Clarity Compressed with Paul J. Daly

Ok ok, I know that might seem a little insensitive, but if you know me, I really do care about people’s feelings. More importantly, I care about their families, livelihoods, our economy, and the stability of our country.

Truth be told…we’re coming back from this COVID-19 thing. This is the time when we need to do our very best to keep calm and do everything we can to keep our families, businesses, and communities spinning. How we CHOOSE to carry ourselves during this time is everything.

It might only be a few weeks from now when you look back and either feel good about the way you stood, or wish you had another at bat to display the strength you could have.

Will you shoulder up with me?

I hope this episode puts a little steel in your spine.

Keep Calm and CLARITY On.

. . .

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There are few things that would spur me to record and release a special episode, but this is one of them. There is a lot of fear and uncertainty going around due to the pandemic, economy, and even toilet paper shortages. I was compelled to get this message out to the CLARITY community quickly: Calm minds prevail. 

It’s going to be ok and in this episode, I’m going to tell you why. So whether you are naturally a minimizer or maximizer when there is unrest, I hope this episode will bring you some courage and stability in unstable times.

. . .

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I’ve wasted a lot of time and emotional energy in my life trying to convince unconvincible people. Maybe it’s the idealist or optimist in me. In any case, I was wasting both of our time by not paying enough attention to the signs. I hope this week's episode helps you avoid the mistakes that I made.

This podcast actually stems from a clip of a conversation I had with Gary Vaynerchuk in a restaurant one evening almost a year ago. I was telling him about the trouble I was having convincing car dealers that a retail-minded, brand-first approach would help them save a fortune and build real value into their businesses. His answer set me off (in a really good way).

You see, this doesn’t just apply to business, sales, and negotiation. It applies to relationships, parenting, and most areas of life. We are constantly working to compel others of ideas and opportunities all the way down to the deepest, most meaningful things.

Here’s the punchline: the better you are at investing your time and emotional energy in those who will believe in your product, service, or message, the better off everyone is.

May all of us spend our time finding the “others.”

. . .

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These last few episodes have really been shaping up to be a bit of a thesis on organizational leadership and people development. This week’s topic is likely going to offend some people, and that’s ok. Sometimes being offended is our first indicator that we are being defensive.

In episode 105 I went through four critical traits of great leaders and then in 106 l went all in on the importance of finding the meaning in the midst of the fog of life. This week I’m getting more practical on an issue that I think could be the most divisive and destructive in existence: Blaming. And coming in at a really close second: sarcasm.

Let’s be clear, blame and sarcasm are toxic. They are founded in insecurity and jettison accountability. They are never helpful to a relationship or organization and if left unchecked, eventually lead to an environment that no one wants to be around…and that is bad for every individual, every leader, every client, customer and owner.

But don’t fret, there is hope! It’s my hope that you’ll uncover it with me on this week's episode.

. . .

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It’s so easy to lose sight of meaning when you are in the fog of life. I believe that if we can clearly define what is meaningful to us and find ways to keep it front and center, we’ll be able to cut through the fog of life and find fulfillment even through the most difficult situations.

In business, this plays out as a mission. In our personal lives, it is less often defined, but it can be infinitely more impactful.

Here’s the secret: meaning can only be realized through struggle and conflict. We spend our time trying to eliminate struggle from our lives but a life without struggle is a life without meaning. We have it backwards. So, if you find yourself in the middle of difficult things, take heart! You are likely closer to finding meaning than the rest of us.

I hope this episode helps you cut through the fog of life enough to give you some CLARITY that keeps you focused on doing meaningful work in business, and at home.

If you think this episode would be meaningful to someone you know, it would mean the world if you hit that ‘forward’ button.

. . .

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My fellow leaders, there aren’t many topics that have been written about more than leadership. In the past 2 years of traveling around the country meeting with owners, executives, and directors, I’ve seen countless leadership books on desks, posters in conference rooms, and have had hundreds of conversations with those who have the hard job of leading a group of people.

