Latest / The Efficient Advisor: Tactical Business Advice for Financial Planners / 197: Strategies to Finish What You Start and Achieve Project Success

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197: Strategies to Finish What You Start and Achieve Project Success · The Efficient Advisor: Tactical Business Advice for Financial Planners

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Pretty much every day I talk to advisors that are just brimming with ideas.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Ideas they get from conferences, ideas they come up with on their own, ideas they get from podcasts, from peers, ways they can market their business or make it more efficient.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: So many ideas, yet they often struggle to actually bring these ideas to fruition.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: And as a nine on a Colby quick start, I totally understand.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: There's no problem starting, but major problems finishing and then, gasp, actually getting something to the point of done that you're memorializing it Like you're actually setting it in stone and calling it good because it's that done.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: So today we are going to dive into some strategies that I have used and some amazing ideas from one of my favorite books which is also this month's fake book club book called finish Give yourself the gift of done.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: We are going to explore some ideas and strategies that will not only help you start strong but finish stronger.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: So let's dive in.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, before we dive into all of the strategies to actually finish what we start, I just want to mention that the wait list for the group coaching program is open.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: We start August 22nd.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: So if you don't know what I'm talking about, we have here at the Efficient Advisor our systems to scale group coaching program and it's a 10 month long program where we build out the most important processes inside of your business and I mean like we build them out, get them done.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: All the templates, all the individual tasks, all of the little things that you need to really build inside of your practice to operate at the highest level of efficiency and deliver an exceptional client experience.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: So this is an opportunity for you to put the time and effort and attention towards those little projects, and we're going to talk about getting things done today.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: But this is those little projects that you keep telling yourself like, okay, I know I actually need to do this, I know I need to create this, I know I need to build this, but look, I get it.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: It's a lot.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly where this program came from was how can I help you fast track building all of these systems and processes?
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: How can I give you the template, the framework, the things to run on, the samples, the examples, the copies, the millions of different ways to do it and, in a group atmosphere where you can bounce ideas off of each other, share additional ideas and templates?
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Like one of the coolest byproducts, I think, of the group coaching program is the relationships that you build with other advisors.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: I mean, we have advisors who have been through we're on our fifth or sixth generation of the program now and we have advisors who went through round one years and years ago that are still working together, collaborating in a mastermind, sharing ideas.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: It's just a really really cool and unique environment where we get stuff done.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: We don't dilly dally, we really move through a lot of content in a 10 month window and you can build relationships with other advisors from all different walks of life, serving all different types of demographics and geographic locations.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: It's just a really cool groupthink experience as well.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: So more details to come on that, but there is going to be a special offer for those of you.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: You'll be notified on the wait list first, before the general public, when we do open up the cart and, I'll be honest, there's going to be a little discount situation involved.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: So if you want to get on the wait list, the link is out on the website, of course, the efficientadvisorcom.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: On the coaching page you'll scroll down to group coaching and mastermind and there's also going to be a link for you inside the show notes.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: So enough of that, but I did want to make sure that if you want to be on the wait list to be notified, that you know how to do it.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Okay, so if you're new here, you know it's possible to have energy leftover for your family and still have your dream business.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: You might not exactly know how to get there or how to do it yet, but you know exactly what I'm talking about.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: You're picturing that business that you are running instead of it running you.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: So welcome to the Efficient Advisor.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, libby, and I started from scratch, built and sold by 37, a 100% referral only planning practice that I grew to seven figures as a solo advisor, all while working just three days a week and taking off 14 weeks a year.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: And I'm here just to walk alongside you and to show you how to do the exact same thing, how to scale yourself, how to take immediate action on the most important strategies, how to scale, organize and create less stress and overwhelm in your business.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: In fact, that's my favorite part.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: We are about to transform your practice.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: So move over exhaustion and get out of the way.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Advisor ADD.
