Smooth Operator Podcast: Recent Episodes
Adam Liette
Ready to operationalize your business? This is a show for operators, business managers, operations directors, and integrators to help you manage the nitty gritty of running a thriving online business.
Have you ever thought that your business was unique and had its own special challenges?
I think we all have.
But the truth is, the more businesses that I work with the more I realize that the most common problems and obstacles are similar from market to market.
Which is why I’m excited to have Robert Indries with me today! Robert is a serial entrepreneur who has generated over 500,000,000 in 19 different sectors.
We discuss:
- How systems and stability have enabled rapid growth in the companies that he works with
- That “We” is one of the most important words in growing his empire. Nothing has been done on his own
- How never starting a business alone gives you the accountability that will enable rapid growth
- Why creating rules around his business and personal discipline are key to his success
I was truly amazed to hear someone with this level of success providing real solutions that we can all implement today. This is an episode not to be missed!
Connect with Robert: https://robertindries.com/
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
No matter how seasoned you are in business, there is one thing that’s inevitable.
Failure.
You will fail at something or come up short on your objectives. And while that may be inevitable, we have the choice in how we react to failure.
Today I’ll be taking you through my process as I dealt with my own setback this week.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Remote work is here for good, no matter how much some are fighting to return to the office.
And for many of us, our companies are entirely virtual and have never been in an office together.
While it’s tempting to treat this environment as something completely different that doesn’t need formal structure, it’s been proven that structure and processes are even more essential for remote workers.
Which is why I’m excited to have Valentina Thörne on the show. Valentina is a remote work systems expert who has helped thriving companies transition to and sustain distributed or hybrid models.
Discover:
- How SOPs allow you to better respond to your team’s needs
- Why treating remote work differently can be detrimental to your team
- How to set expectations to maximize performance and flexibility
- A neat Slack tip to clean up your general channels
While I’ve been working remote for many years now, I found myself walking away from this episode with new ideas that will be implemented into my own team.
Don’t miss this episode if you want to see increased team performance and happiness within your own remote team.
Book a call with Valentina: https://valentinathoerner.com/operations/
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Want to know a quick secret to providing continuous momentum for your team and keeping your finger on the pulse of your business?
Keep score.
Driven people need to know how they’re doing. And value seeing their contribution in the business. If you leave this to chance you are holding them back from finding their groove and making big strides forward.
This is the power of KPIs. Not only giving your team goals to reach towards, but making them tangible and connected to the success of the business.
In today’s episode I discuss creating KPIs and how to evolve them through the team over time.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Have you ever worked in the gig economy?
Taking odd jobs and working in the industry can expose you to many best (and worst) practices of how businesses are being operated. And there are many lessons to be learned.
Now, what do you do with those lessons?
Today I’m joined by Angel Pretot from French Fluency. He has used the hard-learned lessons from learning languages to teach French in a much simpler way. As a former gig economy worker, he’s been able to take that same mindset into how he manages his own business.
In this interview, we discuss:
- Why working in the gig economy enabled his success in his business
- How to beat those that are heavily financed by bootstrapping your business
- Transitioning from 1-1 coaching into a group coaching program
- Creating personalized plans to maximize success with your clients
- How monthly payments simplify your business and provide stability
It’s been a pleasure getting to know Angel and I’m thrilled to be able to explore these topics with him.
Connect with Angel here: https://www.frenchfluency.net/
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Delegation and Offloading are critical to growing your business and being able to give yourself the time and space to think strategically about the future.
And yet so many of us approach offloading with a completely wrong mindset that not only holds us back, but prevents us from attracting the A-players we want to bring onto our team.
On today’s episode I’m going to flip everything you’ve ever heard about delegating upside down and give you some direction to make this incredibly successful for you, your team, the company, and the team member you ultimately delegate to.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
When faced with adversity, we can either shrink away or rise to the occasion.
Today’s guest thrives on the latter and has been consistently pushing himself to evolve with the market and create opportunities.
