My Business On Purpose

What Makes A Great Leader?

by Greg Gray Business Coach My Business On Purpose Greg Gray is an international leadership and business coach, who has been serving others for over a decade. He is the author of Business Owner Freedom: Transform Your Business To Create The Lifestyle You Desire. Greg also hosts the Everyday Business Leader Podcast. He is a regular contributor to the Business On Purpose Podcast, that can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com. He resides with his family in Southern Middle Tennessee on their farm.

"Let's Talk About Your Time... Really, Your Mornings!"

Hey there, Brent Perry with Business on Purpose. Happy Monday. Or, whenever you have stumbled across this video I hope you are doing well.

What does your morning routine say about you? What does your morning routine look like? Does it matter? Maybe... let's take a look.

It's been said, "The morning is the perfect time to get into peak physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual state. The right morning routine would help you learn, grow, and improve every facet of your life."

Are you taking advantage of your mornings?

When I was just out of college (22 years old) I was a guy that could sleep in to 8:30 for my job, and if I ever woke up in the 7's...man I was up and at it "early" in my mind. I would pat myself on the back if 7 am morning actually happened. I would sleep in at the last minute, jump up, grab a quick shower, grab a coffee on the way, and arrive just in time for my first meeting. This went on for a few years until I got invited by a group of men I looked up to and admired to run with them twice a week in the mornings. I was pumped, of course, I wanted to run with these guys and spend some time with them. They gave me the location, and the time... 5 am. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These guys wake up to run at 5 am... like what?

But for 2 days a week, it was worth it.

(Now I'm going to take a minute to say all this happened before I became a dad of 2 little girls. I realize how crazy this seems now... I can't even remember the last time I woke up after 7 now, but at the time this was a big deal).

But before I became a dad, where is what I learned from these men. They absolutely loved their mornings. They looked forward to them. And not because they could get more work done in the day. But because the mornings were theirs.

Is your morning yours?

It needs to be.

By the time you step into your business, you should be ready. Again, physically, mentally, emotionally, and possibly spiritually. You want to be your best, and function at your highest potential. Take advantage of your mornings. And if you aren't already, take back your mornings!

So what do we do?

I love this quote by David Goggins, "Every morning in our lives, we have a choice to make. You have the choice to stay in bed and say 'Forget it, I'm not going to work out today.' or 'Forget it, I'm not going to work hard today.' That's your choice that you make every single day of your life. Make the right decision."

Let's make the right decision.

What time do you need to start working on your business in your daily schedule? 8? 7? 6?

That time can be different for each of you, but there is a time that you can identify.

So let's start, at minimum, an hour before that. Set your alarm (set 5 if you have to). And wake up.

Stretch

Drink some water

Read

Workout

Meditate

Shower

Walk for 30 minutes

Drink coffee in your favorite chair

Get yourself ready for the day.

My oldest daughter is the earliest riser in the family, she wakes up at 7:30. There isn't a day in the week I am not up by 6:30 at the latest. And 6:30 is late. For me to be at my best, I am usually up around 5.

Now, this isn't about me. Please don't take this as a "look at me" post. I have had to learn over the years that for me to be my best on a given day, I need my mornings. And I think you do too.

Thanks for your time. I hope there is something here that you can take with you. Drop a comment if you have some tips/hints for others about morning routines.

Have a great week.

The ugly side of business growth

Ok, so you've reached your sales goal... now what? Is it all it's cracked up to be? Let's jump into that today! It's a new week, I hope you're doing well, Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose here.

I've seen businesses that earn 300k with an 80% margin... and I've seen million-dollar businesses with 3% margin. You tell me which you'd rather have!

You see, we hear these massive sales numbers all the time and the owner's exclaiming they've arrived! But that's never how we measure success. $500k, a million, 10 million dollars...it really doesn't matter. Because you can bring in all the money you ever dreamed of, but if you're not profitable, you run the risk of working for free and getting stuck answering to a business that will demand everything from you with no payoff in the end.

Don't believe me?

I was working with a business just a few months ago. "We did it! We landed the contract. Sales will increase by 50% next year by signing this one whale to a long-term contract."

"That's amazing! Congratulations... how's your margin priced in there?" I asked, just wanting to double-check and not regret it later.

"Oh, it should be between 18 and 20% depending on a few pieces of efficiency and if we have to buy any new equipment." Awesome, let's look at it.

Well, we started jumping in the numbers and realized quickly that it was not as peachy as it seemed.