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: It is time to take that one right next step to build a business and a life that you love, and the best way that we can do that is through actually finishing what we start.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: So if you've never participated in an efficient advisor fake book club, and really and I'm giggling because if you've never participated in one, what it is is, it's not a real like you can't actually participate in it.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: I mean you can, but not really.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: So the fake book club is this concept that I started a few years ago, so I used to do so.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: This was probably back in like 2014, 2015.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: I used to host a book club and, I'll be honest, it was a lot of work.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: So my goal as a business owner was to read one business or personal development book every month.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: That was really going to help me move the needle inside of my practice.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: And then I also wanted to read one um like fun book and, I'll be honest, it often ended up being like two business books a month and not so much on the fun book.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: But I finally figured that balance out and I used to do these book clubs and it was super fun and engaging and we had Facebook groups for them and it was like a whole thing.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: But it was a lot of work and one of the things that I have found like participating in book clubs with like you know, like my Bible study or like my girlfriends, is that sometimes it's just really hard to keep up and to read all of the things and participate in all of the discussions, and if you get behind then you don't participate.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: So fake book club is a book club where we just pick a book and everyone reads it whenever the heck they feel like it at their own pace.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: There's no meetings, there's no discussions, there's no getting together to ruminate on ideas and concepts.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: It's literally just hey, here's a really great book that changed my life, changed my perspective, changed the way I did business, and let's all commit to reading it and doing it at whatever pace makes sense for you.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: So I'm a big believer in trying to read 10 pages a day or to read for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes a day, but I'll be honest, that doesn't always happen and, depending on the season of life that you're in, that can look really, really different.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: So instead of me trying to like say, hey, we're going to read this book together in the next month, we're just picking books and I'm going to share it and I'd like to start doing episodes about the takeaways.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: So even if you don't read the book, you can still have the benefit of hearing, at a high level, some of the tactical things that we can implement from it together in order to move our businesses forward.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: So that is the essence of Fake Book Club.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Okay, and so this month June 2024, the Fake Book Club book was Finish.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by John Acuff.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: I loved this book.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: I read this book maybe a few years ago, a few years back, and it really really helped me kind of move beyond some of the things that were getting me stuck in really finishing things inside of my business.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Now, I've always been a really really good idea person, a really good starter.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: I'm a project starter, not a product project finisher, and I'm sure some of you can relate, and in my business I hired a integrator, somebody who was exceptional at finishing things and maybe not so great on the visionary side of things.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: So if you've ever read the book rocket fuel, we were like the perfect visionary integrator combo.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: She was wonderful.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: However, there were still things that I needed to bring to fruition and finish all on my own, and I have recommended this book to so many advisors who kind of struggle with a lot of those same um issues, and I'm not saying like, oh, you have to be the person inside of your business that finishes everything but end of story.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Even if you have an amazing integrator, there are still going to be things that you have to finish and be able to pass off to them or to be able to put the stamp of approval on End of story.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: You cannot be the bottleneck of your business, which is where really most of us live.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: So I love recommending this book and I actually just recommended it to an advisor up in Canada.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: You know who you are, what's up, and when we met for so he's in like an ongoing coaching with me, one-on-one, and when we met for our next session after he read the book, he was like Libby, I love, like, what a game changer.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: And I was like you know, we should actually do that for fake book club and I really need to do an episode on it because it is such a predicament, it's such a problem, it's such a thing that can chip away at you, actually knocking down a lot of the goals that you set up right.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: So when I sort of mastered some of these strategies is really when I started setting my goals up and knocking them down like freaking dominoes, like one unstoppable momentum, and momentum is so incredibly important.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: If you've heard me talk about the book Good to Great, there's some really amazing quotes in there about how important momentum is.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Motivation is a fleeting substance, right, momentum is actually what helps you build movement in the right direction.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Of course it has to be all a momentum applied in the right way, but really like.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: So let's start with the problem why do people fail to finish?
