Fruit
Once a tree produces bad fruit you'll have to wait a season if you want good fruit. Good fruit is what we're after. It's prettier and more delicious.
The bad fruit took a season to produce and will take a season to change. The soil of our lives can be rich or toxic and depends on who we surround ourselves with.
Producing good fruit in our lives is a process that requires multiple inputs. Choose them wisely and over time you'll have the fruit you’re looking for.
Pro-Tip: Look for people who have the fruit you’re after and study where they are getting their nutrients.
Pro-Tip 2: There’s lots of plastic fruit out there...
Inefficiency $
Efficiency is tied to profit. Profit is required - unless you have donors who made a profit and give it to you. Achieving max output with minimum effort preserves resources and is the linchpin for a healthy bottom line.
The opposite of efficient is inefficient.
Another word for inefficient is presence. Presence takes time and at first glance, a waste. A waste because it slows momentum. Being inefficient is a waste in the context of a system or process.
If the system or process is run by a robot or software you’re on your way to profit. Problem is, most businesses have people. People require the leaders to be present. Being present with people is vulnerable because it’s inefficient.
if you’re efficient with systems and processes, you’ll make more money
if you are efficient with people, they will leave you…
It’s worth learning intentional inefficiency.
Your Script
Whether we like it or not, we are all the lead role in our own movie. We have heroes, but in our movie we are the protagonist. The question worth asking is… Who is in charge of the script? Who is in charge of the narrative?
The power of the stories that roll between our ears oftentimes casts a shadow on reality. Some of these “lines” are the primary reason we get stuck. Change occurs when our script starts causing us pain…
This type of change takes forever and sometimes doesn’t happen at all.
Want to change faster?
Find or hire someone to be your editor. Someone who can gently show you your narrative isn’t matching reality. Someone who can help you flip your script.
Once you are doing your own work you can start effectively leading others.
Plateau
If you feel like your business has plateaued it suggests you want more.
You’ve had a season of growth but now things have leveled out.
Here are 3 ways to grow a business:
Get more customers
Get customers to pay more
Get customers to buy more often
Pro Tip: Convincing won’t “get” your customers to do anything long-term. If you want to grow your business, 2 & 3 requires you “get” good at persuasion.
Go make your mark!
It’s Your Fault…
Blame never ends well. It feels like a shortcut to relief when things are falling apart. Surely it isn’t our fault when things go bad.
When you put a ball firmly in someone else’s court you’ve removed your power. When you blame someone you’ve given up your control.
You have to wait. You have to wait because you put the ball in their court by blaming. Years can go by if they walk off the court.
If we blame, we remove our valuable opportunity for growth and change.
Not wanting growth and change? Enjoy the waiting game…
Pro Tip: It’s worth noting that personal responsibility doesn’t equate fault.
Equity
It’s the goal of a healthy balance sheet. Equity is powerful when it’s positive. Having negative equity is scary because if the business fails, the debt still stands - and you’re toast.
Relational equity is hard to come by. It takes many deposits of listening, trust, and respect. We all walk around with relational balance sheets. Some friends have lots of equity and others… not so much.
Equity is tied to trust and safety. Having equity on someone else’s balance sheet can help that person grow. With love and grace you can cash in a little equity to confront or challenge. Which, if done correctly, will grow your equity even more.
Confronting or challenging without equity is like borrowing more money to get out of debt.
Good Guilt
Guilt is a mechanism of our conscience. In a sick way it gets us
pretty far down the road.
There is good and bad guilt. Bad guilt is Triggered by owning someone else’s accusation
or anger. "I can't believe you…”, “what were you thinking…”, “I’m very disappointed in you…”
Bad guilt is owning someone else's standard.
Good gut is accurate. It’s accurate only when your conscience is based on a dependable standard. Timeless absolute truth is a good standard to build your conscience upon. (Bible)
Warning: Guilt and shame are not the same.
Guilt: I did bad.
Shame: I am bad.
Good guilt is a useful warning light to course correct.
Go make your mark!
Hangin’ with Turkeys?
Moving from where you are to where you want to go is filled with tactics. It’s filled with “what’s” and “how’s”.
“I want to earn a few million bucks.”
“How” am I going to do it and “what” is it going to take are good questions.
But... the most important question is “who” already has a few million bucks? Once you find them….ask how and what.
How did they get there and what were their behaviors? If their values line up with yours, become a student of them.
Once you find the “who,” find ways to add value to them. They will notice over time and teach you the what and how.
Caution:
If you hang out with “turkeys” you will no doubt learn their ways. You’ll begin to strut like them and mimic their gobbles and clucks.
It’s worth remembering....turkeys usually get roasted.
Flake
Struggling to keep your commitments? Commitments accrue through “yes”. Yes is such a positive word. It’s a word of relief, hope, vision, momentum, and progress.
Not much happens without a string of yes’s.
Our intention behind our “yes” is to move forward, to please, to be seen as a flake. A flake commits with good intention… and falls short when the time comes. Flakes almost never flake with malice in their heart. They flake because they aren't in touch with reality.
They aren't flaking “at you”. They are just having trouble being honest with themselves.
They're good people…and their follow-through is gonna be spotty.
Pro Tip: Love them where they are. Your expectation of them is on you.
Extremes
Extremes are fun but are unsustainable. They are unsustainable because they are extreme.
~ You want to drive a muscle car? Be prepared for a stiff ride and poor gas mileage.
~ You want a rock crawler jeep? Get ready for some serious road noise.
~ You want a truck that will pull a 5th wheel? Have fun parking it at the grocery store.
