Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 44

How to Work Remotely and Maintain Company Culture

In the last week Covid-19 has ramped up significantly in the US. At the very least, your normal daily routine is changing. For many of you, temporary laws have established, forcing you and your employees to work remotely and altering the landscape of your business.

As business leaders and owners, you are now faced with the responsibility to respond to the latest changes as a result of the coronavirus. You must find new and effective methods to be of service to not only your clients, but your employees, and safety is the number one priority. Because of this, working remotely is your new normal. 

Some of my employees already work remotely, or split their time working in the office as well as remotely. But for many of you, a remote working arrangement is brand new. This change may come with some additional questions for you regarding how to run your business out of the office during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Working from home comes with this connotation that it’s somehow easier on you than if you had to go to the office. While it may be geographically convenient, how do you plan on ensuring your employees are able to work as effectively as if you were all in the office together? Many of the systems you already have in place there can be carried over into a remote work environment. Here are some strategies we have developed over time:

Maintaining company culture – Continued support of the company’s goals and well as the individual goals of your employees remains a priority. You also want to be sure roles and responsibilities match your employees talents. If your employees’ roles are aligned with their talents, they will likely over deliver and exceed your expectations. Having this foundation in place will offer steady inspiration for your employees, and help them remain connected to your mission and what attracted them to work with you in the first place. 
Consistent human connection – The great thing about having an office is that you get consistent face time with each other. In order to keep this interface going in a remote situation, we have weekly meetings, aka huddles, via Zoom. We are careful that our meeting time is used wisely, too. No fluff. It’s a great way to connect regarding project status, questions and new ideas.We  like to add a little fun to our meetings as well. To kick off each meeting we have an ice breaker, which loosens up the mood and fulfills the need for human connection. And sorry. What is said during ice breakers stays between us! These gatherings of the minds are also a wonderful opportunity to take the temperature of company culture. Awesome Amy, here in our office, even sends out weekly surveys to gauge where we are in employee satisfaction so we can make tweaks where need be. 
Have a piece of the office in your house – A physical, tangible thing your employees each have can strengthen a working relationship and enhance connection as well. Something as simple as the same coffee mug to say cheers with, or item in common you can all use during meetings creates a collective experience. It’s that connection that is so imperative to making a remote working environment successful. If it takes a coffee mug to get that going, so be it!

Most of all, practice strong leadership. Strong leaders will not let their remote employees feel isolated or alone in their work. Remember to lend guidance and have systems in place, even simple ones like the above, to enhance the remote working environment for you and your employees. I am confident you will find you can be just as efficient and successful if you keep your company culture intact.

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The OMEN Method to Ensure Your Next Business Fix Actually Works

These days, you can find a how-to video to fix just about anything. Your car. Your air conditioner. That weirdo vintage lamp you bought on auction during your last bout with insomnia. You know you fixed the problem when the thing works again. Simple.

While there are a gazillion videos online about how to fix some aspect of your business, it’s not as easy to figure out if the solutions would work for your company’s issue, and even hard to figure out if you’ve actually solved the problem.

To eliminate the guesswork and get out of the trap of fixing only the problems that are right in front of me, I created a tool to identify what to fix in my business next: The Business Hierarchy of Needs. Just as Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that there are five categories of human need, the Business Hierarchy of Needs identifies five categories of need for any business, regardless of size, gross revenue, or industry. They are:

Sales: The creation and collection of cash.

Profit: The creation of profit and cash reserves, and the eradication of debt.

Order: The creation of organizational efficiency.

Impact: The creation of client transformation and company alignment with staff, vendors and your community.

Legacy: The creation of permanence and the ability to adapt to change.

To figure out which category to address first, we start with the most basic level and work our way up. Within each level are five core needs that every business must address. Pinpoint the core needs that need to be met at the base level and, as soon as you’ve address them, move on to the next. The most urgent need to be addressed is the Vital Need.

