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Welcome back to the Second Mile Leadership Podcast.
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We are your hosts, Jason and Isaiah.
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And today we are going to discuss a topic that, quite frankly, I don't know how many episodes we're in now, 12, 13, 14, whatever it is, that we haven't touched on yet.
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It's that big of a topic and that importance of a topic in the world of leadership.
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And it's one that that I think, you know, it's such a big deal.
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And I talked about before we even hit record.
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We're going to make this a three-part series.
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Not a two-part, but a three-part series, because it it really is the essence of leadership.
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And if you can't master this one thing, you can never be a great leader.
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And well, I'll I'll you know kill the suspense here, but the the thing we're talking about is influence.
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And when I coach leadership, it is the first lesson I coach to anybody who's new to the world of leadership.
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And even people that have been around it for a long time is something that I will dig heavy into because at the end of the day, influence and your ability to build influence will make or break your ability to lead.
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So when we talk about influence, influence is leadership.
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They are synonyms.
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So when I when I coach this, we talk about managing versus leading first, right?
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Managing is we manage a task, a process, a system, but you can't manage people.
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And always say, you know, imagine if I just said to you, hey, I'm gonna manage you today.
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It just feels weird, right?
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We don't, we don't wanna be managed, but we do want to be led.
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So what we do lead is people.
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And okay, well then if we're gonna lead people, what is leadership?
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And leadership is influence.
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All right, great.
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Now what is influence?
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And influence is my ability to have the people around me follow what I need them to follow, or the have the people around me voluntarily, because they want to be moving in the same direction as I'm moving, or or have the people around me be as fired up and energetic and and bought in, whatever adjectives you want to use, because they want to, not because they have to, not because they are being forced to, not because I'm their boss.
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And this is the difference between authority and influence, right?
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Authority is, hey, I need you to do this because I said so.
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And you go do it because your boss told you to.
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That is not leadership, that is not influence, that is authority and control.
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But influence is, hey, man, I need you to go do this.
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And if you say, absolutely, I'm gonna go do that because I want to do it for you, and because I believe that what I'm about to do is important and the mission that we're on is important to me, that's influence.
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And that's something that absolutely can be built and cultivated in almost any organization.
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So that is what we're gonna talk about today.
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And then lastly, before I turn it over to Isaiah for his initial thoughts, I want to frame it out this way: why is it so important to build influence?
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Because if you look at any organization, any great organization does have a mission.
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There is something that that organization is trying to accomplish.
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They're trying to do great things.
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I've never seen somebody start a business or an organization to be average, right?
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We always think we're gonna go build greatness.
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Well, to do that, it requires high-level execution.
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And for more on that, go to our previous episode on execution.
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But we need everyone around us executing at the highest level possible.
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And my question for you would be: is it possible to get people to execute at the highest level so that we can accomplish this great mission by authority alone, by control alone?
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And I don't believe that you can.
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I believe you hear me say it a lot on this podcast, that'll give you the minimum effective dose.
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That'll give you just enough effort from your people to allow them to keep their jobs and potentially keep you off their backs.
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But if you want them to be great and you want them to perform at a high level, and you want them to bring their heart, their effort, their mind, their body, their soul to work every day, dang it, you gotta have influence.
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And then that influence drives their high-level execution, and that high-level execution drives the results that you want for the business.
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So if you're gonna be a great leader, you better be great at building influence.
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So with all that being said, Isaiah, uh, what are your initial thoughts about this topic?
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As we both have agreed, this is what we could talk about for a very long time.
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Yeah.
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Good intro there, brother.
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Um I my mind first goes to I think authority does it it can produce results in the short term.
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Um, I think people that have led with authority for a period of time have seen success.
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And then sometimes they get attached to that success, and then it's like, okay, so you know, we're we're hitting our numbers, we're hitting our goals, all the things, and then um a year or two later I'm starting to lose people.
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Well, you're starting to lose those people because we didn't have the influence.
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Um, influence is a long-term strategy.
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Um, and I I would argue, and I think Jason would agree with this, that honestly short term, it may actually be a hindrance and it may be something that's difficult for the business to adhere to um because the organization is just not used to it.
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Um so for the people out there that are, I would say, fearful of that transition, um, I I I hear you and I understand you.
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Um absolutely been there before, but long-term influence is the only way to build the best culture, to maintain your team, um, and to get the long-lasting results that you want.
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I mean, if you look at any single business that's ever been formed, um, there really is none that are still here like from, you know, the 17, 1800s.
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They're they're businesses fail all the time, and Jason could could spew some statistics on that.
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Um But the if you want your organization to last longer, I would offer you the idea of influence.
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So when you say that you relate to people who might be fearful, are you speaking to the the people in positions of authority that are fearful of maybe giving up the the the or or who are asking to stop leaning on that authority and start leaning on influence and building influence?
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Are you talking about the people who are maybe the the lower level people in the organization and are they are they fearful of an organization that transforms or or or moves towards an influence-based way of leading?
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Yeah.
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That's a that's a good clarifying question.
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Um speaking to two different groups of people, I I'm I'm really speaking to both that you just talked about.
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So the higher level, the owner, um, whoever it is, the the the big boss, they are and they've operated in the authority realm for a while and they've seen results.
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I think I believe that they are fearful that the results won't be there if they start leaning towards influence rather than authority.
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And then I would speak to the to the lower level leaders um that they could also be fearful.
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Um they will upset the big boss, that they will um say something wrong, that they will go against the culture that's there.
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Um, but I was listening to a podcast this morning.
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Uh I was talking about this like seventh-grade teacher.
