Trust Your Team To Operate Your Business

When it comes to making an impact in your business, there comes a point in time in your entrepreneurial journey where you must shift your focus to building a team and in order to continue to grow your business. Once you have a team, you must learn how to trust that team delegate effectively and become the leader that can run the organization that you want to have in this special episode of the Momentum podcast. We're going to share with you a clip from a recent event where Alex is interviewing for operators that are helping run some of the larger companies in our membership. They're going to share with you some of the insights that they've learned on how to develop the relationship that they have with their CEO. How to make decisions better within the company. And how to build this level of mutual trust so that they can create momentum on the team and not feel like they're constantly putting out fires in the business. This panel is going to give you incredible perspective, and I can't wait for you to hear it. I hope you enjoy.

I'm Alex Charfen, and this is the Momentum podcast made for empire builders, game changers, trailblazers, shot takers, record breakers, world makers and creators of all kinds, those among us who can't turn it off and don't know why anyone would want to. We challenge complacency, destroy apathy, and we are obsessed with creating momentum so we can roll over bureaucracy and make our greatest contribution. Sure, we pay attention to their rules, but only so that we can bend them, break them, then rewrite them around our own will. We don't accept our destiny. We define it. We don't understand defeat because you only lose if you stop and we don't know how. While the rest of the world strives for average and clings desperately to the status quo, we are the minority. The few who are willing to hallucinate there could be a better future. And instead of just daydreaming of what could be, we endure the vulnerability and exposure it takes to make it real. We are the evolutionary hunters, clearly the most important people in the world because entrepreneurs are the only source of consistent, positive human evolution and we always will be.

Diana, I would love to have you introduce what I think is going to be a very exciting operator panel.

Absolutely. So we have four folks

that we're going to be having on the panel today. We have Adam Liet, Ashley Patterson, Christos Roshi and Alice. Well, is it well or will I don't want to say,

Oh, well, thank you. Well, OK, perfect.

So the reason why I selected these four is that as coaches, we're on the daily support calls and we're the ones who are interacting with people in the program on a regular basis. And what happens? It's really interesting because generally what happens is new members will come in and will meet the CEO first and then maybe an operator is added in or we meet them both at the same time. But the operator, there's a shift that happens with the operator is the one who's showing up to the daily sport Kosmo's regularly to get answers to questions. And so everyone that is on this panel I selected because they to me have. One of the most important qualities that will help ensure that the application of the cadence is something that goes successfully and smoothly in your organization. And it's a deep sense of curiosity and wanting to ask questions and legitimately wanting. You can see it like the wheels are turning when they're asking questions because they really legitimately want to understand how all of the pieces and all of the parts fit together. And I can tell you that without question, every single one of them, like, I'm getting chills just saying it the way that you all are showing up now compared to when you showed up, when you were when you were fresh or you'd done to your first summit, it's completely different. You've completely transformed and changed. And so we talk a lot about what happens to the CEO, but what happens to the operator is just as significant. And so I'm honored that you all said yes, and I'm going to hand it over to Alex.

Oh, thank you, Dana. This is such a great introduction, and I've been excited about this since damage Fleming, who is going to be on this panel because I have a massive amount of respect for all of you. And when we're at events, the participation, what you bring to it is just extraordinary. So I know this panel is going to be awesome. So I want to start with with with the question and might give you a second to think about here. What's the biggest challenge in the business as an operator that you personally have overcome in the last 90 days? Or what's the biggest challenge that you have and move forward in the last 90 days? And it doesn't have to be 90 days? We can go back six months, but I want, you know, I always say 90 days because it's since the last summit. So if you think about in between the last summit and now, what's what's a challenge the business was having was something that you've modified to make things better for you or something that has gotten easier for you. Does anyone of the four of you actually, you look like you already have something in mind?

OK, first, I have to just give feedback. We are operators and process people, and it makes us really uncomfortable to be put on the spot. I'm speaking for everyone else, but I would guess that you guys would agree. So like having questions, questions and advance would make us happy.

And you know what happens because your operators, you come back with like a thousand word essay. And so I really like it better this way.

You want to go? OK, fair enough. Is that fair?

Yeah, I get it. I get it. And I want to honor the fact that you are organization people and that this is difficult. But at the same time, I really want candid responses here and I want to get into a discussion. And so maybe what we'll do next time is give you the questions like 15 minutes in advance. But if we aim to you too far in advance and you show up and it's like a speech, so it's kind of weird Justin that resonate with everyone who understands their operator like, you know, what I'm saying is 100 percent true, and Chris is not. He'd be like, Oh yeah, I would written a speech.

