Wealth Clarity Blog

Tim Tebow, the newly traded-for quarterback of the New York Jets, gave me unexpected inspiration about how to approach my own job and daily living in a recent ESPN interview.  By the end of the interview segment I was saying, “I want to be like Tim”. 

If you haven’t heard of Tim Tebow, you are either not a sports fan, or have been under a rock the past year.   

A polarizing figure, it seems people either love him or hate him.  He has created so much sports buzz because of his unorthodox and physical approach to playing quarterback, the now famous Tebow kneeling sideline prayer, and his overtly public Christian faith. 

In a sports world filled with plenty of overpaid athletes, huge egos, and anti-hero behavior, Tim has been refreshing in his positive attitude, clean language, encouragement, and passion to win.  In short, everyone loves an underdog and Tim has been that underdog done good. 

In the ESPN interview I mentioned earlier, and in many interviews I’ve heard over the past year, it seems everyone is looking for this guy to be a poser; I say that based on how they ask him questions.  They appear to be looking for chinks in the armor and where he might not be what he appears.   

He can’t be that positive or nice, right? 

Anyway, the ESPN interviewer tried every angle to get him to be frustrated about the media, angry about the criticism from sports fans, to comment about drama surfacing from teammates twitter messages, even absurdly asking whether he would be able to handle the Jets coach who is known to have quite a potty mouth.  

Through it all, Tim was an amazing professional; so much so that it caught me saying where did this guy learn how to be like that?  Who taught him those things?  Am I that positive about my job and my life? 

Gleening from the interview and taking some editorial license, here are three ways Tim approaches his life that can be applied to my life (and yours):

1. Tim focuses on looking forward and not back. He didn’t want to talk about what happened last year with the Denver Broncos, his prior team, other than it was a great experience and he was thankful for the blessing.  He instead wanted to talk about this new life chapter with the Jets.  So often I can get sucked into to worrying and talking about yesterday when I need to keep my focus on today and what is in front of me, not behind me.
2. Tebow views his life, and the current circumstances, as an exciting opportunity.  It is clear there are lots of things to worry about including a new team, new coach, new fans, and new system to learn.  It was clear in the interview that he wasn’t looking for something more or different; he was just excited about the opportunity right in front of him.  In my job it can be easy to be wishing the market would be higher, or the business would grow faster, or we had more resources instead of just being grateful for the problems we get to solve, and satisfied with the business I get the privilege of running
3. Tim is working daily to improve himself; the only things he can control such as improving his ability to read defenses, improve his strength and quickness, and throwing accuracy.  My own daily habits and routines whether they be in business, health, or spiritual, can all lead me to being a better and more joyful person.  I want to grow, too, and these daily steps are really the only things I can directly control. 

I hope that if ESPN interviewed me about my life and my business I would handle it with such professionalism and excitement as Tim did that day.  How about you?

As a business owner myself, there is no shortage of fears and worries that I either want to ignore or don’t know who I can talk about them with. It has morphed over the years, and I definitely feel more comfortable talking about deeper issues and concerns, but it has taken me a long time to get to this point.   

In retrospect, it was many times pride, fear of failure, and other times just the lack of someone (other than my wife) to talk to.  After a few years of dumping on my wife, and some counseling, we concluded it wasn’t good for our relationship.  Close friends may not be a good alternative either, because many times they just don’t have the experience or perspective to offer much value or guidance.  Key employees are also generally not good choices due to confidentiality and the potential for your raw thoughts to be shared with other third parties. 

But make no mistake, friend or no friends, these fears and worries are real and go home with the business owner every night, whether or not you consciously think about them.

The funny thing is, business owners are generally an optimistic bunch, and we really would much prefer to just focus 150% on running and growing our business and not waste energy on things out of our control.  However, this mentality only creates a false sense of security that can easily unwind into unintended consequences; namely, we aren’t really prepared for the uncertain future that awaits all of us. 

So, here are three fears you may want pay much closer attention to: 

1. Feeling isolated at the top—no one to talk to or be real with.  Advisory boards can be great, but are not always the best venue for processing your inner concerns, hopes, and dreams.  Unsure about whom to trust and with what information?  Concerned that if you trust someone with confidential information about the business it could get leaked? The need for a true confidant to listen to your joys and disappointments without an agenda and to hold you accountable is invaluable.
2. What if something bad happens?—get sick, die, divorce.  Who is asking you the hard questions without sugar coating it?  Is there a contingency plan to address these unfortunate potential events so your wife, family, and key employees aren’t left with a big mess to clean up?  Does someone know you and your situation well enough to help guide your choices that will impact your life and business?
3. Burnout caused by an out-of-balance life.  Who are you without the business?  Is there an overarching plan or legacy for all this hard work and time?  Consider a broader view of your wealth that includes intellectual, financial, social, family, and spiritual capital. Many times the business and financial capital is well developed and other areas of life are immature.   