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And like, I mean, teachers are in in school systems is such a weird dichotomy.
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But um, the teacher was like like basically having to hold the line with authority every single time.
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Um, he changed his approach, um, started leading with influence, be like went from a seventh grade teacher to now being a principal to now like becoming a superintendent.
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Um so really, really cool story, but influence is the way.
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Gotcha.
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Um so the uh the stat you were talking about, you said uh accue stats, and is, and I want to make sure I got the number right so I verified it.
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Of the Fortune 500 companies that are around today, only 49 of them were Fortune 500 companies 50 years ago.
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So that means 451 of the Fortune 500 companies from 50 years ago are either uh no longer in existence, no longer on the Fortune 500 list, or are are much smaller companies today.
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Um, that's crazy.
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And looking at the stat here, 440 of the original 500 have either gone bankrupt, been acquired or absorbed, or disappeared entirely.
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So that goes to show just how hard it is to make it in business.
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So, and if you look at the research that's been done on what makes companies thrive, and you read books like Good to Great and these ones that have have used research-based techniques to figure that out, it is the ability to have high-level leadership in the way that we are describing it, combined with great culture.
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You know, culture is a funny thing, and we'll do episodes on that in the future as well.
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There is a subset of people, and and it is, it is the authoritarian people, and to Isaiah's point, the ones that are probably scared of doing it any other way, who see culture as a soft thing.
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Like it's a it's either a bonus or it's unnecessary or it's weak or whatever.
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And the reality is the research does not support that mentality.
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The research says that culture is essential for long-term success.
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And I would venture to say, give me one corporation that has made it, or or even small business that has made it for a long period of time with really crappy culture.
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I just don't think, you know, other than one-off exceptions here and there, I just don't think it's a very um possible or common thing to do.
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So this is something I hope everyone takes seriously.
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I hope that that the people listening understand how important building true influence is.
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And we will spend this episode and the next couple breaking down how to do that so we don't leave you hanging.
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But at first, we got to sell you on the idea, right?
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You have to understand and buy into the idea that influence is a lot more powerful than authority.
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It just is.
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Oh, and I think you see that in in your own personal life.
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I mean, would you rather be around people who are telling you what to do?
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Or would you rather be around people who you buy into and believe in their vision and believe in their mission and want to show up every day and help them execute it?
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Would you rather be around people who are bought into you, who believe in you, who are trying to grow and develop you, who who care about your goals, who care about your life?
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I mean, which one would you rather be around?
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Which one would you rather work for?
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And I think that's a pretty easy answer.
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So, you know, uh, if we're gonna be great leaders, we have to be and become somebody worthy of following.
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And being worthy of following rises and falls on your ability to build influence.
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Yep.
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And uh some of the listeners may have um read Good to Great before, but fantastic book um about organizational leadership.
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And I'm gonna pull uh just a few stats, but it talks about Kroger, one of their first chapters.
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I can't remember exactly which chapter, um, but it it talks about how they performed.
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Um, and essentially all that Kroger did was get the right people on the bus.
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They had the um, they got the wrong people off the bus, they got the right people on the bus, and then rearranged them in the correct seats.
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Um, and then when you have the right people that lead with influence, then we get the results long term.
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So just to back that up a little bit, um, Kroger beat the stock market by about 4.16 um over 15 years.
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Over so from 1973 to 1998, Kroger outperformed the market by about 10x.
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Um, and then this is pre-my time.
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I don't even know what this grocery store is.
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Um, so that shows my um lack of maturity.
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But compared with their competitor A and P, um, Kroger's returns were about 80 times higher um over that same ish period.
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Um and I mean essentially you're you're looking at the the the raw data here that shows having the right people that that lead with influence long term makes amazing, amazing returns for for your business.
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Um it is it is when I read that and then it has a little bar graph on that page too, which is cool.
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Um like it it's just incomparable.
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Um and then you look at it from like today's lens.
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So so take it outside the book.
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Um like there are so many grocery stores that have gone out of business.
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You talk about Wendixie, um and again, I'm gonna show my age.
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Um I never even stepped inside of a Wendixie.
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Um, but when when you look at like a Win Dixie, they didn't evolve and grow.
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Um and I think true evolution and growth comes when you pee comes when you have people um that are the right people and in the right seat that lead with influence.
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Um I think what Kroger has done an excellent job with is that they have evolved to this huge grocery chain that does things very, very well.
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So a thing that's super popular now is to actually not go shop inside the store to just kind of do that curbside pickup.
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They had to evolve to do that.
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Um, they had to evolve to do Kroger delivery.
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If you had told them 10 years ago that they would be doing that, they probably would have laughed in your face.
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But companies have to continually evolve, and that's why Kroger is still performing extremely well.
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Um, and I I fully believe it's because they lead with influence.
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Yeah, Zay and I, and somebody else we work with were talking just this morning about the importance of being a transformative leader and and what our job is as leaders.
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When you reach a certain level in an organization, your job is no longer to do or make the widgets, if you will, right?
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Your job is no longer to do the technical side of the job.
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Your job is to build and develop a team of people who can do that at a high level.
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And that's the only way you can scale and grow.
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Because, you know, if you're just a one one-man show, then how do you scale and grow that, right?
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The the the more your business depends on you, the less it can scale.
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And oh, by the way, the more your business depends on you, the less it is.
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Really hard to sell a business that relies just on you.
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And I've sold three businesses and and I had to develop those businesses into businesses that did not need me.
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And all those businesses are still open today because they didn't need me, because we built them into businesses that that were more self-sufficient, more systemized.
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We developed people.
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Um one of my businesses is is owned today by somebody that worked for me.
