This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Ty Montague. Ty is co:founder and CEO of New York-based co:collective. co: is a growth accelerator that works with leadership teams to develop purpose-led business strategy and to implement that strategy through innovation in the customer experience. Founded in 2010, the co: team has been fortunate to work with everyone from Google to IBM, MetLife, PUMA, Microsoft, Capital One and many more of the Fortune 500.

Ty has been named one of the 50 most influential creative people of the past 20 years by Creativity Magazine, as well as one of the Top Ten Creative Minds in business by Fast Company magazine. He is the author of the best-selling book, True Story: How To Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business.

And that is where I want to focus with him in this episode – how we can best tell our story and use it to grow our business and ourselves.

https://cocollective.com/

Ty was an unlikely entrepreneur and somewhat of a late bloomer. He started out in New Mexico and didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life. He worked as a raft guide and an auto mechanic before moving to New York where he worked as a bartender.

He met someone across his bar that was in advertising and told him to explore it. He took to it and was good. He ended up working at some of the top firms with a lot of success. About 15 years ago, Ty began to notice the differences between advertising and what companies actually were doing. He also saw a new kind of business, one that had a story and conveyed the story through action and the customer experience than through paid media.

Ty came to call these companies “story-doing” companies rather than “story-telling” companies. As he compiled his list of these companies, he found a new passion for them. This caused him to leave traditional advertising in 2010 and create Co-Collective to help companies define their higher purpose or quest - then help them put their quest to work throughout their business and with customers.

Talk to us about story-telling vs. story-doing…

• The first company Ty noticed that was a story-doer was Starbucks. He noticed they didn’t advertise traditionally. Starbucks built their company on a quest and creating an experience like no other for customers.
• Others included companies like Redbull, Tom’s Shoes, Tesla and others.
• As he studied these companies, he found that they operate in a different way.
• Ty then codified it.

Take us through what you codified…

• Companies need to figure out their quest. People want to do business with companies that share their values – and companies need to define their values.
• A quest is a crystallization of your higher purpose as a business, the generous change you want to see in the world, and the rallying cry that want to use to get all of your employees and customers to follow you to the goal you want to achieve.
• This comes from experience, truth, and the company’s’ DNA.
• The story has multiple parts.
• It has the truth about the protagonist which is the truth about the company’s – the challenges/opportunities they face and secret weapons the company has.
  • It has the about the stage they are on. The truth about the market and landscape that the company’s story plays out on.
  • It has the truth about the participants or customers. Who is the company for and how can the company help the participants get what they need out of the relationship.
  • The truth about the antagonist. Who is the dragon the company is working every day to slay?
  • Once these are defined, you use them to become a story doer.

At the 13 min mark, Ty gives an example of a company using Tesla that has all the elements of the story and what they are…it’s best to listen.

• A good quest should be the answer to the question, “What business are you actually in?”

The protagonist and antagonist are half of the quest, what is the other half?

• It is what you do with a quest once you have it.
• It is important the CEO participates in this and signs off.
• Once you have the question, you determine the actions to make it a reality.
• The business model is defined by the quest.
• The things you do inside your company is defined by the quest.
• It should determine the things you celebrate and reward in your company, so it is real for employees.
• The quest informs more traditional marketing. Your branding, messaging, communications.
• The quest also determines your capabilities.

At the 19 min mark, Ty talks about Apple, it’s quest, and the changes since Steve Jobs’ passing.

• Steve Jobs referred to Apple computers as bicycles for the mind.
• Believe it or not the most efficient form of transportation ever created is the bicycle. It is easy, simple, and efficient. Apple’s quest lives in that.

At the 22:30 mark, Ty goes through a checklist of questions a company needs to answer about its quest.

• Do you have a clear purpose in the world beyond making money?
• Have you done the work to define and align on your quest?
• Does your purpose frame the business that you are in and are you using it as a tool to define your internal culture and customer experience?
• Is your purpose being used to drive and action and engagement with employees and your customers?
• Does your purpose define a clear enemy, so it’s not just what you are for, but what you are against?
• Have you focused on a few transformative actions that bring your purpose to life in the world?
• Are people outside the company engaging?

How does “story-led innovation” fit into this?

• Ty uses the example of Redbull in thinking they are the action sports sports company that is on a quest to help us push out limits and live our lives to the extreme.
• Redbull created their own event Flutag, instead of putting their name on advertising at events and now it has hundreds of thousands of participants a year.
• Your quest will help determine where you innovate and how you differentiate.

What is something an entrepreneur can do today around story-doing that will make a difference for them?

• Ask the first question. What is your purpose outside of making money?
• How is your purpose going to make the world a better place, inspire employees to want to help accomplish it, and inspire customers to be a part of it and tell others about it?

What other trends are you seeing in business, entrepreneurship, and marketing?

• Diversity on your team is something every entrepreneur needs to think about.
• Millennials and Gen Z consumers will pay attention to that.
• Beware the shadow side of being quest led it being a novelty. Authenticity matters. If you are not doing your quest, people will call you out and expose you.

With all you’ve done, what has surprised you most on your entrepreneur journey?

• How much Ty loves it.
• He worked for people into his mid-40’s and it felt like a real risk.
• His only regret is not doing it sooner.
• Make the leap!

Best Quote: Companies need to figure out their quest. People want to do business with companies that share their values – and companies need to define their values.

Ty's Misfit 3:

1. Quit caring about what anyone else thinks. The best most successful people pursue their truth and don’t let people get in their head.
2. Figure out what you would do if you won the lottery and start doing it right now.
3. Try to leave the world better than when you came into it.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I want share with you an abbreviated version of a talk I have been doing called “The 5 Principles to Thrive, Succeed, and Live Your Best Life.” It is resonating greatly right now during the pandemic, but the principles are timeless.

I want to start by asking you and anyone listening a question. And that is, “Do you know what chances of being alive are? Let me explain. The chances of you being alive are the same as if 2.5 million people got together, roughly the population of a city the size of Chicago or San Diego, to play a game of dice, each person with a TRILLION sided dice, and they all roll the dice and come up with the exact same number. I’m going to let that sink for a second.

To put it numerically, your chances of being born are 1 in 4 TRILLION.

There is no way around it – you are a miracle it.

I share this for perspective. No matter what your circumstances, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in your life right now, you are a miracle. The fact that you are here means that trillions of others that could have been will never exist. Literally, one step in the wrong direction on a battlefield in history and you don’t exist. One rock in space hits another a different way – and someone else is in your place.