Once you’ve identified the Vital Need you must fix next, you need a system to ideate a solution and the measure the fix to make sure it actually works. You can’t just check to see if your business will start, like a car, or turn on, like an air conditioner or a lamp. You need simple metrics to track your progress and a plan to make adjustments in case your measurements reveal a tweak is required.

This process does not have to be complicated. To help you fix your next right problem, your next Vital Need, I created the OMEN method:

O—Objective. What is the result you intend to achieve?

M—Measurement. What is the most straightforward way to measure your progress toward your outcome?

E—Evaluation. With what frequency will you analyze your measurements?

N—Nurture. If necessary, how will you tweak the objective and/or measurements?

Objective: What is the outcome you want to achieve for your Vital Need? Where does it currently stand (the baseline)? Identify the requirements for your goal to be considered successful and how you are going to move from your baseline to your objective.
Measurement: This includes the metric(s) for your outcome, within a specific time frame. What is the simplest way to effectively track your progress toward the objective? The fewer metrics the better. Minimize the number of metrics to avoid distraction and confusion, but have enough to give you an adequate reading of your progress.
Evaluation: Determine the frequency with which you will check your metrics and set interim goals on your way to the intended outcome.
Nurture: As you progress, you may notice that your objective isn’t quite right or you aren’t measuring it effectively. Make the objective and measurements highly visible/accessible to the relevant people. Then give you and your team permission to change the settings (objective, measurements and/or evaluation frequency) to improve the progress toward the objective.

The OMEN method gives scrutiny and attention to the Vital Need you identified to resolve it as efficiently as possible. Then, move on to your next Vital Need and fix it next. Before you know it, you’ll have a strong foundation and your business will hum along like a well-oiled engine. And you won’t have to search through millions of how-to videos to get the job done.

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Get Out of the Survival Trap – For Good

How many decisions did you make for your business last year? Decisions to solve a problem; to fix a mistake; to decide whether or not to take advantage of an opportunity, or add a new product or service to your offerings, or to try a new marketing strategy. I would bet you made a lot of decisions last year and put out a lot of fires.

Now, let me ask you this: Did any of those decisions move your business forward in a big way? Did your company see record growth? Were you able to step back from the grind of doing all the things and let your team run things? Did you make a significant impact in your client’s lives? In your community? In your industry? If you answered yes, I’m stoked for you. If you answered no, welcome to the common experience, my friend.

The challenge many business owners face is they are bombarded with seemingly urgent issues that require quick decisions. We fix the problems that are right in front of us. Whether we’re saving the day, or just trying to get our companies to the next level, we rush to the apparent problems—the obvious stuff and the squeaky wheels. We perform a sort of business triage and operate on instinct alone, which results in a continuous run of problem-solving while our companies remain stuck.

Sometimes—rarely, but sometimes—we solve a problem and your business does take a leap forward. Even a small improvement affirms your decisions, except the problem is, it won’t be long before your back in the muck. That’s why this outcome is worse—tasting success only to get stuck again is not just frustrating, it’s costly and demoralizing. I call this the Survival Trap. Sadly, I have found it to be the most common situation in which entrepreneurs find themselves. They take the necessary (and often panicked) actions to keep the business alive today, and then repeat the pattern tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that, and so on. The goal for each day is simply to survive the day.

The Survival Trap is deceptive because it fools us into thinking we are at least inching toward our vision, as if our reactionary behavior is actually “smart” or evidence of our good instincts, and will eventually lead us to the promised land: financial freedom. When it comes to our business’s (lack of) cash flow, we often throw our few remaining dollars at the immediate problems and opportunities, hoping that profit will magically materialize as a result. When it comes to our time, we burn out ourselves and our people by working even longer hours, constantly putting out fires and chasing arbitrary quarterly targets instead of building sustainable systems. And when it comes to fixing the business, we find ourselves patching up the obvious problems, only to wonder why they keep reoccurring over and over again.