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And and it's just, you know, it it that's that's the only way to scale and do the things you want to do in business, unless you just want to stay a local mom and pop and make the donuts yourself.
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That's totally fine.
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No judgment on that.
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But it you won't be able to scale that or grow that.
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So you're if you want something that's that's that's scalable, you need to develop a team of people who can grow and and and execute at a high level.
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Well, that requires influence.
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So as we as we were talking about this episode, you know, what we came into our discussion, Isaiah and I, really not even thinking about this being a three-part episode.
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Once we started talking about every layer and element that we can discuss when it comes to fluence, it became very clear that this is gonna have to be a multi-episode thing.
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And it probably could be more than three.
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We're just gonna try to keep it two, three.
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But I started thinking about this the other day.
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And and this is what one of the things that is gonna make it a little bit of a longer series is you know, what makes a great leader?
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And there's been a few things that have happened to me the last couple weeks that have led me to this.
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I don't know if it's a revelation because it's always kind of been in my mind, but maybe a revelation as to just how important it is.
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But uh I went and gave a leadership talk to, we did a I led a roundtable discussion on leadership with a local uh uh, it's a very large but local police department.
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And when I'm listening to them talk about leadership, they're talking about all the problems they're having, they're talking about the things that aren't going well.
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And then when I'm asking them their their philosophies on leadership, they're saying all the right things.
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Everything that they're checking all the boxes.
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I'm listening to them talk, like, good lord, you guys know what you're talking about with leadership.
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They've been to leadership training seminars, they've been assigned books to read, and these are higher-level leaders in the department.
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And I was really impressed.
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I really was.
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They they knew a lot of really good stuff.
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Say, pause that story for a second.
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And then my wife and I this past weekend went to a marriage retreat, and we do this twice a year, something that we love to do.
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And in that marriage retreat, we had a a wife and a husband and wife team giving a talk on marriage and and how to have a strong marriage.
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And the first night they were talking about communication and how important communication is, talking about, hey, you know what, if you're uh an avoider and you like to run away or you're an escalator, you like to keep lobbing bombs over at your significant other, if you're um somebody who likes to invalidate and make people feel or your spouse feel like their their feelings aren't valid, and they just went through these things that that make you a poor communicator.
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And it hit me that these are great tactics, they are.
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But strategically, how do you execute those things in the heat of the moment?
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Some of the things that we're saying sound great from the stage.
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They sound brilliant from the stage, but the next time you're pissed off and you got to implement those things, it's a whole nother ball game.
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So there's another layer of skills that have to be taught in order to execute these tactics they were talking about.
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And then you go back to the police department, and it's not just them.
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I I've heard this a lot in my career.
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Then it's like, well, how come they know so much, but they're having all these problems?
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Because it at its essence, if someone were to say, what is the first thing you have to do to be a great leader?
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And then by default, what is the first thing you have to do to build influence?
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I really believe, Isaiah, it starts with being able to transform yourself.
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You've got to become a different person to be a great leader.
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Now, there might be people who are already born to be great leaders.
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I don't think that's very common at all.
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But let's leave room for for the exceptions.
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Yeah, you were not one of them.
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I was not one of them.
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You're right, you're right.
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Uh and I'm still not.
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Yeah.
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You should probably get another co-host.
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Yeah.
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We're yeah, where are we?
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Okay.
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All right.
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So I might not be here for the next two episodes on influence, but we'll try to get through this one.
00:18:13.870 --> 00:18:14.029
Yeah.
00:18:14.190 --> 00:18:14.350
Yeah.
00:18:14.509 --> 00:18:14.750
Fair.
00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:15.550
Yeah, we will.
00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:16.110
Fair.
00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:19.630
Um but but but you need to transform who you are.
00:18:19.789 --> 00:18:19.950
Right.
00:18:20.190 --> 00:18:30.430
The reason people have a heart that the reason people know some of the tactics of leadership and understand the principles, but cannot execute them is because they have done no work on themselves.
00:18:30.590 --> 00:18:34.350
So when they get into the heat of the moment, they can't manage their emotions well.
00:18:34.509 --> 00:18:34.750
Right.
00:18:34.830 --> 00:18:43.230
So with when it comes to taking care of the people around you, and all these things matter when it comes to influence, you're unable to do that because you don't truly care about the people around you.
00:18:43.390 --> 00:18:43.630
Right?
00:18:43.710 --> 00:18:48.269
You haven't evolved from the immature, selfish desires that you have.
00:18:48.509 --> 00:18:52.590
Um, you know, you see your the people that work for you as bodies.
00:18:52.830 --> 00:19:03.630
I remember when I first started with with Chick-fil-A, I would sit down with leaders and start their uh leadership coaching and development, and they would just be talking casual conversation.
00:19:03.789 --> 00:19:04.750
Yeah, the so-and-so.
00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.350
Now he's he's a body, he's a body.
00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:07.789
They were referring to people as bodies.
00:19:07.950 --> 00:19:12.670
And I remember thinking, how can we look at the people we care about and refer to them as bodies?
00:19:12.830 --> 00:19:14.430
I don't call my kids bodies.
00:19:14.670 --> 00:19:20.029
I don't call them, yeah, there's a body in the kitchen making some dinner, you know, talking about my wife or whatever.
00:19:20.269 --> 00:19:22.430
So why would I say that about my coworkers?
00:19:22.590 --> 00:19:28.029
It's because we have detached emotion from that body and they are just a warm body to fill a role.
00:19:28.110 --> 00:19:29.310
We don't really care about them.
00:19:29.550 --> 00:19:32.910
Well, when that's how you feel, really hard to build influence, right?
