Winning Teams

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/)
• Winning Teams Podcast (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/category/podcast/)
• "10 Key Traits Of Top Business Leaders" (https://www.amazon.com/Key-Traits-Top-Business-Leaders/dp/1519698224)

How do you really know if you are an effective leader? The financials of a company only show its profitability, but don't say anything about its leadership. An organisation could look good on paper, but deep inside there could be issues making its employees unhappy. As a leader, you want your employees to thrive and grow because at the end of the day, what really drives an organisation to reach new heights are its people.

In this episode, the Corporate Mindfulness Guru, Tevis Trower, joins us today as she tackles what it really takes to be an effective leader. As the CEO and founder of Balance Integration Corporation, she has dug deep into the culture and behaviours present in organisations she's worked with and brought to light the issues preventing them from levelling up. They say there's strength in vulnerability, and Tevis is here to discuss just that as she talks about what is key for leaders to truly leave a lasting impact.

If you are a CEO or a leader of your organisation, this episode will be of interest to you. So check out these episode highlights and tune in to the show!

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Leaders As Clay on Their Way to Realizing Their Ideal Future Selves
• The Window to Self-Actualisation and Making the Pivot
• The Head Nodding Syndrome Prevalent in Boardrooms
• Her Definition of Culture
• The Damage from Tolerating Bad Behaviour
• Getting in Alignment with the Senior Team
• The Need for Trust and Vulnerability
• Keys to Unlocking the Willingness To Create Space for Change
• Being Called the Corporate Mindfulness Guru

About Our Guest:

Tevis Trower is the CEO and founder of Balance Integration Corporation, an organisation that works with major companies to affect real change. An expert on what is required in order to be a really effective leader, she will challenge you to be thoughtful about the things you need to improve on.

• Tevis Trower on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tevistrower/
• Tevis Trower on Twitter: https://twitter.com/corporateyogi?lang=en
• Tevis Trower on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tevist
• Balance Integration Corporation website: https://www.balanceintegration.com/

To know more about their upcoming gathering of high-level cohort of Csuite executives curious about legacy and the impact of presence, go to The Woodstock Sessions website: https://sites.google.com/view/thewoodstocksessions/home

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrt7tIPwUhdKrG8BuX6_Rg
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JohnMurphyInternational
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmurphyinternational/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/jmicoaching

Other Resources:

• Creativity in Business by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers (https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Business-Stanford-University-Revolutionized/dp/0385248512)

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/)
• Winning Teams Podcast (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/category/podcast/)

It's so easy to get stuck in a vicious circle of having too many things to do, getting overwhelmed, and then not being able to make progress. Ultimately, more things get piled up, and you no longer know what to do next.

In this episode, I'm going to share with you how I've helped my clients overcome this sense of being overwhelmed. I'm here to talk about my simple system that allows me to make sure I'm moving forward and delivering on my main goals.

If you are interested in becoming effective and getting the right things done week by week, check out these episode highlights and tune in to the show!

What I Talked About in This Episode:

• The Warren Buffett Principle I Apply
• Being Judged on Whether We Achieved Our Objectives
• The Biggest Challenge Faced By Businesses and Entrepreneurs
• Benefits of Working in 90-Day Chunks
• A Simple, Straightforward Tool To Manage Goals
• Doing A Reality Check on Priority Actions
• Timeboxing the Big Rocks or the Critical Things
• Being Effective

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

• To get a copy of the template for John's simple timeboxing tool, email him at [email protected]
• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrt7tIPwUhdKrG8BuX6_Rg
• Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnMurphyInternational

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website
• Winning Teams Podcast
• "10 Key Traits Of Top Business Leaders"

Diversity should be a business imperative because it impacts the bottom line. Organisations tend to see it though as a task to be completed. However, diversity extends beyond being just a checkbox, instead, it is an ongoing process within a company. If businesses understand the whole area of diversity, they benefit by having more productive staff and lower employee turnover.

In today's podcast, Jackie Ferguson, the Director of Multicultural Programming at Walk West, joins us to talk about the impact and value of diversity. Jackie is a certified diversity expert and she gives us advice on how to convince management to implement change in an organisation. She also talks about the behaviours and biases displayed by people.

