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- [00:06]
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If your business feels chaotic right now, there's a good chance the problem isn't your team. It's your lack of focus. Most businesses don't struggle because they run out of ideas or opportunities. I've got about a thousand ideas before breakfast. They struggle because they chase too many of them with zero plan, and before you know it, you're spread too thin, your team's exhausted, and your business is getting run into the ground. Don't let that happen. Today, Entre Leadership's head coach, John Felkins will show you the three tactical things that eliminate chaos, align your team, and actually make growth sustainable. Let's get to it.
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Thanks, Dave. I've worked with businesses who make millions in revenue and still feel totally out of control. And the crazy part, growth was causing the chaos. Let me tell you a quick story. A few years back, I was working with a family business who was in a pretty unique line of work. They were in the pig business. And I don't mean the kind of pigs who end up as a ham at your Christmas dinner. They ran online auctions for show pigs. It's like eharmony meets ebay for pigs. I mean, if these pigs were horses, they'd be Kentucky Derby thoroughbreds. They're a big deal. In fact, the other day I saw an auction where a pig sold for a million dollars. Not only that, the business did $20 million in revenue in a single year. They were bringing home the bacon. And by all accounts, their pigs were winners and so was their business. And they could have stopped there. The problem was they didn't. They fell into the same trap a lot of entrepreneurs do. They got distracted by shiny objects, a.k.a. they got ideas. The pig auctions were going well, and they were also into land auctions and they were also into farm equipment auctions. And at one point, they even started a non profit ministry in Jamaica. Let me be the first to say none of that is a bad thing. But it becomes a bad thing when there's no focus, no strategy, no discipline, no way of holding it all together. They were chasing every opportunity like a dog chasing a squirrel. They had all these competing priorities, which is an oxymoron, by the way. Priority is singular. 1. You literally can't have multiple priorities. By the time they came to us, they were more scattered, smothered and covered than a Waffle House Hash Brown. They were running around like crazy, putting out fire after fire. Their team was stretched thin and stressed out. No one knew what was going on. It was total chaos. All because they lost their focus and some of you are probably doing the exact same thing. You start a lot of stuff, you over commit, you get distracted. And that lack of focus probably shows up like this in your business. First, it feels like stuff starts to bog down and you're not making the progress you expected. That's because you're not. How could you? Your attention is split in a dozen different ways. You're a mile wide and an inch deep when you should be an inch wide and a mile deep. It's like trying to paddle a boat in different directions. You're putting in a ton of effort and just spinning in a circle. Second, things start to fall through the cracks. If you're spinning that many plates, one or two of them are bound to come crashing down. Customer service goes out the window. Deadlines get missed and customers get pissed. Your team slips up because everyone's running all over the place all, all the time. It's death by a thousand cuts. And finally, nobody knows what you do because you're doing too much. You don't think your customers can sense the chaos in your business? Oh, they can. And the minute you stop clearly answering their question, how can you help me? They will move on to somebody else. And if your own team is confused about the business, you've got real problems. The harsh truth is you can't out earn your chaos. If you don't take control, sooner or later, the plates you're keeping in the air will come crashing down around you. And the fix is actually much simpler than you think. There are three things every focused business has. But if you're missing even one of them, chaos is inevitable. And at the end of the episode, I'll tell you the most powerful word in business. One word that can eliminate half the chaos in your company almost immediately. Okay, first thing you need is your mission statement. And most mission statements are completely useless. They're generic. Nobody remembers them. Nobody does anything with them. Something like we build great houses sucks. As a mission statement, it needs to be something that lights a fire under your butt to get up and come to work every morning. It needs to drive you. If you're in the H vac business, you don't just fix busted heaters. You keep families safe in the winter. If you're a contractor, you. You don't just build a house. You give people the place, they'll raise their kids. You hear the difference? Your mission statement is the soul of your company. It's your why. At Ramsey, our mission statement is Ramsey Solutions provides biblically based, common sense education and empowerment to give Hope to everyone in every walk of life. That's what we're about. And it is hardwired into everything that we do, every decision we make, every product we build, every opportunity that we go after. If it doesn't align with that statement, we don't do it. Here's another example from Chick Fil A. Their mission statement is to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick Fil A. Notice it didn't say a darn thing about chicken. But anyone who's ever stepped foot in a Chick Fil A has felt that mission. Your mission statement gives you clarity about what kind of business you are and just as importantly, what you're not. When you get this right, it will be the North Star that guides your business for decades. But your mission statement alone isn't enough to keep you and your team aligned. You need to write a vision statement. And I already told you that we do things based on the Bible around here. And the Bible says where there is no vision, the people perish. I know that sounds intense. And nobody's dying if you don't have a vision statement. But here's what will happen. Without a shared vision, your team and your business will just wander around. No energy, no focus. Just a bunch of people showing up to collect the check. They might not perish, but they will burn out. So if your mission statement defines who you are, your vision statement defines where you're going. I want you to imagine your business three to five years from now. What's the one thing you hope you can say your business accomplished? The thing that you'd be most proud of and say, yeah, we did that. So here at Ramsey, our vision statement is by 2030, we will be creating $20 billion of financial transformation per year. What's