To find a better way to make decisions and solve problems, I created the Business Hierarchy of Needs. The tool is based on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which states that there are five categories of human need. From the most basic and essential needs for survival to the highest needs for happiness and fulfillment. In order for us to attend to something higher on the list, we first need to make sure that our needs are met in the categories below it. The same is true for businesses.

The Business Hierarchy of Needs looks like this, starting with the most essential:

Sales: The creation and collection of cash.

Profit: The creation of profit and cash reserves, and the eradication of debt.

Order: The creation of organizational efficiency.

Impact: The creation of client transformation and company alignment with staff, vendors and your community.

Legacy: The creation of permanence and the ability to adapt to change.

You can fix whatever it is that’s holding your business back . . . if only you can figure out what you need to fix, and in what order. Pinpoint the core needs that need to be met at the base level and, as soon as you’ve addressed them, move on to the next. The tool takes the guesswork and “gut” work out of problem-solving for your business. The only way out of The Survival Trap is to hold the line—do what you need to do to make sure that you build your business in a healthy manner, not based on your desperation.

You can move your business forward in big strides, and in short order. Your vision for your business can become a reality. And it will, once you figure out what your biggest problem is right now, and then devote yourself to fixing that next.

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3 Tips to Strengthen Your Business During Coronavirus

Hello my friends and colleagues. I am reaching out to you (from a distance!) to see how you are all coping in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. I have received emails from you, worried about your business and the economic uncertainty stemming from our current environment. While I certainly do not have all the answers, I am here to tell you I am with you.

I also feel you can take actions to make positive changes in your businesses to make them stronger in the long term.

Concerns and repercussions of the Coronavirus grow each day. Depending on where you live, in the last weeks you have likely prepared for possible quarantine in your area if you’re not already in one. Here in the US, a National Emergency was declared, travel is limited, most schools here in NJ were shut down and grocery stores face challenges keeping up with consumer demand. Many companies have decided employees should work remotely, and small businesses have slowed, if not temporarily closed all together. It’s likely that your business has faced disruption. I know mine has.

What do you do in this turbulent time, when there are so many unanswered questions not only about our personal health, but the health of your business?

While it may feel heavy and disconcerting, one of the positives is that this situation will force you to learn how to build stronger, healthier businesses. The best action you can take as a business owner is to quickly develop an offensive line. When you are sick you drink fluids, get rest and eat nutrient dense foods (I try to do this on a constant basis, but who’s perfect?). Along those lines, what can you do to strengthen the health of your business when disruption threatens it?

Marketing – adapting to the environment. Literally

First, a little humor (we could use it!). On Friday I had a call with Jesse Cole, owner of baseball team Savannah Bananas. As an event based company, they are taking a major hit. We had a quick brainstorm about how we as business owners can possibly use this latest outbreak to our advantage. One idea was to dress the players in hazmat suits and record the game. It could become a media sensation, illustrating that there is a way to “go on”. Maybe it will happen, who knows. The point is it is important to create solutions to adapt to our times. Besides, they’re not called the Bananas for nothing. Their eccentric style is what’s made them so incredibly successful in the first place. Seriously. These guys sell out every game. 

Survey your customers 

This is the time to respond to what your customers’ vital needs are. It’s important to survey the community you serve. Let them know that serving them is of critical importance to you, and due to the current circumstances you know that you need to serve them in a new way. What can you do that will provide the level of service they require,  while protecting their exposure to potential health risks? 

Remember, small businesses bounce back better

I think most important to note is this: If the Coronavirus pandemic triggers a recession or financial struggle, we have the right to say we are not going to participate in a downfall of our business. What I mean by that is for a small business, losing five or six of your clients can be extremely devastating. But the thing is you can pick up those five or six clients again if you focus on doing that. It’s the big businesses that are stuck with the economy. Small businesses are at an advantage in that a few right moves can get you back on track. Make the decision not to participate in the downfall of the economy, and proactively devise a plan to attract new customers for the future of your business. 