If you pride yourself on being super practical… experiment with extremes for a season. See how it feels. See what you learn. Perhaps it's time to loosen up and go to the edges. Disrupting logic and practicality might be eye opening.
Parting Thought: Bragging about a $6 shirt is the same as flashing a Rolex. Ego is ego.
Benchmark
When it’s obvious some improvements need to be made, where do you start? Is starting over the next step or does it only need a few tweaks?
The answer lies in the math. The math can determine the benchmark. The benchmark is based on what needs to be sold to be profitable.
Stepping back and looking at the macro picture is vital before making a bunch of changes. A bunch of changes can add up to a setback.
Three thoughts to consider:
If it looks bad from 30k feet, a reboot may be the best choice.
If things are hovering around the benchmark, make small adjustments only.
If performance is well above the benchmark, consider a price hike.
Pro Tip: Once the baby is clean, pull it out of the bathwater.
Wisdom vs Advice
Wisdom is all around us.
Advice is also all around us.
Advice comes quickly but wisdom requires looking. Advice usually comes without solicitation and usually doesn’t help. It’s mostly from those in the bleachers.
Wisdom is valuable because you have to ask for it. You have to want it… You have to find the right people. The people that have gone before us. The people that are in the arena… not spectators.
Spectators mostly judge, jeer, and offer opinions to those in the arena. Seek wisdom from the ones that are in the arena. Not the ones who order beer and watch.
Hoarder?
Staying in total control of the whole process will stifle growth. It seems faster to just do it yourself.
It’s faster when you hoard tasks because you don't have to depend on anyone to knock it out. You can slam dunk it in no time. Hoarding and delegating are at odds.
Delegating requires thought, clarity and patience. Hoarding is one dimensional and lazy. Nothing of any real substance happens without delegation. It’s inconvenient for a season but has exponential payoff.
If you want it to grow fast, do it yourself… If you want it to grow with meaning, invite others.
Go make your mark.
Same Amount of Time
Sometimes it's worth phasing things out of our lives. Time is valuable.
Think about all the ways we interact with time...
We:
Waste time
Save time
Carve time
Pass time
Collapse time
Spend time
Make time
Lose time
Find time
Have time
Sell time
Buy time
Borrow time
Free time
Use time
Everyone has the same amount of time.
It deserves our respect until we’re out.
Comedian’s Work!
The Process:
Come up w/ 10 jokes
Go to small venue
Test all 10 jokes
Pick the 2 that did the best
Eliminate the other 8
Come up with 8 new jokes
Go to small venue
Pick the best 2 out of 8
Eliminate the other 6
Come up with 6 new jokes
Go to small venue
Repeat…
Repeat until all 10 jokes are good.
Most people give up at the start when 80% of the jokes don't resonate. Test, eliminate, keep, repeat. Go make your mark!
Want To Make More $?
You have unique talents and your way of looking at the world is different than the people around you. This is your lever. It's your lever to earn more through clearing the path for someone else. Clearing the path for others is the secret to fulfillment.
It also pays dividends over time.
There are people in your life who are eager to make their mark. Find the active ones… The hungry ones… and use your God given lever.
Your lever won’t work everywhere but there are spots where it could change everything for someone else.
Over time, we discover that making our mark isn’t about us at all.
Carving Out Time
There is no need to carve out time. It’s already carved. We carve it every day.
The question worth pondering is: What do I do every day without fail?
Make a list...Look at that list.
These are the things that are most important. These are the things that are in the inner circle. The inner-circle requires the rest of “the things” to react. The time has been carved. Your ability to make your mark is directly tied to your list. Choose wisely.
My List:
Lemon water/coffee
Pray/Meditate/Bible
Write/Journal
Workout
Read/Listen
Deep Thinking/Work
DIY
What is romantic about doing it yourself? Is it the pride of completion? Is it all the money saved? Is it because our version is better than the hired version?
Hiring out tasks might backfire...so we think… “I’ll just do it myself.”
It’s more dependable, it’s more predictable and I know it will be done right. If time is more valuable than money is the DIY approach the wise choice?
Perhaps the real work is getting better at picking helpers. Picking the wrong helpers is expensive. Picking a helper to get on your bus, asking them to sit in a certain seat and expecting top performance takes experience.
Who’s fault is it when it doesn’t work? The picker or the helper?
It’s worth developing a good picker and trusting whom you’ve picked to advance the mission.
Duped By Diligence
Diligence over time is a solid approach, as long as it’s applied under the umbrella of a dynamic strategy. Applying the same tactical plan will likely give you consistent results.
The question worth asking is:
Are my current diligent behaviors producing the results I’m after?
Comfortable behaviors are a trap and can sabotage the success we seek. Diligence can be an obstacle if its activities aren’t questioned by the dynamic strategy set in place by the vision.
The dependable actions of the past might be the cause of stagnation. Seek out new extreme behaviors to “un-rut” yourself.
Go make your mark!
Control vs Courage
Showing your work to the world takes courage. Spending time trying to make it perfect is a waste. It’s a waste because there is no feedback loop. The loop is scary business because it’s vulnerable.
Trying to control the “sting” of the feedback is tempting. Leading questions are magically useless because they seek control instead of input.
Leading Question:
I’ve been working so hard on this project and I'm almost done… you wouldn’t change anything would you?
This creator doesn’t really want input. He wants to be finished. He doesn’t want to improve anything.
Open Question:
I value what you have to say on this project. What parts would you leave alone and what parts do you think need more thinking?
The second question is more open and can generate discussion.
If you want control more than input, smart people will leave you where they found you.