that mean? That means we want to transform people's lives so deeply that we help our fans achieve. $20 billion in debt paid, money saved, and dollars given in one year. That's a big, hairy, audacious vision. That's what makes it a good one. Every business needs this. Something that will inspire and motivate your team beyond just swinging a hammer or filling an order. It's the mental picture you paint with your team to accomplish your mission. How about this for a vision statement? SpaceX's vision is to make life multi planetary by establishing a self sustaining city on Mars. If that's not a bold vision, I don't know what is. When you have a Vision statement you can truly believe in, two things will happen. First, it will create a crazy amount of unity and focus on your team around what really matters. SpaceX's team is so bought into that vision that every time they do a launch, they do this. And second, your team will bring in a new level of drive and excellence to their work because they care about that vision as much as you. Okay, mission vision. Those are great, aspirational, long term statements. But what about the work you're doing today? How do you stay focused on the right things week to week? That's what this last thing is for. And it might be the most important piece of the puzzle. But before we get into that, I want to talk about company culture for a minute. A vision statement is important, but it's not a company culture. Friday pizza parties aren't either. Your company culture is what your team feels like when they work there. And this is something that my friends at Belay talk about all the time. Overwhelmed leaders create overwhelmed teams. If you're buried in your inbox running from meeting to meeting and constantly reacting instead of leading, eventually your team feels that pressure too. And over time, that stress becomes your culture. That's why Belay matches leaders with executive assistants who can take those repetitive day to day tasks off their plate and help create some margin again, when leaders finally have space to think, communicate clearly and cast vision. Healthy culture gets built on purpose, not by accident. And look, I've known the people at Belay. I've worked with them for years. If you want to fix your stressed out, chaotic company culture and learn how an assistant may be able to help with that, Belay has a free resource for you. It's called Culture Clarity and you can download it free by texting. Entrez to 55123. That's entre to 55123. Okay, the last thing you need is a strategic plan. Your strategic plan is a roadmap for running your business. If I asked 100 people to get to California, no one would do it the same way. Some people would fly, some would drive, and even then you've got a dozen different routes you could take. That doesn't work in business. A good strategic plan has three parts. First, you have to identify the key challenge. Think about your vision statement. Then ask yourself, what's the biggest obstacle keeping us from doing that? It might be a customer problem or a business problem. Whatever it is, that's where you need to put your energy for the next few years. Once you've figured out your key challenge, then you need to identify a key bet. I know it sounds like blackjack, right? But here's what I mean. You're going to make a decision informed by data and informed by wisdom on what you believe will move the needle. It should sound something like, I believe X is the best way to overcome that challenge. And finally, you'll decide the key actions you need to rally your team around. Ask yourself what needs to be true to make our bet pay off? Once you've nailed down those three parts, that's your big overarching plan for the next few years. But that still leaves the question of what should we be focused on right now? So let's be more specific. What should happen in your business this year, this next 12 months? First, you'll need a desired future statement that's gonna paint a picture of where you want your business to be a year from now. Next, the defining objectives you need to hit to get there. And finally, and this is something that most people skip, you need a clear way to measure success. We call that a key result. Okay, that's a lot of words. Let me show you how this works. Let's use the showpig business as an example. Their desired future statement could go something like, by this time next year, we will double our market in the Southeast. Okay, so how are they going to do that? Well, they might create a defining objective. Expand our presence in Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina. And how will they know they were winning? Well, their key result might be we will increase the number of auctions in those states by 50%. You see how that works? A clear goal for the business, a clear objective, and a clear way to measure it. This is the recipe for alignment and focus. Any work that doesn't fit that plan doesn't happen. It's all got to support the main thing. Now, remember, I promised you the most powerful word in business. This is the key to making this all work. So here it is. No. That's it? Just say no. Most leaders have a to do list, but more of them need a to stop list. No will keep you and your team from chasing down every harebrained idea. Boss, we've got a really cool opportunity to fill in the blank. Does it help us reach our defining objective?
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No.
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Then no. Boss, can we buy this equipment? Does it help us accomplish our key result? It doesn't. Then no. Every no is a yes to your strategic plan, to the things that will actually drive your business forward. Okay, that's a lot on strategic planning. If your head's spinning a little, don't worry about it. Most entrepreneurs aren't naturally good at this. So if you want to know how to do this really well, I'll drop a link to our free guide to Strategic planning down in the Description. Description. It's got templates you can follow and easy videos to watch. It's all in there, so check it out. The point is, your strategic plan is crucial to keep everyone on the same page, including you. No more distractions. No more running after shiny objects. This is the goal. Get everyone focused on the right things. When you do that, you will reduce 90% of the chaos and confusion and and disorganization in your business.
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If your business feels disorganized and chaotic, it's because you're allowing it too. As a leader, it's your job to create focus and clarity for your team. But when you have those three things in place your mission, your vision, and your strategic plan, you will take back control of your business. That's all for today. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, share and subscribe for more real world leadership content. I'm your host, Dave Ramsey, and this is Entree Leadership.