If you are interested in creating diversity in the workplace, check out these episode highlights and tune in to the show!

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• Jackie's Passion for Diversity
• Types of Diversity
• Getting Management to Focus on Diversity
• Implementing Change
• The Ongoing Process in Diversity
• Diversity As A Value
• Acceptable and Unacceptable Behaviour
• Unconscious Bias and First Impressions
• Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion
• About Walk West's Diversity Beyond the Checkbox Course
• Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

About Our Guest:

Jackie Ferguson is the Director of Multicultural Programming at Walk West in North Carolina. She managed multi-million dollar accounts while working in sales and marketing for large corporations. She is also a certified diversity expert.

Connect with Jackie through The Diversity Movement's website and sign up for their upcoming online course, Diversity Beyond the Checkbox.

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Other Resources:

• The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/)

• Winning Teams Podcast (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/category/podcast/)
• "10 Key Traits Of Top Business Leaders" (https://www.amazon.com/Key-Traits-Top-Business-Leaders/dp/1519698224)

Disconnects can be costly. Any business or organisation facing problems with teams missing goals could be suffering from a lack of clarity in their priorities. The impact of this disconnect leads to failures, which no one takes accountability for. As leaders, the execution of an organisation's strategy is a crucial skill for success.

In today's episode, joining us is Kim Bohr, founder and CEO of The Innovare Group, Inc. She's here to discuss the root cause of disconnects. She also talks about getting leaders to shift to the right mindset to operate in this new environment.

If you are interested in leadership tips and strategies, check out these episode highlights and tune in to the show!

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• What Are Disconnects
• Typical Disconnects in Organisations
• Fixing Poor Execution
• Absence of Clarity with Team Priorities
• Wake Up Calls to Change
• Having Conversations and Taking Ownership of Failure
• Culture Affecting Execution
• Preparing Leaders for Their Roles
• 5 Common Mistakes That Hinder Growth
• The Leadership Bermuda Triangle
• Friction to Clarity to Communication
• Kim's Book: Successes, Failures & Lessons Learned
• Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals
• Kim's 3 Offers For Our Listeners

About Our Guest:

Kim Bohr is the founder and CEO of The Innovare Group, Inc. She is an expert at diagnosing and repairing disconnects in organisations.

• Kim Bohr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimbohr/
• Kim Bohr on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimbohr

To take advantage of Kim's three amazing offers, a checklist on the 7 reasons most strategic plans fail, a video on the mindset of change, and the opportunity to schedule a complimentary call, go to The Innovare Group's website: https://theinnovaregroup.com/winning/

You can buy Kim's book, Successes, Failures & Lessons Learned at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Successes-Failures-Lessons-Learned-Journal/dp/0578502399

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrt7tIPwUhdKrG8BuX6_Rg
• Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnMurphyInternational

Other Resources:

• What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith (https://www.amazon.com/What-Got-Here-Wont-There/dp/0739342231)
• Five Minute Journal (https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-journal)

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/)

• Winning Teams Podcast (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/category/podcast/)

Scaling up a business can be very challenging, especially to the small business owner who is invested in being hands-on and doing everything. While most people start businesses to get away from working 50-60 hours a week, they later find themselves putting in more hours working in their business than when they were employed.

Paul Maskill joins us in today's episode as we tackle how business owners can create a life of their own. Paul's here to share with us his knowledge in how a business can leverage their process and systems so the owner can stop being the revenue generator. He also talks about the importance of having a personal vision.

If you're a business owner who is tired of working long hours and wants to build a business that allows you to live the life you want, be sure to tune in to the show!

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• What Made Paul Decide To Start A Business
• The First Business He Started
• Shifting From Doing Everything To Delegating
• Three Issues You Need To Deal With When Delegating
• How To Stop Being the Revenue Generator of Your Business
• Making Your Business Process and Systems
• The Five Core Systems of Every Business
• Transitioning From Being An Individual Contributor To A Leader
• When Do You Hire
• His Mastermind Group
• Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals

About Our Guest:

Paul Maskill is a business owner, coach, and advocate. He has built, scaled, and sold several businesses. Paul is now helping small business owners empower their employees so they can finally get the ultimate freedom to live the life they want.