00:19:33.070 --> 00:19:36.190
When you can't manage your emotions, really hard to build influence.
00:19:36.350 --> 00:19:36.590
Right.
00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:38.910
So, so what let's go to another one.
00:19:39.070 --> 00:19:41.150
Ego, the one you hear us talk about a lot.
00:19:41.310 --> 00:19:44.830
If you can't manage your ego, impossible to build influence.
00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:48.029
So if you want to be a person of influence, it's got to start with you.
00:19:48.190 --> 00:19:59.150
It's got to start with A, having the requisite self-awareness to know that these suffer or these are blind spots for you, which is why having people around you to tell you those things is important.
00:19:59.710 --> 00:20:02.509
But what are you doing to work on your ego?
00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:04.830
What are you doing to build your humility?
00:20:04.990 --> 00:20:15.230
What are you doing to develop your heart into somebody that loves and cares for other people and can look at the people that are busting their ass for you with gratitude and thankfulness that they're doing that?
00:20:15.310 --> 00:20:17.710
And then think to yourself, what can I do for them?
00:20:17.870 --> 00:20:20.269
Beyond a paycheck, brother, beyond a paycheck.
00:20:20.350 --> 00:20:21.630
That ain't good enough anymore.
00:20:21.710 --> 00:20:22.990
But what can I do for them?
00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:36.670
And then lastly, is can I regulate my emotions well enough that when I enter into conversations, when I enter into feedback, or when I'm frustrated and mad, I don't blow up the entire relationship because I can't manage my emotions.
00:20:36.830 --> 00:20:39.390
Because every time I do that, I damage my influence.
00:20:39.550 --> 00:20:43.870
So I think if we're talking about influence, it's got to start with an evolution of yourself.
00:20:44.029 --> 00:20:48.430
And you have to understand where you need to evolve and then go to work evolving those areas.
00:20:48.670 --> 00:20:49.310
Totally agree.
00:20:49.550 --> 00:20:53.470
I think something that we suck at modern day-wise is looking in the mirror.
00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:53.870
Yeah.
00:20:54.029 --> 00:20:58.509
Um, and I still have a ton of ton of work to do in that realm.
00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:03.950
Um, but being able to look in the mirror and then have humility on that.
00:21:04.110 --> 00:21:15.230
Like, hey, I really want my spouse, or I really want my my peer, um, or I really want this employee to do this thing, and then you're not doing it yourself, is the craziest thing ever.
00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:19.870
Like you want someone to have emotional intelligence during a difficult conversation, and then you suck at it.
00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:21.630
How do how in the how does that make sense?
00:21:22.269 --> 00:21:25.630
Um, you want someone to be there on time and you're not there on time?
00:21:25.789 --> 00:21:27.070
How the hell does that make sense?
00:21:27.150 --> 00:21:27.550
Yeah.
00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:32.269
Um, and you lose influence every single time that you do something like that.
00:21:32.509 --> 00:21:37.070
Um we talked about trust is a a big part of influence.
00:21:37.390 --> 00:21:39.230
Um, and how do you build trust?
00:21:39.310 --> 00:21:42.190
It's uh a large part is by building a track record.
00:21:42.350 --> 00:21:45.870
Um so you you have to be a person of your word.
00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:55.470
Um, and then like whatever standard standard that you believe in, you have to like live that every single freaking day.
00:21:55.630 --> 00:22:05.310
Um if you don't, if you show one chink in the armor, then that grants the opportunity for them to poke holes in you, and you can't let that happen as a leader.
00:22:05.550 --> 00:22:13.870
Um, so I I think influence sometimes can sound like a very, very true fru kind of style of leadership to some of the more old school guys.
00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:20.029
And I and and and I hear that you saw some success from authority.
00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:23.150
I'm just telling you, it does not work with this younger generation.
00:22:23.310 --> 00:22:31.870
Like it just it it does not it doesn't work with anyone, but Especially not this younger generation, you will get your butt kicked every single freaking time with them.
00:22:32.110 --> 00:22:33.470
Because they don't respond to that.
00:22:33.630 --> 00:22:35.150
That's not how they were raised.
00:22:35.310 --> 00:22:43.150
Um, they were raised off of frankly participation awards and um everyone doing a great job even when you didn't do a great job.
00:22:43.390 --> 00:22:47.230
Um, so you come in and you just hammer people, it's not gonna work.
00:22:47.550 --> 00:22:53.390
Well, in this generation, and you know, every every previous generation bangs on the new generation, right?
00:22:53.470 --> 00:22:55.070
That's that's an age-old thing.
00:22:55.390 --> 00:23:01.070
And and there's some things that Gen Z and and and what's the one after that's it, Alpha?
00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:01.470
Okay.
00:23:01.870 --> 00:23:05.710
There's things that they're going to do that are silly and goofy that we're not gonna fully understand.
00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:08.830
I'm not gonna fully understand because I am older than Isaiah.
00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:12.269
I have been inside an AMP, a Wendixie and a Piggly Wiggly.
00:23:12.509 --> 00:23:14.590
So that kind of gives you my my age.
00:23:14.670 --> 00:23:18.029
Um Yeah, they do they do understand like growing hair on top of their head.
00:23:18.190 --> 00:23:19.950
That's a pretty cool, pretty cool key.
00:23:20.350 --> 00:23:22.029
I lost the mastery of that long ago.
00:23:22.269 --> 00:23:34.029
Um but but uh you know that this generation, one I think the one thing they're doing right, or there's a lot of things they're probably doing right, but one thing one of the things we can highlight that they're doing right is they need more than a paycheck.