I have lots of experience with these fears and many others and have carried them around for years.  It was about 3 years ago that I finally realized the importance of facing them head on.  The benefits have come in the form of lower stress, greater life satisfaction, and a clearer purpose and meaning for my life. 

If you have questions about my journey in this area, please drop me a note and let’s grab coffee.  I’d be happy to share my story.

I recently read a sign that said:

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese”

This made me chuckle as I think about many businesses I’ve been a part of including Highland Private.  In my role as COO, I can frequently try to rush to market with a new product, service, or idea.  The myth is that the “early bird” to market is always going to create something disruptive and capture the outsized returns and rewards that go to the first entrant. 

However, a few historical facts give me pause:

• Facebook was not the first social media website
• Apple didn’t have the first smart phone
• Costco was not the first warehouse store

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric was known to say that he didn’t want to be first to any innovation, but instead a close second.

I am constantly looking for the next idea; unfortunately, I am not that clever.  I have found that the best ideas are not really all that new, but rather ideas that have been successful with someone else; many times coming from a totally different industry.  Recycling these ideas and applying them to something of value in your business can have a much greater success rate. 

I recently read a book by Joseph Michelli titled The New Gold Standard.  The book is about The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and how they built an iconic luxury brand and legendary customer experience.  While it is a totally different industry, with a totally different story, the similarities to issues I face daily were amazing!  Their successes took a great deal of time and focus, and I learned a tremendous amount from their journey of success.  Why learn from your mistakes, when it’s easier to learn from someone else’s success? 

I don’t know about you, but I prefer cheese.

Who doesn’t want to part of something excellent?  When you are focused on excellence, you attract people who are also focused on it, and value it.  The end product is a great team.

While team greatness is a wonderful outcome, there’s a dark side of excellence: perfectionism. 

It is really easy to confuse excellence with perfection.  One of the beliefs a perfectionist will hold onto is “the irrational belief that you and/or your environment must be perfect”. (www.livestrong.com )  Not only is this unachievable, I believe the irony is that in this pursuit, the perfectionist becomes mediocre.

How can this be?  In the pursuit, the perfectionist is always looking to analyze more, polish more, think more, nit pick more, etc…, and suffer from paralysis.  Too many great ideas fail to get implemented, utilized, or even considered out of the fear that the outcome will not be perfect.

I am reminded of the General Patton quote, “I’d rather have a good plan executed today, than a perfect plan executed next week”.  The exception to this is if we are talking about life or death situations, and if so, I always defer to a perfect plan.

Ron Ashkenas, with the Harvard Business Review, wrote a great blog on “The Problem with Perfection”.   His thought was that rather than waiting for the perfect solution, start testing while collecting more data.  Start small, with low risk and be relentless in honestly reviewing the data.

Will you have a few duds? Maybe, but the advantage of field testing, reviewing and adjusting is a cycle that will accelerate learning, growing, and creating value.

This past fall, I had the opportunity to play golf at Chambers Bay, the site of the 2015 US Open.  While the course was extremely difficult and challenging for my 20+ handicap, using a forecaddie made the experience quite enjoyable.  For those not familiar, a forecaddie helps give guidance on shot selection, putting angles, and finding lost golf balls in my case. 

Much like my golf experience, as you build your team or your business, it’s highly likely that to achieve excellence you’ll need the benefit of a strong number two in command.  The title used to describe this role can vary; chief operating officer, general manager, vice president of operations, wing-man (or wing-woman), second mate, and even president in some cases.  

“Leonard Bernstein, the famed conductor, when asked what was the most difficult position to fill in the orchestra, his response was “second fiddle”

Assuming you are the CEO, or the like, the actual title for the second in command is less important than whether you are seeking someone to delegate to or someone who will amplify you?  The answer to that question has important implications for the development of your business, professional career, and/or wealth creating activity.  These two outcomes aren’t mutually exclusive, but for the purposes of this post let’s keep them separate.

It wasn’t long ago that I even understood the difference—let alone the reason why it mattered—and which was best for me or Highland.  Let me try to explain the scenario using my own business experience of the past year. 