You are one of the greatest miracles ever created. Cherish this fact.

And that brings me to principle #1: Keep Perspective.

You must keep perspective in your life. No matter what is happening, good or bad, right or wrong – you will do well to keep yourself grounded and maintain perspective.

Having good perspective will not only help you to think better and make better decisions, but it will also give you the ability to find happiness at any point in your life.

There are always things to be grateful for and to live for and into our lives…Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t have tough times in our lives. We all do. Right now, the whole world is turned upside and will be potentially changed forever creating some challenging time.

But when these times come, it is very important for all us to control what can be controlled and let the rest go.

Above all else, there is one thing we can control that makes the most difference in our lives – and that is our mindset and our conditioning. You see. we have two minds. We have a conscious mind that we are “aware” of… It is the mind that you use when you “think” to do something. But, we have another much more powerful mind…the subconscious mind. This is the part of your brain the runs you without you even knowing. Think about it – how much do you “think” to throw a ball, drive a car, brush your teeth. You don’t – you just do it.

The subconscious is the most powerful part of our mind and the conditioning it has received determines much of our thinking, decisions, and how we operate in life. Have you ever asked yourself or wondered, “Where do my thoughts come from?” or ever made a decision where you said afterward, “Why did I do that?”

You did it because it was the automatic response your subconscious was conditioned to….As powerful as it is, it is actually not that smart in that it doesn’t decide if the conditioning it has received is truly the best thing for you or not. It just follows the programming.

This is why a person’s mind can actually be their biggest obstacle to success – because whatever your subconscious is programmed to is where you end up.

The key is to understand this and use this awareness to stop debilitating conditioning and reprogram your mind with the way you want to think and the thoughts you want to have.

And that is Principle #2: Learn to control your mindset and conditioning.

Principle #3 is short and quick. You must balance faith and optimism. The best example of this is a story I’ve shared before about Vice Admiral James Stockdale, who was a PO in Vietnam for about 7 years. I urge you to go read his story and his interview by Jim Collins. Essentially, the biggest lesson he shared is “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose-- with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

You must always balance faith and optimism and come to grips with reality. If you develop the ability to do this, you can make it through anything. Remember, as I started with, you are a miracle and you are here because you were destined to be here. Things are happening as they are supposed to. And you get to choose how you respond and react to them.

And that brings me to Principle #4, which you taught me, Hannah. Our journey to become a family is filled with twists, turns, and miracles. You can go listen to the first Lessons for Hannah for the full story. But it came down to just a few things. One small choice, one tiny checkbox made the difference for us to find you. The adoption agency, at the time only worked with only 1 orphanage directly in all of China And no one in the world new about you but us because of checking that one box and the agency working with that one orphanage. Third, you were mis-diagnosed and should have been considered a “healthy child,” which means we would never have had know about you as it was a different program.

And here is what I learned from our journey. Everything that happened to the point where we became a family, had to happen exactly as it did – Good and Bad. And it taught me to have no regrets.

Aside from the chances of you being alive, everything that had to happen to get you to this point right now where I am speaking to you and you are getting this message had to happen exactly as it did.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t learn from it and given the chance to do things again, wouldn’t apply what I’ve learned. I just don’t regret it.

And that brings me to principle #4 which is really a couple of principles in one, but they fit together.

Everything is a choice. Choose wisely. Do not let yourself be saddled by regret from your choices. Learn from them and become better…

When you do that. When you combine everything I’ve shared in this episode.

• Keeping a good perspective and staying grounded.
• Learning to control your mind and conditioning to utilize it to help you become the best version of yourself and live into your potential.
• Having faith that you will make it, but not discounting the reality that is before you
• And understanding the everything in your life is a choice that YOU make and that those choices have gotten you to where you are and are the experiences you can draw on to make yourself better – not letting your past determine your future

When you put all this to work for yourself, you will find yourself practicing Principle #5.

You will become the best version of yourself – a constant work in progress no doubt, but a light to those around you and someone they can count on to guide the way and prevail no matter what happens

You will be able to give to this world and those around in ways you never dreamed of and make a much bigger impact that you ever thought was possible. You will be able to thrive, succeed, and live your best life.

Principle #5 is be the light you were meant to be in this world. You have so much more in you than you know. Live into it.

I’ll leave you with this quote from the great Jim Rohn:

“The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”

Hannah, and anyone listening I challenge you to use these 5 principles to maximize your potential and stretch yourself to the limit.

I love you,

Daddy

Misfit 3:

1. You are a miracle. You are 1 in 4 Trillion. Cherish every moment and thank God for it.
2. Realize that everything that had to happen to get you to where you are now, good and bad, had to happen exactly as it did. Don’t regret anything but make darn sure you learn from it and become better for yourself and for others. Life is too short to saddle yourself with regret.
3. Be the light you were meant to be in this world. You have so much more in you than you know. Live into it.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Kuhn. Alex is the founder of Born to Lead – a company that helps business leaders grow & lead 6,7,8...even 10 figure businesses.

Their key is helping these leaders discover their SuccessDNA and learning how to build the business model around the leaders unique, innate leadership style & talent.

Alex started his entrepreneur journey as one of the top collegiate swim coaches, turning around 2 programs before the age of 28. This helped lay the foundation for his work and Born to Lead. He went on to create and sell two other companies in the health and digital space, but his passion for helping leaders tap into their best selves is what really fuels him.

And it hasn’t gone un-noticed, Alex has been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and a number of other outlets for his paradigm shifting leadership that has helped more than 200 clients at least double their business growth – and that is one of the main things I want him to share with you in this episode, how he does it.

www.Alex-Kuhn.com

www.Alex-kuhn.com/MisfitEntrepreneur ($500 FREE Gift, Success DNA Program)

Alex has always had a great relationship with his father, and they love to challenge each other. When Alex was 9 years old, his father told Alex he was a “follower” to push him. Becoming a leader became part of his DNA. At the age of 12, he left home to go train with the greatest athletes in the world in swimming – people like Michael Phelps and others.

He never made it to the Olympics and ended his career at age 22. Instead of taking the Fortune 500 job he was offered, he decided to take a swim coach job making essentially nothing at a tiny all girls school in Iowa. After a couple years, he got his first head coaching job becoming one of the youngest college head coaches in the space and turned the team around. He got awarded coach of the year for it.