"We'll need to hire a new manager and a new team of subs to make sure we handle all of this extra work. The manager is gonna need a truck, and a trailer and insurance goes up, and our equipment isn't geared to really handle this scale of work, so we're gonna need 30-40k of equipment."

Can you feel the margin shrinking, or is it just me?

We got all the way to the end and pressed enter on our calculations. Had they just moved forward without truly looking at the numbers, they would have lost 12% on the year. Now, maybe they could have survived it. Maybe they had enough in reserves to make it, and granted, some businesses start out knowing they will lose money for a year or two before becoming profitable.

But the differences is those businesses are prepared to take that hit. They have cash reserves to weather the storm! When you're expecting an 18% margin and lose 11-12% that's a gut punch you are NOT ready for.

So, we started making some cuts. We went back to the profit first model and started building in another bank account for capital purchases. That way we can pay cash for new equipment as it becomes available in a few months.

Once we ran the numbers again, we landed at a healthy 7-8% margin (which is really good for this business) for year one.

Guys, that's success. A lot of people can bring in sales. A lot of people can land the big deal because they undercut prices so they have razer these margins and have no chance if, and when, something goes wrong.

But that's no way to run a business. That's a huge reason we use the multiple bank accounts model. So that we can spy on our finances, make quick, informed decisions that will keep us profitable. It's way easier to course correct early on than to try to make up for poor decisions.

So, do you know your numbers? Have you sat down and truly checked to see what your margin is going to be or are you bragging about top-line revenue thinking it will magically figure itself out?

If so, that's going to get you into a world of trouble down the road.

Hear me say this... top-line revenue matters, but not if the system is not in place to handle all of the work. So, if you can do the work on the front in to make sure you can maintain the margin, that is how we measure success.

This is the ugly side of business growth. We overextend ourselves and our entire team struggles. But... had we thought through it and put in the work to build out a system that is able to handle more revenue, we can sit back and truly be proud of the business we've built. One that is secure, ready to handle anything, and structured to last a long, long time.

I hope that makes sense and would love to chat with you if it doesn't. Let me know!

Again, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and podcast. You won't regret it.

Have a great week!

Why Is It So Hard To Find Employees Right Now

We sat down for an impromptu Happy Hour last week with a handful of our local clients. The topic we thought was most relevant was "how do we manage material delays and price increases?"

After some BIG Wins (we always start meetups with BIG Wins), we then lobbed the topic for discussion. Within five minutes, all of our business owner clients were knee-deep in conversation about a different challenge... employees.

We started to slowly guide them back to our selected topic, and again within another five minutes, they were shifted back to a deep discussion about... employees.

It's true, the number one challenge most business owners deal with... employees.

Go out to eat and you will feel what it is like for a small business to not have enough employees. Business owners are having to go to new heights to find and keep employees.

The common thought is that the extension of unemployment benefits are leading to a lack of motivation for people to get back to work. That may be true, but there are other reasons.

The pandemic pushed a significant amount of employable people towards the idea of remote work. I can think of a few people in my social circles who have moved to remote work exclusively.

It's hard to tend the bar remotely.

It's hard to manufacture plastics remotely.

It's hard to sort produce, load trucks, and stock shelves remotely.

Is it that people want to work remote, or is it that they just want to work somewhere they enjoy?

According to greatplacestowork.com, "84% of employees at The Container Store say it is a great place to work compared to 59% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company."

The Container Store is a collection of physical retail and warehouse locations that require primarily in-person job opportunities.

How is it they have high satisfaction but offer very little remote opportunity? It can't be the product, plenty of other retailers sell organizational products.

The Container Store has a remarkable culture of communication. You can see it played out on their unique blog standfor.containerstore.com.

One of the seven foundational principles (core values) for The Container Story is communication is leadership. In other words, when you communicate, you are leading. The inverse is true also, when you do not communicate, you are not leading.

Before you write off my statement "culture of communication" as cliche, stop.

Here is my question for you. How have you communicated the job opportunities that you have?

Typically, an owner will simply say, "I'll go post an ad to see if we can find someone." When they do find a couple of random people, they are fast-tracked through a half-baked hiring process and then wonder why in six months the owner is ready to get rid of the new employee.

Before you go try to the find the right person or people, here are four pieces of communication you can set in place to lead through your own communication.

First, shoot a video explaining your mission and values. Explain, in your own words, how you integrate your mission into your day to day. Also, walkthrough and demonstrate how you actually use your core values in decision making.

This assumes that you both have and use your mission and unique core values.

Second, write a letter explaining exactly what you are looking for, and what you are not looking for. This letter will accompany your job description.

