Weekly Fuel

Overcome Setbacks In Seconds, Be A Goldfish With Bill Cummins

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 19:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the Leadership Factory Podcast, we’re honored to sit down with Bill Cummins—a leader who exemplifies resilience in the face of any setback, purpose, and servant leadership. Bill's impressive career spans 35 years at Texas Instruments and Raytheon, where he mastered roles from product line manager to operations manager, always leading with integrity and innovation.

But Bill’s leadership doesn’t stop at the workplace. As a devoted husband of 41 years, a father to four, and a proud grandfather, his story is grounded in faith, family, and a relentless commitment to growth. From his inspiring lessons on overcoming setbacks to his passion for creating clear expectations, Bill shares wisdom that will resonate with leaders at every level.

So, grab a notebook and get ready to uncover the one domino that could transform your leadership journey. Let’s grow!

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Overcome Setbacks In Seconds, Be A Goldfish With Bill Cummins

How are you doing, Mr. Bill Cummins?

I'm doing great. It's another day to wake up and get to be alive and look for opportunities to do things nice for my family.

You were just telling me before we started, how many steps did you walk a day with your three grand babies in Disney World?

We went for four days. The easiest day was 24,000 steps and the last day was 29,000. I did that four days in a row and I feel like a granddaddy.

Was it just you and Lori?

We took both sets of parents, so we had a lot of help.

This episode is going to be between me and Bill Cummins. Bill Cummins was a junior in high school and he won a state championship at our hometown in Kentucky. I was in the seventh grade, and then he was running up his senior year as a senior in high school. To me, I always looked up to Bill because I loved the way he played football. He played it hard. He's just an outstanding student, and he's going to tell you all of these degrees and all the fancy words that he has. He's done very well in business.

Bill’s Education And Career Path

He's a very tenacious person, but he can love you or be tenacious with you at the same time. That's what I love and I’ll honor you, Bill, because you showed me I could do the rough and tough part, but I was not into class going to school and study and doing those other things that you did with excellence. Thank you for being a great leader for me and inspire me to do things I couldn't do by myself. Run us through your education and your jobs, Coach, real quick.

I went to college at the University of Kentucky. When I started, I thought I wanted to be a dentist. I did all the pre-dental work, got accepted to dental school, and the summer before dental school started, I had a research job in chemical engineering. I loved it so much that I decided I was going to be a chemical engineer and not pursue becoming a dentist. It's probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. It was scary and it was hard because it was a huge goal, a huge objective, and you got accepted and then you had to do a lot of prayer and God led me another direction and it was a great direction.

Where'd you land your first job at? You moved from Kentucky to Texas.

I moved from Lexington to Sherman, Texas, to work for Texas Instruments. I started out as a process engineer working with chemicals and wastewater treatment, painting facilities, soldering. If you name it, I did it with chemicals at Texas Instruments.

Tell us about your Master's.

While I was at TI, I was encouraged to go get my Master's. I got a Master's of Science in Engineering Management, which is like an MBA, but in the Engineering college. I enjoyed that so much, I got a Master's in Metallurgical Engineering.

What in the earth is metallurgical?

It's like the study of metals and their properties.

I took chemistry in my last year of high school with Mr. Cobb.

Yes, I remember Mr. Cobb.

That was a sophomore class. I walked into the class, and Mr. Cobb said, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I'm going to go to college, so I'm going to have to take chemistry more than likely. I figured I'd just stop in and say hello to you, see if I could hang out with you for a year.” Mr. Cobb said, “Come on in.” Where else did you work besides Texas Instruments?

I spent 30-some-odd years working with Texas Instruments in various capacities. While we were there, a section of Texas Instruments got sold to Raytheon, so I moved and worked with Raytheon. Still in the same building, same city, same everything, just the product lines that I was supporting were purchased by Raytheon from Texas Instruments.

Alright, everybody who's joining us, I want everybody to understand that at the show, we want you to learn three things that can catapult your inspirational leadership career. At the end, we want you to be able to write one thing. It's the domino effect. What's that one thing that you can conquer that knocks the rest of the dominoes down? Can you write three things down?

Favorite And Worst Leaders

We're going to say a lot of words, but can you find three things that resonates with your mind and your heart that will catapult you forward? What's the one thing, what's that one domino that you can do on a consistent basis that knocks all your other barriers down for you achieving your goals and dreams in your life? As we always start here at the show, Bill, who is your favorite leader and why? Who is your best leader and why?

My favorite leader was a lady named Shauna. Shauna was a dentist’s wife. He left her with young kids. She went back to school and became an engineer. She worked at Texas Instruments as a vice president in multiple roles. She was one of the first female vice presidents in Texas Instruments. She's had multiple consulting gigs. She's on all kinds of boards of directors for businesses, but to some Shana up, I would say servant-based leadership, and tough love, holds you accountable and you'll learn and do more than you ever could have done otherwise without her leadership and direction.

Tell us the story, Coach, where you came to a point where you're like, “I'm overwhelmed,” and where she ignited you with some energy.

I’ll give you that moment. I told this story throughout my career. We were looking at a merger and acquisition process and I was going to be a chief technical officer for an acquisition. I went on vacation and I came back and the deal had fell through. We had reorganized. I had a new boss. I didn't know my new boss, but it certainly wasn't the chief technical officer for a new company. I was disappointed about it and I stewed around about it. I waited about a week to go into her office and talk to her.

I got in there, and before I got the first sentence out of my mouth, as soon as she figured out I was unhappy, she said, “Bill, I expect leaders in my company to deal with change in minutes, not weeks. You had a week of vacation and a week to stew about this and you're still dwelling in the past. In business, we don't have that much time to deal with a setback because it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day. You need to learn how to get through going from shock and anger to moving on and getting on with doing the job that we're paying you to do.” That was a wake-up moment for me.

That's funny. I like her tenacity. That resonated with you, right?

It resonated because it’s a lot like football. You have 30 seconds to play, and you don't do great on every play, but what you can't do is sit around and keep getting beat or worrying about the last play. A lot of things in business you can equate to a sports analogy. That helped me frame it in my mind as, “Next play.” You’re still worrying about last week's session and we've already had a week's worth of plays.

Have you watched Ted Lasso?

I love Ted Lasso. It's about life.

That's right. He always said, “You got to be a goldfish.” Their memory lasts for only ten seconds. Someone needs to hear that now because I heard don't dwell in the past. You have to pick up your wounds, heal your wounds, and move on. You got to keep growing. If you're trying to be a leader and you're trying to grow, you just have to keep moving. You got to be a goldfish. Have short-term memory, get back to focus, being intentional and being consistent and you'll get to where you want to go in life.

The other thing Shauna did that I thought was better than any other leader I’ve had, I never can remember a discussion where she didn't state my expectations are. There was never a doubt in what her expectations were of you and your team. It was a consistent recurring message. I think a lot of times as leaders, we fail to state the expectations and then hold people accountable for achieving those expectations.

Accountability is a big thing, Coach. I'm going to say people have to be pushed into holding people accountable. That's a deep conversation right there, holding people accountable. You can't make them better, but some people seize accountability as discipline. Accountability is not discipline. Accountability is coaching someone to where you're currently and coaching you to where the expectation is. That's every day. You have to coach them every day to take another step and grow so they can get to the expectation.

It felt to me like she was removing every barrier and every excuse that I could possibly come up with for why I couldn't do what she needed me to do.

Coach, I would say you all were a great team. That's all I have to say.

She's awesome. I admire her more than any other person I’ve got to work with.

Who is your worst leader and why? No names need to be called out, but who's your worst leader and why?

First thing, your worst leader is who you can learn the most about improving. You have to have the attitude of if you're stuck and you got somebody that really is a bad leader, you got to start jotting down all the things they're doing and how it made you feel and what you could do differently because one day, you're going to be a leader and you don't want to be that leader. You want to be the other leader. My very first leader out of college, he was very demotivated. He was like we were there to make him look good and he would take credit for our work. Instead of creating opportunities and giving us opportunities to have different assignments and show what we can do, he was always busy taking the credit for the team instead of the team taking credit for him.

Advice For Struggling Leaders

What would be your advice if someone's reading to that and they're struggling with that as a leader? What would advice would you give to them? If they're doing that as a leader, how do they shift from being an encourager? What's your advice to people who are reading right now?

I think what I want is I want to have a relationship of trust. I want to know as an employee when they tell me they're going to do something, they're going to do what they said they were going to do. Likewise, I think they need that out of you. That you need to be able to make and keep a commitment and do what you said you would do when you said you would do it, and the second you know you can't do it, you got to go back to that boss and say, “This is not working out.”

I used to not want to go do that because I was worried I'd get a spanking. In reality, the sooner you tell them about a problem, the higher the probability they're going to be able to take some action to address the problem. If you think of it this way, you just let the clock keep running. The game got shorter and we still haven't started trying to fix the problem.

I ordered a book, Do Something! It's by Miles McPherson. He played in the NFL. He got out of the NFL and he got hooked up on drugs. I haven't read it to know what it means, but I love the title. Do Something! It is like what Coach Powers told me in high school football. He brought me down as a sophomore from the freshman team as a varsity player. I got lost in the shuffle.

He came up to me and he said, “I didn't bring you down here to think I brought you down here to run and hit people. If you want to think, go back down there and think. I brought you up here to run and hit people. Don't think. Do something.” That is somebody's domino. Go do something. Go make a play. Go gamble. Life's a gamble. Just gamble. Take calculated gambles not just crazy gambles like jumping off a bridge or jumping off trains. Take a calculated gamble in the world of business and you'll prosper. What if you bust your knee? Get up, dust it off and keep moving.

I think I read somewhere that the biggest change in a product line is between the first time you build it and the second time. Your biggest cycle of learning and the biggest opportunity for improvement is when you fail the first time and then you have to do it a second time.

Unsung Hero

Who's your unsung hero?

It's going to sound cliché, but my parents. They balanced each other. One discipline and hard work and the other supportive and get back in there, you can do it.

Who was your disciplinarian?

My dad. He grew up on a farm, so he believed in hard work. My mom was a musician and made straight As all the way through college, so she was more cerebral. I got a little bit of both of them.

Where'd your dad grow up at it?

He grew up in a farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Where's your mom from?

Harlan, Kentucky.

I didn't know that. That's where I was born, in Harlan, Kentucky. I lived in a coal mine camp until I was like three years old. We won't get into that. It's not a bad concept, but we won't get into that discussion. When you say unsung hero, Bill, what does that mean to you?

That probably means I didn't do a good enough job of singing about them. A lot of times in society, we go recognize big accomplishments, but sometimes just showing up every day and doing it right day after day is a big accomplishment. We don't tend to recognize and reward people who are consistent.

Being consistent is not fabulous. It's not going to be put on social media, but it'll get you to where you want to go. If you're consistently getting better one step a day, at the end of the year through, you’re 365 steps ahead. You didn't talk about it. You focused on it. You became intentional and you were consistent. Now you're 365. If you do that another year and you just keep doing that consistency thing, it's amazing, but it's not glamorous.

One of our vice presidents came in one day and we had about 200 engineers in the audience and he put a graph of his career on the board and it showed his pay for every year and his job grades and his assignments for his 25-year career. He put a dot for every one of the 200 engineers in the room. Every single one of those people in that room were doing better than he was.

His whole message was, you don't become great overnight. Overnight successes, in his experience, was about 15 to 20 years. We were so into wanting to get immediate gratification and not put in the learning and the failures you need to experience to we want to win the game on the first play, first day. Sometimes, it takes 15 or 20 years to develop that competency.

Overcoming Adversity

Alright, Coach. Let's talk about your current situation. Tell us what's going on in your life right now.

I'm going to back up just a little. Years ago, my mother and father's health started declining really bad. I had to relocate them and become a full-time caregiver. My dad passed and my mom's health was failing. We had her in the ER. I'm driving her home from the ER and I run into the curb on four successive left turns. We got back to the house, missed the chair, couldn't sit down in the chair, and all of a sudden, the light went off. I'm like, “You're having a stroke. You can't stand up. You can't walk.” We go to the hospital and we actually found out I had two brain tumors. That was a couple months in the hospital after surgery, and now I'm going through chemo. I’m just being grateful to be alive and getting to do all things I get to do every day.

How do you muster up the spirit? This is the spirit of number 63 for the Corbin Red Hounds. In the midst of adversity, Coach, you did 29,000 steps. When some people go through tough times, they'll just quit. Why don't you quit? Why don't you give up and say, “Poor old, pitiful me?”

My entire adult life, I’ve always had a manager tell me this, and he was like, “You can't take care of your job, your wife, or your kids if you're not taking care of yourself.” I’ve always tried to focus on exercising, staying fit both mentally, spiritually, and physically. If you ignore any one of them, it's not going to be sustainable. I feel like to be the father and husband my family deserves, I got to keep living every day. You got to be an example. I’ve said this so many times to my kids, “If you aren’t moving, you're dying.” The day you stop moving, you're dying. You started dying. That's just my attitude.

It sounds like a COO I had back in my first job. If you're not growing, you're dying. You just got to keep living. That's why I love talking to you, Coach. I love your story and everybody in Corbin, Kentucky loves you. You're just number 63 out there, trying to fill a gap and make a play. We were talking one time, “You just got to keep playing until the whistle blows.” Is that what you were taught, playing football?

I’ll quit working hard when I'm in heaven.

I think we might have to work there too, Coach. I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not a theologian, but I think it's going to be work because there's some fulfillment when you find your purpose in life and it's attached to work. I always tell people, “Stress isn't the problem. It's the lack of purpose that's the problem.” If I'm connected to my purpose and I'm doing my purpose every day, my stress levels go down. It doesn't go away.. It will just come down.

My gain is bigger than my pain. I'm going to keep going because if it shifts, my pain gets bigger than my gain, which is my purpose, I'm not going to be doing that. I think to me. I'm thinking for you. That's the dangerous thing to do. My wife's on my shoulder right now, “Shut up.” It’s like you're just living life. This is what I do. You play until the whistle blows, meaning you don't stop until the song's over. Just keep singing, Coach.

Encouraging Others

What would be your advice for friends? I know a lot of your friends. What would you tell someone to do if you knew someone that had cancer, your friend or a family member, to keep them encouraged? I'm asking you to become a friend, but understand your situation. How do they connect? A lot of people get scared, I'm one of those, but I’ll do something instead of sitting and do nothing. How would you want to be encouraged or how would you encourage someone with cancer?

The first thing I would say is you get to choose your attitude. There's a lot of data that supports the more positive you feel about the situation and the more you visualize a different path, the higher the probability of you achieving that. I just keep telling myself every day, “You must keep going. You want to live. You've got all these things you still want to do with your family and friends and you want to continue to be a living example of God's miracle.” I'm a miracle. Every day I wake up, that's another miracle. The more people I tell about it, the more people I can influence.

That's why you're on here, Coach, to influence people. In your life, how do you take another step, Coach, when you get stuck? What's your go-to when you get stuck?

I’ve learned to manage. There's a lot of anxiety when you got cancer. I’ve learned to focus on breathing, prayer and meditation to cha change how the world looks through using my mind.

What is the biggest, “I'm so glad I took that risk,” of your life?

I don't think I took the risk. I think my wife did, but that turned out to be the best decision of my life.

With Ms. Lori? Is she listening to you right now, Coach, so you can get some brownie points?

No, she's not, but she knows how I stand on the subject.

Is your wife was an engineer as well?

She's a vice president of engineering in an engineering firm.

How many kids do you have?

I have four kids. Three daughters and a son. And that was a blessing, too. I think if my son had become first, I would've been a terrible dad to him. You can't make linebackers out of your daughters as easy. I learned that my job was to help them achieve their goals, not mine. I would've never been able to do that with a son if he was my firstborn. I wouldn't have been mature enough to deal with that.

There's a lesson for someone. That's a lesson I learned in probably my low 30s, high 30s. It's my child's life, not my life. I came out of the gate. I'm trying to help them pursue my dream instead of help them pursue their dream. My wife and good counselors and my transformation helped me understand my job as a leader, as a parent, is to help them find their goals and dreams. How can I find the uniqueness in each person so I can speak life to it and help it grow into what they want to do?

Finding Mentors

In the first company I worked at, they applauded people who left to go chase a dream where 99% of the companies frowned upon that. They get mad at you because you're chasing a dream. To me, my first company I worked at was Averitt Express. They were like my second family. They applauded me when I left because I wanted to move back to Corbin to be around family and a lot of other circumstances. If I just wanted a job living in Cookville, Tennessee, that's the greatest place to work for me, but I have an entrepreneurial edge. I wanted go figure it out on my own so they patted me on the back and they're still my mentors to this day. What would you tell somebody about finding mentors, Coach?

I would tell them it's their job and nobody else's, and they need to have at least three mentors. They need to know each mentor has their own unique set of skills and kinds of experiences that they can help you with. I look at a problem and I'm like, “Which one of my mentors is probably the best qualified to help me get through this?” You’ve got to own identifying them and how to use them. It needs to be something that you're actively pursuing and grooming. Mentoring is a two-way street. A lot of people think they're there to make you better. Every person I’ve mentored made me a better person as well. You learn from every one of them.

Winning Edge

When you engage someone in deep conversation and trying to pull out the best of one another, you're going to grow from that experience. That's beautiful. What's your winning edge, Coach? What's your special sauce in life? What is your special sauce or winning edge to be a successful football player, captain of your team, great student, great education, and Master's in your engineering trade? Beautiful wife, beautiful kids, great career. What gives you the ability to do all that?

I’ve always believed, and I'm going to quote someone, I can't remember who said it, but hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. You don't have to be the smartest. You just have to be willing to stick with it and work longer and harder. It's not always that longer and harder, but there's a lot of sweat equity in just about every success.

You said a keyword that I want to pull out for someone. Someone needs to hear that. Stick to it. You got to stick to it. Literally, you’ve got to stick to it. If this is my goal and this is my dream in life, I’ve just got to stick to it. When it's rain, sleet and hailing, everybody's against me, I'm not being treated fair, you got to stick to what your goal and mission is. Coach, close this out here. I'm going to let you close this out. Everybody's written three things down. Now we're trying to figure out what that one domino effect is that impacts their life. How would you close this up, Coach? Close this out here.

I think I would start off with you have to formulate a vision of a desired future state. You got to keep telling yourself you can do it, but don't underestimate the power of a positive attitude. You get to choose that every single day. That's the only thing we can choose. Life is going to throw us all kinds of curves. It's how we choose to react to that's going to be our measure success.

Coach, that's a great closing to this episode. Mr. Bill Cummins, I appreciate you. I'm just praying for a complete healing and restoration in the name of Jesus. I appreciate your time. We’ve been trying to hook up for over a month, so I think it's worth everybody. I hope everybody took some great notes. There are just a ton of nuggets that came out of this. I encourage everybody else to hook up to us. Thank you for watching. Thank you for taking notes. Thank you for engaging and go out and make your play. As we always say at the show, let's grow. Tell them, “Let's grow,” Coach.

Let's grow.

Thank you, Mr. Bill. Thank you, everybody.

Important Links

Do Something!

We Win Or Learn With Coach Reni Mason

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 19:00:01 GMT

Guided by his philosophy, "We Win or Learn," and the life lessons that have shaped his approach to inspiring and empowering others, Coach Reni Mason, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics, is welcomed by Greg Taylor in this episode of The Leadership Factory for an in-depth conversation on the essence of effective leadership. Through heartfelt stories of his mother's resilience, his grandfather’s wisdom, and his own experiences in coaching, he reveals the importance of leading with integrity, consistency, and compassion.

Listeners will discover actionable insights on building relationships, fostering resilience in the face of adversity, and maintaining a relentless commitment to personal and team growth. With powerful takeaways on values, mentorship, and the transformative impact of caring for others, this episode offers a roadmap for anyone looking to become a more effective and compassionate leader.

Tune in to learn how to lead with purpose, uplift those around you, and turn every experience into an opportunity for growth.

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Listen to the podcast here

We Win Or Learn With Coach Reni Mason

In this episode of the show, Greg interviews coach Reni Mason , head men's basketball coach and athletic director at Louisiana Christian University. Coach Mason has led the Wildcats to impressive heights with six conference tournament appearances and multiple championships, setting a high standard across the athletic department. In this episode, he shares his philosophy of we win or learn, offering powerful insights on resilience, relationship building, and leading with integrity. Grab a notebook and get ready to be inspired.

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Everybody, give Mr. Coach Reni Mason a round of applause. Coach, how are you doing?

Doing good. Thank you so much for having me.

Welcome to the show, my friend.

Thank you for having me.

Coach, we're about to have a great conversation on how to inspire people.

Looking forward to sharing with you. Doesn't seem like we've been apart so long, but it's been over a decade, man.

It’s been a decade. That is scary. Just to review for our readers, get a piece of paper and a pen, because Coach Mason is going to drop a lot of wisdom. I guarantee he's going to drop a lot of wisdom, and you need to be picking up at least three things that we've talked about that can catapult you forward in your inspirational leadership journey. You're going to get one thing, the domino effect, where if you can grab ahold of one thing that makes you an effective leader.

What's that one thing that can inspire everybody to grow which will give you more teammate satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and the ability to earn more money and help your company make more money? What is that one thing that you got from Mr. Mason today in this conversation that's going to help you in your inspirational leadership future? If we're all ready to go, let's start this party. Are you ready, coach?

Let's go.

Best Leader

I'll alligate, coach, my favorite question. Who is your best leader and why?

The reality of it is in my life, my mom has been my best leader. She shared with me the blueprint to life. First and foremost, she introduced me to a man named Jesus. In introducing Jesus to me, there are so many parallels to his life, and to the way we want to live our life. That's the blueprint. My mother, how she lives her life, how she shares things with other people, how she puts other people before herself, that is my ultimate model.

I'm sure that was easy for you to get that behavior out of you.

I think not. Literally, I think her consistency in modeling who Jesus was allowed me to understand that it just doesn't happen overnight. It allowed me to tailor my personality to what Jesus' personality was to try to blueprint it into my habits every day. Sometimes as we go through life, there are things that create things that are not good because of what our surroundings are.

Having been introduced to Jesus and watching my mother live out the things that Jesus would like for us to do, it always gave me a place to springboard back to. As I live my life even today, not that I'm perfect, but I try to be faithful to what Jesus has called us to do. Whenever I screw up, I just jump back on the horse because Jesus is always there to receive me.

That's good. What are some things that she did for you when you were not going in the right path? How does she inspire you to get back on the right path?

I'll go back to the word consistency. We knew every Sunday we were going to church. I knew every day she was going to get up and go to work. I knew she was going to try to do the best she could every day. When I had slippage in my life, she would always refer this one question to me. Have you done your best? This is the caveat. She would never want me to answer the question to her. She would want me to answer the question to myself.

Have you done your best?

Have you done your best? I'm a firm believer. People say all the time, you can lie to yourself long enough and you'll believe it, I don't believe that. I don't believe you can ever lie to yourself. You always know the truth. You know the truth within yourself if you've done those things that you need to do. That's the one question that she would always give me. Have you done your best? Let's say I failed. She would teach me not to be afraid of failure, that's a part of it, and to take ownership of how I failed and the reasons I failed and try not to repeat those behaviors.

It's good. What's one of your favorite lessons that she taught you? I call it Win Through Adversity, WTA because that is a powerful tool to give people. Kobe Bryant, he said a lot of great things, which I had mixed emotions about him when he passed away, but I did my own research on it, and I found that he found his purpose in life. He found his fave, which is his family.

It used to be about a sport, but he found something greater than him playing basketball. That was his internal value that he found. One of the things that his dad said to him was, “You can score a hundred points or you score zero points. You're my son. Go out and be the very best person. You don't worry about the results of that. You just worry about being the best you.” I think you parlayed that in your life.

I think for me, it's always it grew to be about the work and not the results. Oftentimes, people worry about the resources of what comes with the work and not enjoying the work. Early in my life, I was a good athlete, things came easy to me. My father and my mother would both share with me that at some point, the rubber's going to meet the road, there's going to be someone just as good as you are or better. The work will do the separating. There was a season in my life where I wasn't the best at what I thought I was the best at.

What am I going to do? Am I going to tuck my tail? Am I going to carve it in? I just remember this. My dad would say, “Just go to work. Go to work and stop measuring yourself by someone to the right, measuring someone to the left. Again, do the best you can, work as hard as you can, and then have a measuring stick.” I've tried to keep that in my life. I'll be very blunt with you, I sit in a position here at this institution as the Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics. I sit at the table with people with PhDs and multiple degrees. I don't have any of that, but I work. I think the good Lord has honored me in that. It's allowed me to go in places that on paper I probably shouldn't be.

That's awesome, coach. Give us a quick rundown of where you played intercollegiate basketball.

I played at Louisiana Tech University for two years where we played in the NIT and the NCAA tournament. I was recruited there by a man, the late Tommy Joe Eagles. I left there in ‘92, and ‘93 and went to the University of New Orleans and played for Tim Floyd. We had some success there. I played in an NIT and an NCAA tournament team. I think it was ‘92, ‘93.

We were ranked as high as 16th in the country and immediately went into coaching. I was just a young guy about 23, 24 years old. To be honest, I did not know what I wanted to do in life, but knew I wanted to stay around the game. This game, everything that I've been able to accomplish in my life, people that I think I've been able to influence or the influences that have come to me in my young adult life and in my middle age has come from the gift of athletics. I'm grateful for that. I've had a different journey than most people.

I tell this story and people don't think it's true, but I've coached in division one. I've coached in division two. I've coached in NAIA. I've coached in division three. I've coached in semi-pro. I've coached in high school. I've coached the gamut. Through all of that, what I've realized is people are people. What you give people is what you can expect in return. I've always chosen to believe in the best in people. Sometimes that has been self-serving because I've wanted people to always believe the best in me when I failed. I've tried to give what I've wanted to receive.

Coach, that right there, that statement, “I see the best in people.” I just had a call with one of my coaching clients, a VP of HR, and we were talking about finding good leaders, because to me, that may be the number one agreement is what you said, that they see value in people. If you're trying to get somebody to do something they cannot do by themselves, and if they feel not that you told them or didn't tell them.

If they feel like you don't believe in them, they feel like you don't care about them, they're not going to take that journey. They're going to shut down. If you come out into a leadership role and you don't believe in people, why are you here? It's not like a school teacher doesn't like kids, but they want to be a school teacher. Why would you want to do that?

Dealing With Frustration

If you're a leader, the first step that you have to take is, I see value in people. I've known you and I watched you coach my kids. You see value in every person. You know it's very frustrating when you care about someone more than they care about themselves. Tell me, how do you deal when you love someone so much and you see so much good in them, but they just cannot see it? How do you manage that frustration?

I think when I look back over it, you have to be introspective. There've been times when people have seen things in me that maybe I hadn't seen and they didn't give up. I've got to bottle my frustrations and deal with it within myself, as opposed to exposing it to the individual who's struggling. Most people know when they're failing. They're trying to find a way to get out of it.

To be honest, as I look back over my career, I cannot tell you how many phone calls I get with former players in distress about real life and they just want to be loved. They want to be understood and then you've got to be transparent. You got to be able to share. Your hurts, your pains, and somewhere, somehow, when you share that you've been down that road with the individual who's hurting, your frustration wanes away because it goes back to people.

Say what you said again, everybody needs to hear that. This is somebody's domino effect.

Somewhere, somehow, when you can share your struggle, it eliminates the frustration because now it's about helping people become better through your pain. It's important when you're helping young people or young adults or businesses grow that someone needs to be able to clearly say, “I've been there before.” You don't feel lonely. When you're losing, it can get lonely but every now and then, it helps when you can get a pat on the back and someone can say, “I've been there and you can see them have had to overcome what you're going through.

Again, big on relationships, big on truth, big on transparency, because I make it very clear early in my tenure with new players. Coach Mason didn't just show up here one day. There's been a journey. In that journey, there's been bumps, there's been hiccups. We try to just continue to go on that trick and help people.

That's good, coach. I appreciate you coached both of my sons in high school basketball, so we won't say which one, but you left one of them at school one day because he was late. He calls us, I think he could have been driving. I don't know, he just showed up back at home. I said, “We're going to the games.” He said, “I missed the bus.”

I said, “Coach Mason ran off and left me.” I said, “He should have been there on time.” He said, “Dad, you were good. We knew that you believed in us, but you were really bad at empathy. You missed the bus. It's not my dad would have told me he should have been there on time. I would not have missed the bus if you had showed up on time.”

The reality, I believe it's those life lessons that helped.

I guarantee he would thank you for that right now in the conversation.

There's no doubt.

Worst Leader

Now let's talk. Tell us about your worst leader and why.

I won't name names, but I will give you why. No one is perfect. I can demand your best effort. I can even demand perfection but I know perfection is a farce of what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to get as close to it as we can. I've played for an individual that nothing was good enough. Nothing was good enough. There was a period in my personal life when I was struggling with some personal decisions I made and that became the focus of why he felt like I couldn't accomplish anything.

That was very disheartening for me because again, I was already being beat up on one side on some decisions that I made in my personal life. Athletically, the one thing that I'd always been good at, he was now telling me I wasn't good at that either. I totally got stripped down and I never got built back up. In that process of not getting built back up, I'll go back to what I shared with you earlier.

If I didn't know a man named Jesus, I probably could have went in a deep funk and never recovered from it. I share this even today with young people that I speak to. Oftentimes when it's the darkest, the sun is about to shine. I never knew the sun was coming because I was hiding things from my parents of things that weren't very successful. I had a coach who basically had fallen out of love with me and what he thought I could do for him athletically. It was just a rough time. It was a rough time and I had to find a new home.

That's good. As a young person, listen to this, were you aware of that or someone who's got a tough leader that someone's listening where that leader doesn't believe in, could you see that or you’re just mad, “I’m not getting what I want.” Could you say, “This person just doesn't believe me.” When I got to that point as an executive, when the owner didn't believe me, I could feel it. It was just time for me to be very respectful and finding a way out.

I had to honor that person in the midst of him being not a good leader to me. That's his choice. My choice is to honor him, even though I don't want to honor him, I have to honor him because he's my authority. That doesn't mean I have to stay under that tyrant. If you honor people, to me and my story of life, God will open other doors for you to walk in.

I had to grow to understand the importance of honoring authority. At that time, I was still an immature Christian, and so I didn't understand the value in honoring authority because of what God thought about it. I was just in a dark spot. As immature as I was in that process, all I knew is this man didn't like me. That's the way I put it. At that point it was fleet. Not until I got out of it to look back and he and I could have a conversation as men that I really understood he was young and he was learning also.

There was some forgiveness in that, some healing in that. At the moment, I didn't know. I always try to tell young people there has to be conversation. I have a policy in my program that anybody at any point can be a leader. Just because I am the authority in my program, it doesn't mean you as the player cannot lead up. If I'm missing something, it's incumbent of you to share with me what's not happening for you because I may just be totally oblivious to it. You cannot charge me with something I don't know.

I like that, man. There has to be a conversation. I was saying conversation solves problems. I like what you said, lead up because you have to learn. My first mentor gave me a book, How to Manage Your Boss. I looked at it and I said, “This doesn't make you insane.” He's just looked at me. I was like, “I got it.” He told me, at that point, I'm 24 years old, “You got to learn me.” I got hot buttons to go budges like you do. It was a great little book is everything that you said there.

It's what's their story. I see it so aggravated. I just got a phone with the client hurting people, “Why is this employee that you have is always mad?” Ask the question. “Why do you feel that way? What’s wrong? What else is wrong?” When you keep asking someone what else is wrong, you're going to find the root of that problem. Until you're a leader and you find the root, you cannot pull the root out. If you don't pull the root out, the tree grows back. If you get the root out, underneath the surface of what you see, it's called discernment, then you can rip the root out, and now you can start putting new habits into them.

That's right, yes sir.

Unsung Hero

They can find a different way of thinking, different behaviors, and different results. It all happens from changing their belief system and the way they think. Everybody that's listening, the leader, quit thinking about, I have to change this person, stop and say, “I just have to tweak their thinking a little bit.” You're not going to do heart and brain surgery on any human, but you can touch their heart. Let them know you care by showing them, not by telling them, and just tweak how they think a little bit. Give them space and give them time. Coach, who is your unsung hero?

For me, I speak a lot about family, and it would have to be my grandfather. Just a hard worker. A man who has very little education. I'll tell you a funny story about him. Never probably made over $20,000 a year in his life but when people needed to go to school, when people needed help financially, he was who they went to, and he always delivered. He would always tell me, it's not what you make, it's what you do with what you make, and it's how you carry yourself where people will give you favor sometimes. He's very big on treating everybody with respect. I remember ten years ago when I got this job. He used to cut pine trees on this campus.

In Pineville, Louisiana?

In Pineville, Louisiana. He lives in Simsboro, Louisiana, and which is probably about an hour fifteen minutes from here. When I got this job here he said to me, “Don't embarrass me.” Now there's probably nobody here that knows my grandfather. My grandfather worked here back in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s, but in his mind, he paved the way for me to be here because of how he behaved when he worked on this campus. I've always been grateful for him and the wisdom that he shared of living a simple life, respecting people, having integrity, giving more than you wanted to receive, and being selfless at all costs.

Coach, I always talk about it's big to understand the personality and life experiences of a person. For your grandfather, what year was he born?

1933.

I cannot even imagine what your grandfather's been through, Coach. I just cannot even grab it. He came out of that, and I'm sure there were some ugly things done to him in his life.

There's no doubt.

There's no doubt. He came out of that and he went into adversity with respect, integrity, giving, and being selfless. He's got every reason to cry foul.

Won't do it.

Why didn't he do it? Why didn't he cry foul?

I truly believe as I've gotten older and I've talked to him, there was so much destruction and cruelty going on in the world. He found the safest things that he could appreciate. That was being grateful just to be alive. He'd seen so much where people didn't make it. He saw so much poverty. He saw so much sickness of where people couldn't get medicines to save their lives, that he was grateful to be alive. He decided that he would not allow the world and its systems and the way things were to distract from what God had given him, which was life. Even today, I called him probably about a week ago.

Is he still alive?

Yes, sir, he's still alive.

How old is he now?

Granddaddy is 90. He'll turn 91 or 92 in March. I hadn't talked to him in about four or five weeks. He said to me, “Does your phone work?” I said, “Yes sir, it does.” He said, “I’m sure hasn't rung in my house in a while.” The point is, that relationships matter. Me knowing that you're okay is the very least you can do for me because it lets me know that everybody in my circle is okay.

It's so good. Granddad got on the coach a little bit.

He is a little spunky now. We lost my grandmother back in 2018. It's really placed a bigger emphasis on life and relationships with him. I tell people this all the time. Oftentimes our lack of success in life is not caused by things around us. It's caused by what we're not willing to do. I fall in that category. If by some chance Reni Mason was unsuccessful in life, he didn't have anybody to blame but himself.

Look, our lack of success is caused by what we're not willing to do. If that's not a domino effect, for everybody that's living and breathing, it's true to this problem. Your success is based upon what you do. That doesn't mean you're going to get to where you want to go, but man, if you'll take that personal accountability because your granddad took personal responsibility when he had every reason to stop and cry. I'm sure he did a lot of crying but man, did he do a lot of growing.

He did a lot of growing because he looked at his enemy and said, “You don't know who I am. I'm a child of God. You don't have any authority over me. You're my enemy. You have no authority over me. You don't rob me of who God's created me to be.” Someone needs to hear that. You are who you are. Be proud of who you are. Get better than what you are. Honor people. If you know what to do, just be grateful for who you are and just start honoring people. Again, something will change. It'll change in your environment.

It'll change in your personal life. Everything will change. That's what you're telling me your grandfather did through the miserable things that he went through as a child and as an adult. You've said a lot of words on habits. Daily habits and gratitude and honoring. Those are all keywords that'll take you to another level. It makes no sense. Even when I say it makes no sense to me, but if I hadn't put those things into play in my life, I'd be a train wreck right now. As my wife would say, “You're still a train wreck. You're just on the track though.”

That's Stephanie probably would say the same thing.

Volcano And Missile

About 12 years ago, you told me something that changed my life and I use it in my coaching and speaking, and it's a phrase that really helped me stop being a volcano. I tell everybody my life transformation story is from a volcano to a missile. A volcano has got a lot of energy and explodes but it has no purpose in that explosion. It's about me, and it kills trees, vegetation, relationships, bosses, and all those opportunities that you had.

In that transformation state into a missile, it's got a lot of programmers to it. It's got a lot of people working on it. There's a maker that tells it what to do and how to get there and what the purpose of that energy. You dropped one of those nuggets, so you were building on that missile. The piece that you put in that missile was correction without a relationship equal rebellion.

Amen.

I'm going to say that again, everybody needs to write this down. Correction without a relationship equals rebellion. My boys were probably 14 or 15. In that range that I looked at you and you said, “Are you trying to tell me something?” I don't know if you knew what my type of behavior was with my kids or not. You just looked at me and said, “You got to figure that out.” Where did you get that from? Who told you that? Just expound on that a little.

I've had that with me for a long time. To be honest with you, I don't remember where it came from. What I realized when I first got into coaching, relationships are everything. Much comes out of having a relationship. There's forgiveness in relationships. There's favor in relationships. There's love in relationships. One of the things that relationships, even with you and I being on this call today, it's a relationship. There are things that I know about you, there are things that about me that only we know but it's because of the relationships.

One of the things I know, is if I had to make a strong statement to Mr. Taylor today, and it didn't feel good to Mr. Taylor, because Mr. Taylor knows my heart and knows how I feel about him, he probably would take a look at it and say, “I need to go look at this.” He wouldn't have said if it wasn't something I needed to pay attention to. If I had no relationship with Mr. Taylor or Mr. Taylor had no relationship with Coach Mason, because of our personalities, we probably could go 0 to 10 in a hurry. That's the rebellion stage.

Pride, ego, all those types of things. Even with those young men, as I shared with you off the air, that we had to put out of practice this morning, I've got to come back and build on our relationship so they understand the care, the concern. Here's the other part that I've added to that, the why. I've got to give you purpose in why we do what we do because in purpose, now you don't even have to understand what's going on, you just need to know that there's a plan.

That's the biggest thing in learning those things because anytime, let's use my mother, everyone doesn't have a great relationship with their mother but because of my relationship with my mother, my ear tends to bend towards her correction a little differently. Even at 53 years old, if that phone rings and it's my mother and she has a word to give, because of the relationship, sometimes in that phone call, there's a correction. At 53, there's a correction. I pay attention to that. We've gotten fruit from that because I also believe God is about relationships. Anytime we're putting in the ingredients that God uses, we're going to have an opportunity.

Getting Unstuck

That's good. How do you take another step when you get stuck?

I got to go back to the basics. Like last year, this is not about games. This was about Coach Mason. If there was a trap that we can fall into sometimes, sometimes we can experience success so much that we forget what got us there and then we become complacent. A year ago, we were 5 and 22, buddy. I lost 7, or 8 games in the last three minutes by combining eighteen points. I'm talking about, I was hurting. I'm talking about the competitor and me had fire in my belly the wrong way. I can go through all the statistics.

I can go through all of the blaming. I need better players. I need a better staff. I need better facilities. The reality buddy, is I needed to look right here. What are you not doing as a leader that you've done in the past that caused there to be some change that leads to success? One of the things I did is I went back to the basics. I went back to what we've done in the past that caused us to be successful. One plus one is always two. I don't care how you try to make it three or how you try to make it something else. One plus one is two.

When Coach Mason gets stuck, he goes introspective and he looks at the guy in the mirror. If I need to raise my hand to say, “I need some help,” I've got to be big enough to do that also. That's just what we do. Here's the thing, for those that are reading to this show, you don't always get it right, but you've got to be willing to raise your hand and say I've screwed this up and I need some help to get back on the track because what God leads us to, he equips us to be able to get through it. I've got to be able to say the same address myself in order to continue on this train.

I just picked up a domino because I need some help. Everybody doesn't know my story. We started a trucking company, we went from 0 to about $20 million in four and a half years like a rocket. We came out of the sky like a dad gone comet in the seventh year. It didn't work out. The number one reason of me doing introspective looking in the mirror, it's your fault. It took me twelve months to get to that point where I had enough strength to say. “It's your fault.” Now, once I did that, now I can sit and think, “Now what did you learn?”

There you go.

I wrote down eight things that I learned in my business. The number one reason that I fell was a spiritual issue. Plans fail due to lack of counsel, but plans succeed due to many advisors. This has been the most common thing. This is our 35th episode of the show. This is the most common thing is finding mentors in your life. You got to get advisors built around you that can hold you accountable, can see little things that you cannot see, that they can just tell you about it, you can tweak it a little bit.

If you don't trust them, you won't listen to them. It's just like when your mom would tell you you're doing something wrong, you would lend an ear to it. You didn't take it at that point because my mom told me something. We went on, to make a long story short of a family sibling vacation with a bunch of old people. She said something to me, maybe really mad. She didn't see my mad internally, but after 30 minutes, I thought about it. She's right. She can see she knows who I am. She knows the good, she knows the bad, and she knows the ugly about me.

The reality is you've got to get to a point in your life where you either win or you learn. You never lose.

Advice To 21-Year-Old Self

There's a good title, Coach. Win and learn. Someone needs to write that down. Somebody write that down. Coach, why would you tell your twenty-one-year-old self?

Patience. Patience, you're not going to get it all in one day. Think of tomorrow because it's coming. Allow yourself to grow at the pace that you need to grow. I want to go back to what you just said. Find guys that have already done, or ladies, that have already done what you hope to accomplish. I remember you walking up to my truck one day, and this is what you said. I was going through a trying time where we were, and I knew the rubber had met the road, so to speak. You said to me, “What do you want to do in five years? Five years from now, what do you want to do?” You say, “Give me 1, 2, 3.” I'll never forget this. For a point of reference, you had a gold Toyota hybrid. It was a candy.

That's exactly right.

I remember that.

My goal was to save gas money.

I listed these things out to you and you said, “Pin them on your heart.” Pin them on your heart is what you said to me and I put those things in my pocket. Little did people know that's what I began to believe for. I wish I would have known that. About that time I was probably 33, 34 years old. If I had done that thirteen years earlier, I would have progressed in a different way. I would tell that 21-year-old, “Seek good counsel for what you want to accomplish.”

Winning Edge

If that's not a domino effect, that can take you far. That domino can knock the rest of the dominoes down. I ain't know about it. My favorite question and this is the ending question, Coach, what is your winning edge? What's your special sauce or what's your superpower?

I think it's letting people know I care. I think it's, I cannot do this, I cannot do that, but I can care and we can figure things out if we care about each other. The most important thing I think that's not in our society today is caring about each other because if we care about each other, we'll shut up sometimes. If we care about each other, we'll give a hand. We'll share what we have with other people to help them progress in their lives. If I had to write one line about Coach Mason or they always ask the question, what would you like to be remembered by? He always cared.

Is that what you want on your hyping on your headstone?

That's it. He always do. The reality of it is this because of the successes or the things that I've been able to be a part of in life, I've sat with people here and I've fed people here. In reality, we're all the same people. We're just at different stages. Why should we be treated any differently because we're at different stages? That's what I hope I've done with people around me.

That's good. I like that right there. That could be the title of this show, Coach. He always cared. I've got like twenty titles. My job is to take notes of write titles down which are really just little tidbits and nuggets of information. I hope everybody who's reading to this show has got a whole list of nuggets that you dropped on them and wisdom. Right now, I'm wanting everybody to think about what's that one thing of all those things you heard from Coach Mason.

What's that one thing that can catapult you? If you can set that domino down and you can knock the rest of the dominoes down, which are your challenges, your struggles, your doubts, and your fears, what's that one thing that you got from Coach Mason? Write that down. Share that with your immediate supervisors. Share it with a friend. Share it with a leadership coach, “This is the one thing I want to work on.” Once you conquer that one thing, you'll knock the rest of them down.

Amen.

Amen to that. Coach Mason, I am very honored and very thankful that you joined us on the show. Go win a bunch of ball games this year, coach.

Thank you, man.

I know your heart's going to be in every one of them. Just keep being who you are. Keep growing and keep listening to Granddad.

Thank you so much.

I've got a new unsung hero too. He's right next to my mom and all of the other people, but he's right there with my mom right now because I'm just wanting to honor you that you've seen what your grandfathers went through and you're making a difference. He's empowered you to make a difference and you do make a difference because I've seen the difference that you made in my prayer for you today that you just continue on that journey and letting people know that you care.

Amen, I appreciate you. I love you, brother.

Love you, buddy. Thank you all. Thanks to everybody for doing a good job. Amen, let's grow.

See you, buddy.

Important Links

Reni Mason

Trust Builds Lifelong Mentors With Mark Davis

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:13:49 GMT

In this episode of The Leadership Factory Podcast, Greg Taylor sits down with Mark Davis, VP of Pricing and Traffic at Averitt Express , to discuss the power of leadership rooted in trust, accountability, and inspiration. Mark shares stories from his 46-year career, including how he draws out the best in people by building relationships and leading with empathy. Together, Greg and Mark explore how great leaders lift others up, help their teams grow, and create positive, lasting impacts. Tune in for valuable insights on how to inspire change and foster growth in your own leadership journey.

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Listen to the podcast here

Trust Builds Lifelong Mentors With Mark Davis

In this episode, Greg Taylor sits down with Mark Davis, VP of Pricing and Traffic at Averitt Express to discuss the power of leadership rooted in trust, accountability, and inspiration. Mark shares stories from his 46-year career, including how he draws out the best in people by building relationships and leading with empathy. Together, Greg and Mark explore how great leaders lift others up, help their teams grow, and create positive lasting impacts. Tune in for valuable insights on how to inspire change and foster growth in your own leadership journey.

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Introduction And Mentorship Impact

Everybody, welcome Mark Davis to the show. Mr. Davis, how are you doing?

I’m doing great.

What side are you about?

I’m on the right side of the grass.

That’s good. People are looking for a great conversation with me. I didn’t know when I was going to open the can of worms up. You

were the first leader in my business career. I laid a bag right there. I was going to save it till the end, but I laid out the bag right there.

That works for me.

You took a young man at 23 years old that no deadly squad in business. For the next eight years, you pumped life into m

Let me back up a little bit because you were one in a class of half a dozen.

About six leadership trainees.

It’s almost like looking at litter pups or maybe some cattle. We were looking around and I said, “I want that one right there.” I see energy in him and I know a little bit about his background other than he plays ball at Western Kentucky. I said, “I’ll take him.” That’s how we got started.

I’m glad you took me. My wife and I loved our eight years there with you in Averitt Express and the whole city. Averitt is an amazing company. I was blessed to be under you and to be at that company because you all were an extension of my family. What my mom and dad were teaching me at 23, you all kept teaching me to me until I was 31. It got into my rock head because God knew I needed to live in more development and training to take place.

You had the raw material. You’re made of the right stuff. All it took was a little polishing.

I got a bonus question at the end. I’m not going to divulge that for you. The show’s goal is to help people inspire other people. With over 37 years and you being a part of those first 8 years of my journey, I’ve come to a profound conclusion that a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they’re not going to take by himself. We’re going to have a discussion about that and our audience is going to learn and grow from this so they can be the very best version of an inspirational leader.

As we always say here, if it’s not on paper, it’s vapor. My challenge is for you to get three nuggets out of this. I want you to figure out what’s the most powerful thing that you got out of this episode with Mr. Davis because he’s going to drop a bunch of nuggets on us. Get your pad and pen ready to go because, in the end, I’m going to challenge you. Did you get your three points and what’s that one thing we call the domino effect? When you hit that first domino, it knocks all the other dominos down. Are you ready to rumble in the jungle Mr. Davis?

Let’s do it.

The first question is out of the gate here. Who is your best leader and why? Who inspired you to do something you probably wouldn’t have done by yourself? What do you know about them? What do they see you do? How do they make you feel?

The Leadership Principle Of Accountability

This might be a little different, but I’m going to say it was my mother who was the biggest leader ever in my life. First of all, she was probably the most kind and loving person I’ve ever known. She was a nurse. She had that heart of a servant-leader mindset. Early on, I knew how much respect other people had for her. Only because she was sweet. She was sure no pushover. She was tough as nails. Not in a harsh way, but she was so disciplined and was all about accountability.

She would not tolerate any victim mentality. Not in our house. That didn’t play. She set a great example for all six of her kids on how to live. Although she had her first of four heart attacks at age 56, she didn’t slow down one bit. She was a nurse and she worked for a big manufacturer in Lawrenceburg, probably up to 2,000 employees at some point. She was head of their medical services. She was a friend, confidant, therapist, and nurse. She played all the roles for so many people. I knew how much she was respected, but when she passed, I had never seen so many people in my life who showed up to honor her. I got through her life real quick, and she did. I left out a lot.

What’s the one thing that she put into you that you used unconsciously every day? Something that’s a part of who you are.

I think accountability. She was a stickler on that. I don’t care if it was making your bed or whatever chores that we did around the house or homework or school work. I don’t say she demanded it. She expected it and some of us complied. I did.

That’s powerful. She expected it. This is not something we’re going to make up and do because this is who we are.

That’s how she was raised. Her parents, my grandmother and my grandfather, were the same way.

Growth Of Averitt Express

That gave you the ability. When you started Averitt Express, how big were they?

I was the 35th person they hired. I think we did $1.6 million for the year in 1978. As I said, if we don’t do that by 9:00, we’re going to have a bad day.

I don’t know if you can divulge this information or not. What do you close to now a year?

We’ll do about $1.8 billion.

Over $1.5 billion now. When you started, you did $1.6 million. That’s crazy.

Yes. I could work one shift to make 48 hours on a minimum-wage job. I would be in college.

Which was what, $3 an hour?

Two and a quarter.

Some of our younger audience are going, “What the hades?”

I interviewed for the job and the internal manager said, “Mark, I tell you what we want. We want something to come in here, do their job, and keep your mouth shut.” I said, “I’m your guy.” I went to work and tried to give everything I had. One of these guys stopped me one day and said, “Slow down.” At first, I went, “What? What do you mean slow down?” He said, “Slow down. You’re working too hard.” I said, “I get it. That’s why I don’t have much for unions.” That was part of that whole I don’t understand what you’re saying because they’re paying me more money than I’ve ever had. That was one of the realizations that everybody doesn’t this. It’s not everybody’s mindset.

Positioning People For Success

How do you address people in your 46-year career at Averitt Express? When you come in contact with people, they don’t get it because it goes into their lives. They never had anybody model that for them.

I know at Averitt Express, we always talk a lot about leading by example. How do you help people understand that when they have never been modeled that, the 25 or 35 or however old they are?

We try to explain what the expectations are. If you know what’s expected of you, then the next step is, are you going to do it? If that doesn’t happen, we have a whole other matter to deal with. Sometimes, people are in the wrong position. Good coaches put people in the right spot. Hopefully, they can be better players. We’ve had many success stories where it wasn’t that they could or wouldn’t. It’s that they weren’t in the right spot. When they got in the right spot, they flourished. Those are success stories that you want and celebrate, “This person is a good person or good associate, productive, and a team player.”

Can I ask you a question and put your consultant hat on? If somebody tuning in to this and they have a person. It’s a good person. They show up on time, but they can’t get done what they need to get done. I know somewhere because I’ve dealt with this many times in my 37-year career. I know you dealt with it but there’s something good about it.

Strategic Decision-Making And Long-Term Thinking

Here’s what I would say about it. First of all, when you approach someone about their deficiency in their performance, they’re going to be defensive or scared. They’re fearful of their job. When you say, “Is there something you don’t get here?” You got to draw it out of them. You got to get their trust and say, “I’m not here to beat you up. I’m here to help you.” If there’s something that you don’t understand or you can’t get, let me know about it.

Sometimes, that works. Other times, maybe it was the motivation. You get this done. If they truly don’t understand it and we know they have the other attributes we wanted as an associate, they are hard-working, they are team players, they get along, and they want to be part of the team. Try to find them. As you know, we have all kinds of roles here.

It takes all of my body parts to get me up and walk every day and to function at the highest level that I can personally function. It takes my pinky, my toe, and my elbow. It takes everything. If all those things don’t work together and understand the value that each one of them has, you can’t function as a team. That’s probably the biggest thing that you all taught me and that my parents taught me that had solidified. I’ll tell you everything I learned, but it solidified what my mom was trying to teach me that I didn’t pay attention to.

You didn’t know what they were talking about until you got here.

I was like, “These people keep saying the same thing.” I tell people that you all were the validation of my raising for eight years. I’m a validation guy. I need to validate. People need to validate. That’s what inspires me. You said a word there and that has a good second title drawing out of it. The word inspire has all kinds of definitions. One of them is to draw out of someone. It’s in them. You got to draw it out. That’s what inspiration is. It’s how do you draw that out of that person?

I agree.

That was good. Do you have any other inspirational leaders that you want to talk about?

I got a couple more. I got three more that maybe we could talked a little bit.

You’re my boss. I can’t tell you what to do. You can do whatever the heck you want to do.

I was.

You still are.

Balancing Family And Business

My brother-in-law, John. We spoke a little bit about him earlier. I have one young brother and four sisters. Three of which were older than I am. I never experienced that big brother until he married one of my sisters. John is two years older than I am. We went to the same grammar school. We played in the same sports league. We played the same baseball stuff in high school and football. He was two years older than I was but he and my sister got married in his senior year.

We’d walk home from practice and he was maybe a little hero worship. A lot of hero worship because he was a tremendous athlete. He was a good pitcher and a home run hitter at the same time. I was a mediocre at best. In football, he was our full back, middle linebacker, and captain. He was looked up to. He was solid as could be and the smartest guy I’ve ever met. He didn’t go to school but he had a great career in an automotive plant and retired not too awful long ago.

He is a quiet leader. He doesn’t have to be tough or yell. He is a guy that led by example. When he did speak, people listened because he had a proven quality and he was humble. In today’s athletics, you don’t see a lot of humility. That always inspired me that you don’t have to be somebody who rants, raves, and whatever.

Some say you’re like Brock Purdy then.

I don’t know much about him. He seems pretty mild-mannered.

Trent says he’s everything everybody’s perception is. Brock Purdy is this 49ers quarterback, which I don’t know if you may know. My son is on the 49ers roster this year. Trent says he’s a solid dude.

He was a breakout guy last year. I hope he gets paychecks, a real one.

He’s going to get paid. His paycheck for a year is what Aaron Rodgers got paid for one game. I saw some pictures. I can’t remember what, but that’s relative to what he gets paid versus what these other quarterbacks do.

He needs to remain healthy. That’s what he needs.

You have to keep growing. You have to keep playing. I use the tagline “Let’s row.” I don’t know if we ever talked about that every day when I worked at Averitt Express, we’re getting better. I’m going to tell a story. You can’t tell a story here.

Is it what I don’t remember?

I told you this before you went, “I don’t remember that.” This is my story.

Go for it.

I got my goals. I had my goals. I’m looking at him and I’m going on, “I don’t know about all that.” You and I are having a conversation about it. It’s like everybody else, “This and that. I need this. I can’t do this.” You finally put your hand over and said, “Stop. I’m done.” You would always give me time to talk but there was a time limit that you would give me whatever the circumstances were. I didn’t know this at that point in time.

Reflecting on all those years back, you would give me time to talk because I needed to talk. If I didn’t get to talk, I probably blow a fuse. You allowed me to express all the idiocy that’s in my brain. At some point, you said, “Let me explain this to you.” You said, “If you don’t get these goals ready, we’re going to be upset. If you don’t get better, we’re going to fire you.”

I don’t remember that.

This is my story. I said, “I understand that.” You said, “I didn’t know if he was going to understand it or not.” When you’re dealing with a hard-headed person, you have to figure out a way to get through them. “I can do that. I’m getting better.” You even said, “I know you can get better. It’s going to get better. Quit worrying about all of this stuff going on. Do you hear me? This could be somebody’s domino effect for you.”

Stop worrying about where they want you to go. Ask yourself every day, “Am I getting better? Am I better today than I was yesterday?” That’s what being your best means. Get better every day. If you can get better, somebody in this economy is going to find you. If you have a growth mindset that you’re committed to getting better and you get better every day, you’re going to get paid by somebody. Somebody is going to find you.

Who is your worst leader and why? No names. Who’s someone who drained you of your energy? It could be a coach, a parent, an uncle, an aunt, a cousin, or a friend. What do you know about them? How did they make you feel? What did you see them do to be an inspiring person?

I wouldn’t call them leaders, but if you surround yourself with people who lift you up, that’s always positive energy. Conversely, if you’re around someone full of dread, complaints, and misery, or they’re a victim, it has a way of grinding on you. If you’re not strong enough, the weak can fall right into that same trap. I have worked with a couple of folks like that. I tried my best to say, “That mindset will take you nowhere. If you don’t like it around here, then I highly recommend you to go somewhere where you can be happy because you’re not doing yourself any favors here.”

Also, I’ve seen the same person drag some others down. I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had some leaders that weren’t necessarily inspiring but they didn’t produce anything negative to me. I’m thankful for those leaders. Maybe they gave me more autonomy. Sometimes I think that was a vote of confidence in me that I had either the know-how or the will to do something that necessarily didn’t need to be led.

Somebody gave you that autonomy because I had a guest previously. He’s from the trucking world. He said, “The most powerful thing someone did for me is give me a task and activity that I didn’t think I could do. They believed in me so much. They could see something in me that I couldn’t see in myself.” You did that for me.

The autonomy came because maybe of what I was doing. My role in our industry, relatively speaking, is fairly new. The role that I’m in and the role that you were in didn’t exist before 1980. It didn’t exist before 1985, probably. When you look at an industry that’s 100 years old, it’s still new.

Isn’t that crazy? It’s 100 years old. Japan became a country in 800 BC. Think about that. That’s 3,000 years ago. Trucking has only been in for 100 years. That boggles my mind.

Our country is what, 250 years old?

We’re babies. It’s crazy.

We’re about to ruin it.

We have strong people like Mark Davis. We have a lot of Mark Davis out there. We’ll be fine, coach. We’ll find a way. We have to find a way. We have to get a first down. You have to find a way to take another step. Who’s your unsung hero? Who did some amazing things that you’ve witnessed and they wanted nothing in return? They didn’t expect anything in return.

It may sound strange but this takes me back to my dad. My dad was a rural mail carrier. He worked six days a week and raised all six of us. He was a role player. He did his job, took care of his family, and provided for them. He was a baseball coach, Little League president, and photographer. He was a guy that wasn’t flashy. He would do things that not only supported us but all the kids in the community. He won the labor of love. We were all big University of Tennessee football fans and we had season tickets.

We would go every home game weekend from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee to Knoxville and back. Here’s a guy who already drove over 100 miles every day delivering mail. All his Saturdays that he wasn’t working, he took off and would drive 500 miles to Knoxville and back so that we had the opportunity to watch our beloved Vols. He’s an unsung hero.

That’s natural. It’s natural to some people, I put it that way. I was quite a bit like that early on myself until I learned that wasn’t a sign of weakness. It is a sign of smarts. When you need help, ask for it instead of failing.

Building Trust In Relationships

It takes trust. When people say, “They didn’t come and ask for it.” I would always tell them, “Maybe they don’t trust you.” They go, “What do you mean by that?” I said, “Do you know the wife’s name and kids name?” They go, “No.” I said, “It’s Angela, Michael, Susie, and Mike,” whatever their names are. He said, “How do you know that?” I said, “It’s because I interviewed them. I build a relationship with them.” He said, ”I interviewed them too. I didn’t get that information.” If you want to inspire someone, you have to know who they are. People can sense them. They know if someone cares about them.

