Propelling Performance: Recent Episodes

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In Episode Nine of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with Bill Gallagher, Scaling Up Expert, CEO, Serial Entrepreneur, Advisor, Keynote Speaker, Podcast Host, Strategic Planning and Growth Coach. Bill shares his wealth of experience working with business leaders to lean into leadership, and that in order for leaders to create change, they need to change themselves. He takes us through application of the Flywheel concept to leadership – inspire, engage, plan and coach. Bill also explains the ‘fifth decision’ in Scaling Up methodology, after People, Strategy, Execution and Cash - what kind of leader do you want to become?

“[To create change], think about Maslow’s Pyramid, but don't start at the bottom, start at the top. Instead of worrying about getting your basics, like establishing security and food, start thinking about how you want the story to end. Write your own story.” – Bill Gallagher

Listen to discover:

Bill’s own evolution as a leader, which began when he recognised that anything and any business could be successful by following the right tools and strategies, such as the Rockefeller Habits.

Bill’s journey to coaching which began in 2000, during a time of self-reflection and learning his life’s purpose was to make a contribution.

“Leaders must recognise to create change, they need to change themselves.”

Gaps and barriers in business stem from leaders. Leaders are the source of it all. Everything is connected to you.

The gift of crisis - lean into challenges and breakdowns and learn. These are great turning points.

To create change, start by thinking about the end. How do you want your story to end? How do you want to be remembered?

Figure out your life’s purpose, who you want to be in this lifetime. The same applies to you as a leader.

Remember what Marshall Goldsmith said, “What got us here, won’t get us there.” What do we need to do differently?

“Think about the furthest out in the future you're comfortable thinking about – your Memorial Service, or retirement. What’s the legacy? What do you want to be known for? Take this as the basis of what you lean into.”

To scale our business, we have to scale our approach and our leadership. Four essential disciplines work together in sequence like Jim Collins' flywheel concept…

1. Inspire – we need to light people up, and it starts with us. We need to be lit up ourselves, with a vision for the future. Take a bold stance, use your voice, be passionate, express yourself.

2. Engage – we need people to commit and take action in their role. We need to listen and appreciate another person’s world, invite them to see where they fit. Ask, what would that mean for you? “Influence vs authority.”

3. Planning – start with the end in mind, work backwards. It’s the process of planning, not the plan. The plan is of limited value. The act of planning is priceless. Develop a regular habit of planning and replanning together and think about impact on people and expectations.

4. Coach - Check in with people, supporters, followers, in an ever expanding way, to return them to the flywheel. Listen and encourage people to sort themselves out. This is far more scalable than having to tell everyone what to do all the time.

Take action!

· To get started on your own Flywheel, amplify your existing strengths and explore your weaknesses. If you are a great speaker, you might not be a good listener. What are your present strengths? What do you really want?

· Within Scaling Up methodology, there are four decisions to get right in business - people, strategy, execution and cash. The fifth decision is - what kind of leader do you want to become? How do you want to be remembered?

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In Episode Eight of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with Andy Gowers, Business Development Manager, Cranage Financial Group. After a successful career as an elite AFL player with Hawthorn and Brisbane Football Clubs, and a mentor and Director with Hawthorn, Andy successfully transitioned from sportsperson to entrepreneur. Using real life case studies from his sporting career and learnings in business, Andy draws parallels between elite sport and business performance, discusses the benefits of applying a scoreboard approach, and how every leader can look to elite sport for high performance inspiration.

“If the mission is inspiring enough, if you get a team of committed people, who are working together and they're all on the same pathway… you'll have your moment.” - Andy Gowers

Listen to discover:

Stick to the game plan - how years of AFL training gave Andy the tools to help his wealth clients during the GFC, working closely with them to ‘stay the course’

Lessons for businesses from elite teams - why feedback that is constant and direct, positive and affirming is more valuable

Applying a scoreboard to your business and using metrics to drive performance

Case Study: Measuring and acting on metrics: Cyril Rioli and his 2015 Norm Smith Medal

Case Study: “Make your teammate the best player”: The team rule that took the Brisbane Bears to their first ever Grand Final in 1995

Case Study: Talent or Perseverance: Jason Dunst and 100 goals a week

Why ‘talent’ is the most over-rated word in elite sport - “it’s the ‘non-talent’ aspects that make a difference - determination, commitment, motivation and courage.”

Mistakes and gaps between sporting teams and businesses, and how we can learn from these parallels…

· Lack of clarity in goals

· No team contribution to business direction

· Poor, irregular communication -“annual performance reviews are ridiculous.”

Why businesses should take on the urgency of the sports setting - “working to a timeframe should be critical”

Building a performance culture in your own business - make a shared commitment to an inspiring mission. ‘We're all in this together.’

Succession is everyone’s task - mentor, train and educate others.

“It happens with every club and it happens with every business. There are multiple challenges you face, things that don't go the way you hope or expect and you need to adjust. High performance cultures bear all these things in mind, and move towards their goal.” - Andy Gowers

Recommendations for leaders - two important questions.

Question 1: I don't know, what do you think?

The most powerful question a leader can ask is I don't know, what do you think? Teach, don’t tell. Throw it back to the person and see what they think. Then help them workshop their solution.

Question: What is best for the organisation?

“If you put the organisation first in all dealings, it's pretty hard to go wrong. People will come and go, but if you want the organisation to flourish and thrive, you need to put it first.”

Take action!

