I spent most of my life being very goal-oriented. In fact, one of my internal “rules for life” was, “You can rest when all your work is done.” When I get 5 clients… When I can carry 10 clients… When I build my team… When I earn $XXX, 000… That’s when I can relax. That’s when I’ve “made it.” No matter how many times I’d surpass those goals, things felt the same. There was another hoop to jump through, another thing that, once achieved, would “change everything.” I kept waiting for the signal that I’d “made it,” that I could stop worrying and start enjoying life! That signal never came. Somehow every level of success felt just as tenuous. I never felt “secure” no matter how much … [Read more...]

Good decisions create time, bad ones consume it. Good initial decisions pay dividends for years, allowing abundant free time and low stress. Poor decisions, on the other hand, consume time, increase anxiety, and drain us of energy. ~ Shane Parris One thing I hear from almost every leader I talk to is that they feel overwhelmed. “There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it in!” Our inboxes are overflowing, our calendars are jammed, our to-do list full of overdue and ignored items, we’re running from meeting-to-meeting – reacting – frantically trying to make headway. Stop the madness One of the most important lessons I learned from David Allen’s productivity classic, Getting … [Read more...]

Summer is typically a time when business slows down a bit. Sure, June is usually solid, but July may feel a little slow before things just come to a standstill in August as all the decision-makers are on vacation! Will 2021 be any different? There are a lot of reasons to think that 2021 will be different from summers past. Obviously, we’re crawling out of the pandemic. With vaccinations up and restrictions down, there’s a lot of pent-up demand for seeing loved ones, new places and spaces, and fun. On the other hand, our businesses are also emerging from the pandemic. While many of us have healthy balance sheets, there are worries about how we’ll do business development from now on. … [Read more...]

On Thursday, I talked about how serving your customer builds the value of your business. Here’s an example of a company doing just that. Last summer, we had some plumbing work done on our kitchen sink. A few months later, a leak developed under that same sink. I called the plumber back to get them out to make their work right. They scheduled a service call for us right away. The plumber who came out on the service call fixed the leak quickly, but he noticed that the sink was draining a little slowly while he was testing the repair. So he offered to rod it out for us – no charge. But, unfortunately, he found that there was a clog about halfway from the sink to the street – an odd place … [Read more...]

Help your brother’s boat across and lo! Your own has reached the shore. ~ Hindu Proverb When I studied business, I was told that the measure of a business was to maximize shareholder value. By increasing shareholder value, we attract capital, both financial capital and human capital, enabling us to grow our business. This idea is solid but has caused too many businesses to focus on the effect without understanding the cause. When we focus on shareholder value, we might focus just on profits by cost-cutting, working more quickly, or driving down overhead. The problem with this is that you can’t extract more value than you create! The value of a business increases when it serves … [Read more...]

Frank McClung responded to my email from last week titled “Your piano teacher was right!” and it was such a terrific insight I wanted to share it with you all: Love this, Brad. I’ve actually been thinking about this topic after watching this film on the Air Force SPECOPS qualifications…730 days of training if you make it! What stood out to me was what one of the instructors said in the video (3:34), “Everyone has the will to win. It’s not the will to win we are looking for, it’s the will to prepare to win.” Here’s to the plateau and the will to train, Frank McClung I help decision-makers in service-based organizations understand and create better website strategies. It’s the … [Read more...]

We’ve been talking all week about staying focused, even when it feels like our efforts aren’t producing big breakthroughs. As I was thinking about this, I came across an interview with Nir Eyal. He wrote a book about becoming indistractable. Here’s what he says: All distractions have an internal trigger — a feeling that underpins your desire to avoid the task at hand. “Internal triggers are uncomfortable emotional states that we seek to escape from,” explains Nir. To become indistractable, assess your internal triggers honestly. Are you reading headlines or checking Twitter to be informed — or are you fleeing reality? “We start to have a problem,” says Nir, “if we watch the … [Read more...]

“How can I love my medium long enough to create a masterpiece?” ~ Tom Chi If what you are doing is a slog, it’s unlikely you will get very good at it. The process of getting good at something, anything, involves a lot of practice. Much of that practice feels monotonous, even pointless. But then, one day, I’ve practiced enough, and it starts to feel effortless. Finally, everything clicks, and I think, “I might be getting good at this.” It’s an infinite game. But before that idea has time to lodge in my brain, my newfound ability gives me an awareness of a whole other level I can play at. Sure I’ve improved, but look how much better I can be! And the cycle starts again, more … [Read more...]

So tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the US. (If you haven’t gotten anything, there’s still time!) If you are a mom, have a great day tomorrow. Owning a business while caring for little humans is...a lot. God bless you! I have a coach friend who would draw a lot of the advice she’d offer her business owner clients from her experience as a mom. She felt that dealing with employees and clients was often like dealing with her kids. (See, you’re better at this than you thought.) Here are some of the gems she’d offer: The days are long, but the years go by fast. You’ve got to enjoy the ride. Build a structure with clear rewards and consequences. They’ll figure it out. Small kids, … [Read more...]