00:23:34.110 --> 00:23:36.509
And and and spoiler alert, we always have.
00:23:36.670 --> 00:23:43.310
But sometimes when there's a desperation in life and we need money, because we talk about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?
00:23:43.390 --> 00:23:44.750
We need water, food, shelter.
00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:47.390
Well, if you need for food and shelter, we need money.
00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:52.269
So if our money needs are high enough, that's all we're gonna care about is are you paying me?
00:23:52.430 --> 00:23:56.910
But we live in a society today where success is almost ubiquitous, right?
00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:04.750
It's it's the social media A's, the, the, the iPhone A's, and and the and the the ability to make money has never been easier.
00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:08.110
Uh, the the job options have never been more plentiful, right?
00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:10.350
The days of command and control are gone.
00:24:10.509 --> 00:24:11.630
They're just gone.
00:24:11.950 --> 00:24:16.830
And one of the qualities that a great leader needs to have is some level of openness.
00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:25.870
So when you look at, you know, some of the leadership traits that have been studied, the big five, which is introvert versus extrovert, openness, consciousness, things like that.
00:24:26.029 --> 00:24:32.830
Um there openness is a very important leadership skill and conscientiousness is what I meant to say.
00:24:33.150 --> 00:24:36.910
And and openness, it's you gotta be conscious.
00:24:37.070 --> 00:24:41.390
Uh uh you uh but openness is an important skill.
00:24:41.550 --> 00:24:48.029
And openness can mean a lot of things, but one of the things it can mean in leadership is are you open to to doing things a different way?
00:24:48.430 --> 00:25:00.269
And the old codgers of the world who, dang, and I want to do it my way, great, the world's gonna pass you by, and it likely already has, and you're likely out of business already or tr you know in the process of shutting things down.
00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:02.910
But we have to understand this generation won't respond to that.
00:25:03.150 --> 00:25:09.470
Um, so we just had a small technical error, so I'm gonna we had to reboot a little bit, so I'm gonna pick up where I left off.
00:25:09.710 --> 00:25:12.910
Uh, but I think where we left off, Isaiah, is we were talking about trust.
00:25:13.710 --> 00:25:22.029
And you had brought up the word trust and just how important that is to building influence.
00:25:22.110 --> 00:25:27.870
And and what I think I want to use the rest of this episode on because we don't have that much time left, is maybe touching on a couple things.
00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:30.350
The first is all right, we want to build influence.
00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:34.750
Well, we have transformed ourselves, and I think this is where I was before we had the technical error.
00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.029
We we try we are transforming ourselves into becoming that person.
00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:47.150
But then if we lead an organization, that organization has to be driving towards something or stand for something that matters to the people.
00:25:47.390 --> 00:26:01.550
So this is why we've either got to come up with a universal mission for our business or hire people who are uniquely motivated and have a desire to reach the same goals that we're shooting for as an organization.
00:26:01.710 --> 00:26:05.950
So if you look at maybe the first two steps of building influence, it is who do I have to become as a person?
00:26:06.110 --> 00:26:18.350
And the secondly is okay, now that maybe I represent that and to your point, and then I can model the things that need to be modeled, now does my organization represent something worthy of influence and worthy of following?
00:26:18.509 --> 00:26:23.550
And that comes down to your mission and your vision that that you know we you hear talked about a lot in the world of business.
00:26:23.789 --> 00:26:30.750
So I think that if if we can check those two boxes, then we move into maybe the more individualistic stuff like trust and all that.
00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:32.910
So before we move on, what are your thoughts on that?
00:26:33.070 --> 00:26:40.029
So you we got to transform ourselves, but then from there, build a mission and a vision organizationally.
00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:42.269
And look, this could be for your family as well.
00:26:42.350 --> 00:26:51.789
It doesn't have to just be for an organization, but if we're gonna talk about business, build a mission and create a vision that your people can truly in their hearts and souls buy into.
00:26:52.110 --> 00:26:52.350
Yeah.
00:26:52.430 --> 00:27:03.390
I think uh I go back to to Chick-fil-A first, and I'm like, no one that we that we work with or that that work for us um is passionate about selling chicken.
00:27:03.550 --> 00:27:08.590
I've never I've never met a person in my life that's like, let's go sell some freaking chicken today.
00:27:08.830 --> 00:27:10.830
Um there may be that person out there.
00:27:11.070 --> 00:27:12.190
If you are, my bad.
00:27:12.670 --> 00:27:22.029
Well, well, hey, before you but real quick, just and and for anyone listening, even Truvic Cathy, who started Chick-fil-A, like his old adage was, I want to sell more chicken so I can do more good.
00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:23.630
It was never about the chicken for him.
00:27:23.710 --> 00:27:27.150
It was it was the vehicle that chicken provided so he could do more good in the world.
00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:27.630
Yep.
00:27:27.789 --> 00:27:36.190
So the the thing that Jason and I used to get our people bought into our ideas um is we are in the business of transforming lives.
00:27:36.269 --> 00:27:38.269
And that means transforming the business.
00:27:38.430 --> 00:27:42.350
Like we want to do bigger, cooler things, we want to invest more in people.
00:27:42.509 --> 00:27:49.230
Okay, well, we have to change the business and we have to make the business profitable every single day, or else we're not granted the opportunity to do that.
00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:57.230
Um so when you when when we set the vision and like we fully believe in that, uh that's that's a big key.
00:27:57.390 --> 00:28:02.670
Um we can't just say that, hey, we're here to transform lives and then do absolutely nothing to actually do that.
00:28:02.830 --> 00:28:09.870
Um and then you get your team to buy into that, then there's a crap ton of influence that can that can happen from that standpoint.