· What’s your Ikigai? It’s a combination of four things - what you are good at, what you love, what the world needs and what you can be rewarded for. A combination of all four will improve happiness, increase satisfaction and performance.

· Reflect on how you would use this to coach your own direct reports, and through your organisation.

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In Episode Seven of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with Natasha Hawker, Managing Director of Employee Matters. Natasha shares her insights into the impact of the COVID pandemic on workplaces; what businesses are doing right and what need to be done better; the common mistakes leaders are making with employee engagement; key points on amplifying your culture and how to retain and look after your people as we navigate a COVID normal world. Natasha also shares an excellent HR tool for leaders, Employee Matters’ Employee Commitment Model.

"There is so much untapped opportunity for improvement in the people management space. COVID has absolutely brought this to the forefront in a way we had never seen or believed possible.” - Natasha Hawker

Listen to discover:

Key skill gaps highlighted by the COVID pandemic; knowing how to hire and exit employees in the industrial relations space, employers knowing their rights and their employees' rights.

In businesses that are doing well, these things are being done right:

• Every single person knows what they personally need to do to move the needle, get results and achieve business objectives and strategy
• There are skilled interviewers who know the culture and values and how to maintain and hire for it
• Employees experience stretch in the workplace
• They are clear on strategy and purpose.

What leaders need to do better in the HR space:

• Know how to hire and structure an interview
• Get better at Employee Value Proposition (EVP) - what’s in it for the candidate
• Candidate management - all candidates should feel nurtured and considered through the process.

The most common mistakes leaders are making with employee engagement are lack of trust; lack of investment in training; lack of investment in HR / recruitment and little or outdated awareness of employee relations obligations.

Key points to remember on amplifying your culture:

• Remember, people don't leave organisations, they leave leaders.
• How much is your business investing in the development of your management team?
• Can you articulate the culture in your business? Can your team describe it?
• How do your employees talk about you and your management team when you are not around?

Tips for leaders as we navigate a COVID normal world:

• Mental health issues are going to increase, and there is an expectation that worker’s compensation claims will also increase
• Do you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)?
• Vaccine management and workplace policies - do you know your rights and your employee’s rights?
• The number one thing to be doing is conducting 'stay' interviews to work out the best way to retain your people
• People are questioning what's important to them and flexibility and connectivity is key.

Natasha’s Top Tips:

• Culture is the ‘secret sauce’ and most businesses don't value it.
• Remember, you are always recruiting.
• Be very clear with your Employee Value Proposition.

Take Action!

• What is your employee ROI? How do you measure that?
• If you’re not getting the right fit and experiencing employee churn, you need to fix that gap.
• Understanding where you need to focus your energies will make a significant difference to your bottom line.

Natasha’s recommended Tools for Leaders

The Employee Commitment Model

Culture Amp

“People are much more driven by working for a company that has a great purpose now than just taking a great salary.” - Natasha Hawker

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In Episode Six of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with Rich Armstrong, President, The Great Game of Business. Rich shares strategies to introduce financial literacy into your business; explains principles including financial huddles, scoreboard and mini games; discusses common mistakes he sees from leaders; how to build engagement in your organisation and examples of how to get started by creating and using a mini-game.

“We're very big believers that the most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is just to teach everyone in the organisation how the business makes money, give them a voice in how the company is run, and then provide a stake in the outcome if we're all successful.” - Rich Armstrong

Listen to discover:

The origins of the idea for the Great Game of Business, and ownership by SRC Holdings Corporation

Insights into how Jack Stack used financial literacy to bring people together and increase their personal investment in his business

How financial literacy and connection at SRC began to spawn other new businesses

Rich’s hallmarks of effective businesses

• Teach everyone how the business makes money
• Give them a voice in how the company is run
• Provide a stake in the outcome if we're all successful
• Bring these principles alive through high involvement, planning, financial huddles, scoreboard, mini games.

Make the numbers visible everywhere. Make a connection to the everyday metrics, how they connect and drive the overall financial picture.

Introduce financial literacy training for everyone, from the CFO or cleaner to the production line, everyone is taught how the financial game is played.

The definition of a ‘mini game’ and how to use it, including reward or recognition when you drive profit or move the needle, such as cash bonuses

Use ‘line of sight’ - make sure employees can see a clear line of sight from what they do every day to impact the business

How to introduce financial transparency to your business

• Combat the fear of being transparent with your employees
• Get comfortable with the ‘risk’ of sharing with your employees
• Adopt the practices - weekly huddles, financial literacy training.

The common mistakes…

• Lack of vulnerability in leadership
• Not having the courage to be transparent
• Being unable to release ‘total control’
• Not looking at this as an operating system, where everything works together.

The difference with a financial literacy approach in family owned business vs corporate structures

How to start building engagement

• Involve your people in the business more than you do today
• Teach them the business, empower them to use that knowledge to help the business be successful
• Help them understand how the business works, understand your customer, the strategy of the business, and your competitive advantage
• Build culture and relationships, and make work meaningful to drive retention and attraction.

Understand how to launch your plan by creating and using a mini-game that is cross-functional and avoid silos. The bottom line is you want people to work together.

Take action!

• With talent shortages a reality, how are you going to become an employer of choice?
• What operating system would you use to do that?
• How will you provide meaningful work for your employees?