You are the backbone of the economy. This is not an occasion to let squash us, but rather an occasion to rise to. Rise up!

 

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Establishing Sales – The Foundation of Your Business

As entrepreneurs and business owners we have big dreams. Dreams of serving others, dreams of wealth, dreams of making big impacts, and leaving big legacies. But how do we make those dreams a reality – and keep it that way? It starts with sales.

That’s the cold hard truth. Your dreams and gumption alone are not enough to propel your business. It’s our job to ensure that our business is built healthily from the foundation up – and that foundation starts with sales.

The establishment of predictable sales is the base level from which all else in your business stems. Just like food, water and oxygen for humans, your businesses require sales to live.

In the last months you have heard me talking about Fix This Next, explaining The Business Hierarchy of Needs (The BHN) – a simple system to pinpoint what your company needs from you now, and what it doesn’t. If you remember, the base level of this model is sales, followed by profit, order, impact and legacy. Let’s take a look at our big base level a bit more. It is after all, what everything else in your business is balancing on.

How do you establish sales and pave the way to all of the other levels? Well I am going to give you a sneak peek into Fix This Next and share a little more about how The Business Hierarchy of Needs works. It’s more than a diagram. It’s a compass to help you diagnose your business, fix what needs fixing, and navigate to the next level. Within The BNH, I created the vital needs to address within each level.

Level 1 – Lifestyle Congruence

Do you know what your company’s sales performance needs to be in order to support your personal comfort?

How much monthly income do you (the business owner) need to maintain a basic, but comfortable lifestyle?
How much revenue must the company generate to support your lifestyle?
If you reduced expenses (including staff), what is the minimum monthly expense that the company can incur and still achieve the sales needed for Lifestyle Congruence. 
What percentage of annual sales make up your required target take-home income?

Level II – Prospect Attraction

Do you attract enough quality prospects to support your needed sales? 4 Have you identified the ideal prospect avatar? 

What percentage of your prospects are consistent with the avatar?
Are there enough prospects to support the sales needed? 
What are your significant prospect sources (website, referrals, direct mailings, social media, etc.)? 
What volume of traffic do you bring to your source? 4 How many applications or inquiries do you get from your prospects weekly?

Level III – Client Conversion

Do you convert enough of the right prospects into clients to support your needed sales?

Have you identified the ideal client avatar? 
What percentage of prospects become clients?
What percentage of clients are ideal? 
What percentage of clients buy repeatedly?

Level IV – Delivering on Commitments

Do you fully deliver on your commitments to your clients?

How consistently (on a percentage basis) does your company deliver its offering within specifications (time, quality, etc.) 
How often does your offering get returned or customers ask for a partial/full refund?
How often do customers cancel their offer? 
How often is your service or product delivered later than the client expects?

Level V – Collecting on Commitments

Do your clients fully deliver on their commitments to you? 

Do your clients pay on time and in full? 
How often are projects delayed because you are waiting for clients to send you information/ images/copy/etc? 
What percentage of your clients (intentionally or not) cause delay to the project or compromise the quality of the experience?

Ask yourself these questions and take the time to answer them carefully and honestly, so you can correctly diagnose and fix any issues hindering you from maintaining a strong sales base. Keep The Business Hierarchy of Needs near your work space to remind yourself to always make sure your base level is met first. Establish your sales using The Business Hierarchy of Needs.  You got this!

For more tips like this go to Mikemotorbike.com or Mikemichalowicz.com and click on Get the Tools for tons of tried and true resources for business help and how to run a truly profitable business. Let’s rock entrepreneurship!

Follow Mike on Instagram!

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The Business Hierarchy of Needs



The entrepreneurial journey is an exceptionally peculiar one. We start our businesses with a clear vision of personal and financial freedom. Yet, that goal of freedom – the primary reason we have our own business – is never realized. We are constantly on the verge of making it, but few of us ever do. We are stuck. Simply surviving. Which begs the question “Why?” Which then begs the next question, “Who do we fix it?”