But but it's nice to see my my fellow operators agree that they need to feel the same anxiety when they're put on the spot and don't get a chance to plan. But yes, I did think of something the biggest shift for us, or the biggest challenge that I would feel like we've overcome in the last 90 days is I'm creating metrics. We still, I can't say that that's marked off. There is still a very long way to go, but we at least have started to track some very critical metrics that we need to make better decisions. So at the last summit, there was some conversation around making decisions off of feelings, especially a five core functions. Maybe it wasn't the summit, maybe it was a separate training, but around the five core functions and how oftentimes we look at them and just say, Well, I feel like we're here. It feels like we're performing at this level instead of having the data to make better and more strategic decisions. And so we've started to collect the data and create the systems that we need to be able to collect the data to make more strategic decisions.

What is that done for you as the operator actually like personally? What does that mean for you?

I mean, I guess it takes that takes a little bit of pressure off now because it's not. I don't know what makes that helped. It helps to make. Decisions, right, and so it's not like it's more efficient and we all like when things are more efficient. And I think it takes some of the responsibility off just as a team because it's like, OK, this is the reality. It's very easy to get caught up in feelings. And so it's nice to just. See this. See the picture for what it is.

Yeah, yeah. They have to have the clarity of what's really going on. Yeah, yeah. Oh, actually, that's a really good one. Thank you. Thank you. Which one of the three of you would like to go next?

Hi, I'm happy to go next.

Thank you, Alice. Awesome.

Here is also Diana. Thank you for that wonderful introduction. I feel that being put on the spot thing is yesterday, when we were at the CEO panel, I took notes and I tried to guess the questions for today. But I haven't guessed them so far. I have. No, it's literally right here.

So, OK, so does anybody doubt we would have gotten this speech?

Gotten an essay

four points laser light show a little smoke

point on sans of all that. So I guess one of the biggest challenges that we had to overcome is completely related to what actually said. But I didn't have the evidence at the time, and I had to call it out based on the symptoms I was seeing. So in my one on ones, I was seeing that everyone was burning out and we did time studies and I found out that everything in their day was already optimized in all the time as being used up and people were working overtime. So I was noticing that piece and I was also noticing the amount of projects in the waterfall. And I think we had gotten to a state of kind of passive ness. We'd been sitting in this reality for so long that we're like, Oh, this is fine, everything's on fire, but it's fine. The fire feels warm now. So I I had to I reached a point where my cup is half empty at this point and I didn't think I could keep going, and I had to have a really frank and really uncomfortable conversation with the CEO. And you think I was an instance of honestly writing up also an essay and thinking about how to say it many different ways, because say no, I think it was one of the hardest things in not knowing how to do it without hurting someone or taking away. Something that means so much to someone because I know how much the business means to the CEO. So telling them that first I was burning out and I need a two week break and also that the teammates were burning out, something needed to change, but I wasn't sure what yet. But we need to slow down to figure out through analysis what that was. And that's what led us to the conclusion that Ashley is that now that we need better metrics because we were choosing projects based on the five core functions without any evidence, and people would add things to the waterfall, saying, Oh, I think lead generation is suffering, and I'd be like, OK, well, why is it suffering? Because of X, Y and Z? And I didn't have any counter evidence, so I'd be like, OK, I guess you're right. I guess you're right. And then someone else would come in. Their departments say, I think there's something suffering in delivery and it's too serious. And I'd be like, I haven't seen it in there. They would bring their evidence, but I wouldn't have any counter evidence. So things would keep justifying until we built up to 15 projects for a team of seven people. And now we are at a hard reset and we're down to I think it's just two projects per quarter.

So awesome. Yeah, congratulations. You know, I forgot to set context. So actually, you work with the creators law firm Alex. You can you share who you work with and see how you serve?

Oh yeah. So Vanessa allows for you. Just to work for companies then is allow international. But we sell, of course. Also that teaches coaches how to create businesses using coaching. There we go.

Awesome.

I'm not the sales person you can tell.

Well, you know, here's here's why we do this panel and I want to I want to like I want every CEO, every person who owns a business to really listen to this because what we're hearing is the psychology of the people who do the stuff that we're terrible at. And it's so important for us to understand it and what we just heard. Vanessa, I want you to just like you. Can you give me a little more information on when you said it's so hard to say no. As an operator like you tell me, tell me what? Because you know, here's every CEO's like so hard to say no, I say no all the time. Like, you know, people are tell me to do stuff all the time. I don't care. It's a totally different, totally different process for you, right? Kishore Alex.