Rich has generously shared some excellent resources you can put to work in your business right away – get started here

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In Episode Five of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with David Werdiger, director of Nathanson Pearson. David shares his wealth of experience as a second-generation family business member and discusses the challenge of expectations surrounding subsequent generations in a family business, the critical importance of communication, shared vision and aspirations and a mindset change from ownership to stewardship.

[Having a legacy means]…saying, I've got a story and I want that story to endure, but at some point, I've got to make way for the next generation to write their chapter of the story.

“We're writing chapters, and rather than ruling from the grave or prescribing what we want our children to do… making sure we create the space for grandchildren to add what is uniquely them, into this evolving family story.” - David Werdiger

Listen to discover:

The double edged sword of family business; opportunity or lodestone?

The various challenges faced:

· expectations surrounding subsequent generations in the family business

· generational differences between siblings

· working with ‘two hats’ on - as an employee/boss and as a family member

Managing multiple relationships - the importance of well-established boundaries between family members

Making sure family members work their way up in a business - either earning their way, or getting their credit externally, by working elsewhere for 5-10 years

The critical importance of communication in a family business

A discussion of the ‘trigger event’ and potential conflict - the passing of a family member, divorce or restructure

‘Disrespected power’ - the changes in power dynamic in the family

How David helps family businesses…

· build better communication - creating a safe space where they can say the things they need to say

· work on articulating shared values and mission as a family, setting a collective family mission

· decide on their aspirations as a family and outside of the business

The five types of family capital….

1. Legacy or spiritual capital - the shared purpose

2. Family capital - looking inwards - staying connected and working together

3. Human capital - creating your own identity

4. Social capital - looking outwards - what is our place in society?

5. Financial capital - running the business and managing assets

The important mindset shift for business owners - from ‘ownership’ to ‘stewardship’ - to hand over the business to children effectively and become a ‘custodian’

A discussion of the challenges of family business succession

An explanation of collaborative practice…

· Having the family lawyer, accountant and advisor all work together to serve the interest of the family

· The importance of who is ‘around the table’ and the family dynamic

· How the location and context sets the mood.

“Helping somebody shift their mindset from owner to steward, helping somebody realise the value of social capital for the family…those are the key moments, where you change someone’s perspective and change the way they look at the world.” - David Werdiger

Take action!

Think about what’s important in your family - the things that cannot be measured. Consider what cannot be measured in numeric terms. This is where you should be putting the most effort.

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In Episode Four of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with strategic leader and Executive General Manager - Home Care & Retirement Living, IRT Group,Ross Gallagher. Listen to Ross’ insights on his leadership journey and the lessons he has learned; his hallmarks for great leadership; advice for young and emerging leaders; the most common mistakes leaders make and how he led his team successfully through the challenges of the COVID pandemic.

“One of the key things is to try and be authentic. Be yourself - and try and do it naturally. Don't try and be Steve Jobs. Your team will pick up on it if you're not authentic.” - Ross Gallagher

Listen to discover:

Ross’s hallmarks of effective leadership

· Be authentic - don’t try to be something you’re not

· Relax and be a natural leader, especially in your communication

· Empower your team to think for themselves

· Stay calm. Regardless of what you're thinking or feeling in times of crisis, your team will look to you as the one to steady the ship and give them support and direction

· Be a leader who guides their team. Help them make sense of situations, then empower them to make the call

· Treat people as you'd expect to be treated yourself

· Be intuitive - be open to learning and learn from your mistakes.

Listen as Rob and Ross explore the advantages of the Scaling Up methodology - how Scaling Upbuilds trust through clarity, making it easier for leaders to engage people in the journey; creates focus, by breaking up actions and plans into bite-sized chunks through the one page plan; allows you to clearly articulate goals and plans either upwards, to a board or downwards, to people on the front line and enables a key focus on two or three key things so people can actually wrap their head around it.

Ross’ advice for young or emerging leaders

· Make sure you get the fundamentals right

· Do the hard work early and talk to all stakeholders

· Make sure you can clearly articulate your purpose, vision and mission so you can take your team on the journey with you

· Don’t forget your educational path - read books, join seminars, join the CEO Institute

Some of the most common mistakes leaders make

· Trying and take on too much yourself - hitting the deck running to get things done

· Succumbing to Imposter Syndrome. Just because you've got a new title, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room

· Don't be afraid to make the hard calls early. Fail fast and move on - don't manage with ego or pride. There will always be meaningful learning you can take forward.

Why a mentor is so important to good leadership, and Ross’ life lessons from his mentor

How Ross navigated the challenges of COVID in one of the most high-risk businesses, aged care/home care, including daily stand ups (not normal in the aged care space) regular meetings with a critical incident management team and staying connected with the team and customers.

“Some of the best advice I had from my most valued business mentor was ‘In life or business, remember this motto - keep it simple, live in the moment and back your gut.’” - Ross Gallagher

Take action!

· COVID gave us challenges, but also opportunities

· Don’t be afraid to innovate, solve problems differently and identify new markets

· Ask yourself - how do we innovate in a challenging operating environment without placing more strain on the core business?

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In Episode Three of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with former school teacher turned CEO and strategic leadership coach, Andrew Smith. Andrew offers valuable insights on his journey from functional expert to CEO and leader of a multi-million dollar, IASX listed company and beyond. Interspersed with his triumphs and challenges on the leadership journey, Andrew shares what he would have done differently with hindsight; the transformation of 3P Learning’s performance and culture after the appointment of a strengths-based team; the four areas of focus for growth and change; how membership of an advisory board fundamentally changed his business and why he believes in fostering a culture of learning and living your values.

