Have you ever met or been that person who commits hard to something - fitness challenge, diet, new habit, routines, etc., only to come crashing down either right after your goal has been accomplished or half way through?

Me too, I’ve been there.

About 6 months ago, I started Coaching someone who had struggled with commitment and follow-through despite good intentions. What we worked on - besides identity, purpose, and getting to the root of the issue - was the action plan. 
 

Often when we take on a new challenge, we think of the outcome; what we’ll look like, our bank account, what the new habit will do for us, etc. which gives us the energy to get started but we underestimate the journey and it typically takes longer than we expect.

We’ll take on these challenges and a new way of life as the same person who struggled with commitment in the past. By doing so, we’re setting ourselves up for failure which leads to a whole host of other problems. The goal then is to slow down in order to ultimately speed up. If we go too fast too soon, we’ll crash and burn as some of us can relate. This means that we’re constantly starting over and that slows us down over time.  

For the bigger improvements we want to make in our life, one way we can slow down to speed up is through creating self-discipline, studying/researching prior to the commitment we’re about to make, putting a plan into motion, getting to the root of why we’re doing it, partnering up with a coach or friend to help hold us accountable, etc.

Another way is to ask ourselves the following question;

What is one small action step that you could take to make progress towards the best version of yourself?

With this question in mind, the person I was working with was able to simply start by putting their running shoes beside their bed at night so that in the morning, they were staring at them in the face.  The goal was to walk, not sprint and slowly create an identity of being someone who was disciplined and healthy. 

We started by going through why we’re doing this, put a plan into motion, and I was there to help hold them accountable. Now, they identify themselves as someone who is consistent, disciplined and healthy.  They don’t feel deprived of junk food or too much rest because they are prepared to trade those things off for who it is that they’re becoming. 

The best part is that this has had a positive impact on their confidence, performance at work, and energy levels.

What’s something that you’ve been striving to improve but struggle to commit to? 

Maybe try going slow, taking it one step at a time and create a new identity for yourself in the process for lasting improvement.

You got this!
 

Brandin

"True leadership mastery begins when you FLY - First Lead Yourself"

In order to effectively lead others, you must lead yourself first. 

What does this mean exactly?

If you’re in any kind of leadership position, whether that’s professionally or personally, it will be difficult to get the most out of your team or family without understanding how to get the most out of yourself first. 

Where would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on the following in terms of how you show up every day?

- Discipline 

- Energy

- Exercise

- Purpose

- Attitude

- Passion

- Effort

- Nutrition

- Self-Education

From here, focus and prioritize anything that’s less than a 5, that’s where you start.  Once you’re able to get those up to an 8, then it’s time to move onto the secondary areas which would be anything you rated between a 6 and an 8.  Anything at or above 8 is pretty remarkable in my opinion and will require more maintenance than development.  Although, that’s obviously not a green light to get complacent. It just means that you can trade more of your time for development in more important areas and focus on maintaining what either comes more natural to you or that you’ve already worked hard at to develop.

The next big question is what are you doing to close the gap from where you are to where you must get to? Where do you start?

Let’s say that you’re low on energy.  Some of the reasons will be obvious; lack of quality sleep, nutrition, water, etc. But it could also be less obvious and more challenging to overcome; loss of intrinsic motivation, no longer have a deep passion for what you’re doing, no sense of purpose, no night/morning routines, etc.

Journaling is a great way to catch these things from getting out of control.  It helps develop self-awareness, determine if you’re aligned with your core values, recognize when you’re starting to waiver from following your north star, feed your 2 main human needs, and many other incredible benefits.

Incorporating journaling into your night routine is what worked best for me to get started. There are a few go-to questions that I lean on regularly which include; What am I most proud of today? What’s one key area I must improve on? What’s one small action I can take in the next 24 hours that will contribute to improving the aforementioned key area? Why is this a must for me?

When you’re consistently making progress, no matter how small, you’re partaking in self-leadership. You’ll continue to inspire and influence not only your own behaviour, but those around you as well.  

You got this!

Brandin

I’m fairly confident we all lack motivation at times.  The following series of questions will help us determine our motivational score in certain areas of our life, provide clarity, and get us moving into action. 

Before going through the questions, I want to clarify that I don’t believe we have to change everything about what we’re doing and who we currently are. After all, I’m confident we’ve all made improvements from who we were just 12 months ago.  The idea is to develop awareness around what we love about who we are while balancing that with taking action on lasting improvement.

I believe what you’ll discover after going through the concerns of making lasting improvement is that they are simply limiting beliefs and nothing that you or your team members won’t be able to overcome. After the exercise, you'll also discover how serious you are about making lasting improvements.

Exploring a decisional balance, the pros and cons of a particular lasting improvement, this is a helpful tool in assisting ourselves and our team to think through whether we are ready, willing, and able to make a lasting improvement. Open-ended questions and reflective listening statements encourage us and our team to thoroughly consider the pros and cons of lasting improvement.