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: So in the book John Acuff and if you haven't read a John Acuff book like I absolutely adore his personality.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: He's funny, he's entertaining, it's efficient.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: A lot of business books, I feel like, are filled with a lot of fluff to try to just like fill the pages, and John Acuff's books, I think, are really really pretty well written, in a way that's like tight, but they're so entertaining and they're so funny and I just I don't know, I really resonate with his sense of humor.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: But John has kind of identified that there's three primary reasons that we fail to finish.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: So before we jump into solutions, I think it's important to understand what gets in the way or what some of the common pitfalls are.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: So the first one is perfectionism.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: And I don't know, I don't know who's listening and I don't know, I don't know who's listening, but there is a strong chance that you've got a little Enneagram three or a little Enneagram one in you and this idea that everything has to be perfect can, before it can go, before you can move on it, before it's like ready to send to anybody, this idea that perfectionism can get in the way because it can really paralyze your project, your progress.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: So perfectionism.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: The second problem is the fear of failure, so this idea of not meeting expectations or not achieving results relative to the amount of effort that you've put into something.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: And the third, which is one of the most common ones that I experience and one of the most common ones I see from advisors that I work with, is just this idea of overwhelm, just taking on too much at once, where you burn out or you abandon projects.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: There's a new shiny thing you are making such small, like I mentioned, momentum a minute ago, you're making such small progress towards so many things that nothing feels like it's actually getting done or really going anywhere and that tends to lead to, you know, like I said, burnout or that abandonment.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: So okay, what do we do about it.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: So there's a couple different principles that John Acuff brings up in this book, and there's seven of them that I want to talk about today.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: So the first one and you, I promise you're going to cringe when you hear this, but it makes a ton of sense.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: So one of the most counterintuitive yet powerful pieces of advice from this book is to cut your goals in half.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Okay, I know like everyone's bristling at the thought of that, but it doesn't mean reducing your ambition, but rather setting more manageable targets to increase the likelihood of success.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: So two applications in business here.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: One is project management, so this idea of breaking up large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: So, for example, if your goal is to create a new process inside of your business, so this is something that we do in our group coaching program.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Right, like building your start to finish planning process.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: So here's exactly what happens from the moment a prospect calls you like down to the scripts, entering them into the CRM, setting up the appointment, google, stalking them on LinkedIn or whatever it is that you do prior to the scripts entering them into the CRM, setting up the appointment Google, stalking them on LinkedIn, or whatever it is that you do prior to the appointment, what actually needs to be prepped for that very first meeting.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: What does the email reminder look like?
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: What does the welcome email look like?
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Like all of those little, teeny tiny details, right, all the way through you learning their goals and connecting with them and gathering their data and doing the analysis and providing recommendations and, you know, drafting them a plan and all of the things.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: Right, and then saying, yes, I really like that and I'd like to move forward on some of those recommendations.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Right, that is only one process inside of your business.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Now, of course, for every process, there's always microprocesses or sub processes, but what we do is we take that.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: So in our program, it literally takes us probably like two months to build that start to finish planning process, but we do that by breaking it down into teeny tiny, very manageable parts.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: Right, we're breaking it down into what happens before step one, what happens during step one, what happens after step one.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Okay, what happens before step two, what happens during step two, what happens after step two.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: And we break it down.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: And you know, obviously, like giving samples and examples and stuff like that is super helpful, but even if you're not doing that and you're just wanting to take a project by breaking it down into those little things, when you can say okay, the goal this week is to just finish all of the items that need to happen before the first step.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: When you accomplish that right, it gives you that sense of like oh, okay, done, checked off, that whole part is now documented, all of the templates are created, the workflows are built and I can now implement that part.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: Then you move on to the next chunk.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Then you move on to the next chunk and before you know it, the whole start to finish process is completed.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: So that's when that's kind of like how I interpret this idea of taking your goals and making them half.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: So I know when you first hear that you're thinking like, oh, I want to run a million dollar practice, while Libby's telling me I should run a half a million dollar practice, kind of sort of but not really right Like, whatever your goal is, chunking it down into something that's so much more manageable.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: And then when you hit that half a million dollars, then you increase your goal to 700,000.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Then you can increase your goal to 850.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Then you increase your goal to a million.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: But if you're trying to go from 300,000 to a million dollars in revenue.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: That's pretty defeating.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: I like to think of it kind of we can.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Almost almost everybody who's listening has experienced the desire to lose weight.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: And if you've never, ever experienced that, I hate you and I don't want to be your friend.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: Um, just kidding, but like.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: So if you think about it through the lens of like, wow, I need to lose 20 pounds and you work your butt off and you eat well and you're working out and you're getting all your steps in and doing all of the things, and at the end of the first week you lose one pound.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: Right, when you think about that in the grand scheme of things, it's like, oh my gosh, I still have 19 more to go.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: Our brain naturally wants to focus on how many more we have to go versus celebrating the success.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: So instead, if you're breaking this down into my goal is this week to lose one pound, and when you accomplish that, it's like, oh my gosh, I did it, I lost my one pound.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Okay, next week I'm going to do the same thing.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: It's a different type of vibe and a different type of momentum.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: So same thing as far as goals are concerned.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: So we want to apply the same principle when setting goals.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: So instead of aiming to increase revenue by 50%, right, aim to increase it by 25%.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Then, once you achieve that, reassess it and set a new target.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: So again it approaches and um it.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: It means helps you maintain momentum.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: But, more importantly, morale.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Morale is a really important part of this.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: So by setting realistic, very achievable goals and I'm not saying, don't stretch yourself, but by creating goals that you can achieve in shorter order not a 10 year goal, not a five year goal, but literally like a one month goal or a one order not a 10 year goal, not a five-year goal, but literally like a one month goal or a one week goal or a one quarter goal you get to create a series of successes that build that confidence and motivation, rather than like some monumental task that feels insurmountable, right, and before you know it, you're drinking beer and shoving pizza in your mouth because it just seems like it's just too hard and it's never going to happen because it's just going so slow.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Okay, principle number two I thought this one was kind of fun Choose what to bomb.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: So Acuff suggests that in order to finish important tasks, you must be willing to let some things go or, as he puts it, choosing what to just totally bomb at.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: So this means deliberately neglecting certain tasks or lowering your standards.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: I know again, this is like really hard right, you're as a as a high achieving entrepreneur, like you naturally bristle at somebody telling you to lower your standard.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Um, and this is for things that are less critical, like less critical activities, so that you can focus on what truly, truly matters.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: So how do we apply this in business?
