In this episode of the Bakersfield Business Mastermind, we talk about the changing landscape of workplace culture and finances.
Join Dr.’s Juanita Webb, Scott Thor, and Justin Hiebert as we discuss how workplace culture and finances impact important things like employee satisfaction, the bottom line of your business, and what you can do to improve morale.
Dr. Scott Thor
Dr. Scott Thor has over 20 years of experience helping leaders get more from their organizations, and individuals eliminate crippling debt from their lives. Scott’s clients have implemented 1,000+ improvements that have led to $150M+ in savings and eliminated over 500,000 hours of unnecessary work. Scott is a Dave Ramsey Preferred Financial coach, certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and has a Doctorate of Management degree from George Fox University.
Questions?
Do you know your biggest workplace culture and finance issues? If you don’t reach out to Scott Thor or Justin Hiebert to talk about what steps you can implement for sustained growth.
Connect with Justin and the #NextSteps Community
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Over the weekend, my eight-year-old wrote a story. It centers on Kaid and Bob and their experience in a typhoon. Like any good story, it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s conflict, dialogue, character progression, a climax, and resolution. In ten pages, all handwritten and illustrated, he took the reader on a pretty spectacular journey.
He was so dedicated to it, he spent almost all day Sunday putting the finishing touches on it. After he read it to me, you could see the pride beaming from his face. He felt accomplished. He knew he had done something hard, and seen the positive results from it.
More than that, it was actually a really well-written story. He’s clearly got a good grasp of what makes a story compelling and has started the long process of mastering it ahead of him.
I’m extraordinarily proud of him.
It also reminded of something we often forget ourselves.
What’s Your Story?
You are in the midst of a story.
Right here.
Right now.
You are telling the world something about you.
2020 has been hard. Devastating for many. A huge setback at best and the fear of final failure at worse.
But your story isn’t over yet.
You get to author the end.
It can feel daunting. I get it.
I know you feel overwhelmed. Totally understandable.
I know you wonder about your business, your relationships, your family. That’s what great leaders do.
But I also know …. you got this.
Reframing The Possibilities
Recently, I had several conversations with individuals exploring coaching before the end of the year.
One, a young twenty-something female was worried about her kids. The other, a late-career professional staring at the end of his working career both began the same way: “Justin, 2020 really messed me up.”
One had their whole career in front of them. The other only had a few years left before retirement. Both were worried that 2020 proved to be the end.
It’s helpful in these moments to remember that you own the rights to your story. You are the star. In the main drama that unfolds over your life, you are the lead actor, executive producer, and director. You have an incredible amount of power to dictate where your life goes.
I hope you find that liberating. Far from being over, your story is only just beginning. 2020 is not the end, it is a new beginning.
In my son’s story, the friends were displaced from their homes by a natural disaster. By the end of the book, they were off trying to find a new place to live.
Your story may be similar. Your life, your business, your family, your income, your routine has been displaced. You are working from home where you balance kids, a spouse, work, Zoom, a distanced social life, walking the dog, chores, and some quality downtime.
That’s why I firmly believe that now is the best time for you to seize this opportunity and do something great.
Do Something Great
So what’s your story going to be?
There are 13 weeks left in 2020.
87 days.
2,100 hours.
126,209 minutes.
7,572,500 seconds.
Each one of those is precious.
Embedded within each is the chance to reclaim your life. You now have the opportunity to seize this moment, do something great, and transform your life.
Your day is over.
This month has just begun.
Your story hasn’t ended.
The plot may have shifted, but greatness is still in front of you.
Rise up, warrior, and seize this day. Reclaim your story. Rewrite your legacy.
The world is dealing this week with the death of Kobe Bryant.
I’ve spent hours this week watching the news and scrolling through social media. I wanted to wake up today and have it all be a dream.
It’s not.
The Death of Kobe Bryant
In a tragic accident, Kobe, his daughter, and seven others are dead after a helicopter crash in southern California. While we wait for details to emerge, we mourn and grieve. For him, his wife, his daughters, the Lakers family, and NBA fans around the world.
I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not. I’m not a Lakers fan.
I do recognize and understand greatness though, and Kobe was one of the best. His attitude, consistent commitment to excellence, and drive led him to be among the greatest players of all time, in any sport.
I spent time yesterday engaging in conversations around how to handle this tragic death.
Mourn.
Weep.
Cry.
Grieve.
Pray.
Those are all valid answers.
I also have a feeling that Kobe would want us to do more. While I don’t know him personally, his life is well chronicled. He cares about excellence. He demanded it from himself, and from others.
In a celebration of life, here are three things we can do to honor the life and legacy of Kobe Bryant.
1.) Commitment to the Details
Tim Grover recounts the story of training Kobe. In part, he writes:
Each of Kobe’s workouts takes around ninety minutes, and a half hour of that is spent just working on his wrists, fingers, ankles . . . all the details. That’s how the best get better—they sweat the details … It all comes back to this, no matter what you do in life: Are you willing to make the decision to succeed? Are you going to stand by that decision or quit when it gets hard? Will you choose to keep working when everyone else tells you to quit? Pain comes in all sorts of disguises—physical, mental, emotional. Do you need to be pain-free? Or can you push past it and stand by your commitment and decision to go further? It’s your choice. The outcome is on you.”
Later, Grover reflects:
In memory of Kobe Bryant. Photo Credit: WPMT Fox43
That’s Kobe: everything he does is all about excellence. Everything. Nothing else matters. You hear people say that all the time, “I’ll do whatever it takes!”—but he truly lives it. Every detail of his life, every hour of his day, the lonely time he spends in the gym, the people he seeks out to help him maintain that excellence, everything revolves around being on top and staying there.
Make the comparison of a 90-minute workout to your day. What are the details of your job? Do you, as the analogy goes, spend ninety minutes a day exercising your fingers, wrists, and ankles.
How does an accountant practice that? A math teacher? The stay at home parent? A busy executive. Each one has that calling, each one needs to learn to sweat the details.
If we can learn to pay attention to the details in pursuit of greatness, we too can become unstoppable.
“I’m not going to say our marriage is perfect, by any stretch of the imagination,” Kobe says. “We still fight, just like every married couple. But you know, my reputation as an athlete is that I’m extremely determined, and that I will work my ass off. How could I do that in my professional life if I wasn’t like that in my personal life, when it affects my kids? It wouldn’t make any sense.” The logic is weirdly airtight: If we concede that Kobe would kill himself to beat the Celtics, we must assume he’d be equally insane about keeping his family together. And he knows that we know this about him, so he uses that to his advantage.
This was due to his Catholic faith. He was very open about it and cared about it deeply. As a husband and father, he was called to something beyond himself. He threw himself into his projects deeply. Basketball, marriage, parenting, and philanthropy all got the best of him rooted in a transformative faith.
3.) Mindset Is Everything
Kobe’s book The Mamba Mentality is his reflection on the game. His game. The preparation he would make to be the best. It’s what he expected of himself … and what he expects of everyone else.
The mindset isn’t about seeking a result—it’s more about the process of getting to that result. It’s about the journey and the approach. It’s a way of life. I do think that it’s important, in all endeavors, to have that mentality.
He knew what part to play to get the objective done. His reflections on offense, defense, the Olympic teams, and seeking intentional mentoring proves his commitment.
In a culture and a society where excuses are praised, commitment to the details, passion and purpose, and a commitment to a positive mindset sets us apart.
It gives us an unprecedented opportunity, for life, growth, transformation, and happiness.