Part of it is the overthinking as well. So I understand how much the business means to the CEO. I know that they work the extra hours because purely out of just love for the business. And I know that sometimes when I say no to something, it's taken. It can be taken personally. So I've tried multiple different approaches indirectly, such as given the evidence in letting them walk to their own conclusions that maybe this is too much work, but sometimes that's a really long winded approach. And doesn't I know you like looking at the desk profile directness is what they value. So I tried the director approach, and sometimes that also hurts. So I I think that's where I'm a little bit stuck. So sometimes I try a bit of both. And it's it's still a work in progress, but it seems to be if I try a couple of times. Usually there's a moment where there's a point of clarity, and that's when I can break through. But it's that persistence and sometimes that gets a little bit tiring. I think, because you think that you've done everything you can, but. I think that's probably the difficult part. I'm not even sure if I've answered your question

yet and Alex, you know, by the way, I just want to acknowledge this really, this is difficult for operators and operators who are out there like we're going to ask you to be on a panel someday. So just know like you can do this, you can think on the spot and you can get really valuable answers that that answer was incredibly valuable. And I also want you to give yourself some grace and credit because Vanessa, yesterday, when I listened to how when I look at the transformation and Vanessa from where you were to where you are now, when she was talking about going from 15 projects to two projects and the confidence was what she was talking about, here's what I knew that behind it, you had something to do with that because CEOs don't come to that conclusion on their own. It needs to be reflected to them over and over and over again. And then, like you said, something like finally breaks through and they say, Oh, maybe this is what's going on. So give yourself massive credit for making that change is huge. It's huge that that sometimes that takes years and years and years to happen in a business. You've done it in a very short period of time.

So validating, Wow, I love this.

Yes. Yes, please. I want you to. I want to go back and watch that recording. If you ever feel like you like, you're not making progress because the other one of the things we all have to understand about our operators is they don't recognize their own progress. Ever, ever like to get another operator to take credit for themselves, like doesn't like they won't do it. Sometimes I compliment Haley, and she jokes back, and then I just keep complimenting her until she accepts it. And you know, that's how that's the operator personality type. There are rescuers. In fact, sometimes compliments make them uncomfortable. Would you for that validate that? Like, sometimes when you get right, it's like, No, no, no, no, do not compliment me. I'm still working on that right? It's not done. It's not perfect. Yeah. And so the progress that I witnessed yesterday was extraordinary. Alex Congratulations. It's so crystal. So let's hear from you and who you work with, the company who you work with and then answer the same question the last 90 days. Most significant.

So, you know, it's funny. I'm saying this around like I'm still up above AB. But the last summit, we really got a lot, a lot out of there is one segment where you guys were diving deeper into the titling of the decision. I went from being a lead generator to being CEO. And so that transition was a very mind-altering experience. But I worked for a building at work consulting company that we helped aspiring entrepreneurs start their businesses online. Right now, we're focusing on Amazon Drop shooting. So for us, it's very interesting because we're so niche. Category and coming into a program like this and getting the community, all these people in law firms and all these other different kinds of industry, it's it's been amazing that CEOs Dominic Cardy, he's unfortunately not on this today. So I'm I'm off the hook, but I did. I did want to say just to add to what Ashley Alex said. DNA reached out to me about this a couple of weeks ago, and I was like, And then I hope I can respond to this, you know, like, I felt so on the spot, and then I hopped on a daily support all. And then it was there. I was like, I'm going to that. You have for this. I just got to think about it. But I really do appreciate you guys giving me this opportunity to speak and. Something that I've changed personally since I've become a part of this program is is. Understanding that it's a team effort, and I know that that's so simple, but that really has been a big thing for me. You know, when we started, we were very, very small team. We focused very, very heavily on our metrics and our milestones because we're such a small team and that I'm a huge data guy. I'm the tech guy. So like I started with with the metrics and milestones like one of the first things we did and which is great. But as the team starts growing and you have all this data, you start to realize that way. I created that data based on what I think is like the best data pool. And so lately, I've really been working with the team to modify those metrics and make them easier for them so that I'm not asking for irrelevant information and and really just working with my team to see exactly what they think we need instead of what we had originally set up. And then just making them follow that to a team, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense. And that's been super enlightening for us. And then also just having, you know, we're still in the process of rolling out the cadence and the waterfall. But the the weekly ties and the weekly check ins with, like the department heads has been awesome. I thought I was going to get a ton of bite back, but once again, like realizing that it's a team effort and like empowering everyone else to feel like this is my this is my lead. And like, they're allowing me to master my lane is a is a is a really cool feeling for me to to one see them progress the way that they have and like take the initiative that they have. But then another thing that I'll tied into, it's like it's been also kind of tough because because everyone's been crashing it so much, it's become like it's standard that like, we should just always be crushing it. So then when someone ends up breaking down because they're overwhelmed, we're like, Wait, why is that going on? You know? And so now we're really, really are focused on getting the cadence in place so that we can have those targeted interactions to address that stuff before it blows up or in. Another thing I wanted to mention is like, I'm so excited for the cadence, just because I even like the little bit that we've implemented, because it's opened up a channel of communication so much and taking it away from that lives. Twenty four, seven Slack channel. Right. I think I think we

need to channel the deadly Slack channel,

we're engaging, you know, on. So I was just reading an article on this other day and it really, really hit home with where it's 24-7. Communication and dialing that in and having it more structured and more organized is it's been huge for us and we have just started really rolling it out.

