Episode 4 – Winning the mental game. Building team depth. Improving relationships with market makers.
3 Strategies from Leaders that Thrived
1. Winning the mental game. Building healthy mental habits to prepare for challenging times.
The pressures and rapid changes we’ve all experienced in the last 5 years would rival the most challenging times in history. Sure, other amazing human achievements dot the historical landscape to the beginning of time; however, the pace of change is increasing. In engineering, this is simply called acceleration. Change is accelerating at the speed of thought.
Change is accelerating at the speed of thought.
Whatever you do to keep your head in the game from meditation apps to prayer to exercise to church or whatever it is you use as your virtuous cycle tools, now is the time to keep those habits strong.
Buckle up, strap in and wear a helmet! This thing is just getting started!
2. Building team depth.
A lesson that rang true with a clear tone was building depth in the team. Many team members couldn’t or wouldn’t come to work. Well, those people are still out there working on your teams. So, be sure there is a back up plan to either outsource or build your own team.
Many, many owners talked about getting caught shorthanded and could meet the market demand. This is a classic example found in the sports world. Usually the phrase is, “Next man up!”.
Usually the phrase is, “Next man up!”.
Is your team capable of putting someone else on the field right now?
3. Improve relationships with market makers and sellers.
Networking with the networkers kept many businesses alive and thriving. In good times, there is a natural tendency to lower the networking guard. It is easy to understand why someone would do this. “Things are good, we are good. No need to find more leads.” Well, when the well is dry, it’s too late.
“Dig your well before you’re thirsty!”
Harvey MacKay said it best, “Dig your well before you’re thirsty!”
As a reminder, this is where these comments originated.
Lockdown 2020
Just as the lockdown occurred in 2020, I reached out to leaders in my network and asked them several strategic questions. I did this as a hedge against falling into the void for myself and possibly for them if it served that purpose.
The responses were obviously shaded with fear and concern, as well as toughmindedness that ended up enabling most of them to survive and even thrive during the lockdown.
How did you make it and thrive?
Then, when the dust seemed to settle in 2022, I went back to those same leaders and asked them how they survived the apocalypse. The responses are a treasure chest of business counsel that stands the test of time in good times or bad.
The following are a few comments from these leaders after the apocalypse…which didn’t really happen, especially the way the media portrayed it. The world did not end, but unfortunately there was plenty of collateral damage and lives lost.