The old-new may hold the key to help you unleash better mindset and habits for the coming year. 

​Our kitchen was remodeled by a well-intentioned prior homeowner. To date, I’ve been able to remedy many of the functional discrepancies, such as shaving down the sink cabinet to bring our farmhouse sink to level with our solid surface countertops. But at least weekly, some of the shortfalls in quality instigate conversations about our future plans. 

​Thankfully my wife and I are [mostly] on the same page with regard to pragmatism, as we both understand in the current market an overhaul of our kitchen will not net a return that offsets the expense. I couldn’t wait to share my revelation with my wife and family. The re-org idea had been chirping in my ear for several days, and slaying the dragon of kitchen dissatisfaction in this simple way was all the more rewarding.  

Read MORE in the article The Old New published by Restoration and Remediation (R&R) Magazine. 

Let’s be clear about one thing, LISTENING to an audiobook is not READING. Can you add any audiobooks that you have consumed to your yearly “reading” list to make yourself feel better? If a weight lifter uses performance-enhancing drugs, their retort is that they still have to put in the work. Is listening doing the work? 

Whether a bodybuilder is natural or modified, they still have to do the work of actually lifting the weight. So, is turning the page what separates reading from listening as a qualitative endeavor? 

One of the best books I have read on organizational framework, Organizational Physics by Lex Sisney, was a title I listened to before I read it. The audiobook gave me a great overview and then reading the book helped me to better grasp and dive into the concepts. In this way, I have found that audiobooks are a good method for me to sift through the piles of books that I would like to read and supplement my reading.

*If you would like to hear more from Lex, you can watch or listen to him on episode 42 of my podcast. ​

Being named as a head coach, does not mean that you will be given the reins by athletes or upper management. Coach, as a reflection of leadership, is something you earn. You have to earn the respect of the players if you want their buy-in to your system. You have to earn the respect of upper management if you want their pay-out when you add resources to your team. 

In businesses our internal metrics our the year end financials, did we win this year would equate to increasing revenue and solidifying profits. Not everyone sees that, so it’s difficult to judge unless you are publicly traded. So, what are the external measures of a successful leader in the skilled trades? I would love to hear your input on this, but for now we will turn our thoughts back to the character at hand, Don Shula, and how we rate coaches (leaders) in the National Football League (NFL).

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• At whatever level you are at, do you win? What metrics does your organization and the industry use to determine the wins and losses? 
• What is the measure that will gain respect of those you manage, your peers, and those above you? How do you respond to high pressure and high stakes events? Note, for a small company these opportunities to shine may come in much “smaller” quantities, but they are no more or less important, in scale, to your organization. 
• What are the big games and what is THE big game for your team, in your market(s), and your industry? ​

This quote from Don Shula, is about the best I have heard as it relates to work, “Work isnt work unless you would rather be doing something else.” Rather than striving (a word I detest) for that perfect unicorn job (the one you love) so that you won’t have to work a day in your life (as the ridiculous quote goes). When you make the committment to pursue something, work your butt off to be the best you can be. Coaching is about making others better by helping them to see that making the team better will help them achieve their goals. 

Over the holiday break, on a fun trip with family and close friends, we watched several segments of The Harder Way. This show is about Penny Hardaway coaching his alma mater Memphis. On the show, former NBA star Mike Miller says (from what I recall), “The difference between good and great is small. The difference between great and elite is huge.” By all the notes listed, Shula is clearly elite. Even Michael Jordan says,   ​

By building something bigger than yourself, you grow, and in turn elevate those around you. Sounds easy, but some ceilings have to be broken first. ​

Benchmarks of Growth - Part 2 of 6
The DYOJO Podcast, Episode 57
Guest: Gordy Powell, Georgia Clean (Atlanta, GA)

At the beginning of 2020 I set out to interview a broad swath of people in a position of leadership to compile their insights on various benchmarks of growth. Our motto for The DYOJO Podcast is, “Helping you shorten your DANG learning curve,” and the best way to achieve this is to learn from the trials and errors of your fellow entrepreneurs.

Gordy shared several gems for those in a position of leadership to take into account for the personal and professional development:

• "You gotta put a team together." Understanding that you don't have to do it alone is a key evolution for any entrepreneur. For Mr. Powell this started with having someone dedicated to tracking and collecting the money.
• "Don't be afraid to divide your responsibilities." Gordy realized the importance of being honest with yourself and seeking out people who can supplement your areas of weakness.
• Mr. Powell shares a funny story about his first partner, walking up to him and saying, "I'm going to tell you where I suck at business at and where you suck at business at." With complimentary skill sets they were able to help each other grow as professionals and as an organization.
• Gordy closes with a great encouragement to, "Romance the employees," in a platonic sense of valuing their contributions and engaging with them on a personal level.