• Paul Maskill's website: https://www.paulmaskill.com/
• Paul Maskill on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BusinessFreedomFormula/
• Paul Maskill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmaskill/

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

• Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrt7tIPwUhdKrG8BuX6_Rg
• Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnMurphyInternational

Other Resources:

• The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham (https://www.amazon.com/Road-Less-Stupid-Keith-Cunningham/dp/0984659269)

Resource Links:

• John Murphy International Website (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/)
• Winning Teams Podcast (http://www.johnmurphyinternational.com/category/podcast/)
• "10 Key Traits Of Top Business Leaders" (https://www.amazon.com/Key-Traits-Top-Business-Leaders/dp/1519698224)

Setting up and maintaining a physical team to manage a business has become more challenging, especially in terms of financial resources. Fortunately, executives have discovered the outsource model. This model has made business management more efficient, and at a much lesser expense and inconvenience.

In today's episode, joining us is Charley Valher, co-founder of Outsourcing Angel and founder of Valher Media. He's here to share with us his experiences in managing an outsource team. He also talks about how he overcomes many challenges of working with individuals virtually.

If you are interested in building and managing your business efficiently through an outsource model, check out these episode highlights and tune in to the show!

What We Talked About in This Episode:

• How Charley Started with Outsourcing
• The Football Team Analogy
• "Winning the Week" System
• Getting the Culture Right
• Communication and Management Tools
• Overcoming Cultural Differences Among Team Members
• Integration and Onboarding Process
• Retention Strategy
• Other Non-Financial Benefits of Outsourcing
• Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals

About Our Guest:

Charley Valher is a serial business owner and educator from Melbourne, Australia. He is also the co-founder of Outsourcing Angel. Charley is best known for his unique approach to building businesses via podcasting and developing companies in a way that creates more time and leverage for the business owner.

• Valher Media on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/valhermedia
• Valher Media on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZd7saQ4UFkeP5boN25Kiig?

If you liked this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Thanks for tuning in!

Connect with John Murphy of the Winning Teams Podcast:

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrt7tIPwUhdKrG8BuX6_Rg

Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnMurphyInternational

Other Resources:

• The Road Less Stupid by Keith Cunningham (https://www.amazon.com/Road-Less-Stupid-Keith-Cunningham/dp/0984659269)
• Slack (https://slack.com/)
• Asana (https://asana.com/)

Two of the stumbling blocks in defining success in women's careers are the longstanding gender stereotypes and the men-centric system in the workplace. Despite the rise of women empowerment movements, societal bounds continue to be a hindrance. How can we move forward toward a diverse and inclusive work environment?

In today's podcast, we're joined by practising lawyers and married couple Andie Kramer and Al Harris. They are here to talk about the role of women in the workplace and the challenges of gender bias on women, men, and organizations alike. Andie and Al have been mentoring women and speaking and writing, together and separately, about gender communication for more than 30 years.

If you want to know more about overcoming workplace bias, check out the episode highlights below and tune in to the show!

The Education System and The Corporate World (04:15)

• Andie and Al's theory is that because women outperform men in the educational sphere, men build a fair amount of resentment.
• They bring this resentment into the male-dominated corporate world, where they see it as an opportunity to protect their turf.
• People have certain biases. We tend to hang around people like us.
• In the corporate world, men usually identify with the in-group and the leaders while women are in the out-group.
• The Goldilocks Dilemma: People like to perceive women as gentle and sweet. However, when they are assertive and speak their minds, they are viewed with distrust and dislike.

Women's Behaviour in The Workplace (08:51)

• Women are fine the way they are. Trying to behave like men will only backfire.
• Because of gender biases, women need to figure out how they can demonstrate their competence without making people feel they're unlikable.
• Consequently, men and organizations need to work toward solving gender biases in the workplace.
• The best possible version of ourselves is not always the same version.
• We all have moldable sides to our personality. The key to women's success is recognizing the ability to use this in the right circumstances and ways.