So what is that? What does that done for you personally, like when you think about that? What has been the biggest shift for you as the operator? What I heard was, you know, realizing it's a team effort when I hear that from an operator, what I hear, what I translate that to an operator language is I'm not trying to do it all myself anymore.

Yeah. And that was actually that's one hundred percent what it is. We are on our one of our support calls where we're down was on there and we're with DNA and so funny DNA. I don't know if you remember this, but you probably had this experience 100 times, but DNA was like, I'm going to say something right now, and it's probably going to make you feel uncomfortable. But we got Dom in the passenger seat now. It's time to get you in the passenger seat, and I just like froze up. I was like, What does that mean? You know, like, I was so confused by her saying that I was like, How? And and that's that's really been the thing that shifted in my head where it's like, how do we get Christo's in that strategic role so that he's not this always overwhelmed and doing the tactical stuff? That's something that's really got my gear turning.

Yeah, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing. This is really, really fun. It's awesome that like for you personally, that letting go and letting other people execute and having the team do it, that's that's huge, man. The team effort is massive. And what I loved and what you said was, you know, for operators like this is this is where the excitement comes in when you get to give stuff away. You also get to see people grow and you get to watch them step up and you watch them develop and you want to watch them shift into like, here's who we hired. And now this is this. This is what it's become, and it's that transformation is one of the most rewarding things. So I want you all to watch for it because as an operator, watching the people around you grow, that is an indication that you're doing the right things and you're doing the right like you're working in the right way. So when your team is growing, you're that you're that emotional leader, that growing because you're making the emotional, safe space that they can. That's huge.

So I just want to add to that Alex, you just had something that happened recently to really emphasize this for me is like when the team is growing, it's important that the team is growing the way that it's like that that is natural to the team itself versus what we as the leadership team want because I think recently we imposed on one of our team members that they moved there since the beginning that like, you're going to be a leader, you're going to be a leader, you're going to be in this leader position. And then finally, the time comes to put her in a leadership position. And all of a sudden, like you, I can tell that that resistance, you know? And so I had that conversation with Dom, and he almost got kind of frustrated because she's like, we've been talking about it for like six seven months. And I was like, Yeah, but now when you put them in that position and they realize that wasn't what they wanted to do. So it's like growth is also dependent on the right growth. Right?

Yeah, that's so it's such a great point. We want to and we want to let people in their zone of genius. And there is absolutely a concept of over promotion or over, like giving people things that they aren't good at that they don't want, like DNA and was super clear with anyone when she first started. She's like, I don't ever want to have anything to do with sales. I don't want to be in sales. I I won't do sales calls like if she actually has gotten way involved in sales, never done sales call so and so by her trying that hard line. I'm like, OK, like I don't ever want to put her in a position where she's uncomfortable because when she talks about it, you can actually feel the discomfort of like, Hey, I really don't want to do this. And so we did that and remember Cadey and I did that once, and we moved a woman who worked with us from a position. She was a member services that she loved and she was so good on the phone. We put her in sales after listening to her sales call up like we actually really we over encouraged her. We encourage her so much. We made it so she couldn't say no. And after, like five days in sales, we listened to some of those calls and it was like horrible. She was so uncomfortable she had to like talk people out of buying our products more than once. And we went and sat down and talked with her, and she's like, Why? I don't like to be in sales because I like I grew up in this house where money was really weird and, you know, we never were able to spend anything. And so when people are talking about spending money, I get uncomfortable and I don't like to see people spend money. And when I go to the store, I take coupons and I have a list and I never impulse buy. And I was like, Oh man, we made such a massive mistake here because we never had the conversation. We just started the encouragement. And so take that to heart. It means your organization have the conversation first and see if there's interest. If there's interest, we can always train and develop. If there is fear and it's outside of their comfort zone and it's not in their personality, that is. It's what you want to be very careful that you don't take a really great team member and put them in a really uncomfortable situation. So thanks for sharing that. Adam, I'll come to you, brother.

Oh, I think I'm the one, I'm the only person who like when Diana said, Can you do this? I'm so accustomed to saying yes to Diana all the time. My mantra is do what Diana says, because it always works. So actually, I was looking back at the email and I didn't even read it, as can you be on the panel? I read it as, Hey, Adam, you're going to be on this panel. So it's just a foregone conclusion. So, yeah, last quarter, I left. I left the last summit completely obsessed with process and workflows and just building that out for my team and myself, that's been the story of the last quarter. I fear because of the way our team has grown, all the customer service staff are still on my desk when we left last summit. I took a month to offload it like I completely downloaded my brain into this playbook. I created and we hired. We didn't hire we. I turned one of my part timers into a man. She's a true believer now. But we brought her on full time. She took it over and she read. She's running with it. In three weeks, I was able to get her trained up on customer service. All of our processes, like even how to do manual fulfillment and Infusionsoft like she has it now because of me downloading everything into this usable, workable format that she was able to work with. And just, oh my gosh, that freed up like 20 hours a week of tactical time off my shoulders.

