December 2018

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:26 — 9.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

Benchmarking began to be popular business jargon back in the 80’s. At least that’s when I first began to hear about it. Wikipedia has some interesting history on the term.

The term benchmark, originates from the history of guns and ammunition, and with the same aim as for the business term; comparison and improved performance. The introduction of gunpowder arms replaced the bow and arrow from the archer, the soldier who used the bow. The archer now had to adapt to the new situation, and learn to handle the gun. The new weapon left only a mark on the target, where the arrow used to be visible, and with the bow gone, the soldiers title changed to marksman, the man who put the mark. The gun was improved already in the early beginning, with rifling of the barrel, and the rifle was born. With the industrialization of the weapon-industry in the mid-1800’s, The mass production of ammunition as a cartridge replaced the manual loading of black-powder and bullet into the gun. Now, with standardized production of both the high-precision rifle, as well as the cartridge, the marksman was now the uncertain variable, and with different qualities and specifications on both rifle as well as ammunition, there was a need for a method of finding the best combination. The rifled weapon was fixed in a bench, making it possible to fire several identical shots at a target to measure the spread. This is benchmarking, as it is still done today, both at the gun-factory, the ammunition-factory, as well as for a lot of sportsmen who look for the best ammunition to bring to competition.

In short, benchmarking and best practices have been considered interchangeable terms denoting the standards that have been established by industry leaders. Think of it as the current established level of high achievement. It’s not an ideal, but a realized actuality of somebody or some company in a particular area of endeavor.

Best practices on one industry may not quite mirror those in another. Typically, we look within our industry to see what the top performers are doing. They set the standard, the benchmark or best practices.

I’ve always been interested in the benchmarks or best practices, but I’ve also always found them very limiting. Probably for the same reason I find today’s social media quotes so empty. Quotable quotes are nice and all, but your business success and your leadership success aren’t likely going to be impacted by some notable (perhaps completely untrue) quote. For starters, the quotes usually have no context. Additionally, they tend to be stated in absolutes because that gives them perceived authority and power. Words like “always” and “never” are dead giveaways. But we can blitzed with such things and they enter our individual and collective consciousness – and over time, we begin to believe them. So they do have an effect on us. No denying it.

Just this morning I saw one that said, “The problem isn’t the problem. It’s your reaction to the problem.” Really? I’m not so sure. And what does that even mean? If your building roof leaks, you have a problem. I don’t see how your reaction to that problem – getting it fixed, either temporarily or permanently – is the problem. No, the roof leaks. That’s my problem. I’m doing what I must to fix it. No problem. 😀

Well, back to best practices or benchmarking. I have a few basic problems with it.

One, it presupposes that somebody has figured out how to best do it – whatever IT is. But have they? Sure, we can measure various elements of performance to determine what success looks like. We know high achievement versus lower achievement. But because another business has established, or helped establish benchmarks or best practices doesn’t mean it can be replicated. Or even that it should be.

Two, it doesn’t mean it’s literally the best, it just means for them, at this moment in time, it’s better than anything from the past. Like all performance, it’s a moment in time. Consistently good performance over time is how most of us view success. Yes, there are outliers. Those founders of some tech company who started in their college dorm room 10 months ago and now they’re blessed with a multi-million dollar exit. It happens. But it’s rarer than anything you can compare it to. It gets a ton of press and fools us into thinking we’ve been laboring for years and there’s no multi-million exit in sight.

Three, it’s limiting. The realized potential is…well, real. It’s how things are. But too often benchmarking and best practices don’t give enough license to how great things could be. It’s 4-minute-mile stuff. Barrier-breaking doesn’t happen because somebody is following a benchmark or best practice. It happens because they refuse to.

Best for you may be similar to best practices in your industry, but maybe not. You may be able to blow best practices out of the water in your own way.

I’m not telling to avoid reading about and learning whatever benchmarks exist in your space. I’m telling you to take them with a grain of salt, knowing they may have no bearing on how you should roll.

Context Matters

More than 20 years I embraced a fascination with home delivery of big-ticket items, namely major home appliances and big, flat panel TVs. That was my space. Best practices nationally were next day delivery. We offered same-day delivery as a premium service. And it was popular, for obvious reasons. If your refrigerator is out today is way better than tomorrow.

I challenged my team to find a way to up the game with a 4-hour delivery. I knew of no other retailer in any market of size doing such a thing. That was part of the fun. To go where no man had ever gone before and all that. Within 30 days our team figured out a way to get it done. And you know what? It wasn’t nearly as tough as you might imagine. It became second nature. It wasn’t an exception to the rule, it was pretty much an established rule because we found our own best practices. And what fit us was vastly superior, in my opinion, and the opinions of our shoppers, than the existing benchmarks in our space.