Response to Staying the Same;

1. 1. What are the benefits of staying the same? (List as many as possible)

Response to Making a Lasting Improvement;

1. 2. What are your concerns about staying the same? (List as many as possible)

Response to Staying the Same;

1. 3. What are your concerns about making a lasting improvement? (List as many as possible)

Response to Making a Lasting Improvement;

1. 4. What are the benefits of making a lasting improvement? (List as many as possible)

*After listing as many reasons as possible, explore your thoughts and feelings about staying the same or making a lasting improvement.  

To explore your thoughts, answer the question; “On a scale of 0-10, what do I think about all the reasons I came up with to stay the same?” 

To explore your feelings, answer the question; “On a scale of 0-10, how good do I feel about all the reasons I came up with to stay the same?” 

THINKING SCORE = _______ FEELING SCORE = _______

RESISTANCE SCORE ______

To explore your thoughts, answer the question; “On a scale of 0-10, what do I think about all the reasons I came up with to make a lasting improvement?” 

To explore your feelings, answer the question; “On a scale of 0-10, how good do I feel about all the reasons I came up with to make a lasting improvement?” 

THINKING SCORE = _______ FEELING SCORE = _______

MOTIVATION SCORE _______

Looking at the two scores, answer the question; “On a scale of 0-10, how ready am I to make a lasting improvement (motivation score) or stay the same (resistance score)?”

What’s just 1 small action and 1 BIG action I must take in order to lower the Resistance Score and increase the Motivational Score, ultimately spreading the gap as much as possible between the two?

You got this!

Brandin

Characteristics of Peak Performers - Do you have them?

Let’s start by defining what Peak Performance is… it’s a state in which the person performs to the maximum of their ability, characterized by subjective feelings of confidence, effortlessness and total concentration on the task.

There are 7 key characteristics that I’ve seen consistent in Peak Performers;

1. FOCUSED

Shortly after BIll Gates and Warren Buffett became good friends, they were at Bill’s house with his father there having a conversation. Bill’s dad asked each of them to write down on a piece of paper one word that has contributed to their success.  Without knowing what each other wrote down, they both wrote the same word… Focus! They understand the power of flow, getting dialled in to what they are doing and being the best in the world at what they do

2. PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

David Goggins has an 'accountability mirror' which he created in a moment of frustration and disgust with himself. When he stood in front of that mirror, he called himself out. He looked at his reflection and said “You’re fat, you’re lazy, and you’re a liar. What are you going to do about it?!”  If you know who Goggins is, then you know the rest of the story.  If you don’t know who he is, the short story is that he’s widely regarded as the toughest man on the planet.  We don’t necessarily have to be this extreme but the underlying message here is that peak performers hold themselves accountable by not lying to themselves.

3. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

Stephen Covey popularized this idea in his infamous book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’.  The stoics were the first to live out the truth of this ideal some 2,000 years ago. Seneca said "Let all your efforts be directed to something, let it keep that end in view. It's not activity that disturbs people, but false conceptions of things that drive them mad." When we know our passion, purpose, and are aligned with our core values, we can trust that we’re moving in the right direction.

4. CONFIDENCE THROUGH PREPARATION

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”  - Abraham Lincoln.  When we invest time in studying, researching, mental rehearsal, reflection, and deliberate practice, we are not only preparing ourselves to take on tomorrow with confidence, we’re also preparing ourselves for the unknown - which is the exciting part! Imagine being offered the opportunity of a lifetime and being able to say yes to it promptly with confidence because of how well prepared you are?!

5. MENTALLY FIT

I view mindset as your subconscious program and mindfulness as your conscious awareness. Peak performers develop their level of self-awareness which allows them to manage their emotions better.  This leads to better decision making. When it comes to mindset, peak performers are intentional about checking in with the patterns and programs that are running their day.  They are aware of the quality of information they’re consuming.  They have created healthy habits that serve them and remove as many unhealthy habits as possible.

6. CONSISTENT EXTRA EFFORT

Have you ever done something even though you didn’t feel like it? That’s what peak performers do on a consistent basis.  They’re insanely driven. They don’t depend on extrinsic factors to get them motivated.  They depend on their own intrinsic motivation. This gives them the energy to get that workout in, breakthrough limiting beliefs, and hit goals that were once just a dream. They even have to put effort in to proper rest and recharge because it doesn’t come natural to them. 

7. COACHABLE

Do you know what Michael Jordan’s best skill was? It wasn’t dunking. It wasn’t his fade away.  It wasn’t his 3-point shot. It wasn’t his defense. It was being coachable.  MJ said “My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.”  Because peak performers are always striving to discover their unrealized ability, they have to be coachable. They understand that even though it’s possible for them to achieve their potential on their own, it’s extremely unlikely.  They seek out the best advice, take it in, and apply it into their game. 