In researching the answers I have witnessed a singular pervasive problem: The biggest challenge business owners face is knowing what their biggest challenge is. Let me say that again, for the people in the back.

The biggest challenge business owners face is knowing what their biggest challenge is.

If you find yourself trapped between stagnating sales, staff turnover and unhappy customers, what do you fix first? The response of everything is the norm. But it doesn’t work, since at any given time only one issue can be the most important. Only one thing can be top priority. And if we don’t know what it is, we may be fixing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Or, more insidious, fixing the right thing at the wrong time. We need to pinpoint the right thing to work on at the right time, and the way to do that is by mastering the Business Hierarchy of Needs.

To proactively correct something in your business, you need solid systems in place. Fix This Next was written for this purpose. I created a powerful diagnostic tool in Fix This Next called The Business Hierarchy of Needs so you have a visual of where you are in your business, what to fix first and how to reach your business goals.

So what is The Business Hierarchy of Needs? It’s a model of your business needs, based on the same fundamentals as Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Within Mazolw’s Hierarchy, you see the base is physiological, then there is safety, followed by belonging and love, esteem, and finally, self actualization. Fundamentally speaking, The Business Hierarchy of Needs follows this model by replacing our human needs with those of our business.

Let’s check it out:

Sales (the base level) 

Always make sure your base level is met first. When it comes to humans, we need food and water. When it comes to our businesses, we first need cash flow and sales in order to move up the hierarchy of needs. 


Profit

This is the creation of sustainability. Many businesses have a profit problem but are focused on sales. It’s more important to bake profit into every transaction you have. You cannot sell your way into profit. You need a system to bring profitability around.


Order

This is the level of organizational efficiency. The idea is as your business grows it becomes less and less dependent on you and it becomes organized. Achieving organizational efficiency will extract the owner from the business so it has no dependency on you, and can run on automatic.


Impact

Impact is the creation of transformation. This is where you realize your business is not about transactions but transformation. You are not selling a commodity, but a service that impacts lives and a community. What is the feeling you are leaving for the client, how are you transforming their lives and decommoditizing yourself.


Legacy

Legacy is the creation of permanence. It is where the business is designed to live on into perpetuity without you. When you create a legacy, you realize you are not the owner of the business, but the steward. To achieve the legacy level the owner must care more about the corporate legacy vs his personal legacy. This should be the objective of your business.

The Business Hierarchy of Needs is the compass that will move your business toward the vision you originally had. By applying The Business Hierarchy of Needs, you will assess your business to see what requires repair. You will use the evaluation tools I have created to help you navigate and understand exactly where you are in your business and what needs to be addressed in order to propel you forward.

When something is broken in our business our first instinct is to sell more, when chances are we really need a better profit or efficiency system in place. You may think you want to have an impact and have a legacy, but you don’t have the efficiency to support it. By using The Business Hierarchy of Needs, you’ll revert to the base level needs, and then make sure they are met before you elevate to higher levels.

It’s also important to point out that the The Business Hierarchy of Needs model has a get to give component. Often we are told you have to give to get, but here, the model shows the first three stages are about getting. You need to get sales into your organization, you need to get more profit and you need to get more efficiency. You need to get that organization. With that strong foundation in place you can then elevate to being transformational through impact and achieve perpetual life – a legacy for your business. Now that is about giving, because only through legacy can you contribute.

Remember, your business is fluid, living, breathing thing. You will find yourself at different levels within this hierarchy of needs at different times. That’s to be expected, especially as your business evolves. To run a profitable business you know there will be times you ping pong around this model of needs. But, the closer you stick to it, and build that solid foundation, the stronger your business will be.