Here is an example of the opening section of a letter we wrote to accompany:

We're hiring a Marketing Strategy & Campaign Manager because we can't accomplish our mission to liberate business owners from chaos without one.

We need someone to wake up every work day and ask "how can I use A) all of the amazing BOP tools and talent, B) the right available digital tools, and C) the right invitation tools to get 100 people each week into the 'BOP Train Station' so they can have the opportunity to be liberated from chaos?"

We believe that business owners can have a great business AND a great life. The best way to have them make time for what matters most is to liberate them from the chaos that distracts them.

And that is where you come in!

Third, write a job description that actually walks through the details of the job. Scrap the corporate nonsense that fills most job descriptions with words like self-starter, or detail-oriented.

Based on the DISC profile, approximately 86% of the world has a passive personality (C and S personalities), they need a catalyst to help them get started on something. Only 14% of people are active personalities (D and I personalities) who would have strong capabilities to be self-starters.

Also, only 17% of the population has a predisposition to a high level of details (C personalities).

Tell us what the job actually is. Cut the corporate speak, and write so humans can read it and understand.

Finally, publish all of your communication. Post it everywhere! Have a dedicated page on your website to all of the tools mentioned above with a specific URL that can be shared across your media platforms (yourwebsite.com/nowhiring).

This page will host your video, your letter, your job description, and the process for hiring so it is transparent and available.

You have not because you ask not.

Start asking OUT LOUD. Communicate and you will begin leading people to be a part of the intentional culture you are building.

There is only one kind of culture that happens accidentally, and it's not a culture you want, although most opt for it.

Your other option is to find the right employees by communicating the right message. Start leading before they are your new employee.

4 Key Steps Away From Chaos

Chaos... that ever-present foe (or friend) to some of you. How do you take much-needed steps away from it? How do you close the door on it and lock it out for good? Well, let's talk about that today!

Happy Monday friends! Thomas Joyner with Business on Purpose here.

Every single sales meeting we do inevitably comes back to employees and sales. Every. Single. One. But what's behind all of that? What's really at the core, the root of the problem? Chaos. It just boils up and keeps us from training our employees as well as we should. We're chasing revenue numbers and trying to meet sales quotas, so we never put in enough time to build out the necessary systems and processes to alleviate that chaos.

So what happens? It just sits there, staring us in the face and daring us to make a change. But we don't. We just let it chase us around until we figure it out or burn out.

So, how do you leave chaos behind? How do you turn the corner and get above the noise?

A few weeks ago we sent texts out to several of our clients to ask them that question. They are rocking the BoP Roadmap and the ones we texted are far enough along to have some perspective of how they got there. We sent them a simple text.

"If you were to tell someone in one sentence how to succeed as a business owner, what would you say." We were asking in the context of new Business on Purpose clients, but the message translates to any business.

Here are the top 4 answers we got:

1. Put in the work and show up.

We are asked all the time, "What's so special about the Business on Purpose Roadmap?" Our answer? It's packaged in a way that we can guarantee if you put in the work, you will see your business change. That may sound arrogant, but it's getting to the point where we've seen it work with enough businesses... so we have the confidence to say that. Just like boiling water. If you put water in a pot and add enough heat, it will start to boil. If you have a business and put in the time on your vision, mission, values, delegation, recording, and training on processes, everything we coach. You WILL get above the chaos.

Here's where that's tough. You have to put in the work. We can't do it for you! Just a few weeks ago I was meeting with a business owner who wanted to work with us. I asked him how much time he would have, outside our coaching, to work on implementing this. He couldn't commit to any.

So... I told him we may not be the right fit. That's right, turned down a sale. Because if you're not willing to do the work, we don't have a magic wand to wave over your business. It's hard work, but it will succeed if you put in the work and show up.

Side bar there, if there's ever a coach or consultant claiming a magic wand to cure your business? RUN THE OTHER WAY! It never happens outside of hard work.

1. Schedule time to work ON your business every single week, not just in it.

I was really proud of my client who texted back this one. Early on he struggled to find the time to work on his business. There were a lot of fires burning. A lot of things to do and spinning plates to keep in the air! He was a little frustrated at how slowly he felt like the ball was rolling, so I challenged him to set non-negotiable time to implement what we talk about every week. If he will commit to that for 2 months and it's still not working, I'll tell him to walk. No questions asked. The beautiful thing? He scheduled the time, never missed a meeting with himself to work on his business and the snowball is cruising downhill. He has an effective team meeting, he has a team leader that's newly trained and crushing it as he leads in the field, and their finances are finally telling them something from subdividing their bank accounts and spying on their businesses money.