The question now is which ones can we relate to most? Which ones must we incorporate and make improvements on immediately? 

You got this!

Brandin

“Stop managing, and start maximizing your time.” - Jason Selk

Have you ever felt like there wasn’t enough time in a day? Of course, we all have!

What if we maximized every minute of our day versus trying to manage it? The difference? View time maximization as outcome oriented and time management as an activity.  Time management is often about fitting more things in a certain time frame whereas time maximization is about getting the most out of the activities we do in a day.

There are multiple ways to maximize the time we have in a day.  Here are 12 effective strategies that will help you get more out of your time…

1. 1. FOCUS ON OUR PEAK ENERGY TIMES - most of us have more energy in the morning, then hit a bit of a wall in the afternoon, and then pick up energy again closer to the end of the day.  This means then, that we should attack our most difficult tasks early in the morning because it’s when we’re most energized, plus it helps set the tone for the day

1. 2. CAPITALIZE ON OUR WHITE SPACE - even if it’s 3 minutes, let’s leverage that time to refer back to our “Get To Do List” and attack our important yet not urgent, tasks.  These white spaces are also great opportunities to slow down, breathe, and quick resets to get us through the day when needed

1. 3. BE DECISIVE - if you were to guess, how much time do you believe you spend in a week by overthinking situations and being indecisive? Now take that number and multiply it by 52.  That’s a lot of time isn’t it? Even if it’s just 25 minutes a week (5 minutes a day), that works out to 1,300 minutes or 21 hours.  And that’s only at 5 minutes per day! Trust your instincts, be confident, learn from your mistakes, and be decisive

1. 4. MENTAL REHEARSAL - when we mentally map out how our day is going to go, we give ourselves a better chance of success and staying focused. For example, we can imagine situations arising that could be potentially detrimental to our productivity, and prepare for them ahead of time. This will allow us to be able to make quick decisions in these moments that come up, deal with them quickly and effectively, and get back on track with our day 

1. 5. CHUNK OUR TIME FOR OPTIMAL ENERGY AND FOCUS - it may sound counterproductive to take breaks throughout the day, but this is incredibly important to increasing our focus on the task at hand. Try breaking up your schedule into no more than 90 minute time slots and taking 5 minutes for breathing exercises, or to attack another part of your get to do list 

1. 6. PRIORITIZE TOMORROW TODAY - with the added energy that we have near the end of the day, we can use that to focus on preparing for tomorrow by prioritizing our 3 most important and 1 task that’s non-negotiable for tomorrow.  This will help give us energy to start the following day as well 

1. 7. LIMIT DISTRACTIONS - we must limit the distractions that don’t serve us. This may mean putting our phone in the drawer at work to reduce the temptation to check social media, cutting meaningless conversations short, avoiding news channels, etc. Essentially anything that would put us in a negative state, thus reducing our energy levels, needs to be minimized in order to maximize our time

1. 8. SET OUR ENVIRONMENT UP FOR SUCCESS - we can give ourselves a boost of energy by having our office clean, setup with pictures, plants, books, etc. all of which will make us feel good and energized.  This seemingly small attention to detail has the power to make a big impact on our energy levels throughout the day

1. 9. FILL IN OUR GAP TIMES TO AND FROM WORK - if we travel any more than 10 minutes to work, this is an opportune time to listen to an audiobook, informative, inspirational or educational podcast, or even the comedy channel.  This will help get our day started and finish it on a positive 

1. 10. AVOID INTERRUPTIONS - this is hard to do isn’t it? In order to give ourselves the best chance at getting into a state of flow, we must limit the distractions around us and avoid interruptions as best as possible. When we’re in flow, we often do our best work and are the most productive

1. 11. TRACK OUR TIME - we’d all be surprised at how much white space we have throughout the day if we actually tracked it.  Try tracking your time for a week in 15 - 30 minute slots.  You can use a simple excel sheet.  Note what you’re doing with your time and at the end of the week, reflect, review and strategize how to make more out of the time you have in a day

1. 12. SET OUR LIMITS - when creating our Get To Do List, set time limits on how long it will take you to complete your most important tasks, and have the discipline to stay committed to that time limit. If your tasks are consistent throughout each day, which is what mine are, it will get easier to stay within the time limit and even get quicker at them without sacrificing quality of work

When I think of time management, I think of efficiency or busyness.  When I think of time maximization, I think of effectiveness or productivity. The goal for all of us is to be as productive as possible. This is a skill that can be developed with attention, intention, and deliberate practice. 

Slowing down to speed up is probably the most fitting mantra when it comes to increasing productivity.  I was the person who had no issues working 12 - 14 hour days 6 days a week - which will seem like a short week to some, but I was busy and definitely not maximizing my time.  This ended up having a profound effect on my energy levels, emotional control and results. There just wasn’t enough time in the day to get everything done, or so I believed. 