00:28:10.110 --> 00:28:22.750
I'd point to the uh the the guy that owns a small landscaping business or yard work business, and um you're not you're not gonna get a bunch of people that are like, dude, I freaking love blowing off driveways.
00:28:22.910 --> 00:28:24.590
I freaking love planting flowers.
00:28:24.670 --> 00:28:27.230
Now there's the weird botanist out there.
00:28:27.390 --> 00:28:29.550
Um, thank you for what you do.
00:28:29.710 --> 00:28:40.670
Um, but like you get people believing into, hey, I want to change this city that I live in to make it more beautiful and to attract more people to live here.
00:28:40.910 --> 00:28:43.870
You get them bought into that vision, that changes everything.
00:28:44.110 --> 00:28:50.350
Um, so one, you have to fully believe in whatever vision that you're going for, whatever you want to achieve.
00:28:50.430 --> 00:28:54.350
Um, and then you have to get your team bought into that same exact thing.
00:28:54.509 --> 00:29:02.029
Um, because it it w whatever product your company is selling, oftentimes people are not very, very passionate about that.
00:29:02.190 --> 00:29:05.470
Um, but what they are passionate about is what they are passionate about.
00:29:05.550 --> 00:29:12.750
And we have to tap into that and then utilize that to get their best work.
00:29:12.990 --> 00:29:17.150
Yeah, and one thing that almost everybody is passionate about also is themselves.
00:29:17.390 --> 00:29:21.630
So there has to be a what's in it for them part of the mission and vision as well.
00:29:21.789 --> 00:29:30.590
So we talk about the Chick-fil-A stuff, you know, and we talked about in in prior episodes that we are trying to get a third location, which is very rare in the world of Chick-fil-A.
00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:39.789
And, you know, so it becomes okay, well, why should the team member making 20 something an hour care about a third store?
00:29:40.029 --> 00:29:43.390
Or, you know, because they're not they may see a bump in pay.
00:29:43.550 --> 00:29:45.470
Great, that's a motivator for sure.
00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:47.390
That's an extrinsic motivator.
00:29:47.470 --> 00:29:50.110
Um, those are not as powerful as intrinsic motivators.
00:29:50.269 --> 00:29:53.230
So we have to now tap into intrinsic motivators.
00:29:53.390 --> 00:30:18.910
Well, one of the things that that we are telling these people, because it's unequivocally true, is what we have to do to get it third store, who we have to become as an organization, the the things that we need to up level, the the and the business lessons within all of that, whether it's up leveling the team, developing the team, building the systems, managing the finances of the business, having better marketing, you get to be a part of all that.
00:30:19.070 --> 00:30:20.590
So you get to see how it's done.
00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:22.910
So think of what that does for your growth and development.
00:30:23.070 --> 00:30:29.870
So not only do we have this mission that we want the third location, but what's in it for you is extrinsically more pay, more opportunity.
00:30:30.029 --> 00:30:30.830
Sure, that matters.
00:30:30.990 --> 00:30:35.470
But even more importantly, intrinsically, is what do you get to become in this process?
00:30:35.710 --> 00:30:41.230
You get to become some somebody more knowledgeable, somebody more informed, somebody with a higher level of skill.
00:30:41.390 --> 00:30:49.150
Those things then translate to higher confidence, and you can package all of that and go do great things in this world with those skills and the and that confidence.
00:30:50.430 --> 00:31:00.269
So it's not just about the mission and the vision of the organization, it's about the mission and the vision of the individual and how those two missions and visions connect, and you've got to connect those dots for people.
00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:10.990
So now as we're starting to build this out, now you got okay, you, the leader, has transformed into somebody who loves and cares for your people, who manages their manages their emotions at a high level, right?
00:31:11.070 --> 00:31:16.590
You you have transformed yourself into somebody who wants to develop the people around you.
00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:19.550
It is not just self has selfish needs and desires.
00:31:19.710 --> 00:31:23.470
Now you've created a vision and a mission that people can buy into.
00:31:23.550 --> 00:31:30.350
And oh, by the way, you've also created a mission and vision that that matters to them the most and that and that grows them and leads them closer to their goals.
00:31:30.509 --> 00:31:34.750
So you can start to see the framework of real influence building here.
00:31:34.830 --> 00:31:38.990
And let's juxtapose that to authoritarian, just do it because I said so.
00:31:39.470 --> 00:31:41.950
Which one is gonna inspire your team more?
00:31:42.110 --> 00:31:42.350
Right.
00:31:42.509 --> 00:31:45.630
So those are the first two check boxes on building influence.
00:31:45.870 --> 00:31:47.310
Um, and and I'm torn here.
00:31:47.390 --> 00:31:49.390
We're we're we're coming towards the end of this episode.
00:31:49.550 --> 00:31:51.789
And Isaiah, you did touch on trust.
00:31:52.029 --> 00:31:54.670
And I have a, you know what, we'll probably wrap it here.
00:31:54.750 --> 00:31:56.350
Let's do a little teaser, okay?
00:31:56.670 --> 00:31:59.630
There's the four C's that I want to talk about next episode.
00:31:59.789 --> 00:32:17.150
And trust is heavily involved in the first, um, the first actually, you know, looking at them really involved in all four C's, but I want to tease the four C's because there are four things you can do once you've checked these first two boxes, to be clear, to really put your ability to build influence on steroids.
00:32:17.310 --> 00:32:19.630
And we'll save those four C's for the next episode.
00:32:19.710 --> 00:32:20.110
What do you think?