This is among the chief reasons I constantly am pushing you to FIGURE IT OUT. Figuring it out is fun and profitable. It’s also beneficial as you stop trying to copycat behaviors and practices that may be less than what you’re capable of. I could have said, we’re way ahead of the industry best practices. No need to push harder. But for us, that wasn’t fun. And we wanted to improve. To grow. To get better!

What about you?

What do you want? Because you’re willing to listen a podcast with the title GROW GREAT, I’m guessing you’re not quite satisfied with how things are. Maybe they’re good. Maybe they’re very good. Maybe they’re not good at all. Maybe you’re struggling. Whatever your condition, you’re dissatisfied. You think (or you believe, or you want to believe) things can be better. And you likely think you have some capacity to help make it so.

I agree with you.

You do have the power to influence an improved outcome.

You also have the power to figure out what best practices look like inside your own company. Yes, it helps to have people contributing to that effort. Yes, who you surround yourself matters. But at the end of the day – at the end of each day – you must decide what you want to do. And how you want to go about making it happen.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:40 — 6.6MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

“Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.”   -John Naisbitt

You may not know who John is. In 1982 he wrote a phenomenally successful book, Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives. He’s 89 years old now. The book sold over 14 million copies. He was among the first futurists I followed. We weren’t quite sure what such people did, or who they were, but I was fascinated by their work. Especially his work.

Here’s the full quote:

“Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it; what is happening in America is that those parades are getting smaller and smaller – and there are many more of them.”

Lots of people are critical of that quote, but I’ve always been fond of it. That doesn’t make it accurate. It’s pithy. Maybe a bit snarky, which is likely why I like it. 😉 But sometimes I think leaders have to create their own parade, not just go find one.

I’m a Naisbitt fan though, so I openly confess my bias in his favor. Besides, the same man produced this quote…

The most important skill to acquire now is learning how to learn.

How can you argue with that?

Leadership. It’s an awfully big topic. I’ve read more books on that topic than probably any other subject, but I still can’t tell you I’ve been able to distill it clearly in my own mind. And until a person does that I’m not sure they’re able to convey any meaningful knowledge to others.

There are some practical things I know about leadership. Things I’ve learned through my own study, research and experience.

I know great leaders are out front because they’re willing to show others the way. 

The parade comparison is probably off-putting to some because it smacks of glory seeking. I’m not sure people understand the context or intent of the quote though. I certainly don’t claim full knowledge or context, but I’ve read enough Naisbitt to surmise he doesn’t think leaders jump in front of an existing parade. That would presuppose the parade was moving without a leader. So you may as well select yourself and jump out there in front of it. No matter, it’s not why I used to the quote – to get a debate going. I did use it to provoke us to think more soberly about leadership. Particularly our own leadership!

Great leaders see the future first, which is why they’re willing to step out front. 

Those who follow tend to be those who learn to see and believe what the leader does. They “buy in” to the leader’s vision. Those who don’t, fall out of the parade, likely looking to join to a new parade. Or start their own.

Here’s another Naisbitt quote. “The new leader is a facilitator, not an order giver.” It’s another wise quote. And one I believe in. Makes you want to read his books, huh?

If you have to be right, you put yourself in a hedged lane, but once you experience the power of not having to be right, you will feel like you are walking across open fields, the perspective wide and your feet free to take any turn.

Great leaders understand the power of the room, not being the smartest person in the room.

Google did an extensive study a couple of years ago of why high performing teams happen, or how we can create them. I’ll likely have more to say about it in the days to come, but for now, let me link it up for you so you can dive into it a bit.

Here’s a summary of the five key characteristics of enhanced teams.

1. Dependability. Team members get things done on time and meet expectations.

2. Structure and clarity. High-performing teams have clear goals and well-defined roles within the group.

3. Meaning. The work has personal significance to each member.

4. Impact. The group believes their work is purposeful and positively impacts the greater good.

5. Psychological Safety. Where everyone is safe to take risks, voice their opinions, and ask judgment-free questions. A culture where leaders create safety so employees can let down their guard.

The power is in the parade. The room. The group. The team. The collective.

Let’s take our leadership seriously knowing that we’re having an impact on others. Some we realize. Others, we have no idea. People are watching us. They’re paying attention to us.

How you enter the building every morning. How you greet or fail to greet people. How polite or impolite you are. It all matters because it’s your parade. Lead it wisely. And smartly.