We can slow down by investing our time in preparation, mentally rehearse how our day is going to go, being decisive, and taking mini power breaks throughout the day to do breath work and stay centred. Once we start chasing the day and trying to fit everything in, we lose control. This is when we start having the same symptoms I had when working 12 - 14 hour days for months on end. Constantly going our top speed is incredibly counter-productive.

Slow down to be more effective and increase your productivity!

You got this!

Brandin
 

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” 

The way John Quincy Adams defines leadership in this infamous quote is incredibly powerful and accurate.  According to Wikipedia, leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. 

We often believe that once we receive an authoritative title, that automatically makes us a leader.  The truth is, we become leaders long before the title comes. As John Quincy Adams stated some 200 years ago, it’s a skill that can be developed and one that we all have the capability of being in our own way. 

So, what’s the best way to influence others, ultimately contributing to their own development and growth?

In my experience, it’s through our actions and behaviour that is the ultimate testament to the type of leader we become and how much influence we have over our own results in life and that of others.  As we know from NLP, our actions and behaviours are influenced by the story we associate to situations that happen for us in life. From there, that determines our feelings and emotions, thinking, our actions and ultimately the results we get in life.

We can’t expect to be able to effectively lead others if we can’t effectively lead ourselves. The people we spend the most time with, at home and work, know the truth.  They know if we are following through on what we say we’ll do.  There is no faking leadership.

Let’s take a look at 5 qualities that great leaders, such as ourselves, have developed...

1. Self-Awareness;

Let’s circle back to the Neurolinguistic Programming Communication Model for a second. There’s an external event (situation) that happens in our life, from there the way that we feel, the emotions that we generate, the actions and behaviours we project, our state of mind, and physiology, are all influenced by the story (meaning) we give to that situation. 

Self-awareness is the ability to focus on ourselves and how our actions, thoughts, or emotions do or do not align with our internal standards. If we’re highly self-aware, we can objectively (vs subjectively) evaluate ourselves, manage our emotions, align our behaviour with our values, and understand correctly how others perceive us.

By changing the story and meaning of situations, we can improve our actions and outcomes. It starts with being aware of how we operate which is why understanding the NLP Communication Model, even at its most basic level, is so important. The key but arguably most difficult habit to develop is the ability to look at ourselves objectively. This takes time, patience, and deliberate practice.

Master this though, and you will unquestionably increase your value as a leader and have more of a positive influence on others.

2. Gratitude;

What are you thinking in the last 5 minutes before you go to sleep? And what about the first 5 minutes of waking up? 

This is an opportune time to influence our subconscious and program ourselves to become thankful for all that we have in our life. We develop the ability to focus on the gain over the gap as Dan Sullivan would say. Slowing down and taking 10 minutes a day is a game-changer, especially if you’re spending 0 minutes on it now.

By being grateful, we improve our own physical and psychological health, quality of sleep, energy levels, self-esteem, and empathy for others.  Other additional benefits is that it positively impacts our relationships, increases our optimism, makes us more giving, reduces stress and fatigue, and facilitates recovery from both physical and mentally draining activities. 

On top of this, if we wanted to quantify it or tie gratitude to some form of monetary value, it’s easy to imagine what the additional sales could be but also, just think of how much being a better leader through gratitude will reduce turnover.  What were your turnover costs last year and what would it mean to you if you could reduce it by even 20%?

3. Empathy;

Have you ever had a boss who had zero empathy for what you were going through? Me too. That’s why they are a boss and not a leader.

We don’t feel safe around people who lack empathy and in my experience, all they seem to care about are the results.  The idea that they aren’t directly responsible for the results has never entered their mind. As leaders, we aren’t directly responsible for the results.  What we are responsible for are ourselves first and foremost, from there we are responsible for the environment, culture, teamwork, collaboration, coaching, and ultimately the people.  All of this will lead to the results we’re striving for and we can’t get there without empathy.

Some of the ways that empathy leads to becoming a better leader are a deeper understanding of the other person’s point of view, a safe environment which leads to better communication, more attentive listening, and a culture of respect.

Be mindful that empathy comes with a warning however, because some people can view it as an opportunity to manipulate or influence your decisions for their benefit. The goal is to have empathy while remaining objective and stoic. A difficult skill to develop, but one that will be worth investing in.

4. Integrity;

Are you aware of what your core values are? Mine are LID - Leadership, Integrity and Development.

When we live with integrity, we stay true to our core values. This must become non-negotiable for us if it hasn’t already.  We must not be willing to trade any kind of vice for our core values regardless of how tempting. Your core values may be honesty, which means lying is a non-negotiable, it can’t happen.  Another may be committed, which means that if you say you’re going to do something, you follow through regardless of how you feel.

By staying true to our core values, we build a reputation for being trustworthy.  With trust, we are able to motivate and inspire the actions of others because what we say is supported by our integrity and reputation.  Integrity is the key ingredient in trust. When I think of integrity, I think of authenticity.  Authentic leadership is about the alignment of what you think, say, and do. The more consistently we’re able to do this, the more we’re ingraining integrity in our character.