“I had the whole business on my shoulders. I was singular as a leader. I built a small leadership team of four or five people, a culture based on strengths…. people with the strengths and skillsets I was lacking to run the overall business. The change was almost immediate.” - Andrew Smith

Listen to discover:

What Andrew would do differently if he could start again - getting more help and leading more purposefully

How Andrew recognised and corrected 3P Learning’s ‘plateau’ and moved from being a singular leader to building a strengths-based leadership team

Andrew’s insights into using Clifton Strengths and taking a strengths-based approach to team-building - having ‘the right people on the bus’, assigning tasks based on each person’s skillset

The process of driving growth and change; a focus on strengths in four areas - execution, influence, relationship building (including customers) and strategic thinking

The empowering nature of the strengths-based approach to leadership

“In 2009 I joined an advisory board… probably one of the best decisions I made. I was getting support from a group of people from different industries, different backgrounds. Their insights on leadership, sales and marketing, all piled in to help me make some really big decisions.” - Andrew Smith

The key changes that turned growth around and increased 3P Learning’s ability to scale…

1. Joining an advisory board and seeking help from peers and mentors
2. A focus on strengths in execution, influence, relationship building and strategic thinking
3. Strong communication with customers, especially those who were unhappy with 3P’s products

Redesigning 3P Learning’s recruitment process to include personal attributes, personality traits and learning and staff alignment with the organisation’s purpose - their ’North Star’

How taking 3P Learning public impacted the company’s purpose and leadership team, due to values misalignment - but recently moved ‘back on track'

Andrew’s journey as a strategic advisor since leaving 3P Learning and how he actively fosters development and learning in people around him

Rob and Andrew’s learnings from Advisory Board membership; traits of successful advisory board members; the impact of ‘hubris’ - those who feel they don’t need help; advantages of having an independent collection of peers; the value for senior leaders in having ‘space for self-reflection’ and the importance of having a learning mindset.

Take action!

• Andrew’s suggestions on reflecting with your team every quarter…
  • Spend the first half of your meeting looking back, and the second half looking forward
  • Key questions to work on with your team; What did we do well? Why was this successful?; Why was this unsuccessful? Why did we fail?; How do we see behaviours lived in our business and with our customers?

Enjoyed the podcast? Extend your learning by reading Chapter 15 and 19 in ‘Propelling Performance'.

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In Episode Two of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob speaks with ‘The Accountability Guy®’ Darren Finkelstein about how to make accountability your super power and get it working for you. Darren outlines the seven barriers to accountability success and some simple actions you can use to move ahead; questions leaders can ask to help teams with accountability; how fear of failure and overwhelm stops progress; the power of an accountability buddy and the efficacy of old vs new tech accountability tools. He also shares some real-life accountability success stories.

“A lot of people don't share their goals, don't share their tasks, because their fear of failure overcomes the notion to want to share it.” – Darren Finkelstein

Listen to discover:

The seven barriers to accountability success and some simple actions you can use to move ahead:

1. Overwhelm – start with the easiest task

2. Overambition – start saying ‘no’

3. Not having a plan – break tasks into small chunks

4. The impact of past problems - review the positive and negative and learn

5. Not knowing where to start – find the first small step to build momentum

6. No reason to get it done – make sure it’s aligned with you and your role

7. No one cares – find someone who can help with your progress.

Rob’s experience working with founder/owners on accountability, matched to the BHAG, strategic planning, breaking down tasks and quarterly reviews

An American Society of Training & Development study on the steps to completing a goal, matched with probability…

• Having an idea – 10% probability of completion
• Decision to do it – 25% probability of completion
• Add a date – 50% probability of completion
• Make a commitment to another person – 65% probability of completion
• Commitment to more than one person – 95% probability of completion

How to assess what accountability means to you and your team

Five questions a leader can ask to help their team with accountability:

1. What do you have planned for this week?

2. Where exactly are you with that task?

3. Where do you want to be with the task?

4. What's stopping you from getting there?

5. How do you want to get there - what's your motivating factor?

Old vs new tech - ‘wall charts and butcher’s paper’ or online tech tools, it’s whatever works best for you

How high-performing leaders have found achievement simply by removing overwhelm

Darren’s personal story of accountability success.

“Accountability can be as simple as sitting down and finding a buddy, finding a partner, and agreeing to meet them at a certain time every week. That's where it starts.” – Darren Finkelstein

Take action!

• Ask yourself - how likely are you to achieve your goals, promises, obligations, or commitments alone?
• How many of the seven barriers do you recognise in yourself?
• Find someone who can hold you to account - an accountability buddy, or working group
• Find someone who is not a friend or partner, because they can’t ask the hard questions. Fresh eyes make all the difference.

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As we begin Season Two of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Tom Bosna shares timely insights into the need for leaders to focus on wellbeing in the workplace. He talks us through some of the common mistakes and misunderstandings around wellbeing programs, the questions leaders should be asking of themselves and their teams and how to take the first steps to develop your own effective wellbeing strategy. Tom says there’s no better time to ‘show up and show leadership in this space’ and offers examples of two successful wellbeing programs in action.

