Start With A Win

This might surprise you, but the priorities of successful leaders in 2023 aren’t simply increasing revenue and productivity. While these are certainly important goals for any business owner, this year leaders are focusing on building relationships and practicing clear communication. Here are the top trends for feeding the momentum of growth and expansion in the new year.

1. Be Present: In order to retain loyal employees, bosses need to be actively involved in the day-to-day environment. When people feel seen and heard, they are more likely to stay with a company and work with higher levels of productivity. (02:40)
2. Use Video: To enhance virtual correspondence and build a more authentic online presence, utilize visual forms of communication rather than simply using text. (04:55)
3. Create Valuable Content: Offer something of value to those you influence and lead. This builds branding and creates a relationship of reciprocity. When you provide what someone needs, they are more likely to do business with you. (09:55)
4. Use Extreme Clarity: Embrace the power of the word “because.” When leaders take the time to explain their reasoning, employees are more likely to acquiesce to requests or expectations. (12:43)
5. Communicate Regularly: Create a routine of checking in with clients and employees on a consistent basis to invest in relationships and address any issues. (16:00)

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In the age of artificial intelligence, how can entrepreneurs offer products and services that hold value beyond what a machine is capable of providing? Jon LoDuca believes that going back to the basics of authentic human interaction is the new million-dollar idea. Jon is founder and CEO of PlaybookBuilder, an award-winning knowledge management software that helps leaders and teams capture and share best practices, core process, and story to drive performance, scalability, and sustainability. Wisdom is a company’s best asset, and Jon’s software programs help organizations monetize their intellectual property in a world where humans find themselves competing with AI.

With conversation software such as ChatGPT and Google’s LaMDA replacing entire industries like customer service, business owners are doing their best to adapt and grow within new technological and cultural parameters. Current AI software passes the “deity test,” meaning it is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and immortal. This reality demands that entrepreneurs address how AI will relate to their business. To prevent being disintermediated, Jon encourages leaders to come back to their core values that motivated them in the early days of their careers. The best way to offer a unique experience is by boldly preserving human interaction, creating  a sense of intimacy in communication, and offering deep empathy. Entrepreneurs can guarantee their success by playing a trump card that’s outside the wheelhouse for AI: human-to-human interaction. In the near future, it may just become the world’s most valuable commodity.

Main Topics

• Jon’s start in the technology industry in San Francisco (02:00)
• AI passes the “deity test” and what this means for entrepreneurs (08:20)
• Jon’s 2017 TedTalk predicted trends in AI that have come to fruition (11:33)
• Future demands for face-to-face interactions to confirm identity (16:00)
• Changing definitions of intimacy (19:55)
• Avoid the Metaverse to prevent being disintermediated (24:00)
• Two types of business models: wide and deep (30:23)
• How to compete with AI by emphasizing the human component of business (36:00)
• Return to original values that focused on building relationships with the client (40:10)

Episode Links

• https://playbookbuilder.com/demo/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEURpISHCpA

Connect with Jon:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonloduca/

https://twitter.com/jonloduca

https://www.instagram.com/therealjonloduca/

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

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Do you ever get to the end of your day, feeling like you accomplished nothing? Adam shares an easy way to focus on productivity, using notecards with ideas and to-dos that you can cross off as you get them done. You'll go home feeling fulfilled and accomplished at the end of your day!

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In part 2 with dynamic speaker and business leadership coach Amanda Gore, she offers heart-centered advice for building impactful relationships in business. In a climate where half the workforce is considering moving to a new job, leaders of organizations seek to make meaningful changes to keep team members on board. Amanda takes the approach of doing her inner work first. She is able to create a culture that values each individual for their unique gifts by first uncovering her authentic self. Once she is able to show up as the most genuine version of herself, she can empower those working with her by acknowledging their gifts and placing them in roles that set them up for success. By connecting human to human, heart to heart, leaders invest in the wellness of their employees and thus receive massive margins of return.  

Main Topics

• Keep employees happy by creating a human-to-human environment (03:00)
• What leaders can do to be present and create a culture that nurtures joy (06:20)
• The value of feelings and authenticity in business (10:28)
• We are not our stories (13:00)
• Cultivating presence in every moment by slowing down (14:05)
• Effects of intentional leadership flow from the top down (17:20)

Episode Links

• https://amandagore.com
  
  

Connect with Amanda:

https://www.facebook.com/thejoyproject.amandagore/

https://twitter.com/amandagore_joy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandalgore/

https://www.youtube.com/user/amandagoretv

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEO

https://twitter.com/AdamContosCEO

https://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/

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What’s the point of achieving your goals if you’re miserable doing so? With decades of experience helping organizations build dynamic teams centered around authentic communication, Amanda’s personal mission is to remind young, over-achieving entrepreneurs to stop and breathe. Building a business can be overwhelming at times. With burnout rates skyrocketing for both C-Suite and entry-level employees, mental health in the workplace has become a priority for sustainability. According to Amanda, pursuing joy is a lost art that has the potential to counteract feelings of fear and insecurity that stifle productivity.

Everyone’s perception is built from stories we’ve created around our life experiences, especially those from early childhood. Negative experiences can create narratives that disrupt our capacity for joy without us even realizing it. Amanda refers to these unconscious beliefs as malware because they essentially infect the computer of our minds. She challenges listeners to first become aware of those stories and then be willing to do the work to rewrite them. By choosing a different reality for ourselves, we can navigate triggering situations with more ease. The best tool for reprogramming our minds is pausing to take a breath. Observe beauty in nature. Slow down so that consciousness can catch up. In a culture that has traditionally valued face-paced productivity, Amanda leads the way with a more peaceful approach. Joy is the new high performance fuel. The best part is, it’s free!  