Oh man,

it's like the greatest feeling of all time, and I was able to that bring this team member on full time and she's just crushing it. So, yeah, and it's really crazy because this is the second time we tried to get it off my desk. We tried before we joined Charfen and like the team member was, he was capable. He wanted to do it until he was doing it, and he realized he hated it. And it got to the point where I was like, either I either have to pull this off his desk and get him into something he is enjoying or I have to redeploy him. Yeah. So like, we just pulled it off his desk because I wanted to save him as an employee. So that was like that was the first part of the process where I'm just downloading what was already working. But as a music education company. So this past year, we've launched a new program that we call living music, and it's basically forty eight weeks of new content every single year, which is a real undertaking for a team of our size. But. Like. It's going pretty spectacular on the on the business growth side, but I could see my team was just struggling. Every Sunday was like Sunday. We can't work on Sundays, but every Sunday night was like five of us on Slack, like doing the final details so we could ship on Monday. And I could just feel the stress because I knew I was stressing. So I went out and I bought this humongous eight foot bill, billboard a whiteboard, put it on my wall and I spent a whole week like, OK, this needs to work better, how can it work better? And from the desired output, I created what the workflow should look like, what our process needs to look like so that we can deliver for our members, be keep our team members from going crazy and simultaneously looking to the future to see what musical use is going to be like three, four or five years from now. So I was able to create that and then built a roadmap for our team to get there. So we're almost there. We're on pace, actually. Next week will be the first week where we have stuff in the platform published one week before publication. And just the amount that's freed up our team to do and I can just see on their on, on their faces when we go to our weekly tie. We're not living by the the firm deadline anymore and you can just it's freed up so much creativity and able to just. Do things that weren't possible a year ago, that's for sure. More possible? Six weeks ago, heck. I mean, it's happening so quick and it's remarkable to see

what an incredible 90 days and. You got a part time job in like half of all time job back into your time and you change the way that you're delivering. So the team is not stressed anymore. Like Adam, that is that's some intense work on the operator side, man. That's really extraordinary. Congratulations to the vacation. Oh, you did.

It's my first vacation in three years.

OK, I want to pursue my next question. So this one's going to be hard for four harder for operators than it is, maybe for the rest of us. But I want to know if you look back at the last 90 days to six months, but really 90 days. What has been the most significant change for you personally? Like what is what has been the biggest shift in your life by applying the content that you've applied? How have things shifted for you when you approach each day? And I know this is this is actually when I talk about the psychology of the operator personality type. It's a personality type that I've obsessed over. In fact, I can meet someone and I talk to them for about five minutes, and I know whether they're a really great operator or not. But I can feel it. I can because I feel like this protection. And there's this vigilance in, you know, really great operators kind of don't have a lot of perspective about like what's helping them and what's great for them. So I want to hear so Adam sounds like the reason I paused is if this is the first time he took a vacation in three years, that's probably, probably, probably would have been the answer.

Yeah. And like, I even delete it. I I took all temptation out. I deleted Slack. I deleted like even my email account off my phone. So I'm like, I am disconnecting, I'm going to Disney, I'm bringing my family. It's all about my kids this week, but day to day. Like my planner, I used to not be able to really think lean forward. I was so in the day to day of running the business, protecting the team, working with our students, keeping things rolling on that that I couldn't think past to tomorrow, let alone next week. And now I'm able to really create projects for myself. Collaborate with the CEO where we're both moving on different tracks, but in the same direction. And it's just it's enabling us to do bigger, more expansive marketing and business growth projects than were possible that has freed up all that brain space.

And what was it like for you to delete, slack, delete email and go spend a whole week with your family

was really easy because my wife is very determined. So she actually threatened. She checked. She inspected my phone. Christopher actually see the everyone on the team. I told them, like everyone on the team, was on Adam Watch. If I if my little green button went on slack, Christopher was going to like delete my access for the week. Like they they were all like, there is this unified effort to make me stop working. And so I'm looking back. Actually, I encourage that, so I wouldn't have done that. But, you know, I asked for help. Holy crap,

how meaningful was that for your kids, Adam?

I'm still processing the fact that I never asked for help and I asked for help. Holy cow. Well, my kids, by the way, yeah, my kids, we had the time of our lives was. They connect. We connected in a really deep way. And. There's no better place to do that than the happiest place on Earth.