Andrew Bolis has 15 years of marketing leadership experience. He's currently a Fractional CMO & Business Growth Consultant. He builds marketing programs that help B2B companies acquire new customers and grow their revenue.
Join me as we discuss:
- How to create synergy between marketing and sales teams
- The advantages that startups have compared to established companies in their marketing strategy
- Unique marketing tactics that will elevate your lead generation strategy
- How to leverage the expertise of a fractional CMO
This interview has me rolling with new ideas that I’m putting into place as we speak and can’t wait to see the results.
Don’t miss this amazing episode!
Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbolis/
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Great leaders tell stories.
Storytelling is one of the most basic elements of the human experience, dating all the way back to the earliest of times.
And yet I’ve found few leaders that use storytelling as part of their persuasion and motivational strategies.
They are missing a huge opportunity.
Learn the 3 types of stories that you can employ into your business leadership and how to become a better storyteller in this episode
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
What would it mean to have a team that is fully empowered to work at their highest level of contribution?
To have meaning and a positive outlook on the company and their role in it.
Today we’ll discuss some practical tips to empowering a rockstar team through some simple leadership tactics.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
What is the secret to becoming better at planning?
Believe it or not, there is no magic tool that will make your plans better. All the tools are helpful for us to communicate our plan, but they won’t help you make better plans.
In fact, new tools may actually hurt your ability to plan complex projects.
Discover the one secret to planning that will remove obstacles and allow you to function at your highest level today!
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Having a marketing plan is essential to running successful campaigns.
Without a plan for your marketing, you are leaving too many things to chance and exposing yourself to emotional swings and paralysis throughout a campaign.
In this episode, I talk about the importance of having a strategy, a plan, and some tactical tips to help you implement this into your own business.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course-optin
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
How can we collaborate in our conversations?
Today I’m joined by Peter Anthony, author of Collabradabra, to discuss simple ways that you can better build relationships and have deep conversations with everyone around you.
I’m really encouraged by this interview and see how it can improve networking, sales, and team communication through the process.
Enjoy more meaningful conversations with everyone in your life today!
Buy Peter’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Collabradabra-Peter-J-Anthony/dp/064681074X
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
For many small companies, annual planning is simply not effective. The business is changing too quickly to accurately predict growth or what projects are going to move the needle in the upcoming year.
However, there are great ways to use strategic planning to grow your business through planning.
In today’s episode, I go through the system that I’ve created to capture my thoughts and imagine the next steps of the company's evolution.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Tired of discounting your best products?
I get it. We work so hard to create what we’re selling and it’s disheartening to sell them so cheaply. We know that the products are well worth the investment!
Marco Torres from Marketing Boost joins me to discuss using travel incentives as an ethical bribe to encourage conversions.
I’ve since tried this method with my own company and have been pleased to see the results as part of the program.
Discover how to get started and provide greater value to your customers.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
Black Friday is my favorite time of the year to be in marketing! Seriously, it’s just fun.
After several years of promotions, I’m sharing some of the tips that have enabled me to operate at my best throughout the holiday.
These are practical and can be employed right away. I hope this gets you in the best position for a rocking holiday season!
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Join the Facebook Group: https://www.adamliette.com/facebook
Free Mini Course on Hiring Your Next Team Member: https://www.adamliette.com/hiring-course
Apply for a Free Strategy Session: https://go.oncehub.com/AdamLietteMeeting
It’s all about communication. While many operators prefer to stay behind the scenes, learning to be more effective with our speaking voices is essential when leading teams.
I’m thrilled to welcome Brendon Kumarasamy from MasterTalk to the show to discuss tips that we can begin using immediately to increase our skill level.
I found this to be an incredibly actionable episode, with several suggestions that I’ve already implemented into my daily routine. I know you’re going to really enjoy this episode and the exercises that Brenden recommends.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
We finish up our exploration into the Cialdini’s levers of influence with scarcity.
While many of us are well familiar with this principle in marketing, there are specific ways that we can leverage this principle into our team leadership.
