Better Business, Better Life - Newsletter Issue 13

This week, I have been very busy in client sessions & so haven’t had much chance to curate new content so I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite tools that I use in these sessions as well as some of the stuff I have been working on myself. 

Here’s this week’s business tip, life hack & find of the week… And don’t forget the inspirational quote, which you can download as a wallpaper or lock screen for your phone. 

If you find great things that you’d like to share then feel free to email me for inclusion in one of my weekly newsletters.

BONUS – We’re running a series of events that teach the EOS Model & tools. If you’d like to attend & learn more about EOS, understand how to use the tools plus go home with a workbook & a copy of the Traction book (& a free lunch) then send me an email & I’ll send you a VIP code that will get you either a complimentary ticket or a discounted ticket to the event. See the link to the event at the bottom of the email. 

Better Business

Is there Real Trust in your team?

I did an Annual Planning Session this week with one of my favourite EOS clients. Part of the ‘homework’ for the team is to read The 5 dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. 

I also re-read it every time I do one of these sessions & I love revisiting what this book teaches us. 

Patrick takes us on journey with a dysfunctional leadership team & then shows us what it looks like when there is an absence of the required trait & what a functional team looks like.

The 5 traits or dysfunctions are: 

• Trust 
• Conflict 
• Commitment 
• Accountability 
• Results 

As a snippet, here is the Trust section:  

Members of Teams with an absence of trust… 

• Conceal their weaknesses and mistakes from one another 
• Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback 
• Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility 
• Jump to conclusions about the intentions and aptitudes of others without attempting to clarify them 
• Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and experiences 
• Waste time and energy managing their behaviour for effect 
• Hold grudges 
• Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time together 

 Members of trusting Teams… 

• Admit weaknesses and mistakes 
• Ask for help 
• Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility 
• Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion 
• Take risks in offering feedback and assistance 
• Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences 
• Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics 
• Offer and accept apologies without hesitation 
• Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group 

And in closing, I’ll share the introduction – “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. 

A friend of mine, the founder of a company that grew to a billion dollars in annual revenue, best expresses the power if teamwork when he once told me, “If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time.” 

If any of this resonates with you then I thoroughly recommend you get a hold of the book – it’s gold & it’s an easy read which is a bonus.  

Better Life

Do you really need that app? 

I’m not sure if this falls under Better Business, Better Life or both? 

I was working with one of my clients, which is a VA team. One of the issues that came up, which I think we find across the board, is the cost of subscriptions for software as a service. They talked about a client who had signed up to some software that he was paying $150 per month for, on the basis that he thought everyone in the team would use it, but it ended up being just him.  

Once they recognised this, they were able to reduce it to a lower version of $15 per month. That’s a saving of $1,620 per year on just one piece of software!

And it made me think… How many times do you sign up for a piece of software, when the free trial period runs out (sometimes without knowing) & how often do you then not use that software to its full advantage? 

Or maybe you have several cloud based systems all doing the same or similar things? And maybe you don’t realise that another piece of software you already have (such as Microsoft) can do the same thing as part of your package? 

This month, I sat down with my IT guy & I created a list of all the subscriptions that I use in home & at work. Turns out I had 4 cloud-based services storing my photos, documents etc. And yet, Microsoft does all this for free as part of my package. Same with my booking software, my note taker & Zoom etc... 

There were also a whole lot more pieces of software that I had forgotten we were paying for. And, whilst they may only be US$20 or $30 per month, when you add them all up over a year, it can be a significant amount over a year. 

I then looked at my Apple account & looked at what subscriptions I was inadvertently paying for there. And then, my various Netflix, Neon etc... subscriptions. 

I didn’t get rid of them all – I just reviewed each one & asked myself the question – was the mount I was paying worth the perceived value? And then I chose to keep them, downgrade them or switch them off. 

If you know me, you’ll know I’m a gadget girl, so I worked out what I could save & then immediately what I could buy with it ??.

It’s definitely worth a few hours to do this in your business & personal life! 

Find of the Week

The E-myth revisited on Audible  

As well as running sessions this week, I took some time out to go & visit a client at her home office. It was as much a social visit as it was a business visit – we’d just recognised that we both have dogs, both love walking outdoors & both needed some time out from business. 

So, I drove to Orere, which is a suburb that, despite living in Auckland for 21 years, I didn’t know existed until Monday. 

It’s beautiful out there & we did a lovely walk along the beach, although because the tide was in, there was a little more climbing than I had anticipated!

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon out there but there was an added bonus! 

I am fortunate to live only 10 minutes away from my office, so it’s great from a commute point of view, however it also means that I don’t have time to use Audible on my journey into the office & yet I love to listen to books as well as read. 

The drive to Orere was different – it was 70 minutes there & almost 100 minutes home, so I had lots of time to listen to books. 

And I rediscovered ‘The E-myth revisited - Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It’ on my audible account. It’s also only 1hr 51 minutes so perfect for this type of journey. 

This is what good read has to say about it: 

The The E-Myth Revisited deals with two major misconceptions about running a business: that every small business owner is an entrepreneur and the assumption that working on your business is the same as working in your business. 

An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business. 

Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business. 

The E-Myth Revisited will help you grow your business in a productive, assured way. 

For me, it was a great reminder of how we must work ON the business & not IN it. Highly recommend it for your next journey. 

Get The E-Myth Revisited on Audible here.

Favourite Quote

This quote comes from my German heritage and the desire to simplify things. It’s a great reminder for me – I hope it is for you too. 

Plus, the image is from my walk in Orere!

“Weiniger aber Besser or Less but Better” – Dieter Rams

If you find great things that you’d like to share then feel free to email me for inclusion in one of my weekly newsletters. 

If you’d like to learn more about any of these tools or would like to find out how I can help you achieve a better life through creating a better business then book a free Discovery Call with me.

Don't forget the EOS Event. You don't want to miss this one, trust me! - How to get everything you want from your Business!

Debra Chantry-Taylor

Professional EOS Implementer | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Speaker