Yes. So I said, Madam, I know dad has training on right there, families. You join Disney do. So who would like to share? Next, I know this one's a little little different. Alex, you most

similar to automagically I it was kind of related to my first answer where I was able to go up to the muster and I asked for a two week leave. So it wasn't even vacation, I just knew. As for health, for me to recharge. And getting that support and having her listening to that felt incredible first, like being able to tell the team honestly felt like there's a level of vulnerability. It was like, We're OK, we're at this point in the business where we have processes, where if I have to leave, nothing is going to break. And this is going to be OK. The team is going to be OK. And in fact, when I came back, I heard that with dialing back and pulling away some new projects and getting away from execution mode, I heard this thing about breathing room. Everyone had breathing room to finally sit with, like analyzing what could be improved in their departments properly. Like looking at the data before we weren't looking at data we were just going off of, OK, I think this needs help. But people had time to actually look at the data and do the calculations, things like that. And it wasn't like that back tax. It wasn't mindless work. It was more intentional, and everyone felt like they got this rejuvenated sense of purpose in their role when we slowed down. And I realized that if I do that, which is good for me, it also trickles down. So I I really enjoyed that and I think it was something you said as well yesterday. It was like when you create space in the business, when you pull back, it reveals another horizon of strategy and your team will rise to fill that space and you'll see all the opportunities there in that new space that you've created. So that's kind of what happened in creating that space. I got to see my family, my mom and dad and my brother came out. It was like, Actually, let's we haven't seen each other since the lockdown, so it's been a year in that I realize how much I need that in my life. Like, that's what matters most to me outside of it's just an essential. For me to function as people I love, and I have to always prioritize that people I love must always be a part of that equation. If I don't have that, I don't show up as the best person. I make mistakes. I stop noticing good things about other people, and I know how important that is to make team members feel valued and feel seem to. But I need to see myself first in order to do that.

That is so good. You have a level of self-awareness that's really rare, very rare. So good. So and congratulations on having that conversation and taking the time because I know both of those things are hard. It's hard to have the conversation and it's hard to take the time and congratulations on doing it because it lets you see what is the what's the what's the byproduct of you pulling back? And like you said, when you pull back, that's healthy for you. It's also healthy for the business and then you see the strategy. So God, I love I love how you articulated that. Adam, are you still processing that? You asked for help?

Let's just listen to what Al said. Holy cow, this is great.

So I said because because same with you, you know, Adam like the same thing that, you know, as an operator where you where you feel issues in the business and you ask for help to fix them, where you feel issues, what's going on with you and you ask for help to fix it, you're actually building the foundation of the business. And it's so hard to draw that. Like when I ask for help, I'm building foundation. But that's the reality. I've done this for a long time. And the more an operator learns how to ask for help, the more the operator learns how to say This is what I need, the more the operator learns how to put up personal boundaries, the more the business will grow. And so congratulations to bolster the I love those Bob Ashley, can I come to you next?

I'm struggling with this one, Alex Adrienne. I am it's giving me some anxiety actually self, because because I don't know how to answer. My inclination is to say as to cry because she can tell you what personal growth that she's seen better than I can tell you. The first thing that comes to mind is. I've gotten a taste of what it's like to be in a more strategic position and. Man, does it feel good? I know everything that's happening in the business. Which is really scary at the same time, but it feels really good when I get on a daily huddle or an office shut down, we've started actually asking everyone, what's one thing you marked off your to do list today or made significant progress on? And I love being surprised that there are people taking care of things that I didn't have to tell them to do and that I'm actually not this like puppeteer pulling all the strings anymore. And that feels really good. Like I said, it's still just a taste, but it gives me. The vision or the idea of where I'm the direction that I'm headed in and what I know now that I have a taste of it, I want more of it. And I'm able to see that I'm making a bigger contribution to the business, really. Providing business advice and really partnering with Takakura and decisions for the business, man, it feels really, really good.

So actually, the fact that you started this with anxiety and then gave such a brilliant answer, I just want to reflect back to you because here's what I heard in your answer is that what's been most significant for you as you let go? One of the hardest thing for operators to do is let go. Yeah, right. See, even cause anxiety, saying the two words. It's like I just heard the words like, Go, I have to break through it. But but actually, here's here's why this is so extraordinary and so significant, because in you entering into the early stages of letting go, you're releasing the business to grow beyond what you can carry around in your head. Does that resonate?

Yeah, I feel like you need to say it again.

Yeah, so you're releasing the business to grow beyond what you can carry on in your head, carry around in your head. And you know what, we never want an operator to do is carry the whole business around in their head. It's crazy making and the business will get to a point where it will make you crazy, you know, especially if it's scaling, especially if you have a CEO like Decora, who I believe you guys are going to like shift so much in the legal industry that the waves aren't even me yet, but like, there's a little tremor already, you know? And when I look at where this could go, the more you're willing to release, actually, the more you're willing to let go, the more you're willing to coach rather than understand everything, and the more you're willing to help and support. That's that's how this business is really going to grow. So I'm extraordinarily excited for you.

You actually gave gave me the words right there. A huge shift has been just me having the realization that so many things live in my head and I need to get them out of my head and into other people's heads or into processes, into documents that I need to get. All of this knowledge that I've built over the last three years.