Not only that, but there are specific management speed bumps that you can avoid by designing your team and communicating changes properly. There’s just as much to learn by avoiding triggering scarcity with our team members!
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
The more things change… the more they remain the same.
With so many shiny objects that occupy many marketers' attention, we often neglect getting back to the basics and focusing on our marketing strategy.
Today I’m thrilled to welcome Tim Fitzpatrick to the show! Tim is a marketing expert with decades of experience under his belt.
Discover more about returning to the fundamentals of marketing and how much more we can gain by making this part of our process.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Of all the levers of influence, perhaps none is as powerful as authority.
We are programmed from a young age to obey and listen to the authorities. To be subservient when ordered to do something by someone that is in charge.
There are numerous ways that you can leverage authority within your own company, far from simply “because I said so”. Mandated authority is the least effective long term, and could bring negative implications to your own relationship with your subordinates.
However, if we flip things around and leverage authority in a positive manner, the sky's the limit in how we can apply this principle to our team leadership.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
What does it take to manage a growing, fully remote team?
Today I’m joined with the amazing Nicole Baldinu from Webinar Ninja and the $100 MBA Podcast.
Nicole has managed this company from startup to being one of the biggest podcasts in the world and has a wealth of knowledge.
This interview was so much fun and I’m really looking forward to staying in touch with Nicole. I know you’ll enjoy hearing the incredible lessons that she’s learned on her journey.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
How much influence can someone liking you have?
In this episode, we explore different strategies for encouraging people to like you. This is critical for a manager and something that is absolutely in your control.
By incorporating these strategies, you’ll become a more likeable person where it matters, and leverage greater influence over your team.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
How can you take charge of your career?
We’re joined by Mark Herschberg, author of the Career Toolkit. Mark is incredibly experienced in helping professionals keep their career goals moving forward while empowering managers to use proven tools to facilitate their employee’s advancement.
In his interview, we discussed how to learn many of the soft skills that are required to move forward in the current job market. Leaders can learn how to best position their team members to continue to develop and advance within their company.
This interview gave me a ton of different ideas on how to best lead moving forward. Bring along something to take notes as the interview is full of plenty of gold nuggets.
The Career Toolkit Website: https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com
Brain Bump app (Brain Bump app)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brainbump&hl=en_US&gl=US (Android)
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brain-bump/id1616654954 (Apple)
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
We continue with this special series on Persuasion and Influence on today’s episode of the show.
Social proof is a very powerful factor in determining how humans will react in any circumstance. This helps reinforce correct behavior and shape how your teams will respond to your directions.
This is part of a series of episodes exploring the persuasion techniques from Robert Cialdini. Leaders that learn to use the tools of influence and persuasion will see results from their teams that they never knew possible.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Commitment and Consistency are powerful levers of persuasion that can go a long way with your team. This not only helps you run the team, but also encourages team members to adopt long-term behaviors that will position them to take on greater responsibility within the company.
This is part of a series of episodes exploring the persuasion techniques from Robert Cialdini. Leaders that learn to use the tools of influence and persuasion will see results from their teams that they never knew possible.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
The rule of reciprocity is an incredibly powerful lever of persuasion. As humans we are naturally inclined to repay a favor that has been given to us.
In this episode, we begin going through the levers of persuasion and influence from Robert Cialdini.
While reciprocity occurs naturally, there are several proactive steps we can take to best position our teams to respond positively.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Influence and Persuasion are powerful tools that we can and should use while managing our teams. While these topics may make some uncomfortable, the tools of persuasion are natural within human psychology and are taking place even if we are unaware of them.
As a Psychological Warfare profession, I was well-trained in using these tools and employed them throughout PSYOP campaigns.
Now as a leader of teams, I see them through a different framework and have taken the lessons to be the best leader possible.
In this series, we’ll be exploring the work of Robert Cialdini in his seminal work “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”.