“Wellbeing isn't something you can just buy and do. It needs to be ingrained into your organisation and your culture.” – Tom Bosna

Listen to discover:

1. Tom’s overarching definition of wellbeing – being comfortable, happy and healthy

2. The five segments of wellbeing - career, social, financial, physical and community. In a global survey of all demographic segments across 150 countries, while 66% of people are doing well in at least one segment, only 7% are thriving in all five segments

3. The two pieces of the wellbeing puzzle in the workplace; legislative and compliance, and attracting and retaining top talent

4. Two common mistakes Tom sees

5. Companies that think they can buy wellbeing or ‘tick a box’ to get outcomes

6. ‘Fruit bowls, flu jabs and fitness’ - companies expecting one-off initiatives to highly engage employees and get outcomes.

7. First, read the meter on what your staff team actually want - then take action. Ask questions, run surveys (these can be incentivised), get the data you need and develop solutions.

8. Leaders need to find the missing link in the connection between what they think and what employees think7.If you’re a leader getting into wellbeing for the first time, look beyond COVID towards the larger mental health concerns in your workplace community. If you're not providing solutions, support or even listening, you’re behind the play.

9. Questions for leaders:

10. Do you know how your workplace is feeling right now?

11. How can you improve the performance of your team by providing extra support?

12. Do you want your team to thrive, or do you want them to languish, and be a business with average performance?

13. Look at your leave policies. Pinnacle has introduced wellbeing leave, with one day for staff to use per quarter. How can you be innovative with your leave policies?

14. Two wellbeing program case studies - skin cancer checks and a marathon challenge

15. Consider this process to be about health promotion and behavioural change. Sometimes the first step is ‘nudging’ people in the right direction for healthy behavioural change. Start by asking employees about their areas of need and their interests.

“As a leader right now, it's really about showing empathy, understanding, but then also connecting, to provide solutions and options for your employees.” – Tom Bosna

Take action!

Here’s how to get started on workplace wellbeing:

• Think about your core values. What do you believe in, what are you trying to achieve?
• If you were to amplify your team's performance or amplify support for your employees, what else could you achieve?
• What support systems do you have in place right now?
• What are you measuring right now?
• Have you ever measured the health profile of your team?
• If you could improve the health profile of your team by 10%, would you be interested? Would you embrace the strategies needed to make it happen?

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In Episode Nine, Andrew Griffiths talks about future proofing your business. Andrew specialises in future-proofing businesses across virtually every industry and every corner of the planet. At a time in history when we are all struggling to think about what the future holds, Andrew provides us with a crucial reminder that as leaders, we must be consciously and consistently future proofing our businesses, not just during times of crisis. Using real life examples and Andrew’s own global client base, we explore the biggest mistakes companies are making right now, why we must know how to adapt to survive and Andrew’s seven-step framework for future-proofing yourself and your business.

“Failure to evolve in a rapidly changing world is really what sums up the challenge for most businesses. That's why we're seeing so many industries and so many businesses failing right now. We blame COVID for it, but the reality is, they had old models in a new world.” – Andrew Griffiths

Listen to discover:

The three big mistakes we’re making that impact the future of our businesses…

1. Not staying relevant to our customers

2. Not evolving in a rapidly changing world

3. Not communicating transparently.

We must know how to adapt to survive. Alvin Toffler, who wrote the book Future Shock, said "The illiterate of the 21st century won't be those who can't read or write, but those who can't learn, unlearn and relearn."

“As soon as an Excel spreadsheet becomes more important than a conversation with a customer, our business is in trouble.”

Build extraordinary relationships with clients and customers, to the point where we're ingrained in the evolution of where they're going and we're a part of it.

Build a brand that is more inclusive and relevant and communicate at a much more transparent level.

The seven step framework for future-proofing yourself and your business…

1. Look critically at your business model. Are you working on an old model in a new world?

2. Embrace everything new and being new. Don’t throw out the old, but you’ve got to embrace the new.

3. Build a bulletproof brand as a company.

4. Create experiences. Move away from the transaction economy.

5. Be transparent and build trust.

6. Communicate more wisely, in a way that is more engaging, with more storytelling.

7. Stay so tightly connected to your customers that you are involved in their decision-making process. You need to be one step ahead of them all the time, developing a product or service just as they need it.

Explore incredible examples of future-proofing during COVID here: https://www.covidinnovations.com

“It's not the big things that we lose customers about, it's the little things. Lots and lots of little things ultimately frustrate people and make them go somewhere else.” – Andrew Griffiths

Take action!

• Invest time to ask more questions of your organisation, your customers, your industry, yourself as an individual
• Spend some time looking at innovations. It's not that hard to figure out what the world's going to look like in five or 10 years' time
• Ask yourself - what are we going to sell when people no longer want to buy what we're selling today?
• How are you going to build ridiculously tight relationships with your clients?
• How do you make your customer experiences better? How do you move away from just doing transactions, to doing incredible experiences?
• Why is someone going to pay more to be with you? How are you going to really differentiate yourself?
• How are you going to tell everyone that you are different?

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In Episode Eight, Rob speaks with Ken Weldin about shaping your future with governance. Ken shares his advice on the best approach to embedding good governance into your mid-tier business, by considering governance as a strategic approach to shaping the future of your organisation. Ken details some of the fears that hold organisations back, real-life examples of bad governance we have seen in the last 12-18 months and the key actions you can take to get started. He simplifies the process, concepts and language surrounding governance, so it is relevant and relatable – ‘keep it simple and use concepts that your organisation lives and breathes.”

