people to find one great one. But doing the work all on your own is short-term thinking.
You may make more money in the short term if it’s only you, but the longer the business runs, the more money you will make in the long term. The more money you make, the more you’re managing to grow. And when I consider the people I work with today on our payroll and how it affects them, their families, their parents, the people around them, and their communities, they’re all on their own journey at home, while at the same time on one with us at the office. I’ll spend more time today and tomorrow talking to my team members about their journey at home. I think maybe I haven’t been doing that enough.
Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Question Everything and
Find a Better Way
To Do Anything
Chapter Two
What Do You Want Most?
Chapter Three
Be Nice No Matter What
Chapter Four
It’s The Tough
Things That Teach You
Chapter Five
If You Don’t Like
What You’re Doing, So What?
Chapter Six
Seek Improvement Everywhere
and In All Things
Chapter Seven
Stand Out From The Crowd
Chapter Eight
Take People With
You On Your Journey
Chapter Nine
Work-Life Balance
Chapter Ten
If You’re Going To Do Anything,
Do It All The Way
Chapter Eleven
Give Back To Everyone You Can
Chapter Twelve
Heal Yourself With Your Mind
Conclusion