Discover these incredible tools and how you can use them while leading your team.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Today I’m thrilled to have the first interview on the Smooth Operator Podcast! Nicky Billou the host of The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast, The Sovereign Man Podcast, and CEO of eCircle Academy. He’s interviewed legends like Seth Godin, success and investment coaching icon, Raymond Aaron and my personal mentor Alex Charfen. His guests are top thought leaders who have become widely known for their expertise and results.
In this long-form interview, we explore Nicky’s journey to both personal and monetary freedom. This has not been a straight line! But the insights that Nicky brings are truly remarkable.
To learn more about Nicky:
The Thought Leader Revolution Podcast - https://www.thethoughtleaderrevolution.com/
The Sovereign Man Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sovereign-man-podcast/id1580828975
eCircle Academy - https://ecircleacademy.com/
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Running a business can be incredibly noisy. There’s so many ideas and shiny objects to consider for your next steps.
Practicing contemplation and thoughtful silence is a power tool that can help to bring a lot of clarity and direction.
Take some time today to sit in silent contemplation so you can get that direction.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
There are many different ways to bring operational support onto your team. If you’re like more small businesses, you need someone immersed in the day-to-day of the company. Someone to directly take tasks off the CEOs desk and lead the team.
That’s where an Operator can really help you.
I noticed that many are being recommended to look for fractional COOs or fractional Integrators for their businesses.
While that has its place, today I’ll discuss why I don’t recommend that as the first step.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
What does it mean to be truly committed to an outcome? To fully dedicate yourself to the end result? It’s far too easy to swing around to whatever shiny objects we come across rather than follow through on our plans.
But when it’s all over, the results that we achieve are ours to own. If you’re not happy with your results, review your commitment to achieving them.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
The biggest mistake that I’ve seen from leadership is listing out a laundry list of their priorities.
How many actually get accomplished? Typically…. None!
Today we’ll go into some psychology being goal setting and how to best optimize our life by having a greater focus on fewer priorities.
And how’s there’s a particular magic number that’s been proven to give you the best chance of success.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Companies are organic and always changing. You’ll need to be implementing new things along the way to provide organization and communication flow to the company
But, we are in the people business and it’s not as easy as just mandating that someone follow a new process as we would like.
This often leads to frustration for team leaders and uncertainty for the rest of the team.
Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to get your team involved in the process that will result in them becoming true believers and having a stake in the new process being successful.
Learn more about getting team buyin today:
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
The end of the week can bring mixed emotions for many team leaders.
Too often we are left with uncertainty about everything that went on during the week. This results in many team leaders being unable to relax during their time off as they may be preoccupied with trying to plan the next week.
Enter in Weekly Reports.
This is an incredibly simple process that can be a huge difference maker for yourself and the whole team. Helping everyone to have a full understanding of what’s going on in the business and reinforcing team culture.
Discover more on today’s episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
We all encounter problems and various things during our working relationships and flow of the day.
It’s often tempting to jump straight into action, working to fix the problem without taking the time to do a full analysis on what’s actually occurring.
Unfortunately, this can result in us getting treed by a chihuahua (listen to discover what that means)
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
A SITREP is a cornerstone to how tactical military units keep their chain of command informed on what’s going on during battle.
And while this may not seem like something that’s needed inside of an online business, there are so many advantages to having regular reported within your own team.
When done correctly, it can actually decrease the pressure, stress, and uncertainty that is all too common within an online business.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Have you ever had a project continue to grow, well beyond the original expectations of the project?
We call this mission creep and it should be closely guarded against in your own business.
Learn how to spot mission creep and effective ways to minimize its impact on your business in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Don’t you love it when a good plan comes together?
Recently I was working on some projects outside of the office and found so much satisfaction having a blueprint to work from.
It got me thinking about how much I appreciate working from a plan. How that will free you up to be creative and work through the difficult times.
How can you build these plans for yourself and your team?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Eventually you’ll have to encounter a team member that’s no longer performing at the level that’s expected of them.
It’s inevitable because we are ultimately in the PEOPLE business. The team members around us are not robots and may at some point need some intervention.