That’s the right word you said there. I was thinking of care. Do you care? You can’t fake it.

You know my wife and my two little boys at that point.

I sure got to know Trey.

We can’t go into that story as a child. He wore diapers but you can guess the rest of it. I tell people you’re still my mentor and I haven’t worked for you for 29 years.

Every time I hear you say that, that is so humbling to me.

I’m telling people. I was thinking about what to talk about. I don’t have any notes, so I’m flowing because I would start flowing at some point. I didn’t know when it was because I was trying to figure out how to help people and how can our relationship inspire everybody to have that relationship with someone for 37 years. My mom and dad taught me that I have to honor people. The Averitt and you taught me that. It’s easy to honor someone when they believe in you, trust you, and take care of you.

Honor is a tricky word. I don’t think that’s a subordinate versus superior. It cuts both ways. Maybe instead of honor is more respect. I don’t think that you can truly respect someone who doesn’t respect you. That’s so transparent. If you can’t see the fake part of that, then you’re blind. It goes back to that old rule that doesn’t go out of style, the golden one.

Go ahead and tell them what it is. In case somebody doesn’t know what it is.

Treat others as you want to be treated.

When you get stuck, what do you do to take another step? You’re stuck in doubt, fear, anxiety, or anger.

I try to break it down. I tried to do it in parts and what is it that is truly the concern? Is it a problem? There are parts to it. I don’t say cycle analyzed but I try to analyze and see what’s the stumbling block, what’s keeping me from doing what I need to do and want to do.

What’s the biggest “I’m so glad I took this risk” in your life? I’m so glad I did what in my life?

That I didn’t leave Averitt. There were a couple of times that I considered it.

You’ve been there for 46 years. That’s unheard of. At Averitt Express, that’s the norm.

Maintaining Company Culture And Relationships

It is funny. We’ll be in a conference room and we’ll have customers in. We start making introductions and someone will say, “Little Larry over there, he’s the junior man. He’s only been here for 26 years.”

Here’s a question. What is the special sauce at Averitt Express? I have my own personal opinion. Why do people come there and stay? Somebody is probably thinking there, “Greg, why did you leave?” My quick story is I had two little boys. I wanted to take them back home to where my Mom and Papa were. I want them back to my hometown.

The overarching all-encompassing special sauce is our culture. That is what we protect more than anything. What gives people angst about the future is whether we can maintain our culture. We’ve had a generational turnover in the top leadership but there is no concern because those people we backfill with have been part of what built the culture. We keep instilling these same values with all the young people that come on.

It’s not for everybody. That’s what I’d tell people sometimes. It doesn’t make us or you good or bad if our culture is not a fit for you. It is what it is. That’s what has kept me here. It’s the people and the relationships I’ve had. I was 22 and I’ll say Phil. We were young. We were having kids and our kids were friends. Now, our kids are having kids. Our kids are still close friends. It’s corny as heck but it’s family. I’ll be a mess when I leave here for a while anyway. I wake up on the first morning and go, “Holy moly. Where did everybody go?”

God has another plan for you. I know you got the book Halftime . Have you read that book?

I do have it but I have not read it.

We’ll move on then, Coach. As I said, you’re still the boss. I can’t tell you what to do.

I tell you what. I may have to rename that book. It said Halftime . I might rename it Two-Minute Warning.

The last two questions are a little different than the way I’ve done it. These are the surprise questions. Me being a strong-willed kid, with a high volume, loud voice but very introverted in a way. How did you get me to grow into the business? Here’s the question. When you took me or when you said, “I want that one right there,” what did you see as my weaknesses? I want to talk about my weaknesses.

Your personal weakness was your volume. I remember this now. I remember when we said to you, “Come here. We have to get that volume down a little bit because you’re scaring people.” That wasn’t your weakness at all.

Somebody has that person and that person is driving everybody crazy. You didn’t let it go because you’re a man of accountability. That’s what your mom taught you. You pulled me in and said, “We need to tone this down a little bit,” because there’s a relationship established. Correction without a relationship, people rebel. You had a relationship established, so it’s an inspiration.

I won’t name names but there are two very strong-willed women. They’re still here.

They’re amazing.

You worked with them.

Are you saying you were struggling with me? You can’t say that to me.

I was struggling with the situation because of those other two.

They were amazing.

They are. Like you and me, they have grown.

They both taught me a lot about who I was.

I don’t dwell on weakness unless there is a weakness. You didn’t have any weaknesses. You had a tendency that needed to be curbed a little bit. You had the energy and the passion. You brought all the right tools. You had everything that our company wants to be and that’s winners in all we do.

That’s probably the biggest connection point for me in Averitt. We both wanted to win and I’m willing to die to win. That’s obsessive. I know that sounds stupid but I played college football. They told me not to play because I could be paralyzed.

I think you told me after you were through that one of your coaches, I can’t remember who it was or if it’s a position coach or the head coach, said, “Son, you had no business here.”

I tried. I didn’t know that. My mom said I could do whatever I wanted to do if I was going to work for it. I’m going to work for it. I’m not scared of work.

That’s right.

Finding The Winning Edge

Last question. How did you connect to me to help me find my winning edge? You taught me about connecting with people. I was an introvert. You taught me how to network and introduce myself to people. How did you connect to me and what did you do to do that? Somebody might have a very highly energetic person and they’re trying to figure out what to do with them because most people are not going to deal with it.

I didn’t see the introverted side in you. I saw all that high energy as anything but introverted. I do realize that now. That’s a reality. That happens. One, I admired your tenacity. You made me want to work. I have a son-in-law who makes me want to be a better man. You affected me. You might not have known it. Maybe we had this energy that worked together and it was maybe a happy accident.

I have a praying mother. Be careful. I didn’t know this when I came across the line. You had a little vein on the side of your neck. You give me something. I can’t say what green you gave me. I knew right there. I came across the line and Pauline Taylor showed up. She said, “You better back away because I’m about to take you out.” That’s when I would sit down and go, “I’m done. Tell me what I’m supposed to do. I’m going to go do it.”

A lot of people say I have to be motivated. I was telling a client, “You have to be disciplined. Motivation is something that comes and goes. This one is something that sticks with you and you know that you have to do that. Even when you don’t feel like you have to do it, you do it anyway because that’s called discipline. That’s called freedom.”

My mom taught me that by busting my tail and loving me through that process and saying, “Greg, you’re making these choices. If you want a different result, you have to make a different choice.” You’re choosing to do this. Make a different choice. That’s discipline. I have to do this even though I don’t want to do it. I have to do it anyway. To me, when you tap into that, you become a free person. You have everything to gain. You have nothing to lose.

Truth.

I remember saying to you, Coach, I wouldn’t talk to anybody because one of those two ladies that we both know. After about six months, they looked at me and said, “We never thought you were going to talk.” I said, “Now you’ll wish I shut up.” I remember that’s probably six months. I didn’t talk to anybody. I was like, “I’m a rock head. I’m a dumb college football player. I’m wearing a suit every day. I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

My wife and this amazing person taught me grammar more than anybody. I didn’t want to learn grammar. How do I score a touchdown? It’s amazing because somebody is up that high-strung person. You have to slow him down a little bit. If you’re not willing to engage with them and get to know who they are and why they’re that way, it could be their personality or their life experiences telling them to be that way.

Let them know, “I’m here for you but you have to stop a couple of these things.” You have to let them develop through their process. As long as they’re getting better and taking another step, you’re getting on there because you can’t just go hire people. Take somebody that you trust. Take somebody who has talent and figure out what their talent is. My mom and you both told me, “Don’t let them frustrate you.”

I’d come in frustrated. I can hear you, “You’re letting them frustrate you.” You would say like my mom said, “They got you and they frustrate you.” Somebody needs to hear that. If somebody is frustrating you being a leader and you’re aggravated, they own you. You can’t let them frustrate you. You’re in charge. You used to tell me, “Greg, you’re in charge here. They’re not.” Make sure you keep HR happy. That’s one of my favorite lines I tell my clients, “Don’t make HR mad.” You would say, “If you make them mad, I can’t protect you. You’re on your own.” Do you have anything to close this up? It’s a good conversation.

It’s all good talk with you. I respect you more than you know. I love you like my second little brother.

Let’s do it, Coach. Great ride. Let’s keep rowing.

Let’s do it.

Anything I can do for you, you’re a beacon of light in the darkness. Averitt Express is an amazing place. All the people wearing the red shirts, I salute you for what you have done, what you’re doing, and what you’re going to do.

Don’t be a stranger. You know where we are.

We’re talking. I’m not being a stranger now.

We’ve been redoing this office since 1987.

That’s when I started.

Do you remember those purple panels?

Are they still there?

They’re leaving.

I may go there then.

Let’s get it done. We’ve started the process but it’ll probably be a few months.

There are three things I wanted you to write down. Write those three things down. What’s that powerful thing that can catapult your life, your family, your relationships, and your inspirational leadership journey to another level? Thank you, all. Mr. Davis, thank you so much. You’re all awesome. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Nikki, Trey, and Trent. Your brother Mark, we appreciate you, buddy.

Important Links

Always A Student, Sometimes A Teacher With Jody Weis

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 06:03:27 GMT

In the latest episode of The Leadership Factory Podcast, Greg Taylor sits down with Jody Weis, former Chicago Chief of Police and FBI Special Agent, to discuss leadership in challenging environments and the importance of being a student of leadership throughout one’s career. Jody shares powerful stories from his career, highlighting the importance of building trust through personal connections and follow-through. He reflects on his approach to leadership—whether in the police force or the FBI—emphasizing the value of understanding and supporting your team to foster growth and success. Greg and Jody also discuss the necessity of balancing integrity and decisiveness, mentoring future leaders, and the role of lifelong learning in continuous improvement. Tune in for an insightful conversation on the foundations of effective leadership and the power of relationships.

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Listen to the podcast here

Always A Student, Sometimes A Teacher With Jody Weis

Community Engagement

Let’s give a warm welcome to Jody Weis. How are you doing, Mr. Jody?

I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on.

You're the first second-timer on the show. I know you're feeling good about that.

I feel honored or else you're running out of friends to speak with you on this show. I thought we had a good conversation the last time. I'm happy we can talk about something else, maybe go a little deeper into some areas of how we've worked with people over our careers to try to bring the best out of them. I’m looking forward to it.

The name of your last episode was I Believe In People. You're FBI and Chief of Police in Chicago. When you believe in people, you see the worst in people. That was the irony of the name of your title. Knowing what you've been through, all the horrible things that you've seen, had to manage to say, “I believe in people,” because you see the best in people even though you've seen the worst of the worst people.

There's always good in somebody. Few people are pure evil, but usually, some people have made bad choices. If there's a way that you can somehow change their behavior, influence them in such a way that you can maybe help them down a different path. I think that's important. Try to do that.

To set the premise of this episode, a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they're not going to take by themselves. How do you do that? That's the whole premise of this show. We want to develop and grow in our factory with inspirational leaders who can go out to their families, companies, and communities and inspire people to do the right things instead of someone inspiring them to do the wrong thing because people are being inspired one way or another. We just got to get more people on the good side.

Since we've known each other, you would always tell me that when you were the Chief of Police, you would get in your car with your driver at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. You would drive to the not-good part of Chicago, sit and have a coffee in a diner, and build relationships with people. When you're telling me that story, I'm sitting there going, “This guy is crazy. What provoked you to do that?”

What brought me to Chicago, my predecessor was a great crime fighter, Phil Klein. He dropped murders over 25% in one year. Brilliant. His one weakness, I thought, was that he didn't really connect with the community as well as he probably should have. He brought crime down. I think because his theory was, “You can be a big enough army and I can control crime in Chicago.” To his credit, he made incredible strides, but there was tension and a disconnect between some of the African American communities down the South and the West Side, then I think with the police department, there had been a couple of high-level incidents that got national attention where the police didn't look real good.

When I got there, I thought, “It's been a while since they've probably had a superintendent that would go out at night, go to talk to people, go down Gangways, come up to talk to the average citizen on the street, try to find out what's going on, what do they need, what's their biggest issue facing them,” then I thought, “It shouldn't just be me.” I had the entire command staff go out every Friday night. They could work a late shift but go out, drive through the community and go talk to people.

I didn't make it real measured thing like, “You got to give me a list of context you go to.” Sometimes, I would call and say, “I'm looking for commander so and so. Is he still out?” They go, “Yeah, he's out here.” We would meet and chat a little bit. The reason I did that was I wanted the community to know that I cared about them. 1) I hadn't done that in a long time. I thought it was an opportunity to see firsthand what goes on because Chicago can be totally different. You can see some beautiful neighborhoods down on the South side during the day, but then, at night, everything, changes. You see a lot of boys hanging around the corner.

You can almost feel there's a different vibe in the air. I'm going to go out and feel that. I thought it would be a good chance to come into the communities, go to some of the little restaurants down the South side or on the West side, sit down, have some jerk chicken, have some fish and chips, grab a cup of coffee, go on a gangway to a party that folks were having and just listen to that. What I would do on Saturdays, the mayor always had a function in the community. Usually, it was in the South of the West side.

Who's the mayor, then?

Mayor Daley. He and I then would go talk to people and carry that on. What I realized right away was that people appreciated the fact that, for that moment in time, they had the mayor of Chicago, the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and I would drag the district commander over. We would sit and talk to them. If it was something that we could put a plan to, we would put that in place. Maybe we had to do a special mission where we would have officers go by to check this one area, and then I'd go back and follow up.

I'd say, “Here's my phone number. Give me a call. Tell me how this works, but let me have your phone number so I can check on you.” Two weeks later, I'd come back and say, “How did it work out?” I said, “It was great. The guys that used to always hang around the corner, your cops pushed him off the corner.” I said, “Great. That's what we were looking to do.” A lot of it was building trust with the community that had been absent for a while.

The response now I was a little bit skeptical. I didn't know how it would work. I never brought camera crews with me. I didn't make this as a photo op. Some of the news people, when they heard I was doing this, wanted to ride along, I go, “Absolutely not. I am not using people as pawns in a video to promote what I'm doing to keep Chicago safe. It was going to be just me out there talking to people.” I think a couple of times, my driver said, “You may not want to do this.”

I said, “That's why I got you. Keep me out of trouble. Make sure nothing bad happens.” We never had an issue. People were incredibly polite and appreciative of the fact that I took time out of my day to go down and talk to them, but you got to have that follow-up. If somebody gives you something, it's like, “You're going to see me out here next week. You're going to see me out here the week after that, and I'll make sure that the area, that corner you're concerned about, is going to be cleaned up. I give you my word.”

When you do that, it buys a lot of goodwill in the community. It's like, “The superintendent came out here. He told me he was going to do this. You can check. These boys are not hanging around the corner. They're not playing dice. That area's been cleaned up.” To be fair, it may have moved to another part of that community, but at least I took care of that problem at that one particular place.

On Leadership And Growth

That's good because, as we always say on this show, it's vapor if it's not on paper. I want to make sure everybody's got their pen paper writing these nuggets and bombs that you're dropping because you're trying to decriminalize an area through building relationships. Everybody that's reading is probably not doing that or maybe they are, I don't know, but they're trying to get people to take another step, get people to show up for work, get people to learn, grow and do the job they're asked without creating a problem. If you can meet them to try to decriminalize the area, everybody reading, if you would spend some time with people, stop, which is spend time on people, you could take some anxiety away from someone. That's going to build trust. Trust is going to be the electricity to the inspiration because without trust you don't have anything.

Another powerful thing you said is you followed up. You're making them a believer because if you don't follow up, they'll trust you less than they were when you came down there because, like you said, “I didn't come down there for a photo shoot to get some press running a political campaign. I came down there to genuinely love on people.” You showed them that. They bought into you once you came back fall, “Tell me how we're doing.”

I started doing that as soon as I got out of the career world. When I was in the army, people always reported to me. I was usually in a comm position. Everybody wants to tell you what you want to hear. As soon as I got done with the morning briefings, I'd be like, “I'm going to go down to the maintenance building. I'm going to go down here or there.” You walk up and start talking to people. To be fair, it made some of the midline supervisors extraordinarily nervous because now they have me going down there asking a lot of questions. I did that because I wanted to hear, “What can I do to give you what you need to do your job better?”

I've always viewed it as any leadership position. I'm not in it for me. I'm in it for you, the employee. I'm in it for you, the soldier. I'm in it for you, the agent. I'm in it for you, the cop. I'm not in it for me, the police chief, the captain, the lieutenant or whomever. I'm in it for you. I always felt my responsibility was to give them what they needed.

If I'm not talking to people, any information I get is going to be filtered because some people will say, “We don't want to say we need that.” I go, “Tell me what you need. I may not be able to give it to you, but let me try. If I can't give it to you, I'm going to tell you I can't do that. I'll tell you why I can't do that. I've always found the people who are doing the job, and I usually have the best ideas on how to do it better. They're not chained by this.”

That's the way we've always done it because we will, “Didn't we just hire you? How did you do it? Where did you come from?” “We did it this way.” “I like it. Let's try it,” because you can always go back but have the courage to try something to make it better for people. What I was at the Chicago Police Department uniform issue was it made no sense to me. I said, “Can't we make uniforms that are a little more functional?” My background is in the military. You wear these uniforms. They're not functional. They don't help you do your job. You're wearing this body armor underneath your shirt. It's hot. It's bulky. You can't release it real early if you want to cool down a little bit.

“Have you thought about putting body armor on the outside? If you have body armor on the outside, maybe we should make it so you can carry stuff on it. You could put pockets in it and put your name on it. Here's an idea that blew my mind, which they didn't have. How about if we embroider bright letters police on the back of it so when you're chasing somebody down the street, the people behind you will recognize that you're the police rather than perhaps another criminal or offender that you're chasing? It maybe might keep you from getting shot or injured because they know you're the police. I looked at some of the things that I saw. In many ways, the department was an incredible department, but in some ways, because they had not had a lot of outsiders, they were living in the past decades.”

We worked hard to bring new modern things into their way of work, which would help them, help them do a better job, little things, give them a little more flexibility and nobody liked to wear the crown hats because if you lost this one particular shield as an automatic three-day suspension. I say, “The hats look awesome. I think they look fantastic, but maybe we ought to wear those for graduations, funerals, recruitment ceremonies, and ceremonies. How would guys feel about wearing baseball hats?” “We'd love that.” “How about in the wintertime, it's cold? What about a knit cap?” “We'd love that.” I said, “Why don't we try that? How about you make it like a utility uniform?” Little things like that. Those were well received.

It was simple things, but I think it's important to get to know. I did the same thing in the community by going out and talking to them like, “How are you guys with the police?” “We hate the police.” “Why?” “This happened.” I said, “Can you give me a time reference?” “What do you mean?” “Did it happen last month?” “No, it happened when I was twelve.” “You're 42 now. Can we say that the people during that time 30 years ago probably aren't here? If you'll give me that much, can we say this can be a fresh start?” “Okay.” “How many superintendents came down and talked to you at 12:30 at night?” “None.” I said, “I've taken the first step. Can you promise to work with me and see if we can build these relationships a little bit?”

“Okay.” As you mentioned, you got to have that follow-up. You can't just go down there one night and they never see you again. I had my little routine, my route that I would go. The other thing that was interesting was that you could make it more personal. It was great being in your police car or in your expedition driving up. The best interaction I had was when my driver, who then turned into my bicycling partner, we would ride bikes throughout the South and West sides. I was amazed not having been a police officer and how being on a bicycle built relationships. It was incredible.

You weren't behind the glass of a car. You weren't in this 4,000-pound thing that you're driving around in. You were right there with the people. People were friendly. They were very interactive. That was a real eye-opening experience for me. I tried to beef up the bike units and say, “Go out and ride through the community. It's a great way to show that you're here for them.” I would never have known that if I hadn't once said, “Do you want to ride bikes to the community?” They're like, “You're not serious, are you?” I said, “Yeah, I'd like to see how it goes.” It was very eye-opening.

You dropped the button. You gave an MBWA class 101, Managed By Wandering Around.

I've done that my whole life.

Where did you learn that from? Who taught you that? Did somebody model that for you?

It's something I picked up, maybe curiosity, plus I hate sitting in an office. I despise that. Some people like to sit there. You're at your throne. If it was Game of Thrones, it'd be the Iron Throne. Everybody comes to you, “Yes, sir.” I despise that. I absolutely hate that. I'd much rather see what's going on out of curiosity. Sometimes, when I was a young lieutenant, part of what I was responsible for was a missile repair facility.. I knew nothing about that. I'd be like, “I'm going down to the maintenance facility.” They're like, “Are you going to call them?” I said, “No, I'm going to go walk around and see what they're doing.” I would oftentimes do that.

With the cops, I'd walk up and say, “What's going on?” They'd go, “No,” then there's a little bit of a reaction. I said, “I'm asking you. Tell me what's going on? What are you happy about? What are you pissed off about? What can I do to make your world better? Besides, retire or leave, give me something I can do.” I have always found that to be very helpful, so I can understand so then you can see if, like some of the managers are coming to you, they're telling you something you're like, I was down at your unit the other day. I'm not sure I'm feeling that. They often will want to tell you things they think you want to hear. A funny story: When I went to Philadelphia, I had four ASACs or Assistant Special Agents in Charge underneath me.

I knew one of them very well. My predecessor was a good guy, but he did not want to hear problems. I go in and talk to them, and they're like, “Whatever you want.” I said, “No. I'm asking you guys to help me understand what we've got going on here.” “It's all good. Everything is good.” I came up with this one stupid proposal. It was to move everybody around in the office. If you were a white-collar crime supervisor, you were going to go on gangs. I was going to do the big bang approach all at once as a surprise, but then I tried to feign excitement about this. I go, “I've been thinking about this for weeks. I'm excited to tell you about this.”

I go through this. The one guy who did not know me at all was staring at me. He goes, “Can we speak honestly?” I said, “Of course.” He goes, “That's the most ridiculous plan I've ever heard.” He starts going off. I started clapping. I said, “Thank you. It took me all weekend to come up with something stupid and outrageous that would finally make you tell me that what I was thinking about was totally screwed up. Now, we can have these honest discussions because this is what I want from all of you. Tell me if you've got a problem with what you're talking about. Tell me where I'm wrong because if you don't do that, I don't need any of you. If I can play the role of the dictator and come out to issue edicts all day, I can save the government and the American taxpayer four pretty good salaries.”

I said, “The only thing I ask is this. We can yell, holler and curse at each other in this room, but when the door's open, we have to be singing the same song. We've got to do a song. Is that fair?” They're like, “That's fair.” I said, “Can we agree on that?” “Yes.” “Promises.” “Yes.” To their credit, my time in Philadelphia is pretty good. We'd have some spirited discussions, but then it's like, “We're split. In my role, I have to make the final decision so this way we're going to go. Sorry, I know that doesn't make you happy.” They'll go, “No, that's okay. We wanted to voice our opinions.” I said, “If it doesn't work, we'll change it. Nobody's going to die from this.”

My first boss said Averitt Express and I'm high volume intensity at this point. He's the guy that's trying to pull me back. He would scold me, discipline me, talk to me hard, and then he'd see my shoulders, my body be deflated because I was in trouble. He'd go, “Before you leave, be you. I want you to be you, but sometimes you have to slow down, and you have to go at everybody else's pace.” You slowed down. You got on their page.

I learned to slow down and get on people's pace trials, probably 42, 43, 44. I still struggle with it, but I'm so much more aware. That helps me be intentional with my behavior because I know I sometimes have to stop. I have to spend time with my wife or I have to stop. I have to go spend time with a customer or stop and spend time with my sons or grandsons because that's how you connect with people.

Love is spelled TIME. We got to stop. Put your phone away, stop looking at social media, and quit worrying about what's going on in the world. Find a relationship with someone, go spend some time with them, and ask questions. Your curiosity changed things. You tore those silos down of fear where someone could have the freedom to talk. That's powerful because if we can get people in America to sit down out of respect, honor one another, have a conversation without getting mad at each other, and change the world.

At times, I would love to know why some people feel certain ways without getting into specific politics, but why do you feel that way? I'm not judging you. I want to know. Help me understand. Sadly though, the discourse is high right now. It immediately turns into personal attacks, then nothing is successful. You know what helped me out? One day, I was a brand new second lieutenant. I worked for this major, and I liked Major Ackles, the interesting guy. He did big game hunting in Africa, and we were talking about how people can frustrate you. He said, “Do you like baseball?” I said, “Yeah, I played it my whole life.” He said, “Not everybody's a 300 hitter.” I said, “That's fair,” but he said, “Maybe they're a good fielder. Maybe they're a good base runner.”

He goes, “It is your job as a leader to put the right people in the right places to get the most out of them. You can have a winning team without everybody hitting 300. You have nine guys. They can all hit 300. If they can't field, if they can't run, you're going to lose every game. You've got to get that blend. Some people may be awesome. Your job is to get the most out of them that they can give, not knowing that not everybody's created equal. That always stuck in my head because it's like, “This guy's maybe not the best-case agent. He's not somebody you're going to turn over a major drug trafficking organization to, but maybe he's a guy that's good about covering leads.”

Leads sometimes could be a pain in the butt. You're working hard. All of a sudden I go, “This came in from Jacksonville. Could you go out and run this down?” You're rolling your eyes like, “I got some big cases to work.” Some guys and girls are very happy, like, “Give it to me, I'll do it. They do a great job.” They were better suited at those quick turnarounds. If I've got guys and girls who can do that, then I've got a couple of guys who are into making the big cases, and I've got a very good team. Sometimes, you have to defend some of these guys on inspections a little bit because it's a senior agent. They'll say, “He doesn't have any major cases.”

I said, “That's true, but we've taken the team concept here. Look at his lead turnaround time. Look at how fast you process it.” Most of the inspectors that I dealt with are like, “You make this work. You get the most out of your people. We're writing you up as you're all good.” I said, “Thank you, I appreciate that.” To me, it's like putting people in a position where they can succeed. I think that's hard sometimes because, like you, you're very ball-forward all the time. You probably, in your younger years, thought that everybody should be running at your pace, but they may have family issues.

They may have a lot of different issues that they want to run at your pace. You might inspire them to run at your pace, but they can't. It's sad, but then you got to sit back and go, “He or she's given me everything they've got. They're doing a good job, they're taking care of their family, they've got their responsibilities there. They're giving me an honest day's work. I'm okay with that. If they're only hitting 225 even though you wanted to hit 300.”

In your second class, you gave, “Finding the uniqueness of the person and how do you tap into the uniqueness of that person?” What we do, it takes people to do it. Whatever we do, you can take AI or ChatGPT. At the end of the day, it's about relationships. You’ve got to know how to deal with people.

You've hit on this before. I've worked for some bosses, and I've had some colleagues. They want to be liked. It's like, “I'm not going to do that because then people won't like me.” It's like, “No. Not Everybody wants you as their friend. They want you as someone who has integrity and someone who'll make a decision.” There was a special agent in charge out in Phoenix. He's passed away. He was getting blasted on an inspection for the climate survey. He wasn't nice. He was a jerk. He was aggressive. He didn't say good morning to you for some time. They called me up and said, “What'd you think about him?” I said, “The single best boss I've ever had in the FBI.” The guy that's interviewed me goes, “No, are you serious?”

I go, “No, because I said he was always a man of his word, and he always gave me an answer when I needed one. No, I'm not the type of person who runs him for everything like, ‘Mother, may I do this,’ but he always gave me one when I needed an answer. For me, that's all I needed.” They go, “Did he say good morning to you?”

I said, “No. I didn't say good morning to him. I didn't need to. I wanted a guy who would make a decision for me and he was available. You guys make a big fuss about him. How mean he was you loved his predecessor. His predecessor never had a function at his house. The guy you think this big jerk, he had parties at his house for all the support staff, he had it for the SWAT teams, he had it for different squads, and they did something good. Nobody talks about that because maybe in the morning, he's thinking about something. He's got a lot of things on his mind. He didn't say good morning when you walked in.”

Would it be nicer if he would? Yeah. Is that a big thing to do? No, but that, to me, is all secondary stuff. That's stuff. It's nice to have a person you like, whether it's your boss or your colleague, you like that, but you also want to have somebody who's competent, gets the job done and is there for you when you need them. Not to say good morning, but like, “I've got a big problem. I need your help.” You take your glasses off and say, “How can I help you?” That's the type of relationship I've always tried to build with people like, “If you need me for real, I'm here for you. I don't care day or night.”

I had an older gentleman than me, who worked for me for six years when I owned my own trucking company because I'm very quick to shoot. I was probably one of the worst listeners, but I'm much better now because if I want to inspire someone, if I don't listen to them to understand a reply, they'll never trust me so, therefore, I can't inspire. This one guy was looking for integrity. He knew I had integrity, but he said one thing about me, “If you have a business problem with him, he's very brash he's very quick to answer to get on with the decision, but if you had a personal problem, well he'd sit there talk to you for 3 or 4 hours about your personal problem.”

When I looked at him, I said, “Do I do that?” He said, “Yeah, I know if I have a personal problem, you'll sit there, listen and try to help me figure out the most wise thing to do.” He laughed. If we’ve got a business problem, he looks at me like, “Are you stupid? You can't fix that. Why are you asking me this question? That's how I made people feel because it was different.” I'm a little bit like that guy. Not all the way, but we're all different then, at some point, it's like I had to look in the mirror one day and go, “What kind of leader do you want to be?” I had one of my mentors at Avert Express draw that out of me, said “What type of leader do you want to be?” When he asked me that, I was 27 or 28 years old.

He said, “Go around, look at all the leaders you've had, good, bad and ugly. You pull the good stuff. You develop your own leadership stuff.” I am taking another step in the system inspirational leadership workshop. We do a leadership legacy, and we go through five people of impact. What did you know, see and feel about them? How did they inspire you? We'll write your own leadership legacy based on what's already inside of you that someone's already modeled for you. That someone made you feel great when they did that. Why don't you do that? If that made you feel bad, don't do that to people.

This is an interesting point. Back when I was at FBI headquarters in the human resource division, we had a consulting company come in. They looked at how we promoted people to mid-level management, right above the agents. We didn't have a good program. It's you who raise your hand and you get promoted. We wanted to have some type of evaluation program. It was fascinating because you'd have role players you'd go through this. Many people reverted back to what they had experienced, even knowing it was wrong. A couple of people called me up and said, “I understand I failed this thing.” I said, “Let me take a look at it. I'll get back to you.”

I'd played the tape, I made some notes, and I said, “I listened to the tape.” They said, “What'd you think?” I said, “I think you missed the mark, but here's why. why did you do this?” This one person goes, “That's how everybody's always treated me.” I said, “Did you think that was right?” He goes, “I was nervous so I figured I'd revert back to what I knew.” I go, “That's another problem that we need to address with maybe some of our current supervisors.”

A perfect example is this, the scenario was this, you were on surveillance, and the target you were watching was taken off. You didn't know that there was going to be a search warrant the next day. You were going out doing some reconnaissance and getting some photographs of the house. All of a sudden, you see them loading up the house. You call your supervisor on the radio, and then the supervisor, you have to give him the report and some recommendations on what to do. The role player in this was the supervisor. What actions did he give to the agent who called in with this problem? This good friend of mine calls up. He's angry because he flunked. I said, “Let me look at this.”

I go back and I listen to it. I'm shaking my head. I call him back up. I said, “You chewed out the agent for calling on the radio because you thought that was an operational security violation. Did you truly think that was the point of this exercise? The person was an idiot. They called on the radio, and they should have gone to a payphone and called in. Do you realize the thrust of this was what you were going to tell the agent to do at that time? It was wide open. You could have said, ‘Go get the locals, do a car, stop, follow them.’ There wasn't a set answer. There were several of them.”

He picked one that nobody even thought of, that you would harass the agent, and chastised the agent because the person called you on the radio. I said, “I don't know what to say. I understand what you're saying, but I'm going to say that was not a good call.” He got mad at me like, “I'm sorry, I can't do this.” I felt bad about that because I did like him, and then one of my colleagues said, “Would you want him running a squad?” I go, “Good point.” It's a friend of yours. You hate doing something that's basically going to drive a stake through his heart to move up in the organization.

You also think, “Maybe moving up and being a leader is not the right step for everybody. Although it was painful at the time, perhaps you prevented something much worse down the road.” You try to rationalize a little bit, but it still hurts when somebody you like is somebody. You basically stop them from achieving what they want to do. A lot of times, they don't want to hear why you did it. They're just mad at you, but it takes it over after a while.

Sometimes, when we speak life into people, the correction, they rebel against us, but I love you so much. Discipline is done properly when it's done out of love, a motive. When I discipline my sons, they've got to feel that I love them. That's in a relationship because they got to know, “I love you so much. You can't keep doing what you're doing. If you want to get mad at me, that's on you. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at your behavior. As a person, you're special.”

My mom did a great job separating the person from the behavior because she didn't throw out with the dishwater. She kept me. She threw my behavior away. When that behavior came back, she dealt with that again. We're right back in here again. The same thing, same bat channel, same time because you won't buy your behavior. She kept telling me, “You can't fix it until you own it. You keep deflecting to other people. That's why we're right back here again. You're going to be disciplined again, but I love you. You are better than this. God didn't create you to do this. There's so much more for you, but you will be disciplined.”

It's hard for you to understand that at that time, but that was an actual level. She could easily wash her hands off you said, “I'm done with you.” She didn't because she loved you.

Building Relationships With Team Members

We're whiling down here. Last question. What would you say to someone who does not see a need to build a relationship with their, I'm going to say a word out of hate saying, subordinate or a teammate who reports to you? They don't see a need to build a relationship with someone.

It's shocking that somebody would feel that way. What's that old saying? “If you take care of your people, your people will take care of you.” If you're working by yourself all the time, or maybe you've got one person underneath you, maybe you can get by with that. As you move up in an organization, you have to be able to delegate. How do you know if you can delegate? If you don't have a relationship with people, you're not going to feel comfortable delegating work to them because at the end of the day, they may do the work, but you have the responsibility for that work. I've started working with a small firearm company. It's called Guardian Training Consulting, started with a husband and wife, and great people. We've been working to grow and try to expand a little bit.

One of the founders, the husband is like, “This is hard. This is what Karen and I did. It's hard letting go.” I said, “The first thing is you got to know your team. You brought everybody on here, and you trust us.” He goes, “I do.” I said, “You've got to have those relationships. You've got to feel 100% comfortable when I'm teaching a particular class. I may do it differently than you, but it's going to be done as well as you. You won't know that until you see that I understand what I'm doing. It's still going to be hard because this is your baby. You'll never take this to the next level. If you're teaching basic courses all the time.”

“You need to be going out selling this. You need to get the contract with LAPD, NYPD, or the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office that you're going to come in and totally revamp their firearms program. Teach these officers how to shoot fast and accurately. Give them training that they've never seen before. If you're teaching something as basic as concealed carry or use of force simulation, they're basic and important courses, but that's not building the business.” I've tried to work with him and mentor him he's doing a great job with it. His wife is, I think, better at seeing that big picture. He's also torn fighting that desire. He likes to shoot. He likes to be on the range. He likes to do this stuff.

I said, “Sometimes you got to back off that let us do that.” It's the whole thing of knowing your team. Get to know your people because you will never feel confident if you don't. You'll never trust them to go in and do the work that you have to have them do. The more you moved up in an organization like Chicago Police Department, I had 13,500 people. Do you think I could do their work for them? No, I had to have relationships. Did I know all 13,500? Of course not. Did I know all their commanders? Yes. Did I know all the deputy Chiefs? Yes. Did I come in and have conversations with them? I call up and say, “Can I come by see you at your office? Do you have time?” The answer is yes.

I would come in and talk. They'd have their binders like, “What do you want to talk about?” I go, “I want to talk about you.” “What?” I” want to talk about you I want to get to know you as a person. I learned, are you the next person who will be the superintendent of the police department? Are you ready for that position? If you're not ready for that position, what can I do to help you get ready for that position? All of you should be aspiring to be in that job. Would you like to be superintendent?” “Yeah.” I said, “Do you feel you're ready right now?” “Probably not.” I said, “We have a gap. How can I help you fill that gap?”

They had never had anybody come in to ask that. I asked why. There was a Black guy who I liked. He comes up. I say, “Help me understand.” He said, “This is a Black expression. Have you ever heard the term bucket of crabs?” I go, “Not really.” He said, “What do crabs do if they're in a bucket? One's trying to climb out. The other one's going to reach out and pull it back. Anybody that looks to be a superstar that looks to be moving up will be viewed as a threat.” I said, “No, that's the person you should be grooming for future leadership roles.”

He started laughing. He goes, “You are so far into this agency because anybody else in your seat would look at us as a threat. I'm a creative guy. There's been a brick put on my head for the past five years because I'd have some ideas. The mayor might ask me about it. Your predecessors would find it bad, and they'd say, ‘Bury him.’ I said, ‘Why?’”

He said, “I was viewed as a threat.” I said, “The good news is we got to change that culture. The bad news is that it isn't going to happen overnight because I'm guessing that a lot of the bosses permeate down to it, and they all feel that way.” He goes, “100%. That was one of my endeavors. I don't know how successful I was at that because there were too many. I wasn't there long enough. You've got to know the people underneath you. When you see talent, you have to develop that talent. I've always looked at I got to find the person to replace me because a rattlesnake could bit me, I could have a heart attack. If I have done a good job of finding a successor, then I pretty much failed as a leader.

That might be the name of this episode, Find My Replacement.

I personally feel that we should all be doing that.

I call it working myself out of a job. Every promotion I got at my first company, I worked myself out of a job. I started doing a job for which they gave me a promotion. One of the owners I worked for said, “Until you do good here, you show me that you can do your next step up to an executive from a VP. You got to be able to do both of those jobs at the same time.” I said, “I'm game. Let's grow with it.” The people that don't want to do that, take a step back. Somebody else is coming. That wants to warn you. Thank you so much. Great information. Here are some things: “Find my replacement. I want to talk about you,” which is powerful, and “Know your team. How can I help you fill that gap?” Don't create a culture where it's a bucket of crabs.

I have to give you one more good line, “Always a student, sometimes a teacher.” I've been a firearms instructor within Illinois and the FBI. I came out here in Arizona. I tried to say, “I can always learn something.” I did. I learned a lot of cool stuff that I did not know. The guy I am teaching goes, “I thought you were going to be like a real jerk and a know-it-all.” I said, “Absolutely not. I'm always a student. Sometimes I have to teach, but I'm always a student. Even when I teach, sometimes I usually can pick something up from the student.” He loved that approach. That's one of my mottos.

Am I taking another step system, an inspirational leadership workshop that is trait number ten of an inspirational leader, lifelong learner? When I worked there, the COO at Averitt Express said, “If you're not growing, you're dying.” Write that domino effect that I've challenged you with. Make sure you can find one thing out of this episode that catapult you forward in your inspirational leadership career. Jody, thank you. You're amazing. We had this Bobcat snake show that we've talked about for many years. Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you again. Readers, read what he said. Dropped a lot of nuggets that's going to help you get that next promotion. Thank you. Go have a great day. Let's grow.

Thanks for having me. You make that play.

Important Links

Jody Weis
I Believe In People – Past Episode

Learning In The Fire

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:19:07 GMT

In this episode of the Leadership Factory podcast, host Greg Taylor interviews John Tweed , a distinguished leader with 37 years of experience in the distribution and freight transportation industries.

John recounts his career journey and the mentors that significantly shaped his leadership approach. He also discusses negative experiences, the importance of clear communication, accountability, and trust in leadership, and the significance of spending time with people to build trust and inspire them.

John reflects on the impact of his family, especially his mother, whom he regards as his unsung hero for her unwavering support and resilience as a single mother. He highlights the lessons learned from his family and the importance of empowering others by listening to and valuing their input.

The episode concludes with a mention of John and his wife Kim’s philanthropic efforts through the Tweed Family Foundation , which is dedicated to serving Northeast Tennessee, particularly in addiction recovery and enhancing overall well-being in their community.

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Learning In The Fire

With Joe Sloan - Offensive Coordinator For LSU Football

Introduction

In this episode, Greg Taylor chats with Joe Sloan , LSU Tigers' Offensive Coordinator, about inspiring others on their journeys. They define leadership as guiding individuals onto uncharted paths, emphasizing trust and relationship building. Sloan draws from his LSU experiences under Coach Kelly, integrating new ideas for sustained success. Reflecting on his father's influence, Sloan shares how he balanced firmness with charisma, shaping his leadership style.

Taking over his father's business in college fueled his passion for coaching. Trust is pivotal in Sloan's philosophy. Citing mentors like Coach Hose, who instilled belief, he stresses the power of personal stories in leadership and advocates for self-awareness and strategic wisdom. Sloan's winning edge stems from a strong work ethic taught by his father, underscoring the value of planning and reflection. Join us as we explore leadership, growth, and excellence with Joe Sloan on the show.

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Everybody, welcome our guest in this episode, Joe Sloan , the Offensive Coordinator for the LSU Tigers. Welcome, Joe.

Thank you, GT. I’m glad to be here.

At the end of this interview, everybody's going to be glad you showed up on the show. Just a quick note for me to get connected and everybody else connected on the same issue because we're talking about leadership and building leaders. Many years of searching for what that definition is for me, and I've been a management trainee all the way to the owner of the business and every position in between.

Leadership

The definition we use here on the show is a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they're just not going to take by themselves. They're not going to do it. How do you get someone to do something? As someone in my past says, “Greg, you need to learn how to take chicken crap and turn it into chicken salad. When you can do that, you can tell everybody how much money you want to make, and until you can do that, shut your mouth.” You got to get it out to them. What are your quick thoughts on that definition?

No, I think it's 100% accurate. I think it all goes back to inspiring other people. That starts with building relationships. You have to have relationships with the people who you are leading in some way or another. That doesn't mean you have to be best friends. That doesn't mean we're all on equal footing because I think a lot of times there has to be a hierarchy and a different level of respect, but there has to be a relationship and trust there. It’s because people have to trust and sometimes you have to ask them to trust because they want to do something that maybe they necessarily wouldn't do. Also, you have to call on their trust. That starts with a relationship, which usually starts with time.

I promise everybody, you and I did not talk about any of this stuff.

No, we did not.

No, we did not because trust is the electricity, the inspiration.

That's a lot cooler than I would've said it, but yes, I agree.

The first way to build trust is what you said. I call it STOP which Spend Time On People. You can't do that. We're done, Coach. We've already solved the problem.

Kevin Elko came to speak to us when I was at Louisiana Tech, and I know he was with a bunch of different NFL teams. I've listened to some stuff there and one time, he said, “How do you spell love? He said “T-I-M-E”. It’s the same thing. There's no replacement for time. I think now, and this is where something that I have to do a better job because of the job that we have. There are so many things going on all the time, and you're so close to them because of these things. You can get to them at all times. I'm always available. Time, but also being engaged and genuine during that time.

Here on the show, I want everybody to get a minimum of three things through this conversation. You come up with three things. You and I are going to say close to a million words. Can everybody get three things? You got to have a pad and a pen with you because if it's not on paper, it's going to be vapor. I'm going to challenge everybody at the very end. It's a domino effect.

Can you pick one thing that you can do in your leadership journey that will knock the rest of the issues out of the way? That's the fine-tuning of being an effective leader. Can you figure out the most powerful thing to do that will change everybody's perspective? You can get more wins and make more money in a business setting because you're dropping nuggets early, Coach.

I don't know how many people will read this. Once they see that it's me, probably about ten, but let's say that when they read this, my thing is I bet 90% of the people who are reading are doing something else. I'm basing that on because I know what I would be doing and I'd be doing multiple things. A lot of times, when you try to do that, you end up not getting enough. You can't give the proper thought.

I love what you said there about writing three things down. I always say this. When you leave something, when you listen to something, watch something, or you're at a conference, you're having a meeting with somebody who does something similar to you but in a different company or from a different team. Once you listen to that, decide what you like, and then, if you like it, how are you going to integrate it into what you do daily, weekly, or monthly?

It’s because if you don't integrate it and do it once, you have to put too much effort into repeating it again if it's not integrated into your process and schedule. That's the hardest thing for me because I love listening to different ideas. I love talking to people. I love dialogue. I love hearing, “This is what they're doing at this other place,” or, “This is what they're doing here.” You can get scattered and you have to make sure you integrate it.

That's what coming here and working for Coach Kelly, I think, is the best thing about him, and there are tons of them. He's been ultra-successful, but his process and the building block, the foundation of our organization, are clearly defined and simple. It's repeatable. That's something that is very important for me and my personality because if you're going to learn something, you have to be able to integrate it so you can repeat it.

It takes 21 days to create an unconscious competent routine, but you have to be doing it right for 21 days.

Sometimes, listening and saying, “That's a good idea. That's something cool that they're doing. That's great,” we're not going to do that, but it made me think about my own process and maybe I'm more committed to what I'm already doing now, whatever that might be.

It’s because if you came on here looking for answers, my motive in my heart is to stir your thinking because you've got the answer inside of it. To inspire someone is to pull out, to draw out of someone that's already in them. In my speaking and my leadership coaching, my job is to teach other people how to draw out of something because the word inspires to draw out and that's what you're saying. How do you get someone to do something?

It's like you said, the number one thing is to spend time. Until you have trust, you can't do anything. You get trust, and you get a little electricity. Coach, if you have a little electricity, you can turn the lights on. Based upon that inspiring definition, who's your best leader and why? What did you know about them? How did they make you feel and what did you see them do?

Is it the best leader of mine or the best leader that I've seen?

Coach, you're the OC at LSU. You can do pretty much what you want to do.

The best leader of me, I would say was my dad because I watched his interaction with other people. That was something that maybe people couldn't put their finger on. He was able to be very successful. There's a lot of people that were around him. I'm sure there are plenty of people who didn't like him, but a lot of people in his same profession and who were successful in business in our area just South of Richmond, Virginia there that were extremely successful maybe in their drive towards success they put up a big wake behind them.

Coach, we create enemies. We're not for everybody. This show is not for everybody. Coach, that's hard for me to say that.

However, watching my dad, I saw that he was able to be firm with people who worked for him and the people that he worked with. He also had this kind of magnetic piece for him, and nothing replaced hard work for him. That's the example that I got and I would say that he's the number one leader there. In football, I've had the opportunity to be around a good number of leaders at all different levels, with different coaches and players leading different styles and inspiring people in different ways. It’s because of football; we have that, but I would say that would be the answer for me.

Would you mind sharing the story about your dad and how you ran his company when you were in college? Coach, when I found out about you, besides your brother telling me you made all A's and never made anything but A's, He said, “I know he is not going to tell you that, but I just wanted to let you know that.” I said, “I knew he was smart, but I didn't know he was smart because there are not a lot of those types of people out there. I'm a C-student guy.

You can ask plenty of people there. There's a number they will tell you. When I went to college, and this is what I tell everybody. You have an idea of what you think you want to do. My dad was in construction and then started and got into development at the end of his career. I wanted to transition fully into real estate development when I got back from college, or I wanted to coach college football. I knew I was going to stay involved in football. I was either going to do that or coach high school on the side and help out or get into college.

I go. I'm in East Carolina in '05 and '06. He got sick. It was 2007. I'm thinking in terms of football seasons, but it was 2007 in June and July and we're in the middle of a 350-lot subdivision. In 2007, most of the people who will be reading this would understand what happened in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The real estate market bottomed out. We had a big problem on our hands and my dad got diagnosed with lung cancer in June, July of 2007. Everything started to be a problem. He immediately went to chemo and radiation. He had a lot of problems with chemo and radiation.

We got through the fall, and then in January and February, when he started to get pretty sick, I decided, “I'm going to get all online classes. I'm going to come home and help.” I came home and helped. As he got sicker and sicker, I slowly took over there and ended up organizing. We ended up selling to a partner working with a bank. We had some good people. We had a great guy at Regions Bank who worked well with me and a partner who worked well with me.

How old were you?

I was 21. I turned 21 in December of 2007. My dad passed away that summer of 2008. When all that was going on, it was a rapid-fire learning. There are a lot of emotions going on, and you're having to deal with the emotions. My dad and I were close. I referenced him as a leader. The level of our relationship personally and then what he had taught me professionally, not just professionally in his job but professionally in terms of him running a business. It didn't matter whether it was construction or whatever. He was running a business or a corporation. Learning all those things and dealing with those emotions, and then also dealing with multimillion-dollar deals and trying to make sure that our family was protected through that specifically my mom as he was getting pretty sick.

It was learning in the fire, I'll say that, but it was great. I don't regret any of it. These things happen. I probably learned more about myself in those 4 or 5 months than ever. Fortunately, Skip Holtz, Todd Fitch, and a couple of guys who were my coaches at East Carolina were flexible with me. They allowed me to come back and end up getting my MBA. I said, “I'm going to go back and get my MBA. I'm going to finish school.”

I started working upstairs with the coaching staff while I was still playing. I was a scout team quarterback and that kind of stuff. They let me start working up there and I said, “I probably should try this for a little bit, especially with where the market's at.” I had a couple of job opportunities with some people back where we could move some stuff around. It probably would've been great. It would've worked out but I decided that I would try this out and ended up loving it. It's been awesome.

You found your passion through hardship, trials, and tribulations. I appreciate you sharing that story. I know that it was gut-wrenching for you to talk about your dad because I know how much you love and honor your dad and all the things you've learned from him, but he'd be very proud of you now.

I appreciate that. I've referenced it a lot. Somebody told me when I was going through it, “You'll remember your dad every day of your life,” and I do. It's true. I've told the story enough now that I'm a little bit better. I would've struggled through that one a few years ago, but now it's part of life. It's part of those things that we end up having to go through, but it was good. You never know. It's funny how things happen.

If the real estate market crashed in 2011 instead of 2007, I probably wouldn't be sitting here. I don't know. You never know. It's funny how things have an unbelievable job. I've had the opportunity to meet so many different great young men and, hopefully, helped them in different ways. I met my wife in Louisiana. We have two beautiful daughters.

What’s her first name?

Taylor.

She's amazing, Coach.

That's right. There's no doubt.

You got good HR skills, so I would assume you're a good picker.

Absolutely.

As my wife says when she calls me crazy, “Why do you think that way?” I go, “Baby, hold up a minute. Don't tell anybody you think I'm crazy. That downgrades your HR skills.” They asked me about you. I say, “You're the most amazing person to ever walk on the earth because I have good HR skills.” I'm going to do full disclosure here, Coach. When my son came to Louisiana Tech and I found out you were the coach, the first thing I did, being an older guy, was I said, “How old is this guy?” You were probably what, 28?

I was 26.

I kept an open mind because I'm learning and growing myself. I still am at 60. I was 47, 48, 49, or 50 at that point. I said, “Keep an open mind.” When I met you, I was like, “This is a pretty young guy.” I'm telling the story to understand that sometimes I just have to trust Coach Hose. Some people are out there in a jam where they don't believe in a certain person, but someone above them believes in him, but you don't believe in him. I said, “Coach Hose knows more about football than I do, so I'm going to believe in what he said. When I found out about your story about your dad, I said, “Oh yeah.” For you to be around my son and have those events going on in your life, I want you to know that meant something to me.

I appreciate that.

It’s because you can speak into my son's life. He hasn't been through that. Those tough times are tough times.

Also, everybody's going to be different. I always say my tough time happened to involve a bunch of dollars and my dad passing away. It involved a lot of things. It was a pretty heavy situation for me, but maybe a tough time for someone else. If you looked at it in black and white, it may be defined as, “That's not as big of a deal.” No, it's a huge deal to you when you're going through it.

I think everybody deals with their own personal issues in their own way. When we can share those stories and we use the word relate. I try to create an opportunity to relate to my players. I have players that we wouldn't have anything in common that, to the naked eye, we wouldn't, but there's something. There are things in there, but that's where the relationship comes in.

Creating Opportunities To Relate

Coach, you said the title of this. Create an opportunity to relate. It didn't say opportunities will come and go. You said intentionally and consciously, “I have to create an opportunity to be relatable to this person.” You're not going to get anything out of it until you do that. You should consciously create an opportunity to relate.

One of the first guys I ever coached was your son and one of the best guys I've ever coached and will be one of the best guys I ever coached. I don't care how long I coached. Trent was just unbelievable in so many ways, but on paper, if you put both of us up, there'd be a lot of relatable things in terms of hard work, grind, or probably been doubted some different times or whatever.

That was probably an easy one if you put it up on paper, but there are also other relationships where you would say, “This guy's so different from you, Coach Sloan,” but there's something there and you got to find it. Also, a lot of times, you have to get out of your own way. It’s because I do think there has to be a level of respect. Particularly in the organizations that I work in football, there has to be a level of coach, player and that can't get lost because then that becomes a problem too. That's where you have to be able to walk that line and figure that out and still develop that relationship.

That's wisdom, discernment, and good temperament.

It’s because there are sometimes where I don't want to say ivory tower because that's the extreme. It’s ruling from the ivory tower, but sometimes there needs to be a little stoicness in the position when you're in a leadership role. It can't feel like a peer-to-peer relationship. However, you have to break down the wall and the trust has to be built through a similar level of conversations, time, and everything else while still maintaining that respect and order.

I'm going to throw a shout-out to someone that you and I both know, Coach Steve Shankweiler. He said to create an opportunity to relate. He was the offensive line coach at Western Kentucky back in ‘84 and ‘85. I played an outside linebacker. We called it Willie. I don't know what the terminology is now. That's been many years ago.

Every game, he would come and sit down and say, “You're going to make a bunch of plays today,” and I believed in him. We just bumped into each other every once in a while, but every time I would battle against his guys, he would always pick at me because he knew how to gig me to get me going a little bit. He also knew how to get me going for game time.

I’m sure it was hard to get you going at 1920.

I was full of gas anyway. I just needed to be toned down a little bit. That's what Mickey Taylor's job has been. Trent taught me how to slow down, but now Coach Shankweiler has done a great job. He created a moment to relate to me. There are 10 or 11 other assistant coaches there that never attempted to relate to me. I'm going to ask him after this. “Why did you do that for me,” because that changed my life. He gave me value where I didn't have value.

It's so funny, and now, because I coach the quarterback position, I talk about this a lot with quarterbacks.

Why are you coaching quarterbacks, Coach? Have you ever coached a Heisman Trophy winner?

I did. I tried not to get in his way. He's pretty good.

Just so everybody knows, you were Jayden Daniels’ coach when we won the Heisman Trophy.

I was.

That’s the only reason I like you, Coach Sloan.

There's no doubt, but I talk to you guys all the time. So many times in the story you just told me, so many people are walking by and they see someone over there. “I shouldn't bother them right now,” or, “They got it,” or, “I need to go do this.” There's an uncomfortable feeling, and I think even the older and successful people get a little bit of nervousness, too. “Is this the time to say something or not?” Also, I think that for my personality, I have to say that sometimes it's not the time to say something, and that's what I had to learn.

Sometimes, it's time to sit back and let it play out because I'm naturally very talkative and controlling. I like to be in the moment, controlling the moment, and be a part of it. I always use this rule of thumb based on one of the two scales. If I think you're naturally a quiet leader who would just say, “I'll get that one next time,” I talk to the guys about it. “If you think you should say something, say it.” It’s because I think it is being aware of your personality. Also, there are other guys who may be a little bit more like me and I say, “If you're not sure if, I should say something, just let it just be quiet for a second. Listen because you don't want to lose your voice because if you lose your voice, you can't lead anybody.”

Sometimes you feel like you need to control every situation, but sometimes too, if you're too loud and too controlling, you don't let anybody underneath of you lead from their platform either because you suffocate the room. I think everybody could probably reference when they watched somebody who was a leader of a different piece of their organization leave. Maybe all of a sudden, you saw more leadership amongst the group because you probably defined them as a strong leader at the time, but maybe they were so overwhelming to everyone else that they suffocated a little bit some of the other leadership.

I'm confessing. That was me until I was probably 36.

Again, it goes back to self-awareness. I always say to the guys. I want to try to be a mirror for you, and hopefully, I will set them up to where they're a mirror for themselves. I think that's down the road, but I try to be a mirror for you because I think understanding your personality can help you be the best version of yourself. You always hear people say, “You have to be genuine to be a leader. You need to be yourself. You need to do it through,” and I agree, but that doesn't mean you have to be the exact version of yourself that you are right this second all the time and whatever you think is right in that moment is right. That's not being yourself.

Leadership is being a chameleon.

Being myself, I'm ready to talk, dialogue, control it, or whatever. That doesn't mean that's appropriate. There are times when I need to just take a breath. That doesn't mean I'm working outside of my own personality. I'm still within my personality, and that's something that I have to learn. You learn it in football when you're in charge of a side of the ball and you go in there to meet with an offensive staff. You're staring at a bunch of guys that are your peers and type-A personalities and in a pressure-oriented, win or you move your family. I always call it a little science experiment. We live in this little bubble with a lot of highly competitive and a lot of instant feedback and pressure.

I was on the phone with a coaching client and he said, “Life is an experiment.”

It is.

Let's just go have fun. Learn and grow. Learn, grow, and fail. It’s just keep doing it because there's no destination to success. Would you agree with that, Coach?

One hundred percent. I was talking to one of our players, and I said, “This will never be about, ‘I'm here. I've won, and I've got the answers, so I'm trying to maintain and be defensive.’” That's where I think defensiveness comes in because you're trying to say, “I'm at the top. I'm here and now I can be defensive. I want to maintain this position. I'm a receiver at LSU. It's got me here.” You have to have a mindset of self-awareness and in the moment.

Even if there's an opportunity for me to say, “No, here's why this happened.” It doesn't matter. The result ended up poor, so let's go back and look. Maybe it wasn't exactly your fault. Maybe there's nothing you could change, but let's make sure we're self-aware and have the opportunity to be self-aware so that we can grow when the results actually do matter. For us, those results truly matter. Saturdays in the fall.

Is there no pressure to win at LSU, Coach?

Not at all. They don't care and yes, we want to “win” today. We don't talk about winning. We talk about the process here. You hear the thing win the day. You want to win the day, but that doesn't mean you have to be right today. It’s being about being right. This talks to a lot of people in my profession because you have a lot of alphas. You want to be right in the moment. What I've found is trying to encourage, like, “Don't worry. There's no scoreboard today. We don't have a scoreboard today.” Let's be wrong or let's be aware and make the adjustments now so when the scoreboard comes up, we're at our best if we are about being right or winning that moment every day.

Can I give you some terminology for what you're saying?

I know you have some cool words. I don't have any.

I have a class on being wise versus being right.

There is no doubt.

You want them to be wise because if you're wise, you'll be right in the long term, but if you're trying to be right, you can never be wise because being right is all about my emotions right now. I'm trying to build for the future. I'm trying to build for a week, two weeks out, or whatever the situation calls for. You're trying to make them wise versus right, but being right makes a great athlete.

I love what you said here. “I want to be a mirror for you so that you can be a mirror for yourself.” Coach, that's good because you want them to see who they are so they can motivate because that's pulling out of them. It’s because if they can't see who they are, they don't know what's left of them. “You're an all-American. There's more in you.”

I think the hard part is being a mirror. It's maintaining their self-confidence. We deal with a lot, especially here. I've probably seen it here more than I did at Louisiana Tech. I think because of the level of attention that the players who are coming to LSU get on the way in. There's a lot of self-confidence naturally, so they weren't ever doubted up to this point.