00:32:20.269 --> 00:32:21.390
I think that's a great idea.
00:32:21.630 --> 00:32:23.789
Those will those will take a minute to work through.
00:32:24.029 --> 00:32:24.350
Yep.
00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:24.830
Yep.
00:32:25.070 --> 00:32:27.230
So uh uh any closing thoughts on this?
00:32:27.390 --> 00:32:30.830
This is a good framework, a good foundation to building influence.
00:32:30.910 --> 00:32:38.190
And above all else, I hope everyone, at a minimum, is starting to open their mind to the notion that influence is what matters the most.
00:32:38.350 --> 00:32:44.990
And that way you can open your heart, your mind, your body, your soul to the lessons we're going to teach in the next few episodes on how to do that.
00:32:45.150 --> 00:32:48.110
But with all that being said, anything you can say to close us out?
00:32:48.350 --> 00:32:51.870
Yeah, I want to give just one real quick practical step.
00:32:51.950 --> 00:32:57.550
Um, because I want to I I I always kind of want to structure this like, hey, we give the good deep philosophical talk.
00:32:57.630 --> 00:33:03.870
Um, we walk them through the ideas, we get them bought into it, but then I also want to walk through any practical thing that we can give them.
00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:09.070
Um one thing that I use often is I will ask for people's opinions.
00:33:09.310 --> 00:33:28.350
Um, and genuinely, like I want to hear what they have to say, but the other side of ask for of asking for someone's opinion is it kind of inherently builds um a little bit of trust and then inherently like kind of shows that I value their opinion on something, thus building influence.
00:33:28.509 --> 00:33:36.590
Um, so even if it's the the silliest thing, you will always hear me asking questions because I I want to hear your thoughts and opinions.
00:33:36.670 --> 00:33:38.590
It lets me know more about that person.
00:33:38.830 --> 00:33:47.950
And then it also builds a little bit of influence with them because it's saying, hey, I actually care about your opinion and what you have to say on this, on this subject.
00:33:48.110 --> 00:34:06.990
Um so that could be something as small as um uh uh asking a question about how they think a system is performing, um, to how a team member employee is for performing, um, to super like like broad questions.
00:34:07.150 --> 00:34:10.429
Um, but I use it all the time, works incredibly, incredibly well.
00:34:10.670 --> 00:34:16.829
Yeah, and you're tapping into one thing will really hit heavy in one of the next two episodes, and that is the law of reciprocity.
00:34:16.989 --> 00:34:22.909
And this is a law that humans all, other than psychopaths and sociopaths, if you will, uh fall into.
00:34:22.989 --> 00:34:24.110
We it's a law.
00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:28.670
Um, and that is that we want to reciprocate things that are done to us and for us.
00:34:28.909 --> 00:34:32.989
So when somebody brings you a gift, there's a need to reciprocate on some level.
00:34:33.150 --> 00:34:36.430
And sometimes it's to get them a gift, sometimes it's just to say thank you.
00:34:36.670 --> 00:34:43.150
But imagine if I said, hey, somebody's gonna bring you a gift tomorrow and you can't say thank you or even even acknowledge it.
00:34:43.309 --> 00:34:44.430
I mean, that's painful.
00:34:44.510 --> 00:34:46.510
That'd be you'd have a really hard time doing that.
00:34:46.750 --> 00:34:47.070
Why?
00:34:47.389 --> 00:34:48.590
Have you ever thought about why?
00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:50.829
Like, why do we feel the need to reciprocate?
00:34:50.990 --> 00:34:52.510
That's just who we are as humans.
00:34:52.670 --> 00:34:54.909
And and again, we'll touch on that more later.
00:34:54.990 --> 00:35:02.030
But what Isaiah's talking about there is if the number one way to build trust or to get trusted or to be trusted is to extend trust.
00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:06.030
Like because when he's asking those questions and saying those things, he's extending trust.
00:35:06.269 --> 00:35:06.909
And guess what?
00:35:07.070 --> 00:35:14.510
The number one way to begin building influence with one particular individual at a time is to allow them to influence you, right?
00:35:14.590 --> 00:35:17.550
So when I'm a dictator, that doesn't build a whole lot of trust.
00:35:17.710 --> 00:35:20.269
When I'm a dictator, that doesn't build a whole lot of influence.
00:35:20.430 --> 00:35:23.230
But when I come to you and say, look, I'm trusting you, what do you think?
00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:24.990
Or I'm trusting you, what is your opinion?
00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:25.789
What is your idea?
00:35:25.869 --> 00:35:26.670
What is your plan?
00:35:26.829 --> 00:35:27.869
Let's use yours.
00:35:28.110 --> 00:35:35.710
There is a reciprocation that that occurs, and especially if I do it consistently, where the person wants to extend those things back to me.
00:35:35.789 --> 00:35:38.349
And they are now more open to letting me influence them.
00:35:38.430 --> 00:35:40.590
They are now more open to trusting me.
00:35:40.750 --> 00:35:44.670
So we will pull on that thread a little bit uh stronger in the in coming episodes.
00:35:44.829 --> 00:35:47.389
But but those are great practical uh pieces of advice, I say.
00:35:47.550 --> 00:35:48.030
I appreciate it.
00:35:48.269 --> 00:35:49.389
Appreciate you, brother, as always.
00:35:49.630 --> 00:35:50.030
Yeah, man.
00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:55.150
And thank you guys for listening again to Mac and for part two of this, and then eventually part three.
00:35:55.230 --> 00:36:03.789
Um, and and we will continue to build out what it takes to have the influence needed to be not just a great leader, but more importantly, an effective leader.