Out. So awesome, congratulations. I know you had anxiety. That was brilliant. Thank you, Crystal. Let's hear.

Excuse me. Yeah. I'm going to piggyback off what Ashley said, honestly, because. And going back to what I said earlier would be another conversation that we have here too is like we have to learn to be partners in the passenger seat, which meant just that starting off load, starting to trust other people with certain responsibilities. And like it was just like last week that I did. This finally is such a small task. Like I know every operator has at least one of them. But it's this stupid little task. It has a bunch of steps. So you're like, I could train someone how to do this. But it's so like, it's so granular that I'm like, I'll just take care of it myself, you know? And I know that was uploading the Zoom video to the to the court's board. Right. And that's what it was. So it's all

good. Yes, our was holding

on to this like silly little task. And then finally, we hired someone to come on and help in the delivery side of things. And you know, hey, I saw him as over in the store are that I need to be uploading the live call. And I got like the biggest sense of excitement because I was like, I'm making a video and I'm handing this small thing once again. But but overcoming that and understanding that even OK, if I'm doing that with something small, what else am I doing?

Tag Yeah. So so what is it been like for you taking that realization that like, by the way, it's not just you. This is one place where entrepreneurs and operators of the same, we will all hang on to some ridiculous thing in the business. Way too long, like every one of the operators is like, Oh yeah, I know what it is for my CEO. You know, like all of us do this. And so what has it been like first? I just want to acknowledge something intense because what you've done is not only figured out you could offload this thing, but now you've taken a step back taking that perspective and said, Where else can I apply this? And again, like I told Ashley, what I'm hearing is you are building the instincts and the muscle memory of letting go and really letting somebody else do things. So what has it been like for you taking that realization and looking at the business?

It's made me realize that there's a lot of things that that need that, that TLC, and that's really what I think it is, is is is just barely TLC giving it some tender loving care and you know, and really thinking about it and not just. Not just like kind of saying, oh, it's not important or important for me to do that, there's more important things to me to focus on rather than validation, right? And I think that that's a huge part of it is like delegating isn't isn't an easy task. Like, for example, we just hired someone that was supposed to help our success code. But he came on and it ended up being a difficult time for us to try to train him. It wasn't great with instruction, all that. So delegation, I think especially for operators, is like, we have so much going on that in order to delegate. It takes a lot out of us, but doing that with something so small makes you feel the reward of holy shit I got rid of sorry, I got rid of this task, right? And so now I can take that little joke. I'm going to tied into this. I just read a book. I highly recommend everyone read it. It's called irresistible, and he's talking about addictions and technology and all that stuff. He talked about this guy who ends up having really, really bad Parkinson's, and he did barely walk. And one day he gets out of bed, he goes to kind of like, move his legs. He kind of just like moves his legs. And he noticed the shoe was in the way, so he had to lift his leg over the shoe. Right. And he hasn't been able to take a step in six years, but he sees the shoe and his brain associates a small ask, a small goal right to overcome that shoe. And so he stepped over the shoe and then he took another step and he blew himself away. So he started carrying around objects that throw in front of himself to force himself, to step over it, to train his body again, to start walking. Right. And so that resonated so hard with me because in this exact situation, I did have one little step. But now I'm like, Oh, I keep taking these little steps. I'm going to get me where I need to go instead of thinking it as as one big step, right?

I love that analogy because what I just heard you say is for an operator, giving stuff up is as hard as a person with Parkinson's to walk. And I totally agree. I've worked with operators for a long time and it like it is that significant accomplishment for the personality type to say, OK, now we're going to start giving this away. Right? So congratulations. All right. I've got one last question and then Hayley and I'm going to go Q&A around the operator and see a relationship. So this one, this one is is probably going to be a little easier for you because you guys are good at this type of question. So what if you had one piece of advice to give somebody new to the program? What would that advice be? Ashley, you want to start? Oh, yeah. No pressure,

no pressure at all. I'm supposed to get at answering this question.

Yes, it sure is. Exactly.

If if there is one piece of advice that I would give someone that was new to the program, was that the question? Yes. Start somewhere anywhere. Just start somewhere.

Simply dig in and get started.

It's a lot, and especially from an operator perspective, you see, we're either perfectionists or recovering perfectionists, most of us. And so of course, we want to do all of it immediately, and we want to do it all exactly the way that it's supposed to be done. And it is very, very difficult to start implementing a program that you don't fully understand yet. I still don't fully understand it. I still know we're not doing the waterfall exactly the way that that you would do it. And that's hard. It's hard to overcome that and acknowledge that it's it's never going to be finished. It's never going to be perfect. But you can get to a point where it feels good and it's it's helpful and. Work worked within the timeline that you can or that you have with within the constraints that you have and just start somewhere.