I think the balance of maintaining their confidence while also showing them areas for growth and that's a balance. I've seen guys whose confidence gets a little chipped at early, and you have to be aware of that as a leader and try to build that back, too. I talk to this all the time. “This is what got me here,” especially with quarterbacks. “This is how I got here. This is how I got to LSU. This is me. This is who I am,” in terms of decision-making, style, or whatever that might be. That's what got you here, but that's not the goal. We have another place we want to go to, so we have to change our mindset on what we want to do. That's part of maintaining confidence because I want you to maintain your mentality about what got you here, but we're also going to adjust our process slightly.

The precious quote that I heard Trent saying in an interview. Someone was asking, “When did you start thinking about playing the NFL?” He laughed. He said, “I don't know if I said I'm going to play in the NFL and I'm going to go boom, boom, do this, this, and this.” He said, “I was too worried about becoming the best version of myself.” That's what I do every day of my life. “Did I get better today?” I thought I did all that. I know my wife didn't do any of that. It’s because I know his family, coaches, teachers, pastors, Coach Sloan, Coach Hose, everybody at Louisiana is a part of Trent Taylor's journey because he gets it. “I just got to get better now,” and trust the process.

That is why I love what Coach Kelly beats into our guys here. We don't talk about winning. We talk about our process and the traits that we want to build. We talk about our development because we can control it. We have control. They have control. You can point back to, “Why didn't I succeed? Why wasn't my best?” You weren't your best because let's go back and look at these three things and we could have controlled these better, which would've produced a better result. Not, “Let's win.” I think that's a funny balance because everybody's like, “Sometimes you just got to win.” That doesn't mean you're not competitive and you want to win.

To me, it takes the pressure off. In my coaching business, I deal with a lot of competitive and high performers, and I try to take the pressure off of them. Just get better. “What do you mean I got to get better?” You can get better. Even though you're playing at this level, which only half of a half percent of the players are playing at, you can get better. My job is to help you identify those things. “I don't need your help.” “What did you hire me for? I'm just here to help you take another step. I'm here to help you think through who you are and the talents that are within you to see where you need to go next.”

Winning Edge

That's why I call myself a wingman. I'm not here to drive the plane. I'm here to help you navigate the situation so you can get the plane to where you want it to go. That's all I'm doing. We got eight more questions to ask you. This is the last question, Coach. We're about out of time. I'm going to give you two minutes to answer this last question. What is your winning edge?

I always go back to my work ethic. I think that was ingrained. I watched my dad and he worked hard. I look at it and say, “There is no substitute for hard work.” I think I've gotten better at working smarter, being more prepared, and being more intentional about what I'm doing because sometimes I want to attack things with hard work or sometimes I get so scattered and do things for an hour and I've done nothing. I found myself doing that at times.

I think it’s working smarter, but I definitely think ultimately, you individually, if you want to be successful with anything, you have to work. I think the longer you're in your profession. You figure out how to work smarter and create more opportunities where you can sit and think. I was at a conference. People call it whitespace talking about your calendar. There were a couple of people who referenced it, and that was great to hear.

There needs to be some time where you have to sit. You have to think. You got to collect your thoughts and you got to plan. I do think I've gotten better at planning out my day, my week, and my month so that I can get things done a little bit more and be a little more task-oriented because it's important that I'm not just successful in my profession, but successful in my home.

You’re a husband and father, Coach. There is nothing more important and you're going to be great at that as well.

That's where you have to be careful, but I ultimately think that's what it goes back to.

Closing

You're amazing, Coach. I'm about to close here, so I'm going to give you some nuggets here that I heard you say. “Create an opportunity to relate. Is that somebody's domino effect or is that just one of your three to write down? You don't want to lose your voice. Share stories to relate. Get your own way or find your own way to do things. I want to be a mirror for you so that you can be a mirror for yourself.” That's another way of defining how to inspire someone.

Coach, my hat's off to you. I'm not an LSU Tiger fan, but I was when Jermauria Rasco played there and other kids from Evangel Christian Academy played there. However, since you're there, I'm an LSU fan and Coach Baker's there from Louisiana Tech. The whole Taylor clan, we’re Louisiana Tigers fans, so we're going to be cheering you on.

You did an amazing job and I knew there's so much wisdom in you. I appreciate and love your journey in life. The whole Taylor family can't say thank you enough for what you've done for our son. Just keep growing and keep getting better. Keep changing people's lives is what you can do for us. If there's anything that I can do for you or my family can do for you, Coach, all you have to do is reach out. Remember, your wife's name's Taylor. That's a reminder.

GT, I appreciate you and our relationship over the years. Also, the relationship that I got to build with Trent watching him and his success, and how proud I am of him. Your whole family, you have always been unbelievable to me and an inspiration to me, as well as a great sounding board, backboard, and a great friend. I appreciate all that.

Thank you, sir. You better have three things written down fan group. I have one thing. Let's get that one thing because, as one of my bosses told me, he said, “Greg, the most powerful thing you can do is figure out the most powerful thing to do.” That's the domino effect. That's that one little thing. If you can get good at that one little thing, it will knock the rest of the dominoes down. Also, if you take the smallest dominoes, say something that big, 30 dominoes later, it will knock down the tallest building in the world, which is in Dubai. Thank you, Coach Sloan. Thank you everybody for joining us. As we always say, let's grow. Thank you all very much.

Important Links

Joe Sloan

Elite Relationship Building With Coach Jabbar Juluke

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 19:00:00 GMT

In this episode of "The Leadership Factory Podcast," Greg Taylor interviews Jabbar Juluke, Associate Head Coach - Offense/Running Backs for the Florida Gators. Jabbar shares how his mother, who single-handedly raised seven children in New Orleans, inspired him by emphasizing the importance of education and resilience despite numerous challenges. He also credits his coaches for shaping his leadership qualities through tough love and dedication, teaching him the values of trust and perseverance.

Jabbar highlights that life is fundamentally about building and nurturing relationships. His outgoing nature and experiences within his supportive South Louisiana community underscored the importance of trust and encouragement over criticism. He reflects on the lessons learned from dealing with negative influences and stresses the importance of balancing critique with support.

Honoring his older brother Byron, Jabbar recounts how Byron’s tough but loving guidance inspired him to pursue coaching. When faced with challenges, Jabbar advocates stepping back to gain perspective and surrounding oneself with honest, supportive people.

Jabbar attributes his Winning Edge to his ability to build and earn trust through genuine relationships, showing people that he cares beyond just sports. His commitment to fostering positive, enduring connections is central to his coaching philosophy. This episode is filled with wisdom on leadership, resilience, and the power of relationships.

Tune in to discover how Jabbar's journey can inspire and motivate you to become the best leader you can be.

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Listen to the podcast here

Elite Relationship Building With Coach Jabbar Juluke

Get ready for an amazing episode with Greg Taylor and Jabbar Juluke. Jabbar is entering his third season with the Florida Gators where he serves as the Associate Head Coach and Running Backs Coach for the offense. A native of New Orleans, Jabbar’s passion for football and dedication to coaching began early in his life. He is known for his commitment to building and nurturing relationships both on and off the field.

His leadership philosophy emphasizes trust, positive reinforcement, and the importance of supportive relationships. This approach has not only driven his teams to success but has also inspired and shaped countless players’ lives. Coach Juluke is married to his wife, Denise, and they have three children. His journey from a dedicated player to a revered coach is a testament to his enduring passion for the game and his unwavering commitment to excellence and leadership.

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Everybody, give Coach Jabbar Juluke a big round of applause for coming on the show. Welcome, Coach Juluke.

Thank you for having me. I appreciate you.

We are happy to be here. I’m going to encourage everybody to make sure you have a pen and a piece of paper because if it’s not on paper, it’s vapor. If you don’t summarize, it’ll vaporize. Get a pen and paper because I’m going to challenge you at the end. Coach Juluke is going to drop a bunch of nuggets in here to help you become that inspirational leader that you are or that you’re becoming.

Get your pad and pen ready. I want you to be able to have three things at the end, and I want you to be able to take those three things and turn them into one thing. It will be the most effective thing you can do that’ll knock the rest of the dominoes down to help you become that inspirational leader that your team, your family, and your company need you to be. Are you ready to have an awesome conversation?

I am. I appreciate you.

For our audience, to make sure everybody understands the premise of this show, we’re here to build leaders. A leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they’re not willing to take by themselves. The first question out of the gate is who is your best leader and why?

I have multiple leaders.

This is Coach Juluke's hour. You’re free to move about the country.

Jabbar’s Mother: A Pillar Of Strength

That’s right. I have multiple people that have inspired me to want to be a leader. The first person I would talk about is my mother. She’s a great leader in the aspect of raising seven kids, five boys and two girls, without a father. My father passed away when I was three years old. We had to endure a lot of hardships during that time but she was able to keep the family together.

We talk about someone inspiring someone to do things that they don’t want to do. She was very inspirational in regards to getting an education and how important it was because she was a woman who lacked education. She dropped out of school when she was in eighth grade to have my oldest brother. She was fifteen years old. She continued on her journey to not allow that to stop her from being the person that she wanted to be. Her strength trickled down to where I am and helped me be the person that I am, leading young people to be successful.

She made sure that we all went to school. She has 5 out of 7 college graduates. That was very important for her to do. She has 7 out of 7 high school graduates, 5 out of 7 all graduated from college. Growing up in New Orleans and housing developments, that wasn’t the norm. She had to continuously push us to be great. One thing she always said and it always sticks with me, is, “Do not let your situation dictate your outcome.”

Even though we were in housing development, that didn’t decide where we needed to go. Our attitude was always our altitude, as she would put it. If you have a great attitude, it could take you wherever you want to go. She was always teaching us manners to be respectful and be able to put ourselves in positions to continue to succeed. She’s the first person who inspired me to want to be a leader, whether it was at my home or in sports. She kept us into sports.

Once we got into sports, the next people who inspired me were my coaches because I didn’t have a father figure. I wanted to make sure that my coaches were leading by example for me. During the tough days, they were hard, but they were fair if that makes sense. They knew that life wasn’t going to be easy, especially coming from where we came from.

Once they identified that I was talented at playing sports, they pushed me even further. They made me do things that I didn’t know I was capable of doing. When I was tired, they pushed me harder. When I was not giving my all or playing to the best of my abilities, they showed me ways to pull that out of me. All those guys were very important. I can go on and name them all. Coach Melvin Bush, Coach Anthony Williams, Coach Bernard Griffith, Coach Anthony Biegas, Coach Burton Burns, all of those guys were important to me in my life. They helped me become the man that I am.

What are some of the things that you know about them? What did you see them do in their lives? How did they make you feel that they could pull that out of you?

The dedication, the love, and the care. It was knowing that the tough love that they gave sometimes was coming from a place of love. It wasn’t coming from malice. It wasn’t because they wanted to force authority on me. They wanted the best for me. Some days, I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know where it was coming from. I thought maybe they were being too hard sometimes, but it put me in a place of teaching me how to be tough physically and mentally.

When someone’s getting onto you, your first recognition is “They don’t like me.” They did something for you that you looked at them as “They got my best interest at heart.”

I had to learn it. It was tough. Let’s go back. There was no male figure in my life. I had no father. When you were chastising me, I thought you were criticizing or trying to challenge me in the way that I needed to defend myself. At first, I didn’t understand what they were trying to do. Once I saw where they were coming from with the intent of pushing me to my max and they were trying to get the max out of my abilities as a ball player, eventually, I understood it. I didn’t always understand it in regards to why they were doing it the way they were doing it, but I conformed to what they were trying to get me to do.

To me, a little bit of that comes back to what your mom was teaching you. You said the words honor in there and hard work. Your mom laid some good groundwork of principles, which is your foundational life. You can move that foundation anywhere into a circumstance where those gentlemen brought that hardness on you because every child thinks, “They don’t like me.”

I thought my mom didn’t like me a few times.

I know you pretty well. You and I are a lot alike. We were probably both a handful.

I trust my mother. I had to trust my coaches as I was going through this thing called life, especially in sports. Sports was the avenue for me to continue my path to succeeding and surviving and to have an opportunity to get free education because my mom couldn’t afford for me to go to college.

Where did you go to college?

First, I started at Tyler Junior College, and then I went to Southern University in Baton Rouge. I graduated from there in 1999 with a Sociology degree. I got my Socio degree as well from Delgado. I played ball at Tyler Junior College. Those were some very vital lessons that I learned. I keep them in the back of my head. I remember those lessons because I try to apply them to the young people that I’m servicing.

Trust: The Foundation Of Leadership

You said the word trust. In the winning edge world, trust is the electricity to the inspiration, which leads to transformation. Without trust, you have nothing.

That’s right. I 100% agree with that.

You trusted your mom because she has shown you trust. She’s been there consistently, day in and day out. You trusted it because you fully depended upon her character and/or her abilities to help you get what you desire. She’s forming you. You then moved into this situation. Think of a young man or a young lady who has never had anybody they could trust. You put them into that push-and-shove environment. What do you think they’re going to do?

They’d be like, “I’m not doing this.”

That’s because they never trusted anybody. Your mom built you an engine where other people put all the pistons on it. I don’t even know anything about an engine, but to build that is so it can run smoothly because you run smoothly.

I appreciate you.

You’re a very calm individual.

I try to be.

Throw that out the window. You are. We’re going to run an option. Pitch that to the side. You are a calm person. That’s why I trusted you when I met you. You’re always smiling.

Life is good.

That’s a safe harbor. When you see someone smiling, you’re not going to run from that person. You’re going to go to that person because you want to know why they’re smiling.

It’s inviting.

To me, that’s your special sauce in my personal opinion watching you for four years.

I try to be an elite relationship builder.

Our audience is supposed to be writing things down. I’d write that one down. You’re coaching at a Division I Florida Gators, one of the best programs in the country. You’re talking about, “I’m going to be an elite relationship builder.” They think everybody who comes into Florida is the greatest player and they do everything you tell them to do.

It’s about relationships. Life is about relationships. We have been in a relationship since 2013 and ‘14. Here we are still building on the relationship that we have. I tell people all the time, “You can say I’m a bad ball coach. You can say that because I don’t know a lot about football, but I take pride in saying that you will never say that I’m a bad person.”

Good people last in this business. When you are a bad person, bad things are going to happen to you. It may not happen immediately, but eventually, it’s going to catch up with you. You can’t keep stepping on people’s fingers and toes as you’re climbing the ladder of success and not helping someone on the way up. You need to lift as you climb and bring someone with you. If you don’t do that and you keep shunning people away, when you’re falling, you better pray somebody sticks their hand out to try to grab you before you hit that ground. That’s important. Relationships are extremely important.

Life is about relationships. How did you learn that? When did you figure that out?

I’ve always done that.

As a child and teenager?

Yes.

It’s a little bit of a part of your personality and your hardwiring.

When I was a younger man, I was fortunate enough to be one of the better players. My teams were not always great, so I had to find ways to get my teammates to play to the level at which I was playing and not criticize them. I’m like, “You can make that shot. You can get that rebound. Get it next time.” I try to do that. Also, I have an outgoing personality. I never had a lack of confidence in anything that I did. We could play spit to the line, jump rope, or hopscotch. It didn’t matter. That’s where it comes from.

As I got older, I started using this analogy here. How do you know if someone is hiring if you never put in an application? I have to see if I’m a person that you want to be around. You have to show yourself as friendly to befriend a friend. You’re not walking up to somebody that’s grumpy and be like,
I don’t want to be around that guy. That person has a nasty attitude.” If somebody has an inviting attitude or a smile on their face, you are going to go talk to them.

I’ve never met a stranger. I have no problem with talking to anyone consistently. Sometimes, the conversations are good, and sometimes, they’re not. If they don’t want to be bothered, I’m like, “Have a great day. I wanted to say hello.” If you spark up something, we may have something in common that we can build on to be able to create something better for everyone else. Those are some of the things that I try to do.

To build on something, we can create something better. You’re out talking to people with hope and trust that we can make things better.

We have to have a better world. We want to leave every situation we enter better than what we've found.

You said you started to sound like Mama. She said, “Greg, don’t you ever go anywhere and you don’t leave it better than what you found it.”

You’re going to form an opinion about me after we interact with each other. You are going to say, “He’s a prick,” or “I like that guy.” It’s my job to make you say, “I want to get to know that guy more. I want my son to play for that guy.” I’m in a service business. How can I provide the best service to someone if I am not friendly when you meet me?

Life Lessons From South Louisiana

If you are walking in the grocery store, what’s wrong with saying, “How are you doing? Hello.” Being from South Louisiana, having manners is something that came quite naturally to us. Especially in my neighborhood, you couldn’t walk past an elderly without saying, “Hello. Good afternoon. Good morning. Good night. How are you doing?” They’re going to call your mom and you get a smack. They’re talking about, “Your boy down here is being disrespectful.”

You might need to get back to that. That’s a community holding each other accountable to a standard.

I remember that we didn’t have a lot of money, but we had a lot of love. I remember knocking on the neighbor’s door and asking, “Do you have any extra eggs? My mom is not going to get off work until XYZ time.” We were talking about neighbors being able to knock on their door to get eggs or whatever you may be short on without having any issues.

My mom used to work at the community store for certain days, not every day when she was off from her other job. She would tell me, “Go see Ms. Sylvia and make a bill.” I didn’t know what that was. I had no clue what making a bill was. As I got older, I would go to the store and get cold cuts from the meat man. I would get eggs, milk, water, juice, chips, snacks, and whatever. Ms. Sylvia would ring it all up, put my mom’s name on it, and put it in the drawer. My mom would either pay her or work to work the bill off. I didn’t understand it until I got older as to what we were able to do.

Since we were able to have good relationships with people and people trusted us, we could do things. We can have a better way of life. Society isn’t like that. We have people, for whatever reasons, who may have issues with people being too friendly, people talking too much to them, or whatever. I like to have constant communication because that one conversation can spark something that can benefit both of us.

I hope everybody is getting these nuggets down that you’re dropping out of the air.

When you can be a blessing to someone and not always receive a blessing, it’s good. I’m not a big Bible thumper, but I know it’s better to give than it is to receive.

That makes no sense to your brain because it’s doing something hard. The most blessings I’ve received in my life, I had to go through something hard to get that blessing. Everything is hard. Everything that you want in life is on the other side of fear and the other side of hard.

Monty Williams said, “The thing that you want is on the other side of hard.” I’ll never forget that.

Until you’re willing to go through that, you’re not going to get what you want. Don’t be mad that you didn’t get it because you weren't willing to take the journey that was needed to get to where you wanted to go.

Without a test, there isn’t a testimony.

Tell me about a leader that demotivated you. Don’t say their name. Tell me about their behaviors. We’re trying to teach people how to inspire. You got a bunch of good stories there and a bunch of good nuggets. Tell me someone who drained you and drained your energy and why.

Balancing Critique With Support

There was this selfish person. He was very selfish. Everything that we established that was good, he thought he did it without the help of others. It’s one thing to give constructive criticism and it’s another to criticize. If you continuously tear someone down, when are you going to build them back up? This guy never built them back up. He was always hammering down. At some point, we got to try to take the nail out of there and give it some relief like, “I beat you down, but now, I want to show you the support that I have for you.” There wasn’t a whole lot of positive reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement optimizes behavior. Negative reinforcement solves a problem. It’s like when you touch the stove and it’s on. You may not touch it because it’s negative. Positive reinforcement gets scary in life because you can get a hold of the wrong thing that gives you immediate positive reinforcement. You want more of that, but long-term, it traps you. My mom did a great job teaching me, “You got to understand that short-term pain becomes a long-term gain. A short-term gain will become a long-term pain. Hard work is a short-term pain but there’s a gain to it long-term.”

No quick fix.

If it’s a quick fix, you need to take a step back and go, “Everybody, stop. Let’s think about this.” A quick fix is like, “I don’t know about that one.”

If someone says, “I got a chance for you to make $1 million in a month,” I don’t want that $1 million.

With another speaker and a coach, we were talking about all the information out there in life. Whatever information you want, it’s out there to take. Until you sit down and have a conversation with someone, it’s hard to have a transformation.

A guy told me, “A conversation rules a nation.” You have to be able to converse with people and make sure that you don’t ever want to get too high and think that you have arrived. I’m 52. I’ve been coaching for 30 years. I’ll be starting my 30th season.

Congratulations.

Thank you very much. I am an active seeker of knowledge. I am always trying to find best practices to enhance what I’m doing for the young people that I’m servicing. I’m not afraid to tell you that I don’t know something because I’m going to go research it. There’s a lot of information out there. I’m going to go research it to make sure that I give you the best answer that I can give to you from what I’ve learned. My experiences have helped me to be where I’m at, but I’m still seeking knowledge. I’m still trying to get better.

You’re a lifelong learner. You can’t survive in our economy and highly competitive environments if you’re not a seeker of knowledge. You can’t make it because what you were good at today doesn’t matter tomorrow. The people who get frustrated with learning and growing, it’s life.

You have to continue to evolve. The day you are stagnated on learning is the day you’re done. You can’t survive if you don’t have a growth mindset. You have to have a growth mindset to continue to succeed in life. The fixed mindset, you’re done learning. It’s over. You’re like, “This is what it is. I’m done with that. I don’t need to build on it.”

In our profession, we are always evolving, especially with young people. These young people spend over 50 hours a week on their cell phones. We used to give out papers for tips and reminders and then I was like, “I’m going digital.” I make my boys their tips and reminders as their screensavers. I’m like, “They’re going to pick this phone up.”

It’s a shrewd move. When I played high school basketball as a point guard, my coach said, “Take what they give you. You’re trying to force yourself down the lane.” That’s what you’re doing. What are the circumstances? What’s the end game? You’re taking the circumstances and playing to the end game through those circumstances. You’re not complaining about the circumstances. You’re going to figure out how to deal with the circumstances to get to where you want to get to. That’s a leader. That’s good. I like that.

You better find a way. When we have our dinners for team meals at our table, everyone has to put their phone in the middle of the table. They have to put it in the middle of the table so we can have some conversation. During that time, we are talking about financial literacy. We’re talking about real estate. We are talking about girls, marriage, and family. It becomes a melting pot of things that we can talk about. We have to put the phone down for a 30-minute window.

Who is your unsung hero?

My older brother. His name is Byron.

Lessons From Jabbar’s Older Brother

You didn’t flinch on that one.

He’s a guy that I wanted to emulate. His standards were worthy of emulation in the sports world. He was one of my coaches as well. I’ll give you a quick story about him when he first coached me. The coaches ride me already. He rode me even harder. I was like, “I’m going to tell my mama.”

Byron rode you even harder?

Yes. I get home and I tell my mom. She says, “He loves you.” I was like, “I don’t know if there’s love right here, Ma.” She told him what I said, for sure, but I don’t know if she told him to ride me harder than what he was doing because he came back the next day and wore my butt out. He also was the guy who would go in the courtyard and work on things with me one-on-one.

I wanted to be a coach because he was a coach as well. He was the reason why I went to San Augustine High School. I wanted to be like him. He’s a guy that did everything in my eyes that could not be wrong. I wanted to be like him. He’s no longer with us, but I can remember all of the lessons that he gave and all of the examples that he led for me.

You’re keeping his legacy alive with your behaviors and actions. That’s good. Good for you. How do you take another step when you get stuck?

I take a step away from the circumstances or the situations that I’m in. I try to make sure that I’m taking every step possible to recuperate and figure out what are the things that I’m doing correctly and what are the things that I’m doing incorrectly so that I can have a better understanding of what I’m doing. I step away from it for a moment.

It’s almost like sitting at the computer all day and things start to get crossed on you. You shut it down for a minute and come back. When you look at it again, you’re like, “There it is. I needed a timeout. I needed a 30-second timeout to figure it all out.” I try to relate everything to playing ball. When the moment shifts, great coaches call the timeout to try to figure out how to get the momentum back. When you take a timeout, you get to reflect on the things that are taking place right in front of you.

Somebody needed to know that right there. When things change and things get chaotic, that’s when a leader’s got to step back and go, “What’s going on here?

We assess it.

A leader is like, “Is it me and my emotions? What’s going on here?”

That’s right. Let’s get a timeout.

We call it a TO. Mickey has called a timeout with me many times. Mickey’s my wife, if you didn’t know that.

She’s the real coach.

That’s exactly right. What would you tell your 21-year-old self?

The Importance Of Patience

Be patient. At 21, I wasn’t patient. I wanted things immediately. I wanted success immediately. Anything that I did, I tried to skip steps sometimes. Don’t skip steps. It’s like when you’re doing algebra and you try to skip steps. There’s a negative somewhere in there and you forget it because you skipped a step. Don’t skip steps. Trust what you’re doing. Trust the people you are around that they’re going to help you become the best version of yourself. I would also say, “Surround yourself with good people. Everyone cannot be on this journey with you. Sometimes, you have to take this ride by yourself. You might have to meet some new people for the journey to continue to go where you want it to go.”

People come in and out of your life for a reason. If you’re not open to everybody, you’re going to miss the person that God sent you.

There is a reason for everything. Be patient. Surround yourself with good people. When you surround yourself with good people, make sure you have some people telling you when you’re wrong. You don’t want to surround yourself with a bunch of yes people that tell you, “Yes.” You need a no every now and again. You need someone that says, “That isn’t good. We’re not doing that. Let’s go this way. Don’t do this.” When you have that village or you have that community to help you become the person that you are and continue to water that seed so you can continue to grow and you can be oxygen for someone else, that’s important for us to be able to continue to do.

We’re put here to build each other up, not tear each other down. That doesn’t mean telling people a lie to build them up. Tell them the truth, but you do it in a heart of love to build them up, not to tear them down. You can speak the truth to me and hurt me, but if your heart says, “I love you,” and if I can’t see that, that’s on me. You have to present it in a way that inspires me to see what you’re saying and that you’re trying to help me. That’s a slippery slope. Instead of saying what you’re doing is right and I think it’s wrong and I know and believe that it’s wrong, that’s ambiguous in its own manner.

You have to have conviction.

The goal in my heart says, “I love you so much. I don’t want you to stay where you’re at. I believe in you that you can go to another level, but if you don’t stop doing this, you can’t get there.”

You have to surround yourself with like-minded people and like attainment.

This is the last question. What’s your winning edge? What’s your special sauce?

Relationships and building and earning trust from people. Trust is earned. It’s not given away. I have to show people that I genuinely care about them outside of the sport. I believe that when you have someone who knows that you care, they’ll run through a wall for you.

That’s inspiration.

Building Lifelong Relationships

They’re going to run through a wall. I want people to run through walls and create opportunities for themselves. I want to make sure that the relationships that I have built in the past are lifelong relationships, even the bad ones or the bad relationships.

You want to help them too.

At some point, whether it was my fault because I’m not saying that it was their fault the whole time that it became a bad relationship, eventually, we are going to take that time out, sit back, and say, “I screwed that up. I need to go make that right with GT.” They may be receptive or they may not be receptive, but my conscience in my heart is going to be clear because I came back and said, “I made a mistake. My bad. I apologize. Hopefully, we can continue to move forward.” When I was 20 to 21 years old, I was not that person anymore. I hope that someone can see good in everyone. You have to find the right buttons to push to get it out of them.

That’s a great way to close this session. That’s awesome. I’m honored that you would spend an hour with me and the community. We’re very thankful for you. Good luck this season. Go Gators. This could be aired when the Gators are playing, whenever that is. Thank you so much. I may be your biggest fan from afar.

You and I connected back at Louisiana Tech in 2013. That’s when we first met each other. We’re both rockheads but we love people and want the best for people. Thank you so much. God bless you. For everybody tuning in, I hope you got three things down because he dropped about 50. I got a whole list of things that he told me that I need to straighten up and get after it or I’m going to be on the bench.

Thank you.

Thank you all for tuning in. Come up with that one domino effect that can knock the rest of your dominoes down so you can have a very long-lasting career of being an inspirational leader. You had something to say. Go ahead.

I want to say thank you. I appreciate you having me.

You’re welcome.

I hope that this helps someone. I have an opportunity to inspire others to be great in their own way, whatever that looks like. Thank you again. I appreciate you and I appreciate our friendship. We never talked about the COACH acronym the whole time.

Do you want me to go ahead and say it? Coach is the one who taught me about COACH. It is Called Out As Christ Helper.

That’s the name of the foundation too.

We were playing North Texas in Dallas, Texas in 2013. In the hotel, you told me about that. You were so fired up about that because your pastor gave that sermon out the week before.

That’s right. I appreciate you.

I love you. Thank you very much.

I love you too.

Thank you all for tuning in. As we always say here on the show, let’s grow. Thank you.

God bless.

Important Links

Inspiration Through Listening With Special Guest John Tweed

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 17:19:08 GMT

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Listen to the podcast here

Inspiration Through Listening With Special Guest John Tweed

In this episode, host Greg Taylor interviews John Tweed , a distinguished leader with 37 years of experience in the distribution and freight transportation industries. John recounts his career journey, including his early mentorship by Scott Niswonger, who trusted him with challenging roles despite his inexperience, and David Parker who introduced him to a faith-based leadership style focused on prayer and ethical decision-making.

These mentors significantly shaped John's leadership approach. John reflects on the impact of his family, especially his mother, whom he regards as his unsung hero for her unwavering support and resilience as a single mother. He highlights the lessons learned from his family and the importance of empowering others by listening to and valuing their input. This episode concludes with a mention of John and his wife Kim's philanthropic efforts through the Tweed Family Foundation , dedicated to serving Northeast Tennessee, particularly in addiction recovery and enhancing overall well-being in their community. Get ready for the one and only John Tweed.

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Introduction

John Tweed , welcome to the show.

Greg, thanks for having me.

It's a pleasure for you to be here.

I'm enjoying it already. We're just getting started.

We had to get our juices flowing a little bit.

There you go. You got me prepped and ready to go.

You were ready when you were born. Just to set the premise here for everybody that's tuning in. Over 37 years of being a leader, a trainee, a frontline leader, a middle-level executive, and a business owner, I've found one conclusion to leadership. The definition that we use in this show is a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they're not willing to take by themselves.

The whole premise is that we're trying to help the audience inspire another person. It’s going to be a very inspirational discussion between me and you. How do you do that? We're going to be talking about how people affect us. We'll let it go from there and where it takes us, where we're trying to help people in our audience become that inspirational leader.

Sounds good.

Best & Worst Leader

Thank you, game coach. I think you got this. Hot question right out of the gate, who is your best leader and why? What do you know about them? What did you see them do? How did they make you feel?

My story is a little different. My career is a little different. I've only had two leaders in my entire career. One was early on and then I went through a period where I was on my own as a leader, owner, and company and leader. After we sold the company, I got the privilege of working for a guy that was inspiring to me. I would say both of those leaders were good in their own way. I'm going to quickly take you through what I mean by that. If you look at Scott Niswonger, who I started working for right out of college. I was 21 maybe.

He was such an encourager. I was crazy enough that I would do anything and try anything. If he put a challenge in front of me, I was going to do it. I never thought I couldn't but what was remarkable was how he encouraged me and how he allowed me to take on things that I didn't have the resume for. He would give me the room to make mistakes and be okay with that. I can remember other parts of the pieces or people in the management team would look at him like he was crazy when he would allow me to take on roles and responsibilities.

It was all I needed because it was that confidence. He had more confidence in me than I had for myself but it wore off on me. His inspiration and encouragement are what got me to the point in life where I don't have other words. This may not sound great, but there wasn't anything. Once I decided, I figured out I was going to do it. Typically, getting me to decide I was going to take on a challenge that was the biggest. Once I took it on, I was good to go. I'm going to do this.

You're an all-in dude. “Once I decide I'm in, I'm in,” because you cannot optimize your own performance if you don't get all in. You're a leader, you're an entrepreneur, and you're going through the woods or you're knocking these trees down and somebody is on your bus, they got to get in. If they're half in or half out, they're giving you wind shear and they're slowing you down. Mr.Niswonger saw you as someone helping you push through the trees. You got all in on what was going on.

He was amazing. I wish I were that encouraging in my leadership. He was that amazing. He took the risk in me that no one else would. As I said, there were people on the management team, the senior leadership team, that would look at him sometimes. “I cannot believe you're going to let this kid do this. We'll see how it works out.”

The other privilege I had was working for David Parker of Covenant. David taught me a faith-based leadership style that was beyond anything I'd ever seen. David truly led his business with prayer. He did the right thing even when it cost him money. When he was confronted with needing to make a difficult decision, he did it in his prayer closet.

There were times I questioned that. He also allowed me to do things with his company and other people. We made such a dramatic change in how his business was structured and operated. There were a lot of people questioning, whether letting me do that was the right thing. Every time I go to David with something, he'd be like, “110%. Let's do it.” It has paid off but I think it's because of the strength he had in his faith in God and he prayed about, “God, should I let this guy do this?” Evidently, God told him yes, because he gave me a lot of latitude and it's paid off. They've got a great organization. They've got a great leadership team and they're generating phenomenal results.

I met Mr. Parker, I always had the pleasure to meet him. He's a very nice guy.

I love David. He's a close friend. When we sold the company, I was only supposed to stay six months. It was my love for David that initially got me to stay longer because I had a lot of plans with my life that we put on hold so that we could help him accomplish the things they've done, but he's a phenomenal individual.

A leader could be anyone in your life who will tear those walls down for you. It could be a coach, a teacher, a friend, an aunt, an uncle, a mom, a dad, grandparents, or whoever inspired you to do something where you didn't think you could do it by yourself. I know you're very confident in yourself. It's like you just got to get bought in. For the people tuning in, to me, the biggest word that I got out of your conversation was trust. There's trust involved. There's magic because trust is the electricity to inspiration. Without trust, you cannot inspire.

The definition I use for trust is it is when you fully depend upon or fully rely upon someone's character and/or their abilities to help you get what you want because they trusted you. However they did that, there's something inside all of us that we either trust or don't trust. Can we explain it? I don't know. If you get someone to trust you, they have like 10 to 20 ways to build trust because once you build trust, you can inspire. Once you can inspire, you can be creative. Once you’re creative, you can solve problems and you can optimize customers, teammates, and products.

The only thing I would say about that, and maybe it's just a play on words, is I would use the word faith. Trust is something that can be built over time. In both of these situations, I described and in both of these leaders, they didn't know me long enough to have trust in me. They had faith in me, and that came from somewhere else. They probably initially gave me trust I hadn't earned yet. Somewhere in their faith, they saw or God told them, “This is an opportunity. Let it roll.’

Who's your worst leader and why? Don't have to name anybody. You can be in your world from 0 to 22 because you're just 22. In that whole world, someone who demotivated you? I know you cannot be demotivated. You're an overcoming person. Who's someone that didn't hee-haw with you and why?

I'm going to use the word or the name Fred. His leadership style was one of which was conflict. Fred didn't do a good job of articulating what someone's responsibility was, how they were going to be measured, and then have feedback. He didn't have that tool. He came up with some disruptive tools to help him figure out whether people were doing what they were supposed to do or not. It was disruptive to the team because basically, he allowed the team to tell each other to figure out whether it was getting done. I'm a big accountability guy.

When I went to Covenant, David had an instinctive way that he led. He loved people so much, but when someone like me walked through the door, the thing that I questioned was, are we holding people accountable? We had a long conversation. I spent some time before I had the conversation with David, going through the Bible and identifying what the Bible said about accountability because I knew nothing else would speak to him.

When we put P&Ls, metrics, measurements, and feedback in place, not only for each department, but for some of the people, the organization lifted up rapidly from 1) Having those metrics, and 2) Developing some expectations of what should be accomplished and phenomenal results. What I would say about Fred is he didn't have a functional way to articulate responsibility, measurement expectations, and feedback. That creates a lot of confusion and disruption among the organization and team members.

My wife has a saying that she uses on me all the time, “Clear is kind. Kind is clear.” Fred wasn't clear. I've been with leaders like that. They like to create confusion because they want to see how everybody reacts to the confusion, but that's exhausting. I've been on those teams where my leader, Fred, was all about creating confusion.

That didn't work for me because I wasn't that type of player. People who are subject to intimidation operate well in that environment. Unfortunately, because my wife says I don't have that attribute, I don't even have a place where it goes.

Tat's right because if you want people to think independently, they got to be a part of a team, but they got to still think independently, but they got to come into the team. The toughest thing I've done to be on a team is surrender my rights to the leader, but I will do that if the leader allows me to speak what I feel. My mentors and leaders at Averitt Express allowed me to speak, even though I was wild and rambunctious, “Let him talk,” and then they would decide what to do.

I was so thankful that they allowed me to speak. They allowed me to speak. They wanted to hear what I had to say, which gave me value and made me trust them. It made me dig harder. It made me learn harder. It made me read more books. It made me study more trade journals. How can I help them become better?

That's key. I'm not always great at this even as a parent, but the points you made about empowering others by listening to them, making them feel valuable, and hearing what they have to say. My son holds me accountable for that because I'm not always great at it. I'm always wanting to talk about what I want you to do. He will accidentally sometimes say, “Dad, check yourself and you listen here for a second.”

I've grown a lot because of people like him. You knew my team and they weren't yes people. We had a process for what I call fighting it out but then when everything was on the table, we organized it, aligned, and attacked. I haven't always been great at that but fortunately, I've had people around me that required me to be. It has helped me to develop that skill as well.

You take your notes because if it's not on paper, it's vapor. I'm going to say some things here quickly that we've talked about here for the last 10 or 15 minutes. You've got to give people room to make mistakes to inspire them. They've got to know you have confidence in them. Once they see you taking a risk with you, you're going to be inspiring them even more. There's got to be accountability.

I love one of the things you said. You've got to be able to speak your boss's language. I have eleven things to turn your boss into a mentor. You've got to be able to speak their language. You've got to understand their pain points. You've got to understand how they process information. If you cannot connect to them, they're not going to trust what you've got to say. If you can connect to them and how they view things and you speak their language, the probability goes up that they may take that information and use it.

Everyone is accustomed and you communicate accordingly. People used to describe me as being a good salesperson. I've even had people say, “That's his thing. He's an expert on whatever he sells.” The reason I'm good at it is it took me 33 years to find a wife. I had a lot of practice selling.

You just gave Kim a big compliment.

She deserves more than that. I had a lot of practice that tried to sell this. I learned that you take those same skills with customers and employees. Understand what's important to them, and then figure out a way to get your message across to them based on that. You tend to have a little more success. As I said, I believe God gave me kids to develop me, not for me to develop them.

I agree.

I look at my children today, and all three have accomplished some phenomenal things. I feel like I didn't do anything for them, but they sure have made me a better man. That's one of the attributes that they've worked on over the years as well.

Building Trust And Inspiration

I tell everybody that Trey and Trent raised me, I didn't raise them. When you take something that knows nothing and you're responsible for developing their thinking and their belief system, that's a lot of responsibility. There's trial and error and there are wins and losses, but it's the process. To go back to what you said something earlier, this is my interpretation. Getting to trust, you have to STOP, Spend Time On People. Until you spend time on people, you can never get them to trust you. To me, trust is electricity inspiration. The number one way to build trust is by spending time on people.

Getting their trust and knowing where they're at. I feel like when you're leading folks and you're trying to move them in a direction and articulate to them what that direction is and what needs to be accomplished. I used to say to folks all the time, “If you call me and ask me how to get to California, what's the first question I'm going to ask? Where are you at?”

If I'm going to try to lead you to accomplish an objective and how to accomplish that objective, the first thing I got to understand is where you at with the topic. What do you think about the issue or the challenge ahead of us? We then go from there to where the team wants to align around. Many people forget to try to understand where’s the individual at. I'm getting carried away. I'm going to take up the whole hour if you keep on talking.

People don't want to hear from me. They want to hear from my guests. You're speaking the truth there. If you want X, where are you currently? Leaders go to where people are. They don't demand them to come where you want them to be. To me, the greatest form of honor is when you honor someone so much that you'll get off your high horse and you'll walk and meet them right where they're at. That's what I heard you say. My interpretation of what you said is that I have to meet people where they're at.

I would like for you to think that I'm such a fabulous person that I looked at it from that standpoint of respect. Unfortunately, I don't know if that's true. I think it's just that I was so driven to help the team accomplish the objective. These are the things I learned you have to do. Don't make me out to be a great person, because if anybody is tuning in to this who knows me, they're going to think this is a false show. It was about what I learned we had to do to lead people in the direction we wanted them to go.

Sometimes you don't learn in the middle of it. You learn when you reflect upon it. John Maxwell says “Experiences are good, but reflected experiences are even better.”

I would agree with that. I would tell you right now, if I went back to work today, I'd be a better leader than when I was doing it. Part of that was because of my career. Part of that is recovery. What I've learned going through recovery with my family. David Parker is a big part of that. He taught me a way of faith-based leadership that was beyond anything I've ever experienced in my life. I wish I'd had those attributes twenty years ago instead of the last three years of my career.

You got you got 30 years in front of you.

I’m just not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.

Unsung Hero

Here's a question for you. Who's your unsung hero?

There are so many people who are honorable mentions on this. Hands down, number one is my mom. I get a lot of my spunk, drive, and positive characteristics from my mom, especially with my work ethic and how I approach determination. My dad left when I was young and my mom was a career woman. She pursued a career moving from different towns around but she also single-handedly raised two children. One of them wasn't easy.

Is that your sibling?

She just did it and she never complained. That's the thing that blows my mind. When I reflect back on the things as a three-party family, we went through together, and I was a miserable teenager to live with. In my mind, I was happy, but everybody else around me had to endure a lot of misery while I did what made me happy. She kept coming back and she was always there. Our lifestyle compared to I guess some others wasn't as elaborate or as luxurious as kids get to enjoy today, but we had everything we needed. She would bust your butt. You're talking about accountability. You got feedback every night when you got home. It was more instantaneous than a video game.

She did that because she loved you. She wanted more for you.

I think there was a lot of love. There was a little fear.

That comes with it.

I learned that. Fortunately, Kim and I made a commitment many years ago that we weren't going to leave each other with these kids. No one wanted that job by themselves when you look at our kids. My mom did, and she was there. She did it all. She never complained. She kept coming back.

Is your mom still alive?

Yeah, She's 81 years old and she runs her own philanthropic organization. She's involved in twenty others. It's amazing.

Do you want me to give you a good movie to go see with her?

Yeah, sure.

Unsung Hero.

I'll do that. I brought her to Nashville last week for an update appointment at Vanderbilt. We spent 36 hours together after that appointment hanging around. She had never been to Bucky's. I took her to Bucky's. We went to eat at Sparys and she got to help them make a banana foster. She had a big time. I told my wife, “I got to do more of that.”

STOP, Spend Time On People. That's good, coach. That Unsung Hero, after ten minutes, I looked at my wife. I said, “Honey, I've cried four times. I don't know if I can make this much longer.” It's a story about struggle. It's a story about how we have all this money in a 6,000-square-foot house, then we move down to a house that has no furniture. It's the struggle of a dad feeling failure and a mom trying to pull. They went from Australia all the way to America. All those struggles were in there. The unsung hero is the mom. She's the glue.

I saw my mom there. I saw my wife there. I saw my sisters there. I saw aunts there. It's emotional but it's real. It's a real movie about real life because people struggle in life. It's what it is but there's victory. It's an unsung hero because an unsung hero will lay it all on the table and they don't know if they're going to win or lose but they have faith, There's something inside of them that says, “Don't grow weary, and well done because, in due season, I'm going to win if I don't give up.” What creates that? They keep moving, then this magical ending is amazing. It's a true story.

How many kids were there?

Tweed Family Foundation

Six. It's an amazing movie. Unsung Hero, go see it. Coach, tell us a little bit about your foundation.

Are you talking about our family foundation?

Yes, sir.

When we sold the company, it was interesting. All my career, my job was to make money, and my partner did a good job of identifying those places that we would support to give back, to help others. When we sold the company, I became aware of a new season where Kim and I weren't going to have someone who did that because we're on our own now. Scott is an unbelievable philanthropist. I'd make the money and he'd tell me where we're going to get it. Anyway, Kim and I got to talk about it and we're trying to figure out what we want to do to complete that part of our life.

We got to thinking about how we wanted not only our kids but our broader family to have the privilege to engage in giving back. That's where we decided to put together a foundation. It's very low-key from the standpoint of its brand. Our mission is to support causes that lead people to Christ. Our definition sometimes gets a little broad because we believe in the Maslow hierarchy of needs approach. If people aren't getting their basic needs met, they probably don't have time to worry about their spiritual ones. We try to tend to look at those types of things. If you were to look inside or look on the website or wherever the things we support.

Can you give us the name of it?

It's called the Tweed Family Foundation. There's a broad variety of things we support. A lot of those come from our kids' experiences, things they've struggled with, and organizations that we've been drawn to because we see others struggle with the same thing. It's all about meeting people's needs and leading them to Christ. The board consists of my mom, who's a wonderful philanthropist. Both Kim and I have sisters that are on the board and our kids. That's the decision-making. It's low overhead. We don't have any costs. We just give money away.

Is that something you always thought about doing? Did God plant that in your heart or did he plant that in your heart through one of your loved ones?

Kim.

Your wife, okay. You need to hold on to her, Coach.

I thought I might.

That's why you're good at HR. You're a good picker.

I told her the other day, I said, “I admire people who have been married 50 years and for us to accomplish that objective, I think God is going to keep me here until I'm 83 because that's what it takes for us to cross the line.” I reminded her that she has to be here too so we can successfully say that. I want my time to be first because I don't want to be here without her.

Next question here, Coach. What is the biggest “I'm so glad I took that risk” story of your life?

Going back to Landair. I left Landair in ‘95 and started warehousing supply chain business. There was a split between Landair and Forward Air that people weren't going to understand at all, but there was a company called Landair that struggled. Scott, my mentor and partner asked me to come back and run the company. It was a public company when I first went back. I had a pretty good life with this supply chain business. I was making a good living. I was working about six hours a day and day trading about two hours a day.

I just had a new family. When Scott came to me, first he came to me and said, “What do you think I ought to do with this business?” I was like, “Sell it.” The second time he came to me, he said, “What do you think I ought to do with this business?” I said, “Sell it.” He said, “I think you ought to come back and fix it.” I'm like, “Don't do that to me. I have a great life here. I'm doing fine. I've got this family thing. That's going to be a big undertaking that I didn't want.” The third time he came back, he said, “I really need you to do this.”

It probably came out how grateful I am for all that he did at the turning point in my life. That following Sunday, I walk into my Sunday school and I'm in there by myself and the teacher comes in before everybody gets there. She could tell that I was perplexed about something and I described it to her. She said, “I think you ought to do it.” For me, that was hearing God. The next morning I go to Scott's office and I'm like, “I'm going to do it. I'll be here on this day.”

He wants to bring the attorneys in and everything and I'm like, “Just figure it out. You've always been fair to me. I'm not doing this for the money. I'm partially doing it to show you it can be done, but I'm doing it because I'm called to do it. You figure out the rest of the work.” It was a turning point in my life and my family's life, but it was such a phenomenal journey. There were eighteen years of a lot, a lot of people, a lot of experiences, a lot of growing, and a lot of failing. People don't talk about that.

Where there's growth, there's failure. You cannot grow without failure.

There was a lot of failing, especially on my behalf.

Without failing, there is no growth. How do you know?

I didn't want to do this and I almost didn't. I'd already deterred Scott, so he was off my back. Something was weighing on me, then when I heard Terry or the Sunday school teacher say, I think there's this power speaking to me and I'm like, “Okay.”

Did she know what you were struggling with?

I describe it to her. I tried to keep the names out of it, but I described it to her.

That's awesome. Last question, Coach. What is your winning edge or you can say, what is your special sauce? What makes you tick?

Persistence. I'm slow, my wife will tell you, to decide to commit to something. Once I'm in, it's just persistence. There are a lot of times I've been privileged to be able to make things happen. When I was young, I used to be inspired to do things nobody thought could happen. The only way that you would see success is because of God's grace and lack of willingness to give up. I've had people tell me before I should give up.

I want to slow down here a little bit. I want everybody to hear that. A lack of willingness to give up. You just cannot. That's good.

I wasn't smart. I don't have a pedigree. I'm not overly intelligent. As you can tell, I'm not great-looking.

You're a good-looking coach.

My wife says I have a gift of the gab. I'm a words man but that's all I had going for me, some words and a willingness to give up. That's how I got her. It took me three years.

Are you a fan of Babe Ruth?

Yes.

He's got a quote, “It's hard to beat a person that never gives up.”

Because they'll be back.

You just cannot give up. Thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your stories and how people inspired you. You've dropped a ton of nuggets on us today. Maybe the title of this is to never give up. It could be persistence. It could be take risk to people. Give people room to make mistakes. Accountability is a big thing.

Especially today.

Iron sharpens iron. Thank you, John, for being here.

My pleasure. It's been fun.

Audience, write those three things down. I challenge you in the intro to write three things down. I want you to be a very effective leader. Now you've got to figure out the most powerful thing to do. What's that one domino that can knock the rest of the domino issues out of the way? As one of my mentors told me, “Greg, once you figure out the most impactful things to do, you'll be further ahead than everybody else.” Thank you, John, for being here. Thank you for all those tuning in. God bless you all. Go have a great day and inspire someone to do something that they will not do by themselves. Thank you all very much.

Important Links

Progress > Perfection Never, ever stop growing! Insights from Mickey Taylor

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 03:31:01 GMT

This episode features Greg’s wife, Mickey Taylor. Married for 36 years, Mickey is a mother, grandmother, former athlete, and a successful realtor. She grew up as a military brat, excelled in sports, coached gymnastics, served as an athletic director, and now thrives in real estate. The podcast delves into her inspiring journey, touching on leadership, family, career transitions, and her "never give up" attitude. Mickey highlights the importance of patience, honoring others, and finding gratitude in life's challenges.

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Listen to the podcast here

Progress > Perfection
Never, ever stop growing!

Insights from Mickey Taylor

Welcome to the show, Ms. Taylor.

Thank you. I’m happy to be here.

Are you sure about that?

Maybe.

What’s your 1020 in the United States of America?

Nashville, Tennessee, downstairs.

I am in Nashville, Tennessee, upstairs. We’re very thankful that everybody’s joined us. I’m going to tell you, this is a show where we want to develop leaders. The definition we use of a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they’re not going to take by themselves. In this show, we want to tell stories and talk about how things affected you, how they affected me and have a great conversation.

At the end of the day, I want everybody to be able to pull up three things that they’ve learned from this episode. They can catapult that one domino effect where they knock all the dominoes down or issues to inspire people to take a journey that they’re not willing to take about us. Here we are. Are you ready to get started, Miss Taylor?

Let’s go.

Inspirational Leader

Who is your best leader and why? A leader is to inspire. You inspire people. We inspire others by what they know about us, see us do or how we make them feel. Who’s the most inspirational leader that you’ve had in your life?

I’ve been blessed with a lot of good leaders throughout my life. I would say one of my favorite leaders was in Louisiana. He was head of school, Jerry Erickson. He was a great leader to me because he was patient. He was interested. He gave you his full attention. Whatever issue was coming to the table, he would take his time with it and make sure everyone’s on the same page and talk it through.

This is when you were the athletic director at a private school called Evangel Christian Academy.

I was the high school athletic director. We dealt with a lot of issues in that position, but he was also great at honoring others. I admired bad about him. I don’t know if we ever left a group meeting that he didn’t honor someone or one-on-one meeting that he didn’t say something honoring that made me want to keep going and motivated me. He gave me a motivation there. He blessed me.

He was very soft-hearted, but he would stand his ground in tough situations. To me, he’s one of those tenaciously humble people. I know that you don’t like that terminology.

It’s a weird term, but he’s humble and he could be super strong at the same moment. I admired that about him. That’s the type of leader that works with my personality. I married somebody who’s the opposite type of leader.

We’re not tearing people down. We talked about this earlier.

I wasn’t tearing down. I was just saying you’re more of the louder, stronger, put-it-all-out-there and blunt. That kind of leader takes all types. There are different people that need different types of leaders.

I admired Jerry. He was like, “I want to be like you.” That’s that humble person. I had the tenacity part but didn’t quite have the humble person, which I’m still working on.

You said it. I didn’t.

Mom, Wife, Grandmother

That was your best leader as an AD. Also, you are a mom, a wife and a grandmother. Who’s influenced you in those three categories? You’ve been through a lot of things in life. Who’s inspired you from being a mom, a grandmother, and a wife? Why?

I have some great roles. My mom and your mom are both amazing moms. Deonza Duran is an amazing mom. You’re already getting me emotional.

I like this. What did you see them do? How did they make you feel or what did you know about?

My mom was incredible. You don’t always appreciate someone's traits until you get older and you’ve been through a little bit more life. My mom was always loving and patient. My dad was a general in the army. She was dealing with a hard-driving and intense spouse. She was yanked all over the country. That’s the way we grew up. All over the world as a military brat.

My mom always did it gracefully with love and patience. Your mom, the same thing. She’s going to always love you no matter who you are and what stage of life you’re in and what you’re going through. She’s patient and loving. She’s strong. Both were strong women, but patient and loving is your mom. To this day, she is still patient and loving with me and everyone. She’s a safe place. I’ll say that.

That’s a safe part. Who’s inspired you? You have three grandchildren. You’re an amazing grandmother and all your grandkids adore their mamo also. Who inspired you as a mamo and why? You’ve done many different things in life. What inspired you to do all those different things?

You pick and choose from each one the things that you love. I had a grandmother who would play cards with me every time we were there to visit. We didn’t always live near our grandparents. I took that to get down on the floor on level things and do life with them. She probably was so sick of playing the same card game with me over and over, but she did it.

Greg goes back to spend time with people.

That’s what it was. Your family is amazing with pulling the whole family together at one time. Big family get-togethers and memories are made there. That’s something I take from your family, your mom, all your siblings, their grandkids, and all of that. Your mom is right there in the middle of it and she’s never impatient. She’s right there in the middle of it and happy about it.

For people taking notes, I’ve written down a lot of words that you said. You said the word patient like 5 or 6 times. I’m going to say that’s a keyword to inspire you. If I want to inspire you, I’ve learned the special sauce of that is to be patient. For someone to feel safe, because until they feel safe and trust you, You can’t inspire them. One of the ways to get people to trust you is being patient. You said that word over and over, to be patient and kind. You say kind is clear and clear is kind.

Everybody’s on their own different journey in life and their own stage in that journey. I wouldn’t say I’ve always been patient, but I feel like we all deserve to have some patience for where we are in our journey, in our pathway in life. It’s easy to get frustrated at somebody that’s younger because they don’t understand. You’re always great at reminding me, like, “Remember you at that age, Mickey?” Recognizing we’re all just on our own journey. We need to give people a little bit of patience and grace for that.

Competitor

In your life’s journey, you’re a bodybuilding champion and a world fitness competitor. You competed in three world championships in fitness. One of them is my claim to fame, as you were the number two mom. There’s only one other mom that beat you out of a hundred ladies. Who inspired you in that part of your journey of life?

What if I don’t have an answer? Let’s see. I think where that all came from was I competed in gymnastics all the way through high school, and then went to college. It’s like, you leave in college. You’ve been doing this. You played football in college. You left college and it’s like, “I’m used to competing for something. I’m used to having something out there to reach for.” You went into softball.

After I was done playing football. I played a lot of softball, probably 40 years old.

Stay competing and in that mentality. This came along. I had our good friend, Jeff Burkle.

You can say Jeff’s name. He’s been using a lot of bad places, but this is a good place for him.

We love Jeff and Kathy. He was at the gym that we were working out in. He was a bodybuilder. Through conversation, he said, “Let’s train you for a bodybuilding competition.” I did that once, and I was like, “I like to compete, so if I’m going to continue this, then I’ve got to put on a bunch of muscle mass.” I didn’t want to do that. That’s what made me flip to the whole fitness competition stuff. I don’t know that I had a role model in that field. I don’t think I knew anybody doing it.

There’s no right or wrong answer here at the show. We’re just having a conversation to inspire people. If you connect with people and you’re patient, strong and consistent. You can get someone to do something where other people can’t get them to get it done. As my boss told me in my first job, Greg, “If you want to make more money here, you got to turn chicken crap into chicken salad.”

Worst Leader

You got to take somebody that’s out of one and can you get them to a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. Wherever they are and we all got different skills and strengths that God’s given us. It’s how do you develop that? How do you inspire someone to do that? There’s no right or wrong answer. It’s just, “Here’s another way to take another step.” A drum roll here. Who’s your worst leader and why? How did they make you feel? What’d you see them do? What do you know about them? Have they demotivated you?

I couldn’t come up with a name in my mind. I know we’re not sharing that if I did, but it’s the opposite of what I loved about Jerry Erickson. If someone is impatient, if you come in and you feel like you’re annoying them in a conversation, you need help. They’re your leader. You need the help and they make you feel like you’re an annoyance coming in. That would be a horrible leader. People just don’t care and don’t pour their whole heart into it. That is demotivating to me. I want to follow somebody. I will easily follow somebody who is all in. Somebody who doesn’t have their whole heart in the world makes me not want to give my whole heart.

Real Estate Agents

I’m going to back up. I’ll ask the current phase of life that you’re in now as a real estate agent. You’ve been doing that for five years. Roughly, you were 51 years old. Most people say, “You’re out of the game. You’re too old.” At 51 years old, you wanted to be a real estate agent. Who inspired you to do that and why? While you’ve been growing and you’re doing an amazing job at this. Who’s been your inspiration along that 5 or 6-year journey that you’ve been?

My mom was a realtor for a period of time when I was younger. I have wanted to be a realtor. I’ve always been interested in being a realtor, but I didn’t want to do that with young kids at home. I felt like it was going to consume my whole life and I couldn’t be as involved in what they were doing. It probably would have because real estate does not shut off. It doesn’t turn off. It’s no business hours. You can make it that way.

Everybody can do it the way they want to. That’s the great thing about real estate, but I was very involved in kids’ lives. Their sports, being the team mom and all the things. We were empty nesters when we moved here to Tennessee years ago. I wanted to jump in and pursue that again with mom being that, then Kathy Carter in Nashville. She’s a close friend. She’s a successful realtor. I knew I could rely on her and pick her brain a lot. She could hold my hand getting into it. She’s been an amazing mentor to me in the real estate world, then my older sister joined. We get to talk a lot of real estate. It’s been a blast. I do love the real estate world. You never figure it all out. That’s why I love gymnastics. You never learned every skill you can’t. It’s the same in real estate.

That’s good. Everybody needs to hear what you said. We will never figure it out. It’s just not going to happen. I love your domino effect. It’s what?

Progress over perfection.

When I see you frustrated, I say progress over perfection because we can’t be perfect. We’re never going to be perfect. Quit trying to be perfect. Can you make improvements every day? That’s the name of our leadership training program, Take Another Step system. Take another step. “Let’s grow,” that’s the phrase word I’d call out. I gave that up before I had to give up my wife and kids because I’m Ricky Bobby. If you’ve not first, you last. That doesn’t spell out good things for a wife and two boys.

Even my relationships and business. They suffered because I had to dominate and demand everything. It doesn’t work. You’ve got to find your spacing, and then you have to find the heart, the key, and the cheat code. I got one of my coaching clients said, “You’ve tapped into the cheat code for me.” It’s a longer story that I’m going to get into because we all got something inside of us that needs to come out.