He moved up the ranks and took his next job in California. After 7 years, he was in a position to take over a top tier collegiate swim program, but he decided not to. The entrepreneur bug had been in the back of his mind for a long time and he could not ignore it any longer. So, her retired from coaching and start his entrepreneur journey.

After a few years, he was still broke and not reaching success. He had a defining moment where he asked the question, “What was it that had made him so successful in swimming and coaching that he had not translated to entrepreneurship.” The answer set him on a path to the success he has now.

What was the answer to the question you asked that set you on your path to success?

• It all came down to leadership
• Finding the specific style of leadership that works best for you and building the business around it was the key.

How does someone break the mold and tap into this for themselves? How do they find their innate leadership style?

• The first thing is that we have to u-train themselves and unlearn a lot of things.
• Look back at your life all the way back to when you were a kid – what was it that came so easy to you? That you could just do well?
• You have to figure out what comes most naturally to you.

SuccessDNA has 4 architypes:

1. Developer – The person who is really good at getting the best out of others. Think of great coaches or mentors.
2. Architect – The person who looks a vision or idea and are able to put it into a sequential plan to get it done and get the right people in place to do it.
3. Motivator – This person has the ability to get other people to say yes and buy in.
4. Visionary – This person is able to anticipate the future. They know where things are going before everyone else.

How does an entrepreneur use their strength to the favor once they know it?

• Once you know your innate talent and archetype, you then ask what is going to work best with it in the following areas
  • Marketing and sales
  • Product and service Team
  • If the leader understands where they are going to work best and focuses there, it makes it easy to fill in the gaps around them for the other areas.

At the 17 min mark, Alex gives some examples of this.

• Don’t fight your natural tendencies.
• Ask how can you build the business around natural tendencies.

“If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.”

What makes a great leader? What do they need to have to be successful?

• Honesty – Are they brutally honest with you and with themselves. Are they willing to be vulnerable?
• Integrity – How much do the believe in the message they are sharing. Can people feel it from them and know they are behind it 100%?
• Courage - They’ve got boldness and guts – courage and are not afraid to step out.

What is the process you take clients through that helps them more than double the size of their business?

• Forget the word process but look for patterns.
• It isn’t a step by step instruction manual.
• First, you have to know your SuccessDNA to setup the business structure to succeed.
• Second is Relevance, Resonance, and Response. At the end of the day, cash needs to be coming in the business.
  • Is the vision relevant to those you want to serve?
  • Does it resonate with them?
  • Is the offer so simple and easy for a client to say yes that the response is very positive?
• Third, you have to have a leverage program/product/service on the back side that is one to many, not one to one from a sales standpoint that can scale.

At the 30 min mark, Alex gives example of how to leverage and create leverageable businesses

Are there any principles that you used to turn around swim programs that are transferrable to entrepreneurship?

• There is one thing missing in the entrepreneur world that the best athletic coaches do well.
• The best coaches fit themselves into the environment and use it to their advantage.
• The way this fits into business is to think about how you deeply connect to those in and around your business, your customer.
• How does you business best fit in with clients, employees, etc.
• Find the differences, highlight them, and use them to build your business around.

Best Quote: If a fish came up to you and ask you if it could fly. You would not tell them it is a hustle or mindset problem. You would tell them they were meant to swim not to fly. You must focus on what you were meant to do, your innate ability.

Alex's Misfit 3:

1. Listen and trust yourself first and foremost
2. Understand what you want to define your relationship with others. What do you want them to walk away knowing about you.
3. Find that one person that will be your rock in your life.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Kevin England. Kevin is the founder and CEO of Vonazon, a highly sought after full-service digital sales, marketing, and media agency that helps businesses expand their reach and impact through well-thought-out and holistic strategic initiatives.

But more than that, Kevin is a top-rated speaker and consummate entrepreneur having started his first technology company when he was 19, which he built into a massive organization and ultimately sold to Gateway computer. At that point, he could have easily retired, but instead he got into whole different businesses leading him to Vonazon.

And that is really what I want to explore with Kevin in this episode, aside from all his insight into entrepreneurship, I want to discuss what it is that keeps successful entrepreneurs going after they’ve essentially “made it.” What is this force that brings us back to the well?

www.Kevin-England.com

www.Vonazon.com

Kevin started at 13. His dad gave him his first computer and told him to figure it out. So, he taught himself how to write code. He started out by writing games. His data realized he had a knack for it and got him involved with some of his business colleagues. Through high school, Kevin wrote programs for businesses and developed applications.

He grew up in surf town and was basically a surfer who could program. Programming brought him into his first business at 19. His goal was to help small-mid sized business grow and implementing technology. The business grew and Kevin became the biggest value-added reseller for Gateway Computer to a point where if Gateway sold a computer in California, one of Kevin’s employees touched it.

Kevin ultimately sold the company to Gateway to help them build out the service side of Gateway and his team were the people in Gateway stores across the nation helping clients.

After cashing out and basically being able to retire, you got back into the game in a difference business, why?

• Kevin could not sit still
• He still had the bug
• He saw a challenge in the tradeshow industry to help prove and get return on investment.
• Vonazon was born to help create a system to create buzz, connections, engagement, and follow up digitally around tradeshows.
• It took off and has now become the company it is today.

How do you see entrepreneurship?

• Besides it taking a lot of time and effort, if you have an idea, passion and drive; that is the basis.
• Entrepreneurs all have the idea, passion, and drive and feel a calling to get out do them.
• These things are innate to us as humans. Everyone has an entrepreneur inside them.
• Great entrepreneurs are inspirational people and can get people to rally behind the idea and get it moving forward.

Talk to us about your philosophies of leading people and building a great business?

• Not every situation is perfect. There are failures and we must learn from them.
• His first company did well, but didn’t have a great culture.
• Creating an amazing culture is critical to success.
• First, you must have goals and core values – and embody them.
• Second, communication and collaboration.
• Third, respect and provide recognition.
• Fourth, empower those that truly embody the culture.
• Fifth, HAVE FUN!
• Kevin goes on the explain more about all 5 and it’s best to just listen…

Move your feet and figure it out…explain that.

• Figure it out comes from the day his dad gave him his first computer. Kevin asked what he was supposed to do with it, his dad gave him some books and said, “You’ll figure it out.”
• So, figure it out became Kevin’s mantra.
• In today’s world, anything you want to learn is at your fingertips.
• Additionally, for 20 years, Kevin was a hockey coach. He would teach the kids to “move their fee” to get results.
• It’s the same in business, you cannot sit back and wait, you must move your feet.