Invest in learning how to do it better. Learning is the asset. Leverage your learning for your own improvement and growth in leadership.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:47 — 9.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

I’ve been putting audio online since 1997. Podcasting since it first began. Over a decade ago I created The Yellow Studio, a home office and podcasting studio. When I assembled the studio I had two options of workflow: recording or broadcasting. I choose to go the broadcasting route because I didn’t want to do a bunch of post-production work, meaning I didn’t want to spend a bunch of time editing. The broadcast workflow is like live radio. You do the work upfront, preparing before you ever hit record. It’s live broadcasting without an audience…until you release your recording.

To do a broadcast workflow required more money. The equipment was largely intended for radio stations because…well, they’re in the broadcasting business. It’s hardware-intensive to do it the way I’ve done it for years. And the hardware ain’t cheap, but it lasts and lasts and lasts.

I’ve got 5 pieces of gear in my equipment rack. I’ve got the main mixer and a side mixer. And who knows how many feet of cabling. The cabling and connectivity is nightmarish. But when I created the studio there was simply no other option if you wanted to create a broadcast workflow, which was a non-negotiable for me.

Through the years a number of solutions have been offered by various manufacturers, but none have checked all the boxes of what a seasoned podcaster might want or need. None have made me envious enough to ditch my current set up because they haven’t simplified things enough to warrant me dismantling my set up, selling my existing stuff and reworking things. None have been simple and straightforward enough to give me the benefits I want and let me maintain or better yet, simplify my longtime workflow. Until now…

There’s at least one product coming out this month – after years of others trying – that may just do the job. We’ll see. I’m going to be watching it very closely to see if it will do what I’ve been longing for for years.

Simplicity is a common theme around here. So is innovation. They go hand in hand.

Most of us own and operate businesses that are not on the bleeding edge of technology. We typically don’t have billion dollar R&D labs cranking out a variety of potential game changers. I read over the weekend that the CEO of Novartis announced a new drug, which goes by the name AVXS-101. It saves lives of kids with a deadly disease called spinal muscular atrophy. It takes only one injection of the drug, but it costs $4 million for that one dose. Talk about innovating for simplicity – one injection, done. Cha-ching, FOUR MILLION DOLLARS.

I can be easily obsessed with simplicity because it’s a great weapon against customer or client friction. Take my podcasting challenge. Two mixers, five or more pieces of hardware and lots of cabling. Lots of friction for me, but when there are few (or no) options, you do what you have to do. Most of us operate businesses where we’ve got plenty of competition. Our customers won’t likely tolerate any more friction than necessary to get what they want.

Do It For Your Customers

We’re not innovating for any other reason. The goal to simplify things is so we can make it easier for our customers to buy from us. And easier for them to benefit from whatever we do for them. Plus it’s far more pleasant an experience.

Think about the basic customer experiences of contacting customer service. Let me pick on one of my all-time favorite bad customer experience companies, DIRECTV. They’re world-class in pathetic customer service. From complicated pricing where they love to inch up your bill every few months. To their woefully poor phone customer service where you have to jump through hoop after hoop to simply get something done. They seem to intentionally build in resistance (friction) everywhere they can. It’s evident they believe by making things more complex they’ll pad their profits. Banking on customers to not scrutinize a monthly bill and the loss of a discount, they seem to figure customers will just blindly pay the increased bill, giving them higher profits. Maybe so. But it won’t be enough to overcome the loss of customers who simply walk away.

DIRECTV continues to lose customers to their traditional service. It’s only overcome by the addition of customers to their streaming service. I’m a customer and I can attest that the experience has always been terrible, but like my podcasting studio…I’m just waiting for the time when I can kick them to the curb. I’ve got my eye solidly set on 2019 for making that happen and I’ve been a DIRECTV customer from the beginning. My loyalty is non-existent though because they make doing business with them so difficult.

What About You?

Do you have complexities where they don’t need to be?

Do customers have to jump through hoops to do business with you?

Dig into every place (every possible way) where you can innovate for simplicity so your customers can benefit?

You should experience the complexity instead of making your customers experience it. Many businesses do it in reverse. Like DIRECTV, too many companies focus on how they can make their own lives or businesses more profitable or easier when they should understand the path to success is making everything as easy as possible for the customer.

Win the customer by making it easy. Every industry and business can do this better.

Car dealers, why does it take 4 hours for a customer to buy a car from you?

Furniture dealers, why does it take 2 days for a customer to get their purchase delivered?

Gas stations, why can’t you make sure there’s windshield cleaner liquid in every dispenser and paper towels? And while you’re at it, paper in the receipt printer?

We run into snags everywhere we look. In every industry. I’m challenging you to be the leader in your industry to make things simple. Innovate for simplicity!