I have managed Highland for 12 years now (amazing!) and have wanted for some time to find someone to share in the joys and challenges of growing and building a small business from scratch.  Looking back, I have made many mistakes in desiring to fill this role—in my parlance, wing-man—but it never seemed to work completely right; everything from falsely thinking I could do it all myself, to trying to move employees into a role they weren’t ready or qualified for, and to merge with another business in hopes of finding these capabilities somewhere else.

I think my stumbling block in finding the right person was partly due to lack of experience running a business, and partly thinking about the role as solely someone I could delegate important projects to.  While delegation is definitely a critical element in any organization, and in the second in command role in particular, stretching my thinking to a new concept of amplification was the turning point in my development and ultimately finding the right person. 

The problem wasn’t where I was looking; I was  looking through the wrong set of glasses.  That’s why I really like the term wing-man for this important role.  It brings to life a vision of flying with someone much a like a co-pilot would, watching your back, helping to build you up when needed, helping to elevate you and your role in a way you couldn’t do alone.

Once I understood this new concept I could see that just pure delegation of business tasks without the defined purpose of amplifying my role was so much less effective and a huge energy drain.  So, the job search then becomes part capability and experience (as it should), and just as importantly, can the person elevate and amplify you and your role in the company to your highest and best use. 

In fact, your company and team requires this of you.   With a wing-man now in place at Highland, I can see the organization running smoother, business growth occurring, focus improving, and my personal energy and impact unleashed in exciting ways. 

Let me know if you want more information on the selection process and the specific steps I took.

Didn’t January just scream by?  If this is what an economic recession feels like then I believe we need to review definitions.  In that vein, and if you are like me at all, the goal setting process is intellectually important but can get pushed to something I’ll get to next weekend—kind of like my honey do list.

Last year I introduced an easier way to put a few proverbial stakes—translated means goals or intentions—into the ground without the traditional baggage associated with the goal setting process.  Most goal setting that I have experienced can become one more thing to get accomplished; and like gravity; can fall to end of the list. Continue Reading »

Not much is said or written about intuition in a business setting.  Probably because it is somewhat elusive, too emotional, too hard to measure, too much art and not enough science; probably because business is focused mostly on quantitative metrics, and decision trees that are based on discernable facts.  Knowing when to listen to our intuition is also hard to do.  It can be defined better by the times we didn’t than for the times that we did.

But where does our gut instinct, our sixth sense, internal radar, or whatever you want to call it—fit into our strategy, planning, and/or success.

I think it plays a much bigger part than most people are willing to admit.  Here are a few places I seem to use it:

1. To evaluate my comfort level with a new business proposal
2. To gauge the potential for a new partner or client relationship
3. To aid in investment strategy decisions Continue Reading »

Everybody and every organization wants to create value. I easily get thrown off course. In the past I have thought that activity created value, or that hiring people could create value. My favorite is that a new technology would create value (the great seduction). All these things may make things easier or improve a situation, but may not create value. If I honestly evaluate these efforts, I have later realized they were usually nothing more than costly distractions.

I like this definition of value: “Value is what customers and investors are willing to pay for AND employees are ready, willing, and able to deliver”. In other words, value happens when employees deliver profitable sales.

As leaders, it is easy to get distracted from this. We get seduced into “rabbit trails” that lead nowhere, or we hang on to bad decisions and try to make them work. These choices limit our resources to create real value. Management guru Peter Drucker made the point that 10 percent of our resources produce 90 percent of our results [value]. While I want to disagree with this, when I look at the facts of most organizations, this is usually the case. Continue Reading »

Watch my video and think about how you can use your old books as business relationship builders.

As a business owner, executive, or someone charged with leadership – are you getting the business results you want?  Things like; more sales, better customer service, higher efficiency and operational excellence?  If the answer is no then keep reading.  (If the answer is yes, I would sure hope you contact me for guest blogging opportunities.)

We just finished our Highland quarterly strategic planning session.  These meetings are all hands on deck sessions that review prior quarter internal business goals and set the game plan for the coming quarter.  I have written about the success of these meetings in prior posts and what a change that has brought to our culture, team energy, and focus.

There was an interesting new twist this recent meeting that I though was a relevant addition to the “bottleneck” conversation I started a couple weeks ago.

As we discussed our company and individual goals and the associated success or failure, two important observations came into view that I hadn’t fully appreciate before, 1) we didn’t have enough detail about what we wanted to accomplish in the past quarter, and 2) the internal magnet of conflict avoidance kept us from having the type of results accountability conversations we needed to have.

If you want to improve the results you are getting, here are few keys that I am finding are critical to getting better results and increasing momentum.

Continue Reading »