Sports is a great metaphor for life, business, etc., are there any other lessons you’ve taken from sports to help your success?

• Always be prepared. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
• Practice, Practice, Practice, so you are always ready for game time.

Talk to us about pushing someone limits…

• Kevin has always been a risk taker.
• You will have to take risks to succeed, especially as an entrepreneur.
• If you push hard enough and work hard enough, you will find that the risk is more of a calculated risk.

What is your best advice for an entrepreneur just starting out?

• You have to have knowledge in what you are doing.
• You have to have passion for it.
• You have to have drive to keep going and follow through.
• It is an amazing endeavor to build something from the ground up.
• The risk is worth it.

How do you overcome fear?

• Fear slows you down and stops you. It is a demotivator.
• Everyone has an amazing opportunity to create something.
• You have the ability to do it, regardless of what you think.
• The key is to just start and figure it out and do it.

Any other thoughts?

Understand that as an entrepreneur, you will work a lot, but you cannot sacrifice your loved ones and family.

You must create your family time and commitment to spending the time daily with them.

Your loved ones matter more than anything else.

Best Quote: Always be prepared. Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Kevin's Misfit 3:

1. Your employees are your must important asset. Give them the leadership and tools they need to be successful.
2. Embrace your failures by turning them in an opportunity to learn and achieve.
3. All you need is knowledge, passion, and drive to succeed.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Reines. Michelle is the founder of the Badass Leader brand and best-selling book, From Bad to Badass leader. Michelle worked extensively in the corporate world for years racking up accolades, awards, and being featured throughout top publications.

But something was missing. She was making multiple 6-figures per year and crushing it in business, but she wasn’t fulfilled. So, Badass Leader was born. It came out of a desire to create a cool, approachable, edgy, humorous, more relatable leadership development resource for every day front line leaders, middle managers, executive entrepreneurs, and the up and coming generation of leaders.

Michelle put her money where her mouth was. She quit her job, went from making several hundred thousand dollars a year to making $25k a year and creating Badass Leadership. And nowadays, Michelle and Badass Leadership are one of the most sought after leadership training groups in the business. So, I asked her to come the show and teach you how to be a Badass Leader. ​

www.BadassLeader.com

Michelle’s exodus from corporate America stemmed from a tragedy. At 49 years old, her mom passed away. It was a shock. Her mother had a sudden heart attack while she slept with no red flags, being healthy, etc. When Michelle turned 47, she got to thinking – what if I only have 2 years left? She had discovered that she had some of the same risk factors as her mother.

She embraced the mindset of living like you were dying. She stepped away from corporate America in 2011 to fulfill a dream to help leaders. She had struggled learning how to lead and learning to be effective as leader before figuring it out and having get success and knew she could help others succeed faster and easier.

In her first year, she made just under $25k and was absolutely thrilled and knew she had something. She succeeded wildly over the next couple years and then decided to take it to a new level with the Badass Leader brand. She started Badass to bridge a training gap that existed and provide and easier to understand and implement leadership structure for success.

What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?

• Fear. In particular for Michelle, it was disqualifying herself (I’m not ready yet or I’m not good enough).
• Michelle really took hold of the phrase, “If it is to be, it is up to me” and took it to heart, embodying it.
• Don’t shoot yourself down before you’ve given yourself a shot.
• Say yes and figure out how.
• Look at the fear as excitement and opportunity – let it fuel you and give you momentum.
• All possibility lies in living outside your comfort zone.

What is a Badass Leader?

• Someone who is fearless and willing to live outside their comfort zone, focused on people over performance.
• They really get that it has everything to do with how we care for us.
• To get the performance you seek, you must love, develop, and support your people as a leader to become their absolute best.

What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?

• There is a difference between managing and leading.
• Managers micromanage and are afraid to show weakness – thus are insecure and rely on ego.
• It’s not just about performance. It is about consistent results by helping people reach their great.
• It is about creating an environment for people where they want to “play their ass off for you and the team.”

Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?

1. Don’t be an ass. You cannot be oblivious. Learn what is working and not working and what you need to do differently. Know thyself.
2. Stop, Drop, Take a Selfie. You must become self-aware. You need to get clarity on how to best communicate and how others need to communicate with you. Everything DISC is one of the best.
3. Let’s Talk About Trust. Trust is the foundation on which every Badass team is built. You simply cannot succeed without trust in your team and then of you.
4. Put Your People First. Make sure they know and see you put them first. Prioritize people over performance. Performance is an outcome from great leadership.
5. Be an Epic Coach. Put your people first and coach them to accelerate their success. Work at becoming a good coach for them.
6. Building a Badass Team. Once you are an epic coach and leveraging the other lessons, you can build a Badass team. Each lesson builds on top of the other.
7. Make Sure People Are Evolving. This when you stretch yourself and your team our of your comfort zones and live into their potential.
8. Suck it Up Buttercup. This is focused on the leader. Stuff is going to happen. Problems are going to arise – big ones. You are in the spotlight and people are watching you. It’s your job to navigate through the problems and challenges and shy away from them. Get comfortable with “the suck.”
9. Don’t Be a Kiss-Ass. Don’t fall prey to sucking up and kissing ass. Learn how to be respectfully sugar-fee. You have to communicate effectively to your leaders and without being manipulative or politicking.
10. Be a Groupie. Love, love, love your team. Be a groupie for them – not yourself. As a leader, their success is your success.
11. Expand Your Tribe. Learn from others that are succeeding and share and cross-pollinate with your peers. It will accelerate your success.
12. Love Somebody Like You. There is nothing more important than health and your time with those you love. Take care of yourself and make sure to prioritize those you love.

Anything else to share?

• Be you and do you.
• Don’t sacrifice who you are to succeed.
• Stay true to yourself.
• Trust your instincts.

Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."

Michelle's Misfit 3:

1. Get to know your selfie. Use DISC or a similar type assessment.
2. Focus on developing your epic coaching skills.Become an architect of people.
3. Expand your tribe and do it now. Expand peer relationships, get mentors, etc.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michelle Reines. Michelle is the founder of the Badass Leader brand and best-selling book, From Bad to Badass leader. Michelle worked extensively in the corporate world for years racking up accolades, awards, and being featured throughout top publications.

But something was missing. She was making multiple 6-figures per year and crushing it in business, but she wasn’t fulfilled. So, Badass Leader was born. It came out of a desire to create a cool, approachable, edgy, humorous, more relatable leadership development resource for every day front line leaders, middle managers, executive entrepreneurs, and the up and coming generation of leaders.

