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Awesome Officers… get pumped.
Yes pumped, because this week we’ve got a phenomenal interview with Jim Cavale, the president of Iron Tribe Fitness.
Jim is a passionate, purpose-driven entrepreneur and leader who believes that culture and values are the key to building strong organizations and lasting relationships with customers.
In this episode, Jim walks us through the journey that brought him to that realization - from the baseball fields of upstate New York where he was a standout high school athlete, to the University of Montevallo in Birmingham, Alabama, where he founded the school’s broadcasting program while playing on the baseball team, to Iron Tribe, where, before he was president of the company, Jim was actually one of Iron Tribe’s very first clients.
Today, Jim has helped Iron Tribe expand to more than 41 locations in markets spanning from Seattle to Miami, and the company is on a mission to transform 15,000 lives by 2017.
Through it all, Jim has learned that core values should never be abstract, but real principles that permeate the organization and drive decision making every single day. This, he believes, is the key to creating lasting value for customers, and is a truism that applies to virtually every business, not just those in the fitness industry.
Jim also tells us about one of the most influential figures in his life, his legendary high school baseball coach Tom Dotterer, who taught Jim lifelong lessons about perseverance that he applies to his business today.
Key Takeaways
- Jim tells us why he ventured from New York to Birmingham, Alabama, and why being a big fish in a small pond can be a major advantage for some entrepreneurs.
- Jim dives into some of the challenges of attracting talent to a smaller market like Birmingham, and tells us how to overcome them.
- Jim explains how to build a community-focused organization, and why doing so is essential for any business.
- Jim reveal the one commonality between his top performing franchises.
- Jim explains the differences between certainty and confidence, how the two are often conflated - and why that’s bad for any business.
- Jim talks about the role of big data in organizations, and how he leverages data to innovate at Iron Tribe.
- Jim tells us about one of the most influential figures in his life - his high school baseball coach - and what he taught Jim about life and business.
- Finally, Jim reveals the biggest challenge he faces as a leader of people, and how he’s overcoming that today.
Links
- @JimCavale on Twitter
- Jim’s blog JimCavale.me
- Iron Tribe Fitness
- Iron Tribe Franchising
- Iron Tribe’s Missions and Core Values
- Gary Vaynerchuck
- Dave Ramsey
- Seth Godin
Recommended Reading
- By Invitation Only by Alexis Maybank
- Don’t Disregard the Turtle (Jim’s blogpost on baseball coach Tom Dotterer)
- Beyond Entrepreneurship By James Collins
- The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.
"Work smarter, not harder."
It's a familiar maxim for anyone who cares about productivity.
But it's also something you'll never hear Kevin Dorsey tell his team.
Why? Because no company, team, or organization ever achieved greatness by sacrificing hard work for efficiency.
From Dorsey's point of view, why not work both smart and hard?
This is just one of the many pieces of advice that Kevin gives in his presentation, 8 Surefire Productivity Hacks for the Workplace.
Kevin Dorsey is a speaker, productivity coach, and the head of sales at SnackNation, where he trains and leads a team of more than twenty sales rockstars. An avid reader and frequent presenter, he's known internally as a fountain of personal development knowledge, and is obsessed with maximizing his team's and his own productivity.
We recently watched a presentation that he gave his team on workplace productivity hacks earlier this year, and we thought it would be a tremendous value add for the Awesome Office community.
We’d loved this presentation because it provides both interesting facts and practical takeaways. Kevin gives you the tactics, and then the science behind the tactics, to help you and your team maximize your days and become the powerhouses you know you can be.
We've also provided a video of the presentation intercut with slides that you can share with your team.
Kevin will be speaking at the Salesloft Rainmaker Conference March 7-9 in Atlanta, as well as the LA Chapter of the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals on February 18.
Video Presentation:
Key Takeaways
- Under optimal conditions, the brain can only stay focused for 60-90 minutes tops (unless in a flow state). Most people max out at 20 minutes.
- Focus and will power are limited resources - meaning you can use them up. This is why most of us have much more trouble staying on task in the afternoon than in the morning.
- There’s an interruption every 11 minutes, and it takes us 25 minutes to get back to our previous level of focus, which means we’re virtually never at our optimal focus level.
- Here are some simple "hacks" to boost your focus and concentration, and get more done:
- (1) Wear headphones - it sends a signals to those around you that you’re in focus mode.
- (2) Listen to music that improves focus - instrumental works best.
- (3) Schedule your interruptions. Give yourself permission to give your brain a break, you’ll be less tempted throughout the day.
- (4) Give up the idea of multi-tasking - we’re biologically incapable of doing it. Instead, set aside dedicated focus time for the projects you need to get done.
- (5) Schedule high priority things first, when cognition and focus are at their height.
