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Episode #168

In this episode, author Steve Shapiro talks about milestone projects in his career, how people who are different from you push you to be better, and what drives innovation in teams and companies. In his new book, You're Not Playing with a Full Deck, he details how teams often are missing key perspectives with too many alike thinkers. This episode previews that book and applies this mindset to small businesses.

BOBYARD is an AI-powered takeoff and estimating platform that automates the most time-consuming parts of bidding work. Contractors report up to 65% reduction in takeoff time and 3-5x more bids submitted per estimator.

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Key Learnings

If You Only Hire People Who Fit the Mold, Eventually Your Organization Grows Mold: Opposites don't attract, they detract. But when we surround ourselves with people who think like us, we get stale ideas, musty ideas, and the same things we have always had.

Understand Who You Are Not: Most people focus on identifying their strengths. The bigger unlock is identifying who you are not. That tells you exactly which kind of people you need to surround yourself with. The person who drives you crazy is often the person you need most.

Find Your Ray: Steve had a coworker named Ray who drove him nuts, but together they did the greatest work of his career. Not in spite of their differences, because of them. Everyone needs a Ray. Appreciate them, learn from them, have empathy for them.

Organizations Have Personalities Too: Company personality is not defined by the mix of people you have. It is defined by what gets valued, recognized, and rewarded. People leave companies when they do not feel valued or appreciated.

Expertise Is the Enemy of Innovation: Past experience worked in the past. It does not necessarily work in the future. If the world is changing, we cannot keep relying on the same perspectives and the same expertise we have always had.

Relational Conflict Is Bad, Idea Conflict Is Good: Some conflict will always happen when you work with people who are different. Conflict over ideas is productive. If everyone agrees on every idea, you will never do anything new.

Match the Environment to the Person, Not Just the Task: Do not stick people in boxes. A structured person can be creative if you give them a structured approach. A relational person can be a great implementer if you give them flexibility.

Communicate to the Whole Deck, Not Just Your Cult: Most leaders speak only to the dominant culture in their company. Use the four-part rhythm: problem, pain, solution, vision. That hits every personality type.

Most Leadership Teams Are Too Rational: A leadership team full of logical, structured thinkers will miss the relational side. Bring people-oriented and idea-oriented voices to the table and give them an equal voice. That is how you grow.

A Leader's Job Is to Ask Better Questions, Not Have Better Answers: The best question to ask: what problem or opportunity are we really solving? Hit pause before chasing solutions, or you will waste time, money, and energy solving the wrong thing.

In a Digital World, Our Value Is What Makes Us Human: Anything digital is becoming a commodity. Knowledge is a commodity. AI is a tool. The differentiator is humanness, empathy, and judgment.

Reflection Questions

More on Stephen:

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