While some offenses are fireable, performance is a tricky area as it’s part of our jobs to provide training for team members. And it’s much, much easier to retain a team member than trying to find, hire and train up a new employee.
Today we’ll go through the steps to take action to correct your employee’s performance.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
Everyone loves public speaking, right? Not so much.
But in our jobs, our voice is often critical to getting our message across, leading our teams, and converting prospects into customers. And there are some key disciplines we can use to get better at this skill.
The bottom line is you NEED to practice. Like performing an instrument, playing a sport, or acting in a play, practice is the way to get better.
Some quick bullet-point tips:
Practice with a partner
Record yourself and listen back
Film yourself and notice your non-verbals
Tighten up your cold pitch
Getting any anger out early
Incorporate this into a workflow
To hear more about each one of these, listen to today’s episode!
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Apply today for a chance to work 1-1 with me and learn the skills to take your business to the next level: https://www.adamliette.com/beta
If you’re feeling the pressure and strain from running your business, you owe it to yourself and your team to find solutions. To ease the stress and micro-management that often accompanies rapid growth.
In this episode, I’ll be discussing my own journey and how I came to create this system.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Sign up for my new Beta Program here: www.adamliette.com/beta
You’ve likely experienced how much more effective you can be when avoiding context shifting in your own work. (and if you haven’t, I highly recommend that you do so immediately)
But what about your team members?
In this episode we discuss methods that I’ve used to actively avoid context shifting with my own team and how this has resulted in employees that are more productive and happier.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
What in your business is making you uncomfortable?
Discomfort is an inevitable part of developing yourself and creating a thriving business. And while no one truly likes to be uncomfortable, there’s so much that we can gain from learning to thrive in discomfort.
Learn more in today’s episode:
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Earlier this week I was transitioning out a role that I’ve had for some time and got the opportunity to hear how my team members felt about me. The team member that replaced my day-to-day duties had some particularly insightful things to say about the role and what she found when transitioning into it. It got me thinking about the various roles that operators have to play within their team, often within the same day.
These are all critical to leading and inspiring your team into action so I wanted to unpack these various roles in today’s episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Your workspace can be a tremendous source of strength and inspiration throughout the work day. I firmly believe that if you set up your space with intention, going to work will be inspiring and something that gives you energy. I’ve worked to create a space that gives me creativity, allows me to stay in a positive place, and to unplug when necessary.
What should you all include in your workspace?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Every day is a new opportunity for excellence. To put ourselves in the best position possible to tackle the challenges of the day with enthusiasm and from a place of strength.
While there’s no “right way” to do daily planning, there are a couple of things that I’ve put in place this year that have made a huge difference.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
90X Planners https://www.90x.co/
“If you want to make an Operator super uncomfortable, start praising them.”
My mentor told me this the first time I attended one of his virtual summits and it’s 100% true. Operators are by very nature more rigid in how we work and some of the least likely to truly show our emotions. That’s just not who we are.
But recently, some changes in my life required me to accept praise with gratitude. That’s what my team needed and I had to give them that space.
Instead of shrugging it off, I took it all in with gratitude because I recognized that they needed to do that for their own sense of self. For their own soul and personal well-being.
Have you ever had trouble receiving gratitude?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
One of the biggest mistakes that I see entrepreneurs make when they start working remotely is that they start to think that they need to be available all the time. They allow themselves to work around the clock and have no boundaries to when they’re willing to be available to their team and company.
Worse yet, far too many business owners and managers end up extending that same expectation to their own teams.
What’s your relationship with setting office hours?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Running a business, it’s critical that you have a sense of what’s going on in the company both with your team members and your customers.
This will enable decision making and critical thinking at the right time so you can respond to a crisis in short order or be able to proactively shift strategies to get in front of what’s happening on the ground.
Up to about a million in revenue, this is pretty easy because you’ll likely be highly involved in what’s occurring inside the business. You’re still operating in a lot of tactical tasks.
But what happens when you become removed from these tasks and are operating more at the strategic level?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
A business coach of mine once told me that he could predict your success by looking at the habits that you keep. In fact, if we want to change the outcomes that we’re getting in our life and business, the best way to do this is to change our own habits.
