JULY 2021

 Business Tips:

TRACTION (EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System)

Our management is implementing a new system called “Traction”. It will provide direction over the next year through a wonderful system. We look forward to sharing it with you here. We hope you will take the journey with us.

~IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) & LMA (Leading, Managing, Accountability)~

STEP 1: IDENTIFY - Clearly identify the real issue, because the stated problem is rarely the real one. The underlying issue is always a few layers down. Most of the time, the stated problem is a symptom of the real issue, so you must find the root of the matter.

STEP 2: DISCUSS - Most people spend most of their time at this step. They rarely identify the real problem before they start discussing, and thus they rarely solve anything. They just discuss everything ad nauseam, and they think they are being productive. The task of clearly identifying an issue enables you to stay focused on the issue at hand and avoid tangents. Once the issue is clearly identified, don’t be afraid to suggest a solution. Sometimes you don’t have to spend much time in the discussion step, because the issue is so clear and the solution is so obvious.

STEP 3: SOLVE - The solve step is a conclusion or solution that usually becomes an action item for someone to do. The item ends up on the To-Do List, and when the action item is completed, the issue goes away forever.

Wickman, Gino. Traction BenBella Books, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

 

Leading is hard. Its about working on the business and not in it. It is taking the 20,000 ft view instead of living in the forest with the trees. You must get outside of yourself so that you can learn what others know, do what others do, and equip/do/apply things to get better. You are constantly checking, learning, and applying new and changing principles to get better and going to the next level.

Managing is a soft skill. Many treat it as a hard skill and a “boss-like” authoritarian style approach. Managing is really about numbers and people skills. This is working in the business. Our families, work, and friends get on the same page with vision when we drive toward numbers by getting everyone on the bus going the same way. That happens when we are all on the same level with different roles and responsibilities, but we know them, work together, and accomplish things only a team can do. That’s management. We manage ourselves at some point when we “Get it, want it, and have the capacity to do it” (GWC)

 

Personal Tips:

~ Doing the right thing~

One of our 4 core values is doing the right thing. It is the golden rule after all. Respect yourself and others, be accountable, have character, honesty, integrity, compassion, loyalty, and do what you say you are going to do. Matthew 7:12 states - “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” When we do the right thing, we build a reputation and confidence for knowing that we will serve others first which will come in our next edition.

 

Life Skills:

What if you could develop these tools this year?

·         Critical thinking and creative thinking

·         Problem-solving and decision-making

·         Interpersonal skills and communication

·         Assertiveness, equanimity, and self-control

·         Self-awareness and empathy

·         Resilience and coping with emotions and stress.

Learning Humor

What if I tell you that being funny is a skill?

In fact, I consider it so powerful that I decided to include it in this list of skills to learn.

Being funny is almost synonymous with being liked. If you make people laugh, then you’re automatically a center of attraction for all your social groups. This brings with it a lot of benefits including greater influence in your peers and increased social exposure.

Research published in the American Psychological Association shows that humorous speech is comprehended and retained better. So, in easier terms, people can understand you better if you’re funny.

Another study showed that humor increases camaraderie and productivity in work environments.

Now, as a funny guy myself, the best advice I can give you to learn humor is to watch people who are good at it. Notice how they deliver punchlines and focus on their timing and tonality. You may notice that quite a lot of them try to laugh at yourself. Embracing their “weaknesses” is actually a way of showing their confidence in themselves: https://www.lifehack.org/560851/how-laughing-yourself-makes-you-attractive

 

Another great way of learning humor is watching quality sitcoms like F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Seinfeld, Leave it to Beaver, and Andy Griffith. With time, you’ll start to notice yourself cracking similar jokes as the characters in these shows.

 

Notable quotes: They are italicized above.

What do you know about loving God? Why do we need to know about it? What good does it bring us?

Knowing God is to love Him. We can spend time, obey, worship and praise, put God first, serve, and trust in Him. Your world view determines how you see God. God created all and has placed you here on purpose for a specific time and place. Loving God becomes natural when your mind and heart connect with the realization that is not about me. The questions of our origin, why I am here, how to determine right from wrong, and what happens when I die are answered with a quick study.

Something I want you to know:

Learn IDS and LMA, do the right thing, become ethically humorous, and love God.