It's changed everything. But not without doing the work every week.

1. Implement quickly... don't wait

This one seems like second nature. Like, why pay for the coaching if you're not gonna insert this into your business. But we do this, right? We read self-help books and say, "Man, what a great book!" A year later, we can barely remember anything that stuck out about reading it. We go to a conference and listen to amazing speakers, but we don't write it down and implement it, so it's forgotten a month later. We remember the feeling, but there was no lasting impact.

So to succeed in business, you have to LEARN AND IMPLEMENT. It's why that's a core value at BoP. The longer you wait to implement, the less chance it has to make any kind of lasting impact. Put in the work and implement today. This week. Now!

1. You get out what you put in, stop making excuses.

This one was one of my favorites because it was accompanied by another little quote. "Excuses are like butts... every business owner's got one!" I love it! And it's so true. Everyone has a reason why it's not time for coaching or why they can't seem to get free from chaos. But when was the last time you drew a line in the sand? When was the last time you were so sick and tired of constantly putting out fires that you did something about it and stopped with the excuses? We've heard them all! "I'm just too busy, I'll jump on that when this slows down. We're just in a busy season. I can't find the right people. That doesn't work in this industry. You just don't understand!" Need me to go on?

No, freedom from chaos begins the moment you get sick of it enough to do something about it, get help, and get to work. It will never happen on its own.

So... which of those do you need to hang onto today? Are you sick of chaos? Ready to be free? Reach out, let's grab lunch and get you started on your first steps of being liberated from the chaos. I can tell you after watching business after business dive in and taste freedom... it's worth it!

Like I said, we would love to be a part of that journey for you. Make sure you're following us on YouTube, listening to our podcast and let's connect soon. Have a great week!

How To Make Work More Enjoyable For Employees

We were sitting by the fire when the phone call came around midnight. On the other end were my son and a group of 17 and 18-year-old male voices practically shouting in unison saying, "You're not going to believe this, we got Mr. B to do the worm in the middle of the dance floor!"

It was prom night, the final opportunity for these young men to slay the dance floor with their High School classmates, and they wasted no time making a night they would both remember, and joke about for decades to come.

Mr. B is the unpretentious and well-beloved principal of their High School, and yes, he succumbed to the pressure of a group of fun-loving Seniors and wormed his way into their hearts forever.

A year prior to that night those same young men began developing a written plan for prom, what they would wear, what they would eat, where they would go before and after, and most importantly, the energy and dance moves they would bring to the dance floor.

One of the young men made this statement the next morning, "Like Sherman I came in and left destruction in my path... only mine was on the dance floor."

The night was capped by the reality that their most unassuming and softest speaking friend would end up being coronated Prom King.

The after-party was a mix of acrobatic stunts still in tuxedo duds, an endless flow of food, long games of manhunt in the woods, crashing on air mattresses in an old shed, and then waking up to the delicious scattered, smothered, and covered delicacies of the always-open invitation to the Waffle House.

What of the Prom King? He decided to make his entrance to the after-party in running shorts, suspenders (no shirt), and his newly received Prom King Crown. Of course, he did.

These young men had fun.

The type of fun you want to have. Fun that builds a culture. Fun that you want to remember. Fun you want to share with others so they can enjoy a morsel of the fun. Fun that breeds more fun down the road when you're sitting around your own fireplace reflecting.

You push back saying, "well, that's not my personality". That is where you are wrong. Fun is not reserved only for those who are considered to be "fun".

Fun is not a scarce commodity. Fun can spark at any moment. You could even stop and have fun right now.

You could listen to a Jim Gaffigan joke and belly laugh... right now.

You could think about your most embarrassing moment and belly laugh... right now.

You could pull a goofy prank on a family member or teammate and belly laugh... right now.

The English word for fun has its roots in an old French word amuser meaning to stupefy, waste time, gape, wander, loiter, be lost in thought.

Jeff Campbell encouraged me to be "intentionally wasteful" every now and then. That is what fun is.

Of course, fun is not our continual state in life, but it is something we should certainly make more time for.

Here are a few ways you can begin to incorporate more fun into your day to day.

First, schedule fun. Putting an activity on a calendar feels like it cheapens the sincerity of the activity. It's not true. Think about the National Football League. They schedule their fun every Thursday night at 8 pm, Sundays at 1 pm, 4:25 pm, and 8:20 pm, and Monday nights at 8 pm.

An example of scheduling fun in a business is to start each team meeting with BIG Wins; something fun, interesting, or special that has happened in life or business that is worth sharing. Every time our team shares BIG Wins we always end up laughing along with one of our team members following something they share.