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This is the second discussion in a six part series on the benchmarks of growth. We will be discussing this topic in upcoming episodes of The DYOJO Podcast with dynamic industry leaders Lisa Lavender, Tammy Birklid, Whitney Wiseman, O.P. Almarez, and Andrew Golkin.

If you would like to hear more of Gordy’s story and perspectives:

• Listen to the Biocast 411 podcast
• Watch/listen her appearance on The DYOJO Podcast, Episode 29

SPONSOR
The DYOJO Podcast is sponsored by Enlightened Restoration Solutions (ERS). Ben Justesen and his team have put together a dynamic live class which reviews real world estimates and elevates your ability to master the methodology of Xactware. Including how to determine your own labor rates, create your own price list, and navigate pricing feedback. -
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thedyojo.com/listen
#growthmindset​ #propertyrestoration

John Doe has been working hard for “the man” for the last ten plus years and he realizes that he’s making a lot of money for someone but it sure isn’t him. Mr. Doe begins thinking about what it would look like if it was his name on his sweat soaked t-shirt. What if the customer were writing the checks to John Doe Construction? Even in a season of unrest, there are plenty of opportunities for growth minded professionals who are ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Reaching your dreams starts with developing the right mindset and habits to succeed.  

The motivation to go out on your own as a contractor

How does the blue collar nursery rhyme go, “Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that’s why I poop on company time.” The difference between the dream of owning your own business and making it a reality is putting action behind your thoughts. Some people do this the smart way and start to build a side hustle until they feel they have something strong enough to sustain them going out on their own. Others jump into the deep end with no safety net. The problem many new entrepreneurs face is that they don’t know what they don’t know about the business side of things. When you’re on your own, you have to provide your own toilet and buy your own toilet paper.

Creating a business as a contractor, not just buying your job 

At the startup stage, many contractors feel like “beggars can’t be choosers” and they take anything they can get even if they know the project is light on profitability. There is a process of moving from pennies to quarters as you scale up the quality of your clients. At the core of your business you must understand what Michael Gerber outlines in his popular book, The E-Myth, ““If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business—you have a job. And it’s the worst job in the world because you’re working for a lunatic!” You need to decide whether you are going to be a sole proprietor and charge a premium for your high quality work so that you can build a future for yourself. Or, you need to operate like a business and charge enough to build a team. 

Building a future for yourself and your business as a contractor 

The skilled trades person who takes the gamble on themselves to start their own business often has to learn business by trial and error. Where many of these errors start in construction is not properly charging for your services. You have to learn how to price yourself right for your market, in relationship to your hard costs (overhead) and with your vision in view (profit) so that you can achieve your dream, not just own your nightmare. The right mindset and habits for estimating are critical to your success, which are topics that Jon Isaacson, The Intentional Restorer, takes head on in his latest book Be Intentional: Estimating. 

Mastering the business and leadership tools that will enable you to thrive as a contractor

As you build your business, it is helpful to have standardized systems that help with checks and balances so that you are not just going with your gut on every decision. In construction the standard has been resources such as RS Means, which provides pricing guidelines for trades, services and regions. Another option, which is common in insurance claims, Xactimate provides tools for contractors to enable them to write consistent estimates while also producing production plans, budgets for materials as well as targets for labor and duration. 

The value of mindset and habits as a contractor building a business 

Whether you are a startup or have been operating for some time, if your business is struggling to be profitable, you may need to look no further than your estimates to start fixing your business problems. You may think this is an oversimplification but think about all the stress that a bad estimate places on your process, your production and your profits. A poorly written estimate leads to poorly structured production plans which leads to poor execution, unhappy customers, frustrated teams and sinking profits. 

To quote from Be Intentional: Estimating, “Strong estimating mindset and habits will help you to provide resources to invest in your process so that you can identify issues, resolve them, repeat and build upon your success.” Clear communication via developing strong internal processes for core aspects of your business such as estimating, will help business owners to be more efficient, reduce scope creep and produce quality revenue. 
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Start your process with the right mindset and habits as they will be hard to change down the road. Set yourself up for success by successfully setting yourself up to succeed. If the end product is causing dysfunction, track your way back to the start of the project and fix your structure by starting with your estimating process.   

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