Michelle put her money where her mouth was. She quit her job, went from making several hundred thousand dollars a year to making $25k a year and creating Badass Leadership. And nowadays, Michelle and Badass Leadership are one of the most sought after leadership training groups in the business. So, I asked her to come the show and teach you how to be a Badass Leader. ​

www.BadassLeader.com

Michelle’s exodus from corporate America stemmed from a tragedy. At 49 years old, her mom passed away. It was a shock. Her mother had a sudden heart attack while she slept with no red flags, being healthy, etc. When Michelle turned 47, she got to thinking – what if I only have 2 years left? She had discovered that she had some of the same risk factors as her mother.

She embraced the mindset of living like you were dying. She stepped away from corporate America in 2011 to fulfill a dream to help leaders. She had struggled learning how to lead and learning to be effective as leader before figuring it out and having get success and knew she could help others succeed faster and easier.

In her first year, she made just under $25k and was absolutely thrilled and knew she had something. She succeeded wildly over the next couple years and then decided to take it to a new level with the Badass Leader brand. She started Badass to bridge a training gap that existed and provide and easier to understand and implement leadership structure for success.

What was the hardest part of transitioning from employee to entrepreneur and what advice would you give others looking to do that same?

• Fear. In particular for Michelle, it was disqualifying herself (I’m not ready yet or I’m not good enough).
• Michelle really took hold of the phrase, “If it is to be, it is up to me” and took it to heart, embodying it.
• Don’t shoot yourself down before you’ve given yourself a shot.
• Say yes and figure out how.
• Look at the fear as excitement and opportunity – let it fuel you and give you momentum.
• All possibility lies in living outside your comfort zone.

What is a Badass Leader?

• Someone who is fearless and willing to live outside their comfort zone, focused on people over performance.
• They really get that it has everything to do with how we care for us.
• To get the performance you seek, you must love, develop, and support your people as a leader to become their absolute best.

What is the difference between being in a position of leadership and being an actual leader?

• There is a difference between managing and leading.
• Managers micromanage and are afraid to show weakness – thus are insecure and rely on ego.
• It’s not just about performance. It is about consistent results by helping people reach their great.
• It is about creating an environment for people where they want to “play their ass off for you and the team.”

Tell us about the 12 principles. Can we go through each one of them and why it matters and how we can institute them?

1. Don’t be an ass. You cannot be oblivious. Learn what is working and not working and what you need to do differently. Know thyself.
2. Stop, Drop, Take a Selfie. You must become self-aware. You need to get clarity on how to best communicate and how others need to communicate with you. Everything DISC is one of the best.
3. Let’s Talk About Trust. Trust is the foundation on which every Badass team is built. You simply cannot succeed without trust in your team and then of you.
4. Put Your People First. Make sure they know and see you put them first. Prioritize people over performance. Performance is an outcome from great leadership.
5. Be an Epic Coach. Put your people first and coach them to accelerate their success. Work at becoming a good coach for them.
6. Building a Badass Team. Once you are an epic coach and leveraging the other lessons, you can build a Badass team. Each lesson builds on top of the other.
7. Make Sure People Are Evolving. This when you stretch yourself and your team our of your comfort zones and live into their potential.
8. Suck it Up Buttercup. This is focused on the leader. Stuff is going to happen. Problems are going to arise – big ones. You are in the spotlight and people are watching you. It’s your job to navigate through the problems and challenges and shy away from them. Get comfortable with “the suck.”
9. Don’t Be a Kiss-Ass. Don’t fall prey to sucking up and kissing ass. Learn how to be respectfully sugar-fee. You have to communicate effectively to your leaders and without being manipulative or politicking.
10. Be a Groupie. Love, love, love your team. Be a groupie for them – not yourself. As a leader, their success is your success.
11. Expand Your Tribe. Learn from others that are succeeding and share and cross-pollinate with your peers. It will accelerate your success.
12. Love Somebody Like You. There is nothing more important than health and your time with those you love. Take care of yourself and make sure to prioritize those you love.

Anything else to share?

• Be you and do you.
• Don’t sacrifice who you are to succeed.
• Stay true to yourself.
• Trust your instincts.

Best Quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me..."

Michelle's Misfit 3:

1. Get to know your selfie. Use DISC or a similar type assessment.
2. Focus on developing your epic coaching skills.Become an architect of people.
3. Expand your tribe and do it now. Expand peer relationships, get mentors, etc.

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5 Minute Journal:

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jim Stoval. Jim is an icon. He’s shared the stage with everyone from Zig Ziglar to Tony Robbins. He’s the bestselling author of 30 books including The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life and The Lamp which have been made into major motion pictures.

Jim has been a national champion Olympic weightlifter, the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought after author and platform speaker. Steve Forbes said “Jim Stovall is one of the most extraordinary men of our era.”

You see, Jim is blind and he has shown through his life and work that no matter who you are or your situation, you can accomplish anything. In fact, for his work in making television accessible to our nation’s 13 million blind and visually impaired people, The President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa as recipients of this honor.

It's truly an honor to have him on and I can’t wait to have him share his wisdom with you in this episode. ​

www.JimStoval.com

Jim was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and still makes it his home. His businesses stretch across the world. He grew up with one ambition – to be an All-American football player and play in the NFL. He had the size and speed to do it and was heavily recruited and scouted. As such, he never cared about school or anything. He didn’t have a plan B.

Then one year, during a routine physical, he was diagnosed with a condition that would cause him to lose his sight. His dream to play in the NFL died and he was confronted with this massive problem that was a blessing in disguise.

Of all that you’ve done and learned on your journey, what have you found that truly matters?

• Jim has over 10 million copies of his books in print and the movies off them have grossed over $100 million.
• The story of the book and subsequent, the Ultimate Gift is what truly matters.
• The secret of life is to find our gift and then we achieve meaning when we share it and give it away.
• We achieve meaning when we truly serve humanity with that gift.
• So many people play the wrong game.
• You can go from world class to mediocre by playing the wrong game.

How does someone go about finding their gift or confirming they have found it?

• You must grow, advance and develop – otherwise, you are choosing only with the options you have currently.
• You start with what comes easy to you that everyone else seems to think is hard.
• You have to find what you enjoy doing and then find meaning with it and how it can matter in a larger way.
• And you need to be able to profit in it.
• You don’t “make money.” You “earn it.” And you earn money by creating value.
• Ask how you can serve more people and create more value – the money will follow if you can do that.

