Did You Learn the Lesson?

Stoic Quote of the Week

If anyone can refute me? show me I'm making a mistake or looking at things from the wrong perspective? I'll gladly change. It's the truth I'm after, and the truth never harmed anyone.

-Marcus Aurelius

What I learned this week:

Lessons learned was one of the most important things I learned while in the Army. After every exercise, training, or mission, we would go through our actions step by step and discuss what we did wrong and, just as importantly, what we did right. We would capture these points and add them to the ever-growing repository of information on how to do it better next time. I used the same process when I was coaching rugby. After each match, we'd watch game film together and talk about who did what and how they could do it better and build on the things done right. This process is ingrained in my actions. Heck, I even do it after a round of snow removal from the driveway and sidewalk. I know that's a little weird, but that's who I am. With this process so engrained in my thoughts, why is it so hard to do the most important part of lessons learned, the learning? I have been running my executive coaching business for five years now, and I continue to have to re-learn some of the basic principles of the business. As I worked on a new coaching program this week, I was reminded that my job as the coach, teacher, and guide is not to vomit everything I know all over the people who want to learn and improve. It is to share with my clients what they need in the moment. I know this because I've been on the other side of the conversation or podium. The person giving out the info was knowledgeable and experienced. But he droned on and on and on! He was generous and gave everything he knew. The problem is that it isn't what I needed. I need the 2-3 nuggets mixed into the hours of instruction to move forward, not everything he knew. It's hard to hold back when you want to help, but in the end, it is about giving what is needed by the client, not Otis' encyclopedia of knowledge. When you see the new program, know it isn't for everyone. It is for small business executives who are losing their profit margin. That may or may not fit you. The program will be what that group needs to succeed. Besides, not everyone needs to know how to field strip an M-60 machine gun blindfolded.

Planning thought of the week:

When laying out a plan, time allocation for action is one of the biggest mistakes planners make. Planners are overly optimistic about how much time it takes to accomplish the tasks. What makes matters worse is that the executors, and implementers, complete one task and then jump to the next immediately. As a planner, allocate time to capture and review the actions. Back-to-back actions do not allow the team to capture the lessons learned. Time is money, but failure far outweighs the cost of time to reflect on the action.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Solopreneurship is the latest life, the life you want, at least that is always the images portrayed in the articles that pop up in my feed. It's always some 30-something guy with a cool, work-hard 3-day beard wearing a full-brim hat sipping beer from a fancy glass. Yep, there is some truth to the freedom that solopreneurship gives you. You don't have to be there for anyone, but your clients, no employees, no partners, no one, and that's the problem. We are a species that thrives with connections, aka tribes. All these solopreneurs aren't truly happy. They are alone and alone ≠ happy. It's time to create a tribe of solopreneurs. We thrive on human interaction, and the ability to share your solopreneur problem sets with others is exactly what is missing in this perceived utopia. The solopreneurs meet every other week virtually and work to solve each other's problem sets. Wouldn't you rather have seven different perspectives and ideas on a problem that is holding you back than continue to bang your head against the wall? I've seen this same model work in co-working spaces. That's why co-working spaces are popular. It is being around other solopreneurs who have similar values and are walking a similar path that you are.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

The National Park Service (NPS) is issuing free lifetime passes to Veterans and Gold-Star families. These passes give you access to all national parks and several other BLM and recreation lands that require fees for access. What a great incentive to get outdoors and reconnect with nature. Learn more here.

Someone I met this week:

A friend of mine made a tough decision last week. One that we applaud him for doing, but I'm betting that not many of us would do. He stepped down from a role that he was tailor-made for. The reason he stepped down or resigned was for family reasons. Over my years of service and business, I have known very few people who put their family before their job, especially in the Special Operations community. We aren't defending the nation in business, but the pace can get just as hectic, and our priorities of what is important in life can get lost. I applaud my friend for making the choice of family over business. Too many of us don't keep our life categories in the right priority, and because of that, we lose something very dear to us, our family.?

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode, Ep 212 Zach Nannini - Financial Advisor | Championship Trapshooter. Please note that we updated our show's webpage to camandotisshow.com.

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