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:15 — 9.9MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

I live in Dallas/Ft. Worth. This is a pro sports town. This season it’s a pro sports town with 3 sensational rookies, representing 3 different sports.

Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. Age 22. The National Football League.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic. Age 19. The National Basketball Association.

Dallas Stars rookie Miro Heiskanen. Age 19. The National Hockey League.

These professional athletes aren’t merely serviceable, they’re outstanding. Leighton Vander Esch played college football for Boise State. He was good, but at the NFL level, he’s great.

Luka with the Mavericks basketball team is a seasoned veteran having played against grown men much of his life, but at the NBA level, he’s fearless, unintimidated and spectacular.

Miro is from Finland where he’s had extensive hockey experience, but at the NHL level, he’s as confident and capable on the ice as anybody.

Three very young, inexperienced (at least at their current level of competition) players who are proving as successful or MORE SO at these highest levels of their sports.

Local sportscasters and sports talk show hosts have marveled at these young athletes playing at such high levels in their first years as professionals in the most competitive leagues in the world. Some have wondered how it’s possible, noting that as good as they were at lower levels of play — they’re even better now.

You just never know.

198 players were selected in the 2000 NFL draft ahead of Tom Brady. At pick number 199 Brady barely cracked the top 200 of players drafted that year. He’s a surefire Hall of Famer, having played 18 seasons at the highest levels possible in his sport. Who knew? Well, everybody knows now.

We know what we know. We think what we think. And what we think is our reality.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been fascinated with the human brain, how we think and how it shapes our reality. I’m no expert, but I think we can all agree that our future reality begins in our how mind. First, we think it. We believe it. Then we behave, act and make decisions according to those beliefs. Our actions bring about the results to make what was once just an idea, thought or belief a reality. It’s more complex than that, but from my simpleton’s point of view that pretty much sums it up.

It means that our ability to excel at the next level – whatever the next level may be for us, or our business – depends largely on our belief that we can excel at the next level. The three rookies here in Dallas have extraordinary skills, but their skills appear more obvious at this highest level than they did even at lower levels. In other words, they seem better at this level. It’s like this toughest of environments is where they shine most.

It begs the questions, “What if you could perform even better at a higher level? What if there are significantly higher levels of performance in your future, but you can only access them if you truly believe you can do it?”

Daily conditioning over the years of our life impacts us. We have a vision of who and what we are. It can very hard to overcome. A man making $40K a year dreams of making $50K, but having never made that much money he can’t truly see himself making that much. So he doesn’t. Sure, it’s more complicated than that, but if he can’t see it or believe it, then the details don’t much matter. Replace those numbers with much bigger numbers and you’ve got the same phenomenon happening. People making $150K a year may struggle to think they could ever earn $200K.

Self-Limiting Beliefs

They’re real. And they don’t exist when people perform at the highest levels. It’d take a lot more than a 10 minute (give or take) daily podcast to delve into the nuances of all that, but for our purposes today…I want to encourage you to give yourself permission to think bigger! Maybe way bigger!

Take a look around. Are there things or people or circumstances in your life that you once dreamed about? Look closely and carefully. You’ll likely find more than a few.

Now go back in your mind and try to remember how you felt when you really wanted those things but didn’t have them. Put yourself right back there. Where were you? What were you doing? How was your life?

If you were able to go from where you once were to where you now are…then what makes you think this is the highest pinnacle of your business achievement?

Start thinking about the next level, or maybe the highest level. What is that? What does that look like?

Why couldn’t you excel at that level? Don’t say because you don’t feel like you’re excelling at this current level. That’s an excuse that may be invalid.

Being world-class where you’re at may not be the path to being world-class at the next, or at the highest level. Sometimes being good enough is the path to the next level. Don’t get stuck in your head thinking wrongly about all this. Business is a game for players, not spectators or dreamers only. It’s a game for people committed to playing as hard as they can. For people who want to play it at the highest levels they want. It’s not up to me, or anybody else to determine the level for you. You decide for yourself.

Some people want to build sustainable, profitable businesses that aren’t complex or very large. They just want large enough. That’s fine. It doesn’t mean you can’t grow and improve. It just means you want what you want and that’s as it should be. Don’t let people talk you out of it.

Some want to build the biggest business possible. They want bigger and bigger and still bigger. That’s cool, too.

Just make sure you want what you want for reasons other than the negative self-limiting beliefs that you can’t go bigger. Don’t buy into the notion that the rockstars are just that much better than you. You don’t know that. You may believe it, but that’s up to you to bash that wall and break it into pieces. Jeff Bezos didn’t start out knowing how to run, operate or lead a multi-billion dollar empire. Neither did any other super-duper entrepreneur. They figured it out along the way. Largely fueled to success because the success happened first in their head. They believed excelling at the next level as possible. They lived accordingly.