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: Right, one is prioritization identifying the key activities that directly impact your business's bottom line, and prioritize those.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: The last critical tasks can be deprioritized or, in my perfect world, delegated.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: So you know you've heard me say it 5,000 times you can automate, you can delegate, you can delete or you can streamline.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: So you know, in this case for like this case right, Perfecting a minor website detail, like in, in, like obsessing about your website that can be deferred if your primary goal is creating a new marketing funnel, right, so, just prior to that prioritization.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: And it doesn't mean you're getting rid of those other things or that you're never going to come back and update that copy on your website, but it's just a matter of leaving that on your brain dump and then really only focusing on a few dump and then really only focusing on a few things.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: And then, of course, delegation right by empowering your team to delegate tasks that don't require your direct involvement.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: And I did a whole episode on task delegation and how to delegate um effectively and how to build that confidence and the competency of your team.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: So you can check that episode out.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: I'll link that in the show notes for you guys as well.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: But really trusting others with less critical tasks does allow you to concentrate on the essential projects or the strategic decision-making that only you can do for your business.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: So I always joke that this is considered strategic neglect.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: So I always joke that this is considered strategic neglect.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: So ensuring that your energy is invested where it counts the most.
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: And if you work with me directly, you've probably heard me say this to you that advisors are so bad at math Like you would think that we would be really really great at math, but when it comes to like our own schedule or our own abilities, we add, add, add without ever subtracting.
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: So I love this idea of just choosing what to neglect or choosing what to bomb at.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: I think it's a really great concept, because how many times do you say yes to something You're like oh yeah, sure I can squeeze that in.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, I can do that.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I'll volunteer for that thing.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: And you don't actually look at your calendar and say, okay, where am I going to strategically make time for that activity?
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: What am I going to eliminate in order to successfully integrate that?
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: And what tends to happen is we say yes, yes, yes, without actually choosing what to neglect.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: So things either get neglected by default, or really, what tends to get neglected by default is you right, like you are the one that takes it on the chin.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: You're the one that doesn't have time to go to the gym, or doesn't have time to eat healthy, or doesn't have time to, or energy to, really invest with your children or your spouse.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: You're exhausted because you're trying to do all of the things without actually properly neglecting something else.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: Okay, the third principle that ACOF brings up is make it fun if you want it done, and, oh, my goodness gracious, this is absolutely one of my favorite ones.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: So, emphasizing the importance of making tasks as enjoyable as humanly possible, um, you know, can significantly boost motivation, but also productivity, right?
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: So two applications in business here.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: So think of, take it back to Mary Poppins right, where, if you can whistle and sing and do all of the things while you're cleaning up, life is so much better.
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: So the first is gamification.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: So introducing elements of gamification into your workplace.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: So creating friendly competitions, setting up reward systems, doing things where you're visually tracking stuff as achievements or milestones inside of your practice.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: I'll give you a couple of examples.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: So, back in the day when I started my business 500 years ago, when we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow with no shoes and all the things, um, we used to use these crazy things called paper files.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you guys remember paper files, but, um, if you're old like me, you remember these, like manila envelopes or in millennial folders that you had for all of your clients, these paper files, and we used to keep everything in there.
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: So for those of you that are like, what's a paper file?