It’s just how do you birth that? We all got different journeys and you’ve got your journey. Your journey is not right. Someone else is not right. It’s your journey. Whatever you want your journey to be. When you and I both changed careers in our 50s, everybody thought we were crazy, which is why we are crazy, but it’s a great ride.

A little bit.

Unsung Hero

You sent me a video day on Instagram, is where two old people came out of the house and one fell down the steps. The wife tried to help them, but she fell down. They were both just slaying there. I said, “I’m all in for that right there.” If that’s the way you and I went out, I’m like, “That’s just perfect. We did it together.” There you go. Who’s your unsung hero? You only get one. Put you on the spot.

Can I do a category? I think single moms can be some unsung heroes. I have a sister that’s a single mom and she’s been through some hard stuff, but she’s a battler. She’s she did it. Her kids are grown now and raised. I know several single moms and to hear them talk and to know the struggles that they have to go through that I don’t have to go through. Single moms out there who are making a difference, still serving and being a part of, making money and doing all the things.

We both got a sister who’s a hero in that category, my sister being Regine.

You make it happen and that’s what they did.

That’s GSD. They got GSD.

That’s it.

Get stuff done. You can change the stuff to another word, but we won’t go into that. You got to get stuff done. You get up and you take another step every day.

That’s a battle and they did it beautifully. These are my unsung heroes. It’s all the single moms making it happen. Was I supposed to say you were my unsung hero?

No, that wouldn’t be true. That’s another ten-hour episode. How do you take another step when you get stuck?

If I get stuck, I want to be good at stopping and praying. Trying to give it to God is what I do because I often try to fix things first, then give it to God or I give it to God and I take it back and try to fix it myself, stopping and praying. If I stop and start trying to name all the things I’m grateful for. It can change my whole mindset right there. How can I complain about this little problem when I have all these other blessings? To stop and be grateful can definitely change your mindset and motivation.

Biggest Risk

That’s good. What is the biggest “I’m so glad I took that risk” story of your life? I am so glad I did that. When you’re 84 years old, sitting in your rocking chair, and you can’t do anything but think you got a bucket and I’m so glad I did bucket here. What’s your biggest, “I’m so glad I did?”

This is probably one of those questions where you have my answer better than I do or something. All a long life, everything’s a risk. Having kids is a risk. It can be a risk. You don’t know what you’re doing. This parenting and all the decisions you make as a parent are a risk. You don’t know how it’s going to turn out in the long run. There are so many things along the way. I’m not sure. Do you have a specific thing?

Becoming a realtor or moving to a new city. All these things are things that can drastically change your life, but they’ve all been part of the journey and part of the story that got us to where we are and made us grateful for where we are in our lives. We have green kids and the kids live near us and we have a wonderful family even at a distance.

You never could have written this out. You just took the journey. You lived the journey. What I’m picking up, if I’m writing notes down, you found peace in your journey. You’re so glad you took the journey that you took. There are a lot of peaks and valleys, staying in the valley and on top. Most of the time, we’re not on top. We’re either in the valley or just so-so. The journey is you just got to keep going because of success. It’s not a journey. It’s a destiny. Success is not a destination. It’s a journey.

Brain Programming

As humans, we want to come to the end of something. The end is when we die. Why do you want to do that? Why can’t we get better? If you’re 0 to 105 years old, you can get better, but you’ve got to wake up and be very intentional with that. The intentional with your time and with your brain. What are you watching? Who are you hanging around? What do you want to become? Don’t go back and figure out how do I become that person because God’s given us the most powerful thing in the universe is called our brain. What are you doing about programming your brain?

I listened to a sermon, and they talked about being happy, energetic, and motivated when you start something. When you finish it, you’re all excited because you completed it. You’re happy then, too, but it’s the in-between part. Nobody wants to stay with that same mindset throughout because that’s the hard part. You don’t get to the other side unless you go through it.

Try to remember in the middle that we still have a lot to be grateful for and that mindset. I can fall into that negative mindset real easy sometimes but stopping then recognizing what there is to be grateful. Recognizing that I’m grateful that I even have this issue to deal with and I can deal with it is something that I work on.

I heard you say, if somebody’s taking notes here, I’m going to grow through it instead of grown.

There you go. Perfect.

That’s what I heard you say. When your little speaks valleys of life, you’ve got to grow through that because I’m going to grow every day. It doesn’t matter if I’m up here or down here or wherever. I love when Trent says, “I don’t get too high or I don’t get too old. I just try to stay in the middle of the road.” He got that from you. He didn’t get that from me, nor did you get it from his Papal Taylor and his uncle Roy. Don’t get too high. Don’t get too low. Get better. We don’t control that. We don’t control the circumstances around us, but we do control our heart, spirit, confidence, and boldness to say, “I can get better.” After that, the magic will happen for you.

What’s in your control? Let’s focus on that.

Advice To Younger Self

What would you tell your 21-year-old self? That’s the age you were when we got married. Don’t say, “I wish I wouldn’t have married you.”

I would not say that. I would tell my 21-year-old self that you are enough. I spent a lot of time trying to fit in. It was my life growing up, too. You were moving every year, so you’re having to try to fit in everywhere. A lot of my thought processes were stuck in that mode of fitting in everywhere you go instead of being who you are. God’s equipped us with what we need in order to succeed. Be confident in that. I can still battle with that.

What you said, you can still battle with that win in the present. It’s ongoing thing. The biggest thing that we all deal with is unworthiness. What you're saying is that we all deal with it. We’re dealing with them. We’re all dealing with it. You’ve got to attack it with being grateful. Once you think about all the things you’re grateful for, you’ll always have enough. If you always think about what you don’t have, you’ll never have it.

If someone’s taking a note down, that could be someone’s domino effect. Be grateful. Go study the word gratitude. Get a gratitude journal. I have 97 things in my daily prayer that I go through. Ninety-seven things that I’m grateful for. Years ago, I couldn’t come up with one thing I was grateful for. I got to be perfect. I’ve got to be perfect or I’m a loser, which is unworthy.

There are so many things that all throughout the day, it can help you to go and throw, “What are you grateful for?” That thing. We have working computers in our house. Halleluiah. We can be grateful for that. There are so many things that not everybody has.

I’m not grateful now because I’m starting to get over it. I had this thing set up to do it a certain way and you came in and changed it. I’m still working through my emotions on that. I lost again.

We got to talk to each other and we were going to be beside each other. I didn’t know how that was going to work in my mind.

You do you. I’m very welcoming to my guests. I’m going to be very patient.

Thank you.

That could be my domino effect.

You’re inspiring me.

I know, be patient. You said, what would you tell your 21-year-old self? You’re struggling with your identity and your worthiness. Here comes a person along and they give you patience. There are four psychological factors that Jerry gave to you to be understood, validated, appreciated, and affirmed. When you’re a patient, you give a person those four psychological factors that every human needs. God hasn’t changed the ways he’s made people.

Inspirational leaders who are reading, if you want to inspire someone, you have to give them psychological safety. Make sure you listen to understand, validate them, appreciate them, and affirm them as a person because that’s what Jerry did for you. He did that by being patient and interested in what you were doing, even though he didn’t even like what you were doing.

It’s okay, but you’re giving a tick because you’re trying to understand that person. I’ve got a client now, and he’s struggling with his 22-year-old son. His 22-year-old son told him in a roundabout way, “Dad, you just don’t understand me.” His dad is being very aggressive with him, trying to fix his problems because he’s got some issues going on. He told him, “Understand who I am, dad.” He’s got to slow down, stop, and focus on that. What does that mean? That takes time.

It’s a process. That’s relationship right there.

It’s relationships. Last question here. What is your winning edge or what’s your special sauce? What makes the mixture tick? What makes you a great wife, grandmother, real estate, bodybuilder, fitness competitor, grandma, and real estate guru?

It goes back to that, we’re both competitive people. I might get frustrated, but I don’t give up. I do want to conquer whatever is in front of me. I might get sidetracked by an attitude or frustration, but I’m not going to quit. I’m not going to give up on it. I’m a team player. I’m in it to the end. These are things that will help make a marriage last, will help make any relationship last no matter what you have going on. If it’s a parent, a child, husband, wife, or a friend. I don’t easily just throw my hands up and quit.

If you’ve been married to me for many years and we’ve known each other for 40 years, you don’t give up because you’ll throat punch me. That’s your famous line, “If you don’t shut up, I’ll throat punch you.” the back story to that, many years ago, when I met you, they were calling you Mohammed Mickey because you whipped some girl.

I don’t start fights.

I know you didn’t start it. She got in your space or touched you and you laid her out long than anyone.

Thanks for sharing that.

Don’t give up. There’s been a lot of nuggets dropped. If you had one thing to tell someone that if you want to inspire another person, what would that be?

I’m going to say take the time to stop and get to know them and what inspires them. What is it that’s neat because we all need different things? If we try to lead in a way that is your style but not their style, it’s probably not going to work out so great. Getting to know the person and figuring out their style then lead in that way.

I have classes and seminars on stop. You can’t get someone to trust you and inspire them until you stop.

Relationships take time. They take some digging. Without a relationship at all, it’s probably going to be hard to lead someone.

One of the things that I fell in love with you that you had tons of relationships of all diverse people. I was stuck in a relationship with athletes because I didn’t understand other people. I understand an athlete, but you made me uncomfortable getting out of my safe zone of the athletic world to go into a different world. It’s like your dad said, “Your talent is,” what’s that word he used? It slipped my mind.

Charm.

That’s what I saw in you. You charmed them. You had all these friends, which made me jealous because you had a lot of friends, both men and boys. That made me jealous. I had to learn how to get over jealousy. You taught me that and you taught me how to spend time on people. I give you the claim to men. You taught me about relationships. You and Mark Davis taught me about how important relationships are because it’s not about what I can do is how I can help another person.

Now, I can’t get you to walk away from places. You’re there shutting down the business because you’re spending time on people.

You’ve made me obsessed. I’m obsessed with the person. You taught me a different skill set. We all got a gift inside of it. We’ve all been created to inspire people. You don’t need a title to be a leader. You don’t need a title to be an inspirational leader and to change someone’s course in their life. You just need to stop and spend time on people. It’s been a great session. Ms. Mickey, thank you. I love you. There’s a lot of nuggets laid out there. I hope you got three. Everybody that’s reading, you three nuggets. Now, the big challenge, can you find that up into one domino that can knock the rest of the issues down?

That one domino, it’s the action of power. As a COO, train me. You’ve got to figure out the most powerful things to do, the most impactful things to do. If you can figure that out, you’ll make more money. If you can’t, you’ll spend around like a battling top and get kicked out. You’ll never like me again because I never told you what to do. Thank you for joining us on the show. Go inspire someone to do something that they’re not willing to do by themselves. Thank you, Ms. Mickey Taylor. You’re awesome.

Thank you, husband.

Good job. Thank you, all.

Foundations Of A Father 2024

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 19:00:00 GMT

Struggling to be a good dad? Join Greg Taylor as he dives deep into the complexities of fatherhood, offering a raw and introspective look at his journey as a dad. He shares personal stories about his relationship with his father and grandfather, emphasizing the importance of forgiveness, honor, and avoiding anger. Greg also introduces the concept of the “50-20 Vision,” a powerful reminder that regardless of past mistakes, you have the power to become the best father you can be. This episode is a poignant and inspiring exploration of what it means to be a father in today's world.

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Listen to the podcast here

Foundations Of A Father 2024

Introduction

Did you have a good dad? Was your dad present in your life? Did your dad show up at the events in your life? How are you doing as a dad? Have you buried the hatch with your dad? Are you honoring your dad, or did you have a person, not your father, who filled those shoes for you? For the next 30 to 45 minutes, I’m going to tell you my story of how I connected with my grandfather, my father, and my son so I can be a part of the solution and instead a part of the problem.

The end game to being a father is how we build generational dynasties. I’m going to give you some tips and help you with how to do that. If you’re already doing that, go pass the word around. Let’s connect together and have a community that helps other fathers build generational dynasties because we want to be a part of the solution. That is not the problem. Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room and take a little pressure off me. I am not perfect at this.

I’ve struggled. I’ve been a horrible father. I’ve been an improving father, and I’m starting to gain some traction. Always remember, it’s never too late. Fathers, you cannot build your best life for your children because I know that’s in your heart and mind until you have a meaningful foundation and a consciousness of how your behavior affects your child.

Let’s talk about some stats. How important is a father? This information is from the America First Policy Institute from an article of May 30, 2023. Children who feel closeness to their father are 80% less likely to spend time in jail. Seventy-one percent of teachers and 90% of law enforcement officials state that the lack of parental supervision at home is a major factor that contributes to violence in schools. Seventy-five percent of adolescent patients in substance abuse centers are from fatherless homes.

In a study of 56 school shootings, only ten of the shooters, 18% were raised in a stable home with both biological parents. Eighty-two percent grew up in either an unstable family environment or without biological parents together. Are we starting to see the root of our problem? Fathers are absent from 80% of the single-parent homes. Seventy percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from single-parent homes.

Are we starting to understand the problem? In a study of 75 juvenile delinquents, 66 experienced fatherlessness, 20% had never lived with their father, and 25% had an alcoholic father. Now, do we understand the importance of being a dad and the importance of this show in the next 30 minutes? Let’s beat this drum.

I’m going to take you on a journey on how I learned the valuable lessons of fatherhood by understanding my dad and his dad’s relationship, my dad and my relationship and the relationship between myself and my kids. Five principles. 1) My dad’s journey with his dad, forgiveness. 2) My journey with my dad, honor. 3) My journey with my sons, don’t bring them to anger. 4) 84 rule, go back to the future. The fifth one is the closing hope, the 50/20 vision.

As I go through each point, I want you to think and visualize your situation. How can you optimize these relationships? It is very important to make your generation and the generations after you greater. We are working on building the blank dynasty one generation at a time. Fill in that blank. We are working on building the Taylor dynasty one generation at a time.

Forgiveness

Key point number one, my dad’s journey with his dad, forgiveness. Scripture, Ephesians 4:31-32, “Get rid of all the bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Here’s the story. My brother and I were on top of a house roofing the house. My dad was up there and his dad was up there.

My grandfather was sitting there, complaining that my brother and I didn’t know how to hammer anything. He said something funny, and we all started dying laughing. He said, “You’re just like your dad. He’s never had anybody show him anything.” We all stopped and we looked at each other. We all started laughing because he didn’t understand what he said because he was saying, “I never taught your dad anything.” I don’t know if he picked it up or not. I didn’t understand what I understood back then at 12 and 13 years old.

The only thing I understand is how my dad reacted to it. I don’t know if you’re the son or the dad or the grandfather, but there are three relationships working here. My dad didn’t budge. He never said a word. He just laughed. I laughed and my brother laughed. We didn’t think anything about it. Also, I heard my grandfather say to my dad many times, “You’re a dumb ass stupid educated fool,” because my dad was highly educated, being a principal board of a high school.

He would always called him a stupid educated fool. Once again, my brother and I never reacted to it because my dad never reacted to it. Have you been in a situation where your grandfather got on your dad and your dad reacted and he did the same thing to do? That’s what I’m talking about. We got to stop that. We got to get rid of all the bitterness, the rage, the anger, and the unforgiveness. We got to get ready.

Somebody’s got to do that. In my life, I didn’t have to do that. My dad did that. Now, how did he do that? I don’t know. I asked him a question months before he passed away. I said, “Dad, why didn’t you become your dad?” He looked at me. He had a little tear coming in his eyes and said, “I just knew I wasn’t going to do what he did. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I wasn’t going to do what he did.”

The legacy that my dad left in me was to show up. Every time my wife and I go watch our grandkids do something, we look at each other and say, “Show up.” Is that what you need to hear? Do you need to show up because there’s pain and agony in your heart from the past? You have kids and grandkids. Do what my dad did. Show up.

The Power Of Honor

Key point number two, my journey with my dad, the power of honor. Ephesians 6:1-3, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your mother and father, which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go well with you and you may enjoy a long life on earth.” At 31 years old, I read this scripture, and I started thinking about it because I had gone through a process with my parents.

I went from fear all the way up to probably about twenty, then I started to respect them from about 20 to 31. After 31, I read this verse. I started to honor them. At 40, nine years elapsed, and I started to understand that I didn’t honor my parents. I lied. I conned. I wanted what I wanted. I was one of those kids who felt against their parents, but I learned that if I honor my parents, I will have a long life. Being a selfish person, I have no advantage if I don’t honor my parents.

I had good parents, so it’s easy for me to say, “Honor my parents.” You may not be like that, but I saw my dad, which he had a great mother, but his dad was an alcoholic. He forgave his dad somehow. He started to honor his dad. He honored his dad just by not saying anything. He always showed up for his dad, too, as he showed up for his mom. I wrote them a letter. I wrote my mom and dad both the letter because I sold myself, I have to honor my mom and dad.

I’m 40 years old. I wrote them both probably a 4 or 5-page letter. I laid down the things, “Here’s all the great things you did for me. Here are the bad things. Please forgive me. I’ve learned. As the I get older, I know there’s power and honor. Honor is a choice and I choose to honor you, mom and dad.” There was something that broke in our relationship because the conversations that I had with my mom and dad both changed. When you honor somebody, based on your choice, something’s going to change. I don’t know what it is, but I guarantee you it will change. Honor your mother and father.

Don’t Bring Them To Anger

Key point number three, my journey with my sons, don’t bring them to anger. Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Don’t embedder your children, meaning don’t them to anger. Don’t frustrate them. Don’t make them mad.

There’s a fine line between discipline and aggravation or bringing them to anger. We all do discipline out of love. Not that we’re saying, “I love you so much, I’m going to discipline you.” Discipline comes in all forms. We’re not going to get into that discussion, but you can’t bring them to anger. You’re frustrating them. You’re picking at them. You’re saying bad things to them because you’re aggravating them.

There's a fine line between discipline and exasperation or bringing them to anger, because we ought to do discipline out of love.

I discipline my kids, but I always let them know, “I’m disciplining you because I love you.” I don’t know if they felt that love or not, but my mom did that for me. When she disciplined me, she told me afterwards, “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the behavior.” See the difference there? When you discipline someone, it’s about the behavior. If the person’s good, I love you, meaning I don’t want you to be angry with me. I want you to be focused on changing your behavior.

One day, I took my sons out for supper and I asked them, “Tell me what you think about your dad,” because I was trying to address this problem. Fathers, don’t exasperate your children. I had to figure out what do my sons think about me. They’re like 12 or 13 years old. They both looked at each other. I knew when they looked at each other, that means, “Dad’s crazy. What is he trying to tell us?”

It probably took me five minutes to get an answer out of them. I told them, “This is a safe place. Nobody’s in trouble. I want to get better for you.” I told myself in my heart and my mind, “I’m not as good as I need to be. I know I can get better. I know I need to stop bringing you to anger. Tell me what you need from me.” They both said, “Dad, you got to stop yelling at us at our ball game.” I said, “Okay, I can do that.”

When I yelled at them at our their ball game, that embarrassed them. That exasperated and frustrated them. That made them feel less. My journey is to build them up, but that action that I was doing that I thought was right was tearing them down. You go have a real conversation with someone. How do I make you feel? Tell me how you make me feel, but you have to be bold enough to stand there and take it. You can’t deflect. You can’t say this. You got to say okay.

I’ve told them, I say, “I can’t promise you that I won’t do that, but let’s do this. I’ll yell out 4:13.” That means Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” I’m trying to explain to you I see that you have more than you’re giving because I want you to give your all. Don’t care if you’re the best or worse. I’m worried about you giving your all, so I would yell 4:13.

There were some times. That’s another story. I put myself in time-out. I would walk away or I’d set up at the top of the stadium. I get away from everybody because I know something inside of me, the competitiveness that’s in me. I want to say something, but I can’t say anything because they told me not to do that. That exasperates me and frustrates me. That makes me less. “Support me, honor me, and build me up, dad.” That makes me more.

Did you get all that? Don’t bring your children to anger. I don’t know where you’re at. Love your kids. You have to hold them accountable. You have to get excellence out of them. You have to get the most out of them, but you have to understand each child’s different. You have to understand what frustrates them and what inspires them.

Each child is different, so you have to understand what frustrates and inspires them.

Back To The Future

Key point number four, the 84 rule, back to the future. One of my mentors, Sir Greg, told me, “When you make a tough decision in your life, you got to go back to when you’re 84 years old. You’re sitting there in a rocking chair. The only thing you can do is think.” You’re thinking about, “I’m so glad I did what? On the right, the right thing to do. On the left is my oh crap bucket.” It’s like, “I wish, I should have, or could have, or would have done that.”

You go through all these thoughts because my dad was sitting on a couch at 84 years old and he couldn’t move. He was probably thinking about all those decisions that he had made. I was just sitting there, saying, “That’s heavy because now that I’m getting older, I have regrets in my life. I can’t go back and fix them, but I can get better.”

When you make a key decision, you have to go back. What do you want your kids to say about you when you’re 84 years old, sitting in a rocking chair? When my dad was 84 years old, I honored him. I want my kids to honor me. Greg, what are you doing about that? What are you doing about cleaning out all the stuff and all that anxiety in that relationship? Are you bold enough to sit there and let them tell you how they feel so they can get that junk out of them so good things can get inside of them?

Go back to the future, meaning what do you tell yourself? When you have a tough situation with a child, how do you want to deal with that? Go back to the future and go, “I’m so glad I did this. I shouldn’t have done that.” That helps validate the decision you have to make. You have to stand on the Bible because the Bible is going to show you a way to deal with these because there are a lot of dynamics and raising children.

If you’d love to have a conversation with me, I’d love to have a conversation with you. I do coaching. I do speaking. I’d love to come to your church. I’d love to come to your company. Anything that I can do to help you deal with raising a child so you can be the very best father that you can be? I’m all in on that. The last thing on the back to the future, remember, is don’t become weary and do good for the proper time. You shall reap a harvest if you don’t give up.

50-20 Vision

My closing statement is 50/20 vision. Genesis 50:19-20, “Joseph said to them, his brothers.” He had eleven brothers that threw him into a pit. This is a long story. He was the youngest. They were jealous of him. The Egyptian soldiers picked him up and put him in slavery for 30 years. I’m going to make a long story short. He started interpreting dreams. He made some plays.

The King puts him as the prince over Egypt. There’s a famine in the land. This is 30 years later. His eleven brothers come with their family, which is probably over 150 people. They come to Egypt looking for food. They meet the prince. They don’t know who the prince is. The prince is the brother. When they show up, he said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended for good to accomplish what is now being done, saving many lives.”

He put up feed for seven years because he was told there was going to be a famine. There’s a famine for seven years. Basically, he saved the human race in that situation, but he had power over his family, who wanted to kill him. I don’t know if you’re in that situation or if you have a family member or your dad in that situation. At some point in time, you have power over people. You have power over bad choices you’ve made in the past. You got power over something or bad somebody’s done something new now.

You have the power to move forward. The 50/20 vision is it doesn’t matter what’s ever happened to you, good, bad, or ugly. God’s got a plan for you. You can become that great father. You can teach someone else to be a father. You can forgive, honor, and rise as a father. You can build that blank dynasty. You can build that Taylor generation or dynasty one generation at a time. No matter where you are, good, bad, or ugly, today’s a new day. It’s a gift. It’s a present. Open it up, and let’s see what’s in the present.

Don't worry about whatever that has happened, good, bad, or ugly. You have the potential to become the best version of yourself.

What are you going to do about the present day? Learn from the past. Don’t let it come with you in the future. Pick up what’s in the present. I can make a difference. A quick review. Forgiveness will bring solid ground for your relationships. Honor will ignite something in everyone’s spirit to be free to communicate. Anger and frustration are shaky ground and nothing can grow. Make sure you’re putting your family on stable ground by having conversations of love and kindness.

Do you have a vision of what you want the end of your life to look like? What do you want your fatherhood, grandfatherhood, grandkids, and kids to do? In Genesis 50:20, it tells you, “Don’t worry about whatever’s happened. Good, bad, or ugly. You could be the very best version of you that you can be. You can inspire your family. You can inspire yourself to become the best version of yourself that you can become.”

Thank you so much. If you’d like to connect with me, Greg Taylor, (318) 230-6481. My email is Greg@FindYourWinningEdge.com . My website is FindYourWinningEdge.com . Thank you so much. Go be a great father and help others do the same. Also, we fathers who get it under control have to go help these fatherless kids and see if we can fill a void for them. That’s another episode. Thank you all very much. Happy Father’s Day.

Important Links

Greg@FindYourWinningEdge.com

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Expand Your Mind to See What is Possible With Phillip Deas

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:12:27 GMT

Do you ever wonder, "Is this all there is?" If you're longing for a more meaningful career experience, you're not alone. That nagging feeling of being stuck can be incredibly discouraging. But here's the good news: you can break free! Today, Phillip Deas offers a roadmap to overcome career stagnation and find the spark that sets your professional path ablaze. Phillip is a championship-winning athlete and coach, international speaker, and motivator. Tune in to explore actionable steps to reignite your passion and transform your work into something fulfilling.

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Listen to the podcast here

Expand Your Mind to See What is Possible With Phillip Deas

I would like to introduce our guest on this episode. His name is Phillip Deas . Phillip Deas is a championship-winning quarterback and football coach. His achievements on the field prepare him for his success off the field as an international speaker, purpose activator, and high-performance coach. For years, Phillip has been helping individuals to achieve their potential in sports and life.

He is making his practical and powerful approach to personal growth and self-leadership available to businesses and high-capacity individuals. Phillip empowers individuals to take ownership of their lives while equipping them with the mindsets and tools necessary to transform their lives. Through instruction and inspiration, he assists people in seeing what is possible and helping them create the pathway forward.

Get ready, Mr. Deas will drop some nuggets on us. As we say here at the show, if it's not on paper, it's vapor. Get your pad and pen ready to go and have three things you need to figure out how to find those three nuggets that impact you. I'm going to challenge you, can you determine the one nugget that can knock all the dominoes down? It's called the domino effect. Get ready. Here we go. Let's give Phillip Deas a great welcome.

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Mr. Phillip , welcome.

Thank you so much, Greg. I’m happy to be here with you.

Coach, I'm excited that you're here. I don't know where we're going to head in this inspirational leader discussion but I know it's going to be fun, exciting, and very educational for the people who are reading. We want to thank everybody that's reading. We love you. We inspire you to be an inspiration to other people and that's what this world needs, a lot more inspirational leaders who care about people who are doing the right things to do what that takes to do that. That's what we're going to be talking about, coach.

I’ll start with the definition of what a leader is. A leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they're just not going to take by themselves. If you're a current leader or thinking about being a leader, lead people that would drain everything about you. For you to be a leader, you must focus on that word, “How do I inspire another person to do something that's not going to do by themselves?” Out of the gate, coach, let's talk about your best leader and why.

The Best Leader

When I think about my best leader, I think twofold. I have been blessed to have amazing leaders. My story is I have had far more great leaders than I have had bad leaders. I don't mean good leaders and bad leaders. I have been blessed to have some great leaders in my life and probably one was my pastor and high school football coach, Denny Duron, who became my father-in-law.

In those formative years of being in middle school and high school, the thing that he did for me was to model excellence, what it looks like to be an excellent man, and live with excellence daily. The other word would be expansion. Expand your mind to what is possible. Those two things left a huge imprint on me as he modeled excellence for us, excellence in his faith journey, excellence in how he treated other people, and excellence in all of these different areas. This whole expansion of the mind, dreaming bigger and thinking bigger, was very profound. Leaving high school, I had a chance to play for Mack Brown at the University of North Carolina.

The thing that I learned from him was process and positivity. There was a process and it was an ultimate just trust the process. You want the results but the thing about it is he was never about the results. He says, “Are we doing what we need to be doing to the best that we can do it?” If we're doing that, then the outcome is going to take care of itself. It’s the process and so much positivity. He was the most positive coach that I had ever been around.

He was positive. Every meeting and practice started with positivity and ended with positivity. It was filled with positivity all in the middle. Not to say that he wouldn't get on you, coach you hard, and have a high demand for his players but it was under the umbrella of positivity. Positivity was a part of that process for him. He believed in the process and positivity. Those two leaders shaped so much of who I am in both of those capacities.

John Maxwell says the inspiration formula is what you know, see, and feel about a person. Tell me something, what did you see them do to get you to trust them? You gave them your trust and trust is the electricity to the inspiration. What did you see, know, or feel? How did they make you feel that you would give them that trust because you would probably run through a wall for it?

How To Get People To Trust You

Number one, it starts with reputation. What are other people saying about them before you ever have any interaction with them? That's why we have to be so careful with our reputation because it's all we have. That's all you got. It’s whenever people are telling a story about this person before you even have a chance to play for them or interact with them. These are the things that people are saying about them. Before you even get there, there's already such a high level of trust.

You watch and observe. You see how they treat people, how they respond to adversity, and how they deal with you. It’s layer upon layer. You come in and there's already this reputation but then when they interact with you and then you see them interacting with others, it's layer upon layer. They are constantly investing in that trust account. When they make those consistent deposits in that trust account, then you're like, “Whatever you say, I'm in. I'm ready.”

You have proven that you care about me and you're going to do what's best for us, this team, and this organization. You've proven these things. I want to play for you, give you my best, and go all out. Whatever that is, I'll work harder in the off-season and do whatever because of the type of person that they were. Both of those guys, the core of who they were was inspirational, and that inspiration came from that deep trust.

If it's not on paper, it's vapor. Someone will stop here and say some nuggets. You dropped a bunch of nuggets there. This could be the title of this session here. Expand your mind to see what is possible. Since I’ve done leadership coaching, I've challenged myself because I'm not a marketing person and promoter of myself. It's been a real challenge for me to do that.

I have more of an altruistic personality, which means I'll do stuff for free. I love and care for people. If I'm trying to grow a business, that doesn't work out very well. I've got to find out what's hindering me. How do I get someone to help me make that strength better? How do I find someone to do that for me too? That's a deeper conversation.

Here's another note, invest in the trust account and reputation protection. Protect your reputation. My mentors have told me, “Greg, your reputation will beat you there. It will get to where you're going before you'll ever get there. Protect your reputation. Those are some nuggets out of those great leaders. I don't know Mack Brown but I know he's a great guy. Why do I know he's a great guy, coach? It’s because he's from Cookeville, Tennessee.

No question. That's right.

The Worst Leader

It's where Trenton Taylor was born. I lived there for eight years and worked for Averitt Express. It was an amazing company. What about who is your worst leader and why? No names. What did you see them do? How did they make you feel? What do you know about?

Much of my formative life is in athletics. I had a coach who was the opposite of Mack Brown. He was never focused on the process, always emotional with the result, and was on the opposite side of positivity, which is negativity. Nothing was ever good enough. We never worked hard and gave enough. Whatever it was, it was never enough or good. There was so much negativity.

There was so much emotion with the result. It created this tension within the team. Looking back, you can see and feel it. That was interesting because, with Mac Brown, we had so much success. I've been going from North Carolina to the University of Texas, taking them to a national championship and multiple ten-win seasons in a row there at the University of Texas. It’s that process and positivity. You can see the results of that positivity.

When I went to North Carolina, it was the one thing that people would say about him. They would try to make a name like, “He's not hard and demanding enough. He's not your typical football coach. You go back to the '80s and the '90s. He's not enough of that. He's too kind, nice, and positive.” He proved this through his journey in North Carolina. In his first time there at North Carolina, he never had fewer wins in ten straight seasons than he had the year before. When he got there, there were zero wins.

Every year, he had more wins than the year before, nevertheless. He built on that. When he went to Texas, it speaks for himself but it’s that power of positivity, even in a football locker room. To have another guy who was all of what you would think of the traditional football coach, kicking the chairs, punching the table, and all that. Not near the success that Mac Brown has had. That goes to show when you want people to excel, they have to be able to trust you.

When you want people to excel, they need to be able to trust you.

When you're emotional about the results, it’s like, “I don't know who I'm getting or who's going to show up in the locker room. How are you going to speak to me, treat me, or see me?” You never know because you're emotional with the results. The negativity is, “I don't want to go out there and bust my butt for you because it's not going to be good enough. You're not going to clap for me, cheer for me, celebrate me, or congratulate me. It's not going to be enough. I'm not going to want to put everything in there.” The contrast of those two was good for me to see there's so much power in positivity.

That's good because the nugget in there that I got out of that was inconsistency will drive people away from you.

Inconsistency will drive people away from you.

It breaks trust. There's no doubt.

There's no trust. When I go into organizations, the first thing I want to understand is, “Tell me about your executive tenure and your upper level, lower level, middle level, managers tenure, and people's tenure.” That tells me everything because if their tenure is managers are 1 to 2 years, and I've been in companies where their total management has only been there 1 to 2 years, and they're 30 years in business, something is going wrong there. You said two words right there.

Based on the years of watching this and continuing to gather information, it's inconsistency and emotion. You said it. You don't know who's going to show up. I've been in those toxic environments a couple of times. You're sitting there like, “I don't know what to do.” I'm not going to become better every day. In trusting the process, there is no process. It's his emotions. That can’t inspire people like that. If somebody out there makes people feel that you're not trustworthy, it could be from consistency and you're emotional. That was GT.

My wife is probably the best leadership coach I've had. She ain't afraid to give it to me but she understands how to talk to me without making me mad. She learned that over many years, Phillip. She said, “Can I say something here? This is not helping your sons or me. You're pushing us away from you based on your inconsistency and emotions. You got to calm down.” I use the word a thermostat leader.

Key Factors To Becoming Successful

I love it when my clients call me back saying, “I was being a thermostat yesterday. I wanted to yell and scream or do something stupid. I heard you on my shoulder saying, “Be a thermostat, Doug. Don't let them bother you. You have to be able to walk out the door and become untouchable.’” What are some key factors that's helped you be a highly successful football player, high school coach, and leading people? What are some of the key things that you've learned to help you step to where you're stepping?

It starts with character because when we're talking about reputation and trust, that's what those things are built on. Who you are? Everything for me revolves around character. I define character as how we're living. That is the essence of character because it is your words, behaviors, habits, and those things of how you are living. It is that character that is going to be so vitally important.

Out of character, I would say is your communication. Sometimes people overlook communication and start with communication in terms of the words that you're saying to others but communication starts with what you are saying to yourself. Don't overlook your self-talk because I will never be able to communicate, lead others, and inspire others if I'm not communicating the right things to myself.

I say all the time, the most important person you're going to talk to is yourself because if you're not talking to yourself and you're not using the right language or creating the right frameworks for yourself, it's not going to matter. You're not going to be able to encourage, equip, and inspire those people around you. Communication starts with me.

Out of communication and character, I would say, “What am I doing with my competency? How am I growing in all of the different areas?” I don't want to just grow in my work. I want to grow in terms of being a better husband. I want to be a better father and a person of faith. It’s all these different compartments of life. I'm not just going to say I want to be better in one area. No. I want holistic health in my life. It means I've got to take the competency of all of these things and improve that competency.

Lastly, I would say creativity. For me, it's how well we are thinking about possibilities. How well are we thinking about the future and what can happen in my life and through my life for the good of humanity and the world? Whenever I get those things, how I am living right with my character, talking to myself, and talking to others, I start working on that competency, realizing that I'm on a growth journey. I haven't arrived yet.

I've got to increase my competency in all of these areas all of the time and then stay in that creativity. I've got to make sure I'm thinking the right way. What's my intellectual growth? Am I thinking the right things about those things? When you take those four components and bring those into your life, it's a very holistic approach in terms of helping you elevate to your highest level.

The Four Seasons Of Growth

I don't know if you got this but you wrote the Four Seasons of Growth, Character, Competency, Creativity, and Communication. I don't know how the order goes. Maybe somebody needed to know that. There's a nugget for someone. There could be your domino effect.

One of the things that I say a lot is I want to help people live at their highest level possible so that they can make their biggest impact imaginable. How do I live at the highest level possible? My impact is always going to be tied to the level that I'm living. The impact that I make in the world will never be greater than the life that I'm currently living.

I've got to figure out how I raise my character, creativity, and communication. How do I get these things to the next level? Not just for me. That's where people get lost in the whole self-help thing. It's where it can disconnect people. I'm not doing this to pat myself on the back and be like, “Look at me. Look how strong my character is. Look how great I talk to myself and others. Look how great my intellectual thinking is about the future and possibilities.” No.

I do all of those things for one reason, and that is to impact the lives of other people but if I don't go there, I can't show them. I want to go there in all these areas so that I can show other people how to get there. In all of these areas, I want to live at my highest level possible so that I can make the biggest impact imaginable. Those two things are linked together.

People get turned off by maybe self-help or personal growth but I'm about other people and giving back. I'm not in it for myself. That's what they hear when they hear those words and they have those thoughts. It's, “No. You're not doing this for yourself. You're doing this so that you can help other people.” The most powerful thing about Roger Bannister of breaking that four-minute mile back in 1954. He was the first person ever to run the mile in 3 minutes and 59 seconds back in 1954. It had never been done before.

The most amazing thing about the story is in the next 2 years, 18 other people do it. When I hear the story, it's not like we want to run the four-minute mile so we can say, “Look what we did, a world record holder. Pat ourselves on the back and give us a trophy.” No. I'm doing it so that I can convince other people that it's possible. Other runners can say, “If Roger can do it, then I can do it. He went there so that I could go there, too.”

That's the power of this whole growth journey of getting to that next level because I want to take people to their next level. I can't do it if I don't put in the work to go there myself. Ultimately, it's for other people and your definition of leadership. It is taking people to a place that they can't get there without you but you have to be willing to go first. That's the beauty of this leadership journey. It starts with you and then it begins to move to those around you.

Leadership is taking people to a place they can't get to without you, but you need to be willing to go first.

You got to be willing to go first and people will know and see that. They know and see your competency. They know what you know. I've heard this my whole life. “I'm not going to ask you to do something that I'm not willing to do or that I've not already done.” Some people come to me and say, “Greg, I want to be a leader.” I'll go. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Why would you want to take your reputation and hand it to someone and say, ‘Go take care of my reputation?’ Why do you want to be the last one to leave and the first one to show up? Why do you want to take all the blame for everything?” Once I talked to them that way, probably half of them came back and said, “No, I don't want to do that.” Some came to me and said, “I'm all about that. My whole life, I've wanted to help people. To get my gain, I'm going through this pain so I can help other people get their gain.”

That's an inspirational leader mindset right there. You've got to be able to do things like Roger Bannister. That barrier, is it a mental barrier or a physical barrier? Is it the chicken or the egg concept? He said it was a mental barrier. I know what you do, you help people through those barriers. Why are you limiting your thinking? You become what you think about. What are you thinking about?

You Become What You Think You Are

Whatever you are, that's what you think about who you are. How do you change your thinking? If you want to change your thinking, you can change your beliefs. If you change your beliefs, you'll change your behavior. You can't change your behavior until you change your beliefs. You can't change your beliefs until you change what you're reading, watching, listening to, and putting into your brain.

We have two choices. We can create what is possible or conform to what's probable. We can create what's possible, and that definition of possible can happen. The definition of probable is likely to happen. That's the way most people live. Most people live conforming to what is probable and what is likely to happen. That's where they live. That's where you get normal, average, and all of these things.

You have this whole people wanting to be leaders and saying, “No, I want to create what's possible.” The word create has multiple definitions. One definition is to evolve from one's mind or imagination. If you're going to create what is possible, it's got to start in your mind first. You have to be able to see it, dream about it, and envision it. Out of that comes the second definition of create, which is to cause to come into being.

Once it starts in my mind, I have to put action to it. When I do that and I begin to put it into practice and cause it to come into being, only then can I begin to get what is possible out of life. That's where you begin to separate yourself. When you begin to separate yourself, that's what people will look at as an inspirational life. You're making different choices and going to different places. People are inspired.

Inspired people can become interested people. When I'm inspired by the way Greg Taylor shows up in a room, by what he says is possible, by his story, and by how he overcame and triumphed in the chain, I can become interested to say, “What could happen to me? What is possible?” If Greg overcame all of that and did all these things, I'm interested to see what would happen to me if I committed to a growth process like that, being honest with myself the way he was honest with himself, and reading those books.

I'm interested and your inspirational story has created an interest in me. I have a chance to get on that creating the possible side of life instead of conforming to what was probable. We all have to see and witness an inspirational story so that we can be inspired and then get interested. When we go back and talk about my high school coach, my father-in-law, that was what it was.

I saw the way that he lived and I was so inspired. I got so interested to think, “I wonder if I could live like that. I wonder if I could make a difference like he made a difference.” It put me on this journey of living a life that is an inspirational life to other people but it was because it was modeled for me and I was interested. I said, “I want to create what's possible. I don't want to live my life conforming to what is probable.”

I don't know if everybody knows my story or not but I failed in business in Corbin, Kentucky. To make a long story short, I took a job down in Shreveport, Louisiana. There's no way in Hades I would ever say, “I want to move twelve hours away from my family.” There's no way I would have ever done that. How do you know where Shreveport was? My mom told me I was going down there for spiritual training.

That's when I met your father-in-law. He taught me about spiritual training. He didn't have classes. He walked it out. Also, his family and six kids. You walked out of your beliefs and faith. If I can't see it, I don't believe it. My mom said, “Believe nothing here in about half of what you see.” People keep showing up. This could be the title of this. The Duron and Deas family, you all keep showing up day in and day out.

As Pastor Dene said, “He got beat in a football game of a rival school. We taught him how to win. Let's go show him how we lose.” Positive doesn't mean it's all colors and rainbows all the time. It's saying, “I got beached so what now?” I can learn from that and I'm going to take that pain and turn it into a gain. I call that 50-20 vision, which is off Genesis 50:20. It's a story about Joseph.

When we first moved to Shreveport, your father-in-law was teaching about Joseph. I crawled out from under a desk where I cried for 30 minutes once I accepted my defeat. It took me eight months to do that. Instead of blaming people, it took me eight months to accept that. Someone's teaching me it's possible. Joseph did it. Why can't I do it?

That's an inspiring story. When I hear your story, I'm interested to see, “If that happened for Greg, it could happen for me too because all of us know what it is to lose, be defeated, make mistakes, and have crucial things happen. If you bounce back and you are where you are now, what is possible for me? That's what I love about you. It is an inspirational story that will interest me to think, “If he did it, then so can I.”

Find What’s Possible

Coach, we're going to tell a story here on you. You coached my sons in high school football. My oldest son was a senior. The starting quarterback got hurt so Trey started playing quarterback. I was watching how you were interacting with him because he played quarterback in the fifth grade and eighth grade a little bit but he never played at that high level at Evangel Christian Academy playing Thomas Moore down in South Louisiana.

After the game, you came up and apologized to me. I said, “What are you doing, coach?” You said, “I got to apologize to you, Mr. Taylor.” I said, “Lord have mercy, what'd you do?” You said, “I yell at your son.” I said, “I'm okay.” I trust you. You can yell at my sons all you want because I know your heart. You're trying to get them to see what's possible. Even though they can't see it, you see it for them. At halftime, you pulled back on him because you kept telling him to throw the ball and he kept telling you, “I can't see.”

I told him, “You don't have to see. You know where it is.”

He said, “I can't see it.” You finally said, “You haven't done this a lot. I did it for ten years. Throw the ball. He's there.” What you did there, you made a great adjustment as a coach and a leader. You took your talent. You don't make them what you want them to be. You see what's possible inside of it. As a leader, you have to help develop what is possible for them not for Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.

With what you did to my son, you found what he's good at. You used him and he threw for a bunch of yards because you told him where to throw it. “I needed to know where you want me to throw this ball. I can throw it but then you're asking me to do what?” You found what's possible for that person and that's what an inspirational leader does. What's unique about that person and what's possible for that person?

The Change Formula

There's something else in there too that I have learned. I put in a little formula. You call it the change formula. Admit, apologize, analyze, and adjust. If I want to change anything, first, I have to admit. I have to admit that this isn't working or this isn't going the way I want it to. I have to have that moment of honesty, where I admit that, I let myself down. I didn't do what I promised. Whatever it is, I have to admit, and then I have to apologize.

Sometimes, there are people that we need to apologize to. This came out of the story that you were telling. I didn't apologize to you. I apologize to Trey. I had to tell Trey, “I'm sorry. That's not who I want to be. There are things that I will yell at you about. I'm a coach. I'm going to get on you but that's not what I want to be mad at. You can't see. That's my fault. I apologize for that.”

The powerful thing is that sometimes there's not a person that you need to apologize. You need to apologize to yourself because you've broken your promises. You have to admit that you didn't do what you said you were going to do. You have to apologize to yourself and say, “Phillip, I'm sorry that we keep screwing this up and we keep missing the mark on this thing.” You have to apologize so that then you can move on and move forward.

That's when you move into the analysis. I analyze Trey like, “This is where we are. This was his problem. What are we going to do about that? How am I going to get him out of the pocket on the road? How am I going to do these things where he can have clear throws? How am I going to make things more decisive for him? How am I going to do that?” I've got to analyze what I was doing wrong and then what we can change.

The final thing is to make the adjustment. You do it and make the necessary adjustments to whether you're talking about football, life, or whatever it is. When you keep that formula and live within that formula, it never stops. You're always admitting, apologizing, analyzing, and adjusting. When you stay in that formula, that's when you're going to get the best football team and family.

Sometimes there are people you need to apologize to, and sometimes it's yourself. No matter who you need to apologize to, analyzing the situation will help you make the necessary adjustments to become who you truly want to be.

I tell this story a lot but I remember it like it was yesterday. When my oldest daughter was probably five years old, I was trying to get her out of the house and she was taking so long. I was like, “Come on, let's go. We got to go. Hurry up, knucklehead.” I never will forget that she stopped and looked at me. She said, “I am not a knucklehead and don't you ever call me that again.” It was a God moment for me, honestly. I was like, “This is not my five-year-old talking to me.” This is something else. At that moment, you want to respond like, “I'll call you whatever I want to call you. Get your butt in the car.”

That's your ego taking over.

Here's the thing. At that moment, what I did was I stopped and admitted that it's not who I want to be. I don't want to be a dad who creates negative names for my kids. I remember right where I was in the living room. I got down on my knee where I could be eye to eye with her. I said, “You are right. You are not a knucklehead. I apologize. I will never call you that again.” I've never used those words ever again with any of my children.

It was a moment where I analyzed, “Why did I do this?” I'm going to do this because that's what people have called me. Whether parents, coaches, or teachers, you hear this phrase and it comes out. I analyze it. It comes from life but that's not who I want to be. What do I do? I made an adjustment. That's the power of having that moment to admit and apologize. Sometimes, there are people to whom you need to apologize. Sometimes it's yourself but no matter what, you have to apologize and analyze so that you can make the necessary adjustments to become who you want to be.

What would you call the four A's of coaching?

A change formula. It's the way to change. If you don't admit it, you don't have a shot. It's where it starts.

I've been on a clean-up of admitting, apologizing, analyzing, and adjusting. I've driven 5 hours 1 way to tell someone to forgive me for something I did 30 years ago to him. I'm not going to say what I did. He stayed in my head. This is something that happened in high school. I want this person out of my head. I did it wrong. He could have forgiven me. I don't know that but it's in my head. I haven't forgiven myself. For me to forgive myself, I felt like I had to apologize.

I drove 5 hours there and 5 hours back in a day to say, “I'm sorry. Forgive me for what I did.” It was during a football game. He was the opponent. After that pass, he went, “Greg, you'll never know what you've done for me. You've released something.” We both started crying and hugging each other. An apology, as my wife would say, is doing it right. My wife taught me about apology. You got to say what you did wrong.

I would just say, “I'm sorry.” She'd say, “No. It’s the wrong way to do it. You need to tell me what you did wrong, why it's wrong, and why you're not going to do that again.” Most of them, I walk off and go, “I can't deal with it.” She's trying to help me become a better person. As an inspirational leader, you can lead people to the water but all of them are not going to drink and it's okay but did you do the best you could for that person to get them to think about the possibilities of what they can't imagine?

They may be under some pressure that you may never know but our job as an inspirational leader is to get them to the water. If they drink it, that's up to them. As one of my mentors told me, “I love how you help people, Greg, but you got to know when someone's tearing another person, the team, the process, or the system down, you got to cut them.” You have to understand that.

For people reading this, you can feel like, “I've made so many mistakes. I'm so old. I'm past the point of change.” Here's what I would say. My father showed me it doesn't matter how old you are. You can change and become the best version of yourself. My dad gave me so much hope for my future because he has changed so much post-55. You have patterns and habits. It is deeply ingrained.

It doesn't matter how old you are. You can change and become the best version of yourself.

What did my dad do? My dad started reading different books, listening to different podcasts, understanding his personality, taking personality tests, and going on a personal growth journey post-55. My dad transformed into a human being. It's never too late to go on this growth journey and change. His change has inspired me, challenged me, and given me so much hope. It doesn't matter how long you've been a certain way. Change is always possible. For anybody struggling with, “I've been this way for so long,” it can change no matter how old you are.

My dad passed away. I was visiting one day and we got into a little bit of an argument and a debate. I left and it was all good. Probably an hour down the road, he calls me. This guy was 81 years old at that point. I'm probably in the wrong but we had a little debated issue. Nobody yelled and screamed at anybody. He called me and said, “Greg, I want to apologize to you. I was very close-minded to what you had to say. When you said it, I'm not listening to it. I apologize to you because I should listen. I can always learn something new.”

When I started bawling like a baby, I was probably 48 or 49 years old. How did he do that? Why would he do that? He didn't have to do that but I know why he did. He wants peace. Peace is not the absolute conflict in our society. It's the absolute conflict in our hearts and minds. Once you get the conflict out of my mind and heart, the impossible is possible. I know who inspired your dad. You did. He saw the impact that you're making on the world. He's saying, “That's my boy. I can do that.” You made it possible for him because of what you did. Not what you said but how you showed up every day.

You Got To Show Up

That's the name of this show. You got to show up. I don't know but I like that. That's a nugget for someone. Maybe it's 99% of showing up and being there. That's one of the things my dad taught me as a father. His father was an alcoholic who abused his mother. He didn't know what a dad was or what to say but he showed up. Coach, we're going to advance here. What would you tell your 21-year-old self?

Think Bigger

I would tell my 21-year-old self to think bigger. The world is so big. The possibilities are so endless. The challenge for me was that my world was small. I worked hard with a great work ethic. I believe the best about scenarios and situations. I was creating a positive outlook and all of those things but I didn't let the world be as big as it could have been. That for me would be the thing that I would say. You have to dream and think bigger.

I’ve lived a lot since 21. I've been to 30-something different countries of the world. It's still bigger than I've experienced but back then, I thought I'd probably never leave Louisiana. To break free from those limitations like beliefs, limiting mindsets, and things like, “What could I do? Who would want me on their team,” the world is so big and the opportunities are endless. Dream and think about it, and then go for it.

The world is so big, and the opportunities are endless. Dream about it, think it through, then go for it!

We're going to let you close this episode, coach. For everybody out there reading who is an inspirational leader, becomes an inspirational leader, or desires to be an inspirational leader, you don't need a title to be a leader. You just need to have the ability to influence people. You can be a leader when you're not a leader. Everybody's watching you. What are you teaching them? People do what they see, not what they're told to do. Wrap this up for us this episode, Mr. Phillip. What would be your advice to someone who is an inspirational leader, who's trying to be, who's overcoming, or who's struggling? What is your gift for everybody about how to be an inspirational leader?

You have to show up to grow up. You have to grow up to go up. That's sums it all up. You have to show up for people. You've got to be around and then growing. You have to be a person who is evolving and is in pursuit of excellence. You have to be a person that is resilient in these things. People are looking for that type of growth in your life. Why? They need you to go to the next level so that there is hope for them that they can go to the next level.

At the end of the day, if I don't have hope for a better future for myself, that my tomorrow can be better than my today, that I can be somebody different in my future than I've been in my path, then there is no chance I'm going to do what I need to do to get there because I don't think it's possible. Why am I going to make the sacrifices I need to make to get there?

Without hope for a brighter future, for a tomorrow better than today, for the chance to become someone new – if that hope is missing, then there's no way I'll take the necessary steps today. Why? Because I wouldn't believe it's possible.

I'm not going to do it if I don't have hope that I'm going to make it there. I've got to be able to see somebody that's doing it. The only way I can do it is to show up, be committed to growing up, and then go up so that other people can see they can do it too. That's the journey of leaders. That's what we want to do. We want to live in a way that inspires other people to go on that journey.

Coach, I got my five things. Show up to go up, show up to grow up, and pursue excellence, resiliency, and hope. That's what you told me. Coach, you've been an inspiration. I didn't tell the story about where I trusted you one time to help me get through an issue in my life. I trusted you because I knew I had to surrender to an issue. I chose you and I have no idea why I chose you.

Preparing for this episode, I've been thinking about why I chose you when I would have never chosen other people. Not that they've done anything wrong. It's something that you connected with my spirit of fear because I had a fear of rejection in my life and I chose you to help me through that. The question is, I got to tell everybody why I chose you coach. You get people to trust you because of who you are. You're genuine. You're Phillip. You show up and you're very consistent. You're consistent when you do something wrong and good. You're the same person.

Trey and Trent are telling me stories about you getting on their butt but two minutes later, you're the friend again because it's all about relationship building. I was sent to Shreveport, Louisiana to learn two things, how to build relationships and honor people. I got a lot out of Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Duran family's organizations. Those probably were the two biggest things.

I thank you for that and for being on the show. Let's show up to go up and grow up. Let's grow. Thank you, everybody, for reading. I hope you got your three things down. What's that one domino? You need one domino that'll knock all the other dominoes down for you in your personal and professional life and be the best version of yourself. Tune in next time. Thank you, Mr. Phillip.

Thank you.

Important Links

Phillip Deas - LinkedIn

Champion’s Mindset

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 06:02:48 GMT

My life is about equipping people with tools to help them and others Find Their Winning Edge. One of those tools is to embrace the mindset to Be Your Best!

There are three elements that inform this mindset:

1) Purpose drives our energy

2) Be relentless

3) Compete against yourself

1) Purpose Drives Our Energy

Our purpose is our “why”! Why do we do what we do? Does it matter? When what we do is what we care about, when our job is our passion, we will have seemingly unlimited reserves of fuel to drive us. The biggest day of our life was when we were born, but the most profound day is when we find out why we were born. When we are clear in our purpose, when we really care, we will be more energetic, those around us will feel our energy, and then everyone will be empowered to rise above their circumstances.

2) Be Relentless

Do you stop and groan or do you grow through adversity? The relentless, quite simply, do not quit. They may adjust, they may engage in tactical retreat, they may suffer losses, but the relentless are always moving forward. Whatever the circumstances, the ebbs and flows, leaders with this mindset always see a better day ahead. This mindset takes determination, for sure. But it also takes patience, discernment, and an understanding that defeats are temporary while improvement can be perpetual.

3) Compete Against Yourself

Do you believe that comparing yourself against others is productive? It can be useful to see what others are doing, either to learn new methods or to seek motivation. However, if this tends to de-motivate you or make you feel inferior--STOP! Remember, this is a competition against ourselves. Every night before you go to bed, ask yourself these questions: What did I learn? What did I overcome? Was I encouraging others? Am I better today than I was yesterday? This is about daily improvement done with intention, focus, and consistency, and it will create energy for everyone around us to feel secure to put forth their best effort.

Winning Edge would love to help you discover, develop, and deploy leaders with this mindset to help your team or company grow and build value in the marketplace.

Call me today 318-230-6481!

LET’S GROW!

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Find Your Winning Edge

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:58:32 GMT

My mission is to inspire you to Find Your Winning Edge in becoming an Inspirational Leader!

Module 10 of our inspirational leadership workshop, Take Another Step System, we discuss 4 mindsets that can and will help you Find Your Winning Edge!

I’m going to share with you four critical mindset mantras to help you Find Your Winning Edge. These mindsets are best exemplified in common phrases you’ve probably heard before, but I want you to read further and consider how these can impact you and others around you. They will create an EDGE for you, your family, your community, and team!

In the upcoming weeks and we will be discussing each of the following:

Be Your Best
Seize the Day
Make a Play
Be a Champion

Here’s a quick summary:

Be your best - Be the best version of yourself. Don’t try to be the best version of others. Only one person can be THE best, but only you can achieve YOUR best! This is a relentless pursuit of excellence. The knowledge of knowing that you will not achieve perfection is important. You need to have the passion to pursue your best and enjoy the journey along the way! Are you achieving your best?

Seize the day - The definition of seizing the day is taking authority and ownership today over all your issues, whether good or bad. Your rival is procrastination, which is caused by fear, doubt, and confusion. When fear, doubt, and confusion are eliminated, procrastination is defeated! Don't wait, take charge, seize the day--RIGHT NOW! What are you waiting for?

Make a play - In the pursuit of excellence, you must be able to make a play. How does someone make a play? A play is made when someone finds solutions to problems when there looks like there aren’t any. A playmaker is not reckless, but they do take calculated and intuitive risks to make sure their team is meeting goals and objectives. Are you a playmaker?

Be a champion - Only one person can be THE champion. How can you be A champion? Easy - you can choose to be one! You get to choose to live your best life, to make an impact, to leave your legacy on the hearts and spirits of those around you. To live this championship life, you must:

Be focused
Be Intentional
Be consistent
Win Through Adversity “WTA”

Not everyone will take this advice and change their mindsets. But what if just 1% did? Or 10%? And what if that small minority further inspired others? What a difference that would make!

The world needs more Inspirational Leaders!

Call me today and let’s discuss how I can help you discover, develop, and deploy more inspirational leaders. A wise man said the other day “The organization with the best leaders will win the game or battle”.

Allow me to be your “ WINGMAN ”!

Let's Grow!

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A Thanksgiving Mindset

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:52:54 GMT

A Thanksgiving mindset will increase your performance!

This Thursday what are you going to give thanks for?

Will you have a grateful heart for all the good things that exist in your life?

In 2012, I traveled approximately 130,000 miles. I was away all week from my wife and kids. My boys went through their senior years with me on the road. I was trying to make plays in my career, while also trying to stay connected with my boys and their big senior events, but I felt like I was missing out. Did I make it to all of them? No, but I did make it to most of them!

That year on the many nights away from home I would stand up and thank God for all the blessings that I had in my life. I did this simple thing as part of my routine for over a year. NIKE’s slogan says, Just do it. So, I did it! I am so glad I did because now my ability to manage stress has become easier. My stress management is not easy, just easier. The outcome was an attitude of gratitude for my family and what I have. I’m grateful that was the turning point that shifted my mindset to gratefulness and I’ve never looked back.

The Greater Good Science Center has research showing that gratitude is good for a person’s body, mind, and relationships. I understand being grateful in the midst of a problem, failure, abuse, or a pandemic is tough. In order to FIND YOUR WINNING EDGE, gratitude is something you should try because the rewards are two-fold.

The Greater Good for Science Center states that gratitude helps people:

1. Socially:

More forgiving

More outgoing

Feel less lonely and isolated

More helpful, generous, and compassionate

More willingly supported by others

2. Physically:

Stronger immune systems

Less bothered by aches and pains

Lower blood pressure

Lower risk of heart attacks

Take better care of their health

Sleep longer and better

3. Psychologically:

Higher levels of positive emotions

More alert, alIve, and awake

More joy and pleasure

More optimism and happiness

More resilient to stress

Based on all this research, what are some steps you can take to become grateful? If you are practicing these steps as part of your routine, then the steps will become a habit and habits will determine your future.