Because it’s good habits that will enable us to have the best experience within our business and get the results we’re aiming to achieve.
So how can you quickly jumpstart your own habits?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
The blank page, the empty project. These are my least favorite things that I encounter in my daily business life.
I’ve noticed that I have to completely segregate my business activities so that I can be the best at all times. My brain operates with different functions and it’s important I separate these activities through as many controls as possible.
By having templates that I’m working from, I help to focus my brain on creative work when I need to be creative, and tactical work when I need to be tactical.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
If you’re not capturing your work and processes, you’re only setting yourself up for massive pain in the future as you try to explain your process to anyone else that’s on your team.
This leads to stress and anxiety, even apprehension about the sheer possibility of taking work off your desk of offloading it to another team member. You are far less likely to follow through with offloading and will do an incomplete job should you find yourself needing to take this step.
Most of the business activities that we do are tactical in nature and involve a series of steps. These steps should be done in order and they are incredibly repeatable by anyone on the team.
That’s the good thing! But the idea of putting together an SOP puts many into anxiety as this is just another task that ends up going on their already swamped list of tasks that they have to complete.
But it doesn’t have to be this way!
Learn more in this episode
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Culture is an increasingly important part of how we interact with one another in a work environment and having the right culture can be a big difference maker for you and the organization.
We’ve be able to see that our internal culture has literally saved our asses several times when doing difficult projects and trying to survive the busiest of times.
And while this is very much led by the CEO of an organization, there’s a significant role that operations can have in helping to foster and grow the culture that is present inside your own company. You can help to build mechanisms that will enable the culture to grow and be supported, guide your team members to embrace the culture, and help to hire new team members that fit in with the rest of the team.
So how do you go about this?
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
How often do you meet with your team members in a 1-1 environment? If this isn’t yet part of your communication structure with the team, I would really, really recommend that you reconsider and work to implement this as soon as possible.
1-1 calls allow for a more personal touch. For you to get feedback in addition to receive feedback from your team.
To build rapport and allow for more transparency
Demonstrate empathy
Problem solve things that the team is encountering in their work.
While it’s a long day, 1-1 calls are some of the most important things that I do as a leader on my team. Here’s some things that have made them successful for me:
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
If there’s one thing that we’re not lacking in these days, it’s ways to communication with one another.
Most, myself included, find ourselves constantly connected to one never-ending stream of information that we need to quickly decipher and digest before we’re able to move on with our lives.
The positive is that this has enabled us to build completely remote companies, stay in sync with another, and be in touch with our colleagues no matter what side of the pond they’re on.
The downside? We’re always in touch with everyone and never get a moment respite from the contestant stream of information.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Sometimes, you just need to go “all in”
That’s where I’ve been the last several weeks. We had simultaneous projects all coming to fruition at the same time which all required a ton of my attention. It was a tough period.
And yet I feel like I’m coming out of it a little better than I have in the past. Some things that I’ve added into my routine have been a tremendous benefit to giving me the strength and mental acuity to survive while in the trough.
Because launches are a part of what we do. It’s a part of our experience and you can either fight it or lean into it.
It’s something that I’ve also been uniquely prepared for given my background in special ops. Emergencies and tough times were part of the game.
Hard times make hard men
Hard men make good times
Good times make weak men
Weak men make hard times
What helped me get to this period? There were a handful of things that really helped to move the needle this time around.
Learn more in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
We've talked about how to identify and prioritize tasks to offload to other team members to free yourself up for emerging tasks to move the company forward.
If you’ve followed that, then you’ve already seen a couple of opportunities to offload one or more of your tasks to other team members. However, before you pull the trigger on that, there’s a big pitfall that you need to be aware of which can have major negative implications to what you’re trying to do.
Doing this one activity can completely sabotage all the other good things you do for your team.
Learn more in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
As you progress in Operations, eventually the time will come when you need to clear some of the tasks that you used to do off your desk to make way for emerging tasks and projects.