“Your organisation will make hundreds if not thousands of decisions every day. So you may not realise it, but you're exercising governance at that point; which decisions do you take a chance on, which ones you do fast track, which do you rely on past experience to make a judgement? That's governance in action.” - Ken Weldin

Listen to discover:

· At its core, governance is about how you make decisions and focusing on how you make your organisation better

· Why you should look at governance as shaping the future and shaping change in a fair and equitable way

· “Systems, processes, charters, policies and minutes, there's a time and a place for that but governance shouldn't start with that. It’s about good decisions, enhancing value, protecting the future, shaping change.”

· Why some organisations fear governance is going to create a bureaucracy and slow them down

· Governance is about finding your own solution and translating it to people and what your company's trying to do. Make it personal and relevant to you.

· Ask the questions… How do we do that better? How do we do that with less impact on our stakeholders? How do we do that so that we come across as a fairer organisation?

· Real-life examples of bad governance from the last 12-18 months… an earnings downgrade, a customer dispute, a compliance failure, an ethical breach, fraud, money laundering issues, late payment of suppliers, underpayment of staff, cyber breach, false advertising, poor disaster recovery, poor Occupational Health and Safety, poor reputational management and stakeholder engagement.

· How a proactive risk framework will enable you to anticipate the impact of major external events

· The importance of scenario planning, evaluating risk and pausing to measure success

· “If it ain’t broke, fix it before someone else does.”

· Encourage boards and management teams to consider…

1. If a product is selling really well, why? Why do people keep coming back?
2. What is the implicit promise that keeps them coming back to us?
3. How do we protect that? How do we make sure that nothing goes wrong?

“Work out the invisible thing that keeps people coming back to you. Put in place the ideas, goals and steps you need to protect that, then reassess how you will anchor to that as your purpose.” - Ken Weldin

Take action!

• Consider hiring an advisor, unless you are comfortable and motivated to handle the process yourself. Sometimes it’s helpful to have an external perspective.
• Do you want to keep the status quo or change and evolve? You need checks and balances, strategies, initiatives and processes to enable that to happen in a sensible manner.
• How do you explain to someone who's never met you, what your organisation does? What do you really do and what do you want to do? What's the invisible promise that keeps you coming back?

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In Episode Seven, Rob speaks with Warren Otter, founder of Otter and Associates. This boutique Business Growth Advisory firm helps guide SME businesses to grow profitably and increase business wealth, in a short period of time, reducing their stress and improving their lifestyle. In this episode, Warren shares insights into the advantages of a strategic acquisition, exploring key points for businesses looking to grow and how to evaluate and maximise opportunities.

“I look at this point of view… what is the owner's strategy for the next five or 10 years? That's why I've always termed this strategic acquisitions. It’s not just business acquisitions. You can't ignore good opportunities that come your way. And if a business owner has a really strong business plan, it's a lot easier to work out the types of acquisitions they want, strategically.” – Warren Otter

Listen to discover:

· The fears that hold businesses back from acquisitions

· The advantage of buying the strategic position a business holds in the marketplace

· Why it’s important to look further than your own accountant for advice

· Warren’s definition of ‘a safe acquisition’

· The widening gap between sellers and buyers in the market and the new opportunities for sale

· Why businesses must be really clear on their core strengths and skills

· Four tips for evaluating acquisition opportunities

1. Investigate density of client base
2. Assess and lock in key staff and selling owner
3. Get external assistance for due diligence
4. Consider special circumstances such as licencing

· Who to have on your due diligence team

· Negotiating ‘go and no go’ terms

· The advantages of appointing a buyer’s advocate

“The safest acquisition is when you're buying someone who's doing virtually the same thing you’re doing and you're buying more market share. You're not having to go into a new market, you're not having to go into a new product range… you're basically buying other clients.” – Warren Otter

Take action!

Listen to Warren’s real-life case study of how Otter and Associates guided an engineering company from a $2.4 million to $4 million enterprise value through one small acquisition, buying only what they needed.

You can try growth the old, hard way – or double, even triple your value in a fairly short period of time through strategic acquisition. Which would you choose?

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In Episode Six, Rob speaks with Founder ofMarketing to Mums, Katrina McCarter. Katrina is a wealth of information about Australia’s most influential market segment – mums. In this episode, Katrina shares insights, gained through in-depth market research, on the changing mum market, to give businesses the latest information on tailoring their marketing messages more effectively to mums.

“It's about getting the right information available and accessible to these prospective mums, on the right channels. It's so vital that you have a clear understanding of which segment of the mum market you're trying to reach. Because, otherwise, you can be wasting a hell of a lot of money.” – Katrina McCarter

Listen to discover:

1. Why B2C businesses need to improve their marketing to mums

2. Why mums are unhappy with the way companies undertake their marketing

3. The two biggest mistakes in marketing to mums…

4. Businesses target too broadly

5. Lack of understanding of their segment of the mum audience

6. Why stereotyping and assumptions are a big marketing mistake; the disconnect between marketing and reality in the mum market

7. Results from Katrina’s survey of 1300 millennial mums during lockdown, with themes including affordability/family finances; changing purchasing habits; a boom in self-care and putting health needs first and a trend towards sustainability and minimalism

8. Introducing the ‘tech first’ mum

9. Why written testimonials have the greatest influence on a sale

10. How the desire for convenience and time drives purchasing decisions

11. Opportunities for female owned businesses; tell your brand story to build a relationship of trust

12. The increasing influence of grandmothers, a new emerging sector.

“There are 6.2 million mums here in Australia, collectively responsible for spending $132 billion every single year. To put that into perspective, research shows us that if mums were an industry, this group would actually be our largest contributor to GDP.”