1. Wake up every morning and write down what you are grateful for.

2. When you become stressed and anxious - write down what you are grateful for.

3. Before you go to bed, write down what you are grateful for.

Let me know if you implemented these steps into your daily routine. How have you used the weapon of gratitude to help you fight your battles? Drop me an email to let me know!

Let’s Grow!

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KISS

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:47:35 GMT

The #KISS method will increase Performance!

“Keep it Simple” #KISS

A leader is a person who can inspire another to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, shows us 5 ways to inspire another person. Today we will discuss #4, The Kiss Method, Keep it Simple; last week we discussed I Got Your Back.

“The liberation of simplicity”.--Mark Rembert

Keep things simple for your people, and remember

complexity is the enemy of clarity.

In my 35+ years in business, the best leaders that I have seen are those who can take something complicated and make it simple! Your people will be energized and inspired when you can do that for them. Remember, each person has a different set of skills, experience, and level of education.

Three things to consider to Keep it Simple!

1.Choose the right person for the right task

2.Establish routines

3.Eat the elephant one bite at a time

1.Choose the right person for the right task
Our people have different strengths and weaknesses, varying aptitudes and deficits. It makes no sense to try to turn a salesman into a steelworker if their gifts do not align. So put people where they are the strongest, and their work will get done better while they feel better about doing it! By optimizing our people’s performance in this way, our entire operation will be more streamlined and simpler.

2. Establish routines
Routines are the conditions of sanity. If our people know what to do and are put in a position to repeat successful processes, then our organization will grow towards consistent excellence. How has McDonalds massive organization been so successful? By creating routines that can be duplicated at the store level. They are the living embodiment of consistency. And they can repeat their successes with an incomprehensibly diverse workforce—diverse in culture, in language, in skill level.

3. Eat the elephant one bite at a time!
Far too often in organizations, goals seem complicated and overwhelming to most (if not all) of the team. The GENIUS of a great leader is when they can break down large tasks or goals into simple pieces that can be understood by all. With this clarity your people will have confidence in themselves, trust their leadership, and they will be able to move forward and take another step.

One of the defining lessons I learned as a leader was that trying to make myself look smart by embracing complexity undermined my own leadership and helped no one. I have learned that my job is to make the complex simple so that we can all speak the same language and have a common understanding of our purpose. This will create an environment where the majority of people’s performance will improve!

Remember it is the job of the leader to create an environment where everyone can excel.

LET’S GROW!

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I Got your Back

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:42:56 GMT

In my early days in leadership, my company’s COO came striding into our department demanding to know why some yet-to-be-completed project remained undone. He focused on one of my teammates that reported to me and demanded answers. Instinctively, I stepped in and said, “Sir–she reports to me, and I am responsible for this area.” Though I wasn’t exactly sure how we were going to pull this off, I was absolutely certain that I needed to protect my teammate. The COO, perhaps a bit taken aback, simply replied, “Good! Get it done!” The person who I’d protected was grateful, and from that moment forward, she was one of my most loyal and productive teammates. I had shown her that I had her back, and from then on, she had mine!

Consider these 3 thoughts about #IGYB:

1. People are imperfect

We acknowledge that imperfection is a part of the human condition. Leaders understand that we will have problems. When a mistake inevitably happens, how do we deal with it? Do we explode? Rant and rave? Or, rather, do we see it as a coaching/teaching moment? Leaders who remain calm in these instances, using mistakes as a tool for growth, will convince their people that they "have their back". Great leaders want to create a fearless and orderly culture that empowers subordinates and facilitates their growth. With confidence in their leadership, they can think more, do more, and be more.

2. Accountability and Discipline

These are motivators if you have one ingredient: a trusting relationship. When the leader offers accountability and provides discipline, and the person receiving knows and feels that the leader has their best interest at heart, magic will happen. Having subordinates’ backs means that the leader will not allow them to perform at a level that is beneath their potential. The leader’s message is: you can do more, you can be more, and I will help you become more.

3. Exemplify your Freedom Mindset

We want our people to think and act freely. How can we get them to operate with this mindset? By cheering their efforts, not focusing exclusively on results. They must embrace our philosophy that success is not final, failure is not fatal, but not trying is certain death. But they will not feel truly free until they know that an undesirable outcome that happens when truly giving their best does not result in an adverse consequence to them—in short, that we have their back!

#IGYB is one of the most powerful tools that we can use to get people to trust us. Because once trUst is established, the electricity will be turned on for transformation of behavior and then everyone will follow suit and Take Another Step!

What are some good stories where someone had your back?

What are some horror stories where someone did not have your back?

It happens! Make sure you understand when you need to have someone’s back and make them feel safe. Then they will grow beyond their own imagination!

Let’s Grow!

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HOPE will Increase Performance!

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:38:25 GMT

A leader is a person who can inspire another to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, shows us 5 ways to inspire another person. Today we will discuss #2, HOPE!

A few weeks ago we discussed #1, TRUST.

How do you know if someone has HOPE? They will understand that they can become better than their current situation. They have energy and a desire to grow. People with no hope are desperate people who believe that they have no control of their outcome. They will act out of doubt and frustration. They can be destructive in nature with no idea that they can move forward. When we build hope into another person, they will first never forget that you helped them find themselves. They will be loyal to you, and they will be able to make a difference for your organization. This will eventually help you and your organization stop quiet quitting and turnover!

So here are four ways to produce HOPE in another person

H—Help them unconditionally

People want to know how much you care before they care about how much you know. Your expectations for them are for them to have growth daily!

O—Overcome problems with a smile and with calm

Lead by example. Hope is knowing the end of the story and that everything is going to be okay!

P—Provide ideas and solutions to help others with their problems

Trials create perseverance. Perseverance produces character. Character produces HOPE!

E—Encourage everyone all day long

Be each person’s biggest fan! Sing their song! Hope comes with having a purpose. Help them find their purpose!

Are you giving your people HOPE? It would be beneficial to you and your company if you did! What are some ways that you build hope to inspire a person towards them becoming the best version of themselves? Sit and discuss with your team and I guarantee it will shock you of the ideas that they will come up with!

Hope is a game-changer!

Let’s Grow!

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TRUST is the Electricity to High Performance

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 01:16:08 GMT

A leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, shows us five ways to inspire another person.

Today we will discuss #1. TRUST!

Trust is the electricity of inspiration which will lead to high performance or transformation of behavior! Without it, you have nothing but quiet quitting and a revolving back door.

Stephen Covey argues in his bestselling book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, that trust is the #1 human motivation. It brings out the very best in people, but it takes time and patience.

Well, what does TRUST mean? We like to think of it as when a person fully depends or relies upon someone else’s character and/or abilities to help them achieve their goals and dreams.

So, how do you get your people to trust you?

By you and your leaders serving your teammates by doing the following:

1. Spending Time On People (S.T.O.P)

2. Believing in them

3. Communicating clearly

4. Speaking words of life into them

5. Listening to understand not to reply

6. Fulfilling your commitments

7. Being with them when they go through something insurmountable in their life “BE THERE”

8. Being vulnerable—let them know you are human, and don’t be afraid to admit your mistakes

9. Considering how my behavior affects them–in ways both good and bad

10. Being authentic

I recently asked one of my past directors that reported to me, what from this list did I do well for you? #2 Believing in him. Then I asked, where did I struggle the most? #3 Communicating clearly

People must see patience, calmness and concern, while LEADERS are taking ACTION on the above items.

Once your people see these behaviors in you and your leadership on a consistent basis over time, they will start to lean on you and trust your judgment. Then they will be more productive taking care of customers, teammates, and the company itself. The excellence with which they perform their work will eventually flow into their household and impact their whole family!

Let’s Grow!

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The Formula to Ignite HIGH PERFORMERS!

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 01:08:39 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we will focus with laser-like intensity on the most important leadership concept we know: inspiration. . Remember, a leader is a person who can inspire another person to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

So how do you inspire someone? Let’s take a look at John Maxwell’s inspiration formula:

I nspiration = Know + See + Feel

When leaders genuinely connect to their people’s heart and spirit, those around them feel valued and truly a part of the organization, and they will be inspired to take that journey that they would not make by themselves.

You will make this connection through the 3 following ways:

1) How do you make people feel?

2) What do they see you do?

3) What do they know about you?

Let’s Discuss!

1)How do you make people feel?

Think about the most impactful people in your life. How did they make you feel? What did they do to get you to feel great about yourself? People will remember more about how you made them feel than what you did or didn’t do for them. Take those life experiences, and find the leverage to be better for the people around you. We can take the good and bad and turn it into fuel for our family, people, and community. Leave this place better than you found it. When we intentionally and consistently think in this way, we can inspire everyone around us to take another step.

This was probably my greatest failure in leadership–I thought feelings were for losers! Boy, was I wrong! How you make people feel is the biggest part of inspiring others to trust you. And it is trust that catalyzes and transforms behavior.

2) What do they see you do?

People hear what you do, not what you say. I can hear my mother reminding my dad, “Those boys are watching you!” It has been said that our conscious mind can handle around 4,000 bytes of information per second, whereas our unconscious mind, through all of our senses, can process around 4 BILLION bytes per second. Whatever the actual number, the unconscious mind functions as a supremely powerful computer. Therefore, we must bring intentional focus with purpose to our daily behavior and actions so we can increase our probability of inspiring them to become better!

3) What do they know about you?

For people to know us we must be open about our successes, failures, and experiences. What do you want those around you to know? What parts of your life can serve to inspire? At the proper time, and having developed a trusting relationship, we can share our true story—our triumphs and vulnerabilities. We can invite others into the hard lessons that we have learned, so that they can be better equipped for our common struggles. When those around us know, see, and feel that we are genuinely offering ourselves, then everyone will be inspired around us to be their best version of themselves.

Do you want to increase the performance of your team?

This is your formula! Now, it is up to you!

LET’S GROW!

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Freedom = Everything to Gain, Nothing to Lose

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 01:01:57 GMT

Happy 4th of July!

I recently came across a profound definition of freedom that left me in awe. It goes like this:

“Freedom is when a person is in a priceless position where

they have “everything” to gain and nothing to lose.

Our amazing founders boldly broke free from their constraints, taking a tremendous risk to choose freedom. They adopted a mindset where they had everything to gain and nothing to lose!

Do you feel weighed down by past limitations, self-imposed restrictions, or the expectations of others?

Here are three perspectives on freedom that have guided me on my journey to becoming the best version of myself:

Freedom of Thought
Freedom of Choice
The Freedom Pass

1. Freedom of Thought

We become what we think about. God has given us the most powerful thing in the universe - which is our mind. This is our most important resource. Our founders tapped into this power. They were well aware of how their thoughts impacted their life. They understood and believed that they could change their thoughts, which would eventually change their behavior, which would change the trajectory of their new life in America. Once we understand that we have the POWER and we are in control, this will set us free and inspire us all to take another step.

2. Freedom of Choice

The understanding that we have the freedom of choice is a foundational factor in our becoming the best version of ourselves. We are the sum total of all the choices that we have made. Whatever we have chosen up to this point, today we have the power to chart any course we wish. Though we may regret some of our choices, we never lose the ability to make new choices going forward. Our founders of America understood this principle.

3. The Freedom Pass

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but not trying is certain death. If you never try, you automatically fail. Until I understood this myself, I was shackled by the notion that defeats were final and successes were permanent. Once those shackles were removed, I had the freedom to learn, grow, and truly pursue excellence. I came to envision this as a literal freedom pass that I gave myself. This pass has allowed me to navigate through many peaks and valleys of life with a clear vision and steady rudder. By allowing ourselves the freedom to grow, we will see new opportunities just like our founders did!

The freedoms gifted to us by our founders have empowered us to think, choose, and pursue our dreams with action. As Americans, we will forever be grateful for their invaluable contributions.

So go out there, embrace the mindset of having "everything to gain and nothing to lose," and experience true freedom!

Happy 4th of July!

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Let’s Get Real! Solving the Top 3 Business Problems

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:57:59 GMT

What are your main problems in business today? There are three that keep coming up in my discussions with leaders across industries:

Quiet Quitting
Turn and Burn of Human Capital
Toxic Leadership

How can we solve these problems?

We invest our time in developing great leaders!

So how do we do this?

First, let’s make clear what leadership is not:

Perfection
Making sure everyone else happy
Seeing people as the problem
Barking out orders
Blaming your teammates for failure
A title
Ruling over relationships
A position in an organizational chart
Management - we manage processes, we lead and inspire people.

If these things are not leadership, then what is?

Leadership is Inspirational, plain and simple
Leadership is Connectivity
Leadership is Situational
Leadership is Building a Cohesive Team
Leadership is Ownership
Leadership is more than asking for a certain result. It is leading through a process to obtain a result
Leadership is Performance Management
Leadership is Being a Thermostat
Leadership is Leading by Example - A quiet leader
Leadership is the Ability to Provide a Growth Mindset Culture

So how would you define a leader?

Write down your definition.

At WInning Edge, we define a leader as follows:

A LEADER is a person who can INSPIRE another person to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

The leadership process is very complicated and has a lot of ambiguity to it. Winning Edge teaches leaders, whatever their relative experience or skill level, to grow themselves and grow their people. The mission of our WINNING EDGE is to GET BETTER at customer satisfaction, teammate satisfaction, and making money.

LET’S GROW!!

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Find Your Wings Lessons from a Father

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 01:04:48 GMT

My father died three years ago, and I miss him daily. His own father was inadequate in many ways, but my dad made the choice not to carry that legacy forward, but rather to build a new one. Some of you may have had excellent fathers. Some may have had experiences similar to my dad’s. In either case I hope this encourages you to create the solid ground that your kids need to FIND THEIR WINGS, so they can fly!

This is my tribute to all the dads out in the world today. A dad has many identities, a friend, an uncle, a grandparent, an older brother, and especially an adoptive parent (my heroes)!

Barack Obama, in his 2008 Father’s Day speech , offered the following statistics:

Kids without a father in their house are:

5x more likely to live in poverty and commit crime.
9x more likely to drop out of school.
20x more likely to end up in prison.
They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves.

What’s the bottom line? We all need a dad!

I am going to speak from my experience of failing, learning, and growing into an improving parent. We will never be perfect, but we can surely GROW!

Check out Mark Harris’ “Find Your Wings” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXofFc3BBpA

This lovely song encapsulates my journey, from a self-interested parent to one that truly understands that my life is to inspire my kids!

I learned through this song that my job is to help them FIND THEIR WINGS. As my wife told me for years, “It is their life and dreams, not yours”. I finally got it, and I am so thankful I realized this while my kids were still young. There was still time for me to rehabilitate my relationship with them, to heal the wounds that I had created with my excessive demands and failure to build the bonds of trust.

As I set out to rectify my mistakes, I came to understand that a key part, perhaps the key part, of the healing process was to ask for my wife and kids’ forgiveness. This call to forgiveness, the admission of my own frailty, was both scriptural and practical. I believe this is what God commanded me to do, and it worked! I cited specific examples of things I’d done wrong, and I took visible steps towards changing course. I am beyond grateful that they all forgave me, and our lives are richer to this day for their grace. Especially mine!

It doesn’t matter where you are on your fatherhood journey, start where you are and help your kids FIND THEIR WINGS!

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Can You Inspire Growth?

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:59:03 GMT

In the tenth of our ten leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: Leadership is the ability to provide a growth mindset culture.

Consider this quote from Simon Sinek:

“The role of a leader is not to come up with all the great ideas. The role of the leader is to create an environment in which great ideas can happen.”

Is your organization’s mindset encouraging others to think outside the box to find solutions?

For us to develop a growth mindset culture, we must:

1) Be a life-long learner

How does your organization establish higher sustainability, competitiveness, profitability, and wins? John Maxwell states, “Leadership and personal development compounds. The more you invest in people and the longer you do it, the greater the growth and the higher the return.” Leadership must be concerned with human development, but they must 1st recognize each individual’s capacity to learn. Continuous learning takes many different forms. These include: critical life experiences, failures, reading books, and structured classroom training. These are all effective methods of education. When an organization can capture these moments, and leverage them for growth, then everyone will take another step.

2) Understand that failure is an opportunity for growth

Thomas Edison said it this way, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.” Edison failed over 7,000 times inventing the light bulb. Our reaction to failure (and our people’s perception of that reaction) is critical in shaping the culture we desire. Instead of fleeing difficult issues, with the fear of failure minimizing their abilities, we want our people to run toward challenges with boldness, confident that leadership will have their back. Once our team knows that failure is not fatal, we will all be more focused and determined to take another step.

3) Encourage open and candid conversations (Safe Harbor)

Do your people feel free to speak their opinion in a respectful manner? For us to maximize our team’s abilities in challenging times, we must have mutual trust, which will allow us to have constructive and balanced conversations. Everyone must be willing to listen to those around them with an open mind and heart. The best ideas will be a collection of the team’s thoughts. It is our job as the leader to create this environment. Therefore, when you can harness people’s passion and intelligence, with candid, trusting conversations, something will ignite in their spirit, and everyone around us will take another step.

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In Honor Of Momma!

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:54:07 GMT

If you are like me, you need someone to remind you of certain important dates. Anniversaries, birthdays, and, yes, Mother’s Day.

In honor of Mother’s day, I would like to celebrate my mother and the beautiful life she has created -right NOW! So many times in life we regret not telling someone how they made us feel or what they have done for us. I have encouraged many of my clients (and myself, as well) to write letters to the most important people in their lives—to make sure that the things that matter don’t go unsaid.

On my 40th birthday, I wrote my parents a letter. As I had grown in age and perspective, I took stock of my successes and failures, my triumphs and mistakes. And there had been plenty of mistakes! I wanted my parents to know how grateful I was for them, for their leadership, for the way that they had allowed me to become who I was on that day. By their example, they had modeled a life of honor and faithfulness. I did not always follow their example. But I learned, and I emerged a better father and husband for the journey. I was grateful then, and I wanted to let my parents know. I am even more grateful today.

To honor my mom, here are 25 of her sayings that have had the greatest impact on me:

MOMMA SAYS:

Don’t cry over spilled milk – clean it up!
Learn to love what you have to do, because you will do more of that in your lifetime than what you want to do. (For the record, this is my favorite of all of my mom’s quotations!)
You can do anything you want, if you are willing to work for it.
Guilty by association.
When you go somewhere and leave, make sure you leave it better than when you got there.
NO complaining and no whining.
NO gossiping.
NO bad mouthing anyone including your enemies.
Forgive and forget.
Don’t say: “I can’t do that.” You can do whatever you put your mind to.
Can’t never could do anything.
Personal accountability – Your behavior - Your consequence.
If you want to play or work, you have to do what your coach/authority tells you to do.
Punishment must fit the crime (action).
NO excuses – PERIOD!
Pick up after yourself.
Loafing at work is like stealing from your employer.
Can’t do what you want to, until you do what you have to.
Believe 0% of what you hear and believe about 50% of what you see; and use your own information and discernment to make decisions.
IF it’s got to be it is up to me – GET IT DONE!
Never say Never!
Everything rises and falls on leadership (parents)!
Can’t fix a problem until you own it!
What you sow is what you reap – gardening for life!
Just like the famous quote by Henry Ford, my MOMMA used to say, “If you think you can you are right! If you think you can't, you are right! YOUR CHOICE!

I hope that these words of wisdom build hope and courage in your heart and spirit to be the best version of yourself.

If you have a favorite saying that your Mom said to you, please share them with me.

Good parenting is the foundation of a civil society!

I will continue to celebrate my momma throughout the year and all the days of her life!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY — MOM!

Let’s Grow!

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Are You A Quiet Leader?

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:47:11 GMT

In the ninth of our ten leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: Leadership is Leading by example

Some things to consider:

Telling someone is far less powerful than showing them!

People believe what they see!

People do what they see!

What would your kids or associates say about you? We must be aware of how our behavior affects those around us, because people are watching. I can hear Momma telling Dad, “Those boys are watching you.”

For us to lead by example we need 3 components:

1) Competence

2) Vulnerability

3) Consistency

Competence

We, as leaders, must know how to do the right things, at the right time . When presented with challenges, we will model the G.A.M.E. problem-solving method. Where we G ather information, A nalyze it, M ake a plan, and E xecute that plan, then monitor and make the necessary adjustments. We must have the knowledge and the courage to model this behavior. People will do what they see, not what they hear. Once our people know, see, and feel that they can follow our example and trust it, then everyone can turn their fears into fuel and take another step.

Vulnerability

Do you allow your people to see you make mistakes? Do you admit when you are wrong? When someone is following us, and we fail, then they watch how we handle the problem. At that point, we have a great opportunity to teach a lesson in that failure. This is when competence and consistency come together in confidence, because we know that the moment that failure happens, a great learning tool has been created. The leader’s message is clear: “We do not fail here. We only learn and grow!” Once people see their leader’s being vulnerable, fear of failure will diminish, and everyone will be inspired to take another step

Consistency

What are the benefits when leaders are consistent in their behavior? When we are consistent, the expectations of those around us are more clear. Therefore, our team will know the rules, know the opportunities, know the limitations, and know the rewards. Our teams will experience less stress, more productivity, and more satisfaction. The consistent leader offers a solid foundation where those around them can grow. This allows good habits to be created and our people’s habits will determine our future.

As John Maxwell says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Leading by example is a powerful tool to inspire everyone to take another step.

Are you leading by example? I would love to hear your success stories on how you lead by example and how it is getting you results or overcoming obstacles by using this concept.

If you would like to discuss how you or you and your team can become great role models, call me at 318-230-6481 or email me at greg@findyourwinningedge.com .

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Can You Be A Thermostat?

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:39:11 GMT

In the eighth of our ten leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: Leadership is being a THERMOSTAT!

A thermostat is a device that controls the heating and cooling of equipment. Being a thermostat leader means that you can set the tone, mindset, and temperature of your team by embracing these 3 things:

1.Temperament and Discernment

2.Trusting Relationships

3.Conflict Management

Temperament and Discernment

You cannot be a thermostat for someone else until you can be one for yourself. These two traits will establish our ability as a leader to control our own emotions, allowing us to find and focus on reality. One of the most important things that any leader must do is to find the truth and reality of each situation. Not allowing ourselves to be emotionally hijacked gives us the mental strength to discern the truth and find solutions to our problems. Once everyone sees that their leadership is clear and calm, then everyone will feel the security to allow them to grow in any circumstance.

To be a thermostat for others, we must first learn to regulate our own emotions. When you are able to regulate your own emotions as a leader, you are able to find and focus on reality. A key responsibility of leadership is to find the truth and reality of every situation. By not allowing ourselves to be emotionally hijacked, we are able to maintain mental clarity and strength, discern the truth, and develop solutions for any challenge. When our leadership is calm and decisive, it allows a sense of security that empowers everyone to grow and thrive, regardless of the circumstances.

Trusting Relationships

Just as a thermostat is connected to the machine it regulates, so, too, does trust connect us to the people that we lead. Trust can be established by connecting to people on a personal basis, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positive, and being present with them by giving them your full attention. Once people trust us, they will gain a sense of security and they will become more apt to tackle their most difficult challenges together. Trust helps everyone to take another step. Once trust is established, fears will turn into fuel, and then everyone will be inspired.

Similar to how a thermostat is connected to the machine it regulates, trust connects us to the people we lead. We can establish trust by connecting with people on a personal level, speaking words of life into them, amplifying the positive, and giving them our undivided attention. When people trust us, they feel secure and become more apt to tackle their toughest challenges as a team. Trust enables everyone to take another step forward. Once trust is established, fears transform into fuel, and everyone feels inspired to achieve their goals.

Conflict Management

Are you a peacemaker? A simple proverb that epitomizes the peace process is: soft words turn away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. So how do we resolve conflict?

P. E. A. C. E.

P lan a peace conference--go with love and understanding.

E mpathize with their feelings; listen to understand not to reply.

A ttack the problem, not the person.

C ooperate--if you are wise, you will compromise.

E mphasize reconciliation--reestablish the relationship.

Prioritizing these things will help the leader control the emotions, focus, and determination in a culture bombarded by any type of circumstance. Once our people know that we value our relationship with them, even in negative or ambiguous circumstances, energy will skyrocket, and everyone will take another step.

Love to hear your success stories of being a thermostat at home or at work!

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Leading is complicated…….. NOT! It is as easy as ABC!

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:32:56 GMT

In the seventh of our ten leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: Leadership is Performance Management.

What is the key to increasing the performance of our people? The best way to manage performance is to employ the A-B-C model . In this, we examine A ntecedents (what comes before a behavior), the B ehavior itself, and the C onsequences (that which follows the behavior). By shaping A ntecedents (training, setting expectations, etc.), and by applying C onsequences (positive or negative), we can increase desired behaviors and reduce undesired ones.

A-B-C Model

Antecedent
Behavior
Consequence

➡️ The 1st step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is the Antecedent.

This is what takes place before the behavior. In an organizational setting, this generally consists of training, setting expectations, and laying out goals. This is most impactful when we, as leaders, take time to know our people, their learning styles, their personalities, family histories, educational backgrounds, and their significant emotional experiences. When we devote sufficient attention to this process, everyone around us will have more clarity and be more effective. When our people start to know, see, and feel that we are properly preparing them to do their job, their fears will recede, and their passion will increase.

➡️ The 2nd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is the Behavior.

In simple terms, behavior is what people do. It can be seen, it can be tracked, and it can be measured. While there are many influences on behavior, what we can control is the expectations and preparations (the antecedent). Likewise, we also control the consequences (what comes after the behavior--positive or negative). By being clear in our expectations and consistent in our consequences, we will shape the behavior of those around us and move closer to the outcomes we want. When we, as leaders, focus on behavioral outcomes that benefit everyone, then we will all be empowered to take another step.

➡️ The 3rd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is the Consequence.

What keeps the right behavior going? Positive consequences! What stops the bad behavior? Negative consequences! Antecedents get us going, but consequences keep us going. We can classify consequences in 3 ways: 1) positive or negative 2) immediate or delayed 3) certain or uncertain. To optimize behavior a person must be given the proper antecedent, must then perform the desired behavior, and then must be given a “PIC” – Positive Immediate Certain consequence. We must also make sure that the person receiving the PIC perceives the action to be positive. Once people around us understand that behavior has consequences to them, good and bad, then, and only then, will they take another step.

This defined A-B-C analysis process gives our people and their leader the tools to manage behavior, takes the emotion out of it, and allows them to be the best version of themselves. It is almost a guarantee that our people’s desired performance will go up and the undesired will go down and everyone around us will take another step.

Trust the Process! What IS the Process?

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 22:54:04 GMT

The sixth of our ten leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop is Trust the Process!

Leadership is more than asking for a certain result.

It is leading through a PROCESS to obtain a result.

Are you tired of giving the same directions repeatedly? Are you frustrated that tasks are not carried out to your expectation? Everyone in leadership has felt this. Two decades ago, I figured out that leadership is an endless process. WE have broken down this process into 10 steps. These steps are systematic, intentional, and will help guide our people, no matter their current level of performance. We will employ consequences, both positive and negative, to shape our people’s ultimate destiny.

The 10 steps are as follows:

Can they do the job?
Do they want to do the job?
Are they going to be coachable and humble?
How long will they stay?
Preparation
Set expectations
Hold them accountable
Demand Excellence
Reward and recognize
Discipline and terminate, if all else fails

1.Hiring the Best (Steps 1-4)

It all begins with the hiring process. Who do you allow on your team? We must hire the best fit for our organization. Before we allow someone in the door, we must ask ourselves 4 questions. 1) Can they do the job? 2) Do they want to do the job? 3) Are they going to be coachable and humble? 4) How long will they stay? An open and thorough interview process is where a trusting relationship begins. Once our people see the effort that we invest in finding the right people, then everyone will be engaged in growing themselves and the organization.

2. Developing the Best (Step 5-8)

To build a culture of achievement, we must prepare and train our people, set expectations for them, hold them accountable every day, and demand excellence. When we give our people the capacity to do their job, hold them accountable for their current behavior, and set well-defined expectations for their future performance, everyone in the organization will have clarity as to their role and the steps they must take to excel in their position.

3. Keeping the Best (Steps 9-10)

What is the end game of this process – consequences! When our people are doing good things, we need to immediately reinforce that behavior for maximum impact. This requires intention. It is very easy to take good performance for granted. Conversely, when someone’s behavior needs improvement, we need to discipline them out of concern for their well-being and the longevity of their employment. If discipline fails to change behavior, termination may become necessary (get your HR Dept. involved!). Leadership is hard, because sometimes we must terminate the bad ones to motivate the good ones. When our people see behavior being appropriately rewarded and discouraged, then everyone will be determined to take another step.

Stop being frustrated, let the process set you free, and then everyone will take another step.

I would love to hear your stories on how the process helped you build the best version of your people.

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Leadership is Ownership

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 22:47:21 GMT

Do you want to be a leader? Can you take ownership of the results?

The fifth of Winning Edge’s 10 leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop is Leadership is Ownership.

As a conniving child, when my Mother would discipline me, I would always deflect, often blaming others for my own behavior. She always said in a loving tone, “Greg, you have to own your own behavior before you can ever fix it.” This simple lesson is embedded in every aspect of Winning Edge’s teaching.

So when inspirational leaders take ownership of their team’s results, good or bad, their teammates and others will see their character and be inspired to take a journey that they would not otherwise have taken by themselves.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways for a leader to embrace ownership:

1) Personal accountability

2) Begin with the end in mind

3) Protect your people

1. Personal accountability

Can you take ownership of something if you do not hold yourself accountable? Absolutely not! Personal accountability is an attitude of continually asking what I myself can do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire. Accountability is also a process-one of seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. It is a perspective that focuses on current and future efforts, rather than the past. This will create a sense of strength in us as leaders, allowing us to be unafraid to admit our mistakes.

2. Begin with the end in mind

What inspires a person to take ownership? Strong leaders have a clear picture of their destination. They find peace and strength in knowing where they have been, where they are currently, where they are going, and they have an understanding of the necessary steps to take to reach the destination. Focus, courage, consistency, and inspirational leadership skills will give us all, as strong leaders, the necessary means to stand firm and own the process. We will be confident and determined in reaching the destination.

3. Protect your people

Can you achieve your goals by yourself? Our people are our most important asset, and we need to treat them as such. We must put the right people in the right place doing the right things. Effective leaders must show their people that they care about them—about their time, their health, their work-life balance, their integrity—in short, in all of the aspects that comprise a person in full. The leaders that influenced me the most were the ones who helped me appreciate and internalize these principles. When it is obvious to our people that we are holding ourselves accountable, moving towards the end game, genuinely caring about them, and helping them remove all barriers, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

I would love to hear your success stories on how when you took ownership in something you could better manage and make it the best possible.

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Leadership is Building a Cohesive Team

Mon, 27 Feb 2023 23:19:54 GMT

Do you want to be a leader? Can you build a cohesive team?

The fourth of Winning Edge’s 10 leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: Leadership is Building a Cohesive Team.

For all of the championship teams I have been on, I quickly learned that I had to surrender my interests and submit to the team’s greater goals. To do so, I had to trust my leadership. So how can you , as a leader, get your team to trust that you and your processes will lead them to better outcomes for everyone?

For us to build our cohesive team (our “Dream Team”, if you will), we need 3 ingredients:

Functionality
Attention to Relationships
Buy-in

Consider this from Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” For your team or organization to come together, stay together, and then grow together, the following 3 ingredients will be vital; connecting the heart and spirit of your people together to be their very best in a team environment. Once everyone understands that they are an integral part of the team, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

1. Functionality

First, leaders must build systems and processes that work. Then they must put the right people in the right places to maximize performance. When teammates are placed in roles best suited to their skills, they will become more confident, more effective, and more invested in group outcomes. With the right inspirational leadership driving the process, the organization then has the capacity to grow and adapt through changing circumstances. With functionality as our foundation, your team will grow and thrive.

2. Attention to Relationships

The most effective leaders have nurtured and developed positive relationships with those around them. They have shown their people through words and deeds that they care about them and that they are interested in their well-being. They are not just working on improving the organization’s outcomes, but also focusing on the benefit of the individual. When leaders meet their people right where they are - not in a place where they wish them to be - that is where relationships are formed. Once our people know, see, and feel that we genuinely care for them, then their fears will be turned into fuel, and our team will be truly cohesive.

3. Buy-in

Has your team fully “bought in”? Do you have a clear mission and core values that people can embrace? People have an innate longing to be connected to something bigger than themselves. We must intentionally tap into this desire and they will get on the proverbial bus. When everyone is on board, there will be less stress, less friction, more common purpose, and the bus will travel faster and smoother. When everyone has settled in their minds and hearts that they are “all-in”, then everyone will be focused and determined to take another step.

Find your winning edge today by becoming a stronger leader and building a cohesive team within your family, your company, and your community, IN THAT ORDER.

I love to hear your success stories on how you are becoming a strong leader and building a cohesive team within the world around you!

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Leadership is Situational

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 23:06:05 GMT

Want to be a leader? Are you up to being a situational leader?

The third of Winning Edge’s 10 leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop is: #3: Leadership is Situational

When I think about situational leadership, I often reflect on an episode from my days as a young leader. I was managing a warehouse, and I was excited about the changes that we were making to streamline our organization. I gathered my warehouse team and began complimenting them one by one with my voice, becoming increasingly louder and more energized. I was motivated by their success and I was making an effort to motivate them in turn. After I’d been speaking (yelling) for a bit, I noticed one of my best workers had slipped behind a rack, out of my sight. After I finished “encouraging” my team, I sought him out, and I found him in tears. It turned out that he had come from an abusive home and the abuse he endured would start with yelling and end in physical abuse. The trauma from those experiences persisted to that day. My intention was to motivate and encourage but I quickly realized the technique I was using hoping to motivate had the opposite effect on this good and decent man. I had to adapt.

Once I understood what shaped this teammate's perspective, I modulated my tone, I spoke to him in a way that he would accept and I showed him that I cared and understood his value. Had I not adapted to this complex leadership challenge, I would have lost this man.

As I think back on that story, I find that it encapsulates all three of the aspects of situational leadership that we are discussing today:

1. People

2. Circumstances

3. Culture

1) People

Do the things you say impact everyone the same way?

Everyone has different personalities, family experiences, education, experiences, and emotional responses. These different personalities, experiences, etc. directly inform how we view the world around us. When we engage with others from the perspective of their reality it is easier to use discernment to steer others toward the best personal and professional outcomes. We must develop a plan to balance everyone’s perception, so that the foundational floor of our organization remains solid. This means you must first develop a relationship/ build trust with those you are leading; see Rule #1.

2) Circumstances

How can we fully understand and surpass the circumstances of any situation?

In any situation there will be controllable and uncontrollable circumstances. An effective leader learns to look at all of these conditions with a hard-eyed appraisal to first determine which of the circumstances are which: controllable or uncontrollable. The next goal is to maximize the response to the controllable circumstances and minimize the effect of the uncontrollable. In doing so, leaders can navigate any situation and arrive at the best outcomes despite the difficulties or circumstances. With a focus on practicality, people will be encouraged to turn their fears into fuel to take another step.

3) Culture

Leaders must understand what their organization is and what they want it to be—its values, its ethics, its mission, its character. These are what comprise an organization’s culture. It’s important for leaders to understand that in order to keep a company strong and growing they must make decisions that align with their company’s culture. Decisions, no matter how small, that undermine the desired culture, can have a long lasting negative impact. When leaders take the time to properly consider their values and the values of their company, those around them will notice the care and concern, and will come together to take another step.

Leaders who take the time to understand the people they are leading, to determine what’s controllable and then use the culture of the company as a basis for decision making will be freed of biases and energized to find the best solution for the situation.

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Want to be a leader? Can you connect to people?

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 23:25:39 GMT

In the second of our ten Leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop: #2 Leadership is Connectivity

Consider this from John Maxwell: “Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership. Connectivity is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential.”

To do that at your absolute best, you must learn to connect.

S.T.O.P .

S pend T ime O n P eople!

Winning Edge has found 3 ways to connect to your people:

Listen and Find Common Ground
Establish Credibility
Make it Personal

1) Listen and Find Common Ground

My best leaders have asked questions about ME , not just about my performance. They took the time to listen to me as a whole person, which allowed us to learn about one another on a deeper level than merely as employer-employee. By spending that time, my leaders and I were able to discover areas of mutual interest and understanding, which allowed us to nurture a relationship based upon trust. When we find common ground, we ease the burdens of our differences and place our value on our similarities, thus increasing trust and reducing tension.

2) Establish Credibility

Can you connect with someone who you do not believe in? Of course not! So how do we establish credibility with those around us? We must be honest about our strengths and weaknesses, right our wrongs, hold ourselves accountable, live what we believe, tell the truth, get results, and treat people as if they could change our lives - even the people that we think cannot help us. We must live our lives like we are being videotaped daily. People are inspired by what they know, see, and feel about us.

3) Make It Personal

Our people must know that we care about them, not merely for what they can do for us, but more importantly, because they have inherent value as human beings. We will show this in our tone, our words, and by demonstrating that we are interested in their lives beyond the workplace. When we connect with their heart, we can have an honest dialogue around two questions:

1) Am I, the leader, helping you to be your best?

2) What else can I do to help you be your best?

When your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed, and they will be influenced to Take Another Step.

What are some of the most successful ways that you have connected to your people?

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What is Leadership?

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 23:38:37 GMT

The first of Winning Edge’s 10 leadership concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop is: #1: Leadership is inspiration, plain and simple.

Winning Edge defines a leader as one who can inspire others to take a journey that they would not take by themselves. People are emotional beings and effective leaders must tap into their heart (does anybody care for me) and spirit (connect me to something bigger than myself) to inspire their greatness.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways to inspire another person:

Build Trust
I Got Your Back
Reward and Recognize

1. Build Trust

It has been said that trust is the #1 human motivator, and I agree! Think about it. Can a leader that you do not trust motivate you? Of course not! So how do we build trust in our people? By connecting with them on a personal and professional level, believing in them, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positives, listening to understand, not to reply, being with them through life’s challenges, being vulnerable, and fulfilling your commitments to them.

2. I Got Your Back

Do your teammates know that you have their back? Correcting behavior is a complicated process. We must get someone to understand that we are changing their behavior out of love and concern for their well-being. The person being corrected must know, see, and feel their leader “has their back”. Then, correction with a relationship will equal direction. Without a relationship, the same attempt at correction will likely turn into rebellion. The coaching behavior process is tough, but profound when done with the right heart and attitude. Get your people to feel and understand that you have their back through your actions and their experiences with you, and magic will happen.

3. Reward and Recognize

According to Stephen Covey, all people have certain psychological needs. We all need to be understood, affirmed, validated, and appreciated. We must recognize each person as a special gift from God–because they are! There is one, and only one, way to do this, and that is to S.T.O.P. and Spend Time On People. To a busy leader, this can seem to be an insurmountable challenge, but it is an absolute necessity. Your people will not know that you understand their inherent value as human beings until you invest your time in them.

When leaders make the intangible connection of their heart and spirit, those around them feel valued and truly a part of the organization. People that genuinely feel this way about their team will be called, inspired, and liberated to take another step.

I would love to hear about how you inspire your people to be the very best that they can be!

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Your Winning Edge! “Relentless”

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 12:11:33 GMT

A huge part of our daily conversation is about success–being better than before, being our best, overcoming adversity, and so on. In other words, we talk about winning–and we define winning in meaningful and achievable ways. Hence, our name–Winning Edge!

As we self-analyze, we may feel that we have certain strengths that are our personal, individual “winning edges”--we may be intelligent, driven, and perceptive. But there are parts of a successful formula that are common to us all. These parts of our formula simply must exist if we are to win by becoming the best version of ourselves.

Above all, we must have a mindset that is devoted to A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence .

As Vince Lombardi said, “The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel, these are the things that endure, and these are the qualities that are much more important than any of the events that occasion them.”

Being relentless is having an unwavering, unyielding mindset that will not allow us to stop striving to be the very best version of ourselves. No matter what circumstances we face!

The parts of our formula are as follows:

Focus
Intention
Consistency

1. Focus

What are you devoting your time and energy to? We must be conscious of what we are doing with our 86,400 seconds in a day if we are to be relentless. Everything we do must have a purpose that ties into our ultimate goal because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A leader is effective when they know the right things to do and devote their energies toward them. This is the surest way to eliminate distractions. When we focus on issues of genuine impact and eliminate peripheral noise, this will ensure that everyone will take another step.

2. Intention

Are you intentional each day? Do you have a plan before you start each day? An intentional person has a narrow and defined focus, not to the point of rigidity, however. People with structured, purposeful, and intentional behavior will change the environment around them, sometimes immediately, at others over time. This person is resolute and clear-minded. They don’t let distractions knock them off course, and, at the same time, they are able to make necessary adjustments as new information presents itself. When we are this intentional person, everyone around us will feel our strength and discipline and, in so doing, will be determined to take another step.

3. Consistency

Are you consistent in your behavior? Consistency creates stability. Consistency creates habits, and your habits will determine your future. As Flannery O'Connor wrote, “Routines are the conditions of sanity.” Great leaders strive to create productive routines and courageously do what they say they are going to do. Then the leader must produce systems that replicate, processes that initiate, and attention to people that liberates. All of these are examples of consistency brought to bear in an organization. With consistency, you and your team will find yourselves on solid ground. Consistency will build trust in leadership, allowing everyone to take another step.

Winning Edge calls this our daily grind! When we deploy these three components of our formula daily (relentlessly), then we and everyone around us will be able to take another step.

Do you see yourself as being relentless?
What would those around you say?
Do you think being relentless would benefit you and your team?

Love to hear your success stories on how being focused, intentional, and consistent has changed the trajectory of your life, family, or organization.

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If you are not growing, you’re dying!

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 11:48:43 GMT

In my first job, the COO would always say: “If you are not growing, you’re dying”. That meant a lot to me, because I always wanted to be the best. So I took that to mean that I had to learn from doing and learn from failing. Where are you in this concept?

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we pay particular attention to the notion of mindset. What is a mindset? A mindset is a particular way of thinking, a person’s attitude or set of opinions about something, or a frame of mind which orients (leads) an individual to a particular set of associations, expectations, and behaviors.

WE have 3 key points to discuss:

What is a growth mindset?
What is a fixed mindset?
Where are you?

Once we become conscious of our own mindset, we will see with a broader perspective, be better able to adjust, and be fully prepared for ourselves and those around us to grow to our capabilities.

1. What is a growth mindset?

Are you growing or are you stagnant? Having a growth mindset means that intelligence can be cultivated, regardless of our IQ. A growth mindset sees opportunities instead of problems, learns instead of fails, and adapts to reach a goal or solve a problem. A leader with a growth mindset embraces new paradigms, new disciplines, and new challenges. With a mindset focused on growth, we can pursue excellence and leave mediocrity behind, enabling ourselves and everyone around us to become their best version of themselves.

2. What is a fixed mindset?

Are you falling behind, or are you growing? Those with a fixed mindset see limitations in their capabilities, their intelligence, and their opportunities. Someone with a fixed mindset will tend to hide mistakes and avoid challenges, for fear of revealing weaknesses. People trapped inside a fixed mindset will stop short of pursuing their dreams. This mindset can also give one a false sense of security. With a fixed mindset, we cannot be the best version of ourselves, nor help others do the same.

3. Where are you?

Do you have a fixed or growth mindset? Champions are self-aware. In my years of winning, failing, and learning, I have grown to have a better understanding of myself, and my own strengths and weaknesses. An article from Forbes Magazine stated that 90% of top performers are highly self-aware, compared to the bottom fifth of performers, who lack this perspective. Where are you? (A mindset test is located at www.findyourwinningedge.com , then go to resources, then toolkit, and then take the mindset test.) Once we ascertain this reality, we can make better decisions about our next steps and move everyone forward to take another step.

If we want to grow, the 1st step is to determine where our mindset is. Then, find out how we can take another step from where we are currently. Know that our mind is the most powerful asset in the universe, and we can train it to do whatever we wish!

Get with your leader, mentor, or coach and discuss your current mindset and develop techniques and habits you need to establish to continue to grow and prosper as a person and leader.

The commitment to a Growth Mindset is the path to a NEW LIFE!

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10 Traits of an Inspirational Leader (Traits 7, 8, 9, 10)

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 19:53:36 GMT

As we discussed in our last two Weekly Fuels , there are many ways to lead, and there are common characteristics that most effective leaders exhibit. Some are naturally better than others in certain areas, but the great thing about these traits is that we can learn and improve upon them. Strong, effective leaders have the ability to guide a group of people toward a common goal. It is not a specific skill that makes a good leader, but rather a set of them.

All of these traits are foundational, and they will enable leaders to meet the test of time, circumstances, environment, cultures, or any other challenges, seen or unforeseen.

I would love to hear about your success stories from the previous weeks’ traits and how you have used them to reduce the tension and inspire your team. Send me an email at greg@findyourwinningedge.com , and I will provide you with some free coaching.

Traits 7 through 10

7. Problem solving

What is your first reaction to a problem? One of my earliest mentors, when he saw a problem that frustrated me, said, “stop complaining. You were given this job to solve problems. Understand that.” I changed my mindset to one of embracing problems. I found the magic word of GAME! I learned to Gather information, Analyze it, Make a plan, and Execute that plan, making necessary adjustments along the way. If you have “GAME,” your odds of winning go up astronomically. Once you develop this key technique, everyone will feel secure to take another step.

8. Competence

Are you good at what you do? What would others say? To be competent, Winning Edge believes that a leader needs to be confident and bold but calm. The most capable know what they know, know what they don’t know, and have internalized a process to learn. These people are self-assured, calm, and competent. A leader’s competence will show in their results and their people will react accordingly. Competent leaders will inspire those around them to be their best, which will enable everyone to take another step.

9. Stewardship

Are you a good steward? What makes a good steward? Good stewards protect and nurture that with which they have been entrusted. This includes physical assets, financial assets, and people. Leaders are not wasteful. Leaders manage efficiently to optimize their resources. Leaders can do more with less. Leaders take pride and show concern for everything that is entrusted to them. Once their people know, see, and feel that they will be taken good care of, trust will flourish, and everyone will take another step.

10. Life-long learner

Are you committed to your own education and development? A lifelong learner, by adding knowledge, experience, and perspective, evolves into a person that is constantly seeing new horizons and opportunities. As Dr. Kevin Elko says, “Work hard on your job, and you have a career. Work hard on yourself, and you have a fortune.” As those around you understand your commitment, they, too, will be more open to developing themselves and gaining new perspectives, and then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

Now that we’ve covered all 10 traits, let’s do some self-evaluation. Grade yourself from A through F on each of the traits. Then get with your leader, friend, mentor, or coach and have them grade you based on their point of view. Discuss each one with a focus on how you can improve to become the inspirational leader that you desire to be!

Let’s Grow!

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10 Traits of an Inspirational Leader (Traits 4, 5, 6)

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 19:25:24 GMT

As we discussed in last week’s Weekly Fuel , there are many ways to lead, and there are common characteristics that most effective leaders exhibit. Some are naturally better than others in certain areas, but the great thing about these traits is that we can learn and improve upon them. Strong, effective leaders have the ability to guide a group of people toward a common goal. It is not a specific skill that makes a good leader, but rather a set of them. All of these traits are foundational, and they will enable leaders to meet the test of time, circumstances, environment, cultures, or any other challenges, seen or unforeseen.

Build these traits more and more, and resistance will begin to melt away. All of your people will be inspired to Take Another Step, and you will see the fruit of your labor in more wins, more profits, and higher customer satisfaction. You will SHUT THE BACK DOOR, and no good players will leave your company or team!

4. Communication

Communication is key! For the first 8 years of my career, the company’s COO was relentless in impressing this upon me. Do you think communication is the key to leading a successful organization? My wife of 35 years would say it is! Communication is the lifeline to any relationship, especially between a leader and their people. Without communication, we will have unmet expectations that will lead to future resentments. Effective communicators are open, honest, respectful, concise, and consistent. They also use personal stories to bring their points to life. When people are communicating effectively, then everyone will be free to be the best version of themselves.

5. Vision

What do you see in the future? What do your people see? As Simon Sinek says, “Vision is the ability to talk about the future with such clarity, it is as if we are talking about the past.” “Where there is no vision, the people perish” --Proverbs 29:18 We must know where we are going. If we don’t know, then how can we inspire someone to follow us? Our people need to see the vision to have a purpose, and once they see it and you establish trust, it will amaze you how everyone will be energized to grow!

6. Commitment

We may know our purpose, but we don’t fulfill that purpose unless we fully commit. Commitment may require putting forth the effort that others won’t. It may demand staying steady in the face of seeming catastrophe. Or it may compel tracking in a different direction to avoid obstacles while remaining true to the course. The committed leader, in embracing his purpose, can easily answer two questions: What are we doing? Why are we doing it? This clarity will enable the leader to remain committed when adversity might encourage otherwise. How do you stay connected to your purpose? Be your best, and grow daily! Be relentless! And never, ever give up! Find a good, solid coach or mentor that will hold you accountable as you Take Another Step.

As we have said, the confluence of all of these traits will develop us into genuinely inspirational leaders. Find your strengths, and utilize them to help others. Determine your weaknesses and find someone to help encourage you and teach you how to become better!

Come join us next week for traits
7. Problem-solving
8. Competence
9. Stewardship
10. Life-long learner

Let’s Grow!

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10 Traits of an Inspirational Leader (Traits 1, 2, 3)

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 11:39:52 GMT

In our Take Another Step System, we discuss leadership traits that inspire others. There are many ways to lead, and there are common characteristics that most effective leaders exhibit. Some are naturally better than others in certain areas, but the great thing about these traits is that we can learn and improve upon them. How much passion do you have to learn and improve so that you can inspire others around you to Take Another Step?

Strong, effective leaders have the ability to guide a group of people toward a common goal. It is not a specific skill that makes a good leader, but rather a set of them.

A colleague of mine wrote down over 100 traits that a leader needs to inspire others and get results.

Then we worked together to narrow them down to 50. We culled some more that got us to 20. Then the arguments began! After much back-and-forth, we settled on 10. I feel very confident that a focus on the 10 traits identified below will help leaders of all kinds inspire those around them to Take Another Step. After you consider these, I’d love to hear some of the traits that you feel are important to inspire others.

To be an effective leader, you must have the following traits:

1. Character
2. Temperament and Discernment
3. Servanthood
4. Communication
5. Vision6. Commitment
7. Problem-solving
8. Competence
9. Stewardship
10. Life-long learner

This week will discuss the traits 1-3, then next week 4-6, and then finish the following week with 6-10:

1. Character
What would those around you say about your character? Character is the foundation of leadership. Character inspires trust, and trust is the bond that ties us together. For leaders to show character, they must be consistent, transparent, and their words must match their deeds. Character is the trait that will give you longevity. Once those around you know, see, and feel your character, then they will trust you, and then, and only then, will they take another step.

2. Temperament and Discernment
These two work together. The right temperament gives us the ability to remain calm in an ambiguous situation, which will allow us to discern reality--because that is the first responsibility of a leader. The truth will set us free. Discernment goes beyond understanding what someone is saying. It is more about understanding what they mean, based upon that person’s personality, education, and experiences. Practice reflective listening, repeating back to someone your interpretation of what they have told you. Once we have the right temperament, and we can discern reality, then everyone around us will remain calm and take another step.

3. Servanthood
Are people your top priority? Servant leaders truly believe in people, and they understand that each person has talents and gifts that can help the team prosper. How do you know if you are a servant leader? Here are some things that servant leaders do: encourage, see the best in people, recognize that everyone can learn and grow. Servant leaders ask their people what they need from them in order for them to be the best version of themselves. Once our people perceive our sincere willingness to serve and support them, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

These traits are foundational, and they will enable leaders to meet the test of time, circumstances, environment, cultures, or any other challenges, seen or unforseen.

Next week’s traits: 3. Communication 4. Vision 5. Commitment

Let's Grow!

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Courage > Fear

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:30:06 GMT

For everything I’ve done right as a parent, sometimes it feels as if I did the wrong thing first! My kids were both football players, and one mistake that I can’t ever forget is telling them, “Don’t be afraid!” Was I crazy? They were playing against kids that were bigger, faster, stronger–I was telling them to just hit these comparative giants as hard as they could–and to have no fear while doing it! They thought I was out of my mind. And, in a sense, I was.

Who wouldn’t be afraid? I was denying them the chance to process their sincere and rational feelings by denying the legitimacy of the feelings themselves. This was not the way to inspire them. This was a sure-fire way to depress them and build anxiety into their spirit and heart.

What is courage?

As I wrestled with this, I began to consider the idea of courage. The soldier in battle, the fireman running into a burning building, the helicopter pilot rescuing a stranded sailor in a storm—one simply couldn’t be in those situations and not know fear. So their courage coexists with fear. It allows them to resist, persevere, and overcome in spite of their fear. Their courage does not eliminate it. So, courage, defined, is not the absence of fear but the resistance to it.

Four ways to become more courageous:

1. Be conscious of your unhealthy fears–write them down and analyze them.

Ask yourself probing questions. Is my fear physical? Is it mental? Am I afraid of rejection? Do I fear failure?

2. Confront that which you fear.
Engage directly in the activities that give you the greatest apprehension. It can be uncomfortable, but with repetition, it gets easier. Rarely are the actual circumstances or conditions as unpleasant as your fears make you believe. Think of the introvert that hates cocktail parties. The more of these they attend, the easier it gets. And the fears will diminish.

3. Make sure your inner circle encourages you and supports you.

Be around people who believe in you–people who want to see you become the best version of yourself. Take an inventory of friends and associates, and see who encourages you and who promotes fear. Gravitate toward those that encourage, and establish healthy boundaries with those that do not.

4. Educate yourself.

Fear often comes from ignorance. When we have limited or incomplete information, our minds become fertile ground for doubt and fear. Think of someone who knows they are sick but doesn’t yet know a diagnosis. No diagnosis equals no treatment and no idea of the outcome. Once we know what’s wrong, our focus can turn to getting better rather than just worrying about the unknown.

The bottom line is this–if we manage our fears with knowledge and judgment, they will not stifle us. Rather, we can continue to move forward in the ongoing process of

COURAGE IS GREATER THAN FEAR in becoming the best version of ourselves!

Let’s Grow by having the courage to resist our fears!

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If I don’t know, I can’t grow.

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:29:33 GMT

A client (Tommy Foster - American Greetings) offered this to me recently: “If I don’t know, I can’t grow.” Surely this is true! To learn, to know, to grow, we must be curious and unafraid to challenge our assumptions. Perhaps even more importantly, we must welcome the perspectives of others. In short, we must be willing to accept and embrace feedback.

Some of my greatest lessons, my moments of profound transformation, have been the direct result of feedback from others.

When my two sons were in their early teens, I felt as if something was missing in our relationship. I sensed that there was a distance, a feeling that they couldn’t trust me entirely. So I took them to dinner and asked them straightforwardly, “What do you think about your dad?” They were quiet, they looked at each other, and they didn’t really know what to say. I knew in that moment that I was on to something. They did not feel free to speak what was in their heart. I had to show they could trust me by being willing to accept the criticism that I know was about to come. Finally one of them said, “Dad, you embarrass us when you yell at us at our ballgames.” Boom. I EMBARRASSED them. In a nutshell, they were telling me that if I continued to behave as I had been, they’d prefer I not attend. That really stung. But I took the feedback, and I stopped. It wasn’t always easy, as there were many times I wanted to yell. But I stopped. Because I had to. Twenty years later, our relationship is strong, it’s based on trust, and I look back on that moment at that dinner as an inflection point. I was willing to hear that hard truth and grow from it.

Once I was tasked with improving the performance of our company’s warehouse staff. I was speaking to them in my often loud, rah-rah manner that I thought would inspire them. After I finished, I walked through the aisle back towards the front offices and found a young man who had slipped away from our meeting. He was in tears. I asked if he was ok? No, he shook his head. Had I done something wrong? Yes, he nodded. I was floored. I wanted to excite this group, to make them feel good about themselves and our mission. And I had done the opposite. “Will you tell me what I did?” I asked. “You yelled at me’” he said, “and that was exactly what my dad would do just before he would hit me.” Boom. So I asked for his help. I explained that I had a tendency to amp up, to get loud, and even though I knew that I meant no harm, I didn’t want to cause him any pain. Would he, therefore, if he heard me getting too loud, simply raise his hand as a signal for me to settle down? He would, and he did, and I obliged. He was happy, he trusted me, and I built a relationship with him that benefited us both. Again, I heard a hard truth, and I grew from it.

All of us are on an ongoing path of transformation. Only some of us are making an intentional choice to become more like the person that we wish to become. It has been said, “Correct a fool, they will hate you. Correct a wise person, and they will appreciate you.”

Be a champion today by searching for and digesting feedback properly so you can continue your journey of growing into the best version of yourself.

Will you be wise, or will you be foolish?

Let’s Grow!

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Top 20 Leadership Development Training/Coaching Companies 2022

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 18:29:29 GMT

Just as you, our clients, are on a journey, so, too, are we here at Winning Edge. We were founded on the idea that anyone can improve, can progress, can become a better version of themselves. We believed this in 2019 when we started, and we believe it even more today.

But, as we all know, a great idea is just one part of what makes a business successful. There are other factors: a sound plan, the capacity to execute, the ability to attract the right staff, and of course, CUSTOMERS. And more than anything else, it takes good, old-fashioned work.

Now 3 years in, we are so proud of our successes. Those of our clients, those of our company, and those of all who have benefited from the Winning Edge program.

We are honored and grateful to be recognized by HR Tech Outlook as one of the Top 20 Leadership Development Training/Coaching Companies in the U.S. this year.

Here is a link to the article .

Thank you, HR Tech Outlook, for recognizing our efforts in the marketplace to coach and build up inspirational leaders in organizations across the country. We are committed to making sure that our current and future customers can build and sustain inspirational leaders so they can achieve their goals and mission as an organization to keep this great country moving forward.

We cannot grow without bonafide leaders!

If you know of anyone wanting to be a leader or companies needing leaders developed and trained, please have them reach out to us at (318) 230-6481 or send us an email at greg@findyourwinningege.com .

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Freedom!

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 12:17:53 GMT

Happy 4th of July!

Let Freedom Ring!

Our founders became free from the constraints imposed by a distant colonial power.

At ultimate risk to themselves they made the intentional choice to be free!

The way forward was unclear, and the new country nearly failed on more than one occasion. But they persisted and the United States survived its birth and endured.

Are you tired of the constraints that you place upon yourself?

Do you want to find a path to liberation?

Here are three concepts that have served me as I attempt to be the best version of myself:

Freedom of thought
Freedom of choice
The Freedom pass

1. Freedom of thought

We become what we think about. God has given us the most powerful thing in the universe, Himself excepted, which is our mind. This is our most important resource. Our founders tapped into this power. They were well aware of how their thoughts impacted their life. They understood and believed that they could change their thoughts, which would eventually change their behavior, which would change the trajectory of their new life in America. Once we understand that we have the POWER and we are in control, this will liberate us and inspire us all to take another step.

2. Freedom of choice

3. The Freedom Pass

The freedoms that our founders bestowed upon us have given us the ability to think, choose, and take action on our dreams. We Americans are eternally in their debt.

Happy 4th of July!