If you are an entrepreneur, you likely started your business with a burning desire to make an impact and change the world. I know I did. The thing is, you can’t make an impact without the means. With The Business Hierarchy of Needs in Fix This Next, you can move forward in a constructive way so you can make that impact and leave your legacy.

For more tips like this go to Mikemotorbike.com or Mikemichalowicz.com and click on Get the Tools for tons of tried and true resources for business help and how to run a truly profitable business. Let’s rock entrepreneurship!

Follow Mike on Instagram!

 

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What’s Your Song?

Here I am backstage at Thrivers 2020 and about to give a keynote speech. In these minutes before I walk out on stage in front of hundreds of people, I could be checking my phone, chatting with someone, checking my vest…

But I don’t.

The best thing I can do before presenting to an audience is to focus on what I am about to do. It’s a ritual at this point.

The ritual? Focus on being of service in these moments.

For me, the song Times Like These, by The Foo Fighters, grounds me and helps get me into that focused mindset I want. It’s times like these that I want to deliver the best service I can, and truly help those around me.

When you are facing a pivotal moment, how do you amp yourself up so you can be laser focused and deliver the best of you?

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Make it Easy – and Improve Your Business

No, I am not showing you a photo of this guy’s (my son, of you must know) legs. See that blue line? That may be the one of the most simple ways I’ve ever seen to boost customer satisfaction.

My son and I went to our local Wegman’s to pick up our groceries. If you know Wegman’s, it’s not exactly a small store. There are a ton of aisles – and a ton of distractions!

The folks at Wegman’s know this, so they painted this blue line on the floor for customers to follow upon arrival to pick up their orders.

Come on, how simple is that?

Now, I know we don’t all own grocery stores here. But what can you do to make your client’s experience the most simple, and worry free experience?

Make it easy. That’s what your customers need.

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Positive Reinforcement for More Profits

It sounds simple, but positive reinforcement can result in big profits for your business.

I realized this as my daughter and I were driving into town and were about to fly by this speed sign. When you are over the speed limit, the sign frowns at you. When you are within the speed limit, the sign smiles. I think you know which one I was going for. For me, it was a small reminder about a big way to drive profitability in our businesses.

As an entrepreneur you know that there isn’t a one size fits all formula to having the most profitable business. But, one thing I have seen over and over is that positive reinforcement works when it comes to increasing profits.

Sounds a bit elementary, right? Perhaps, but let’s face it – human nature determines most of our behaviors and many behaviors are based on how we feel. When a desired behavior is rewarded, the behavior is encouraged to be repeated.

Eureka! (I know, thanks Dr. Michalowicz. You’re welcome.)

Entrepreneurs – you are leaders. As leaders it’s your job to intentionally acknowledge and motivate your employees and customers alike in order to drive profits.

Since I’m not talking about a chore chart and a cup of marbles as a reward here, let’s look at how using positive reinforcement creates profit.

Positive reinforcement with employees

Fulfilled employees are productive employees. (Sorry team, I promise I am not manipulating you – I really do like you.) Practicing positive reinforcement with your employees motivates them and therefore boosts productivity. The end. Maybe I didn’t always practice this, but as the years went on and my businesses grew I saw first hand how positive reinforcement is so impactful. On average we spend ⅓ of our lives at work, and we want that time to be meaningful. A solid leader will make an employee feel their time is well spent.
Work/life balance and monetary incentives are always good ways to practice positive reinforcement, sure, but remember daily morale goes beyond the dollar. Any time I see something accomplished that I like, I let my team know. Psych 101 folks – if you tell someone you like something they did, they’ll likely do it again. Well that was easy. I tell them straight out what I think. I am on the road quite a bit so if I don’t see them in person I let them know through a thoughtful message or email. It doesn’t take a ton of time to offer this support, and the gain equals more than the give. The result? My team is loyal, dedicated, creative and capable. They are empowered to drive profitability – and they do.

