Happy Sunday Everyone:
Just coming back from our company-wide sales trip. Hosted this year in Nashville. A lot of sales trips can be a boondoggle primarily i.e., you come home with nothing but a hangover. We did have some fun on this one but for me, and everyone I talked to, it was more useful than just a party. It was beyond necessary given the state of the market. Reminder for me that it’s easy to get siloed in our own batches of crap when the chips are down, and spending time with some folks that aren’t into that mindset, helps anyone in that mindset, get out faster.
Like all sales trips, there are keynote speakers. Being in coaching for 12 plus years, I’ve seen my share. A few stories, a few general tactics, usually a previous executive, star, or professional athlete. This year was different, we had Jocko Willink. Many of you know the name. If you don’t, he is a retired Navy Seal, with an incredible track record after 9/11 with deployments in the Middle East. He created a leadership consulting company, writes books, etc. I heard Tim Ferriss call him the “the scariest human I’ve ever met” a few years back. His intensity is at a level I can’t totally comprehend. His first book is called Extreme Ownership. Title speaks for itself but if you’re interested in what this guy is like, click here for an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljqra3BcqWM.
I like the term “extreme ownership” but a message that keeps me more accountable than anything is “everything is my fault”. I heard this from my old coach, Rick Ruby, a few years ago, and it stuck. It sounds negative, it’s not, it’s the ultimate mindset of no excuses. It’s liberating. It’s empowering. It’s accepting responsibility for everything happening around you, both positive and negative, and it’s at every level. I was talking to our CEO yesterday about the event, the market, and our mindsets. He made the same comment, everything that happens inside of the company is on him i.e., his fault, for better or for worse. As soon as you go into this mindset, the blame game for your current situation stops. You have a crappy team, it’s not your employees, it’s you. You’re running at a loss, it’s not the market, it’s you. Control the controllables, if you’re not, it’s your fault. It’s not all negative. Quick example of both sides of this concept for me. First, running at a loss this month based on volume vs. expenses, that’s my fault, and that’s not good. I need to increase sales activity or cut labor costs. Second, a member of my team fell down the stairs and hurt herself. Michelle (another team member) proactively rallied the team to chip in and buy Tina a stand-up desk to help with her back (without Tina knowing). My fault too. First example, my fault, so find ways to increase revenue or decrease costs. Second example, my fault, investing in our team daily cultivates a level of care for one another where Michelle would feel comfortable doing this for her teammate. As I write I’m thinking of the responses, “not everything in the world is my fault”. I’d take it one step further than and say this, everything that is in your direct control is your fault (good or bad). If it’s not in your direct control, how you respond to it is your fault (good or bad).
Bottom line for me, and so many of you, this is a time where we need to be better than we’ve ever been and the more personal accountability and ownership we can take, the better we’re going to be on the other side.