Also, put dates on the business calendar to go do something different... something fun. A make time to plan for those dates. Not just classic team building, but even a one-day training each year where you inject some light-hearted fun in the day.

Shoreline Construction recently had their annual offsite team training that was loaded with learning and laughter.

Coastal Shores Landscaping did the same and the room was filled with smiles!

Those High School Seniors made a plan and they haven't stopped talking about the results.

Second, give yourself permission to be intentionally wasteful. The intention makes it purposeful, the wastefulness allows you to not be productive for a while.

For a productivity hound like me, the permission to intentional wastefulness is hard. It helps that I am married to a lady who knows that I struggle with intentional wastefulness and will often just nudge me and say, "Hey, enjoy... it's ok."

Time is a scarce commodity, but it does not require perfect efficiency.

Third, spend more time with fun people. This is not a call for you to surround yourself with who live life steeped in mindless immaturity. Jim Gaffigan is by far my favorite comedian on what is a very short list, and what to us sounds like goofiness is actually the product of hundreds of hours of thought, script, practice, rewrite, edit, practice again, and deliver.

Comedy is hard and requires mature discipline.

The most ineffective comedians are the ones who lace their comedy with profanity and crass thoughts. Creating comedy with immaturity is easy, but not very funny. Creating comedy with maturity is hard, but ragingly hilarious!

We assume that someone is naturally funny and simply stands on stage and cracks whatever jokes happen to populate their brain the moment.

Jim Gaffigan's entire stand-up routine is deeply scripted, in fact, his wife is often the writer of the majority of his comedy bits.

Being fun may feel hard to you. Surround yourself with fun people who share your same values and work hard to have fun... and to be funny.

While many students made different, and in some cases, regrettable decisions on prom night, the group of young men who shredded the dance floor decided to surround themselves with fun friends who share the same values...and it led to a fun night they wish to remember.

So here is your challenge. Go throw a frisbee today. Go google a joke and share it with your friends, your family, or your team members. Give yourself permission to laugh, to have joy, to loosen up a bit, and to be lost in some goofy thoughts.

By the way, my favorite Jim Gaffigan bit?

"I like to make people comfortable... that's why I would like to talk to you about Jesus."

First time I heard it, I cried... and smiled. Maybe you will too. Here is the bit starting at 00:17.

Do You Have The Time?

Hey there, Brent Perry with Business on Purpose. Happy Friday. I hope whenever you have stumbled across this video you are doing well.

I ran across a quote from Laura Vanderkam this week, "Do you not have time or do you just not want to do it? There is a difference! Blaming time for what you aren't prioritizing doesn't complete tasks." I ran across this quote as I was studying because I was having several conversations around time management and weekly schedules this week, and this idea really got me thinking. What kind of time are we prioritizing?

In college, I fell in love with ultimate frisbee. I grew up playing every sport you could think of and played baseball all through high school. So when I got to UT frisbee was something new. Something exciting. Something fresh. I was in. And I remember one night as I was cramming for an accounting exam the next day the text came through…" frisbee at rocky hill tonight?" Now you should also know that up to this point I had procrastinated, and this was the first night I was opening the books to study for this exam. This decision really was a no-brainer. I had put off studying, and now I was going to miss out on something I loved because I hadn't managed my time. But, alas, I just couldn't help myself. Ultimate frisbee was calling, and I had to go. So I went and played, for hours. Had a blast. Came home, tried to pull an all-nighter, and got up the next morning went to my exam, and walked out with a C-. It really could have been worse, but not my finest moment as a student.

The truth was, I just didn't want to study. I had the time. There was nobody or nothing to blame but myself and my lack of time management. Again, Vanderkam's quote, "blaming time for what you aren't prioritizing doesn't complete tasks." The task at hand wasn't completed.

In sharing this story, I am sure that most (if not all of you) can relate to this story from some point in your life. And I hope that as we have gotten a little older, maybe a little wiser, that we can learn from these times. Especially when it comes to the businesses you run and work in. How is your time management? How is your schedule?

Are you making the time for all that matters? Are you making time to work on your business and not just in your business?

Our hope is that you have a weekly schedule, an ideal weekly schedule if you will. One that allows you to focus on your business and those tasks that you need to get done.

Do me a favor...look at your week. Monday through Friday. And let's start filling in some time. Start with the "big rocks." The non-negotiables. Maybe that's a weekly workout you need in your life. Maybe that's taking your kids to school. It probably involves specific roles in your work that need to get done. And let's get those down on paper.