Take action!Mums are the powerhouse of our economy; responsible for 80% of consumer spending in this country. How well do you know them? How well do they know you? Is now the time to rethink your strategy to target mums?

Consider a Marketing to Mums Masterclass - educating brands and businesses about the mum landscape in Australia and the opportunities that are available.

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In Episode Five, Rob explores business transformation with former CEO of T2 and Dimple, Nick Beckett. Nick has spent 15 years working in fast growth and innovation, applying his expertise in two highly successful companies, T2 and Dimple and working with Founder/Owners. He is proud to have played his part in building sustainable and scalable legacy businesses that have meaning and purpose.

“The founder-led business… this is a business model that I actually love. I love working with these people… the ones who light the fire of opportunity. It's kind of a privilege to be invited into this environment, to fan the flames once the fire's lit.” – Nick Beckett

Listen to discover:

• The effective partnerships Nick made with the founder/owners of T2 and Dimple; acting as a pragmatic foil for creative and driven founders
• The entrepreneurial character; why emotional intelligence, self-awareness, accepting change and putting trust in others is crucial to working successfully with an external CEO
• ‘It’s very hard to shine when the sun’s still in the room’ – how two entrepreneurs stepped back to allow Nick to gain the trust of others and create change
• How a CEO can show a team that change is a good thing – and break away from the founder’s point of view
• The need to get people who are bigger than you need, because you grow into them and they drag you up to where you need to be. “Get the right people in and around the business. That's part of unlocking the opportunity.”
• How to assess your capability to take the change journey
• The trigger points to deciding if, or when to bring in somebody external as a CEO…
• Is the business in a rut?
• Are you feeling overwhelmed and unhappy with what you are doing?
• Has growth diminished?
• Are you continually seeing lag indicators?
• Is profitability flat or diminishing?
• Is your team continually churning?
• Do you have far too many direct reports?

“Change can materially improve a business, but it’s not for everyone. New people, new thinking, people with different experience and pedigree need to be brought into the business for it to move forward.”

“If you want to keep winning Grand Finals, you've got to keep curating your list. And curation isn't a destination, it's an ongoing journey. That's part of the reality of growth.”

Take Action

Is it time to take on an external CEO?

• Consider the trigger points listed above - which do you recognise?
• Think about what you're really good at. Saying, "Okay, if I was only doing this and I could hand all this other stuff across to other people, how much better would this business run and how much happier would I be?" When you focus on what you're good at, you will be happier and the business will be better for it.
• Think about your capacity to let go of control in your business. If you're having challenges with this, reflect on why that's the case. Is it a question of people you've got around you or a reflection on your innate desire to control everything? What are the implications going forward? If you're going to attract and retain A-grade talent, they don't want to work with control freaks.

“In almost every case I've come across, the lead indicator for founder/owners to make a change is a gut feel. The lag indicators are obvious; they point to tangible metrics. But their gut tells them, it's time to do something different - to change gears.”

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In Episode Four, Rob dives into strategy with one of the top eight innovation thought leaders in the world, Kaihan Krippendorff.

Founder of growth strategy and innovation consulting firm Outthinker, member of the prestigious Thinkers50 Radar group and finalist for the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award in Innovation in 2019, Kaihan Krippendorff lives and breathes strategy every day.

“Strategy is not like science or medicine where we have agreement on what terms are and should be. I believe we should look at strategy as a living breathing thing – an ongoing exploration, where we introduce new terms and language into a body of knowledge.” – Kaihan Krippendorff

Listen to discover:

· Why Kaihan sees strategy as intangible - a ‘living, breathing thing’

· The five common mistakes people make in tuning their strategy:

1. making incremental goals based on the past
2. focusing too narrowly on one element of your business model
3. limiting ourselves to the consideration of only a few strategies
4. deciding to do what looks most logical and likely because it's been done before
5. failing to view strategy as a conversation that engages stakeholders.

· Why ‘vision without action is a daydream, but action without vision is a nightmare’

· Aligning strategy with a belief system

· How Outthinker views each strategic concept through 36 different lenses, including the ‘deer in the headlights moment’ and ‘coordinating the uncoordinated’

· Why a smaller pool of ideas is less likely to result in an optimal strategy

· The importance of ‘killing off a strategy’

· Kaihan’s five levels of strategy from the Way of innovation:

1. Metal (Admit you are stuck)
2. Water (Conceive new winning options)
3. Wood (Assemble your resources)
4. Fire (Break out your innovation)
5. Earth (Make it sustainable)

· The Three Box Model; doing stuff that creates the new future, doing stuff that strengthens and maintains the current future (your core) and forgetting and stopping stuff

· How a crazy idea can become the differentiator – “it's the difficult things that differentiate you - those high impact difficult ideas that we call crazy ideas.”

· How to use an ‘ideas matrix’

· The story of how the IKEA flat pack box turned IKEA into the largest furniture retailer in the world.

Take Action

• How can you focus attention, activities and assets in such a way that you achieve what you want for your organisation?
• Your breakthrough idea is not going to come from you as the CEO or the founder. It is going to come from your employees. Your job is creating the context for people to act entrepreneurially inside your company. How can you enable your people to think like strategically?
• Will you add a ‘crazy ideas’ quadrant to your ideas matrix?