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Like it, literally, you had everything in there that you'd normally have on Dropbox and we used to, you know, pass the folder around the office, right, I would use it, take my notes, hand it off to somebody else, they would do their part and put the tasks.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Somebody else would then take it, do the thing, although you know, whatever.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: And the folder basically got passed around the office and so whenever we were looking for a client folder, I would pop out of my office and be like it's time for everybody's favorite game, find that folder.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: And we'd all cheer and we'd name the client and whoever had the folder sitting on their desk or knew where it was, like oh, it's sitting on top of the file cabinet or it's in the two-week bin or it's in wherever, would grab it and find it and win.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: You know, and it was just this stupid way to create a game around.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: You know, something simple and silly, um, and that was always fun.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: And we also had certain production goals that we were trying to hit, or new clients or whatever.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: And we would make those like thermometer things, like you know I'm talking about like that every hospital has for donations, and you'd fill up the thermometer.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Uh, we also had at one point a little um like mountain with a little like yodeler that could move and climb the mountain.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: So silly stuff like that was always really fun and everybody could kind of see where we are at.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: And then we always had a reward associated with it, right, Like so, when we got.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: When the yodeler got to the top of the mountain we were all going out for we were going to cut out of work early and I was gonna take everybody to Mexican and get margaritas or you know whatever.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: Whatever it was, maybe it's bonuses, maybe it's, you know, whatever your office does to celebrate the Maybe it's you know whatever your office does to celebrate.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: The second application of making it fun, if you want it done, is really just creating a work environment that's fun, a positive, engaging, energetic work environment.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: You know, building culture is extremely important.
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: So things that are team building or connecting, things that are celebrating successes together, things that are team building or connecting things that are celebrating successes together, um, things that provide opportunity for creative, creative expression amongst your team.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: A happy team is more likely to stay committed and stay super productive, right, and if you have an office.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: So I'm just going to share why it's important that you have systems and processes.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: So I was doing a um, I was participating.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: I had a team of advisors that I worked with that were doing a retreat together and I came in for a couple of sessions to help facilitate the retreat and I've heard this from other advisors too, so this is not a one-off experience.
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: Their team was sharing that since their advisor had started working with me and they started really building out systems, processes, roles.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: What helps determine if I'm being successful inside of my role?
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: How do I know if, as a front office administrative assistant, if I'm doing a great job?
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: And when your office feels like everything is on fire and everything's important and nobody knows what to prioritize and how to prioritize it or where to expend their energy first, and nobody knows exactly what they're supposed to be doing every day and you're all kind of just winging it, the culture is low and your loyalty or your tenure of employees is low and your turnover is really, really high.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: But when you can create a happy work environment and I'm going to do a whole episode on how to craft your employee experience because I think that's really, really an important piece of it Like when we used to do live workshops where advisors from all over the country would come in and my team and I would train them for a couple of days in our systems and processes, one of the questions that was always asked of my team was okay, why do you guys work here?
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: Why do you like working for Libby?
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: You've all been here like 10 plus years.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: What's the deal?
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: And every single time my team said something to the effect of it is so fun, we have so much fun and it's so flexible and so fun was always mentioned, and there's so many little things it's beyond the scope of today that you can do to make a fun work environment.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Okay, we've got to keep moving.
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: So this isn't a, you know, three hour long podcast.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: Principle number four get rid of your secret rules.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: So I love this.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: Acuff describes secret rules as the internal, most likely unspoken beliefs that sabotage our efforts.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: So these are thoughts that include things like I have to be available 24, seven hour, you know, 24 seven to my clients.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: Um, I can't ask for help with this.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: This is my problem or my burden, or I'm the only one that can make this decision.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: I'm the only one that can do this.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: I have to work all of the time If I want to be successful.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: I have to grind the hours out early in my career.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: I have to earn my stripes, things like that.
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: So the two applications for business here the first is challenging those assumptions so regularly, questioning and challenging your business practices and assumptions.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: Are there outdated or counterproductive habits that you have that are holding you and your team back.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: For example, is this belief that working, coming in early and working late is a sign of dedication?
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Right, If you have this internal belief that being the first one there and being the last one to leave is a sign of dedication and that being available all the time to my clients is a sign that I'm dedicated, being available to my team while I'm on vacation is being dedicated, that can lead to burnout, right.
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: So we have to challenge these assumptions that being available 24 seven doesn't necessarily reflect dedication or maybe it does, but is it a healthy way of doing it?