How do you see money?

• The big lie – If I have enough money, I wouldn’t have any more problems.
• Money doesn’t solve your problems; it makes you more of whatever you are.
• Valuables without values is like a loaded gun. Get and instill the right values before your get the money.
• Money is not a goal. It is a tool.
• We don’t want money, we want the things money will buy and we need to know what those are.
• Otherwise, we get caught up in the “disease of more,” where are never satisfied and “more” never comes.
• The disease of more is an empty pursuit.

At the 16 min mark, Jim talks about losing his sight and about changing your life by changing your mind…

• Jim made a bargain with God and challenged God.
• It all happened at a state fair. He saw an exhibition of weightlifting.
• And then went to a concert at fair without even looking who was playing.
• And then the announcer came out and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Ray Charles”
• In that moment, Jim found his message in the magic of seeing Ray Charles and realizing a blind guy could do something.
• That was the beginning and what put him on his path to be an Olympic weightlifter, his businesses, etc.

What have you learned about how to develop and winning and succeeding mindset?

• The magic words “Somebody ought to do something…”
• Those words are an idea.
• The world is weighting for a great idea and we trip over them multiple times a day.
• The have a great business, you need idea of “somebody ought to do something” and then ask, how can I help other people avoid that problem or issue or improve this situation for them.
• Care about others and solve their problems. It’s about them and not you. That is how you succeed.

What have you learned from your relationship with Steve Forbes?

• They met after Jim was chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year.
• Steve is a 3rd generation and handed the business built by his father and grandfather.
• He had a choice of growing it and taking to the next level or sitting on it. He did the former and has built it into the powerhouse it is today.
• It is different to take something successful and grow it and keep it successful, than to start from nothing and grow something. They are two different skill sets.

You’ve written 40 books, is there a favorite? If so why?

• The best book is Keeper of the Flame.
• The best-seller is the Ultimate Gift.
• They are all special in their own way, but the Ultimate Gift is in a league by itself. ​

What is Ultimate Productivity?

• Productivity is a matter of getting the most of what you put into something.
• It involves intensity and efficiency.
• It came out of a conversation with Steve Forbes.
• The biggest source of productivity knowledge came from John Wooden, who Jim spoke with weekly until his death.
• It comes down to how we motivate, communicate, and how we act.
• It is not about time; it is about results.
• The things you measure are the things that will move.
• Activity is not productivity. Don’t confuse them.
• The one commodity we don’t get any more of in life is time. Every day you should be doing something to get closer to your goal.
• The time to get in the game is today.

Jim and I continue a discussion on this and it’s best to listen at around the 32 min mark.

What would be your advice a young entrepreneur to succeed, not just in the beginning, but into the future?

• First, they need to understand what it is to be an entrepreneur.
• The name is overused.
• Entrepreneurs are the ones who do everything in our society. Everyone who is employed works for an entrepreneur.
• Everything invented, built, etc. started in the mind of an entrepreneur.
• Entrepreneurship is not for those that can be talked out of it.
• You have to be so committed and have deep passion for it.
• You must also realize that you have a lot of bosses as an entrepreneur – your customers are your boss and can fire you by voting with their dollars.
• Next, you must have serious delayed gratification. There are a lot of rules that have to be learned.
• Self-education is critical to succeed as you competing against the best.

Best Quote: You don’t “make money.” You “earn it.” And you earn money by creating value. The more value you create, the more you earn.

Jim's Misfit 3:

1. The biggest dream, you’ve ever had in your life is alive in you and well. The big scary dreams are real and hell is standing before your maker understanding what you could have done if you had gone after the dream that was inside of you. The question is not “can we,” but “will we.”
2. You will be the same person you are today 5 years from except for the books you read and the people you meet.
3. You change your life when you change your mind. Guard your mind and the input into it.

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Hello Misfit Nation! Welcome to another edition of "Lessons for Hannah!" In November of 2016, we introduced a new format that we are putting alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.” Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life….even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of "Lessons for Hannah," I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

"Lessons for Hannah" are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I have learned which I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This week’s Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, ​

I want to talk to you about what makes a great friendship. We live in a time in which true friendships are rare. It’s seems that in the age of social media, you can be friends with someone one minute and then it disappears the next with one tweet, post, or view that is not the same. Things like social media and the instant world have made people more tribal and kept them from growing beyond a certain way of thinking or viewpoint and stifled being open and tolerant of others views. And in this world, true friendships become more and more rare.

You see, to have and build a true, life lasting friendship it takes work, commitment, a willingness to set aside each other’s faults and things you disagree with, and love. When I say love, I am not talking about romantic love, but a love and caring for your fellow man. An understand that everyone is different and won’t believe the same things – and that is OK. In fact, that is what makes life and friendship great. It saddens me that people don’t realize that they probably agree on 80% of more of things with others but let 1 or 2 differences keep them from having a friendship.

A great friendship has several elements at its core, and I want to go through them.

First, a great friendship has a deep commitment. A commitment to one another that you will care. A commitment that you can count on each other when in need. And a deep commitment to look out for each other and help each other – especially in the darkest times.

Second, a great friendship is built on trust. Trust that the other person will be honest and be there. Trust that you will not betray one another. And trust that, even in disagreement, the friendship will stand.

Third, a great friendship takes effort. In our world, it is very easy to neglect the effort part of friendship. In order to maintain a lasting friendship, you must make an effort to stay in touch, communicate regularly, and be there. I’m not talking about sending an email or a message through a social platform. I’m talking about taking time to get on the phone and have a great conversation. Scheduling time together, even if it is just a coffee. And showing genuine interest and care for the relationship, nurturing it over time.

And sometimes, it takes more effort from one side than the other. Sometimes, to be a great friend, you have to put in more of the work and effort to keep the friendship going. Sometimes, you have to speak hard truth and even act to help each other against what one may want. Think about someone who is an addict, whose true friends and family pull out all the stops to help them – even when they don’t think they need help.

True friends are always revealed in the darkest times. They will be there when you need them most. And in today’s world, as polarized as it is, true friends will remain friends even when they don’t disagree on things or have opposing views – because they know they AGREE on a hell of a lot more than they disagree on. They are not fickle.

For example, a true friend will not disown you for something like supporting a political candidate that they don’t. As we are in an election season, it’s amazing to see this happening all over the place and on places like social media – where people have been “friends” for years, but just because they disagree on a candidate, they are now sworn enemies. They were never friends to begin with.