Main Topics

• Joy is the new high-performance fuel (02:17)
• Relaxation leads to higher levels of efficiency (06:25)
• The stories we tell ourselves influence our behavior (08:47)
• Stressful situations trigger unconscious beliefs and narratives usually unrelated to the current scenario (12:00)
• Rewriting the stories with a slower pace of life (14:45)

Episode Links

https://amandagore.com

Connect with Amanda:

https://www.facebook.com/thejoyproject.amandagore/

https://twitter.com/amandagore_joy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandalgore/

https://www.youtube.com/user/amandagoretv

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEO

https://twitter.com/AdamContosCEO

https://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/

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F.O.C.U.S. Follow One Course Until Successful. Focus on what you need to get done and put 100% of your effort into the task at hand!

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

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Despite the challenges for entrepreneurs created by the pandemic, many businesses have experienced explosive growth in the past few years. When organizations rapidly expand, it can be easy for leaders and team members to lose cohesive vision. Successful leaders recognize and utilize their own strengths and empower team members to do the same. Another important role for an executive is making meaningful decisions every day that push the company toward clearly communicated goals. Sometimes that means onboarding an executive assistant or chief of staff to share the responsibilities of leadership. An executive assistant maximizes efficiencies by allowing everyone to work within their strengths, including the founder. In this way, the force multiplier aids the executive in offering descriptive and prescriptive points of action so that everyone is operating at maximum potential. 

One of the best parts about adding an executive assistant to the leadership team is that it creates accountability to prevent burnout. Adam and Hallie work diligently to be proactive against corporate burnout by building mindfulness and wellness into their daily routine. Leading by example, they encourage team leaders to create a schedule that includes regular check-ins and one-on-one time so that they have a pulse on the community. Another way they prevent burnout is through intentional hiring and onboarding processes. As thriving business leaders, their goal is to find team members who are aligned with the organization’s vision. By working in tandem, they are living examples of how partnership at the top level creates a powerhouse organization that produces high-impact products and services.  

Main Topics

• Three values of a successful founder and how an executive assistant can leverage those values (03:40)
• A chief of staff delivers the prescriptive vision and translates that vision across the organization (08:05)
• A breakdown of the roles of virtual assistant, executive assistant, and chief of staff (09:12)
• Creating a schedule that allows you to be proactive against burnout (16:17)
• Importance of emotional intelligence in self and others to prevent burnout (20:30)
• Practical tools from Adam and Hallie’s book about how founders and force multipliers can work together to grow a business exponentially (24:00)

Episode Links

• www.founderandforcemultiplier.com

Connect with Adam and Hallie:

https://www.facebook.com/founderforcemultiplier

https://www.linkedin.com/in/halliewarner/

https://www.instagram.com/founderandforcemultiplier/

https://www.youtube.com/@founderandforcemultiplier

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEO

https://twitter.com/AdamContosCEO

https://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/

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Business is all about relationships. It requires give and take, especially when everything doesn’t go according to plan. Much like a bank account, we can evaluate the health of our relationships by tracking both deposits and withdrawals. Good leaders constantly deposit in employees’ and customers’ relational bank accounts so that when it comes time to make a withdrawal, there is enough in the account to sustain the cost. Recognition and appreciation are some of the most powerful tools for making deposits. Gratitude and compassion build trust. When mishaps occur, people need to be able to fall back on positive past experiences in order to offer grace in the current situation. When we are honest about our mistakes, then we can make necessary pivots for getting back on track with clear communication and purposeful redirection. 

Main Topics

• Mark’s first “own it” of the year (01:11)
• Accountability is witnessing, not judging (04:16)
• Relationships are like bank accounts (07:35)
• Balancing deposits and withdrawals in business and personal relationships (12:06)
• What does inflation in relationships look like? (13:25)
• Call to action- what have you done since the first of the year to make relational deposits? (15:57)

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

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People are hungry for personal attention and appreciation. So it's important for you as a leader to intentionally take time to tell people THANK YOU for the hard work they do. Schedule it—no really! Put it on your calendar, and go tell five people this week that you appreciate them. It's the one thing they can't give themselves, so it's up to you!

Connect with Adam:

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Every successful entrepreneur asks the question, “How do I differentiate my product or services?” In a world where infinite information is available at the click of a button, it can seem daunting to create something new. In Pat Flynn’s experience, customers will pay for quick and easy access to information that will bring value to their lives. One of the best ways to build customer loyalty and increase retention rates is by monetizing the community as the product.

After launching a membership-based community within his company, Pat asked members to complete surveys for his market research. He was shocked by the results. Digital training content received the lowest level of interest. He discovered people valued the networking platform the most. The membership revenue ended up being the first recurring income for his business, shifting his whole profit model. Leaning into a community-centered approach takes the emphasis off those running the business and lets the magic take shape organically. Human connection and experiential learning draws lifetime customers, allowing businesses to draw in more passive income. 

Main Topics

• Coming from a place of giving rather than taking in business (01:25)
• Reciprocity as one of the most powerful aspects of successful businesses (05:35)
• Pat leans in to the power of community (07:55)
• The money is in the membership (12:15)
• Make the value clear for the customer through intentional messaging and positioning (16:54)
• The product is the community (20:47)

Episode Links

• https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/all-access

Connect with Pat:

https://patflynn.com

https://twitter.com/patflynn

https://www.facebook.com/patflynn

https://www.instagram.com/patflynn/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGk1LitxAZVnqQn0_nt5qxw

Connect with Adam:

https://www.startwithawin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEO

https://twitter.com/AdamContosCEO

https://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/

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