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: Probably not.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: The other way we want to get rid of some of the secret rules is through promoting transparency, so creating again here's that word culture, a culture of openness, where your team feels comfortable sharing their concerns and, more importantly, sharing their ideas.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: So you want to encourage a collaborative environment where seeking help and offering up ideas it's seen as a strength and not as a weakness.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: So we have to kind of dismantle these secret rules that we create in order to have a healthier, more productive workplace that supports this idea of actually finishing tasks effectively.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: So, if your team is chipping in with ideas and chipping in with concerns and chipping in with ways to make things better or more efficient or whatever.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: That is how we can actually bring these products from start to finish, or bring these ideas from start to finish, or bring these fill in the blank from start to finish.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: Okay, principle number five and y'all going to hate me for this one, but don't blame me, blame John Acuff, and he's totally right Use data to track progress.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: So we have to track progress with data.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: That is because it's tangible evidence of advancement and it helps in maintaining momentum, right?
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: So, um, I'm a huge advocate for consistent measurement in order to stay on course.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: I'm a huge advocate for consistent measurement in order to stay on course.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: So you need in your business, kpis, and I did a whole episode on productivity KPIs and then I did an episode with Track that Advisor to talk about what KPIs you actually need to be tracking your business and which ones are kind of dumb and really don't actually help.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: So this could include some of the productivity KPIs that we talk about growth KPIs, number of referrals, like things that are actually really important.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: So like going back to that losing weight example, right, like you got to know your starting weight and you got to know your finishing weight.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: But you also need to know some other things, right Like?
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: Again, looking at just one or two KPIs isn't necessarily reflective of the health of your business, right Like?
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: So let's say your revenue went way down last year and let's say it was because of the market.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: If you're only tracking revenue, that can look like a failure.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: But if you're tracking revenue and number of new clients, number of referrals, number of, like, close ratio, maybe your close ratio went up.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: There are so many things that can be more indicative or reflective of a healthy business.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: So you have to be tracking things in order to be able to.
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: You know what gets measured, gets managed.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: We have all heard that before.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: The other thing we need to do is regular check-ins.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: So implementing regular check-ins and progress reviews.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: So, whether that's weekly or biweekly or whatever, making sure that everybody stays aligned with whatever projects you guys are working on and any issues that come up are promptly addressed.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: There's nothing worse than like popping your head and asking your you know one of your teammates like, hey, where are we at on this thing?
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: And they're like, oh well, I got stuck on this part and nothing since then has been done on it.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: And that was weeks ago, right?
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: So you're the CEO, we're going to have to wear that hat and we're going to have to make sure that we are doing check-ins and progress reviews.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: And when you have actual data, you're you know that decision-making becomes so much easier, right?
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: Or you're able to diagnose the symptoms and what the effective you know treatment would be.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: So, again, with the weight example, right, like, if you're like, oh, I feel like I'm eating really, really healthy, and you actually start tracking, right, so data, and you're finding, wow, I'm actually not eating that healthy, I'm overeating calories or I'm not having enough protein or I'm under eating, like, sometimes, what you think is happening isn't what actually is happening.
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: So data is incredibly important.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, principle number six and if you're multitasking, I promise come back to me.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: We're almost done, we are almost through this together and, again, the idea is to help you establish some rhythms that will help you start and finish projects.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Number six kill perfectionism.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Perfectionism is a significant barrier to finishing projects.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: Striving for perfection often leads to procrastination and just in incomplete tasks.
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, how many times have we all, like, worked on something?
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: You're like, oh, it's just not good enough yet, or I need to come back to that, or that's fine, but I have a much bigger, better vision for it.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: Sometimes done is better than perfect.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: Now, we don't want to send out total garbage right, you also want to have a minimum viable product.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: But you can operate off of minimum viable product.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be wow, this is the absolute best version.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: So two business applications here, one minimum viable product.
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: I just literally just said that.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: So, adopting a minimum viable product approach for process, for systems, for products you're developing, launching a basic version of your product and then reiterating based on feedback.
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: So we talk about this a lot in the group coaching program.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: When we're building something, right, like let's build the skeleton and you can come back and keep adding the meat and the potatoes to it.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Right, like you can always come back and flesh it out and make it even better and more awesome.
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: But let's start with minimum viable product and then run some of our ideal clients through it and gain that feedback, gain that experience, cause I have seen people, myself included, who spend all of the time making the world's perfect thing, perfect course, perfect product, perfect, perfect PDF, right Only to come back and be like oh, that actually I need to make some adjustments to that.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Or, now that I put that into practice, that's not as practical as I thought it would be.