Positive reinforcement with customers

It’s not groundbreaking by any means when I remind you that positive reinforcement is a huge incentive for customers. To have a truly profitable business, however, you need to know specifically what type of incentives your customer base is drawn to. What motivates your customers to engage with your business over all the others? I’ve said it before, to know this, you must get to truly know your customers.
Once you know what your customers truly want you can concentrate on types of positive reinforcement to offer.  Customers often like rewards programs with added benefits for repeat services, discounts, or even notes of appreciation and thanks for their patronage. And always, always provide top notch customer support. It may sound basic, but it’s a great start and if you personalize these incentives they will mean more.

Tell me – how do you use positive reinforcement in your business and what are some of the new incentives you can add? Do it and watch your business become more profitable!

If you want more tips like this go to Mikemotorbike.com or Mikemichalowicz.com and click on Get the Tools for tons of tried and true resources for business help and how to run a truly profitable business. Let’s rock entrepreneurship!

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3 Tips to Achieve Business Goals in 2020

It’s the end of another year – actually the end of a decade. Let that sink in!

The end of  the year often leaves us taking stock in both our personal and business lives. We set resolutions, sometimes we stick to them, and there are times we don’t.

During my 4 week vacation (because I Clockwork my business, thank you!) I took some time out to make a list of what my vision and goals are for 2020. Creating this list makes me more cognizant of where I need to focus my energy.

It is so important to remember that time is a fluid thing. Often I achieve goals throughout the year, but that doesn’t mean I rest on my laurels – I then create new goals because it’s important to keep going.

It’s the same for goals perhaps I haven’t hit yet. They don’t disappear because I haven’t achieved them by a certain time. Instead, they roll over to the next year. Unless the goal sucked. Then, you know, I have to let that go…

You may have some goals for your business, big or small. But how are you going to reach them? Here are just a few things I do to stay on track so at the end of the year I’m not hanging my head in defeat.

Inspiration

Where do you find inspiration? For me, I find inspiration all around. From travel, to mastermind groups, to community, to fellow entrepreneurs, to the emails I receive from readers of my books, inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes I see a problem that needs fixing and it inspires me to write a whole new book! (Insert shameless plug for my new book Fix This Next being released in April! Whoohoo!) Inspiration helps me stay motivated to keep working on my goals as well as develop new ideas for new books, training and keynote speeches.

Implementation

You have your inspiration. Now what? What are some of the steps you take to execute those goals you are inspired to achieve?

Weekly tracking – My team and I have a weekly meeting. If am traveling I do my best to dial in. Our meetings are quick, and to the point – we’re not into wasting time. We have an icebreaker as a little bonding time and then get to business. We discuss our goals and update on our progress. We are all on the same page and man, are we one well oiled machine, baby!
Daily list – Weekly meetings are great but how do you make magic happen daily? I (as well as my team) take a few minutes at the start of the day to prioritize our time and see how we can best implement ways to reach that weekly goal.
Delegation – In my book, Clockwork, I talk about “clockworking” your business and I walk that walk. I have built a dedicated team to ensure I have time to create and execute every business and personal goal I can think of.

Give back

Wait what? I’m busy over here, running a business and crushing goals! Yes! Get it! At the same time, giving back teaches new lessons and opens up avenues for continued growth. Yes, you can give back monetarily. I and my team also give our time. When we connect with our community, we see what their needs are and how your business can best serve them. (And, let’s face it, #marketing).
Aside from working within a larger community, I have also been a mentor. When I do this, I assess where a mentee needs to grow. Not only can I help them with what I know, I get to see where I can grow as well. The rewards from giving are endless and can be used in your business at every turn.

Above all, I keep that list of goals I created in the start of the year handy. To see it every day keeps my focus where it needs to be.

If you haven’t already, allow yourself some time to visualize your goals and document them. It will give you the clarity you need to begin reaching those dreams of yours!

Friends and colleagues, I wish you all the success and happiness in 2020!

– Mike

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