#MeToo Movement (12:59)

• The positive: Women feel more empowered to talk about behaviours and experiences that have been brushed under the rug for many years.
• The negative: Instead of working toward supporting women's careers, men in position pull back or are reluctant to show support. They either think there is nothing in it for them, or they fear people will misunderstand.

Women's Contribution to the Problem (17:10)

• Some women buy into the same stereotypes that men have about women, men, leaders, and families.
• Women need to own their accomplishments. They are not going to be recognized without self-acknowledgment.
• Women working for women expect them to act the way society has moulded their image—gentle and understanding. They end up resenting working for female leaders who are direct and assertive.

Bringing Change to the Workplace (23:13)

• The only way to change male-dominated organizations is by getting a critical mass of women into senior organizational leadership.
• The bottom line: Cultures aren't going to change unless more women are running them.
• For women: Find a way to navigate through difficult situations by being versatile with your characteristics.
• For men: Put yourself in the women's shoes and see what the problems are.
• And for organizations: Change policies and procedures to take the bias out of the overall evaluation and decision-making process.

The Role of Corporations (29:00)

• Diversity in the workplace is not a corporate priority.
• There needs to be pressure from the vendors to commit behind their mission.
• Studies have shown that increasing the number of women in management and senior leadership will increase corporation performance.

Tips For Men (35:00)

• Recognize how much harder it is for women to make it than it is for men.
• Get over the notion that you're working in a meritocracy.
• Take small steps to reach out to individual women by supporting them and making sure they are involved.

Tips For Women Executives (38:27)

• Conversation with themselves: About what they need to do to succeed and having grit and a positive mindset
• Conversation with others: Find a way to work around or confront the biases of other people

Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals (32:43)

• Breaking Through Bias by Andie Kramer and Al Harris
• It's Not You, It's The Workplace by Andie Kramer and Al Harris
• Fly Girls by Keith O'Brien
• Their ritual: Making it a point to always have dinner together as a couple and as a family.

Get to know more about their advocacies and projects on Andie & Al's website!

You can download a copy of my ebook 10 Key Traits of Top Business Leaders here.

For more podcast episodes and other resources, visit my website at John Murphy International. Thanks for tuning in!

Getting distracted is a huge time stealer. You plan to accomplish one task, but along the way, you see something interesting while scrolling the Internet. By the time you look at the clock, you'll realize you've been scrolling mindlessly for hours. How can we remove these distractions that take us away from our plans and goals?

In today's episode, Nir Eyal, the author of the book "Indistractable," joins us to talk about the motivation and strategies that can help us minimize and manage distractions from our lives. Nir is an active angel investor and is an expert in behavioural engineering, where he incorporates elements of behavioural science in software design to develop habit-forming products for businesses.

You'll surely be a changed person after this episode. So sit back and indulge in all the tips and tricks while tuning in to the show, and become inDISTRACTable!

How To Control Your Attention And Choose Your Life (02:36)

• The world is going to become more distracting as technology becomes more pervasive and more persuasive.
• The bifurcation between people: Those who control their time, attention, and their lives, and those who allow their time and attention to be controlled by other people
• Focusing on our relationships is a critical macro skill in all facets of life.
• Even if we go on a digital detox, we'll still find ways to get distracted. We can only get the best out of tools and technology if we know how to use them correctly.

What Is Distraction? (06:18)

• Etymology: Traction and distraction came from the same Latin root "trahere" which means to pull. They end in the same six letters, which is "action."
• A traction is any action that you take that pulls you towards things that you do with intent.
• The opposite of traction is distraction. It is anything that pulls you away from what you plan to do with intent.
• Anything can be a distraction or traction, whether we plan it or whether it's something we do impulsively.
• Something is going to eat up your time and attention unless you decide in advance how you want to spend your time.

The Root Cause (08:27)

• The question is not "What do we do?" The question is "Why don't we do the things we know we should?"
• Homeostatic response: Everything we do is about the desire to escape discomfort.
• The root cause of all distractions is uncomfortable emotional states or "internal triggers."