5. Learning Machine;

It’s impossible for someone to learn something that they think they already know. I’m not sure about you, but school wasn’t my strength. There was no drive or strong desire to learn as much as I possibly could so that I could apply that knowledge in the real world.

This is why it’s surprising a bit that I now consider myself a learning machine.  But perhaps a skill that I’m most proud of developing recently, is the ability to take that knowledge, filter what’s most important for me to know, and execute on that knowledge in the real world. Once starting down the path of perpetual development, there is no going back.

By becoming learning machines, we are better able to serve others.  We can learn about coaching versus consulting for example and when to apply each skill in different situations. From there, we can deliberately practice and further develop these skills at work and at home.

The moment we think we’ve learned all there is to know about something, is the precise moment we must commit to learning even more about that subject. Remember that contentment is the enemy of progress.

You got this!

Brandin

Our Sales Manager, George Benneyworth (with Tucker) has committed to running 4kms every 4 hours for 48 hours during -40 temps. Why? 

Because he made a decision to get outside his comfort zone, he wanted to challenge himself physically and mentally in ways that he’s never done before, and because he wanted to prove to himself that he can commit and follow through on this difficult of a goal. 

He knows he won’t be the same person after this. He’s training himself to get through difficult situations, how to manage emotions while being exhausted and on little sleep, and developing confidence in what he’s capable of accomplishing. 

He doesn’t boast about it. He doesn’t blast it all over social. He’s doing it for himself behind the scenes. 

We don’t have to be as extreme (this obviously isn’t sustainable) but we do have to get ourselves outside of our comfort zones if we’re seriously committed to growth and tapping into our unrealized ability. 

We must challenge ourselves in different ways to see what we’re truly capable of. 

You got this! 🙌🏻👊🏻

Brandin 

“Competition makes us faster. Collaboration makes us better.” 
 

I always assumed that collaboration and teamwork were the same thing.  What I came to realize is that while they are common in the fact that they both involve a group of people working together to complete a shared goal, they differ in one key way; teamwork typically requires a level of authority, i.e. a manager, whereas collaboration is when the team works collectively on equal levels to come up with ideas or make decisions together to complete a goal.

While studying NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming), one of the realizations was that when we look up to people, we put ourselves down and when we look down on others, we mistakenly put ourselves above them.  The goal then should be to look at everyone as equal regardless of their title, background, or accomplishments. This was a major shift that I had in my life because I was one who easily looked up to others without realizing I was putting myself down. I no longer believe that those who we deem “successful” were born with innate talent, but rather put in the deliberate practice, effort, and developed the mental strength that it took for them to get where they are.  This truth was incredibly liberating, exciting and a bit scary at the same time because it meant that any one of us has the ability to achieve what we truly desire in life.

When, as leaders, we look at everyone as equal, we become more approachable and create a feeling of safety amongst our peers. Imagine how much better we can serve by removing ego and treating everyone as equal.  How would you have felt if your boss had treated you as an equal when you first started your career? Would your level of commitment be enhanced? What would this have meant to your performance? If you’re striving to have an empowering environment that’s fueled by respect, it starts here. There are many other benefits to collaboration, let’s dive into what they are.

8 Benefits of Collaboration;

1. 1. Peer to Peer Accountability:

2. Perhaps one of the most essential but difficult components of successful collaboration is peer to peer accountability. In my experience, I’ve found that the key here is for us to let our guards down, practice being open-minded, see situations from the other person’s perspective, have extreme candor, and assume there is positive intent.  Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team talks about having Trust as the foundation, then moving on to Healthy Conflict, which leads to decisive Commitment, then Peer to Peer Accountability, which all build up to the best Results not just for a specific department, but the entire organization.  Peer to Peer Accountability comes with a warning however; get ready to be comfortable being uncomfortable because it’s not easy but it is a game-changer.

1. 2. Ironically Fosters Independence:

2. When we ingrain accountability into our culture, we foster independence because we are incentivized to take responsibility for our own actions, effort, development and attitude. How we show up matters not only for ourselves but for our team members. If we’re wanting to contribute to new ideas and effective decisions, then bringing our best selves to work is critical.  Collaboration encourages us to learn and develop our own skills so that we can contribute to the conversations, brainstorming sessions, and inspire others to follow our lead.

1. 3. Engagement Deepens:

2. By recognizing that everyone contributes to the success of our organization, we find ways to involve everyone in decisions, no matter how big or small. Just because we carry a certain title doesn’t mean we have the answers or should be expected to know all the answers. When everyone feels like their voice has been heard, engagement increases, regardless if we went with their idea or not.  The key is to actively listen, brainstorm on what is being discussed, and use that process to make a well informed decision. When engagement increases, turnover decreases.

