Cruxible Partners

"What's on your mind?" Have you ever opened a conversation with this question? As I was wandering the aisles of our local grocery store this weekend I noticed the facial expressions of the shoppers around me. It struck me that each of them had something completely different "on their mind." "Why is fruit so expensive?" "Will I have enough to feed my family this week?" "What wine goes with pork tenderloin?" "What should I be feeding my 92-year-old mother?" "I know I shouldn't buy this, but..." "Maybe I should buy my wife flowers." "There's my nosy neighbor, I hope he doesn't see me." "Why am I so stressed every day?" "What do I give my newborn to stop a fever?" As you greet your coworkers or friends today, consider the various issues and challenges facing them. Very often they carry them into the office or on a Zoom call. They may not notice the edge in their voice, the tension or the tone. Be gracious, be empathetic and don't be afraid to ask "What's wrong?" Listen, and if possible, offer to help. Prepare a meal, take care of the dog, pick up the kids, say a prayer. Jump in when times are tough. That's where coworkers become friends. Yes, there are boundaries, yes, difficult to do when your coworker is on a Zoom call 1,000 miles away. Use common sense - don't press when it's obviously not the right time. There are situations when sharing their issues is therapeutic - and knowing you understand is important. #empathy

Get people in the right seat on the bus. Great leaders spend the timing learning how their teammates operate, professionally and on a personal level. After failing (and now and then succeeding) assembling teams, I've learned many of my mistakes were having great people in the wrong seat. They struggled, we struggled. However, when we spent unstructured time with our teammates, learning more about what gets them excited, sharing examples of hobbies, projects and skills, we learned how to better leverage their skill set - both hard and soft skills. The soft skills were the biggest learning curve. Certain soft skills are crushed or hampered in the wrong seat, and thrive in the right seat. This "intentional" leadership practice is one of key ways to separate great companies from average companies. People.

I'm a fan of ANYONE I see in the gym. Even if they are a bit cranky and don't put weights back or wipe down their station. Why? Because they chose to be there. Over 80% of the adult population chooses not to workout daily. Yes, I said "chooses." Some people will list excuses. "I can't workout because ______" Yesterday I saw a story of a soldier who lost both legs and an arm while serving our country. In the video, he was strapping on prosthetic legs and an arm - all by himself. Then he did a workout. A crazy hard workout. Got me fired up. I mean REALLY fired up. How can anyone with four capable limbs and the time to exercise choose not to? Why would they? We don't need ANY equipment. We don't need a gym. Why not move your coffee table, turn on your favorite Netflix show and do squats, pushups and sit ups for the entire episode? As many sets as you can, as many reps as you can each set. BTW, I am not condoning Netflix as a workout partner, my point is why not use your TV time to be productive if you HAVE to watch it?? 30 minutes later you are gassed. 30 minutes later you are a better person, physically, mentally and emotionally. Why exercise? I could list 1,000s of studies about the clinical benefits of exercise. Google them. Here are a few other reasons: 1. You will be a better spouse, parent, friend and coworker. Period. 2. You don't tell your kids how to act, you show them. Let that sink in. 3. If you can, do it first thing in the morning. You're done. No stress. I know first thing isn't possible for some, but mentally and emotionally the power of having your workout behind you is transformative. Most of us can't control the latter part of our day. Meetings, practices, sick kids, etc cause us to miss our workouts and then we beat ourselves up. Early mornings are rarely interrupted (other than a late night with a sick little one). Next time you consider blowing off your workout, think of those who choose to get it done, with far more difficulty. Even getting ready for a workout is a workout for them. Last benefit: When you do your workout, you learn "to do hard things." This will carry forward in every aspect of your life. You begin to make the right decisions, even when they aren't the easiest. There are no downsides, only upsides.

Your $h!t is scaring people off. We all have trash. However, if we let our $h!t precede us as we enter a room, or worse, if we leave a trail of $h!t behind when we leave, well… …the smell is all people will remember. Struggling to make quota? Struggling to get out of bed? Struggling in your relationships? Get your own house in order and take out the trash. We all need a good spring cleaning but it can’t be a once a year thing. Happy and healthy people don’t live in clutter. They make a daily practice of cleaning up after themselves, especially when they are staying with friends. Clear your mind (ditch the TV and try reading something helpful). Clear your soul (pray/meditate). Help someone in need. Clear your body (Eat clean, fast now and then, exercise). Clear your conscience (look inward, seek forgiveness and give forgiveness). Be grateful for what you have and work hard for what you need. If you need help, I know a guy:

Everyone should go to Buc-ee's, Ltd. once in their lifetime. Think of a Walmart, a Golden Corral, a Wawa, a State Fair and a Circus…all at the same Campground with one hundred gas pumps. Incredible business. Cars everywhere. People everywhere. No lines. Very clean. Polite and attentive staff. If they put one in near you they will have to redo the off and on ramps at the interstate to handle the traffic. Consumer brands should pay attention. They know their customers. Their customers love them. They do extensive research on products and product placement. Everything in that’s store is intentional. Good for them.

