← Business, Bourbon & Cigars
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Welcome to Business Bourbon and Cigars, the podcast for ambitious leaders who want a backstage pass to the top. Every episode, we're going to sit down with ultra successful industry leaders who have a proven track record and a deep understanding of how to grow a business. And we're going to learn the secrets and strategies that took them to the top. On this show, you'll gain access to exclusive insights and resources that'll give you what you need to achieve your most audacious goals. And of course, we may even sip on some fine bourbon and light up one of our favorite cigars while we chat. My name is Scott Joseph. I'm your host and this is Business Bourbon and Cigars. You know, most leaders think innovation's about chasing shiny new ideas. It's not real innovative leadership is about willing to burn down the old playbook, even if you're the one who wrote it. The leaders who transform industries aren't the ones clinging to what made them successful in the past. They're the ones who disrupt themselves before someone else does. You need to ask yourself, are you leading change? Are you waiting until it's forced on you? In today's episode, I'm going to break down exactly how to lead with innovation and navigate a big transformation without losing your team, your clients, your sanity. I'm Scott Joseph, host of Business Bourbon and Cigars. I've been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and I've watched entire industries rise, fall, you know, based on one thing, and that's their ability to adapt inside me plus Ultra and our at our retreats, I've seen leaders spot a shift before anyone else and then they turn it into their biggest advantage. So here's where we're going with this. First, I'm going to share a story from the auto industry that in my opinion, perfectly shows what happens when you fight change instead of leading it. Then we're going to break down how you can spot those market shifts before everybody else and exactly what to do so your business isn't the one scrambling to catch up. And then finally, I'm going to give you the tools to bring your team with you. Not just do the strategy side of change, but through the emotional side. And that's where most leaders drop the ball. You know, my entrepreneur journey started in the automotive industry when there was no Internet. And as it started taking off with the general public and caught on were a lot of industries that jumped on right away. Others fought it for decades. Car dealerships, they made a lot of money doing things the same way the way they've always done them. And if you wanted to buy a car, you drove from lot to lots of money, you know, you didn't know what was there until you got there. You didn't know the price until you started negotiating with a salesperson. Lord help you if you wanted to compare. You know, that just meant more driving, more negotiating, and wasting more time. Then comes the, you know, the Internet. And now you had people sitting on their couch and they were able to research every make, model, all the trimming. You know, they could compare their prices, read reviews, check safety ratings, all without stepping foot in a store. And you know what? They loved it. But early on, you know, there were a lot of dealers who resisted it. And I saw this firsthand. They would say things like, why put prices online? Why give people all this information? Yeah, we won't be able to hold our gross profit, will lose control of the sales process. They didn't realize the process had already changed. Consumers had already adapted. And once they experienced that convenience and that control, they weren't going back. The dealers who embrace this market force early, they gain trust and market share. And the ones who fought it, no, they're the ones who had to scramble catching up. And once you lose market share, it's hard to get it back. Today, every dealer has accepted the fact that the Internet's not going away and that most people, they're going to start that buying process online. And you know what, They've adapted and they're doing very well. But new competition's now entering the market with companies like CarMax and Carvana, and they're trying to make it even easier for car buyers. So I want to fast forward to an automotive conference that I was at a few weeks ago. Literally, it was like, here we go again. Dealer after dealers on stage saying, you know, consumers want to talk to a local dealer in their community, that they prefer that over buying online or working with a company like Carvana. It's almost as if they say it enough, it'll become true, you know, and as they're saying this, I'm thinking to myself, this is bullshit. Consumers may say that now, but here's the truth. You know, they don't see. They just don't see online retailing as more convenient or more frictionless yet. So if I'm buying a car and I tell a dealer, you know, I'd rather just work with you directly, it's because I know at some point I'm going to hit a wall online and I need a human anyway. So I just want to start There I want to avoid all the steps in between. That's not love for the old way. That's just the old way. Feeling easier right now and the moment online becomes easier and faster. That answer flips forever. I want to give you three steps that are going to transform your business fast. So the first one, you gotta be able to spot the shifts early and you have to act before you have to act. By the time the pain is obvious, you've already lost ground. You need to be looking for what's about to happen and you gotta get good at that. And here's how you can lead your company to do this. Stay with me. Somebody in your company has to have the responsibility for tracking customer behavior shifts, you know, competitor moves, all the emerging technologies. You should track the questions customers are asking. You know, where they're spending their time. Are there any new objections that have started coming up and what other type of feedback you know about what felt slow or frustrating to them? Then start running the if we started today exercise quarterly. Ask yourself, if we launched in today's market, what would we do differently? Then test one of those ideas immediately. Put market intelligence on your meeting agenda. Spend 10 minutes every leadership meeting on what's changing out there. Are you tired of hitting roadblocks in your business? Maybe you're feeling, you know, overwhelmed by the challenges that never seem to end. No matter how hard you push. It feels like you're just stuck in the same place. You trying to break through, but you never quite get there. I want you to imagine if you had the support of a community of top tier business leaders who understand your struggles because they've all been there. More importantly, they're ready to help you overcome them. The Business Bourbon and Cigars Leadership Retreat. It's exactly what you need. This is not just a typical business event. It's where visionary entrepreneurs, they come together to tackle their biggest obstacles, learn innovative strategies. They're there to build meaningful relationships that can propel their businesses forward. You're going to leave with actionable insights and a network of powerful connections that are ready to take your leadership to a new height. But here's the