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but certain death is not going after your dreams.

Why Not ___________ ____________! Fill in your name

#WN _ _ (Put you first and last initial there)

Good luck on your journey to your championship life!

Love to hear your opinion on this championship-building lifestyle!

Let’s GROW!

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A Champion’s Mindset

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 11:55:57 GMT

What is a champion?

Merriam-Webster.com says: “Winner of first prize or first place in competition, one who shows marked superiority, one that does battle for another’s rights or honor.”

My personal definition is: An overcomer, an overachiever, relentless, never quits, never stops learning, always helping others win and celebrate their victories, always helping people that can’t help themselves, encouraging everyone, humble, peacemaker, purpose-driven, fighter, and a warrior!

What is your definition?

My former pastor, Denny Duron, often greeted parishioners with a cheery, “Hey, champion!” I was attracted to this because of the way he spoke encouragement to everyone. I had always wanted to be the best–to win. And, by extension, if I won, someone else would lose. But maybe I’m not the best. Maybe my job isn’t to defeat those around me. Maybe my success is not measured by comparing myself to others. As Pastor Duron called us all champions, that’s what he said to me–all of us can win! And we can all win by doing our very best.

I have learned that my journey is my journey. Put your focus and passion into the journey, not comparing yourself to other people’s journeys. It is a waste of time and will drain you of your purpose and passion!

We can all be champions in our own skin!

I encourage you to take a step back and analyze how you can build your championship life!

Three mindsets to consider while on your journey of being a champion:

A belief in yourself!
Be your best!
Freedom of choice!

1. A Belief in Yourself

Think about an athlete–one who has all the physical tools, and yet he fails. Think of the underdog–the one who simply cannot defeat a more powerful, more able opponent–until he does. We all can cite dozens of real-life examples of both of these. What does the winner have that the loser does not? Belief. Belief that it can happen. Belief that if I simply keep trying, good things will happen. Belief that I will not stop, even when those around me are certain that it’s pointless. Belief is what enables us all to fulfill our promise, by giving us the energy, the inspiration to push forward as we grow to become the best version of ourselves.

2. Be Your Best

Not THE best, but YOUR best. This is a critical distinction, as, by definition, only a small number can actually be THE best at anything. If we hold this up as our standard, then its achievability makes it uninspiring, even deflating. But anyone can be THEIR best. If you want to get an idea of how good you could be. First, let’s see how hard you’re willing to work. Second, let’s see how open you are to changes in yourself. Third, let’s see what kind of teammate you are going to be. Once we have determined this then we can find purpose to drive our energy to be relentless and remember that we are competing against yesterday’s performance. Remember, the harder you work on yourself and your journey, the luckier you become.

3. Freedom of Choice

Each day we get to choose a path of being a champion, living in mediocrity, or worse. A couple of years ago, my oldest son Trey told me that the most powerful thing that he has is the freedom of choice. Wow, he gets it. That day I felt the freedom that was in his mind and heart. Being a champion starts with a daily choice, that I believe in myself and I will be my best. Once people around us feel this freedom, everyone will be encouraged to be a champion!

On your journey of your championship life, we will need to be free to leave all limitations and non-essential thinking and people behind us.

Take this Freedom Pass with you:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but certain death is not going after your dreams.

Why Not ___________ ____________! Fill in your name

#WN _ _ (Put you first and last initial there)

Good luck on your journey to your championship life!

Love to hear your opinion on this championship-building lifestyle!

Let’s GROW!

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S.T.O.P. - Spend Time On People

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 19:23:39 GMT

S.T.O.P. - Spend Time On People

“Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” — Richard Branson

The Work Institute has studied this particular issue? Their findings are summarized as follows: “Never has listening to employees been more important. With over ten million open jobs in the U.S., the talent war rages on. Organizations must understand what attracts employees to work and what factors will cause them to leave.”

How do we S.T.O.P. people from leaving? We must understand that people don’t leave companies, they leave relationships. And we foster relationships by Spending Time On People.

Here are 3 concepts to consider as you build relationships with those around you:

1. Connecting

Consider this from John Maxwell: “Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.” Connecting with others will help you identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence on them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential. By doing S.T.O.P., you must learn to connect. Then listen to find common ground, establish credibility, and make it personal. When your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed and a sense of safety will appear to them then you can speak life into them.

2. Build a trusting relationship

Stephen Covey says that trust is the #1 human motivator, and I agree! Think about it. Can a leader that you do not trust motivate you? Of course not! So how do we build trust in our people? By connecting with them on a personal and professional level, believing in them, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positives, listening to understand, not reply, being with them through life’s challenges, being vulnerable, and fulfilling your commitments to them. Once they see and feel that they can trust you, then they will be liberated to have an open, candid conversation with you.

3. Our common psychology

We ALL need to be validated, understood, affirmed, and appreciated. We must recognize each person as a special gift from God because they are. There is one, and only one, way to do this, and that is S.T.O.P. Spend Time On People! To a busy leader, this can seem to be an insurmountable challenge, but it is an absolute necessity. Your people will not know that you understand their inherent value as human beings until you invest your TIME in them. When leaders make the intangible connection of their heart and spirit, those around them feel understood, affirmed, validated, appreciated, and truly a part of the organization. People that genuinely feel this way about their team will stay in their protected safe place.

Want to make a play for your team, family, and organization? Find ways to S.T.O.P. Spend Time On People.

There are no secret ingredients, just TIME. Give your time and you will receive it back over and over. You can never give too much time to make people feel valued and a part of a family or team!

Make the investment and STOP the Great Resignation!

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Happy Father’s Day - My Story with My Father

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 13:57:49 GMT

My father died two years ago, and I miss him daily. His own father was inadequate in many ways, but my dad made the choice not to carry that legacy forward but to build a new one. Some of you may have had excellent fathers. Some may have had experiences similar to my dad’s. In either case I hope this encourages you to create the solid ground that your kids need to become the best version of themselves.

I am so glad my Dad made the decision and commitment!

This is my journey on how I built a Foundation to be a present, faithful Father.

I’ve mentioned before about how important a solid foundation is in life. Many of you are fortunate enough to be fathers, and this discussion will highlight that very important job. If you don’t have children, these principles can also apply to other relationships in your life.

Fathers - you cannot build your best life for your children until you have a meaningful foundation and understanding of what your behavior means to your child.

The impact of a father’s behavior:

In President Barack Obama’s 2008 Father’s Day speech , he states that children who grow up without a father are 5 times more likely to live in poverty, 9 times more likely to drop out of school, and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. If that’s not a testament to the importance of fathers, I don’t know what is.

As we celebrate Father’s Day, I want to share how I learned the valuable lessons of fatherhood by understanding my grandfather, my father, and myself as a father.

These are the Foundations of a Father.

Foundation 1: Forgiveness - My Dad’s journey with his Dad
Foundation 2: Honor - My Journey with My Dad
Foundation 3: Don’t Bring Your Children to Anger - My Journey with My Sons

Foundation 1: Forgiveness

My Dad’s Journey with His Dad

Are you building a legacy? The first step to building a legacy is to forgive those who have hurt you in the past. My grandfather did not give my dad the love, time, encouragement, and discipline that my father gave me. My father did the opposite, and yet he chose to become a great dad to his children. He forgave my grandfather and started his own legacy. I will strive to continue my Dad’s legacy and make it thrive in my family.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.”

Foundation 2: Honor

My Journey with My Dad

Do you honor your parents?

Ephesians 6:1-3 teaches us to honor our father and mother. When I first read this scripture, I realized I was not fulfilling this scriptural charge. I became conscious of my behavior and how it impacted the people around me. At age 37 I gave my life to Christ and asked for my parents’ forgiveness. I honored them by breaking the chain in our relationship, which led to deeper life discussions and a better relationship.

Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on the earth.”

Foundation 3: Don’t bring your children to anger

My Journey with My Sons

Anger and frustration are shaky ground on which to build a foundation. Even though my father did not have a good example for his dad, he did not bring about anger and frustration in his children. In my journey with my sons, I could not have stopped bringing them to anger unless I honored my dad first. Since it’s hard to teach something you don’t already possess, I had to learn to be a good son before I could teach Trey and Trent to be good sons.

Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the lord.”

I will continue to take what my Dad started and make it thrive through my family. My challenge to you is to build your legacy one generation at a time. No matter what your current circumstances are, you have to make a choice.

What are you going to do with the life you’ve been given?

Love to hear your success story or challenges with your father or children.

I would love to come and speak to your community and business about The Foundation of a Father!

Download "A Father’s Commitment"

I wrote this after both of my son’s finished college to share with people what I learned, what I did well at, or things that I should have been better at! Enjoy!.

We are not perfect but we can GET BETTER!

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We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:49:58 GMT

“Toto, I have a feeling that we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

Just like Dorothy when she found herself in Oz, we often find ourselves in situations where we have to adapt.

Circumstances change, the people around us change, and we have to be nimble enough to change our course.

Charles Darwin observed that “it is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change.”

The survival of our goals and dreams is dependent upon our ability to adjust the sails to grasp the new winds of change to keep our hopes and dreams alive. Your ability to adapt is critical to your future success!

There are 3 things we need to increase our capacity to adapt effectively:

Be Prepared
Personal Accountability
Courage to Embrace the Change

1. Be Prepared

Are you diligent in preparing before events overtake you? As we encounter varying and often unpredictable circumstances, the planning and preparation that we, as leaders, have undertaken up to this point will define our effectiveness. Consistent preparation allows us to discern better, prioritize better, and adapt better. Dwight Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” Leaders who plan maximize their capacity to think. As we optimize our ability to think and adjust, we will grow in our boldness and everyone will be inspired to make the necessary adjustments.

2. Personal Accountability

This is a mindset of asking what I can do to become the best version of myself or to help my fellow humans become their best through a change. This is a process of seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. “If it’s got to be, it is up to me”—Harrison Hoof. This is one where you say: Get out of the way. I got this. I am going to make something happen out of these winds of change. Even though I may not have optimal time or resources. Once people know, see, and feel us exuding personal accountability, this will give everyone the courage and hope to adapt so we all can take another step.

3. Courage to Embrace the Change

Do you embrace change, or do fear and doubt take over? All of us, without exception, are faced with changes that we fear. Some misunderstand the existence of fear as a lack of courage. In fact, courage shows itself when we are most afraid when we choose not to be static, not to be paralyzed, but to move forward despite the different variables that have raised their head. All great leaders exhibit this quality. When everyone around us knows, sees, and feels the commitment and focus to win through adversity and adjust our sails to the changing wind, everyone will be inspired to grow!

We are not in Kansas anymore, because we live in a world of constant change where we need to be able to adapt to any person, place, or thing that rises up against our journey.

Therefore, let’s prepare for it, let’s accept responsibility for it, and let’s have the courage to adapt and grow through it!

Love to hear how you adjust your sails in the storms of life to keep heading in the proper direction that your goals and dreams have you on!

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Why Winning Edge? My Story

Sun, 22 May 2022 19:33:44 GMT

My mission in life is to build hope and courage into the hearts and spirits of others, so they can become the very best version of themselves because they want to not because someone else wants them to.

MY STORY!

You’ve probably heard it said that it’s best to learn by doing.

Well, in my case, I learned by failing.

See, I’ve always been wired for sound. Hugely competitive. “If you’re not first, you’re last” ….one of those guys. It’s just the way I grew up.

I played football in high school, won a High School State Championship, and went to college as a dumb jock. In the first semester, I had a 1.2 GPA because I just didn’t care about learning.

But once I understood that I couldn’t play unless I got the grades, and I met my future wife, I went from a 1.2 GPA to the Dean’s list. We’re talking about someone with full-blown ADHD and OCD making that kind of adjustment, just by wanting it enough and putting value on my education.

Later in life, I ran my own business, and I did it the same way. Growth was all I cared about. It was everything I thought winning was – being the biggest and the best.

I went from $0 to $20-million dollars in four and a half years. That’s fast!

But I went from $20 million BACK to zero a helluva lot faster.

What happened? I refused to listen to advice. I refused to listen to the people around me -- some of the very people I’d hired to help me on my journey -- and I got my butt handed to me. Absolutely took it in the shorts.

I’ve gotta tell you, that stings.

It got to the point where I locked myself in my office, crawled under my desk, and cried.

But I was lucky. Why was I lucky? My parents would always say, “Don’t let an experience go by without learning something from it.”

So instead of laying down to die, I took another step. Several of them.

The first step was to look in the mirror and own it. Own my mistake.

I didn’t have anyone else to point a finger at. I was the guy. I created this reality. I put my family’s well-being...my marriage…my sons… my relationships…in jeopardy. Nobody else.

The next step was to use it as a teachable moment for others – namely, my boys. With every check I wrote to pay off my debt, I told them why that money was going away, we take care of our responsibilities regardless of whether it is good or bad for us.

I wanted them to understand that there are consequences to bad choices, but also it is not the end of the game!

The next step was to flip the script and learn how to win through adversity. How to develop my own winning edge.

You see, an edge is sharpened by scraping it against something hard.

My edge was honed by that hard time---by a time when I didn’t know if I would ever recover. If I’d ever save the most important relationships that meant the most to me.

Adversity helped me. It helped my family. It brought me success.

And all because I found my winning edge!

That’s what I’m here to talk about today.

I’m here to help you move forward. To help you be the best version of YOU that you can be.

All by finding your winning edge.

Love to connect with you to understand how you found your winning edge in life!

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Safe Harbor

Mon, 16 May 2022 11:19:26 GMT

We all need a safe place to share our emotions and experiences, whatever their nature. I know I have had many safe harbors in which to dock my ship and unload my burdens, doubts, fears, regrets, and anxieties. I am so thankful that my mentors would allow me their time and attention to help me sort out my feelings. Their grace helped me elevate my thinking, allowing me to honor others and make wiser choices. Not perfect choices, necessarily, but wiser choices!

Who has been that SAFE HARBOR for you in your life?

Reflecting upon the people who created a safe place for me and the techniques I use in my coaching business, these 3 ingredients will help you build a SAFE HARBOR for others so we can all help each other to Take Another Step.

S.T.O.P. (Spend Time On People)
Build a Trusting Relationship
Conversations Solve Problems

1. S.T.O.P. (Spend Time On People)

Consider this from John Maxwell, “Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.” Connecting with others will help you identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence on them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential. By doing S.T.O.P.; you must learn to connect. Then, listen to find common ground, establish credibility, and make it personal. When your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed, and a sense of safety will appear to them then you can speak life into them.

2. Build a trusting relationship

Stephen Covey says that trust is the #1 human motivator, and I agree! Think about it. Can a leader that you do not trust motivate you? Of course not! So how do we build trust in our people? By connecting with them on a personal and professional level, believing in them, speaking words of life to them, accentuating the positives, listening to understand, not to reply, being with them through life’s challenges, being vulnerable, and fulfilling your commitments to them. Once they see and feel that they can trust you, then they will be liberated to have an open, candid conversation with you.

3. Conversations Solve Problems

We must STOP and get people to trust us. THEN we are able to have open, candid conversations. Our people must be able to unload their cargo with a competent, calm, wise mentor. We can speak life into them, encouraging, inspiring, and uplifting them all the way! If these honest and trust-based conversations do not occur, then the mentor will never see the authentic self–the true feelings and emotions that underlie behavior. The SAFE HARBOR allows for these conversations to take place.

Thought to consider:

Correction without a relationship (No Safe Harbor) = Rebellion
Correction with a relationship (Safe Harbor created) = DIRECTION!

Everyone’s purpose on earth is to ignite the good in one another. As Stephen Covey says; “to touch the soul of another person is like walking on holy ground”.

Let’s STOP, create some trust, and have a conversation so we can see if we can rebuild our SHIPS so they can go and fulfill their purpose out in the sea of life!

Love to hear who created a Safe Harbor for you that helped you overcome unnecessary bad habits to allow you to fulfill your life goals and dreams.

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Tenaciously Humble

Sat, 07 May 2022 12:27:13 GMT

I have always thought of myself as a warrior. Whatever the endeavor, the sport, contests were battles. Losses were defeats. Everything was a fight. Sometimes literally. Others saw a relentlessness in me that they did not necessarily find desirable. If you need any clarification on this, feel free to ask my wife! l found that confusing and frustrating. I would always think, "Why would God make me this way."

I came to learn that my energy and relentlessness could be counterproductive because it was not tempered by judgment. I had to learn to couple tenacity with humility. Otherwise, I would lose whatever benefits my tenacity might bring by simply alienating everybody else. Once I figured that part out, that a win wasn’t a win if everyone around you was running away, life got a whole lot easier, and relationships became much more fulfilling and complete.

So now I like to think of myself as tenaciously humble. Relentless, but considerate. Willing to chase my passions with extreme energy, but equally willing to accept and value the contributions of others. It matters what others think. It matters that they know you value them. We don’t do anything worth doing by ourselves, so we must have the willing participation of those around us.

The question is: How can we use this notion of tenacious humility to help others Find Their Winning Edge and Take Another Step?

Here are 3 Things that will help you become a tenaciously humble player in the game of life:

1. Be Tenacious

To be tenacious is to be unyielding, unwavering, and to stand firm on your standards. You cannot and will not be stopped from getting better daily and helping others along the way. How easy is it to slow down, make excuses, or feel that life isn’t fair. Well for us to be tenacious, we must not yield in the face of doubt, fear, fatigue, or frustration. We must press on. As Babe Ruth said, “It is hard to beat a person that never gives up.” We must be that person. We must be tenacious in the face of the naysayers. We must show everyone around us that we will not quit. Are you tenacious?

2. Perceived Humility

When we are humble we have a less defensive mindset and accept our own limitations, exhibit more teachability, and show more appreciation for the value of others’ contributions and opinions. Humility promotes a behavior that decreases the focus on self, while increasing focus on others and openness to differing perspectives. Perceived humility is where others see and feel emotionally that we are humble. What are you doing to show others that you are humble? If we are truly humble, others will see and feel that. We must fully embrace this idea. Then our behavior will show others that we value them.

3. Purpose

“There’s nothing more powerful than a humble person with a warrior spirit who is driven by a bigger purpose.”—Jon Gordon

Your purpose will fuel your tenacity and your tenacious, humble spirit will sustain your purpose. The source of being tenaciously humble is our purpose. What is your purpose in life? For us to determine what our purpose is, we must candidly assess our own strengths and weaknesses. Determine what we truly value. What makes us laugh, cry, or smile? What inspires us to go the extra mile? What makes us take on a challenge with no evident public reward? Once we connect to something bigger than ourselves, then, we will become tenaciously humble in our purpose.

Being Tenaciously Humble will give you the ability to love the unlovable; forgive people who offend you; LISTEN to understand, not to reply; bring calm to a situation; make tough, unpopular decisions that are wise; protect the weak; make peace; solve problems; and lead with inspiration.

I’d love to hear your opinion on this concept. Please send me your opinion via email or just click on this link .

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Happy Mother's Day

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 12:35:21 GMT

If you are like me, you need someone to remind you of certain important dates. Anniversaries, birthdays, and, yes, Mother’s Day.

Well, next Sunday May 8th will be Mother’s Day.

I would like to honor my Mother by celebrating her life in the NOW! So many times in life we regret not telling someone how they made us feel or what they have done for us. I have encouraged many of my clients (and myself, as well) to write letters to the most important people in their lives—to make sure that the things that matter don’t go unsaid.

To honor my mom, here are 25 of her sayings that have had the greatest impact on me.

MOMMA SAYS:

Don’t cry over spilled milk – clean it up!
Learn to love what you have to do, because you will do more of that in your lifetime than what you want to do.
You can do anything you want, if you are willing to work for it.
Guilty by association.
When you go somewhere and leave, make sure you leave it better than when you got there.
NO complaining and no whining.
NO gossiping.
NO bad mouthing anyone including your enemies.
Forgive and forget.
Don’t say: “I can’t do that.” You can do whatever you put your mind to.
Can’t never could do anything.
Personal accountability – Your behavior - Your consequence.
If you want to play or work, you have to do what your coach/authority tells you to do.
Punishment must fit the crime (action).
NO excuses – PERIOD!
Pick up after yourself.
Loafing at work is like stealing from your employer.
Can’t do what you want to, until you do what you have to.
Believe 0% of what you hear and believe about 50% of what you see; and use your own information and discernment to make decisions.
IF it’s got to be it is up to me – GET IT DONE!
Never say Never!
Everything rises and falls on leadership (parents)!
Can’t fix a problem until you own it!
What you sow is what you reap – gardening for life!
Just like the famous quote by Henry Ford, my MOMMA used to say, “If you think you can you are right! If you think you can't, you are right! YOUR CHOICE!

I hope that these words of wisdom build hope and courage in your heart and spirit to be the best version of yourself.

If you have a favorite saying that your Mom said to you, please share them with me.

Good parenting is the foundation of a civil society!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY — MOM!

Let’s Grow!

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

The Transformational Journey!

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 11:56:04 GMT

Transformation is a willful act to do something different. Real transformation can be the catalyst that enriches our own life and lifts that of those around us. Everyone changes over time, but not everyone makes an intentional decision to become better than they are today.

My own story includes multiple transformations, but the biggest one was when I transformed from a volcano to a missile. A volcano erupts, spews unrealistic demands, and destroys everything in its path. I did not like the results of these eruptions.

I pivoted and decided to end the eruptions. A Missile is designed for a purpose using dedicated tools for precision and pointed toward worthy targets.

The elements of transformation are:

A Pivot Point
Unlock your Mind
Sustainability

1. A Pivot Point

With explosive blowups, I hurt relationships and damaged trust. I realized I could not bulldoze those around me with unrealistic demands. I realized that I needed to use my energy to build trusting relationships and help those around me become the best version of themselves. This was my pivot point.

A pivot point is when you stop and acknowledge, “there must be a better way.” The question in any of these moments is whether we are willing to act upon our realizations. The pivot can initially be difficult, uncomfortable, and painful. The Pivot Point must come before any lasting change can occur.

2. Unlock Your Mind

I would like to thank my friend, Wayne Dickens for stirring this concept in my head! To truly transform, we must embrace our capacity to accept new paradigms. When we limit our thinking, we deny ourselves the full power of our mind. I had to find a new definition of winning. My willingness to consider these new realities, new opportunities and new ways to grow would allow me to transform into the best version of myself.

I am so glad I did! I unlocked my mind to redefine my value system. Now my family respects and trusts me. I know I will have their love, but I have learned that I must earn their respect and trust.

3. Sustainability

The transformation will not come without hardship and challenge. When confronted with a transformational journey, we will all have moments in which we are tempted to revert to our previous ways. For a transformation to be sustainable, we must build a process that will endure. I established some morning routines that changed my life: praying, reading the Bible, being grateful, reading books, journaling my thoughts, and writing The Weekly Fuel.

The transformation will occur when we are consistently engaged in new behaviors, create new habits, and embrace new paradigms. I am so glad that I went through this transformation process, and I know that I will have more challenges in the future. But now I have a conscious process to engage and win through ADVERSITY!

I have found sustainable daily habits to keep me growing through any storm!

I guarantee if you engage with this process, things will change!

What are some transformation moments in your life?

What are some areas that need to be transformed in your life or business?

I’d love to hear your success stories on how you have been transformed and the journey you took to accomplish that task.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Freedom Pass

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:25:25 GMT

Is it easier to run a race with shackles on your ankle or off?

The simple answer is off!

Well, what is the shackle on your ankle? For me, it was the pressure to be #1 in everything that I participated in. I had a mindset that required me to be better than everyone else in everything that I did. Talk about pressure! That mindset created limiting beliefs and produced explosive and controlling behavior. The people closest to me couldn’t trust me.

Until one day I read this: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but not trying is certain death.”--Unknown

Until I understood this myself, I was shackled by the notion that defeats were final and successes were permanent. Once those shackles were removed, I had the freedom to learn, grow, and truly pursue excellence. I came to envision this as a “freedom pass” that I gave myself. This pass has allowed me to navigate through many peaks and valleys of life with a clear vision and steady rudder.

By allowing ourselves the freedom to grow, we will see new opportunities.

This mindset empowered me to do these 3 actions daily:

Be Relentless
Be a Life-long Learner
Give Encouragement

1. Be Relentless

This Freedom Pass gives me the unyielding, unwavering capacity to grow and learn in all areas of my life. Nothing will stop us from growing. No person! No circumstance! No defeat! Nothing. Our mindset is set on Taking Another Step! We will never, ever grow weary in doing the right things, because we know in due season will conquer and prevail in our pursuit of excellence.

2. Be a Life-long Learner

Consider this quote from me 25 years ago: “The older and wiser I become; I have come to the realization that I know nothing.” What a revelation! I went from a know-it-all to understanding that I will never know it all. This was liberating, and it took an enormous amount of pressure away. Our daily journey is to grow with knowledge, understanding, and the courage we need to apply that knowledge. Take your Freedom Pass, and become that life-long learner!

3. Give Encouragement

This Freedom Pass helped me not to see everyone as competition. It allowed me to find my true passion—helping others by encouraging them. After all, how could I truly help other people if I was focused exclusively on defeating them? Each morning we rise and face our challenges; we must determine if we are going to be an energizer or a drainer. We are all humans needing a community of people to help us utilize our Freedom Pass and live our best life! Are you going to give your FREE gift away today? Tap into your Freedom Pass and become the BEST VERSION of you and help others do the same!

Love to hear your stories about how you have used this Freedom Pass to gain success in your life, personally or professionally!

Let’s GROW!

Take Another Step!

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Let's Grow!

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:39:13 GMT

My mission is to help people grow in all areas of their life—not to be perfect, just to be a little better each day!

My own business journey led me to a mentor whose only request was to relentlessly pursue excellence. My first thought was that he wanted me to be perfect. In running his companies for him, I knew he wanted to be the best at everything (profits, customers, teammates). While building a relationship with him and understanding his mission of a “Relentless Pursuit of Excellence,” I had a revelation — that he just wanted us all to walk in every day and simply be better than we were the day before (GROW). I became liberated mentally once I understood and was confident that I could fulfill his mission.

This is when I adopted the phrase “LET'S GROW!”

He understood that if all of us were committed to being the very best, then we could fight and claw to grow every single day. The goals would take care of themselves.

NEWSFLASH - it worked!

As Vince Lombardi said, “The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel (to GROW), these are the things that endure, and these are the qualities that are much more important than any of the events that occasion them.”

For us to GROW we must use these 3 tools daily:

Focus
Intention
Consistency

1. Focus

What are you devoting your time and energy to? We must be conscious of what we are doing with our 86,400 seconds in a day if we are to be relentless. Everything we do must have a purpose to it that ties into our ultimate goal, because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A leader is effective when they know the right things to do and devote their energies towards them. This is the surest way to eliminate distractions. When we focus on issues of genuine impact, and eliminate peripheral noise, this will ensure that everyone will increase their focus to become better.

2. Intention

"To reach your potential you must grow. And to grow, you must be highly intentional about it."--John Maxwell

Are you intentional each day? Do you have a plan before you start each day? An intentional person has a narrow and defined focus, not to the point of rigidity, however. People with structured, purposeful, and intentional behavior will change the environment around them, sometimes immediately, at others over time. This person is resolute and clear-minded. They don’t let distractions knock them off course, and, at the same time, they are able to make necessary adjustments as new information presents itself. When we are this intentional person, everyone around us will feel our strength and discipline and in so doing, will be determined to take action to move forward in all they do.

3. Consistency

Are you consistent in your behavior? Consistency creates stability. Consistency creates habits, and your habits will determine your future. As Flannery O’connor wrote, “Routines are the conditions of sanity.” Great leaders strive to create productive routines and courageously do what they say they are going to do. Then the leader must produce systems that replicate, processes that initiate, and attention to people that liberates. All of these are examples of consistency brought to bear in an organization. With consistency, you and your team will find yourselves on solid ground. Consistency will build trust in leadership, allowing everyone to sustain their pursuit of excellence.

When we employ these 3 tools on a daily basis, we and everyone around us will have the energy to GROW and take another step.

Do you see yourself growing daily?

What would those around you say about you?

Do you think being relentless and focusing on growing benefits you, your family, and your team?

Love to hear your success stories on your GROWTH journey in your personal and professional life!

I would love to have a conversation with you about how I can help your people and leaders grow to ensure your success!

LET'S GROW!

Ready to Take Another Step?

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Everyone needs a Coach!

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 23:30:03 GMT

Tom Brady, Nick Saban, and top business executives all have one thing in common: they have one or multiple coaches to help them grow personally and professionally!

I have been blessed with the skill to tell my own personal stories of triumph and defeat to help you Find Your Winning Edge!

Coaching is a results-driven process.

Life is all about results. Everything is transformational. As your coach, I’m here to transform and inspire you to get results. You are in charge of the process. I’ll come alongside you to get the results you are looking for.

My mission is to serve and help you through the process. Here is my Winning Edge Assessment , which is a compilation of pointed questions that allows me to get to know you more thoroughly. Once we’ve discussed this assessment verbally, the purpose for our future coaching calls will surface. View the assessment

Once we define our purpose for our coaching relationship, each session will flow as follows:

Step 1: Success Stories since our last call. Be grateful for all the good things that you have accomplished.
Step 2: Go over agreed-upon action items from the last meeting. What action was taken? Results? Failures? Adjustments?
Step 3: New challenges
Step 4: Establish new action items for the next meeting
Step 5: Lessons learned from our discussion
Step 6: Provide feedback on the quality of the session
Step 7: Schedule the next meeting
Step 8: I follow up with a review of the meeting

You may be asking yourself a few questions:

Q: Why is Executive Performance Coaching valuable?

A: Humans will not optimize their training routines if left to their own devices. I will provide accountability with structure and focus to push you beyond your personal limits. Routines are the conditions of sanity.

Q: What makes a Top Producer?

A: A coach, of course, and intense focus, organization, and accountability. Tom Brady and Nick Saban both have individual performance coaches. We don’t have to be sick to get better. Everyone needs someone who knows how to draw the best out of them, identify their strengths and weaknesses, organize their activities, and shine a light on precisely what to do in order to be successful. Most importantly, you need a coach who keeps you accountable. Coaches keep you focused on the task at hand and ensure you can meet and exceed your goals and dreams. A coach guides and supports you to go beyond what you think you’re capable of achieving.

Q: What can you do for your clients?

A: It depends on the client and their individual goals and desires. If a client is looking to move from an entry position to a management position, I can help! If a client is looking to become an executive, I can help with that! A positive mindset and a relentless pursuit of excellence are the keys to success.

Q: How do I know this works?

A: If you are still unsure about being coached by me, take a look at what some of my clients are saying.

“2021 has shaped up to be an inflection point for me both personally and professionally. Winning Edge has been imperative in the process! Looking forward to 2022!” Oil and Gas Entrepreneur

“I appreciate your friendship, leadership, and your ability to make me feel like I can run through a brick wall! Don’t stop helping people.” Transportation Executive in a billion-dollar company

“You are a leader of men and women and your knowledge and moral standards are unmatched. You have stretched my mind and laid a strong foundation for me to build off. You are a very talented man and God will use that to make a difference in people’s lives. ” Top Fortune 50 Sales Agent

Does this sound like something you need and want in your life? I’m here to help.

I have two packages available to you, my Weekly Fuel subscriber! Each package requires a 1-year commitment. Take advantage of this offer now and get $500 off your initial month for either package.

Package 1: Team Corporate Leadership Coaching package ($1,450 a month value)

Three 1-hour scheduled phone calls per month (You choose the person on the calls)
Unlimited non-scheduled phone calls and unlimited emails
Two trips per year to your facility - 2 hours maximum per trip in your office (travel expenses and other expenses will be billed separately)
1 Year Commitment

Package 2: Individual Executive Performance Coaching package ($795 a month value)

A free Winning Edge Assessment and debrief call
Two 1-hour scheduled phone calls per month
Unlimited non-scheduled phone calls and unlimited emails
1 Year Commitment

Let’s start our journey of a RELENTLESS PURSUIT of EXCELLENCE!

Act now.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

What is your Super Bowl?

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 12:04:41 GMT

As most of you know, our family had the almost indescribable good fortune to be able to watch our son Trent take the field in the recent Super Bowl. What a blessing!

While everybody may not be able to have this particular experience (and such a public one, at that), everyone can have a dream. The dream I’m talking about is that aspiration, when realized, that leaves one feeling fully and completely triumphant.

Think of the student who rises from poverty to become the first in his family to graduate from college. Or imagine the parent of the child with special needs who, after years of thinking it will never happen, finally hears their son or daughter speak their first word. Or put yourself in the shoes of the small businessman who failed on his first try (or second, or third), only to persevere and find enduring success. To these people, and to all of us, these experiences are as meaningful as any Super Bowl.

Here are a few thoughts that my son, Trent, found useful in keeping his focus on

his goals and dreams:

High focus, intentionality, and consistency in his preparation
Prove the naysayers wrong
Keep going when you feel you can’t
Control the controllables
No complaining
Learn to GROW from all experiences
Move on from a defeat when you feel like you can’t

Dream it, prepare for it, go for it; if you make it CONGRATS. If you don’t make your Super Bowl, remember that failure is not fatal, and keep pushing towards this dream or the next one. I guarantee the lessons from the experience will catapult you forward to be bigger and better than you ever thought you could!

DREAM BIG! NO REGRETS! LET’S GROW!

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Connecting to People

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 16:46:20 GMT

Consider this from John Maxwell: “ Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership .”

Connectivity is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential. To do that at your absolute best, you must learn to connect.

Winning Edge has found 3 ways to connect to your people:

1. Listen to find common ground

My best leaders asked questions about me, not just about my performance. They took the time to listen to me as a whole person, which allowed us to learn about one another on a deeper level than merely as employer-employee. By spending that time, my leaders and I were able to discover areas of mutual interest and understanding, which allowed us to nurture a relationship based upon trust. When we find common ground, we ease the burdens of our differences and place our value on our similarities, thus increasing trust and reducing tension.

2. Establish credibility

Can you connect with someone who you do not believe in? Of course not! So how do we establish credibility with those around us? We must be honest about our strengths and weaknesses, right our wrongs, hold ourselves accountable, live what we believe, tell the truth, get results, and treat people that we think cannot help us as if they could change our lives. We must live our lives like we are being videotaped daily. People are inspired by what they know, see, and feel about us.

3. Make it personal

Whe n your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed, and they will be influenced to take another step.

What are some of the most successful ways that you have connected to your people?

Ready to Take Another Step?

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Do You Have a Boss or a Mentor?

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 02:29:07 GMT

What is a boss? A person that tells you what to do and does nothing to grow your capabilities. They are not interested in your well-being or your family. The boss only cares for themselves.

What is a mentor? A person that tells you what to do and inspires you. They coach you to greater heights through opportunities to learn. A mentor holds you accountable for growth in all areas of your life. A mentor takes a vested interest in you, your career, and your family. They genuinely care and want what is best for you!

Here are 10 things you can do that will inspire your boss to become your mentor:

Chase and approach your leader with new and improved ideas. Do not have them chase you. This will frustrate them.
Be respectful of their time by being clear and concise.
Read the same trade journals, magazines, newspapers, and books that they are currently reading. This will help you understand how they are thinking.
Ask for feedback. Feedback is the breakfast of champions.
Some questions to ask: Am I a drainer or energizer? How am I doing? What else can I do that I am not currently doing for you? What frustrates you about me?
As sensitive issues arise, make sure you do a great job communicating with them. Don't let your leader be blindsided.
Know their hot buttons and cold buttons. Know “THE LOOK." Understand and interpret their body language.
Understand what responsibilities about their job keeps them awake at night and discern how you can minimize them.
Make sure you are adding energy and value to their day-to-day grind. Be an energizer, not a drainer!
Ask fo r permission for your solution to a problem to be implemented. Other times, ask for forgiveness after your solution gets results (be careful!)
BOTTOM LINE ------- GET RESULTS and document them!

Do these ten things on a consistent basis and you will gain a mentor. You will be adding value to your company, getting results, and your probability of making more money increases.

Love to hear your success stories on how you have turned your boss into a mentor!

Ready to Take Another Step?

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions

Sat, 26 Feb 2022 20:34:49 GMT

Hope this email finds everyone settling in for a GREAT 2022!

As a young manager in my early thirties, there were many days I thought I knew everything. As one might imagine, this led to inevitable frustration. One day, when those feelings were particularly acute, I sat down and wrote this:

“Feedback, negative or positive, will help me grow and prosper if I digest it properly.”

Inviting feedback from our inner circle is a great way to Take Another Step in 2022.

Here are some great feedback questions that a teammate or leader can ask his/her immediate leader or teammate to help each other grow and prosper.

For the leader:

How am I doing? Being a servant? Being a leader? Getting results?
Did I give you (the teammate) what you needed to succeed? If not, what could I have done differently?

For the teammate:

What could I have done better?
What do I need to keep building on that we started last year?
What do I need to eliminate?
How can I help you personally and professionally to be successful?
How can I serve you best?

This exercise will result in the following:

Growth thinking
A great conversation that will improve the current relationship
Finding common ground
A relentless mindset that will bring a positive impact to your organization and family
Creating a learning environment
Releasing and empowering people
ENERGY
Growing businesses, growing families, and winning championships!

Good luck, take action, and stay on the growth mindset course!

I would love to hear stories about how you learned that feedback is truly the breakfast of champions.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Get r Done, No Trying!

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 12:39:45 GMT

Do you try to get things done? Or do you just get them done?

Often the word “try” opens the door to an excuse. When I hear that word, I hear that someone is not all in–that they have anticipated the possibility that they will fail. To succeed ultimately, we must be definitive in our words. We must take ownership. We must be complete in our commitment, and our words must reflect that.

What is your level of commitment? When you make a decision, are you all in? Do those around you see that in your words and actions?

This week, I challenge you to change your “I’ll try” into “I can” or “I will”. Can this mindset change help you find your winning edge in 2022?

A mentor challenged me one day when I said, “I will try to get that done.'' He told me to sit down and then get up out of the chair. I did what he said. He asked, “Did you try or did you just get up?” I replied, “I just got up.” He told me he didn’t want to hear the word try anymore. He wanted me to just get things done. Needless to say, I never said try again.

My mentor’s life story includes walking many miles by himself as a young boy to get away from his family to find a better life. He did not try. He just got it done. He was a generational dynasty builder. He went all in on pursuing something bigger than himself and a better life. By bein g strong, courageous, bold, and confident in what we do, our commitment level to Take Another Step will increase.

Don’t try – Just do! If you decide to challenge yourself this week to change your “I will try” to “I can” or “I will" let me know your results!

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

The Super Bowl Experience

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 12:27:31 GMT

I have two sons. Trey is the older, and Trent, the younger. Though it still seems hard for me to write these words, Trent, an undersized slot receiver that had a grand total of one scholarship offer to play college football, is now in his fifth year in the NFL. As if that weren’t enough, he is a member of the Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals.

Trent’s road has not been without its potholes. He missed his first Super Bowl, and, indeed, his entire third season with the San Francisco 49ers with an injury. After his fourth year, and at the expiration of his rookie contract, the 49ers elected not to sign Trent to a new agreement. Only the Bengals made an offer, and after signing with them, Trent spent the first half of the season relegated to the practice squad. But a few weeks later, how things have changed! Trent has become the very embodiment of a principle we embrace, that of Winning Through Adversity.

Morgan Taylor is a second-grade teacher in my hometown of Corbin, KY. Corbin is a little town in Southeastern Kentucky with its heritage planted in the history of Appalachian coal mining. I grew up there, and Trent lived there through his second-grade year.

A friend of mine passed her remarks on to me. I hope you enjoy them and encourage everyone around you to persevere and make a difference!

Enjoy the read from Morgan Taylor, a 2nd Grade Teacher from Corbin, KY

This is her verbal message to her students on 2-4-22.

"I am a 2nd grade teacher at Corbin Primary and my boys came in Monday morning pumped and talking all about the game (Bengals at Chiefs - AFC Championship Game 1-30-22). I smiled and listened to them excitedly talking about everything that had happened before I stopped them and said, 'You want to know something cool, one of them started out here in Corbin (Corbin, KY - my hometown, my boys finished high school at Evangel in Shreveport, LA) playing youth football just like you!' A few of them knew and some of them did not, but they all knew who Trent was, the play (2pt reception from Joe Burrow) to tie the game he’d made the night before, and they were all ears.

“I talked to them about what I know of Trent’s story from my Uncle Martin Earl (Pennington, a friend of mine from High School that played football at University of Kentucky) and how he’s faced injuries over the last few years that could have caused him to give up, but that he had never let those excuses bring him down and that he had worked hard, stayed ready, and had even moved teams and not always been in the starting line-up and was sometimes only on the practice squad.

“I told them that never stopped him though and that his positive attitude, hard work, and determination to keep going kept him ready and landed him on the sideline on Sunday night ready to step up, and get in the game, and get the job done!

“They were amazed and inspired to know that someone from our hometown had made it to the top of the game they love so much.”

Be the light in the darkness, so you can provide a way out of adversity, with hope and courage.

GO BENGALS!

Galatians 6:9

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES!

See YOU IN L.A.!

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Success is a Journey, Not a Destination

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 13:21:08 GMT

Are you a destination addict? Everyone is in a hurry to get to the finish line.

Well, in life there is no finish line. Success itself is a journey, not a destination. I have learned and transformed my thinking to believe there is no end to the process of pursuing, leading, learning, failing and growing. This is our life!

“Beware of destination addiction, a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is in the next place, the next job, and with the next partner. Until you give up the idea that happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are.” —Robert Holden

So let’s find our peace and inspiration on the journey. Now, what do we need to sustain that peace as we move through peaks and valleys?

Winning Edge has identified 3 tools that will help us.

A Robust Inner Circle
A Freedom Pass
A 50:20 Vision

1. A Robust Inner Circle

What does your inner circle of 5 people look like? Warren Buffet says, “Pick out people whose behavior is better than yours, and you’ll drift in that direction.” The people you spend the most time with are who you will become in 5 years. Choose wisely! We need positive, energetic, goal-driven people to surround us. They invest their energy in growing, not complaining. Once we surround ourselves with these people, our fuel tank will be filled, and our consistent inspiration will give us the focus we need to stay on the journey!

2. A Freedom Pass

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but not trying is certain death. Until I understood this myself, I was shackled by the notion that defeats were final and successes were permanent. Once those shackles were removed, I had the freedom to learn, grow, and truly pursue excellence. I came to envision this as a literal freedom pass that I gave myself. This pass has allowed me to navigate through many peaks and valleys of life with a clear vision and steady rudder. By allowing ourselves the freedom to grow, we will see new opportunities.

3. A 50:20 Vision (Genesis 50:20)

Do people fail? Of course. I have failed many times. To tap into this vision we must decide, did this happen for us or to us? I have learned to see that it happened for me. A 50:20 vision says that it doesn’t matter what happened in my past or today, I am a child of God and he can take anything that I have experienced, good, bad, or ugly, and use it for good. Once leaders tap into this vision, everyone around them will have an example of the proper vision that will allow them to see beyond their perceived limitations.

These 3 tools, properly used, will help us grow into the very best version of ourselves. Then, everyone around us will be inspired to take another step.

Love to hear how you stay focused and engaged while on your journey of success!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

WTA (Winning Through Adversity)

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 16:10:19 GMT

I was a poor loser. Really. I was awful. I took every loss as a personal failure, a window through which the world could look and see my inadequacy.

A setback made me miserable, and I did my best to make others around me suffer, as well.

As I have grown and transformed, I’ve learned that no one wins all the time, that losses do occur, and that enduring success is built upon failure’s lessons.

So now I see fortune’s ebb and flow as a part of the greater process of Winning Through Adversity.

How do you deal with losing, problems, or failures? Do you panic? Do you lash out? Or do you seize the opportunity to WIN?

Here are three things that I do that gives me a Winning Edge of Winning Through Adversity!

Perspective
Purpose
G.A.M.E.

1. Perspective

Generally, defeats are not catastrophic, and victories are not ultimate. They are rather a part of the inevitable ebb and flow of our learning, our work, our life. Perspective is our interpretation of how we see the problem. Here are some questions that will help you gain the proper perspective. Instead of asking “why me”, think “why not me”. What lesson is in this for me? Once we gain the proper perspective, we will have the mindset that we are going to take this mess and turn it into a message! The proper perspective will put us in the proper mindset to win through adversity..

2. Purpose

The biggest day in our life was the day we were born; the most significant day is when we find out why we were born. Some questions to ask yourself: What do I live for? What do I dream about? What would I do for free? I did not know my true purpose until I experienced some genuine hardship, such as my business failure. I now have a better sense of my true purpose, which is to build hope and courage into the hearts and spirits of people. This sense of purpose allows me to work relentlessly to convert problems into opportunities.

3. G.A.M.E.

This tool will help you discern the realities of any situation and build sound strategies to navigate through any challenge.

G - Gather information on the problem
A - Analyze that information
M - Make a plan
E - Execute the plan and make necessary adjustments

Following this scheme will help you control the controllable, not waste time on the uncontrollable.

In doing so, we can reorder our thoughts and make disciplined judgments. When our thinking is sound and fact based, our confidence will grow, our outcomes will improve, and our subsequent decisions will be better still. Confidence, boldness, and consistency will give you the courage it will take to engage with any problem to win through adversity.

As you go throughout this week remember to focus on what we CAN DO by having perspective, purpose, and doing G.A.M.E. This will energize everyone around us to win through adversity!

I would love to hear your stories on how you have Won Through Adversity in your life.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

Big “MO” (The Domino Effect)

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 18:49:42 GMT

Building momentum is a great place to be in our business, life, or family!

Question: How do you build this momentum?

Sometimes it only takes one push to get everything moving in the right direction: We call this The Domino Effect. What is one thing that you can do that will have the biggest impact on yourself, your family, or your organization?

This is not something you can just put on your to-do list. The one thing that can push your dominos in the right direction is a combination of thoughts, beliefs, and action. To better understand how to get everything lined up, we view things through the prism of The Domino Effect.

This requires 3 things:

Vision
Competence
Creativity

1.Vision

Stephen Covey once said, “Begin with the end in mind.” Leaders need a vision. Are you lining up your dominos with a clear plan as to where they will fall? Everyone has ideas, and many of them are good ones, but a rigorous planning process will guide your team and your organization to focus on the right things at the right time. This gets to the heart of having a vision–we must learn to narrow our ideas into a sharp, forward-looking, and focused effort that has the end in mind. Once those around us see our vision to build a brighter future, then everyone around us will take another step.

2.Competence

Are you effective at getting your vision accomplished? Effective leaders understand that being busy does not equal competence. The trick is figuring out the most powerful things to do in the right moments. Competent leaders know how to prioritize the tasks at hand to fulfill their organization’s vision, and this is what differentiates action from competence. These leaders are evaluating the entire situation and the circumstances surrounding it. In so doing, leaders will steer themselves and those around them towards the best outcomes in spite of any difficulties or circumstances. This helps everyone work together to line up the goals needed for the vision to fall into place.

3.Creativity

Creativity is essential when our challenges don’t have a clear path. Often we do not have the courage or boldness to be creative because we fear failure. How do we break through this fear and creatively approach challenges? A bold leader will build time for creativity in their day. Clayton Kibler, a coaching client, said, “Creativity happens when you are free to think.” I encourage you to make some free time to think. When we create that space to think, we can act with the precision of a guided missile, allowing us to find that one thing that leads to a domino effect for our success.

Can you stop and have some deep thought or some dialogue with a trusted advisor to see how you can use this power of The Domino Effect to get some “BIG MO” in your life to take another step?

I would love to hear some success stories on how you have used this tool to advance your organization, yourself, or your family forward.

Ready to Take Another Step?

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

2022 Planning Conversation

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:19:57 GMT

“Planning is everything, plans are worthless.”--Dwight D. Eisenhower

There is perhaps no leadership dictum that means more to me. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned, the General is saying, but a thoughtful and thorough review and discussion of history, contingencies, and opportunities will give us more and better options to prosper and grow.

Winning Edge has developed the following exercise to take you through a journey to determine the most effective things to do that will drive customer satisfaction, teammate satisfaction, and PROFITS.

1. Review or develop a mission statement, vision statement, and core values. Make sure you have the proper foundation.

2. C onsider “Where were we?”

Review past scorecards, events, or income statements. Evaluate where you’ve been and look for past growth to celebrate. These past improvements will build confidence that problem areas can be conquered.
Discuss problems, such as areas of decline.

3. Ask “Where are we now?”

Compile a list of success stories from 2021 – Celebrate and reward yourself, your team, or your family for these successes!
Perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats)
S trengths – Things you can control – Optimize these strengths
W eaknesses – Things you can control – Minimize these weaknesses and improve
O pportunities – Things that you cannot control – Capitalize on these issues
T hreats – Things that you cannot control – Minimize these issues

4. Ponder “Where are we going in 2022?”

Write down your SMART goals for 2022.
S pecific - A clear well-defined goal that can answer questions as to what the outcome of the goal is
M easurable: A goal with a specific criterion that measures your progress towards accomplishing the goal. MPV - Make Performance Visibile
A ttainable - A goal that is attainable
R elatable - A goal that has purpose and impact
T ime-bounded - A goal which is clearly defining the timeline, including the starting date and ending date

5. Analyze “What do we need to do to get there?”

Prioritize your GOALS . First things First!
Ask yourself - What resources, people, systems, processes, leadership additions or improvements do we need in order to achieve these goals?
Practice GAME on each goal.
G ather information
A nalyze the information
M ake a plan
E xecute the plan
What training do we need for our people and leaders that will help us achieve these goals?
Make sure measuring, monitoring, and feedback systems are put in place to ensure progress is being made and necessary adjustments are handled properly if needed.
Build a dynamic financial budget that matches your revenue drivers and cost drivers.
Consider if any capital expenditures are needed.
Ask if there are any key hires ( salespeople or leadership) that we need for the upcoming year.

This is a great process. I have been doing this process over the last 20+ years. At the beginning of the year, I am fresh and confident for the coming year's battle from the wins and wounds of the previous year. Then at the end of the year, I look back at the beginning and say “Man, I did not know very much at the beginning” because I learned so much during the year. TAKE ANOTHER STEP!

I would love to facilitate this conversation with you, or, with you and your team to make sure 2022 is optimized and everyone's confidence is raised to its highest level on having a great 2022!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

A Time for Thanksgiving!

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 13:04:12 GMT

This Thursday what are you going to give thanks for? Will you have a grateful heart in all the good things that exist in your life?

Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on the things that we have. Once we have a broader perspective, we are able to see the full range of our blessings, both seen and unseen. Challenge each other at the dinner table to say 2 things that you are thankful for.

Happiness is rooted in gratitude. This Thursday is a great time to start planting the seeds of Thanksgiving into our inner circle, team, and family!

Here is a quick story on how I learned the power of thanksgiving!

This practice made me more grateful, made me feel better, and made it easier for me to manage stress. This gave me a mindset that was healthier, more productive, and, frankly, happier.

Being thankful is a powerful weapon. Dr. Caroline Leaf , a neuroscientist, says that gratitude is the healthiest of all emotions. That certainly makes me want to be thankful!

The Greater Good Science Center has research showing that gratitude is good for a person’s body, mind, and relationships. I understand being grateful in the midst of a problem, failure, abuse, or a pandemic is tough. In order to Find Your Winning Edge, being thankful is something you should try because the rewards are two-fold.

THE POWER OF BEING THANKFUL!

The Greater Good for Science Center states that gratitude helps people:

1. Socially:

More forgiving
More outgoing
Feel less lonely and isolated
More helpful, generous, and compassionate
More willingly supported by others

2. Physically:

Stronger immune systems
Less bothered by aches and pains
Lower blood pressure
Lower risk of heart attacks
Take better care of their health
Sleep longer and better

3. Psychologically:

Higher levels of positive emotions
More alert, alive, and awake
More joy and pleasure
More optimism and happiness
More resilient to stress

What are some steps you can take to become grateful?

If you are practicing these steps as part of your routine, then the steps will become a habit and habits will determine your future.

Wake up every morning and write down what you are thankful for.
When you become stressed and anxious - write down what you are thankful for.
Before you go to bed, write down what you are thankful for.

Let me know if you implement these steps into your daily routine and if they have a positive effect on your life.

Use this season of Thanksgiving to stop and smell the roses in your life that have been a blessing to you, to your company, your team, and your family.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Why Not You?

Mon, 08 Nov 2021 16:03:26 GMT

In 1994, I had an epiphany. I was on the road traveling between my company’s service centers when I realized that what I was learning on my personal journey could be used to help others. My success was being built on the success of others. As I thought through this process, it came to me: I need to write a book! 27 years later, I am overjoyed to announce the publication of Find Your Winning Edge.

In retrospect, it seems hard to believe---Greg Taylor, the author! But as I told my son Trent, who was too small, too slow, and too unlikely to play in the NFL, “Why not you?” Today, Trent is in his fifth year in the league.

What is your dream? What is something that you want to accomplish? My encouragement to you is to start your dream today, no matter where you are, no matter the circumstances. Just start!

If I can do it, you can do it.

Like you, I’ve had some wins and taken some knocks. At every step along the way there have been lessons for me to learn. Taking each experience as an opportunity to improve, I have found what I truly believe is my Winning Edge.

Join with me, and let’s find the Winning Edge within you!

I hope you learn and grow from my lessons and stories about how to Find Your Winning Edg e.

Purchase the
Find Your Winning Edge
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Lessons and Stories About How To Find Your Winning Edge In Life And Business

A Special Sauce for Success - LLA2

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 17:48:29 GMT

What is LLA2? It is a transformative formula for success!

I have used LLA2 three times in my life. Each time it allowed me to rid myself of old habits and reshape myself to be more successful.

In 1985, I went from a disinterested college student to one that was motivated and successful.
In 1999, I transformed myself from a dictatorial leader to an inspirational one.
In 2004, I did the hard work of addressing my own shortcomings to become a better husband and father.

So, what is LLA2?

1. Listen

My Momma used to say that God gave you two ears and only one mouth. You must listen more than you talk. Make it a priority to find intelligent people that you trust and have discussions with them. Listen with intent to learn, take notes, and review them. Ask questions and do reflective listening. By listening more, you’ll be in the right mindset to learn and find the truth.

2. Learn

To find success we must be willing to learn by finding the truth. Do you know what kind of learner you are? Take this short quiz to discover your learning style. Are you an auditory, visual, or tactile learner? Once you determine your learning style, use these 8 steps as a guide to find the truth in any situation you’re faced with.

Search for the truth.
Discover the truth.
Struggle with the truth.
Believe the truth.
Personalize the truth.
Bring the information to life.
Ask “How does this affect me?”
Practice what you heard

Once you follow the steps to find the truth, it’s now time to apply what you’ve learned.

3. Apply

Take courage to master your fears and act upon what you’ve learned. Repetition is your best friend, so do what you’ve learned over and over again until you master it. We never fail, we only learn.

With this transformational formula of LLA2 you can learn and apply a solution to any problem that may occur in your life. Tell yourself, “I can Live Life Abundantly no matter what my circumstances.”

The power of LLA2 is real! It changed my life and continues to help me grow and transform into a successful spouse, parent, friend, and leader daily. Think about how you can use this weapon to fight a battle that you are currently involved with.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

C.E.O. Of Your Mind: Overcome Your Bad Circumstances

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 12:12:22 GMT

Y ou are the CEO of your mind. You may literally be a CEO in a company, but we are all the CEOs of our mind.

Last week we discussed the “E” in CEO: Erase all the labels that society has put on you. This week we will be discussing the “O”: Overcome your bad circumstances.

Do you let your failures or bad circumstances stop you from living your best life? We must learn how to overcome them.

First of all, we need to understand that everyone has problems and bad circumstances that they have overcome. Some of you have a personal history of difficult circumstances; others are managing hard problems right now. We are all humans and we must know and learn how to overcome adversity.

Here are 3 steps that I’ve used to overcome adversities that have come my way.

Gain the Right Perspective
Go into G.A.M.E. Mode
Win or Lose, What Did I Learn?

1. Gain the Right Perspective

As you look to gain perspective on your circumstances, ask yourself the following questions. Did this happen to me or for me? What lesson do I need to learn from this situation that will lead me to my destiny? What did I do wrong? What was controllable and what was uncontrollable?

Gaining the right perspective will allow you to move to step 2 where you will set a plan in place to overcome your bad circumstances.

2. Go into G.A.M.E. Mode

Once you’ve gained perspective on your circumstance, it’s time to plan and execute a strategy. I call this step going into GAME Mode.

G - Gather information on the problem.
A - Analyze the problem.
M - Make a plan.
E - Execute the plan, follow up, and adjust as necessary.

Go into GAME Mode so you can learn as much about the problem as you can and then execute a plan of action to overcome similar problems in the future.

3. Win or lose - What did I learn?

The most important step in overcoming a bad circumstance is determining how you can grow from it? At the end of each situation or trial you encounter, ask yourself these 2 questions: “What did I learn?” and “How can I grow from this circumstance?” Without learning and growing from our past circumstances, we are destined to repeat the same mistakes, which will ultimately let our failures stop us from living our best lives.

Once you’ve gained the right perspective, executed your plan, and learned from your mistakes, you’ll be ready the next time you’re confronted with a similar situation. You will be able to take another step towards becoming a better CEO of your mind.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Creating a Winning Legacy

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 17:29:26 GMT

As we continue to grow our digital platform, check out my wife, Mickey, and me on Legacy Builders Podcast. A big thanks to Eric and Madison Madej for the opportunity to share our wins and loses in building our legacy. Listen or watch the full episode

At the bottom of this Weekly Fuel, there are some highlight comments made by myself and my wife (Mickey) while on the podcast.

Peter Strople says, “Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.”

So what will your family, your teammates, and your community say about you?

Consider these 3 things daily to create your Winning Legacy:

How do you make people feel?
What do they see you do?
What do they know about you?

1. How do you make people feel?

People will remember more about how you made them feel than what you did or didn’t do for them. Take those life experiences, and find the leverage to be better for the people around you. We can take the good and bad and turn it into fuel for our family, people, and community. Leave this place better than you found it.

2. What do they see you do?

People hear what you do, not what you say. I can hear my Mother reminding my Dad, “those boys are watching you.” Remember, a legacy is something we leave in them, it is not something we give them. It has been said that our conscious mind can handle around 4,000 bytes of information per second, whereas our unconscious mind, through all of our senses, can process around 4 BILLION bytes per second. Whatever the actual number, the unconscious mind functions as a supremely powerful computer.

3. What do they know about you?

At the proper time, and having developed a trusting relationship, we can share our true story—our triumphs and vulnerabilities. We can invite others into the hard lessons that we have learned, so that they can be better equipped for our common struggles.

This challenge is to be conscious of our daily behavior and actions to make sure that we are leaving a legacy that encourages everyone to take another step.

What is your Legacy that you are leaving inside of people today?

Exercise :

Write down 5 impactful people in your life that inspired you to be great? How did they make you feel, what did you know about them, and what did you see them do? You can also see how a person negatively impacted you in how they made you feel. Then for us to be a great leader we just do the opposite of what they did.

This is a very energizing and thought provoking exercise to help you Create a Winning!

Here are some clippings from the podcast:

Greg’s comments:

“He (My Dad) would never let us say anything bad about anyone.”

Mickey’s Comments:

“Everyone is deserving of grace.”