Hannah, you will have friends come and go throughout your life, but there will be a few truly lasting friendships that you will find along the way. Cherish them. Commit to them. Trust in them. Put effort into them. These relationships are what make life so wonderful and exciting. Remember, in the end, all the money, possessions, and accolades mean nothing if you do not have those you truly love to enjoy and celebrate them with. Here’s to true, long-lasting friendships! ​

I love you,

Daddy

Best Quote: To have and build a true, life lasting friendship it takes work, commitment, a willingness to set aside each other’s faults and things you disagree with, and love.

Misfit 3:

1. True friendships are rare.
2. True friends are revealed in the darkest times.
3. The 3 elements of a great friendship are deep commitment, trust, and effort.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeff Dudan. Where to start with Jeff? Jeff is the founder of a massive franchise, Advantaclean which he started in 1994, built it to over 240 locations in 37 states and exited just last year. He then went on to start Dudan Partners, a company that partners with clients to help them start new franchise businesses, grow existing ones, and invest in potential opportunities.

He is also a former D1 college football player, was featured on CBS’s Undercover Boss, a Forbes Contributor, speaker, consultant, and tireless advocate and supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

And if that wasn’t enough, he went out and wrote a best-seller called Discernment, The Business Athlete’s Regimen for A Great Life Through Better Decisions and this is the major area I want to focus with him today – how our daily decisions as entrepreneurs make such an impact on us, not only now, but for our future. So, let’s jump in.

www.JeffDudan.com

Jeff has always been a Misfit. He grew up in Chicago and was a great athlete. He originally was basketball star, but found football and loved it. He walked on at University of Northern Iowa, but was a terrible student and after 1 year, could not make the grades. He went to a Junior College, got his grades up and went to play ball at Appalachian State. When he got there, he realized that he was interested in learning and there was a path for him. He started a painting business painting student housing to pay for college and by the time he graduated, it was doing so well, he didn’t need a job. Then, in 1992, a friend from south Florida called and asked if he would come down and work with a restoration company to help get things rebuilt.

He originally thought it would be 3 weeks, but it ended up being 3 years. He cut his teeth in the restoration business and ended partnered with a few others to create the business that would become Advantaclean in 1994. Over the next 10 years, they built out the business with locations across the south. Along the way, Jeff bought his partners. It was in 2005 that he was coming back from being on the road for Hurricane Katrina and drove through the night to make it to his son’s football game and had a realization that he could not continue being away and doing things like he was.

He realized that “Our true values are what we tolerate and must have.” He knew that building this business further would require him to be constantly on the road, so he decided to franchise. In 2005-2008, he sold all of the locations he currently owned as franchises and then in 2009, they launched to market and built it to over 200 locations in 37 states. Then in 2018, he sold the business in its entirety.

What are your values now in business and life?

• Your values are how you operate.
• Then need to be an authentic reflection of your true self and believes.
• Values are choosing.
• You want diversity in your business, but you don’t want diversity in your values.
• Your vision is the dream, then your mission is how you will do it, your values are your choosing – how you decide how you operate, hire, etc.
• Each business needs a value set that works for that business that everyone understands throughout the organization and honors them.
• There is not one set of values. There are personal ones and business ones, but they should and will overlap.

Define Discernment and explain why it is so important to understand…

• At the core – Discernment is a principled, effective, experience informed process for making decisions.
• There is never a 100% success rate with decisions.
• It is all about probabilities and the quality of the good decisions over time can be meteoric on your results.
• If you are business athlete meaning your are going to show up and put the work, you need to define the things you need to sturdy and continually refine to become a better athlete. Decision making is one of the big things.

Is there a process for how to make good decisions that consistently work?

• The first step is knowing your values and using them to aid in your decision making.
• Jeff looks at things like a personal balance sheet and at the 14:30 mark talks about this in detail. It’s best to listen.
• Everything you do as a leader creates a positive or a negative. They both go on your “balance sheet.”
• You have to control your inputs – the things that go in between your ears and through your eyes because they affect your outputs. Make sure your inputs are helping be the best in your outputs.

At the 18 min mark, Jeff talks discusses how he learned to understand the power of his mind and how to shape his thoughts.

• Sports and visualization helped him early on.
• Our brains like to take everything and put it into a pattern and routine.
• Changing these routines take a lot of brain power vs. just the automatic patterns of the subconscious.
• Be intentional about the changes you need to make is hard and if you don’t stick at it, you will revert back to the old pattern.
• Understanding that and looking for these patterns in our lives is critical to changing and growing.

How do we know we are making a good decision and are on the right track?

• You don’t. You just don’t.
• It can take a while to see if a decision was really good.
• We do the best we can and cannot criticize ourselves for taking action based on the best information available.
• People are the biggest variation. They are the X-factor. People create all the variation in our life and this where your gut, intuition, listening skills, and discernment comes in to help make the best decision.

Any daily habits people can practice to make the best decisions?

• Reading and personal growth helps you not only learn, but see others and how they handle problems/challenges and get inside an author’s head is a great way to develop yourself.
• Push yourself to be uncomfortable and get different perspectives. Don’t be afraid to put yourself in uncomfortable situations.
• You have to get out on the edge. If you aren’t, you are just taking up space.

What is advice your can give a 1st time franchise to help them be successful?

• No genius attacks for 12 months. Follow the plan.
• Franchises have a track record of success – you change and adapt to the model, don’t try to adapt it to you.
• One of the best reasons to franchise is to learn to be an entrepreneur with guardrails. Franchises allow you to put your entrepreneur toes in the water and learn following a system that is already developed and proven vs. having to do it on your own.
• Talk to a franchise consultant to help you if you needed.
• Make sure to leverage your passions into a business you would be proud to show up everyday.

Advice for someone thinking about franchising their business?

Do your homework.

• Franchise is a completely different business.
• It can be costly to get off the ground.
• You have to be incredibly responsible with the opportunity you are giving to people.
• At the end of the day, it is a people business. Your customers are now your franchisors and you need to develop them and help them to be successful.
• Franchise is also inverse to the general economy. When unemployment is up, more franchises are sold because people are not as secure in a job and look for something else.
• Crises accelerate trends. Franchise businesses during Covid have survived at much better rates than small businesses.

What are the most important things you learned in your sports career that translated well to entrepreneurship?