An easy place to start, write out a calendar for next week. Write out the non-negotiables. And then use some space to write in time to work on your business.

Ask yourself, do you have the time? Or do you just not want to do it? This will help you as you move forward, and begin to work on delegation in your business.

Thanks for your time... literally!

Have a good weekend.

Four Ways To Deal With Material Shortages And Price Increases

In the third month of building out our Ram Promaster van as an off-the-grid getaway camper, I walked into our local home improvement store and gasped out loud.

A ¾" sheet of Oak plywood was $65 (USD). An 8' section of poplar wood was $40 per board.

Ouch.

For an amateur just learning how to do basic woodworking and sure to miss-cut, these would mean some expensive experiments. No longer was it measure-twice-cut-once... but instead, measure for an hour and cut (hopefully) just once, and sometimes twice.

We spend much of our day with business owners and key leaders in the contracting, services, and supply industries and it did not take long to start reviewing their bids to customers and realize that $250 per square foot pricing was rapidly increasing to $300 and $400 per square foot in our area.

A perfect storm of production cuts in anticipation of COVID increased demand of services during COVID, and the intracontinental migration of people from more-restrictive to less-restrictive geographies has led to a class increase of demand and a decrease of supply.

Restaurants are running slower with longer wait times due to a shortage of staff. Architects are running slower with longer start times due to a glut of new projects. Builders are running slower with longer supply delays due to material shortages. Landscape construction providers are running slower with challenges finding both labor and material.

In a study in classic macroeconomics, supply and demand are dancing reluctantly like two kids at an awkward seventh-grade winter dance.

When demand is the lead with supply weakened, business owners have the uncertainty of getting the time and materials to complete the work.

When supply is the lead with demand weakened, business owners have the uncertainty of finding work.

In this time of massive demand with struggling supply, how do we deal with unpredictable material shortages and price increases?

Here are four tools in the toolbelt of a purpose-centered owner...

First, communicate with your team and your customer.

How many times have you sat in an uncomfortable airplane seat while the aircraft rests still on the tarmac with no rationale as to why it is not moving? Although we are grateful to have the benefit of air travel, it is made less frustrating with information.

Pilots have access to an amazing amount of information and yet consistently (not always... but often) withhold the information from the tens or hundreds of people sitting blindly in the back of the aircraft.

Sometimes a simple, "We're still gathering information and I will be back with you in 10 minutes for an update whether we know anything new or not."

Communication is a powerful tool even when the communication is "I don't know."

Be thoughtful in your communication, don't be hasty. Your team members and your customers are your partners, without them, you do not have a business. Without you, they do not have the valuable service you offer.

Second, grow your cash.

Recently, Rick Steves was interviewed by Guy Raz on the powerful How I Built This podcast. Raz acknowledged to Steves that his multi-million dollar travel business had to have been decimated by COVID. Steves agreed, and was then asked by Raz how he maintained his staff?

Steves responded by saying that he kept his entire staff of 100 people with virtually zero revenue for the entire year of 2020.

Raz pressed and asked how, Steves said simply, "We had a good 30 year run as a privately held company and I saved up cash."

Steves' cash reserves have provided options.

Business owners are susceptible to obsessive tax advice that encourages minimizing how much taxes are paid by purchasing unnecessary assets.

If legitimately needed, then these can be beneficial purchases. Just remember, when you spend that cash you a) likely pay a premium for whatever it is you purchased, b) you must now pay to maintain that purchase, c) and you no longer have access to the cash used to make the purchase and used to maintain the purchase.

Access to your own cash, even though you have to pay taxes on it, can be a powerful hedge against the uncertainty of material shortages and price increases. Review your cash position with a qualified CPA who is not obsessed with buying a bunch of year-end distractions.

Third, ensure your contract language clearly spells out what happens in the wake of material shortages and price increases.

For many industries, there is a gap between the time a contract is signed and when work is performed. Markets and materials fluctuate daily. Some vendors have price locks and some don't. It obviously helps to communicate the consequences of such changes up front.

We know of one builder who had recently removed the price fluctuation clause from their contract months prior to COVID because they felt it was a barrier to clients feeling comfortable.

And then the prices started to increase and a $1mm home was now $1.4mm. You can imagine the shock to the clients. They immediately called all of their active clients under contract and explained the situation, the removal of the clause, the reality of materials and labor. Fortunately for them, each of their clients agreed to move forward.

They caught a huge break... but I would not press my luck. Review your contract language with a qualified attorney.

Finally, be a student of your industry (aka - don't be so head down in your business that you miss the macro-view that will affect your business).