One thing to tell the next generation:

We all need trusted advisors in our life! - Greg

Relationships are vital! - Mickey

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Impact Levers for Business Growth - Profits

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 11:41:46 GMT

A t Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations toward sustained success. We have identified 3 components of our Impact Levers for Business Growth. The levers are:

People
Customers
Profits

We will be discussing the 3rd one today: The Bottom Line – PROFITS.

The prerequisite for any organization’s survival is to make money. In my career, I failed by prioritizing people over profits. I learned that without profits, I could not help people.

We have identified 3 areas of focus that will help us grow the bottom line:

Sales and Marketing
Cost Control
Efficiency Patrol

1. Sales and Marketing

Who in your organization is focused entirely on this task? Do they have your support? Do they have the budget, systems, processes, people, and leaders to create more and more sales? Without sales, we cannot make money. Because of natural and unavoidable attrition, we must focus on new customer acquisition. Otherwise, our business will shrink over time. Once the right people in our organization are focused on finding new customers, as well as maintaining and growing our existing customers, then everyone will be clear and determined to grow the business.

2. Cost Control

Are your expenses under control? Has each been evaluated as to their necessity and usefulness? Does your organization spend money on wants that are masquerading as needs? Are the right people focused on understanding the difference? Are they asking probing, detailed questions about each expense? What is the purpose of an expense? Who benefits from it? Does it make us more efficient? This cost control exercise will help identify the purpose for each penny spent. When the effective stewardship of money is understood by everyone in the organization, then we all will minimize our expenses to establish a solid foundation.

3. Efficiency Patrol

Now that we understand our sales and expenses, how do we make our operations more efficient or productive? We must do more with less. Do we have our products and services priced at the highest competitive rate? Are we utilizing vendors to optimize our cost of goods? Are we deploying teammates in a way that eliminates redundancies and maximizes productivity? Lastly, are we focused on asking these specific questions every day? When streamlining processes and seizing opportunities becomes an inherent part of our culture, then our profits will grow and everyone will share in the rewards.

When your leadership team walks in the door daily and has your people understanding how they affect these areas, profits will grow, helping everyone take another step.

Which one of these issues stops you from making money?

Where are you strong and how are your profits growing?

Let’s connect to dig further into these areas to assist you in understanding the necessary steps needed to make the bottom line grow!

I would love to hear your success stories on how you and your team have conquered any of these 3 elements to grow your bottom line!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Impact Levers for Business Growth - Customers

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 14:45:30 GMT

Without customers we have nothing!

At Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations toward sustained success. We have identified 3 components of our Impact Levers for Business Growth.

The 2nd of these is: Customers - without them we have nothing.

Without satisfied and growing customers, we literally do not exist. Our people must understand that we have no greater priority than our customers and here are 3 areas of focus to help them do so:

D iscovery Process
Build a Trusting Relationship
Focus on Problem-solving

1. Discovery Process

First, we need to S.T.O.P. and spend time on people. We need to get to know our customers personally, professionally, what their specific wants and needs are, and how they want us to process their business. Remember, unmet expectations will equal future resentments. Therefore, the customer and our team must have a clear understanding on how we will be processing each transaction going forward to ensure that we can meet and exceed their expectations. When we eliminate and prevent problems with a thorough on-boarding process, our service will be more seamless, and we will be able to service our customers beyond their expectation.

2. Build a Trusting Relationship

Communication is the key! We must stay in contact with our customers through our salesforce, customer service team, and the front-line teammate that sees the customer daily. Periodically, we need to check with our customer to ask 2 important questions: 1) How are we doing? and 2) What else can we do for you that we are not currently doing? By showing this level of concern, we will build trust in a way that is both genuine and enduring. In doing so, our customers will trust us and communicate with us in both good times and bad.

3 . Focus on Problem-solving

How does your organization view problems? Successful organizations see problems as challenges through which they can improve and grow. Struggling teams turn difficulties into opportunities for blame. The path forward for any group is to focus on what can be done, not what cannot. This especially resonates with customers who are always reassured when their partners propose and implement constructive solutions. When our customers know, see, and feel that we are focused, relentless, truthful, and realistic when problems arise, their faith in us will grow and our business with our customer will grow as well.

The discovery process will bear a trusting relationship, and we must train on the skills and mindset to command a solution to any problem. When everyone in your organization embodies this spirit, your customers will join with you and your team, and everyone involved will take another step.

How much focus do you put on customers?
Do your people understand the importance of customer service and how it affects their careers?
Do they know how to win customers and keep them for life?
How does your organization ensure that the customer is serviced beyond their expectation?

Love to hear your success stories on who your organization provides the culture to accomplish this task!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Impact Levers for Business Growth - People

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 01:31:30 GMT

At Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations towards a growing and sustainable success.

As one of my executive mentors always said; “if you are not growing you are dying."

We have identified 3 components of our Impact Levers for Business Growth!

The 1st of these is : People are our most precious asset .

Here are 3 ways to build a culture where people are our most precious asset:

Hire the Best Available
Train and Set Expectations
Reward and Discipline

1. Hire the Best Available

Remember this dictum, we hire our problems. Hiring is not a perfect science, but we can gather information and ask open-ended questions. We need to understand our candidate’s personality, life experiences, education, and then we can have a better understanding of their future habits and performance. At the end of an interview, we must ask ourselves four questions: Can they do the job? Do they want to do the job? Are they going to be coachable and humble? and How long will they stay? Once we know that we can hire the best available, we will all be confident that we can grow as individuals and organizationally.

3. Training and Setting Expectations

Do we set people up for success, or do we inadvertently guarantee their failure? Does our new hire understand the job and the expectations of their leader? First, we indoctrinate them into our culture (mission, vision, core values). We must train them on their specific job duties and establish clear expectations for their performance. Once our new teammate feels that people care and we are encouraging them to grow through training and setting clear performance guidelines, a sense of ownership will become established, and everyone will exceed the expectations.

3. Reward and Discipline

First, people must understand what behavior will earn a reward and what behavior will be disciplined. We must build this understanding as we interview, hire, train, and set expectations. When people choose the right behavior, we must give them a reward-a positive immediate certain consequence (PIC), and when the wrong behavior is performed we must discipline them-a negative immediate certain consequence (NIC). A PIC will optimize their behavior, while a NIC will minimize the wrong behavior. When leadership is consistent with their rewards and discipline, then everyone will be empowered to grow as an organization to meet the demands of the marketplace.

When you consciously focus on recruiting like-minded people that match your pre-determined culture, they will embrace your training and direction, and they will be motivated by the consequences provided, both positive and negative. Once our people understand that every person is valued in the organization, then everyone will be liberated to take another step.

This is the 1st of our Impact Levers for Business Growth.

Next week will discuss #2 Customer - Without them we have nothing.

Are you establishing a growth mindset organization?
Are you hiring the best people available?
Are you training and setting expectations?
Do you reward and discipline your team?

These are all an integral part of your growth as an organization.

Call if you would like to discuss further or tell me your success stories by using these tools and how it has helped your organization grow.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Mentor - Who is yours?

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 14:36:54 GMT

The right mentor can be critical in helping you maximize your potential. No matter what we may tell ourselves, we simply can’t do it entirely on our own. We need someone who’s been tested, someone who’s seen a good deal of what life has to offer, and someone who can challenge us in the confluence of inspiration and accountability.

Most all of us have bosses. Today’s thought is: how do we turn a boss into a mentor?

What is a boss? A boss is someone above you on the organizational chart, someone who has the authority to tell you what to do. There are good ones and bad ones, and there are ones in between. They are the boss because that is the role that has been assigned to them.

What is a mentor? A mentor is a person that, from a position of authority, is able to lead and inspire you. They coach you to greater heights by creating opportunities for you to learn and grow. They are concerned with the organization’s outcome, for sure. But they are especially interested in you. They genuinely care and want what’s best for you!

10 Things that will inspire your boss to become your mentor!

Chase and approach your leader with new and improved ideas. Do not have them chase you. This will frustrate them.
Be respectful of their time by being clear and concise.
Read the same trade journals, magazines, newspapers, and books that they are currently reading. This will help you understand how they are thinking.
Ask for feedback. Feedback is the breakfast of champions. Some questions to ask: “Am I a drainer or energizer? How am I doing? What else can I do that I am not currently doing for you? What frustrates you about me?"
As sensitive issues arise, make sure you do a great job communicating with them. Don't let your leader be blindsided (Football analogy: DE-CLEATED).
Know their hot buttons and cold buttons. Know “THE LOOK!" Understand and interpret their body language.
Understand what responsibilities about their job keeps them awake at night and discern how you can minimize them.
Make sure you are adding energy and value to their day-to-day grind. Be an energizer, not a drainer!
Ask for permission for your solution to a problem to be implemented. Other times, ask for forgiveness after your solution gets results (be careful!)
The bottom line: Get results and document them.

Do these ten things on a consistent basis and you will gain a mentor. You will be adding value to your company, getting results, and your probability of making more money increases.

Give your leader passion, focus, a trusting and confidential relationship, the ability to win through adversity, and honesty on a day-to-day basis. Be intentional and consistent and growth will take place and your boss will become your mentor.

Let’s Grow!

Keep sending the success stories. Winning Edge’s warriors are making plays!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

The Game-Changing Mindset

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 11:45:30 GMT

Relentless Pursuit of Excellence

As my business journey led me to a mentor where his only request was to relentlessly pursue excellence, my first thought was that he wanted me to be perfect. In running his companies for him, I knew he wanted to be the best at everything (profits, customers, teammates). While building a relationship with him and understanding his mission of a “Relentless Pursuit of Excellence,” a revelation came upon me that he just wanted everyone to walk in every day and simply be better than we were yesterday. I became liberated mentally once I understood and was confident that I can do his mission.

He understood that if all of us were committed to being the very best that we could be and fight and claw to get better each and every day. The goals would take care of themselves.

NEWSFLASH - it worked! Be relentless in getting better and wins will follow. I promise you!

For us to connect to this Game-Changing MIndset, a “Relentless Pursuit of Excellence,” we must use these 3 tools daily:

Focus
Intention
Consistency

1. Focus

What are you devoting your time and energy to? We must be conscious of what we are doing with our 86,400 seconds in a day if we are to be relentless. Everything we do must have a purpose to it that ties into our ultimate goal because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A leader is effective when they know the right things to do and devote their energies towards them. This is the surest way to eliminate distractions. When we focus on issues of genuine impact and eliminate peripheral noise, this will ensure that everyone will increase their focus to become better.

2. Intention

Are you intentional each day? Do you have a plan before you start each day? An intentional person has a narrow and defined focus, not to the point of rigidity, however. People with structured, purposeful, and intentional behavior will change the environment around them, sometimes immediately, at others over time. This person is resolute and clear-minded. They don’t let distractions knock them off course, and at the same time, they are able to make necessary adjustments as new information presents itself. When we are this intentional, everyone around us will feel our strength and discipline and in so doing will be determined to take action to move forward in all they do.

3. Consistency

Winning Edge calls this our daily grind! When we employ these 3 tools on a daily basis, we and everyone around us will have the energy to take another step.

Do you see yourself as being relentless? What would those around you say? Do you think being relentless would benefit you and your team?

Love to hear your success stories on how being focused, being intentional, and consistent has changed the trajectory of your life, family, or organization.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Success is a Journey, Not a Destination

Sat, 24 Jul 2021 18:31:07 GMT

All of us want to finish all tasks each day to obtain a sense of accomplishment and completion. I have learned over my years that there is no end to the process of pursuing, leading, learning, failing, and growing.

So on that journey, what do we need to sustain inspiration in the peaks and valleys?

Winning Edge has identified 3 tools that will help us.

A Robust Inner Circle
A Freedom Pass
A 50:20 Vision

1. A Robust Inner Circle

2. A Freedom Pass

3. A 50:20 Vision (Genesis 50:20)

Do people fail? Of course. I have failed many times. To tap into this vision we must decide if this happened for us or to us? I have learned to see that it happened for me. A 50:20 vision says that it doesn’t matter what happened in my past or today, I am a child of God and he can take anything that I have experienced, good, bad, or ugly, and use it for good. Once leaders tap into this vision, everyone around them will have an example of the proper vision that will allow them to see beyond their perceived limitations.

These 3 tools, properly used, will help us grow into the very best version of ourselves. Then, everyone around us will be inspired to take another step.

Loving all the success stories that Winning Edge nation is producing. Keep up the good work!

Keep sending in your WINS!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Mindset Shift

Mon, 19 Jul 2021 10:00:02 GMT

I n Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we pay particular attention to the notion of mindset.

What is a mindset?

A mindset is a particular way of thinking, a person’s attitude or set of opinions about something, or a frame of mind wh ich leads an individual to a particular set of associations, expectations, and behaviors.

We have 3 key points to discuss:

What is a growth mindset?
What is a fixed mindset?
Where are you?

1. What is a growth mindset?
Are you growing or are you stagnant? Having a growth mindset means that intelligence can be cultivated, regardless of our IQ. A growth mindset sees opportunities instead of problems, learns instead of fails, and adapts to reach a goal or solve a problem. A leader with a growth mindset embraces new paradigms, new disciplines, and new challenges. With a mindset focused on growth, we can pursue excellence and leave mediocrity behind, enabling ourselves and everyone around us to take another step.

2. What is a fixed mindset?
Are you falling behind, or are you growing? Those with a fixed mindset see limitations in their capabilities, their intelligence, and their opportunities. Someone with a fixed mindset will tend to hide mistakes and avoid challenges, for fear of revealing weaknesses. People trapped inside a fixed mindset will stop short of pursuing their dreams. This mindset can also give one a false sense of security. With a fixed mindset, we cannot be the best version of ourselves, nor can we help others around us take another step.

3. Where are you?
Do you have a fixed or growth mindset? Champions are self-aware. In my years of winning, failing, and learning, I have grown to have a better understanding of myself, and my own strengths and weaknesses. An article from Forbes Magazine stated that 90% of top performers are highly self-aware, compared to the bottom fifth of performers, who lack this perspective. Where are you? (A mindset test is located at www.findyourwinningedge.com , then go to resources, then toolkit, and then take the mindset test.)

Once we become conscious of our own mindset, we will see with a broader perspective, be better able to adjust, and be fully prepared for ourselves and those around us to take another step.

I know from my personal experience that I had a fixed mindset in the intellectual side of my life until I stopped playing football in college. When I made the mindset shift from fixed to growth, that is when my world changed around me.

Hear this loud and clear: My world did not change, just my perspective of it changed! Now, I can grow through it, no matter what the circumstances!

I encourage you today to take a look at your mindset.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How Do You Become a Playmaker

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 11:44:28 GMT

Can you do what others can’t do? To make a play simply means finding a way to advance when the path forward is not clear. It may mean making something out of nothing or achieving something when others say it is impossible.

We have 3 keys to becoming a playmaker:

Personal Accountability
Focus
A Positive Mental Attitude

1. Personal Accountability
This is a mindset of asking what I can do to become the best version of myself or to help my fellow humans become their best. This is a process of seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. “If it’s got to be, it is up to me”—Harrison Hoof. This is one where you say: Get out of the way. I got this. I am going to make something happen, even though I may not have optimal time or resources. Once people know, see, and feel us exuding personal accountability, this will give everyone the courage and hope to take another step.

2. Focus
Can you focus on one thing at a time? Can you choose the most impactful thing to do? In this context, focus means the ability to concentrate by using your time well. Focused people will eliminate distractions by understanding what tasks and activities bring the biggest return. Focused people will be intentional and consistent with their time, energy, and determination. Focused people never lose sight of the goal and the steps necessary to arrive at the destination. When our people see our intense focus and determination, everyone will be heartened, and we will all take another step.

3. A Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
Do you have a positive or negative outlook on life? Being positive does not mean taking good outcomes for granted. PMA is about embracing all challenges and knowing that improvement is always possible. We also know that it will take focus, commitment, and sacrifice. We wake up every day, committed to making our team, company, or family better. PMA helps us keep our hope, discernment, and energy levels high, so everyone around us can grow their PMA and become a playmaker.

When we deploy these 3 keys, we will gain a competitive advantage. Our fears and doubts will turn into fuel, and everyone around us will be inspired to take another step.

I truly do love it when people tell me about their success stories in life and work.

Keep the wins coming! Let's Grow!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How to Become a Champion

Sun, 04 Jul 2021 11:14:45 GMT

How to Become a Champion

Today we are talking about the BOTTOM LINE!

The journey of Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System is so we all can be a champion. We want everyone to walk in the door and say, “I am a Champion.” We are going to be our best today by seizing the day and making plays that will advance our organization forward. This is the power of a believing team!

There are three keys to Being a Champion:

1. Know Who You Are
Do you know who you are? What do others say about you? Winning Edge has determined that the following are vital in understanding any person: their personality, family/childhood experiences, educational experience, and significant emotional experiences. The next step is to ask others how they perceive us and how we make them feel. From this information, we must then decide who we want to be? We all must find reality and determine the next steps to take to pursue our championship life. Once we know who we are and who we want to be, something in our spirit will set us free, enabling us to conquer challenges.

2. Understand the Power of the Mind
God has given us the most powerful thing in the universe, Himself accepted, which is our mind. This is our most important resource. How do we tap into this power? Be aware of our thoughts and their impact on our life. Know and believe that I can change my thoughts, which will eventually change my behavior, which will then change my results. Once we understand that we have the power and we are in control, we will be liberated to move forward in our championship life.

3. Freedom of Choice
What do you choose to become today? Each day we get to choose a path of being a champion, living in mediocrity, or worse. A couple of years ago, my oldest son Trey told me that the most powerful thing that he has is the freedom of choice. Wow, he gets it. That day I felt the freedom that was in his mind and heart. Being a champion starts with a daily choice, that I will be my best, I will seize the day, and I will make a play.

This mindset, when fully developed, will allow us to grow and create sustainability, and then everyone will be empowered to be a champion and take another step.

Love to hear your success stories on how you seize the day and take advantage of your daily opportunities.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

"Carpe Diem" - Seize the Day

Mon, 28 Jun 2021 11:19:48 GMT

How Do You Seize the Day?

Do you take advantage of opportunities? Do you have a get-it-done mentality, or do you procrastinate? Time is short, windows of opportunity open, and then they shut.

Here are three tools we need to Seize the Day - “CARPE DIEM”

Preparation
Adaptability
Courage to embrace the challenges

1. Preparation

Are you diligent in preparing before events overtake you? As we encounter varying and often unpredictable circumstances, the planning and preparation that we, as leaders, have undertaken up to this point will define our effectiveness. Consistent preparation allows us to discern better, prioritize better, and execute better. Dwight Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is essential.” Leaders that plan maximize their capacity to think. As we optimize our ability to think and adjust, we will grow in our boldness, able to truly seize the day.

2. Adaptability

Do you adapt to uncontrollable circumstances, or are you frustrated when you cannot execute your plans as you precisely intended? Planning is important, but if one cannot be flexible based upon circumstances, plans become handcuffs. Confident leaders know that uncontrollable circumstances will not derail them, because they have the conviction that they can confidently adapt. Adaptability is a key to thriving in a forever-changing world. The ability to adapt prevents us from being knocked off course and therefore allows us to seize each day.

3. Courage to embrace the challenges

Do you embrace challenges, or do fear and doubt take over? All of us, without exception, are faced with circumstances that we fear. Some misunderstand the existence of fear as a lack of courage. In fact, courage shows itself when we are most afraid -- when we choose not to be static -- not to be paralyzed, but to move forward despite our anxiety. All great leaders exhibit this quality. When everyone around us knows, sees, and feels the commitment and focus to win through adversity and seize the day, everyone will be inspired to take another step.

When we are prepared and we are flexible, we will have the courage that will push us through our fears and doubts. We can then seize the day, inspiring everyone around us to take another step.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Foundation of a Parent

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 17:55:17 GMT

I’ve mentioned before about how important a solid foundation is in life. Many of you are fortunate enough to be a father, and this discussion will highlight that very important job. If you don’t have children, these principles can also apply to other relationships in your life.

Fathers - you cannot build your best life for your children until you have a meaningful foundation and understanding of what your behavior means to your child.

The impact of a father’s behavior:

As we celebrate Father’s Day, I want to share how I learned the valuable lessons of fatherhood by understanding my grandfather, my father, and myself as a father.

These are the Foundations of a Parent.

Foundation 1: Forgiveness - My Dad’s journey with his Dad
Foundation 2: Honor - My Journey with My Dad
Foundation 3: Don’t Bring Your Children to Anger - My Journey with My Sons

Foundation 1: Forgiveness
My Dad’s Journey with His Dad

Foundation 2: Honor
My Journey with My Dad

Foundation 3: Don’t Bring Your Children to Anger
My Journey with My Sons

What are you going to do with the life you’ve been given?

Love to hear your success story or challenges with your father or children.

I would love to come and speak to your community and business about The Foundation of a Father!

How Do You Become Your Best?

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 10:30:02 GMT

How do you become your best? Not THE best, but YOUR best. This is a critical distinction, as, by definition, only a small number can actually be THE best at anything. If we hold this up as our standard, then its achievability makes it uninspiring, even deflating. But anyone can be THEIR best. There are three elements that inform this mindset:

Purpose drives our energy
Be relentless
Compete against yourself

1. Purpose drives our energy
Our purpose is our “why”! Why do we do what we do? Does it matter? When what we do is what we care about, when our job is our passion, we will have seemingly unlimited reserves of fuel to drive us. The biggest day of our life was when we were born, but the most profound day is when we find out why we were born. When we are clear in our purpose, when we really care, we will be more energetic, those around us will feel our energy, and then everyone will be empowered to rise above their circumstances.

2. Be Relentless
Do you stop and groan or do you grow through adversity? The relentless, quite simply, do not quit. They may adjust, they may engage in tactical retreat, they may suffer losses, but the relentless are always moving forward. Whatever the circumstances, the ebbs and flows, leaders with this mindset always see a better day ahead. This mindset takes determination, for sure. But it also takes patience, discernment, and an understanding that defeats are temporary while improvement can be perpetual.

3. Compete against yourself
Do you believe that comparing yourself against others is productive? It can be useful to see what others are doing, either to learn new methods or to seek motivation. However, if this tends to de-motivate you or make you feel inferior--STOP! Remember, this is a competition against ourselves. Every night before you go to bed, ask yourself these questions: What did I learn? What did I overcome? Was I encouraging others? Am I better today than I was yesterday? This is about daily improvement done with intention, focus, and consistency, and it will create energy for everyone around us to feel secure to put forth their best effort.

When our leaders and teammates establish this mindset, a difference in actions and reactions will occur, results will trend upwardly, and we will see our organization working together as a team to take another step.

I would love to hear your success stories on inspiring yourself or others on being their best and the results that came from that journey!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Trust the Process: The leadership process that set me free!

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 01:46:30 GMT

Leadership is more than asking for a certain result. It is leading through a process to obtain a result.

The 10 steps are as follows

Can they do the job?
Do they want to do the job?
Are they going to be coachable and humble?
How long will they stay?
Preparation
Set expectations
Hold them accountable
Demand Excellence
Reward and recognize
Discipline and terminate, if all else fails.

To build a culture of achievement, we must prepare and train our people, set expectations for them, hold them accountable every day, and demand excellence (steps 5-8). When we give our people the capacity to do their job, hold them accountable for their current behavior, and set well-defined expectations for their future performance, everyone in the organization will have clarity as to their role and the steps they must take to excel in their position.

What is the end game of this process – consequences (steps 9-10)! When our people are doing good things, we need to immediately reinforce that behavior for maximum impact.

Conversely, when someone’s behavior needs improvement, we need to discipline them out of concern for their well-being and the longevity of their employment. If discipline fails to change behavior, termination may become necessary (get your HR Dept. involved!).

Leadership is hard, because sometimes we must terminate the bad ones to motivate the good ones. When our people see behavior being appropriately rewarded and discouraged, then everyone will be determined to take another step.

Stop being frustrated, let the process set you free, and then everyone will take another step.

Love to hear your stories on how the process helped you build the best version of your people.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is the ability to provide a growth mindset culture

Mon, 31 May 2021 10:30:03 GMT

Do you inspire a growth mindset?

Some ways to evaluate this are by looking at the way that you and your people handle failure, the language and tone being used, and how leaders and teammates interact with one another.

For us to develop a growth mindset culture, we must:

Be a life-long learner
Understand that failure is an opportunity for growth
Encourage open and candid conversations.

1. Be a life-long learner
How does your organization establish higher sustainability, competitiveness, profitability, and wins? John Maxwell states, “Leadership and personal development compounds. The more you invest in people and the longer you do it, the greater the growth and the higher the return.” Leadership must be concerned with human development, but they must first recognize each individual’s capacity to learn. Continuous learning takes many different forms. These include critical life experiences, failures, reading books, and structured classroom training. These are all effective methods of education. When an organization can capture these moments, and leverage them for growth, then everyone will be motivated to grow.

2. Understand that failure is an opportunity for growth
Thomas Edison said it this way, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.” Edison failed over 7,000 times inventing the light bulb. Our reaction to failure (and our people’s perception of that reaction) is critical in shaping the culture we desire. Instead of fleeing difficult issues, with the fear of failure minimizing their abilities, we want our people to run toward challenges with boldness, confident that leadership will have their back. Once our team knows that failure is not fatal, we will all be more focused and determined to do what is necessary to advance forward.

3. Encourage open and candid conversations
Do your people feel free to speak their opinion in a respectful manner? For us to maximize our team’s abilities in challenging times, we must have mutual trust, which will allow us to have constructive and balanced conversations. Everyone must be willing to listen to those around them with an open mind and heart. The best ideas will be a collection of the team’s thoughts. It is our job as the leader to create this environment. Therefore, when you can harness people’s passion and intelligence with candid, trusting conversations, something will ignite in their spirit, and everyone around us will be inspired to strive for excellence.

When our people know, see, and feel that you care about them, and you want them to be the best version of themselves, growth will ignite, and everyone will be liberated to take another step.

I would love to hear about your success stories of developing a growth mindset culture and how it impacted your organization, your teammates and families, and the results!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Performance Management

Mon, 24 May 2021 02:51:33 GMT

PERFORMANCE--How to increase it?

What is the key to increasing the performance of our people? The best way to manage performance is to employ the A-B-C model.

Antecedent
Behavior
Consequences

In this, we examine Antecedents (what comes before a behavior), the Behavior itself, and the Consequences (that which follows the behavior). By shaping Antecedents (training, setting expectations, etc.), and by applying Consequences (positive or negative), we can increase desired behaviors and reduce undesired ones.

Antecedent
The 1st step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is the Antecedent.
This is what takes place before the behavior. In an organizational setting, this generally consists of training, setting expectations, and laying out goals. This is most impactful when we, as leaders, take time to know our people, their learning styles, their personalities, family histories, educational backgrounds, and their significant emotional experiences. When we devote sufficient attention to this process, everyone around us will have more clarity and be more effective. When our people start to know, see, and feel that we are properly preparing them to do their job, their fears will recede, passion will increase.

Behavior
The 2nd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is…. Behavior.
In simple terms, behavior is what people do. It can be seen, it can be tracked, and it can be measured. While there are many influences on behavior, what we can control is the expectations and preparations (the antecedent). Likewise, we also control the consequences (what comes after the behavior--positive or negative). By being clear in our expectations and consistent in our consequences, we will shape the behavior of those around us and move closer to the outcomes we want. When we, as leaders, focus on behavioral outcomes that benefit everyone, then we will all be empowered to take another step.

Consequences
The 3rd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is…. Consequences.
What keeps the right behavior going? Positive consequences! What stops the bad behavior? Negative consequences! Antecedents get us going, but consequences keep us going. We can classify consequences in 3 ways: 1) Positive or negative 2) Immediate or delayed 3) Certain or uncertain. To optimize behavior a person must be given the proper antecedent, must then perform the desired behavior, and then must be given a “PIC” – Positive Immediate Certain consequence. We must also make sure that the person receiving the PIC perceives the action to be positive. Once people around us understand that behavior has consequences to them, good and bad, then, and only then, will they take another step.

This defined A-B-C analysis process gives our people and their leader the tools to manage behavior, takes the emotion out of it, and allows them to be the best version of themselves. It is almost a guarantee that our people’s desired performance will go up and the undesired will go down and everyone around us will take another step.

Love to hear your success stories on how you have used this technique to get results.

If you would like to have a discussion on this topic, please reach out to me via phone 318-230-6481 or email at greg@findyourwinningedge.com .

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Leading by Example

Mon, 17 May 2021 10:30:02 GMT

Are you setting a good example?

A Little enlightenment: People do what people see!

What would your kids or associates say about you? We must be aware of how our behavior affects those around us, because people are watching. I can hear my Momma telling my Dad, “Those boys are watching you.”

For us to lead by example we need 3 components:

Competence
Consistency
Vulnerability

1. Competence
We, as leaders, must know how to do the right things, at the right time. When presented with challenges, we will model the G.A.M.E. problem-solving method. Where we Gather information, Analyze it, Make a plan, and Execute that plan, then monitor and make the necessary adjustments. We must have the knowledge and the courage to model this behavior. People will do what they see, not what they hear. Once our people know, see, and feel that they can follow our example and trust it, then everyone can turn their fears into fuel and take another step.

2. Consistent
What are the benefits when leaders are consistent in their behavior? When we are consistent, the expectations of those around us are more clear. Therefore, our team will know the rules, know the opportunities, know the limitations, and know the rewards. Our teams will experience less stress, more productivity, and more satisfaction. The consistent leader offers a solid foundation where those around them can grow. This allows good habits to be created and our people’s habits will determine our future.

3. Vulnerability
Do you allow your people to see you make mistakes? Do you admit when you are wrong? When someone is following us, and we fail, then they watch how we handle the problem. At that point, we have a great opportunity to teach a lesson in that failure. This is when competence and consistency come together in confidence, because we know that the moment that failure happens, a great learning tool has been created. The leader’s message is clear: “We do not fail here. We only learn and grow!” Once people see their leader’s being vulnerable, fear of failure will diminish, and everyone will be inspired to take another step.

As John Maxwell says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Leading by example is a powerful tool to inspire everyone to take another step.

Are you leading by example? I would love to hear your success stories on how you lead by example and how it is getting you results or overcoming obstacles by using this concept.

If you would like to discuss how you and your team can become great role models, call me at 318-230-6481 or email me at greg@findyourwinningedge.com.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Ownership

Sat, 08 May 2021 23:17:53 GMT

Want an advantage in Leadership? Take Ownership! Go from confusion to clarity by taking ownership in all results. As John Maxwell says, “It is okay to be uncertain, but it is not okay to be unclear.”

Effective leaders own their organization’s results, good and bad. They accept ultimate responsibility for any outcome. This is most challenging when results are bad, but when your team sees you accept the worst, they will be inspired.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways for a leader to embrace ownership:

Personal accountability
Begin with the end in mind
Protect your people

1. Personal accountability
Can you take ownership of something if you do not hold yourself accountable? Absolutely not! Personal accountability is an attitude of continually asking what I can do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire. Accountability is also a process; one of seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. It is a perspective that focuses on current and future efforts, rather than the past. This will create a sense of strength in us as leaders, allowing us to be unafraid to admit our mistakes.

2. Begin with the end in mind
What inspires a person to take ownership? Strong leaders have a clear picture of their destination. They find peace and strength in knowing where they have been, where they are currently, where they are going, and they have an understanding of the necessary steps to take to reach the destination. Focus, courage, consistency, and inspirational leadership skills will give us all, as strong leaders, the necessary means to stand firm and own the process. We will be confident and determined in reaching the destination.

3. Protect your people
Can you achieve your goals by yourself? Our people are our most important asset, and we need to treat them as such. We must put the right people in the right place doing the right things. Leaders who take ownership must protect their people in areas such as time, focus, learning from mistakes, health (mentally and physically), integrity, work-life balance, and leaders must simplify the job as much as possible.

The leaders that influenced me the most were the ones who helped me appreciate and internalize these principles. When it is obvious to our people that we are holding ourselves accountable, moving towards the end game, that we genuinely care about them, and that we will help them remove all barriers, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

Love to hear your success stories on how you took ownership in something you could better manage and make it the best possible.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Being a Thermostat

Mon, 03 May 2021 11:30:02 GMT

A thermostat is a device that controls the heating and cooling of equipment. Being a thermostat leader means that you can set the tone, mindset, and temperature of your team by having these 3 things:

Temperament and Discernment
Trusting Relationships
Conflict Management Skills

Temperament and discernment
You cannot be a thermostat for someone else until you can be one for yourself. These two traits will establish our ability as a leader to control our own emotions, allowing us to find and focus on reality. One of the most important things that any leader must do is to find the truth and reality of each situation. Not allowing ourselves to be emotionally hijacked gives us the mental strength to discern the truth and find solutions to our problems. Once everyone sees that their leadership is clear and calm, then everyone will feel the security to allow them to grow in any circumstance.

Trusting relationships
Just as a thermostat is connected to the machine it regulates, so, too, does trust connect us to the people that we lead. Trust can be established by connecting to people on a personal basis, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positive, and being present with them by giving them your full attention. Once people trust us, they will gain a sense of security and they will become more apt to tackle their most difficult challenges together. Trust helps everyone to take another step. Once trust is established, fears will turn into fuel, then everyone will be inspired.

Conflict management skills
Are you a peacemaker? A simple proverb that starts the peace process is: soft words turn away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. So how do we resolve conflict?

P.E.A.C.E.

Plan a peace conference--go with love and understanding.
Empathize with their feelings; listen to understand not to reply.
Attack the problem, not the person.
Cooperate--if you are wise, you will compromise.
Emphasize reconciliation--reestablish the relationship.

These things will help the leader control the emotions, focus, and determination in a culture bombarded by any type of circumstance. Once our people know that we value our relationship with them, even in negative or ambiguous circumstances, energy will skyrocket, and everyone will take another step.

When our people see that we are calm and steadfast in the midst of a storm, they will be engaged and focused to take another step.

Love to hear your success stories of being a thermostat at home or at work!

Love when you are getting W’s and being successful!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Situational

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 10:00:11 GMT

During our current times, situational leadership is perhaps more important than ever. Life is not perfect. We are not perfect, and every situation has its own unique qualities. Leaders must understand this. They must have the discernment to pursue appropriate solutions, based upon specific circumstances.

Winning Edge has identified 3 areas that are continuously changing:

1. People

2. Circumstances

3. Culture

People

Do the things you say impact everyone the same way? Everyone has different family experiences, education experiences, and we all have different significant emotional experiences. These directly inform how they view the world around them. By engaging with our people based on their realities, we can use our discernment to steer ourselves and the people around us to the best outcomes both personally and professionally. We must develop a plan to balance everyone’s perception, so that the foundational floor of our organization remains solid.

Circumstances

How can we fully understand the depth of the circumstances of a situation? Effective leaders look at all of the conditions that are brought to bear with any situation. Some will be controllable, some uncontrollable. A hard-eyed appraisal of any situation and the circumstances surrounding it will allow the leader to maximize the controllable and minimize the uncontrollable. In so doing, leaders will steer themselves and those around them towards the best outcomes in spite of any difficulties or circumstances. With a focus on realism, people will be encouraged to turn their fears into fuel to take another step.

Culture

Leaders must understand what their organization is and what they want it to be—its values, its ethics, its mission, its character. These are what comprise an organization’s culture. When decisions are made for a short-term gain that are inconsistent with that culture, there will be negative consequences over the long haul. Any such compromises that will undermine the culture will become a part of that culture, whether intended or not. When leaders properly consider their values, and those around them see their care and concern, everyone will come together to take another step.

When leaders start to understand they must become whatever is needed, based on the demands and ambiguities of each situation they will be freed of all biases and energized to find the best solution.

I would love to hear the ways that you deal with different situations.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Connectivity!

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 01:28:04 GMT

This is one of our 10 concepts in our Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop.

Consider this from John Maxwell: “Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership.” Connectivity is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential. To do that at your absolute best, you must learn to connect.

Winning Edge has found 3 ways to connect to your people:

1).Listen to find common ground

2).Establish Credibility

3).Make it personal

1) Listen to find common ground

2) Establish credibility

Can you connect with someone who you do not believe in? Of course not! So how do we establish credibility with those around us? We must be honest about our strengths and weaknesses, right our wrongs, hold ourselves accountable, live what we believe, tell the truth, get results, and treat people that we think cannot help us as if they could change our lives. We must live our lives like we are being videotaped daily. People are inspired by what they know, see, and feel about us.

3) Make it personal.

When your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed, and they will be influenced to take another step.

What are some of the most successful ways that you have connected to your people?

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Inspiration, Plain and Simple

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 01:25:35 GMT

Leadership is inspiration, plan and simple.

One of Winning Edge’s 10 leadership concepts is Leadership is inspiration, plain and simple. WE define a leader as one who can inspire others to take a journey that they would not take by themselves. People are emotional beings and effective leaders must tap into their heart and spirit to inspire their greatness.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways to inspire another person:

1) Build Trust

2) Offer Hope

3) Reward and Recognize .

Build Trust

Stephen Covey says that trust is the #1 human motivator, and I agree! Think about it. Can a leader that you do not trust motivate you? Of course not! So how do we build trust in our people? By connecting with them on a personal and professional level, believing in them, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positives, listening to understand, not to reply, being with them through life’s challenges, being vulnerable, and fulfilling your commitments to them.

2. Offer Hope

What is hope? Hope allows us to think beyond the challenge of the moment. Without hope difficulties are defeats, and problems are our prisons. How do we offer hope to those around us? LISTEN to understand, not to reply , help others unconditionally, overcome problems with a smile and calm, provide ideas and solutions, encourage people all day long, and help each person find their purpose in life.

3. Reward and Recognize

Today, I am going to focus on the powerful meaning behind recognition. According to Stephen Covey, all people have psychological needs such as, a need to be understood, affirmed, validated, and appreciated. We must recognize each person as a special gift from God because they are. There is one, and only one, way to do this, and that is to spend time with our people. To a busy leader, this can seem to be an insurmountable challenge, but it is an absolute necessity. Your people will not know that you understand their inherent value as human beings until you invest your time in them.

I would love to hear about how you inspire your people to be the very best that they can be.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is Building a Cohesive Team

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 15:47:07 GMT

The Winning Edge Take Another Step System is an inspirational leadership workshop where we discuss what leadership is. There are 10 concepts that we have identified.

This week, we will discuss the concept that Leadership is building a cohesive team.

For us to build a cohesive team, we need 3 ingredients:

Functionality
Attention to relationships
Buy-in

Consider this from Peter Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” For your team or organization to come together, stay together, and then grow together, these 3 things will be vital in connecting the heart and spirit of your people together to be their very best in a team environment. Once everyone understands that they are an integral part of the team, then everyone will be liberated to take another step.

1. Functionality

2. Attention to relationships

The most effective leaders have nurtured and developed positive relationships with those around them. They have shown their people through words and deeds that they care about them and that they are interested in their well-being, not just in improving the organization’s outcomes, but also for the benefit of the individual. When leaders meet their people right where they are, not in a place where they wish them to be, that is where relationships are formed. Once our people know, see, and feel that we genuinely care for them, then their fears will be turned into fuel, and then our team will be building cohesiveness.

3. Buy-in

Has your team fully bought in? Do you have a clear mission and core values that people can embrace? People have an innate longing to be connected to something bigger than themselves. We must intentionally tap into this desire and they will get on the proverbial bus. When everyone is on board, there will be less stress, less friction, more common purpose, and the bus will travel faster and smoother. When everyone has settled in their minds and hearts that they are all in, then everyone will be focused and determined to take another step.

As I write today my heart is heavy, and my spirit is troubled, worried for the lives and well-being of all of our fellow citizens. Our challenges seem overwhelming, and it is my hope that I can offer peace and comfort with these words.

We all must look within ourselves and, as John Kennedy says, “Ask not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country.”

In truth, our greatest danger is that our cohesive American team is being ripped apart. We must each commit to a cause greater than ourselves and resolve to be a part of the solution, not the symptom of the problem. If we do this then each of us in our own small way will help bring our nation back to cohesion that will allow everyone of our fellow citizens to take another step.

Find your winning edge today by building a cohesive team within yourself, your family, your church, your community, your company, your country, and the world. IN THAT ORDER.

I love to hear your success stories on how you are building a cohesive team within yourself and your world around you! You are a play-maker - make a play!

Let’s grow!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Leadership is not...

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 11:44:16 GMT

In our Take Another Step System Workshop we explore 10 leadership concepts. These concepts define what leadership is. However, before we can coach our client’s on what leadership is, they need to know what leadership is not.

3 Things that Leadership is not:

Perfection
Management
Dictating results

1. Perfection

Are you perfect? Are your people perfect? I use to demand that I and everyone around me be perfect, rather than simply inspiring them to be their best. This created distrust and anxiety where no one could take another step. Consider this from Vince Lombardi: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence”. Once my mindset shifted from being THE BEST to OUR BEST, then, we are all unified with a single mission daily to chase excellence and take another step.

2. Management

So what is management? Consider Steve Jobs, “Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do the things they never thought they could.” Leaders see the value in people, whereas managers see people as a means to an end. Once we embrace this concept, our perspective will change and those around us will sense our care and concern.

3. Dictating results.

One day as a young leader, my mentor challenged me on why an assignment had not been completed. I replied that I had directed my team what to do and that they had failed. He was not impressed. He let me know in his own special way, that it was my job to get results, not my team’s. Once we understand that we must not dictate, but inspire, we will become better leaders and allow everyone to take another step.

In my personal story of transforming from a dictator to an inspirational leader, I had to understand what leadership was not. Once we understand what it is not, then we can begin the journey of understanding what leadership truly is. When we become conscious of how we impact people and we have an open mind and heart, then we can inspire others to take another step.

Share with us when you found out what leadership was not and how you transformed into an inspirational leader?

Keep sending those success stories on taking another step!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Listen to Others = Trust

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 20:37:25 GMT

I learned how to be a better leader when I learned to Listen to Others. For me, this has been a particular challenge. I am strong-willed, aggressive, and opinionated. While these traits have served me in certain ways, they do not help me motivate and inspire. When I’m at my worst, I know everything! So for me to become a better leader, I had to slow down and listen, really listen, to what others have to say. To become a better listener, we must ask three questions:

1) Why Listen?

2) How do I Improve?

3)What Benefits Will I Get For Listening?

1)Why Listen?

The surest way to motivate and inspire others is to show them that you value them. And there is no easier or better way to do that than to simply listen to what they have to say. Leaders often extol the importance of communication, but when they put this principle into practice, the conversation flows only one way. When leaders function in this way, they unintentionally find themselves living in a world of fiction, one in which no one trusts the leader enough to tell the unvarnished truth. When our listening allows others to speak with real candor, then a culture of trust will electrify our results!

2)How do I Improve?

Listening is a skill, and like most skills, it can be improved by practicing successful techniques. Among these are: eliminating distractions when listening to another, maintaining eye contact, taking notes, asking questions, listening to understand- not to reply, and practicing reflective listening. When we do our best listening, we feel as if we are seeing into the other person, not around them to focus on something else. As we increase our listening competence, those around us will know, see, and feel that our interest in them is legitimate and sincere. When we value people and prove it to them with our commitment to listen, then all of those around us will begin to trust their leadership team.

3)What Benefits Will I Get For Listening?

When others know that you are listening, they will feel more connected, and their trust will grow. When others trust leaders in the organization, an avalanche of good results will happen. Problems are minimized because candid conversations happen sooner. Plans and tactics are clearer, as obstacles are discussed more forthrightly. Distractions are reduced, as there are comparatively fewer competing agendas. Decision-making improves as better information yields better outcomes. In short, when we as leaders listen, everybody wins. Once we believe that listening to others can and will grow our leadership and serve our organization, then results will improve, and everyone will feel called to become their best version of themselves.

When a leader builds a listening culture, then everyone will be motivated to take another step.

Are you a great listener?

What areas of listening are you good in? What areas of listening need some improvement?

Continue to share your success stories on how listening to others has changed your organization for the better!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Transform I’ll Try into I CAN!

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 02:21:56 GMT

One day, I told a mentor of mine, “I will try to get that done.” He asked me to sit down in a chair and then get back up. “Did you try, or did you just get up?” he asked. I replied, “I just got up.” He told me he didn’t want to hear the word “try” anymore. I never said try again, and I strive to just get things done.

When you say you will try, you are leaving an open door for an excuse. We must take ownership. I challenge you to change your try into I CAN!

Here are three steps to change into an I CAN mindset:

Develop a Growth Mindset
Make the Choice
Be Relentless

1) Develop a Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset means that intelligence can be cultivated. A growth mindset sees opportunities instead of problems, learns instead of fails, and adapts to reach a goal or solve a problem. This is where a person turns off the phrase, “I will try.” A leader with a growth mindset embraces new paradigms, new disciplines, and new challenges. With a mindset focused on growth, we can pursue excellence and leave mediocrity behind. Want to change your results? Then change your thinking. Change your thinking, and you will change your belief system. Change your belief system, and you will change your behavior. If you believe that you CAN accomplish something, then everyone around you will be empowered to take another step.

2) Make the Choice

Whatever we have chosen up to this point, today we have the power to chart any course we wish. Our personality and experiences have informed our behaviors, but they are not determinative. The understanding that we have the freedom of choice is a foundational factor in becoming an I CAN person. Life is about the choices we make. My mentor’s life story includes walking many miles by himself as a young boy to get away from his toxic family to find a better life. He did not try. He just got it done. He went all-in on pursuing something bigger than himself!

3) Be Relentless

Being relentless is having an unwavering, unyielding mindset that will not allow us to stop striving to be the very best version of ourselves. If we want to switch from trying to I CAN , we must have the courage to develop intentional and consistent focus. Everything we do must be targeted at our ultimate goal, because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A relentless person is always pursuing their most impactful goals no matter what. This person is committed, and they don’t let distractions knock them off course. When we develop consistency in our relentless pursuit of excellence, everyone around us will gain courage and inspiration.

What resonates with you in this transformational journey from trying to having a mindset of getting it done?

Be awesome in your daily life and continue to focus on getting things done and applying these tools to take another step!

Always enjoying hearing about people’s success stories. Keep them coming!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Transformation!

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:18:12 GMT

I pivoted and decided to end the eruptions. A Missile is designed for a purpose using dedicated tools for precision and pointed toward worthy targets.

The elements of transformation are:

1)A Pivot Point

2)Unlock Your Mind

I would like to thank my friend, Wayne Dickens, for stirring this concept in my head! To truly transform, we must embrace our capacity to accept new paradigms. When we limit our thinking, we deny ourselves the full power of our minds. I had to find a new definition of winning. My willingness to consider these new realities, new opportunities, and new ways to grow would allow me to transform into the best version of myself.

I am so glad I did! I unlocked my mind to redefine my value system. Now my family respects and trusts me. I know I will have their love, but I have learned that I must earn their respect and trust.

3)Sustainability

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

The Domino Effect

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 08:30:24 GMT

It only takes one push to get everything moving in the right direction: We call this The Domino Effect. What is one thing that you can do that will have the biggest impact on yourself, your family, or your organization? This is not something you can just put on your to-do list. The one thing that can push your dominos in the right direction is a combination of thought and action. To better understand how to get everything lined up, we view things through the prism of The Domino Effect.

Once a person connects the dots, everyone around them will be inspired to take another step.

1. Vision
Stephen Covey once said, “Begin with the end in mind.” Leaders need a vision. Are you lining up your dominos with a clear plan as to where they will fall? Everyone has ideas, and many of them are good ones, but a rigorous planning process will guide your team and your organization to focus on the right things at the right time. This gets to the heart of having a vision. We must learn to narrow our ideas into a sharp, forward-looking, and focused effort that has the end in mind. Once those around us see our vision to build a brighter future, then everyone around us will take another step.

2. Competence
Are you effective at getting your vision accomplished? Effective leaders understand being busy does not equal competence. The trick is figuring out the most powerful things to do in the right moments. Competent leaders know how to prioritize the tasks at hand to accomplish their organization’s vision, and this is what differentiates action from competence. These leaders are evaluating the entire situation and the circumstances surrounding it. In so doing, leaders will steer themselves and those around them towards the best outcomes in spite of any difficulties or circumstances. This helps everyone work together to line up the goals needed for the vision to fall into place.

3. Creativity
Creativity is essential when our challenges don’t have a clear path. Often we do not have the courage or boldness to be creative because we fear failure. How do we break through this fear and creatively approach challenges? A bold leader will build time for creativity in their day. Clayton Kibler, a coaching client, said, “Creativity happens when you are free to think.” I encourage you to make some free time to think. When we create that space to think, we can act with the precision of a guided missile, allowing us to find that one thing that leads to a domino effect for our success.

Then everyone around us will take another step.

The power that you can create from The Domino Effect can be compounded for your current and future success.

Can you stop and have some deep thought or some dialogue with a trusted advisor to see how you can use this power of The Domino Effect in your life to take another step?

I would love to hear some success stories on how you have used this tool to advance your organization, yourself, or your family forward.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

POWER -3 Words!

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 20:51:57 GMT

Throughout my coaching career, there are certain concepts that have come up repeatedly. Three words encapsulate some of the most important of these ideas, and I’ve learned that it is hard to achieve sustained success without them. Whether you are rich or poor, well-educated or not, brilliant or of average intelligence, it is simply impossible to be the best version of yourself without embracing these three words and all they embody. For each day that you fail to be focused, intentional, and consistent, you shortchange yourself and all of those who depend upon you. Use these three power words as weapons, to catapult your life forward.

1)FOCUS

What are you devoting your time and energy to? We must be conscious of what we are doing with our 86,400 seconds in a day if we are to be relentless. Everything we do must have a purpose to it that ties into our ultimate goal because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A leader is effective when they know the right things to do and devote their energies towards them. This is the surest way to eliminate distractions. When we focus on issues of genuine impact and eliminate peripheral noise, this will ensure that everyone will take another step.

2) INTENTION

Are you intentional each day? Do you have a plan before you start each day? An intentional person has a narrow and defined focus, not to the point rigidity, however. People with structured, purposeful, and intentional behavior will change the environment around them, sometimes immediately, at others over time. This person is resolute and clear-minded. They don’t let distractions knock them off course, and, at the same time, they can make necessary adjustments as new information presents itself. When we are this intentional person, everyone around us will feel our strength and discipline and in so doing, will be determined to take another step.

3) CONSISTENCY

Are you consistent in your behavior? Consistency creates stability. Consistency creates habits, and your habits will determine your future. As Flannery O’Connor wrote, “Routines are the conditions of sanity.” Great leaders strive to create productive routines and courageously do what they say they are going to do. Then the leader must produce systems that replicate, processes that initiate, and attention to people that liberates. All of these are examples of consistency brought to bear in an organization. With consistency, you and your team will find yourselves on solid ground. Consistency will build trust in leadership, allowing everyone to take another step.

Winning Edge calls this our daily grind! When we employ these 3 tools on a daily basis, we and everyone around us will have the energy to take another step.

How can these 3 power words help you?

Love to hear your success stories on how being focused, being intentional, and consistent has changed the trajectory of your life, family, or organization.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Flip the Script

Sat, 06 Feb 2021 21:31:42 GMT

WE become what WE think about. How do you deal with problems? Do you panic or grow? Often seemingly insurmountable challenges steer us into a narrative of inevitable defeat. Effective leaders can take these circumstances and Flip the Script towards a positive outcome. We must focus on the controllable when dealing with adversity. Putting time and energy into our problems will cause us to grow and find peace. Problems will never go away, but we can control their impact on us. We can FLIP THE SCRIPT, which leads us to growth!

There are three things that we need on our journey to Flip the Script:

Perspective
Purpose
G.A.M.E

These 3 things will liberate us into focusing on what WE CAN do and what we will learn that will energize everyone around us to take another step!

Perspective

The 1st thing we must do when tragedy or failure happens is to keep it in the proper perspective. Generally, defeats are not catastrophic, and victories are not ultimate. They are rather a part of the inevitable ebb and flow of our learning, our work, our life. Perspective is our interpretation of how we see the problem. Here are some questions that will help you gain the proper perspective. Instead of asking “why me”, think “why not me”. What lesson is in this for me? Once we gain the proper perspective, we will have the mindset that we are going to take this mess and turn it into a message! The proper perspective will put us in the proper mindset to Flip the Script to win through adversity, so everyone around us can take another step.

Purpose

The 2nd step to Flip the Script is to connect with your purpose in life. The biggest day in our life was the day we were born; the most significant day is when we find out why we were born. Some questions to ask yourself: What do I live for? What do I dream about? What would I do for free? I did not know my true purpose until I experienced some genuine hardship, such as my business failure. I now have a better sense of my true purpose, which is to build hope and courage into the hearts and spirits of people. This sense of purpose allows me to work relentlessly to convert problems into opportunities.

G.A.M.E.

The 3rd step to Flip the Script is to follow the G.A.M.E. technique. This tool will help you discern the realities of any situation and build sound strategies to navigate through any challenge.

G -Gather information on the problem.
A -Analyze that information
M -Make a plan.
E -Execute the plan and make necessary adjustments.

Following this scheme will help you control the controllable, not waste time on the uncontrollable.

In so doing, we can reorder our thoughts and make disciplined judgments. When our thinking is sound and fact-based, our confidence will grow, our outcomes will improve, and our subsequent decisions will be better still. Confidence, boldness, and consistency will give you the courage it will take to engage with any problem to Flip the Script and take another step.

As you go throughout this week remember to focus on what we CAN DO by having perspective, purpose, and doing G.A.M.E. This will energize everyone around us to take another step!

I would love to hear your stories on how you have Flipped the Script in your life to take something bad and turn it into something good.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Talent Tide Podcast

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 12:21:40 GMT

I met an amazing young man while my youngest son was playing football at Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA. Chris Nichols and I bumped into one another in Nashville about 2 years ago and formed a relationship of hope and courage that we can be our best for our family, companies, and communities. We both live our lives with a Relentless Pursuit of Excellence!

Chris is a Vice President with endevis, which is a national provider for workforce solutions, connecting the right people with the right companies. They are passionate and experienced – constantly evolving to keep pace with an ever-changing workplace. Strong work ethic, open and transparent communication and trust are all a part of the endevis experience.

Here are some Winning Edge strategies from the podcast:

"We always talk about, 'talk the talk and walk the walk.' You can say whatever you want your culture to be. But, how you treat people every day is going to determine what your culture is."
"They touched me because they cared about me and I would run through a wall for them."
“My special sauce is probably winning through adversity. So you failed, so now what?”
“My Mom and Dad would say 'listen Greg when you fail make sure you learn something from it.'”
“Listen to other people. Take advice from people. They are smarter than me. Get the right people on the bus.”
“Hindsight is 20/20. Everybody has to be okay with hindsight 20/20. You got to be able to look at the bold, hard facts in an ugly manner. Let’s put ugly on the table. You gotta get ugly out of you.”
“Can you give me feedback here, so I don’t want to make this same mistake again.”
“It took me probably 2 years to write 8 things that I learned from my business failure.”
“A guy use to tell me, 'Greg you are the author of your book, you got the pen, what do you want the ending to look like?'”

I hope you enjoy this episode of the Talent Tide Podcast with Chris Nichols, and I hope you gain one thing that can help you have more hope and courage that the BEST is yet to come!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Momma Says

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:30:01 GMT

In the movie Forest Gump , Forest said – “MOMMA SAID”– this is past tense, meaning it is not applicable for today’s decisions. Well, my Mom spoke tons of wisdom to me all through my life that still apply today. I’ve made an attempt to dig into my unconscious mind to pull out as many as I can and share them with you.

Why? Because I love people and I have had hundreds of coaches, from Mom and Dad, siblings, cousins, aunt, uncles, and grandparents, to sport coaches, teachers, friends, mentors, and good and bad leaders.

Throughout my life, they have never given up on me, despite my high energy, selfishness, hard-headedness, quick to anger tendencies, unwillingness to listen, “my way or the highway” mentality, or my failures and successes…and I have had plenty of both.

Bottom line: they never gave up on me because I am a child of God and they loved me right where I was, good or bad. They educated me and gave me knowledge to overcome my fears, labels, bad circumstances, and bad choices.

The best part of theses sayings is that they are all applicable in today’s world!

1. Don’t cry over spilled milk – clean it up!

2. Learn to love what you have to do, because you will do more of that in your lifetime than what you want to do.

3. You can do anything you want, if you are willing to work for it.

4. Guilty by association.

5. When you go somewhere and leave, make sure you leave it better than when you got there.

6. NO complaining and no whining.

7. NO gossiping.

8. NO bad mouthing anyone, including your enemies.

9. Forgive and forget.

10. Don’t say: “I can’t do that.” You can do whatever you put your mind to.

11. Can’t never could do anything.

12. Personal accountability – Your behavior - Your consequence.

13. If you want to play or work, you have to do what your coach/authority tells you to do.

14. Punishment must fit the crime (action).

15. NO excuses – PERIOD!

16. Pick up after yourself.

17. Loafing at work is like stealing from your employer.

18. Can’t do what you want to, until you do what you have to.

19. Believe 0% of what you hear and believe about 50% of what you see; and use your own information and discernment to make decisions.

20. IF it’s got to be it is up to me – GET IT DONE!

21. Never say Never!

22. Everything rises and falls on leadership (parents)!

23. Can’t fix a problem until you own it!

24. What you sow is what you reap – gardening for life!

25. Just like the famous quote by Henry Ford, my MOMMA used to say, “If you think you can you are right! If you think you can’t you are right! YOUR CHOICE!

I hope that these words of wisdom builds hope and courage in your heart and spirit to be the best version of yourself.

If you have a favorite saying that your Mom said to you, please share them with me.

Parents are the foundation to a civil society!

Let’s Grow!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Winning Edge's Story

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:45:01 GMT

Why Winning Edge

Winning Edge’s mission is to build hope and courage into the hearts of people so they can become the very best version of themselves. We inspire others to achieve great things; not because WE want them to, but because THEY want to.

My Story

You’ve probably heard it said: it’s best to learn by doing.

Well, in my case, I learned by failing.

See, I’ve always been wired for sound. I am hugely competitive. I lived by the motto, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” It’s just the way I grew up.

I played football in high school and won a high school state championship. I went to college as a dumb jock for one semester. I had a 1.2 GPA because I just didn’t care about learning.

This changed when I understood that I couldn’t play unless I got the grades and I met my future wife. I went from a 1.2 GPA to the Dean’s list. We’re talking about someone with full-blown ADHD and OCD making that kind of adjustment! All I had to do was want it enough, and I began to put a value on my education.

Later in life, I ran my own business, and I did it the same way. Growth was all I cared about. It was everything I thought winning was – being the biggest. The best.

I went from zero to $20 million in four and a half years. That’s fast!

But I went from 20 million dollars BACK to zero a helluva lot faster.

What happened? I refused to listen to advice. I refused to listen to the people around me – some of the very people I’d hired to help me on my journey. I got my butt handed to me. Absolutely took it in the shorts!

I’ve got to tell you, it stung.

It got to the point where I locked myself in my office, crawled under my desk, and cried.

But I was lucky. Why was I lucky?

My parents would always say, “Don’t let an experience go by without learning something from it.”

So instead of laying down to die, I Took Another Step . Several of them.

The first step was to look in the mirror and own my mistakes.