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: So a great example of this from my own business is when we did first launch the group coaching program.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: We did minimum viable products.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: We were meeting live every single week.
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: Nothing was prerecorded.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: I was asking questions, getting feedback, um, polling people along the way, like was this module helpful?
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: Was this one helpful?
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: What would make it more helpful?
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: Was it too slow?
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: Was it too fast?
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: Um, do you need more samples?
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: Do you need more examples?
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: Do you need more templates?
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: Do you need more workbooks?
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: Do you want a video that you can go back and rewatch, like you find?
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: So?
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: We launched the group coaching program with minimum viable product and the people in it knew it and they were paying accordingly.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: Right, the price has gone up probably four times since then, but it's gotten so much better than that very first version.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: Was the first version helpful?
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: It was where the people who went through it, um, you know, successful in building out some processes Absolutely, of course.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: Now, because we've continued to develop and continued to refine.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: Now, if I would have put all the effort into pre-recording all of those videos and building all of the worksheets and saying, yeah, I think these are all of the things that will work, and that it would have been so much wasted energy because I would have had to come back and be like, oh, you know what?
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: The video didn't address this most common question.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: So the way that I have built out our group coaching program now is I go back and watch live sessions that I did with the groups because we record those and I look for what are some of the additional questions that kept getting asked.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: Like it's almost like a team watching, like going back and watching film right, like what did they do?
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: What could I do better?
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: How could I make that more clear?
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: How could I give them an additional resource?
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: So coming out with minimum viable product.
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: If I would have waited for that program to be perfect, I'd still be working on that program, like it would have never, ever gotten out there.
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: So it allowed for a quicker release and improvements based on actual, real user data, not just what I was making up in my head.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: So we want to create the second application is encouraging risk-taking, right?
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: So killing perfectionism, so creating a culture there's that word again that values progress over perfection, encouraging your team to take calculated risks not just risks, but viewing failures as learning opportunities rather than like as failures or as setbacks.
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: This approach really fosters more innovation and reduces the fear of making mistakes and I know that's really hard as a small business owner because you don't often have extra time or extra money to try things and to fail at them, right.
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: But embracing this imperfection allows for faster progress and for continuous improvement.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: And to try things and to fail at them, right.
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: But embracing this imperfection allows for faster progress and for continuous improvement and to try new things that might actually work, and work incredibly well.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: The last principle here of um, of this idea of finish, is making it public.
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: If you can make your goals public, it adds a layer of accountability.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: So when others are aware of your commitments, right, you're more likely to follow through.
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: Obviously, that's one of the reasons that I love coaching, um.
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: So one-on-one coaching, group coaching, whatever, just this idea that we are committed, right.
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: If you're paying money, so same thing.
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: I have a full killer gym at my house, amazing gym at my house.
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: I still see a trainer twice a week Now I work out in my home gym the other days.
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: But I still pay my money to drive to a gym that has the same equipment that I have in my basement and I pay someone to watch me do the moves that I could certainly do in my basement.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: But there's something about paying my hard-earned money to a professional that makes me show up.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: I am there for the accountability.
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: She pushes me to lift more than I maybe would on my own or do it for longer or, um, you know, she can spot me and I can get more reps and like there's something about that accountability.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: So the two business applications here are this idea of public goals, so sharing your goals publicly with your team, your family, maybe even your clients, definitely with a group of peers.
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: Being transparent about your objectives, like dates that you want to have stuff done by what you're envisioning.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: It creates accountability and it builds trust with your team.
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: When you are constantly doing what you say you're going to do Same thing with your customers.
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: When you lay out a service calendar and you actually execute on that service calendar, when you say I'm going to send you a follow-up and you send a follow-up, it builds that accountability and it builds like you're creating accountability and it builds so much trust.
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: The other part about making it public is providing regular updates to those public people right On your progress towards these goals, and this can be done through, you know, through team meetings, through newsletters, through social media, through a quote, unquote business meeting with your family.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: You know, keeping everybody you're kind of your key stakeholders, if you will informed.
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: It maintains that accountability and, again, it fosters this idea of shared purpose.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: So when you are sharing goals with your team and you're bringing them in to help you to co-create this we talk about this all the time in the group coaching like having your team help you co-create some of these processes gives them ownership, and we've all probably experienced this on social media.