Building a business on purpose means building a business that you work on and not a business you work in. Working on the business means that you study trends, talk to industry peers, know the flow of supply and support.

Where in your weekly schedule do you have time blocked to study the industry? To attend events? To network with other owners and key influencers?

Supply and demand are constantly slow dancing in a burning room (thank you John Mayer). Let's not be surprised when one of them trips and falls. Instead, let's prepare now.

Why Do I Feel Busy, But Not Productive?

She was sitting across the conference room table about to take on another task and then finally sat back, looked up, and let out an exasperated sigh.

The only words she could seem to muster were, "why do I feel busy, and still seems like I get nothing done?"

In other words, why do I feel busy, but not productive?

It is a frustrating reality for many owners and key leaders.

Owners feel it when they are slow to delegate, or sit with the quiet sentiment of "it's just easier to do it myself."

Key leaders feel it when they are inundated with abdicated tasks, and sit with the quiet sentiment of "why can't we just get more help to handle all of this work!"

Busy has become a badge of honor, suffering, and importance.

What if you struck the word busy from your response when asked how you are doing? We say it all of the time.

"How have you been?" Your response, "busy".

Looking back on the use of busy in written history, Google NGram Viewer shows that the word has seen two spikes. The first was around the 1920's and seems to be in response to the Industrial Revolution and the incessant work life of the factory laborer.

The second spike in the word "busy" started back in the 1980's as the efficiency-laden personal computer technology revolution began in widespread earnest. The use of the word continues to rise.

To be busy is to simply have a lot to do. Busy says nothing of effective, impact, positive, negative, helpful, or hurtful. Busy is not good and it is not bad... it's just busy.

It is entirely possible, dare I say the norm, to be busy and yet to not be effective. To be busy and to not be valuable. To be busy and to not be productive.

Much of our busy-ness is an exercise in simply in busy-ness, and not in activity that is leading us towards a defined vision.

So why do we feel busy, but not productive?

Three reasons.

First, you do not know that ultimate vision behind the work you are doing.

This one is easy to overlook. We all assume that we are all headed in the same direction. Without a constant reminder of the endgame, the finish line, the vision, then we fill the vision void with our own, competing personal visions.

A business without a written, and oft reviewed vision is a business that is filled with as many visions as there are people.

Imagine a misaligned military where each member is left to choose their own mission.

Ask yourself, and ask your team, "do you know where we are headed?" If they do, then keep repeating it. If they do not, then write it down, share it, then keep repeating it.

Second, you feel busy but not productive because you have little to no boundaries.

I recently heard Lance Golinghorst articulate that we all have access to three major scarce resources: time, energy, and attention.

Attention is indivisible. It is well researched that multitasking doesn't work. As I am writing and reading this, I should not be brushing my teeth or checking my bank balance.

Energy is renewable (I can generate more energy), and transferable (I can give you energy and you can give me energy).

The real wake up call is in regard to our time. Time is non-renewable (we cannot make more of it), and it is not transferable (you cannot give yours to me).

You go into each week with a defined, finite allotment of time. Either you put boundaries throughout your day roping off all of the tasks and responsibilities, or we will do it for you.

If you do it, it allows you to maximize your scarce resources of time, energy, and attention. If we do it for you, then we will devour your time, energy, and attention.

You can make excuses as to why it won't work in the specific role you are in. We love you, but your role is not a special unicorn or snowflake. Own your role by owning the boundaries for your role and then share those boundaries with us so we can support you.

The third reason you feel busy but not productive is because you have yet to disappoint the unrealistic expectations of others.

You think that we expect you to drop everything to pay attention (one of your scarce resources) to us. There is one thing that you can do to allow us to extend an unlimited amount of patience around your boundaries.

Communicate.

Communicate your boundaries. Communicate your delays. Communicate your completions. Communicate your expectations.

We have unrealistic expectations of you because we assume you are at our beck and call. Instead, communicate with us that in fact, you are at our beck and call…

"... between 2 pm and 5 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays."

Then, on those days and times, communicate with us.

Do not focus on the rare exceptions to this truth like the time a customer called you in a panic at 11 pm because they had to know the answer now. Does that always happen? No.

Know where you are going, why you are going there, create boundaries with your weekly schedule, and communicate.

Soon you will begin to feel productive, but not busy.

How Do You Handle Conflict In The Workplace

Let me paint a picture for you... you walk into work, look to your left and the admin won't lock eyes with you. You walk into the break room to grab a donut, no one's talking in there. You sit down at the team meeting and it's quiet as everyone is looking at their phones. What happened to our team? We used to laugh a ton and all get along, but for some reason, we can't seem to move past all of this conflict.