I didn’t have anyone else to blame. I was the guy. I created this reality. I put my family’s well- being, my marriage, my sons, and my relationship in jeopardy. Nobody else was to blame.

The next step was to use it as a teachable moment for others – namely, my boys. With every check I wrote to pay off my debt, I told them why that money was going away. We take care of our responsibilities regardless if it is good or bad for us.

I wanted them to understand that there are consequences to bad choices, but also it is not the end of the game!

The next step was to flip the script. How do I learn to win through adversity? How do I develop my own winning edge?

An edge is sharpened by scraping it against something hard. My edge was honed by that hard time. By a time when I didn’t know if I would ever recover or if I’d ever save the most important relationships that meant the most to me.

Adversity helped me. It helped my family. Adversity brought me success because I found my winning edge!

That’s what I’m here to talk about today.

I’m here to help you move forward and to help you be the best version of YOU that you can be.

All by finding your winning edge.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

POWER OF GRATITUDE!

Sat, 02 Jan 2021 15:59:07 GMT

POWER OF GRATITUDE!

Hope you're grateful for a great Christmas and a celebration of the new year!

2021: Let’s gain some POWER by having an attitude of gratitude!

Let’s be grateful for the life- changing year of 2020 and look forward to all the wins and challenges of 2021!

One of the best ways that I declutter my mind is by shifting my mindset to gratitude. During stressful times, I often become anxious and when I switch to an attitude of gratitude I’m able to defeat my negative thoughts. I see a huge change in my demeanor.

Quick story on how I learned the power of gratitude:

In 2012, I traveled approximately 130,000 miles. I was away all week from my wife and kids. My boys went through their senior years with me on the road. I was trying to make plays in my career, while also trying to stay connected with my boys and their big senior events. But I felt like I was missing out. Did I make it to all of them? No, but I did make it to most of them!

That year, on the many nights away from home, I would stand up and thank God for all the blessings that I had in my life. I did this simple thing as part of my routine for over a year. NIKE’s slogan says, “Just do it.” So, I did it! I am so glad I did because now my ability to manage stress has become easier. My stress management is not easy, just easier. The outcome was an attitude of gratitude for my family and what I have. I’m grateful that was the turning point that shifted my mindset to gratefulness, and I’ve never looked back.

Using gratitude as a weapon is powerful! Dr. Caroline Leaf , a neuroscientist, says that gratitude is the healthiest of all emotions. That certainly makes me want to be grateful!

THE POWER OF GRATITUDE!

The Greater Good for Science Center states that gratitude helps people:

1. Socially:

More forgiving
More outgoing
Feel less lonely and isolated
More helpful, generous, and compassionate
More willingly supported by others

2. Physically:

Stronger immune systems
Less bothered by aches and pains
Lower blood pressure
Lower risk of heart attacks
Take better care of their health
Sleep longer and better

3. Psychologically:

Higher levels of positive emotions
More alert, alive, and awake
More joy and pleasure
More optimism and happiness
More resilient to stress

Based on all this research, what are some steps you can take to become grateful?

If you are practicing these steps as part of your routine, then the steps will become a habit and habits will determine your future.

1. Wake up every morning and write down what you are grateful for.

2. When you become stressed and anxious - write down what you are grateful for.

3. Before you go to bed write down what you are grateful for.

Let me know if you implemented these steps into your daily routine.

How have you used the weapon of gratitude to help you fight your battles?

Please connect to this powerful tool of helping you find your winning edge in 2021!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Benefits of Planning!

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 01:42:45 GMT

Benefits of Planning!

“Planning is everything, plans are worthless." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Last week we discussed The Planning Process, now we would like to discuss

The Benefits of The Planning Process .

Though these benefits are many, there are three that are especially significant:

1)Focus

Everyone has ideas, and many of them are good ones, but a rigorous planning process will guide our team and our organization to focus on the right things at the right time. It has been said what you choose not to do is as important as what you choose to do. This gets to the heart of planning---the narrowing of a spectrum of ideas into a sharp, forward-looking, and focused effort. The clarity that comes with this focus will decrease confusion, increase energy and creativity, and will allow everyone involved to be their best.

2)Intention

What can happen in your organization if everyone becomes more intentional? What untapped power and energy can be unleashed? With the clarity that sound planning brings, then everyone from the bottom to the top of the org chart will know what to do and know that the organization has their back as they do it. The opposite of this clarity is confusion, which renders any sort of intention virtually impossible. As sound planning yields clarity and focus, then we can apply ourselves purposefully and energetically to the tasks at hand, and then all of us will be able to move forward and take another step

3)Consistency

Any championship organization must be consistent in their protocols, their actions, and their methodologies if better and more favorable outcomes are desired. This begins with the planning process itself, as a consistent and deliberate approach to tactical and strategic planning will have a better chance of moving our organization in the right direction. If every challenge is handled on an ad hoc basis, then the results will be inconsistent, and our overall patterns will tilt towards ineffectiveness. When everyone in our organization is thinking, planning, and doing in consistent ways, then we all will be able to walk into tomorrow and make a play!

In the above, the General is not telling us that we need to create a perfect, complete, and final plan. Rather, we should use the planning process to create an environment of focus, intentionality, and consistency. The benefits of the planning process will sustain us through the good or bad days ahead. When everyone in the organization understands the direction of the organization and why, everyone will be determined to take another step.

Are you planning to fail or failing to plan?

What benefits do you get from planning?

How can Winning Edge help you gain focus, intentionality, and consistency?

Love to hear your success stories on how your planning process has benefited you and your organization.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Planning 2021

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 16:12:33 GMT

The Planning Process!

“Planning is everything, plans are worthless." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

As we consider The Planning Process , we must focus on three key questions:

1)Where have we been?

The lessons learned from our reflected experience, whether individual or collective, are among our most valuable. A candid and honest analysis of our history can reveal our flaws and our solid foundations, our obstacles, and our opportunities. In particular, a truthful appraisal of our mistakes can give us the tools for needed course corrections. When we have a culture that allows us to analyze our past experiences in a way that propels us rather than burdens us, then all of us can have the fuel and the fire to be our very best! .

2)Where are we now?

It is the responsibility of leadership to establish a culture based on reality. We must all live in the truth and use that to assess our present and debate our future. Finding clarity in the current situation will liberate our minds and unleash our creativity, allowing for less confusion, doubt, stress, and better collaboration for all involved. When we guide those in our organization to see ourselves as we really are, then everyone will be able to pull together and take another step.

3)Where are we going?

Before we embark upon our journey into the future, we must understand our mission. It has been said that if you don't know where you're going, then any road will get you there. The very essence of planning is to advance towards a goal with intention. This type of planning is best when it is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relatable, and Time-limited (SMART). A purposeful and disciplined process that incorporates these elements will produce predictable and consistent results, and, as with any well-conceived plan, will allow for appropriate and timely adjustments to realize maximum benefit. Once those around us see our focus, intention, and passion to build a brighter future, then everyone around us will take another step.

When we involve our key people in this ongoing exercise of reflection, discovery, and collaboration, then everyone can be invested in building a future together, and we can all unite to take another step.

This is a great process. This motivates me for another year. I have been doing this process over the last 20+ years. At the beginning of the year, I am fresh and confident for the next year's battle from the wins and wounds of the previous year. Then at the end of the year, I look back at the beginning and say “Man, I did not know very much at the beginning” because I learned so much during the year. Each year I reflect on how and why I have taken another step towards me being my very best.

Do you reflect on the past events, wins or loses?
Do you find reality before you move forward?
Do you plan and discuss how you can become a better _______ for the next year?

Love to connect with you and discuss how you use this tool to make substantial gains in 2021 or to hear how you plan and make progress year after year.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

HIRING the BEST!

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 20:00:25 GMT

How do we find the BEST people?

The answer to this question will have a profound impact on your organization. It can mean, quite literally, the difference between success and failure.

The recruiting process is just that: a PROCESS-driven event that will test every level of discernment and intuition that you have.

Let me repeat: it is a PROCESS!

Hiring and recruiting is not, however, an exact science. The process must be practiced and refined constantly. This continues long after a hiring decision is made. Has an employee surprised us in some way? What did we miss when we were interviewing and hiring? Why did we miss it? We must continually critique ourselves by asking for frank and direct questions.

As with most things, a consistent structure leads to more predictable results. So we base our recruiting and hiring process around four basic questions:

Can the candidate do the job?
Do they want to do the job?
Are they coachable and humble?
How long will they stay?

As we work through the answers to each of these, we must be clear-eyed about our candidates' strengths, weaknesses, successes, failures, education, past leaders, or mentors (either for good or ill). We must constantly be asking whether the candidate will offer our organization a net benefit, while at the same time evaluating whether we and our job will be beneficial to them.

There is no greater predictor of future performance than past actions, and there is little that costs an organization more than undoing a bad hire. When we take the hiring process seriously and invest time and energy into thoroughly working through the process, our payoff can be enormous. Have we ever made a quick hire because we needed a spot filled? Overlooking red flags in the name of expediency? We all know this rarely works out in the long run.

We ultimately must look at hiring as the means through which we secure our future, for those that we bring into our organization will define it. If we add strong teammates that fit us well, everyone will benefit--the new hire that is a good fit, existing staff that sees that we care enough about them to complement them with good people, customers that respect and admire our organization’s culture--everyone!

The bottom line is that we must get results, and the best people will get those results. We must give hiring and recruiting the attention it deserves, and we will all win!

On a scale of 1-10, where is your organization’s recruiting process on hiring the best?

What are some areas for improvement?

I would love to hear your success stories on how you and your organization have conquered the recruiting process!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Who do we choose to be?

Sat, 28 Nov 2020 16:05:38 GMT

In our exploration of Who am I--A self-awareness journey, we have discussed our impact on others, now we must ask ourselves, Who do we choose to be?

Our personality and experiences have informed our behaviors, but they are not determinative. Our path forward is ours alone, either because of our history and influences or in spite of them. Only the person in the mirror can make the decision on a day to day basis that will make us who we want to be.

Therefore consider these three ideas:

1) Purpose

The biggest day of our life was when we were born; the most significant day of our life is when we find out the reason why we were born. So often we are so busy, life is moving so fast, so many things are pulling at us, we forget the fundamental reason why we do things. We all have a purpose. Have we found out what ours is? Purpose gives us power, it gives us strength, and it gives us courage. It motivates us to learn and grow, especially when we are uncomfortable. This sense of purpose will give us all the tools and thoughts we need to take another step.

2) Choice

The understanding that we have the freedom of choice is a foundational factor in our becoming the best version of ourselves. We are the sum total of all the choices that we have made. Whatever we have chosen up to this point, today we have the power to chart any course we wish. Though we may regret some of our past choices, we never lose the ability to make new choices going forward. As those around us see us making sound choices, over time they will be inspired to follow our example.

3) Legacy

Peter Strople says that legacy is not something we give to people; it is something we leave inside of people. At the end of your life, what do you want people to say about you? As for me, I want those around me to feel that I added value to their life and put hope and courage in their heart and spirit. As we consider our impact on others after we are gone, our actions and our motivations today will be transformed. If our thoughts are of others, then we will be better ourselves, and all of us will be able to take another step.

Once we understand the power that we can become whomever we choose by our thoughts, beliefs, and actions, everyone around us will take another step.

What part of this resonated with you?

What path are you currently on and does that match what you want your legacy to be?

Understand we have the power within ourselves to become a better person and an inspirational leader to all of those around us.

Love to connect with you to help you on your journey of helping you determine who you want to be and putting into a plan the steps you need to take to achieve your goals.

If you have conquered this process, I would love to hear your success stories and ways of accomplishing this life inspiring task.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Thermostat Leader!

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 19:57:40 GMT

In today’s trials and tribulations in our resilient country, we need more Thermostat Leaders !

A thermostat is a device that controls the heating and cooling of equipment.

Being a thermostat leader means that you can set the tone, mindset, and temperature of your country and organization, by having these 3 things:

1. Temperament and Discernment

2. Trusting Relationships

3. Conflict Management Skills

Are you a peacemaker? A simple proverb that starts the peace process is: soft words turn away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. So how do we resolve conflict?

P. E. A. C. E.

P lan a peace conference--go with love and understanding.
E mpathize with their feelings; listen to understand not to reply.
A ttack the problem, not the person.
C ooperate--if you are wise, you will compromise.
E mphasize reconciliation--reestablish the relationship.

Remember it is okay to be uncertain, but it is not okay to be unclear. We must be an oak tree and solid ground, so we can be a Thermostat Leader for our country and all of those around us!

Are you a thermostat or do you get emotionally hijacked?

How does that affect the outcome of a situation when you become emotionally hijacked?

Which one will help you take another step: Being Emotionally Hijacked or Being a Thermostat?

What are some ways that you can control your emotions?

Needing some support and coaching on how to stop from being emotionally hijacked, please reach out to me greg@findyourwinningedge.com or call me at 318-230-6481.

Love to hear your success stories of being a thermostat at home or at work!

Love when you are getting W’s and being successful!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Our IMPACT on others!

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 20:27:07 GMT

In our exploration of Who am I--A self-awareness journey, we must understand

Our impact on others!

We must observe and engage our inner circle (spouse, kids, teammates, leaders, and customers) and ask the following questions:

1) How do my words and actions affect you?

To do so, we must 1) Observe the behavior of those around us, 2) Perform our own evaluation of how we affect them, and 3) Ask probing questions in an effort to obtain honest and candid feedback. When you show your concern in this way, it will promote genuine dialogue and generate solutions. When your people know, see, and feel that you are vulnerable and concerned about their ultimate welfare, then everyone will be inspired to take another step.

2) What do you need from me?

The most important thing we can give to our people is to be a genuinely good listener. We must listen without calculation. We must listen without judgment. We must listen to understand, not to reply. When our people trust that we are listening sincerely, then they will begin to offer us the feedback that is within their heart. When we allow mutual trust to develop in this way, then truth will be our currency, and everyone will be liberated.

3) What are the gaps between what you need and what I can provide?

As I better understand my impact and the needs of my inner circle, now I must determine ways to improve. This can be a difficult process, as changes, especially significant ones, involve important consequences and ambiguities. There are many considerations in this process. The open and honest dialogue that we have created will allow us to move forward. When all of this is fully realized, people will be more calm, confident, and wise, so we can all compromise for the betterment of the whole, allowing everyone to be their best version of themselves.

I learned in my 20’s and 30’s that feedback negative or positive can help me grow and prosper if I chew and swallow it properly. When we are courageous enough to hear someone’s brutal truth, a trusting relationship will grow and then everyone will take another step.

How is your self-awareness?

Are you aware how you impact those around you?

What would your inner circle say about you?

I humbly challenge you to engage with this process. Be strong and very courageous to find peace in all relationships. Without me doing this 15 + years ago and being conscious of it daily, I do not know where my relationship would be with my wife and 2 boys right now!

If I can help you take another step in this journey, please reach out to me.

If you have conquered this journey, I would love to hear how you accomplished this vital task, so we can help others!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Sports Parents! The good, bad, and ugly!

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 20:17:25 GMT

A part of Winning Edge’s Services is that we provide workshops and speeches that discuss The Foundation of a Parent.

Today, we are discussing the purpose of the parent in the field of athletics.

My son, Trent, and I were invited to come on a podcast by A Better Way Athletics founder Heath Eslinger to talk about my journey with raising two sons in the world of athletics. Both of my sons, Trey and Trent, played high school athletics in multiple sports. Name a sport, and they played it. They both went on to play college football, and Trent is currently playing in his fourth season in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers. This journey was not an easy one.

We called the episode, “THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY.” I explain my transformation from a volcano to a missile!

We discussed a lot of good topics and nuggets to help you develop the young person into the very best person that they can be through having a productive and great experience in the world of sports. It is important to understand our roles as a parent, coach, or administrator.

One thing I learned: LIFE IS BIGGER THAN SPORTS!

Enjoy the Podcast.

A Better Way Athletics is a premier professional development organization for coaches and athletic directors who want to help the next generation of athletes maximize their abilities and prepare them for life beyond the world of athletics.

abetterwayathletics.com

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Who Am I? A self-awareness journey!

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 16:16:31 GMT

Over many years I have learned that to be truly effective in improving myself and leading others, I must first ask myself this question: Who Am I?

Winning Edge has identified 3 areas that may influence our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors.

They are as follows:

1.Personality Type

One tool is a simple personality test. There are any number of these on the market; they are inexpensive and readily accessible. While they are not determinative, they will give us a different lens through which to view ourselves. The insight we gain can help us better understand the impact of our actions on others. When we are able to see ourselves more objectively, and we can more effectively influence those around us, then each and everyone of us will take another step.

2.Family, Childhood, and Educational Experiences

It is well known that one’s experiences in early childhood are critical to the development of the adult belief system. The better we understand how our development impacts our thoughts and beliefs today, the better we will maximize our strengths and develop our weaknesses. A coach or mentor can be especially useful in helping us understand how our history informs our present and future. Once we embrace these experiences and use them for our benefit, then we will know more about who we are and how to take another step.

3.Significant Emotional Experiences

Everyone has experiences that are uplifting, traumatizing, validating, and devastating. Perspective is the key! How do you react to life’s inevitable dramas? To have difficult emotional experiences are common to us all, what is unique is the way we respond. Do we have the courage to say that things happen for us rather than to us? Once we have the proper perspective, our courage and resolve will inspire everyone around us to take another step.

Our thoughts will drive our beliefs, our beliefs will drive our behavior, and our behavior will drive our destiny. We must seek to understand the origins of and influences upon those thoughts and behaviors. Self-awareness confers upon us the power to change. When we use introspection as a tool to chart a better path forward for ourselves and those around us, then we can lead everyone to take another step.

Are you self-aware on how you impact others?

Are you aware of the way you do the things and why?

Do you understand that being self-aware can be a game-changer for you?

I would love to connect with you on helping you on this mission of becoming self-aware. Contact me at 318-230-6491.

If you're currently strong in being self-aware, I would love to hear your success story on how you accomplished this very important task.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

PROFITS - The Bottom Line

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 17:10:15 GMT

At Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations toward sustained success. We have identified 3 components of our Business Growth Triad .

The 3rd of these is: The Bottom Line – PROFITS .

The prerequisite for any organization’s survival is to make money. In my career, I failed by prioritizing people over profits. I learned that without profits, I could not help people.

We have identified 3 areas of focus that will help us grow the bottom line:

1)Sales and Marketing

Who in your organization is focused entirely on this task? Do they have your support? Do they have the budget, systems, processes, people, and leaders to create more and more sales? Without sales, we cannot make money. Because of natural and unavoidable attrition, we must focus on new customer acquisition. Otherwise our business will shrink over time. Once the right people in our organization are focused on finding new customers, as well as maintaining and growing our existing customers, then everyone will be clear and determined to take another step.

2)Cost Control

3)Efficiency Patrol

Now that we understand our sales and expenses, how do we make our operations more efficient or productive? WE must do more with less. Do we have our products and services priced at the highest competitive rate? Are we utilizing vendors to optimize our cost of goods? Are we deploying teammates in a way that eliminates redundancies and maximizes productivity? Lastly, are we focused on asking these specific questions every day? When streamlining processes and seizing opportunities becomes an inherent part of our culture, then our profits will grow and everyone will share in the rewards.

When your leadership team walks in the door daily and has your people understanding how they affect these areas, profits will grow, helping everyone take another step.

Which one of these issues stops you from making money?

Where are you strong and how are your profits growing?

Let’s connect to dig further into these areas to assist you in understanding the necessary steps needed to make the bottom line grow!

I would love to hear your success stories on how you and your team have conquered any of these 3 elements to grow your bottom line!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Customers! Without them we have nothing!

Sat, 17 Oct 2020 15:28:22 GMT

At Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations toward sustained success. We have identified 3 components of our Business Growth Triad .

The 2nd of these is: Without Customers, We have Nothing .

Without satisfied and growing customers, we literally do not exist. Our people must understand that we have no greater priority than our customers, and here are 3 areas of focus to help them do so:

1)Discovery Process

First, we need to S.T.O.P. and spend time on people. We need to get to know our customers personally, professionally, what their specific wants and needs are, and how they want us to process their business. Remember, unmet expectations will equal future resentments. Therefore, the customer and our team must have a clear understanding on how we will be processing each transaction going forward to ensure that we can meet and exceed their expectations. When we eliminate and prevent problems with a thorough on-boarding process our service will be more seamless, and we will be able to service our customer beyond their expectation..

2)Build a Trusting Relationship

Communication is the key! We must stay in contact with our customers with our salesforce, customer service team, and the front-line teammate that sees the customer daily. Periodically, we need to check with our customer to ask 2 important questions: 1) How are we doing? and 2) What else can we do for you that we are not currently doing? By showing this level of concern, we will build trust in a way that is both genuine and enduring. In doing so, our customers will trust us and communicate with us in both good times and bad..

3)Focus on Problem-solving

How much focus do you put on customers?

Do you people understand the importance of customer service and how it effects their career?

Do they know how to win customers and keep them for life?

How does your organization ensure that the customer is service beyond their expectation?

Love to hear your success stories on who your organization provides the culture to accomplish this task!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

People are our most precious asset.

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 15:22:29 GMT

At Winning Edge, our mission is to nurture organizations towards a growing and sustainable success.

As one of my executive mentors always said, “If you are not growing, you are dying.”

We have identified 3 components of our Business Growth Triad .

The 1st of these is: People are our most precious asset.

Here are 3 ways to build a culture where people are our most precious asset:

1)Hire the Best Available

2)Training and Setting Expectations

3)Reward and Discipline

First, people must understand what behavior will earn a reward and what behavior will be disciplined. We must build this understanding as we interview, hire, train, and set expectations. When people choose the right behavior, we must give them a reward-a positive immediate certain consequence (PIC), and when the wrong behavior is performed we must discipline them-a negative immediate certain consequence (NIC). A PIC we will optimize their behavior, while a NIC will minimize the wrong behavior. When leadership is consistent with their rewards and discipline, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

Are you establishing a growth mindset organization?

Are you hiring the best people available?

Are you training and setting expectations?

Do you reward and discipline your team?

These are all an integral part of your growth as an organization.

Call if you would like to discuss further or tell me your success stories by using these tools how it has helped your organization grow.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

RELENTLESS Pursuit of Excellence

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 14:50:24 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we discuss the necessary mindset to Take Another Step

A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence.

Being relentless is having an unwavering, unyielding mindset that will not allow us to stop striving to be the very best version of ourselves. No matter what circumstances we face!

For us to be relentless we must use these 3 tools daily:

1)FOCUS

What are you devoting your time and energy to? We must be conscious to what we are doing with our 86,400 seconds in a day if we are to be relentless. Everything we do must have a purpose to it that ties into our ultimate goal, because whatever we focus on is what we will become. A leader is effective when they know the right things to do and devote their energies towards them. This is the surest way to eliminate distractions. When we focus on issues of genuine impact, and eliminate peripheral noise, this will ensure that everyone will take another step.

2) INTENTION

Are you intentional each day? Do you have a plan before you start each day? An intentional person has a narrow and defined focus, not to the point rigidity, however. People with structured, purposeful, and intentional behavior will change the environment around them, sometimes immediately, at others over time. This person is resolute and clear- minded. They don’t let distractions knock them off course, and, at the same time, they are able to make necessary adjustments as new information presents itself. When we are this intentional person, everyone around us will feel our strength and discipline and in so doing, will be determined to take another step.

3) CONSISTENCY

Winning Edge calls this our daily grind! When we employ these 3 tools on a daily basis, we and everyone around us will have the energy to take another step.

Do you see yourself as being relentless?

What would those around you say?

Do you think being relentless would benefit you and your team?

Love to hear your success stories on how being focused, being intentional, and consistent has changed the trajectory of your life, family, or organization.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

LEGACY - What are you putting into people?

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 19:36:38 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we will assist in developing a Leadership Legacy for each one of your leaders. What do we want people to say about us when we are 84 years old?

Peter Strople says, “Legacy is not leaving something for people. It’s leaving something in people.” So what will your family, your teammates, and your community say about you?

Consider these 3 things DAILY :

1)How do you make people feel?

Think about the most impactful people in your life. How did they make you feel? What did they do to get you to feel great about yourself? People will remember more about how you made them feel, rather than what you did or didn’t do for them. Take those life experiences, and find the leverage to be better for the people around you. We can take the good and bad and turn it into fuel for our family, people, and community. Leave this place better than you found it. When we intentionally and consistently think in this way, we can inspire everyone around us to take another step.

2)What do they see you do?

3)What do they know about you?

This challenge is to be conscious of our daily behavior and actions to make sure that we are leaving a legacy that encourages everyone to take another step.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

MINDSET - Where are you?

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:43:22 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, we pay particular attention to the notion of mindset.

What is a mindset?

A mindset is a particular way of thinking, a person’s attitude or set of opinions about something, or a frame of mind which orients (leads) an individual to a particular set of associations, expectations, and behaviors.

WE have 3 key points to discuss:

1) What is a growth mindset?

2) What is a fixed mindset?

3) Where are you?

Do you have a fixed or growth mindset? Champions are self-aware. In my years of winning, failing, and learning, I have grown to have a better understanding of myself, and my own strengths and weaknesses. An article from Forbes Magazine stated that 90% of top performers are highly self-aware, compared to the bottom fifth of performers, who lack this perspective. Here is an online test to find out what your mindset is: https://blog.mindsetworks.com/what-s-my-mindset

Once we become conscious of our own mindset, we will see with a broader perspective, be better able to adjust, and be fully prepared for ourselves and those around us to take another step.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Success is a journey, not a destination

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 19:50:29 GMT

All of us want to finish all tasks each day to obtain a sense of accomplishment and completion. Well, I have learned over my years that there is no end to the process of pursuing, leading, learning, failing, and growing.

So on that journey, what do we need to sustain inspiration in the peaks and valleys?

Winning Edge has identified 3 tools that will help us.

1) A Robust Inner Circle

2) A Freedom Pass

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, but not trying is certain death. Until I understood this myself, I was shackled by the notion that defeats where final and successes were permanent. Once those shackles were removed, I had the freedom to learn, grow, and truly pursue excellence. I came to envision this as a literal freedom pass that I gave myself. This pass has allowed me to navigate through many peaks and valleys of life with a clear vision and steady rudder. By allowing ourselves the freedom to grow, we will see new opportunities.

3) A 50:20 Vision (Genesis 50:20)

These 3 tools, properly used, will help us grow into the very best version of ourselves. Then, everyone around us will be inspired to take another step.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Be a Champion

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 16:06:00 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, an inspirational leadership workshop, our mission is to develop four mindsets into you, your leadership team, and your people.

Well today we are talking about the BOTTOM LINE - BE A CHAMPION! - Mindset #4.

The journey of Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System is so we all can be a champion. We want you, your staff, and people to walk in the door and say, “I am a Champion.” We are going to be our best today by seizing the day and making plays that will advance our organization forward.

The power of a believing team!

There are three keys to Being a Champion:

1. Know who you are

Do you know who you are? What do others say? Winning Edge has determined that the following are vital in understanding any person: their personality, family/childhood experiences, educational experience, and significant emotional experiences. The next step is to ask others how they perceive us and how we make them feel. From this information we must then decide, who do we want to be? We all must find reality and determine the next steps to take to pursue our championship life. Once we know who we are and who we want to be, something in our spirit will set us free, enabling us to take another step.

2. Understand the power of the mind

God has given us the most powerful thing in the universe, Himself excepted, which is our mind. This is our most important resource. How do we tap into this power? Be aware of our thoughts and their impact on our life. Know and believe that I can change my thoughts, which will eventually change my behavior, which will change my results. Once we understand that we have the POWER and we are in control, this will liberate us and move us forward in our championship life.

3. Freedom of choice

What do you choose to become today? Each day we get to choose a path of being a champion, living in mediocrity, or worse. A couple of years ago, my oldest son Trey told me that the most powerful thing that he has is the freedom of choice. Wow, he gets it. That day I felt the freedom that was in his mind and heart. Being a champion starts with a daily choice, that I will be my best, I will seize the day, and I will make a play.

These mindsets, fully developed, will allow us to grow and sustain, and then everyone will be empowered to be a champion and take another step.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Seize the Day

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 01:08:01 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, our mission is to develop four mindsets that will inspire our leaders and everyone around them.

The second mindset is to Seize the Day.

Do you take advantage of opportunities? Do you have a get-it-done mentality, or do you procrastinate?

Time is short, windows of opportunity open, and then they shut.

Here are three tools we need to seize the day:

1)Preparation

Are you diligent in preparing before events overtake you? As we encounter varying and often unpredictable circumstances, the planning and preparation that we as leaders have undertaken up to this point will define our effectiveness. Consistent preparation allows us to discern better, to prioritize better, and to execute better. Dwight Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is essential.” Leaders that plan maximize their capacity to think. As we optimize our ability to think and adjust, we will grow in our boldness and will be able to truly seize the day.

2)Adaptability

Do you adapt to uncontrollable circumstances, or are you frustrated when you cannot execute your plans as you precisely intended? Planning is important, but if one cannot be flexible based upon circumstances, plans become handcuffs. Confident leaders know that uncontrollable circumstances will not derail them, because they have the conviction that they can confidently adapt. Adaptability is a key to thriving in a forever changing world. The ability to adapt prevents us from being knocked off course and therefore allows us to seize each day.

3)Courage to embrace the challenges

Do you embrace challenges, or does fear and doubt take over? All of us without exception are faced with circumstances that we fear. Some misunderstand the existence of fear as a lack of courage. In fact, courage shows itself when we are most afraid, when we choose not to be static and not to be paralyzed, but to move forward despite our anxiety. All great leaders exhibit this quality. When everyone around us knows, sees, and feels the commitment and focus to win through adversity and seize the day, everyone will be inspired to take another step.

When we are prepared, and we are flexible, we will have courage that will push us through our fears and doubts. We can then seize the day, inspiring everyone around us to take another step.

I would love to hear your success stories on how you seize the day and take advantage of your daily opportunities.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Be YOUR Best!

Sat, 15 Aug 2020 15:13:58 GMT

In Winning Edge’s Take Another Step System, our mission is to develop four mindsets that will inspire our leaders and everyone around them.

The first one is to Be Your Best.

1)Purpose drives our energy

2)Be Relentless

3)Compete against yourself

Do you believe that comparing yourself against others is productive? It can be useful to see what others are doing, either to learn new methods or to seek motivation. However, if this tends to de-motivate you or make you feel inferior--STOP! Remember, this is a competition against ourselves. Every night before you go to bed, ask yourself these questions: What did I learn? What did I overcome? Was I encouraging to others? Am I better today than I was yesterday? This is about daily improvement done with intention, focus, and consistency, and it will create energy for everyone around us to take another step.

When our leaders and teammates establish this mindset, a difference in actions and reactions will occur, results will trend upwardly, and we will see our organization working together as a team to take another step.

I would love to hear your success stories on inspiring yourself or others on being their best and the results that came from that journey!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Do you inspire a growth mindset?

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 00:38:33 GMT

Leadership is the ability to provide a growth mindset culture.

Is your organization mindset fixed, or does it encourage growth? Some ways to evaluate this are by looking at the way that you and your people handle failure, the language and tone being used, and how leaders and teammates interact with one another.

For us to develop a growth mindset culture, we must:

1)Be a life-long learner

2)Understand that failure is an opportunity for growth

3)Encourage open and candid conversations

When our people know, see, and feel that you care about them, and you want them to be the best version of themselves, growth will ignite, and everyone will be liberated to take another step.

I would love to hear about your success stories of developing a growth mindset culture and how it impacted your organization, your teammates and families and the results!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Are you setting a good example?

Sun, 02 Aug 2020 15:20:53 GMT

Leadership is leading by example!

Do you set a good example for your organization? What would your kids or associates say about you? We must be aware of how our behavior affects those around us, because people are watching. I can hear my Momma telling my Dad, “Those boys are watching you.” For us to lead by example we need 3 components:

1) Competence

We, as leaders, must know how to do the right things, at the right time. When presented with challenges, we will model the G.A.M.E. problem-solving method. Where we G ather information, A nalyze it, M ake a plan, and E xecute that plan, then monitor and make the necessary adjustments. We must have the knowledge and the courage to model this behavior. People will do what they see, not what they hear. Once our people know, see, and feel that they can follow our example and trust it, then everyone can turn their fears into fuel and take another step.

2)Consistent

3)Vulnerability

“We do not fail here. We only learn and grow!” Once people see their leader’s being vulnerable, fear of failure will diminish, and everyone will be inspired to take another step.

As John Maxwell says, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Leading by example is a powerful tool to inspire everyone to take another step.

Are you leading by example? I would love to hear your success stories on how you lead by example and how it is getting you results or overcoming obstacles by using this concept.

If you would like to discuss how you or you and your team can become great role models, call me at 318-230-6481 or email me at greg@findyourwinningedge.com.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

PERFORMANCE--How to increase it?

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 19:29:07 GMT

Leadership is Performance Management.

What is the key to increasing the performance of our people? The best way to manage performance is to employ the A-B-C model. In this, we examine Antecedents (what comes before a behavior), the Behavior itself, and the Consequences (that which follows the behavior). By shaping Antecedents (training, setting expectations, etc.), and by applying Consequences (positive or negative), we can increase desired behaviors and reduce undesired ones.

A-B-C Model

Antecedent

Behavior

Consequence

The 1st step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is the Antecedent.

The 2nd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is…. Behavior.

The 3rd step in the A-B-C analysis of behavior is…. Consequences.

What keeps the right behavior going? Positive consequences! What stops the bad behavior? Negative consequences! Antecedents get us going, but consequences keep us going. We can classify consequences in 3 ways: 1) Positive or negative 2) Immediate or delayed 3) Certain or uncertain. To optimize behavior a person must be given the proper antecedent, must then perform the desired behavior, and then must be given a “PIC” – Positive Immediate Certain consequence. We must also make sure that the person receiving the PIC perceives the action to be positive. Once people around us understand that behavior has consequences to them, good and bad, then, and only then, will they take another step.

Love to hear your success stories on how you have used this technique to get results.

If you would like to have a discussion on this topic, please reach out to me via phone 318-230-6481 or email at greg@findyourwinningedge.com.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How to set the tone, mindset, and temperature of your team

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 23:00:50 GMT

Leadership is being a thermostat.

A thermostat is a device that controls the heating and cooling of equipment. Being a thermostat leader means that you can set the tone, mindset, and temperature of your team by having these 3 things:

1. Temperament and discernment

2. Trusting relationships

3. Conflict management skills

Are you a peacemaker? A simple proverb that starts the peace process is: soft words turn away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger. So how do we resolve conflict?

P. E. A. C. E.

Plan a peace conference--go with love and understanding.

Empathize with their feelings; listen to understand not to reply.

Attack the problem, not the person.

Cooperate --if you are wise, you will compromise.

Emphasize reconciliation--reestablish the relationship.

When our people see that we are calm and steadfast in the midst of a storm, they will be engaged and focused to take another step.

Love to hear your success stories of being a thermostat at home or at work!

Love when you are getting W’s and being successful!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

The leadership process that set me free!

Sun, 12 Jul 2020 14:45:29 GMT

Leadership is more than asking for a certain result. It is leading through a process to obtain a result.

Are you tired at giving the same directions repeatedly? Are you frustrated that tasks are not carried out to your expectation? Everyone in leadership has felt this. Two decades ago, I figured out that leadership is an endless process. WE have broken down this process into 10 steps. These steps are systematic, intentional, and will help guide our people, no matter their current level of performance. We will employ consequences, both positive and negative, to shape our people’s ultimate destiny.

The 10 steps are as follows:

Can they do the job?
Do they want to do the job?
Are they going to be coachable and humble?
How long will they stay?
Preparation
Set expectations
Hold them accountable
Demand Excellence
Reward and recognize
Discipline and terminate, if all else fails.

To build a culture of achievement, we must prepare and train our people, set expectations for them, hold them accountable every day, and demand excellence (steps 5-8). When we give our people the capacity to do their job, hold them accountable for their current behavior, and set well-defined expectations for their future performance, everyone in the organization will have clarity for their role and the steps they must take to excel in their position.

What is the end game of this process – consequences (steps 9-10)! When our people are doing good things, we need to immediately reinforce that behavior for maximum impact. Conversely, when someone’s behavior needs improvement, we need to discipline them out of concern for their well-being and the longevity of their employment. If discipline fails to change behavior, termination may become necessary (get your HR Dept. involved!). Leadership is hard, because sometimes we must terminate the bad ones to motivate the good ones. When our people see behavior being appropriately rewarded and discouraged, then everyone will be determined to take another step.

Stop being frustrated, let the process set you free, and then everyone will take another step.

Love to hear your stories on how the process helped you build the best version of your people.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How to get a leg up in leadership?

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 19:49:49 GMT

One of our 10 leadership concepts is Leadership is Ownership .

Effective leaders own their organization’s results, good and bad. They accept ultimate responsibility for any outcome. This is the most challenging when results are bad, but when your team sees you accept the worst, they will be inspired.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways for a leader to embrace ownership:

1. Personal accountability.

Can you take ownership of something if you do not hold yourself accountable? Absolutely not! Personal accountability is an attitude of continually asking what I myself can do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I desire. Accountability is also a process--one of seeing it, owning it, solving it, and doing it. It is a perspective that focuses on current and future efforts, rather than the past. This will create a sense of strength in us as leaders, allowing us to be unafraid to admit our mistakes.

2. Begin with the end in mind.

What inspires a person to take ownership? Strong leaders have a clear picture of their destination, they find peace and strength in knowing where they have been, where they are currently, where they are going, and they have an understanding of the necessary steps to take to reach the destination. Focus, courage, consistency, and inspirational leadership skills will give us all, as strong leaders, the necessary means to stand firm and own the process. We will be confident and determined in reaching the destination.

3. Protect your people.

Can you achieve your goals by yourself? Our people are our most important asset, and we need to treat them as such. We must put the right people in the right place doing the right things. Leaders who take ownership must protect their people in areas such as time, focus, learning from mistakes, health (mentally and physically), integrity, work-life balance, and leaders must simplify the job as much as possible.

The leaders that influenced me the most were the ones who helped me appreciate and internalize these principles. When it is obvious to our people that we are holding ourselves accountable, moving towards the end game, we genuinely care about them, and we will help them remove all barriers, then everyone will be empowered to take another step.

Love to hear your success stories on how when you took ownership in something you could better manage and make it the best possible.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How can leaders adapt to changing situations?

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 18:41:22 GMT

One of our 10 leadership concepts is Leadership is Situational .

During these days of civil unrest, situational leadership is perhaps more important than ever. Life is not perfect. We are not perfect, and every situation has its own unique qualities. Leaders must understand this. They must have the discernment to pursue appropriate solutions, based upon specific circumstances.

Winning Edge has identified 3 areas that are continuously changing:

1) People

Do the things you say impact everyone the same way? Everyone has different family experiences, education experiences, and we all have different significant emotional experiences. These differences directly inform how people view the world around them. By engaging with our people based on their realities, we can use our discernment to steer ourselves and the people around us to the best outcomes both personally and professionally. We must develop a plan to balance everyone’s perception, so that the foundational floor of our organization remains solid.

2) Circumstances

How can we fully understand the depth of the circumstances of a situation? Effective leaders look at all of the conditions that are brought to bear with any situation. Some will be controllable, and some are uncontrollable. A hard-eyed appraisal of any situation and the circumstances surrounding it will allow the leader to maximize the controllable and minimize the uncontrollable. In so doing, leaders will steer themselves and those around them towards the best outcomes in spite of any difficulties or circumstances. With a focus on realism, people will be encouraged to turn their fears into fuel to take another step.

3) Culture

Leaders must understand what their organization is and what they want it to be—its values, its ethics, its mission, its character. These are what comprise an organization’s culture. When decisions are made for a short-term gain that are inconsistent with that culture, there will be negative consequences over the long haul. Any such compromises that will undermine the culture will become a part of that culture, whether intended or not. When leaders properly consider their values, and those around them see their care and concern, everyone will come together to take another step.

When leaders start to understand they must become whatever is needed, based on the demands and ambiguities of each situation, they will be freed of all biases and energized to find the best solution.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

The Power of Connectivity!

Wed, 24 Jun 2020 18:16:27 GMT

Leadership is inspiration, plan and simple.

One of our 10 leadership concepts is “ leadership is connectivity .”

Consider this from John Maxwell: “ Relational skills are the most important abilities in leadership. ” Connectivity is the ability to identify with people and relate to them in a way that increases your influence with them. The ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in reaching a person’s fullest potential. To do that at your absolute best, you must learn to connect.

Winning Edge has found 3 ways to connect to your people:

1. Listen to find common ground

2. Establish credibility

Can you connect with someone who you do not believe in? Of course not! So how do we establish credibility with those around us? We must be honest about our strengths and weaknesses, right our wrongs, hold ourselves accountable, live what we believe, tell the truth, get results, and treat people that we think cannot help us as if they could change our lives. We must live our lives like we are being videotaped daily. People are inspired by what they know, see, and feel about us.

3. Make it personal

When your people know and feel that connecting to them is important to you, trust will be formed, and they will be influenced to take another step.

What are some of the most successful ways that you have connected to your people?

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Can inspiration change the course of the game?

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 15:44:54 GMT

Leadership is inspiration, plan and simple.

Winning Edge has identified 3 ways to inspire another person:

Build Trust
Offer Hope
Reward and Recognize.

Build Trust

Stephen Covey says that trust is the #1 human motivator, and I agree! Think about it. Can a leader that you do not trust motivate you? Of course not! So how do we build trust in our people? By connecting with them on a personal and professional level, believing in them, speaking words of life into them, accentuating the positives, listening to understand, not to reply, being with them through life’s challenges, being vulnerable, and fulfilling your commitments to them.

Offer Hope

What is hope? Hope allows us to think beyond the challenge of the moment. Without hope difficulties are defeats, and problems are our prisons. How do we offer hope to those around us? LISTEN to understand, not to reply, help others unconditionally, overcome problems with a smile and calm, provide ideas and solutions, encourage people all day long, and help each person find their purpose in life.

Reward and Recognize

I would love to hear about how you inspire your people to be the very best that they can be.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

Cohesion during our national crises!

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 18:26:22 GMT

Leadership is Building a Cohesive Team

The Winning Edge Take Another Step System is an inspirational leadership workshop where we discuss what leadership is. There are 10 concepts that we have identified.

This week, we will discuss the concept that Leadership is building a cohesive team.

For us to build a cohesive team, we need 3 ingredients:

Functionality
Attention to relationships
Buy-in

Functionality.

Attention to relationships.

The most effective leaders have nurtured and developed positive relationships with those around them. They have shown their people through words and deeds that they care about them and that they are interested in their well-being, not just in improving the organization’s outcomes, but also for the benefit of the individual. When leaders meet their people right where they are, not in a place where they wish them to be, that is where relationships are formed. Once our people know, see, and feel that we genuinely care for them, then their fears will be turned into fuel, and they will take another step.

Buy-in.

We all must look within ourselves and, as John Kennedy says, “Ask not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country.”

Find your winning edge today by building a cohesive team within yourself, your family, your church, your community, your company, your country, and the world. IN THAT ORDER.

I love to hear your success stories on how you are building a cohesive team within yourself and your world around you! You are a play-maker - make a play!

Let’s grow!

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

What Doesn't Work in Leadership?

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:50:20 GMT

Leadership is not...

In our Take Another Step System Workshop, we explore 10 leadership concepts. These concepts define what leadership is. However, before we can coach our client’s on what leadership is, they need to know what leadership is not.

3 Things that Leadership is not:

1. Perfection

Are you perfect? Are your people perfect? I used to demand that I and everyone around me be perfect rather than simply inspiring them to be their best. This created distrust and anxiety where no one could take another step.

Consider this quote from Vince Lombardi: “ Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. ”

Once my mindset shifted from being THE BEST to OUR BEST, then we are all unified with a single mission daily to chase excellence and take another step.

2. Management

So what is management? Consider this quote from Steve Jobs: “ Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do the things they never thought they could. ”

Leaders see the value in people, whereas managers see people as a means to an end. Once we embrace this concept, our perspective will change and those around us will sense our care and concern.

3. Dictating results

One day as a young leader, my mentor challenged me on why an assignment had not been completed. I replied that I had directed my team what to do and that they had failed. He was not impressed. He let me know in his own special way that it was my job to get results, not my team’s. Once we understand that we must not dictate, but inspire , we will become better leaders and allow everyone to take another step.

We would love for you to share with us a time when you found out what leadership was not and how you transformed into an inspirational leader. Please leave your comments in the comment section below.

Ready to Take Another Step?

Greg Taylor is offering a limited number of free coaching sessions. Click the button below to contact Greg for more information.

How to Inspire Others - Reward and Recognize

Fri, 04 May 2018 16:41:53 GMT

Are You Meeting the Psychological Needs of Your People?

Let's recap. A leader is a person who inspires other people to take a journey that they will not take by themselves.

In the past few segments, we’ve examined how you can inspire others through hope, trust, protecting your people and keeping it simple.

Today we take a look at another key building block: REWARD AND RECOGNIZE .

What does this mean?

In addition to physical needs like food and shelter, all people have psychological needs. In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People , author Stephen Covey says “everyone needs to be understood, affirmed, validated, and appreciated.”

By rewarding and recognizing your people you will fulfill their psychological needs, which will inspire them to perform at a higher level.

Are you recognizing your people? Sometimes high achievers and over-achievers tend not to reward or recognize others because they have already moved on to the next phase of business or issue that demands attention.

Are you recognizing your people fast enough? Clinical psychologist and “father of performance management" Aubrey Daniels states that a P ositive I mmediate C onsequence is necessary for reward and recognition to have maximum impact.

We must all stop and smell the roses every single day and recognize the fantastic work the great people around us are doing.

Today, catch someone doing a great job and PIC them!

When you reward and recognize your people they will want to give you more of their time and creativity to help the team be successful!

5 things you can do to inspire others:

Build trust
Build hope
Protect your people
Keep it simple
Reward and Recognize

BOTTOM LINE: We must get results!

How do you get results?

By making a play today with a rewarding PIC for your fantastic people!

How to Inspire Others - Keep it Simple

Tue, 01 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Are Your People Energized and Inspired?

As we’ve discussed, a leader is a person who inspires others to take a journey they would not take by themselves.

We've talked about how to inspire others through hope, trust and protecting your people.

Today’s key building block to inspiring others is the importance of keeping it simple .

In my 31-years in business, the best leaders that I’ve encountered and observed are those who can take something complicated and make it simple. When you can do that for your people, they will be energized and inspired.

Remember, each person has different skills, experience, passions, and levels of education; they will also perform at different levels.

You must determine each person’s personal and professional level so that you can make it easy for them to be a winner in your organization. Winning creates energy, which breeds more winning!

Keeping it simple allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Once you do that, you'll see your earning potential go UP!

When you understand your people, you connect with them on a very personal level. You will inspire them by making it simple to WIN. Get ready to start seeing them MAKE A PLAY time and time again!

FOUR WAYS TO INSPIRE OTHERS:

Build trust
Build hope
Protect your people
Keep it simple

BOTTOM LINE: We need to get results? How do you get RESULTS?

By making a play today to keep it simple for your people!

How to Inspire Others - Protect Your People

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Why It's Important to Have Their Back

As we have discussed in previous FUELS, a leader is a person who inspires other people to take a journey they will not take by themselves.

The last couple of weeks we examined how you can inspire others through hope and trust.

Today’s key building block is to PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE .

What does this mean?

Leadership involves both earning and offering trust . One of the best ways to do both is to show your subordinates that you will protect them in the corporate environment … IF they are accepting your leadership and following your directions.

Consider this scenario: You’ve given a project to a subordinate and its outcome turns out to be, frankly, awful. Your superior storms in, demanding to hold someone accountable. If you, as the leader, stand up and accept responsibility, and by doing so protect your subordinate, then he/she will be loyal to you forever.

There are only a few things in the workplace more inspiring than knowing your boss has your back!

Stand up and cover your people with your shield as long as they are being obedient to your instructions and your processes of taking care of teammates, customers, and making profits for your company.

When you have their back, they will be inspired by you! When they are inspired by you they will MAKE A PLAY!

Three ways you can inspire others:

Build trust
Build hope
Protect your people

BOTTOM LINE: We must get RESULTS!

How do we get results?

By making a play today to PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE!

I’ll see you next week when the story of inspiring others continues!!!!

How To Inspire Others - Hope

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Are You Offering Hope to Others Around You?

As we’ve discussed in previous FUELS, a leader is a person who inspires other people to take a journey they would not take by themselves.

Last week, we discussed how you can inspire others through trust.

Today’s key building block to inspiring others is hope .

How can you offer hope to those around you?

Webster says hope is “to want something to happen or be true; trust; to expect with confidence, to desire something and expect it will happen.”

If those around you trust you and you offer them hope, they will be open to your inspiration.

Are you and your leadership team offering hope and encouraging your people on a daily basis to rise above circumstances to achieve goals?

Four Ways to Offer Hope to Others:

H elp others unconditionally. People want to know how much you care before you they care about how much you know.
O vercome problems with a smile and with calm. Lead by example.
P rovide ideas and solutions to help others with their problems. Listen first to understand, then seek to be understood.
E ncourage everyone all day long. Be each person’s biggest fan!

Hope is the most powerful force in the universe. With hope you can inspire nations to greatness. With hope you can raise up the downtrodden. With hope you can wear the pain of unbearable loss.
Admiral William H. McRaven in his book, Make Your Bed

When you give people hope, they will be inspired by you! When they are inspired by you, they will MAKE A PLAY!

BOTTOM LINE: You must get results!

How do you get RESULTS?

By making a play today to give people HOPE!

What is a Leader?

Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Are You Inspiring Your People?

After reading, studying, and practicing leadership for over 30 years and being successful and failing in my leadership to others in my business and personal life, my favorite definition of a leader is:

A person who inspires other people to take a journey they would not take by themselves.

How do you inspire someone?

What are you, your leaders and company doing to inspire people?

What is your process?

How are you helping others overcome obstacles in their lives?

When you lead and inspire others, you will shut the back door on losing quality people.

The key is to help them be the best person they can be. And that takes leadership. An abundance of leaders will make the professional and personal dreams of your people a reality.

As I was thinking about leadership, I came across this quote from Al McGuire (Head Coach Marquette University) after winning the 1977 NCAA basketball tournament:

“I’m trying to make a person take one more step than he wants to take. I’m trying to have him dig down deep into his gut. It was my way of trying to get out what God has put in these fellows, the talented ones, the Michelangelo’s; the talent was in the crib, but it has to come out, it is a mortal sin if we don’t get it out of the person.”

The most effective leaders directly impact the performance of their players or employees!

BOTTOM LINE: We Must Get Results!

How do you get results?

By making a play today to be a leader and inspire someone!

How to Inspire Others - Trust

Sat, 24 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Do Your People Trust You?

Inspiring someone starts with trust . Period.

In his best-selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , Stephen Covey states that trust is the #1 human motivation.

In today’s FUEL, define trust is “when people rely on others to help them achieve their goals and dreams.”

As a trusting relationship develops and grows In the workplace, a subordinate will learn to accept a leader's instruction, judgement, and correction.

How do you get your people to trust you?

You and your leaders must serve your subordinates by:

Connecting on a personal and professional level
Listening to understand, not to reply
Preparing them to grow and find their purpose in life and in their job
Setting the right expectations and confirming that they agree with them
Holding them accountable
Demanding excellence - get better daily!
Rewarding and recognizing them
Disciplining them

People must see patience, balance and concern while you and your leaders are taking these actions.

Once your people consistently see these behaviors in you and your leadership over time, they will start to lean on you and trust your judgement and leadership. As a result, they will be more productive, take exceptional care of your customers and teammates, and be proactive in helping the company achieve its goals.

Their excellence at work will eventually flow into their households and impact their whole family!

When they trust you, they will be inspired by you!

BOTTOM LINE: We must get results! How do you get results?

By making a play today by inspiring people to TRUST you!

Employee Retention - Part 2

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Keeping the Best People Starts with Hiring the Best

How do we find and hire the best people?
That’s a great question … and a deep one. The recruiting process for leaders and non-leaders is a process-driven event that will test every level of discernment and intuition you have.

Let me say that again. It is a process ... not an exact science ... and it must be honed every single day. When someone leaves a company or is terminated, we must take a look at why we hired that person in the first place.

Do you need to change your selection process, your culture or on-boarding program to help you better predict whether a future candidate will be a good “fit” for the job, your team and your culture?

Do you have a leadership problem or a people problem? When a good, productive employee leaves, we need to check our own culture, which includes our leadership.

What does your selection process look like?
Who is involved?
How many people are given the authority to say, “We hired the best!”?

To hire the best, consider these four key questions:

Can they do the job?
Do they want to do the job?
Are they going to be coachable and humble?
How long are they going to stay?

Learn what the candidate stands for … his or her strengths, weaknesses, failures, successes, education, and their past leaders.

Will they enhance your team or pull it down? Can you as the leader deal with it and coach these issues to a level that will be acceptable?

Yes, past behavior can be indicative of future performance. At the same time, people can be transformed and move beyond past habits to create new paradigms.

Remember, we are trying to narrow our decision to get the best candidate for the job, leader, and culture. Therefore, realistic probability is a discussion you must have with your selection team in this very ambiguous process.

Try not to be blinded or hide anything that may hurt your team. You must fully identify and reveal the good and bad and determine if the negative is manageable, and consider its potential impact on your customers, teammates, and profits.

Top Priorities for Hiring the Best:

Are they coachable and humble? (I look at this before I look at their skills!)
What are their skills, attitude and character; what in their history can help you identify examples of each?

Leaders, are you hiring to fill a chair or are you hiring to secure the future of the company?
Leaders' hiring mindset must be to secure your future . Include different angles and perspectives with each interview. After everyone has interviewed a candidate, bring everyone together and discuss questions 1-4.

My process of Hiring the Best outlines different questions that delve deep into a person's thinking and background to help you gain factual information based on their past performances, life challenges, and successes. This process will help you determine if your candidate will pull your team down or help secure your future.

Look for people who can energize your culture … or at least maintain it. You definitely don’t want to hire a drainer or a problem. Responsible leaders know this from the start!

Hire the best person that fits your current culture or who can help you change or transform your current culture into the one that will secure your future!

Bottom Line – you must get results!

Make a play today by having hard, honest, respectful conversations that help you HIRE THE BEST !

Employee Retention - Part 1

Sun, 25 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

How Do You Keep Good People?

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , Stephen Covey states that next to physical survival (food, clothing, shelter), the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival--to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, and to be appreciated.

Similarly, trainer and speaker John Maxwell says that every child needs to be raised with a sense of belonging, a feeling of being special, and a feeling of being loved.

Unfortunately, this is not happening on a broad scale in our society today. Therefore, people are starting to look for these feelings in the workplace. If they receive this affirmation, more than likely, they won’t leave you. If they don't find it, they probably will.

So, how do you keep good people?
Be prepared and committed to meet their psychological needs through your culture, people, systems, processes, and leadership … every decision made in your company must take all of these into consideration. The company with the best people and leaders will WIN THE GAME!

So, how do you find and retain the best?
Each strategic decision must be made with your people in mind and an understanding of how a decision will affect them.

Remember Aesop's Fables and The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg ? Think of each of each person on your team as a goose ... make sure you nurture, feed and fuel it, so it will produce more golden eggs!

Bottom Line – you must get results!

Make a play today to make someone feel special by helping them feel understood, affirmed, validated, and appreciated.

Accountability

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Accountability is about helping someone be their best!

Leading is more than asking someone for a certain result. Leadership is guiding them through a process to obtain the desired result.
6 Steps to Optimize Your Team Members’ Behavior

Preparation: Before you can hold someone accountable you must first make sure they have been prepared through training, explaining, demonstrating, and practicing.
Expectation: Preparation clearly establishes your expectation. Take it a step further and put it in writing and require your team member to confirm that they understand the expectation!
Hold Them Accountable: The purpose of accountability is to eliminate the gap between the expectation and the actual result. The most difficult part of accountability is doing it!
Demand Excellence: You must discipline yourself to ensure that you are setting a good example. Remember, it’s not personal; it’s your profession. Demanding excellence from your team member requires excellence in your leadership.
Reward: As you practice accountability, continue to work towards eliminating unnecessary emotion. Be hard on the issue and easy on the person. Praise them for a job well done. Thank them for their hard work.
Discipline: If their behavior does not change, the next step is a progressive disciplinary process, depending on the severity of the behavior and the discretion of management.

Correction given with no relationship = rebellion. Correction given with a relationship = direction.

Before holding someone accountable, stop and ask yourself these questions:

What kind of relationship do I have with this person?
If I don't have a great relationship with him or her, is there another teammate who has a better relationship with them, and can I involve that person in the accountability process?

Remember, the purpose of holding people accountable is to strengthen our connection with them.

Accountability is not discipline. It’s helping someone be their best! Bottom Line – you must see results!

Make a play today by holding people accountable!

Weekly Fuel

Overcome Setbacks In Seconds, Be A Goldfish With Bill Cummins

Listen to the podcast here

Overcome Setbacks In Seconds, Be A Goldfish With Bill Cummins

Bill’s Education And Career Path

Favorite And Worst Leaders

Advice For Struggling Leaders

Unsung Hero

Overcoming Adversity

Encouraging Others

Finding Mentors

Winning Edge

Important Links

We Win Or Learn With Coach Reni Mason

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We Win Or Learn With Coach Reni Mason

Best Leader

Dealing With Frustration

Worst Leader

Unsung Hero

Volcano And Missile

Getting Unstuck

Advice To 21-Year-Old Self

Winning Edge

Important Links

Trust Builds Lifelong Mentors With Mark Davis

Listen to the podcast here

Trust Builds Lifelong Mentors With Mark Davis

Introduction And Mentorship Impact

The Leadership Principle Of Accountability

Growth Of Averitt Express

Positioning People For Success

Strategic Decision-Making And Long-Term Thinking

Balancing Family And Business

Building Trust In Relationships

Maintaining Company Culture And Relationships

Finding The Winning Edge

Important Links

Always A Student, Sometimes A Teacher With Jody Weis

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Always A Student, Sometimes A Teacher With Jody Weis

Community Engagement

On Leadership And Growth

Building Relationships With Team Members

Important Links

Learning In The Fire

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Learning In The Fire

With Joe Sloan - Offensive Coordinator For LSU Football

Introduction

Leadership

Creating Opportunities To Relate

Winning Edge

Closing

Important Links

Elite Relationship Building With Coach Jabbar Juluke

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Elite Relationship Building With Coach Jabbar Juluke

Jabbar’s Mother: A Pillar Of Strength

Trust: The Foundation Of Leadership

Life Lessons From South Louisiana

Balancing Critique With Support

Lessons From Jabbar’s Older Brother

The Importance Of Patience

Building Lifelong Relationships

Important Links

Inspiration Through Listening With Special Guest John Tweed

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Inspiration Through Listening With Special Guest John Tweed

Introduction

Best & Worst Leader

Building Trust And Inspiration

Unsung Hero

Tweed Family Foundation

Important Links

Progress > Perfection Never, ever stop growing! Insights from Mickey Taylor

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Progress > Perfection Never, ever stop growing!

Insights from Mickey Taylor ﻿

Inspirational Leader

Progress > Perfection
Never, ever stop growing!

Insights from Mickey Taylor

THANK YOU!