It’s a natural evolution and something that tends to make most of us uncomfortable at even the prospect of handing over some of our tasks to someone else.
By following a process you'll be the best positioned to do this successfully.
Learn more in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Of all the things that are the most uncomfortable for me in the world, silence was near the top of the list.
I hated when things were silent and filled my life with noise at almost all times.
And then I discovered the power of the The Silence and the massive impact it can have in my own life. Discover the sound of silence!
Learn more in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Most of what you and your team are doing within the business are repeatable and predictable tasks. These recurring tasks are what really makes the company run with your current obligations, serving the customers that you already have or the routines that have to be done to maintain your business.
It can be easy to lose track of the commitments and time obligations that are baked into what your team is doing on a regular basis, leading to members being over committed, frustrated, and unable to contribute to emerging projects.
Which is why you need to have a method for organizing and predicting their time obligations on a daily and weekly basis.
Learn more in this episode.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
When you’re running a business, the big projects are exciting and they inspire the team into action. It’s what tends to occupy most of our time in Operations and some of the most inspiring work that we’re able to do.
But most of your team and the team time is actually spent on all the recurring, day-to-day operational tasks that are required to keep the business running. In fact, while we’re off imagining and implementing the future of the company, our teams are deeply emerged in balancing any requirements that we have for them while simultaneously maintaining the day to day of the company.
And while Operators are drawn to those big and exciting projects, properly managing the recurring tasks are going to be a game changer for taking stress and anxiety off your team and making sure that things don’t get dropped during the process.
This becomes even more important as you scale and the recurring tasks become more important to fulfill on the promise that you’ve made to your customers.
The recurring tasks can make the difference between success and overwhelm.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
We are pre-positioned to love storytelling. We enjoy the triumph and drama of a good story. Stories compel us and bring a level of understanding and commitment that can’t be achieved through simple words. Stories have the ability to motivate and inspire your team to dig deeper and reach higher when times are tough or difficult.
And when we take the time to go over the stories from our own lives, I guarantee that you can find those stories from your own experiences.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Like it or not, we are always being judged. Our team members and others are looking to us for motivation, inspiration, assurances, or even something as simple as acknowledging them during a call.
I’ve found that it’s best to not leave things up to chance. Having a plan and a process for getting ready for a call is a critical part of my day and something that I know has a direct result in my ability to be successful in that interaction.
Here’s the process that I use:
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Things have changed an awful lot since the world first went on lockdown and Zoom became a household name. Prior to that, I can remember having to train our members on how to use Zoom and even educate them on some of the basic features.
Since then, it’s become a regular thing in normal life.
It’s become very informal in certain ways and increasingly hard to take people seriously when they appear on camera.
I’d like to introduce the idea of treating your Zoom presence like you’re on a stage.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
No matter how big your team is, establishing predictable communications with them is imperative to maintaining cohesion, building relationships, and moving forward in your business.
But it’s not as easy with a remote team, is it?
Learn now I was able to incorporate a quick and easy daily update to my remote team that gets us on the same page and in momentum throughout the week.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Put any group of operators in a room together and ask the question “what’s the best task-management system for keeping your team working together” and you’ll get a number of different answers
Task-management systems are a bit like a favorite kind of music - everyone has their own and will defend what they prefer to no end. What’s more important is how you’re using these systems.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
No matter where you are in business, things are going to be broken. Processes are going to not work. Workflows will fail. It’s inevitable.
That’s just a fact of life and it’s very emboldening as the operator in a business. Thinking of things this way is a mindset shift for me personally as I no longer get anxious when things break. Instead I look for them to break and see that as a sign of progress.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof
Meet Adam Liette. Director of Operations for a 7-figure online business and 8 year Army Special Operations veteran. In this episode, Adam takes you into what it really means to be an Operator and how to employ operator tactics into your business.
Learn more at https://www.adamliette.com
Discover the 5 secrets to run your business like a Special Operator: https://www.adamliette.com/sof