thing. The unexpected benefit that you're going to get from attending this retreat is really the deep, genuine relationships that you're going to build with other like minded entrepreneurs. The way our mastermind process works at these events means that you're not just learning strategies and solving challenges. You're actively helping others in the group while receiving much more in return. And it's this collaborative environment that really fosters Powerful connections and the relationships built here tend to be stronger and they form faster than you ever might expect. These aren't just of kind contacts or acquaintances. They're true allies who are going to continue to support you long after this event ends. And yes, we're focusing hard on business growth, but let's not forget the Business Bourbon at Cigars Leadership Retreat. It's also a lot of fun. So this community, it's real, it's welcoming, and it's built for entrepreneurs who want to level up, learn and grow together. You're going to walk away not only with a game plan for your business, but also a group of genuine, high caliber relationships that are going to take your business even further than anything you've ever imagined. So I've got a special offer for you today. The first five people that are watching or listening to this episode are going to receive 50% off their ticket to attend the next retreat. Don't miss out. This opportunity is limited. Spots always fill up fast, so visit me+Ultra.com BBC50 or click the link in the show notes and you'll get a 50% discount code. Then secure your spot. For Business Bourbon and Cigars Leadership Retreat. You need to test while you're healthy. The best time to experiment is when you're winning, not when you're desperate. And make sure you kill sacred cows early. You know, if something exists only because we've always done it that way. You gotta challenge that and you gotta challenge it now. If this was just a few years ago, you'd probably be saying, we don't have time to do all this. It's hard enough to get my people to do what I need them to do already. You know, first off, if that's your culture, that's an entirely different problem, which I'm gonna cover in a second. But in today's world, the reality is that AI agents can handle some of this right now. And what it can handle, it can make the rest faster, you know, easier and more consistent. So there's no excuse not to do this. You know what just gave me an idea? On the next show, I'm gonna lay out a blueprint for an AI driven, we'll call it Change Intelligence System. So you'd know exactly which agents that you can set up, what they'd monitor, how they'll feed you actionable insights without overwhelming you. That's going to be our next episode. So make sure you subscribe everybody, so you don't miss it. See there? This podcast helps me just as much as it helps you. The second step you must do, which I touched on this, is you've got to build a culture where change is normal. If your team is going to treat every change like an emergency, you'll never move fast enough. So here's how you make this happen. Adaptability has to be a core value in your organization in some form or another. You got to write it down, promote it, reward it, and take the approach of practice makes perfect. Run change drills. Introduce small, low stake changes, you know, on a regular basis so people get used to adapting and then start celebrating. Adapters publicly share stories of people who pivoted quickly and won anytime change is introduced. You know, most companies have locker room lawyers. We've all had or have them, right? It's like building a house and you're having someone behind you just following you and taking out the nails. You have to remove those anchors. People who refuse to adapt will always drag you backwards. And if you're going to do that, you should also reward smart risk taking. Make it safe that you know for people that to test new approaches even if they don't all work. And then the third step, and it's critical that you lead the emotional side of transformation. Now. Earlier in my career I really struggled with this and if you don't do this well, it destroys the first two steps. It's on you to get all out, buy in. You have to hold yourself accountable to this because change isn't just strategic, it's emotional. People aren't afraid of new, they're afraid of loss. So make sure you tell the story, not just the strategy. Show what the change makes possible and why it matters. Now you know your employees, they're going to think about how this change is going to impact them first before how it impacts, you know, your clients or your company. And the bigger the change, the more they're going to worry about this impact, right? So map the impact on them. First you have to anticipate their concerns before they voice them. You need to over communicate, you know, in multiple formats, meetings, emails, visuals and stories because different people process information differently. And make sure you're visible. Don't vanish into planning mode. Your presence signals stability. And finally, make sure you create early wins. Get a quick miserable success and share it so you build momentum. So here's my challenge for you. Look at your business, you know, your team, even your own role. And I want you to ask yourself, if I was starting a new business today that directly competes against my current business, what would I do in the new business to put my current business out of business, then I want you to take one step towards that future and do it now while you still have the choice to do it. And if you want to spend three days surrounded by leaders who are actually doing this, people who are leading change in their industries instead of, you know, waiting for it to hit them, then you need to be at the Next Business Bourbon and Cigars Leadership Retreat. This isn't just another conference where you sit back, you take a bunch of notes that you're never going to use. It's an immersive, no BS environment where we tackle real business challenges. You know, we share the strategies that are working right now and we give you the space to build relationships that are going to move your business forward for years. Join us and you're going to leave with the clarity, the tools and the connections to lead your business through its next transformation on your terms. I've got a special offer for you today. The first five people who are watching and listening to this episode, I'm going to give you a 50% off your ticket. To attend the next retreat. Visit me+Ultra.com backslash BBC50 or you can click the link in the show notes. That way you can claim your 50 discount code and secure your spot at the Business Bourbon Cigars Leadership Retreat. Cheers everyone. Thank you so much for listening to Business Bourbon and Cigars. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with other business owners and friends. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to the show on YouTube and your favorite podcast player. My goal is to bring you conversations each week that challenge you and give you a no nonsense approach to growing your business. Make sure to join me next week on Business Bourbon and Cigars. And for more information on our latest episodes, masterminds and events, head to business bourbon cigars podcast.com Again, that's business bourboncigarspodcast.com.