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: But when you're following somebody that you really admire and you like what they're doing and they're sharing, kind of like, hey, here's what we're doing behind the scenes, I'm working on this and I'm building this and, oops, here's a mistake that I made.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Oh, and here's something that's going really well, and you feel like you're kind of part of the journey.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: And then when that is done and their product launches or their course launches or their book launches or whatever, you kind of have that sensation of like, oh my gosh, I have been there since the beginning.
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: I have seen them put all the work and effort into this.
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud of them.
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: Like, oh, that's so exciting.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: And same thing with your team, if you can help, have them help you co-create a lot of your processes and give their opinions.
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: They have not only this sense of pride, but they have this sense of ownership right when they're going to want to continuously improve this thing and continuously execute on it.
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: We talk about this idea of it being a pull versus a push.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: So if you just show up and you're like hey, team, here's what we're doing now you have to do this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this, it's going to be read or received as oh, that's a lot of work for me, oh gosh, she went to a conference, she came back and now I have a lot of work to do.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: Um, libby wants us to create this whole sexy onboarding process.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: Well, that's just more work for me.
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: Versus hey, here's what we're trying, you know, casting that vision of what you're trying to accomplish.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: And hey, here's how I want your feedback and your opinions on that and here's how we can do this together to create this exceptional experience and here's what I'm envisioning for our clients and getting everybody on board and giving them to share ideas and share their um you know thoughts and ways to help make that process even better.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: Right, there's something about that co-creation that's really, really important and will help it bring it to fruition.
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: So the more public commitment you make, the more there is this increased pressure to deliver and you it.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: For me, at least, it helps me maintain that focus on actually finishing those tasks.
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: I have like literally put it out into the world and said, hey, here, this is what I'm doing.
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, I hope this was helpful, because finishing projects in business it's not just about hard work, dedication, grinding right that ain't it.
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: It's about strategy.
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: It's about mindset.
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: It's not just about hard work, dedication, grinding right that ain't it.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: It's about strategy.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: It's about mindset.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: It's about smart goal setting.
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: It's about accountability.
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: So I would love for you to join us this month in reading John Acuff's Finish.
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: Give Yourself the Gift of Done.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: I think it offers for me reading it.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: It was so much value and he does such a like I said, he's such a gifted writer in the way that he tells these stories and motivates you Like I didn't even do it justice with this podcast episode at all, but you know all of these things about how business owners can really approach their tasks and their goals differently, right?
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: So, cutting them in half, choosing what to bomb, making it fun, challenging those secret rules inside of you, using data killing perfectionism, making goals public, you can significantly improve your ability to complete projects, and I share that.
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: Coming from a place of somebody who kind of sucks at that, like I, am the first to acknowledge that I'm an excellent project starter, terrible project finisher, but I have worked really, really hard to kind of create inside of my own brain this culture of productivity and satisfaction and um minimum viable product and all of these things.
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: So I would love, love, love for you to join us in reading this book and give you and your business and your family and everyone in your life, your team, that culture, that gift of done, and literally you can watch your business thrive.
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: And, like I said at the top of the episode, when you start to build that momentum, you literally start to set goals and knock them down like dominoes.
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: That momentum carries one goal to the next goal to the next goal and when they're small goals and super attainable.
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: You will be shocked at the amount of progress that you can make in such a short period of time, and I'd love to chat more about this with you over in the Efficient Advisor community.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: I will drop the link for this book out in the community.
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: I'll drop the link for it in the show notes.
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: I'll include all of the episodes that I mentioned today and I would love to hear from you, whether it's in the Efficient Advisor community or over on LinkedIn.
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: You guys DM me and I'm just I love it, I'm so excited about it and I want to hear your success stories and what you're struggling with and all of the things.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: So I hope you found this episode helpful.
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: I would love for you to subscribe to the podcast and make sure that you're listening every single week, and if you ever have an episode idea or something that you think would be really, really helpful for you and your business, please do not hesitate to ask or to share that idea, because I love, love, love.
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: I mean really, like I don't just talk into a microphone every week for myself, like I want to make this helpful and I want to make this impactful for you and I really want you to reduce overwhelm and to enjoy a more organized business that is growing and thriving without you killing yourself.
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: So, anyways, I hope you guys have an amazing rest of your week, and if you hear random grunting and yelling and things in the background, it's summer and I've got teenagers home from school.
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: If you know, you know.
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: Thank you.