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In Episode Three of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob and CEO and Managing Director of UCS Group, Stephen Ellich discuss Stephen’s journey from corporate leadership to management of high growth, family-owned business, UCS.

Stephen shares his journey of leadership; how he has created exceptional engagement, insights into motivating and leading high performance teams, as well as reflections on the company’s performance and success during the COVID pandemic.

***“When you get into an organisation the size and nature of UCS, everything's connected. It's a very personal, relationship, one that is about building on their trust.

Even down to the first-year apprentice who called me to discuss his concerns about relocating from Bendigo to Geelong. It made me sit and pause to think out how cool the culture is when the apprentice can ring up the CEO and talk about his concerns and trepidations about making a first move out of home.” – Stephen Ellich***

“The concept of a high performance team for me is four words - clarity, alignment, focus, and purpose. A leader has to trust their team, but a leader must provide the clarity, alignment, focus and purpose of the team.

"Once that's done, the job of the leader is to get out of the way and empower the people to execute the plan. A leader is there to create the right environment and put the right players in place.” – Stephen Ellich

Listen to discover:

· Leadership differences between the ‘helicopter perspective’ of a corporate environment to the personal culture in a family owned, founder/owner business

· Finding balance in a working partnership with founder/owners and a private equity company

· Joining a founder/owner business as an external CEO

· Scaling at speed and managing fast growth in a family owned business

· How the Scaling Up approach has enabled engagement, success and growth at UCS

· Why clarity, alignment, focus and purpose are key

· Building and empowering high-performance teams

· Stephen’s lessons from the COVID pandemic – always be prepared; listen to knowledgeable people; manage cash well; over communicate, but only from one source of truth; the critical importance of an IT Roadmap Investment; don’t waste a good crisis; be kind.

Take Action

**Stephen’s advice to founder/owner leaders right now

Rather than be overwhelmed and challenged by COVID, it's time to take back the initiative. Ask yourself and your people - what are the opportunities that COVID is presenting to stop waste, innovate processes and pivot into new growth segments?**

Your organisation’s culture starts at the top and is felt by everybody inside and outside your business. Leaders - how you driving alignment of your company culture to your values, brand promise and purpose?

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In Episode Two of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob and Peak Performance Coach, Eric Partaker discuss practical strategies and mindset changes to help leaders operate at a peak level without sacrificing their health and relationships.

“If you're on your deathbed - or suddenly given five more minutes of life - there's not a single person who would say, ‘Would you mind passing my laptop, so I can fire off a few more emails?’ In that moment, your soul speaks whatever is truly, deeply most important to you.” – Eric Partaker

In November 2010, at the height of his hectic, demanding and successful career, Eric Partaker had a heart attack at 35,000 feet on a flight to London. After an emergency landing in a small town in France, he remembers saying to a paramedic, ‘Please don't let me die. I have a five-year-old son.’

Eric says his definition of peak performance prior to that moment was all about work and business. He became determined to find out how he could perform at a peak level without sacrificing health or relationships. This life or death moment was the catalyst to changing his life.

Listen to discover:

1. How to define ‘the best version of you
2. Why you should stop putting off changing your future (hint: you might not have a future if you don’t)
3. The key differences between being an amateur or a professional
4. How to use ‘three alarms’ and a persona to switch gears between work, health, and home
5. Implementing a ‘shutdown ritual’ to be more present outside the workplace
6. The answer to negative self-talk and procrastination is to make a choice
7. Why we should learn the practice of focusing on ‘the one thing’
8. How to understand your roadblocks, set milestone and behavioural goals to overcome them and start showing up in a different way.

Take Action

• Ask yourself, where are you being an amateur? In business, your health and at home, where would you benefit from showing up as a pro?
• Being intentional reminds you that you don't just need to be a star at work. You also need to be a star under your own roof, and you need to be a star when it comes to your health, mind and body.
• Perfection is not the goal. Each and every day, do the very best you can, with what you have, that day.
• Life is a combination of wins and losses. It's just about managing the equation in your favour.
• If you want to focus on your health, don’t wait until this season is over, the merger is complete, you’ve hit that milestone, the time is right. The best time to do something is now.

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Thanks for checking out the Propelling Performance Podcast. 

Here's a short explanation of the objective of my show and the value you'll gain by digging a little deeper into topics covered in my first business book, Propelling Performance. 

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In Episode One of the Propelling Performance Podcast, Rob and Intellectual Property expert, Andrew Chalet discuss the ‘hidden’ value in your business, and how to protect it and use it to your advantage.

“In business, people have to examine where their value is being created - protect it and use it and not waste it. That's the key.” - Andrew Chalet

Listen to discover:

1. Typical barriers to assessing Intellectual Property
2. How to identify your Intellectual Property assets
3. Recognising the value in your business
4. The advantages of an external Intellectual Property Audit
5. How an employee agreement can impact Intellectual Property
6. How an Intellectual Property Audit helped a company in crisis
7. The value of an Intellectual Property Audit during a company sale or strategic exit
8. How to get the most out of the Intellectual Property in your own business
9. Why you should look at your assets strategically with a view to commercialisation
10. When is the best time to do an Intellectual Property Audit on your business

Take Action

• Look at your business creatively. Really look at why it works.
• Think critically about your processes, your people. Why do you think you're being successful?
• What part of your business model is giving you the market edge? Are you doing all you can to protect and commercialise that in some way?
• Don't underestimate the level of intellectual assets, ideas and creativity you have in your business.