Does that scenario sound familiar at all? Ok, maybe it's a bit dramatic. Maybe everyone's not avoiding each other's stares. But, I don't think I'm that far off. Are there situations that are off-limits to talk about? Maybe jokes that are a bit too close to home and when they're made everyone kind of awkwardly laughs?

Maybe there's that suggestion at the meeting for the boss and you start to see some steam leaking out of one of his ears? I don't know what it looks like in your business, but I know one of the constants in every business is conflict!

So, how do we typically deal with conflict if, and when, it comes up?

Most people do one of 3 things... ignore it, take it on too directly and run over everyone in their path, or take it on just enough to make it go away in the moment, but never fully deal with it.

I've actually seen this with multiple businesses I've worked with recently. There's always that one person the owner says, "Oh, well, I can't say that to them." My response is always, "Why not?"

We go back and forth for a bit, but it almost always comes back to conflict that was ignored and never dealt with. It's created this "No Fly Zone" that everyone steers clear of and has to walk on eggshells around.

Or maybe you take it on too aggressively. Maybe you, as boss or supervisor, shut it down immediately, raise your voice and humiliate the person in front of the team. Proving you're the alpha and they are not, But what did you do in that situation? You lost all chance of them ever wanting to follow your leadership willingly. You bred discontentment and resentment in the workspace and a culture of shame. That's NOT what we're going for.

You see when conflict happens, and it inevitably does... most of us react. We move past it or move in too quickly. We have a knee-jerk reaction based in emotion that we normally regret later on and realize that it was in no way productive for our team or our business. Instead (React or Respond), we should focus on responding. Surveying the issue at hand in the conflict, analyzing the best response, keeping emotion at bay, and dealing with it in a level-headed manner.

This React VS Respond battle is waging a war in our country right now. Typically something happens and everyone jumps on one side or the other of an issue before taking any facts into consideration. They React... and whoever shouts the loudest gets heard.

What our business needs is time spent responding. Thoughtfully, to whatever happens.

There's a great verse in the Book of James in the Bible. It says this…" Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." Now, I don't know about you, but how many of you, if someone asked your friends or coworkers about you, think that those words would be used to describe you? I'd wager not many of us.

No, so often we're the exact opposite. We're caught in this Reaction mode of never truly listening because we're too busy thinking about our rebuttal or thinking about how we're going to respond. So we never hear the other sides thoughts to be able to empathize.

Slow to speak? Come on Thomas I have things to say! I'm the boss, I've earned the right. Well, yes that's partly true. You've earned the right to respond in a healthy way that builds your team up. Not to just berate and belittle out of emotion.

Slow to become angry? "Well, you don't know what they did. You just don't get it. You don't know what their mistake cost me!" That's true... I don't. But I do know that our businesses are made up of people, that represent families and they deserve to be treated as such.

Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Man, I can't help but think that if we adopted those words right there, our businesses would culturally change almost overnight.

Now, here's something I get really often... especially with the popularity rising of things like the Enneagram or the DISC profile tests.

I'll hear people say, "Thomas, I can't help it that's just the way I'm wired. I'm an 8, a challenger, you know?" Or "I'm a D on the disc profile, so I'm just direct!"

Look, being an 8 on the Enneagram or a D on the disc does not give you permission to be a jerk. It just doesn't. Learn some self-control and watch your employees and coworkers respect for you grow. When they know you could blow up, but you choose to respond, man that's next-level leadership.

Or on the flip side…" Thomas you don't get it, I'm a 9 on the enneagram. I'm just a peacemaker...I can't say that! I don't have it in me."

Well being a peacemaker doesn't mean you can shy away from leadership. It means that for the betterment of your team, sometimes you have to respond and have hard conversations and not just internalize it. It's what your team needs.

So, where is conflict crippling your team? Are you ignoring it and pretending it's not there? Are you going over the top and steamrolling everyone? Or maybe doing just enough to sweep it under the rug and hope it goes away on its own?

That's no way to lead. Are you someone who Reacts? Or someone who takes their time, surveys the facts, and responds in a way that leads your team towards a healthy conflict resolution?

I know conflict is coming. Choose to Respond the right way and I promise you the culture will change for the positive and the workplace will be an enjoyable place to come every day.

Hey, thanks for listening! I hope you'll take a minute to subscribe to our YouTube channel and Podcast. We have 4 coaches adding content to that every week now, so enjoy!

Have a great weekend...