1. 4. Fewer but More Productive Meetings:

2. Collaboration supports effective communication.  When we’re holding ourselves accountable, fostering independence, and are deeply engaged in what we’re doing, having 1 hour daily meetings become less valuable and counter-productive. If we’re on the same page, have a safe environment, and are communicating effectively on a consistent basis, the need for more meetings diminishes and when it does come time to have a meeting, they are far more productive and meaningful. What would it mean to you to have fewer but more productive and less time-consuming meetings?

1. 5. Attracts The Right People:

2. What do you believe is the type of culture that an “A-Player” wants to be a part of? An A-Player to me is someone that values humility, has a strong desire to grow, gets excited to see their colleague succeed, is open-minded, and leads by example. I believe that in order to have true synergy and collaboration in our businesses that it’s less about attracting top talent, and more about attracting the right people that have the right characteristics for your environment. The skill can be developed. Character can be developed as well, but it’s far more challenging and time consuming. Focus on setting up your organization in a way that your reputation attracts the right people.

1. 6. Higher Retention Rates:

2. Once we establish a culture of collaboration into our organization, we set ourselves up to reduce turnover.  What is your current turnover and what does that cost you per year? What would it mean to you not only financially, but in terms of stress reduction and increased performance, having your turnover cut in half or even more? Because every team member feels involved in the direction of the company, they feel like they are a part of something bigger and contributing to the vision. How many other companies do you believe operate at this level? Not many. But you can be one of the few.

1. 7. Smoother Onboarding Process:

2. Collaboration sets the stage for a smooth transition for our newest team member. When they get started, there is less wasted time, more structure, and we find out quickly how well they are going to fit in with the team.  A smooth onboarding process allows for the new team member to adapt quicker to processes, environment, culture, expectations, and their team. The quicker we can have them adapt, the sooner we discover what their unrealized ability is within our organization.  From here, we can help road map their career which is also a major contributor to a deeper level of engagement.

1. 8. Transparency & Trust: 

2. With an open line of communication and peer to peer accountability, this leaves little room for any kind of lack of transparency and transparency leads to trust. Trust is the foundation of any successful organization. With the right environment and collaboration, we trust each other to make the best decisions together.  We trust that if one person is falling behind for any reason, someone will be there to pick them up. We trust that we will be open and honest with each other because we know that by doing so it will lead to the best results for everyone. We trust that we will hold each other accountable knowing that that’s how we get the most out of each other.

Focus on collaboration to make yourself, your team, and your organization better!

You got this!

Brandin

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” - Albert Einstein

When we find ourselves working more in the business than on the business, that’s when we know we’re lacking creativity.  Why is creativity so important? Because it drives innovation, fuels new ideas, prevents us from becoming stagnant, and opens the door for us to think outside the box in terms of operations and marketing which will lead us down the path of having a competitive advantage.

It’s not uncommon for leaders to feel like they don’t have the time to work on the business. This frame of mind is understandable.  After all, the demands of not only day to day operations, but our family lives as well makes it difficult to find the time without sacrificing energy, burnout, or low productivity by working even later nights or weekends.  Low levels of energy, being burnt out, and not having the mental stamina to be productive are basically creativity’s kryptonite.  

The good news is that we don’t have to “find” the time.  We create the time in the hours that we have. We’ll take a deep dive into this with Power Skill #7; Time Maximization.  It’s essential for us to invest quality time working on our business to not only separate ourselves from the competition but make them irrelevant through new, innovative ideas to test and measure, performance reflection, visualization for where we’re striving to go and challenge ourselves to see if we can get there faster, effective Blue Ocean marketing strategies, energized environment, and business operations.

Often, we can become consumed by the pressures of having to produce fast results. This can lead to getting sucked into focusing so much on data and having to hit daily targets that it puts a chokehold on growth and innovation which is what the future of business depends on for sustainability. 

A surprising stat that I came across in a Forbes article was that 75% of adults feel that they are not living up to their creative potential and are under pressure to be productive rather than creative at work. This was an eye opener for me personally as a leader and it has created an incentive to ingrain more creativity into the organization. 

So, how do we define creativity and develop it?

Creativity is the use of the imagination or original ideas. There are various ways to develop our own individual creativity and creativity within our organization.  

Let’s take a look at 5 key ways to develop and improve our creativity…

1. Success Leaves Clues

1. Although creativity is defined as the use of original ideas, we can often improve our creativity through finding inspiration from other creative leaders in our industry or even other industries. When we take brilliant ideas from other organizations and implement them into our own, I find that we train our Reticular Activating System (RAS) to source out new ideas from places we least expect it. For example, if we’re now focused on sourcing out marketing strategies and content from other dealerships in the automotive industry, we’ll find ourselves noticing marketing strategies and content from other industries such as Real Estate, Furniture, RV & Leisure, etc. and tweaking those ideas to make them our own for the dealership.