Don’t rob yourself of experiencing the next level before you even give yourself the opportunity to find out. Think it. Believe it. Act on it. Realize it.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:20 — 8.1MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email | RSS | More

Here we are. The final month of the year. For many of us, it’s the end of our fiscal year, too. For others, it’s the end of your 3rd quarter (or something else).

There’s a paradox of saying hello to the end. It’s also hello to the start of a new week and a new month.

Today I mostly want to reflect on the last 11 months and the remaining days of 2018. Not in some detailed point-of-view, but in general. A drone’s perspective.

Hopefully, back at the end of the summer you really set about to plan and prepare for 2019. If you’ve not yet done it, it’s not too late. But you need to get started so you don’t leave your future to random chance. So let’s begin with a challenge to ourselves.

Let’s set about to make December 2018 and all of 2019 our most intentional and purposeful year ever. 

Even if random chance has been good to you, try a different approach. And if you’re a fanatical planner, you can try a different approach, too. There’s room for improvement and growth no matter how we roll.

Here we are on December 3rd. When you close the books on December 2018 what do you want to see? What results are you after for the month? What about the year?

You’re not likely going to make the year if you’re woefully behind projections? A month isn’t likely enough unless your seasonality is ridiculously slanted toward December. But I’ll remind all of us, how you end matters! I’m not going to be so idiotic to repeat the triteness — it’s not how you begin that matters; it’s how you end. Both matter, but here we are entering the final month of the calendar year so how we started is far behind us. We can’t do anything about it now. But the finish is ahead of us, so let’s concentrate on that.

End Strong

You’re thinking of something right now. Something that you wish you’d have accomplished this year, but it’s not looking good. Or something you wish you’d have improved, but so far you haven’t.

What are they? Don’t run away from them.

Maybe they’re not possible to accomplish over this last month, but what if you could? What if you could really make meaningful progress on them in the next few weeks?

Now is the time. 

Don’t let the bigness or the smallness of it dissuade you. We can all be prone to think, “There’s no way I can get that done in such a short time.” Or, “It doesn’t matter that much. I’ll start it later.” I’m pleading with you to avoid letting either of those thoughts ruin your December.

The biggest projects on the planet had simple, straightforward beginnings. Begin it now.

The smallest accomplishments often lead to much bigger, more significant efforts. Don’t minimize the impact of something small. Has your spouse ever hugged you and told you how much they appreciate you, and love you? Did it impact you? Don’t sell yourself short on doing little, but impactful things.

The Habit Of Accomplishment

Our companies and our lives operate in parallel. As the CEO or business owner, your life is impacted by the business, and the business is impacted by your life. They’re not the same, but they’re tied together. Both, your life and your company, develop habits. The habit of accomplishment is critical for you both. Leverage this final month of the year to get that habit even more entrenched in your life and your company.

I don’t care how accomplished you are, there’s room for more. But there’s another advantage. The habit of accomplishment in pushing through the finish line.

I grew up in an era where sports coaches pushed us hard to run through the finish line, play until you hear the whistle and all the other metaphors you care to remember if you’re a Baby Boomer like me. During football season we were drilled long and loud about not stopping until we heard the referee blow the whistle. Play until the end. It’s training and a habit. One you can always improve in your life, and in the life of your company. Let’s use December to make sure we take our best advantages of every day of this month.

Celebrate Wins

2018 was good in some ways. I hope it was good for you in many ways. Did you celebrate them? Did you acknowledge the great work of the people involved?

At the end of the year, during this final month, it may be an ideal time for you to sit down with each employee for 5 minutes (if you’ve got fewer than 100 employees; maybe you could pull it off if you’ve got a few hundred people). Not for a formal review, but for a conversation. A check-in.

“I wanted to thank you for contributing to 2018.” Point out something specific, if there is something you single out. Find something. Yes, this will require some prep work with leadership, but these people are driving the performance of your company. There’s no investment you’ll make that will foster higher performance than to acknowledge them, thank them and leave them soaring with confidence and gratitude.

Momentum

Let’s use this month to build momentum going into 2019. We want to hit the ground running as we all start a new year.

Use December like an airplane uses a takeoff runway. Let’s build up speed, get things going in the right direction and get this bird up in the air soaring higher than ever before. Who knows how high, how far and how fast we can go? It’s time to ramp up our energies to find out.

Be well. Do good. Grow great!