I’m a guy that needs things to be simple, so today I’m thrilled to release The Leadership Episode that gets into the four key behaviors I believe every great leader needs to master:

A great leader defines and aligns
A great leader listens
A great leader serves
A great leader is a source of courage

Thrilled because I know there are so many like me who are on the constant pursuit of being a better leader. Over the years I’ve been encouraged by countless leaders who have taken the time to share their thoughts and insights. Today, I hope that mine will encourage and advance both your thinking and action.

. . .

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I’ll bet you’ve been ready to quit before. I’m willing to say that with an audience our size, there are a fair amount of people reading this who feel like they are on the verge of quitting right this very moment. On this week’s show, I’m hoping to help bring a little context and clarity to when it’s ok to quit and when you need to persist at all costs.

For my LinkedIn and Instagram communities, I posed this question: “What do you think is the #1 reason why people quit?”

Here are some of answers I received:

bored/unfulfilled

fear

there’s no patience these days

not a big enough “why”

people is afraid to lose the security of a monthly income

they love the points and not the game

because they want instant results

they lose momentum

not enough traction as fast as they thought it would come

it’s too hard

These are all valid reasons. But is it ever a good time to quit? I think, yes, but not in the way you might think. Sometimes stopping and going back to that last fork in the road is the only way forward, but you have to do it for the right reasons.

That starts with understanding what those “right” reasons are. I hope this episode brings you some clarity and context to whatever challenges you are facing right now.

Persist. Just don’t quit.

. . .

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This week I pose the question: “What’s more valuable: what you sell or how people feel about what you sell?” I also get fired up about the incredible conflict of interest in some ad models and relive a story from my honeymoon involving some really pushy timeshare salesmen. Just another week on the show!

One of the ideas that’s been fascinating me lately is the fact that innovation is really a combination of courage and foresight. It’s a real mix of being willing to do something that you don’t fully have the data to support, but have the instinct of knowing it is worth doing.

Once the proof is available, then more people will do it and hence, the competitive advantage is lost. This opens up the field for the next person willing to be courageous and insightful enough to innovate again. And around and around it goes.

Thinking back to last week’s episode, doing the things you are ‘supposed’ to do will never send you down this path. So get out there, be courageous and dig deep for insights that will spur innovation. Do something you’re not supposed to do and you’ll be one step closer to the discovery all of us need you to make!

. . .

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Innovation favors those who don’t do what they are ‘supposed to do.’ So why do most of us find ourselves doing the same things that everyone else is doing? Simple…it feels safe. The path is already worn and we know that others who have travelled along it have survived. Maybe they don’t seem incredibly fulfilled, overly successful, or very happy…but they are getting along.

If we take a closer look at those who have risen above, we find that these are typically the people and organizations who have had the courage and inspiration to NOT do what they were supposed to do. Those who don’t accept that there is only one way.

The Automotive group who wasn’t SUPPOSED to be one of the country’s best places to work, Bergstrom Automotive.

The little known search company who wasn’t SUPPOSED to beat Overture, the well funded behemoth who was developing pay-per-click technology (Google).

The high school teenager who wasn’t SUPPOSED to be able to go right into the NBA (Kobe Bryant).

The world is full of people doing what they are supposed to do, but those who have the courage to take the path less traveled are often the ones that inspire us all to be better.

Break the mold this week and show us not how it’s supposed to be done, but how it SHOULD be done!

. . .

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I’m fired up to kick off the next 100 episodes of the show with another CEO of a publicly traded company. Alex Vetter, the CEO of CARS Inc. (parent of Cars.com), sat with me to talk about cultivating a culture to be adaptable and also to share some little known stories about the early days of this household-name brand. 

I find Alex to be a genuine person. There is a deep care and loyalty to his team, a commitment to the industry he serves, and a whole lot of empathy for the modern car buyer. I’m always interested in learning from people who have been through the refining fire of change. One of the main reasons is that those who make it through can teach a thing or two about what it means to innovate. 

As I say, “Innovation is a choice.” It’s a decision that must be made to try something different over and over again. I hope you find some value from this conversation with a seasoned veteran who is still walking through the fire of change and is more committed to innovation than ever. 

. . .

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