Motivation And Satisfaction (11:48)

• Hedonic adaptation: Even when something good or bad happens to us, we gravitate towards our baseline level of happiness.
• In some way, Nir says the self-help industry perpetuates this myth to our detriment by feeding the message that we're supposed to be happy all the time.
• Feeling bad is part of the human condition.
• "If satisfaction and pleasure were permanent, there might be little incentive to continue seeking benefits or advancement."

Four Strategies To Become Indistractable (15:33)

• The first step is to master the internal triggers, to understand what is driving us towards distraction.
• Second, make time for traction. Timeboxing or making an implementation intention is planning in advance what you're going to do and when you're going to do it.
• Third, hack back the external triggers.
• Lastly, prevent distractions with pacts or precommitments that we can make with ourselves or with other people to avoid temptation.

Three Types Of Pact (20:40)

• Effort pact: A friction that prevents us from doing something we later regret
• Prize pact: Monetary disincentive to getting distracted
• Identity pact: Self-image can help us stay true to what we say we're going to do

The Pattern Of Distraction: Liminal Moments (25:42)

• The three potential causes of distraction: planning problem, external trigger, or internal trigger.
• Distraction tricks you into thinking that what you're doing is what you intend to do.
• If you accomplish something, but it's not what you were initially planning to do for that given time, that is still a distraction.

Managing Self-Talk (29:06)

• Utilize self-compassion. More self-compassionate people are much more likely to achieve long-term goals.
• Don't be a shamer. Negative self-talk stirs up more internal triggers.
• Don't be a blamer. Blamers blame something outside themselves.
• Be a claimer. Claim responsibility for all of your actions. You can't affect how you feel; you can only change how you respond to those situations.

Resources

• Get a copy of Nir Eyal's book, "Indistractable: How To Control Your Attention And Choose Your Life."
• Indistractable Tools
• Nir's Free Schedule Maker
• Indistractable Supplementary Workbook

Connect with Nir through his website—NirAndFar, and get all the tools and resources that can help you manage your time and attention.

You can download a copy of my ebook 10 Key Traits of Top Business Leaders here.

For more podcast episodes and other resources, visit my website at John Murphy International. Thanks for tuning in!

Our brain is a powerful and complex tool that governs our behaviours and decisions. But for most people, their subconscious mind may stop them from reaching their full potential as team players or team leaders. Little do we know that this affects our business, our success, and our overall well-being.

In this episode, we have Malorie Nicole, host of the Abundantly Clear podcast. Malorie is a coach, a mindset expert, and a subconscious programmer. She shares with us her personal experiences of her learned behaviours, subconscious programming, growing our business or teams, and more. Today's show is for CEOs, team leaders, senior executives, and everyone else in a leadership role.

Be sure to tune in and learn how you can overcome your mental barriers!

Getting into Health and Wellness (2:47)

• Malorie got sick around 2014, experiencing multiple symptoms that she thought meant a very serious illness.
• She was working at an engineering firm and realized that her symptoms were affecting her quality of work.
• Frustrated, she started fixing her lifestyle slowly and listening to her body more. She realized she was not addressing the root cause of her symptoms.
• Eventually, she wanted to expand her knowledge beyond engineering. This is the point where she got into mind, body, health, and wellness learning.

Getting into Coaching and the Subconscious (5:50)

• She was initially in the health and wellness business, which sparked her interest in exploring the path of coaching.
• People started coming to her for bookings, asking for her help, and scheduling counselling about the different mindset components.
• The unexpected swerve in her career led her to learn about the mind, body, and how these affect the mindset.
• It eventually led her to Leadership and Executive Coaching.

Subconscious Programming (7:32)

• Most of the decisions that we make are from our subconscious mind. These decisions may include our behaviours, habits, or how we act.
• All these, she argues, are not random behaviour of our brain. It all follows a pattern of how we had programmed our brain.
• Our subconscious is a "filing cabinet of all our beliefs."
• Our lenses are customized for us because of this so-called subconscious programming.
• About 97% of what we do every day connects to our subconscious
• Most people do not realize that this also affects their performance, how they lead their teams, and ultimately, how they grow their business.