2. Curiosity Leads to Creativity

1. Curiosity ties into having an open-mindset.  We must be willing to first look for clues that success leaves, then come at it from a place of wonder and curiosity. Why did they do the ad that way? Where do they get their ideas from? How often do they post on social media? Would they be open to a conversation? What kind of success are they getting? How do I add even more value than they are? What are other businesses doing in similar industries as ours that’s contributing to their growth? The more we work on the quality of our questions, the higher quality of answers we’ll receive and in turn, improve our overall operations.

3. Slow Down to Speed Up

1. If your brain can be as active as mine, then it would be extremely beneficial to work on slowing it down.  By working on this skill, we provide ourselves the space to allow fresh, new ideas to formulate. We’re all guilty of going hard without taking the appropriate amount of downtime to unplug and recharge.  At first, it can be a little intimidating being alone with our thoughts.  But, like anything, the more we do it and practice deliberately, the better we get at it. Then, magic happens. We free ourselves from the outside world, become present in the moment, and this is when we are our most creative selves.  It’s in moments of slowing down in isolation that we can discover our most creative ideas which will accelerate our innovation and growth. 

4. Pattern Disruption

1. I’m a huge advocate, and still am, for daily routines.  Especially night and morning routines.  They help us prepare for each day which gives us the confidence to create the best day we can for ourselves.  As we know, preparation breeds confidence. However, we don’t want to have routines run our day for us.  If we do, we’re stuck in a pattern that perhaps isn’t serving us which becomes exceptionally difficult to disrupt and get out of. We must disrupt our patterns to ignite creativity. Try taking lunch at a different time, walking or running a different path, taking a different route to work, getting up from our desk every 30 minutes and going for a 5 minute walk. It’s not an understatement to say that it’s critical to recognize and break any patterns that aren’t currently serving us to its fullest.

5. Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn

1. What got us to where we are, won’t necessarily get us to where it is we’re striving to be. We must get ourselves in a cycle of learning to unlearn what isn’t serving us and relearn what is serving us and our future. Basically, develop our self-awareness through daily journaling, self-reflection, and visualization to ensure that we’re leveraging all that we’ve learned in life thus far, unlearning anything that isn’t aligned with who it is we’re becoming, and relearning anything we need to bring with us from our past into the future we desire.  Exercises like this allow us to see life through a different lens and we tend to have these perspective shifts which puts us down the road to… what if? What if I made this pivot in my life and/or business? Where would that take me? What if I stayed where I am and what I’m doing? Where would that take me? This coincides with curiosity leading to creativity. 

Get curious and create the life you can and deserve to have.

You got this!

Brandin

Have you ever heard the saying “the only constant in life is change”? Our ability to react effectively and intelligently when business and environmental factors change unexpectedly, is what becoming strategically adaptable is all about.  Since the only constant in life is change, it makes sense then for us to level up our adaptability skills.

When I think of becoming adaptable, I think about 3 things in particular;

Ego, Growth Mindset, and Negative Visualization. 

In order to develop our adaptability skill set, we must be able to learn from our experiences. This is a major problem if we have an unhealthy and unwarranted ego. It becomes an even bigger problem if we are closed minded which I’ve often found to be directly correlated with an inflated ego.
 

Let’s take a closer look at how we can let go of our Ego, develop more open-mindedness and a Growth Mindset, and leverage Negative Visualization.

EGO;

“Ego is the enemy” - Ryan Holiday

One of the early findings that Holiday had was the realization that ego can lead to a lack of ambition, thus hindering both professional and personal growth, particularly when we focus on achievement over fulfillment.  Achievement can be dangerous when we tie it to our self-worth. This doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate and be proud of our wins.  It means not to attach our worth to those achievements.  Instead, focus our self-worth on who it is that we’re becoming and ensure that we’re aligned with our core values. 

I’ve found core values can change over time and are often best utilized when they are narrowed down to 3 or 4. 
 

What are your core values and how consistent are you with living their truth?

They could be;

Integrity, Honest, Humble, Driven to Grow, Kind, Conscientious, Virtuous, Faithful, Committed, Authentic, Determined, Compassionate, Self-Respect, Inspiration, Accountable, Gratitude, Empathy

Notice how egotistic isn’t on this list or any other virtuous core values list?
 

Ego blocks our ability to be adaptable because it assumes we have all the answers, that change is bad, and it prevents us from preparing for inevitable change.

When I had a big ego in my 20’s, I was aware of it but wasn’t open or ready to change it for a few reasons…

• - I was comparing myself against “slow racers” which gave me a false sense of confidence

• - I was having “success” and getting promoted quickly

• - I was outworking anyone else in the dealership

• I felt irreplaceable 

• I had all the answers

- I had an unhealthy belief of my own importance

There wasn’t any one moment that I can recall which made me realize I was going down the wrong path. However, when I read my first book at age 26, that’s when my mind started to open-up.  As I started to become obsessed with personal development, I became more humble and came to the realization that the more knowledge I gained, the more I realized how little I knew. 