• Grit. How to persist. The ability to keep going and make it.
• Seek coaching. You’ll never push yourself as far as a coach will push you.
• Keep things simple. Simple metrics that can be measured make all the difference. 80/20 Rule.

Anything else to share?

• Entrepreneurship is something that everyone should think about and we are coming into a renaissance for it.
• Entrepreneurship will rebuild the middle class and grow it even larger.
• When it comes down to it, if you can’t figure out a good, solid reason to say know to entrepreneurship, then say “yes.”

Best Quote: Discernment is a principled, effective, experience informed process for making decisions...

Jeff's Misfit 3:

1. Half of life is showing up. Nothing great happens until you show up. How you show up matters, but just showing up is the first step.
2. You can make a decision today and have a different life tomorrow. It doesn’t happen overnight, but changes start to happen and the dream happens faster than you think.
3. The person who has the most to do with what happens to you is you. We are not victims unless we choose to be. There is nothing that can hold us back except us.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Bill Flynn. Bill has over 30 years of experience working for and advising hundreds of companies, especially startups. After working for ten different high-tech startups in different market segments such as speech recognition, e-commerce, and affiliate marketing where he was a VP of Sales eight times, twice a CMO and once a GM of a division of a $100MM IT services company, he pivoted to becoming a business growth coach. He had five successful outcomes, two IPOs, and seven acquisitions, including a turnaround during the 2008 financial crisis.

Bill is the author of Further Faster, The Vital Few Steps That Take the Guesswork out of Growth. And he embodies them, everywhere he’s gone, he has been the key ingredient in the growth of the business. It’s probably, because he says, “Most business do just about everything wrong.” They do decision making wrong, hiring wrong, teams wrong, strategy wrong, and so on. In fact, a lot of it boils down to how we read and interpret people, which Bill has a gift for.

So, I brought him on the show to share his wisdom and lessons with you to help you in your life and business.

www.CatalystGrowthAdvisors.com

Bill started out in high tech through some family connections and spent a lot of time in startups, including the company who created Siri. He did 10 startups over 5 years including two that went public at well over a billion valuation. He was 5 for 10 in startups through the mid 2000’s and then got into coaching because he was forced to turn a failing company he was involved in around. He had to learn to lead and coach others to be leaders and succeed.

He put together his own system of running the business that worked well and became basis for him to coach other business owners on how to build a business. He really fell in love with helping business owners “figure it out” by working with leadership teams and take the guesswork out of growth.

What is neuro-leadership and why it is important?

• It is how to lead with brain in mind.
• Our brains have biases and you have to understand that we are all a little crazy.
• We are emotional, irrational, and we don’t also act in rational ways.
• As a leader, you must understand how the brain works, learns, takes feedback, etc. so you can coach through the biases that exist.

At the 10:30 mark, Bill talks about using this for sales and how the brain makes buying decisions – and how knowing this made him the top sales person and create top sales teams wherever he’s gone.

What are some of the basics people need to know and understand to start practicing neuroleadership?

• The brain is really a prediction engine as a way to survive. It must predict the future to keep itself safe and survive.
• Over 10’s of thousands of years, the brain has created short cuts to automatically discern if it is moving toward reward or away from threat.
• The brain has a 2x bias toward threat and is geared toward seeking reward.

At the 13 min mark, Bill gives a good example of reward vs. threat in the workplace and how it can impact people and leaders.

The model Bill uses is SCARF.

• Status
• Certainty
• Autonomy
• Relatedness
• Fairness
• 5x every second, our brain is looking out and also listening to the body perceiving threats and rewards.

Bill’s best tip for sales success:

• When trying to persuade or influence, before meeting them, sit down and identify the “Bully with the juice.”
• This person is the one that has the most influence in the room and they are the one you want to key on.
• As them what the best outcome from the meeting can be? Write it down, then acknowledge any others and get their feedback.
• Repeat back what they say they say and make sure it is captured right.
• Then tailor your presentation around what they told you – their ideas.
• Come back to it at the end and go down the list to make sure you covered everything they listed and offer any other feedback.
• In the end, it is very hard for people to say no to their own ideas.
• It is about them and not your product.

Thoughts on building a sales team/organization?

• As a sales manager, you have 3 things you need to do:
• Hiring for these 3 things:
  • Hire the best salesperson for the environment that you are in.
  • They need to be super curious and have an entrepreneurial drive.
  • They have to be compassionate = empathy with a bias to action
• Train, train, train.
• Learn how to build capacity.

Further Faster, Vital Steps to Growth…what should we know?

• Focus on team vs. individual or culture. The team is where everything happens. Teach your people to be good team leaders.
• You must build a set of systems to run your business. Strategy and execution are connected.
• Cash should be your primary growth metric. The business lives on cash, not “revenue.” Growth sucks cash and it is your lifeblood.

What is one thing every entrepreneur should do every day to help their success?

• There are 2 types of entrepreneurs, the startup founder and those that want to build and grow something.
• As a startup founder, do not fall in love with the idea, fall in love with the problem. Keep working at how to best solve the problem.
• For the entrepreneur that is growing and building – go back and revisit every key decision you made in the startup phase and make sure that is still true. Most often they are not. Going from $1 million to $50, $10, or $20 million require completely different skill sets. Make sure to keep your identity and don’t violate it.

“A plan is about doing, a strategy is about thinking,” what do you mean by that?

• The definition of strategy is different across the board for most business owners – but it should not be. Strategy is about choice.
• Strategy is figuring out the unique market position you want to have that helps you to have a predictable, profitable customer.
• You have to craft that, but remember, it about choice – and many times, it is not choosing what to do, but what not to do. Southwest Airlines is a good example of this.

Final thoughts?

If you are entrepreneur and struggling, it’s not your fault. We’ve never been taught to do this.

Running a company is a unique thing that you have to get better at by learning and growing over time.

Learn the science behind building a great company.

Best Quote: Few things matter in business or life, but those that do, matter tremendously...

Bill's Misfit 3:

1. There is a huge gap between what science knows and business does. A survey is not a study, a study is not research, and research is not science. Science is when people look at problem objectively and experiment and solve the problem. The good news is that for entrepreneurs, many have already done this. Go self-educate.
2. Few things truly matter in business or life. But, those that do, matter tremendously. Relentlessly focus on those things.
3. Most businesses struggle on force of will, luck, effort, and timing. Don’t do that. Figure out how to fire yourself, so you spend more and more time thinking about how to create the future of your business and yourself.

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