Shifting Mindsets by Acknowledging Blinders (10:17)

• It starts by asking people what their current "blinders" are. From there, it's connecting the dots and pinpointing from where these blinders might have come.
• "Blinders" can be our learned behaviours or mindsets about certain things that may not necessarily be true.
• For Malorie, her blinder the belief that money and fear are the same. This is a learned behaviour from her father.
• Her attitude towards money shifted when she made an effort to change her learned behaviour from her childhood years.
• She says she notices this problem a lot with CEOs who come to her for help. These businessmen, although bringing huge money for their business, were afraid of checking their own finances.

Removing Mental Barriers (15:01)

• Our conscious and our subconscious mind do not easily allow us to see our mental barriers.
• It's helpful to have a person in our life who can point out things in ourselves that we may not be aware of, someone to keep us on track.
• The way science works is, it blocks us from what is wrong with our brain, which is why it cannot be self-treated easily.
• Changing a team's mindset affects potential profit and growth, how much you can pay people, and what you can bring into your business.

Changing Your Team's Perspective (16:29)

• It's a custom, one-on-one work, similar to marriage and relationships.
• For change to happen, every person in the team must put in the work to be self-aware and avoid being reactive to people.
• Knowing how to process your own emotions better will help you become a less reactive person, thereby improving your performance and leadership ability.
• It creates an environment for teams where open communication is safe and encouraged.
• This removes the overly-competitive nature of the team and replaces it with unity for a better growth strategy.

The Process of Changing the Mindset (18:32)

• She says that rather than a tool, it is a process.
• It is a 3-month process to know and understand the self fully.
• She says she doesn't believe in the concept that people can't change. Instead, she believes that people's mindsets can change really quickly.
• Science tells us that people are resilient and can change when they allow it to happen.
• One pivotal step for changing the mindset is claiming that you are ready to change and perform better.

Relationship Between Pain and Personal Goals (20:09)

• She says that she had worked with different kinds of people- some who have experienced much trauma, and others who have had none.
• In both types, she noticed they still created harsh self-beliefs that are affecting their life and business.
• There are many people whose success and life goals are motivated by feelings of pain, guilt, and unworthiness.
• There is another way other than being rooted in pain and guilt. We can only create new mindsets if we acknowledge these learned behaviours and blocks in our minds.

On Leadership and Building Your Team (21:52)

• The process is exciting, and we must learn to enjoy it.
• Your team grows by how you perceive each other and how you work together.
• Leadership starts with the self.
• Open leadership inspires people to come as a whole and be open.
• Dictatorship stunts growth and potential.
• Psychological safety is essential for growth.

Leaders, Emotional Communication, and Addressing Conflict (27:45)

• Emotional communication has the potential to bring a better understanding of things.
• Avoiding conflict and difficult internal conversations will lead us to a downward spiral of "Well, I just hope this works out."
• Leaders must learn how to address conflict to open safe communication space for the team.
• Avoiding conflict is avoiding the emotion that comes with it.
• The things that leaders tolerate defines their brand of leadership.

Leadership and Dealing with Stress (32:13)

• One common thing among CEOs is complaining about stressors, but not doing anything to change them.
• We often don't permit ourselves to create structures and energy for things we enjoy doing.
• Stress comes from not being honest about what our needs are.

Book Recommendation and Daily Rituals (36:25)

• The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• It helped her understand her mind and the way we think.
• Her rituals differ, but she makes sure to allot enough time for herself in the morning. It could be time for journaling, meditating, or going for a walk.
• She personally likes to mix things up because routines can bore easily.
• Habits have to be meaningful, not necessarily things you do every day.

Connect with Malorie and listen to her podcast, Abundantly Clear. You may also listen to her podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and other major platforms.

You can download a copy of my ebook 10 Key Traits of Top Business Leaders here.

For more podcast episodes and other resources, visit my website at John Murphy International. Thanks for tuning in!

Success is not as easy as 1-2-3, and it barely happens out of luck. Ideas will not come to life on their own so you need to take action to make them happen. Young age is never a hindrance to the goals you want to reach. However, success can only be achieved if you have a "never-say-die" attitude.