That's awesome. I love that operators for CEOs like the mantra in this program, it's like trust the process because it will give you progress over perfection. There's no such thing as a perfect business. And remember, like just remember every time you start thinking perfection, think closed business like really? Because the more we strive for perfection, the more we become a perfect business that's out of business with no problems, no customers, no team members. That thing is perfect. That's the only way you perfected business is to shut the thing down because the second is open and operating, stuff's broken. So let me answer, actually, I come to you next Alex.

Yup. I was thinking about what made the process really easy when I first started implementing the cadence, and it was, I think, the greatest thing that you could do as a team is have the CEO and operator support each other when the operator needs to introduce a new processor, a system. The hardest thing is to get buy in and having leadership buy in from the highest point someone that already champions. It is just a great way to lead by example because it's already it's already a green light for people to follow. And if they're doing it, it makes everything easier. So having Vanessa every time get excited about the things I was introducing made my purchase so easy. That was half the work for me because I wasn't the only one trying to convince not even the CEO, but everyone else as well. So getting the CEO on board and having a CEO buy in is probably the greatest piece of help I've ever gotten in this program.

Yeah, yeah. So having that support like you, you tactically are implementing it. But then strategically this the CEO saying this is important and this is what we're going to do. The love that that is such great advice. Chris, just what would you what would you offer?

Keep it simple, stupid things like that. That's how I that's like what I felt like I was thinking like if I was hovering over myself when I first started the program, what would I tell myself? And like, that's what it is, because I think as operators like having that perfectionist in us, we tend to overcomplicate things. And so I think that that was a big thing for me. And I remember like going on my food support, Oh, I'm going to dinner. This is this this this this, this this, this is that she was like, OK, did you do the operational stability? I'm like, No, she's like, All right, start there, right? So simplifying it down, like, really? Yeah, just keep it simple statement.

And Adam, great advice, by the way. I just don't overcomplicate it. And you know, for for operators like, I think we've actually heard this on this panel. Sometimes you create the complication in your head when the process is rather simple. And so follow the process. Trust the process. Don't overthink it, just execute it. And it will give you progress over perfection. So, such a great answer. Adam, same same question. What advice would you give what you wish you knew now that you would have known started?

Keep it bite sized and protect your time. So I have it on my calendar. Every day starts with Charfen time. I start my day in Charfen. I started in the cadence working through continuing to just nip away little things that need it yet and protect that time that is on the coaching calls. Like, if you think you don't have a question, go back to your momentum planner. Find out what you're uncomfortable with yesterday. That's your question.

Not so good. So good. So, so yeah. And so you say so, Adam, tell me when you say protect the time on the coaching calls, is that blocked on your calendar?

It's completely blocked it. You can't book a time on like my booking link. That's blocked. It's that's my time.

So that's good advice. I would actually recommend that for every operator that you just walk that time as either timing on the coaching call or personal time. But leave that time. And when I say personal time is personal time for you to execute, you know, every operator executes. And so there's stuff that you're doing and so block that time and either jump on with my team and let them support you. And I am 100 percent. Whenever somebody says I don't have a question, I'm like, You're not answering the momentum planner because everybody's uncomfortable somewhere. And it doesn't matter where you're uncomfortable, you can jump on with my team. Whether it's personal, whether it's business, it doesn't matter. They will help you work through it because that's what we do. We help people work through the constraints of data on this system. So such great answers on this. Operator panel has been extraordinary. The four of you, I know this is uncomfortable and I know that it's not easy and I know it's outside of your comfort zone. But this was brilliant. It was absolutely brilliant. Like everybody who's in the room here, if you can just take a second and put a comment in the chat for this panel needed for a specific person or for the panel in general. Operators have a really hard time taking feedback like this, so let's just pile it on as much as we possibly can right now. Like what did you get out of this or give them a compliment or something? Because I've known a lot of operator panels and this is one of the best ones we've ever had. I just want to honor and thank all four of you for saying yes to Indiana and for stepping into a place. It may feel like maybe or get a little hot and causes some heart palpitations and anxiety by showing up in a way that I feel like you gave every person in this entire event momentum. So thank you so much. Let's do some, some, some silent applause, man. I can't wait until these make noise again. So, so good.

Hey, there, this is Eddie Kirk with Alex Charfen team, thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Momentum podcast. Listen, if you're ready to take the next step, if you're ready to understand the systems and processes and frameworks that we teach entrepreneurs to grow and scale their business with confidence, we're ready to help you. If you go to billionaire code dot com right now, you can get on a call with a member of our coaching team and find out which one of our coaching programs best fit the needs of your business right now. We know that when you are clear on where you're going and you're excited about the outcome, you will put the accelerator pedal to the floor and you won't let up. Let us help you get into momentum, grow and scale your business and make the impact that you've always known. You should go to billionaire code dot com right now to get started. We'll see you there.