- (6) Play a game. Games have been proven to heighten brain function, including things like task switching and decision making.
- (7) Focus on relaxation, don't just waste time during your breaks. Incorporate proper breathing, movement, some time outside, even reading and meditation.
- (8) Get outside! Seeing blue sky and green grass has a naturally calming effect, and getting out in the sun will give your brain some vital vitamin D.
Links
- SnackNation.com
- Kevin on LinkedIn
- Productivity boosting music:
- Stay Focused App for Chrome
Recommended Reading
- Eat that Frog! By Brian Tracy
- Train Your Brain for Success by Roger Seip
As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.
It used to be that the relationship with your customers ended at the transaction. You might engage them heavily as they entered your sales funnel, but once you closed the deal, that was the end of it - on to the next.
Today’s guest turns that notion completely on its head. Robbie Kellman Baxter is a consultant, keynote speaker, and the author of The Membership Economy, a fantastic new book that explains why access and community are more valuable than ownership and transactional relationships.
Robbie makes a powerful case that all companies - not just subscription based companies - are better served when they move away from the idea that the relationship ends at the transaction, and realize that they need what she describes as an “ongoing, open, multi-directional conversation” with their customers. What's more, she explains why a membership-oriented culture can positively transform your business.
Additionally, we explore “self disruption” - one of the most fascinating points in the book - the idea that leading companies need to disrupt their own business models, or risk losing out in the long run.
Robbie also describes the fascinating world of Competitive Smell Analysis from her days at Mrs. Field’s Cookies.
We highly recommend her book, and after this interview, you’ll see why.
Key Takeaways
- Robbie explains how her consulting career led her to the concepts behind The Membership Economy, and why she felt she had to write the book.
- Robbie defines the term “membership economy,” and explains why it's relevant to companies in every industry.
- Robbie walks us through the concept of ownership vs. access, and explains how the shift in expectations around ownership has led to major disruption.
- Robbie explains why your company needs to disrupt itself, and the dire consequences that could result if it fails to do so.
- Robbie talks about why your company needs to build a membership-oriented culture, and what that entails.
- Robbie points out that in a traditional economy, the transaction is the end of the relationship, but in the membership economy, the transaction is just the beginning.
Links
- @robbiebax on Twitter
- www.MembershipEconomy.com
- e: rbaxter@membershipeconomy.com
Recommended Reading
- The Membership Economy by Robbie Kellman Baxter
- Leadership BS by Jeff Pfeffer
- Power by Jeff Pfeffer
As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.
Our last episode was all about looking ahead —
Towards the New Year, the future, the things we want to achieve and the path that will take us there.
Now we take a moment to look back and reflect on the year that was.
Because as important as planning, preparation, and goal setting are, it’s the process - the journey - that matters most.
And there are always lessons to be learned.
So in today’s Awesome Office Show, we take a look back and share the top 8 leadership learnings from 2015.
Here's a quick summary of the topics we dive into in depth in the episode:
#1 - The key to leading an ultra productive and fulfilled life is to say no to all but the essential.
Do less, but better. Greg McKeown's book Essentialism provides a framework for achieving this ideal.
#2 - Effective communication requires empathy, not expectation.
They key to connecting with an audience - be it a group of colleagues, an audience at a speaking appearance, or readers of a blog post - is to put yourself in their shoes and think about how you can make their day better, take away some of their burdens, or answer their burnig questions. Guest Hank Fortener is an expert on the subject.
#3 - The single most important marketing question is who do you want your customer to become?
It’s not about the product or service, it’s how that product or service can positively transform your customer. Michael Schrage's book makes a strong, eloquent case for this.
#4 - The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology, but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human
An idea credited to John Naisbitt in his book Megatrends. For those of us who focus on people, this represents an enormous opportunity to innovate and make a positive impact.
#5 - Stress and discomfort are an essential part of a productive office.
An idea explored in our conversation with 15five CEO David Hassell, that a certain amount of discomfort and good stress (or eustress) is necessary in order for employees to experience breakthroughs and do their best work.
#6 - Know your team’s personal and professional goals.
They're intertwined; don't pretend like they aren't.
#7 - Don’t think of people staying as good and leaving as bad.
Tons of toxic cultures have extremely low attrition rates. Think of your company as a D1 college sports team; some employees go pro, others join your coaching staff. Reid Hoffman's The Alliance and Richard Sheridan's Joy Inc. explore this concept and explode the myth that high retention = good culture.
#8 - Exercise to feel great, eat to lose weight.
A simple change in mindset can unlock the motivation you need to live more productive, healthier lifestyle. When you focus on feeling good and recharging your energy when you workout, you’ll be less likely to skip and more likely to