In today's episode, listen to Chris Meade—one of the founders of Crossnet—as he talks about how one night changed the course of their lives. A success story that only became true once they decided to transform their ideas into a business. Keep your ears open as Chris shares with us what it takes to go from zero to $2m using a simple approach—not easy, but rather simple.

If you wish to change your story and get on board the train to success. Hop on and tune in until the end to get the most out of this entertaining and valuable episode!

The Birth of The Concept of Crossnet (3:41)

• In the year 2017, Chris and his friends sat down one night and talked about creating a product.
• One of the ideas that came to mind was a four-way volleyball net.

What is Crossnet? (4:24)

• Crossnet is the first four-way volleyball net.
• Two volleyball nets intersecting and one person behind each square.
• Players play against one another in a free-for-all, game to 11, win by two.
• It's a combination of Volleyball and Foursquare.

Turning Their Idea Into A Business (5:59)

• Coming up with the name, branding, and color schemes.
• Reaching out to manufacturers across the country to find distributors.
• Putting up enough capital from their own bank accounts. (To see the risks and rewards.)
• After finding a manufacturing partner, it took them several months before they got the prototypes they were happy with.

Crossnet in 2018 (7:39)

• Launched their own website.
• Sales weren't amazing during their startup but they started to gain traction every day.
• Most of their content came from influencers and volleyball players who made their product look attractive.
• At present, 80% of their traffic and sales come directly from their website and then 20% is through retail.
• Crossnet was able to saturate two and a half thousand plus schools by pitching Crossnet to magazines that offer new products to gym teachers.
• After the launching of magazines, Crossnet's sales have been cranking up.

Crossnet Retailers (10:30)

• Crossnet's first retailer was a store called Scheels.
• Crossnet is also currently available at walmart.com, and target.com
• Crossnet will be available soon on macys.com, jet.com and wish.com
• Chris explains how they managed to break in and get deals with major retail stores like Walmart.

Crossnet's Sales (12:36)

• As of December 2019, they hit the $2m mark.
• At the start of 2019, their projections for the year were just around $400,000.
• Crossnet now has nine to seven freelancers involved in the business all across the country.

Future of Crossnet (14:29)

• Chris thinks there's an opportunity for their game to become a staple in gym classes all around the world.
• With more exciting gameplay, Crossnet could be seen as an alternative to learning volleyball in a more fun and enjoyable way.
• Crossnet currently has distributors in Canada, Europe (Poland and Italy), but mostly North America at the moment.
• Crossnet is looking to expand beyond North America over the next years.

Chris' Learnings About Business (16:51)

• Waking up to $2 million in sales doesn't actually mean you're already rich.
• You still aren't where you want to be since you're always reinvesting money, buying inventory.
• Behind the scenes, you're not only preparing for one month ahead but for six to twelve months ahead.
• Expectations versus reality: Chris and his partners are ecstatic—from just sitting down and brainstorming crazy ideas to actually having their own company.
• Resilience is one of the characteristics that Chris finds to be the difference between them and other people.
• Chris and his partners divide the workload according to skill sets with autonomy and trust.

Potential Challenges (21:27)

• Moving forward from online sales and retailers to physical retail stores.
• Chris finds it challenging for them to be making pitches at physical retail stores, explaining why they deserve shelf space since their product is big.

2020 for Crossnet (22:16)

• The indoor Crossnet model is coming out.
• A massive partnership with one of the world's largest sporting goods & gaming store.

Book Recommendations and Daily Rituals (23:40)

• Double Your Profits by Bob Fifer
• Chris wakes up at 8:30 every morning and goes to the gym.
• He comes home and makes a protein shake, starts work until 12 o'clock.
• He then heads over to the local Starbucks cafe and gets coffee, then works until 4 o'clock.
• After that, Chris spends time for himself and his girlfriend, they go out to have dinner or watch a movie.
• Finally, he checks emails before going to bed.

To know more about Crossnet and Chris Meade, you may visit their website. You can also connect with Chris via LinkedIn.

For more podcast episodes and other resources you can use, visit my website John Murphy International. Thank you for listening!