How to 5X your team's growth and productivity: Get out of their way. This is hard for many managers (and leaders). Set the course, establish a few boundaries and let them run. Mistakes will be made. Sure, major issues should be addressed, but perfect is the enemy of good. This may rattle some cages. I post about "intentionality" frequently. Intentionality often requires an obsession to detail and a bit of micromanagement. I have a healthy respect for leaders and managers who pay attention to detail. They expect quality at every step and as a result, they usually get it. However, if every decision has to funnel through them, productivity comes to a halt. Even the manager or leader ends up spending time on small details or "how to do something" vs. bigger issues that require their expertise. I've been guilty of both sides of the spectrum. Empowering, then walking away too early, and micromanaging the $h!t out of my team. Both sucked. Fortunately, I've worked for and alongside leaders and managers who are relentless about details, and set up systems and policies that allow them to stay on top of things, without slowing the team down. The team runs hard and fast, but they know the details matter. Dashboards, clearly defined goals and the proper "tee up" I call it. Vision casting, establishing both the importance and urgency for a project or a team, but truly giving them the reins. Those leaders scale faster...so do their companies. We can't be in the same place at the same time, working on the same things. We scale when we empower people at the edge and everyone is leaning forward in the area where they make the biggest impact. The best CEOs are out in front, seeing around corners, negotiating big contracts, investments, partners, etc. Their teams are handling business, giving their leadership the confidence that the house is in order, in fact, it's more than in order, it's freaking beautiful, spotless and ready for guests at all times. That confidence wipes out the need for micromanagement. But it takes time to extend the trust and ensure the team that mistakes will not be punished if they were done in the spirit of productivity vs. laziness.

Today is one of those days. Part of my routine is to engage on LinkedIn each morning - absorbing content from people I respect, or at times, disagree with, commenting when it moves me, and learning when possible. There are days when I struggle to even "like" a post, let alone comment. Nothing jumps out or is "different." Today was one of those days where several people I follow posted content that resonated deeply with me. Faith. Fitness. Resilience. Dedication. Leadership. They were all there. #linkedinlottery I call it. I'd say these days happen once every two weeks or so. They are far too unusual. But today, I made a new connection from a post by someone I respect in Europe. Yes, overseas, both the poster and the connection. I freaking love that. Many of my new friends were made on LinkedIn over the past four years. Some I've met in person, others still virtual, yet, I'd run through a wall for them. Find a tribe. Stretch your thinking, challenge yourself and when possible, engage with people who may not align with your political, spiritual or even physical beliefs. That's when real learning happens. When you begin to understand why others feel differently than you. Doesn't mean you agree. You agree to disagree. Some of my closest friends and I have very different views on many topics, but we respect the heck out of each other for taking the time to understand, and even more for holding to our beliefs. Today was one of those days.

"My plate is full." Most of us can tell when OUR plate if full. But are we aware of how full our teammate's plates are? Unlikely. This hit me upside the head this morning as I met with a teammate and asked him to walk me through what he was working on before a big launch deadline. I was floored. His project list was extensive and sort of a catch all for the entire team who happens to be traveling extensively. The bulk of the work landed squarely on his shoulders. He's on it, don't want anyone to think otherwise, but with a couple of unforeseen challenges, the timeline compressed and so did his calendar. I wonder how many other leaders are oblivious to their team's plight? Time to jump in. For me, it's an honor, this teammate is a pleasure to work with, organized and incredibly talented. I'll learn a lot over the next few days and hopefully we all stay on schedule. If this post has you wondering, ask your team, then LISTEN. Seriously, ask them to walk you through their projects, physically or on screen (we use Wrike). We did the Wrike walk through last week, but walking the project physically made it much more clear and allowed my teammate to show what they were doing in 3D. Impactful.

""I fu*%$d up." A client shared this story: A teammate called and led with this opening line. They'd been working on a project, upfitting their facility. It's an amazing project. Their Project lead was working late and accidentally ran a drill into a water pipe. He was able to shut the water off quickly to avoid any serious after effects. However, to fix the issue would require a day of work, a day of UNPLANNED work. He felt horrible. You could hear it in his voice and see the frustration. It made me think of Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin's book. It's excellent. Here's the thing most people would forget: This Project Lead had been performing at an extremely high level. The project was on time and on budget. And both were aggressive. He single-handedly drove this success by owning every aspect of the project: Vendors, schedule, budget, implementation. Sure, he rallied resources from the company to help, but he put his neck on the line every step of the way. This mistake was minor in the grand scope of the project. It would set the schedule back a day (which is notable, but not catastrophic). His ownership, making the call to his leadership team - that's the lesson for me. Not the mistake, not the slip in schedule. The ownership. The client described the conversation and the fact that they recognized his efforts and simply said "Sorry to hear that, I'm sure that was frustrating. But, we know how well this project is going thanks to your efforts. We can handle the delay. Don't sweat it and gather whoever you need to help out. Keep up the great work!" Extreme ownership deserved an emotionally intelligent response, like the one above.

There is CLEARly a problem. I’ve flown every week this year. TSA Precheck is a must. It’s CLEAR, the private “identity” company that’s a mystery to me. They state that you will “joyfully breeze through airport security” with their touchless recognition technology. Ummm, not so much. Next to TSA Precheck are at least 6 CLEAR kiosks. Theoretically you should walk up, look into its “eyes” be recognized and breeze on through. Except it NEVER works. CLEAR must be bleeding cash. Each kiosk requires one of their people (in cool CLEAR gear) to manually assist you and walk you up to a TSA agent to get you through. For this you get to pay $189/yr. I’m shocked how people put up with this. CLEAR’s own website states they’re relentless about the customer experience. If I’m missing something and there are travelers out there who love it, enlighten me. I could be completely wrong here. I’ll stick with TSA Pre thank you. 😊