The way ego became my enemy was through books, online courses, studying and researching the greatest people in history, emotional intelligence, NLP, neuroscience, psychology, practicing gratitude, stoicism, discovering my purpose, surrounding myself with people who I admire and are where I’m striving to be.
 

I went to work on myself by focusing the majority of my efforts on who it was that I was becoming and ensuring my actions were aligned with that person.  The only person I compare myself to now is who I was yesterday. 

The by-product of becoming obsessed with everlasting development, which is how I now define success, is that I’m prepared for anything that comes my way.  I’m continuously developing the ability to adapt to difficult situations, major pivots, or anything that comes with the responsibility of being a leader both professionally and personally. 

There is no room for ego now. 

GROWTH MINDSET;

“In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here’s a chance to grow.” - Carol Dweck

Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck popularized the term “growth mindset” in her book ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’.  Dweck explains that while a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t improve in any meaningful way, a growth mindset thrives on challenge and sees failure “not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.”

We can understand now why having an inflated ego can block any additional growth and how it suppresses our unrealized ability.  Our ego sees challenges as threatening because we don’t want to look bad or like we failed. By removing our ego, we begin the journey of discovering what our true potential is through taking on challenges that are outside our comfort zone, leveraging failure, and being open to receiving feedback that will nurture our growth. 

Here are 10 ways to develop a growth mindset;

1. - Accept and embrace our imperfections

2. Improve our language by trading failure with learning

3. - Focus more on the process than the result

4. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

5. - Expect obstacles and mentally prepare for them

6. View criticism as feedback

7. - Ingrain the word “yet” into your vocabulary - “I haven’t reached my goal yet”

8. - Learn through other people’s mistakes as well as your own

9. - Take time to reflect and celebrate the growth you’re gaining each day, week, month, year, etc.

10. - Think effort before talent

Typically, people who assume that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are fixed, are the same group of people who have big egos and believe in talent.  In reality, innate talent is overrated and frankly a myth.  It’s more of an excuse than anything else.  It gives a false belief that certain people are better than you or I, that they are special and gifted. 

Coincidentally, whether you are overconfident or lack confidence, you often tell yourself the same story.  That talent exists. This simply isn’t the truth. Consider what Anders Ericsson states in regards to Mozart in his incredible book Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise… “Perfect pitch is not the gift, but, rather, the ability to develop the perfect pitch is the gift - and, as nearly as we can tell, pretty much everyone is born with that gift.”  

The core message that Anders is sending throughout the entire book is that we are extremely adaptable and our capabilities are near endless should we choose to explore them.

NEGATIVE VISUALIZATION;

“Negative visualization, in other words, teaches us to embrace whatever life we happen to be living and to extract every bit of delight we can from it. But it simultaneously teaches us to prepare ourselves for changes that will deprive us of the things that delight us. It teaches us, in other words, to enjoy what we have without clinging to it.” - William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life

I’m going to encourage you to proceed with caution when applying negative visualization. The purpose of its use here is to help you prepare for unexpected events and become adaptable to them. 

When I first started studying stoicism, I was instantly fascinated and hooked.  The discovery came through reading Ryan Holiday’s books and watching his interviews on YouTube.  This led to Meditations from Marcus Aurelius, The Manual by Epictetus, The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday, and many others.  There was one concept however that was initially difficult to understand and implement; negative visualization.  

What I’ve learned though is that it is an incredible preparation tool for worst case scenarios. 

Let’s look at a couple examples;

1. 1. What would it be like to deal with your most difficult client every single day? Now all of a sudden, the less but still challenging client doesn’t seem as difficult to deal with. 

1. 2. What would happen if 75% of your staff called in sick today? What kind of additional stress would that add to your day? Now, only having 2 or 3 people calling in sick isn’t such a big deal.

1. 3. What if you had a serious injury and couldn’t make it to work for weeks on end? Now, the headache or stiffness you’re dealing with is minor in comparison.

The idea with negative visualization in my opinion, is to help us mentally prepare for worst case scenarios so that we can adapt should they arise while simultaneously teaching us to appreciate all that we have with the understanding that someone out there always has it worse than us.  It’s not what happens to us that matters, it’s how we respond (adapt) that matters. 

The ability to stay stoic in potentially hysteric situations stems from the level of mental preparation you invest in each morning.  Becoming adaptable in any situation is an underrated skill to develop as a leader.  If you allow your emotion to dictate how the situation will go, you are having a deep impact not only on yourself, but on everyone around you as well. 

I believe it’s best if we prepare for the worst while expecting the best.  One way we can do this is by combining the practice of negative visualization with mental rehearsal.  If we can develop the skill of mentally rehearsing how we want the day to go while preparing for the reality that not every day will go how we expect, then that’s when we’ve become adaptable.

“Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.” - Zig Ziglar

You got this!

Brandin