00:36:03.950 --> 00:36:05.550
And with that, we will close it out.
00:36:05.710 --> 00:36:15.789
As always, if if you like what we're we're doing on this podcast and and you believe in what uh the mission that we're on, and you want to leave us a review or a star rating, that would be amazing.
00:36:15.950 --> 00:36:18.829
If you believe we deserve a five star rating, that would be incredible.
00:36:18.990 --> 00:36:22.430
If not, I would ask you to leave the star rating that you think we deserve.
00:36:22.590 --> 00:36:27.070
But then if you could just reach out and let us know what you think we could do better, that would be amazing as well.
00:36:27.150 --> 00:36:29.869
So, with that being said, we'll wrap it up and we'll see you guys next week.
00:00:26.830 --> 00:00:29.070
Welcome back to the Second Mile Leadership Podcast.
00:00:29.150 --> 00:00:31.150
We are your hosts, Jason and Isaiah.
00:00:31.230 --> 00:00:39.870
And today we are going to discuss a topic that, quite frankly, I don't know how many episodes we're in now, 12, 13, 14, whatever it is, that we haven't touched on yet.
00:00:40.030 --> 00:00:44.670
It's that big of a topic and that importance of a topic in the world of leadership.
00:00:44.829 --> 00:00:48.829
And it's one that that I think, you know, it's such a big deal.
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And I talked about before we even hit record.
00:00:51.150 --> 00:00:52.590
We're going to make this a three-part series.
00:00:52.670 --> 00:00:57.790
Not a two-part, but a three-part series, because it it really is the essence of leadership.
00:00:57.870 --> 00:01:02.270
And if you can't master this one thing, you can never be a great leader.
00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:08.829
And well, I'll I'll you know kill the suspense here, but the the thing we're talking about is influence.
00:01:09.069 --> 00:01:15.069
And when I coach leadership, it is the first lesson I coach to anybody who's new to the world of leadership.
00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:25.950
And even people that have been around it for a long time is something that I will dig heavy into because at the end of the day, influence and your ability to build influence will make or break your ability to lead.
00:01:26.189 --> 00:01:29.870
So when we talk about influence, influence is leadership.
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They are synonyms.
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So when I when I coach this, we talk about managing versus leading first, right?
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Managing is we manage a task, a process, a system, but you can't manage people.
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And always say, you know, imagine if I just said to you, hey, I'm gonna manage you today.
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It just feels weird, right?
00:01:47.549 --> 00:01:51.150
We don't, we don't wanna be managed, but we do want to be led.
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So what we do lead is people.
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And okay, well then if we're gonna lead people, what is leadership?
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And leadership is influence.
00:01:58.269 --> 00:01:58.909
All right, great.
00:01:58.989 --> 00:02:00.109
Now what is influence?
00:02:00.350 --> 00:02:30.670
And influence is my ability to have the people around me follow what I need them to follow, or the have the people around me voluntarily, because they want to be moving in the same direction as I'm moving, or or have the people around me be as fired up and energetic and and bought in, whatever adjectives you want to use, because they want to, not because they have to, not because they are being forced to, not because I'm their boss.
00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:34.430
And this is the difference between authority and influence, right?
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Authority is, hey, I need you to do this because I said so.
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And you go do it because your boss told you to.
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That is not leadership, that is not influence, that is authority and control.
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But influence is, hey, man, I need you to go do this.
00:02:47.709 --> 00:02:58.829
And if you say, absolutely, I'm gonna go do that because I want to do it for you, and because I believe that what I'm about to do is important and the mission that we're on is important to me, that's influence.
00:02:58.910 --> 00:03:03.790
And that's something that absolutely can be built and cultivated in almost any organization.
00:03:04.030 --> 00:03:06.430
So that is what we're gonna talk about today.
00:03:06.589 --> 00:03:13.470
And then lastly, before I turn it over to Isaiah for his initial thoughts, I want to frame it out this way: why is it so important to build influence?
00:03:13.790 --> 00:03:18.269
Because if you look at any organization, any great organization does have a mission.
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There is something that that organization is trying to accomplish.
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They're trying to do great things.
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I've never seen somebody start a business or an organization to be average, right?
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We always think we're gonna go build greatness.
00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:33.550
Well, to do that, it requires high-level execution.
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And for more on that, go to our previous episode on execution.
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But we need everyone around us executing at the highest level possible.
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And my question for you would be: is it possible to get people to execute at the highest level so that we can accomplish this great mission by authority alone, by control alone?
00:03:51.550 --> 00:03:52.750
And I don't believe that you can.
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I believe you hear me say it a lot on this podcast, that'll give you the minimum effective dose.
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That'll give you just enough effort from your people to allow them to keep their jobs and potentially keep you off their backs.
00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:14.589
But if you want them to be great and you want them to perform at a high level, and you want them to bring their heart, their effort, their mind, their body, their soul to work every day, dang it, you gotta have influence.
00:04:14.670 --> 00:04:20.829
And then that influence drives their high-level execution, and that high-level execution drives the results that you want for the business.
00:04:20.990 --> 00:04:24.189
So if you're gonna be a great leader, you better be great at building influence.
00:04:24.350 --> 00:04:28.269
So with all that being said, Isaiah, uh, what are your initial thoughts about this topic?
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As we both have agreed, this is what we could talk about for a very long time.
00:04:31.470 --> 00:04:31.629
Yeah.
00:04:31.790 --> 00:04:32.670
Good intro there, brother.
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Um I my mind first goes to I think authority does it it can produce results in the short term.
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Um, I think people that have led with authority for a period of time have seen success.
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And then sometimes they get attached to that success, and then it's like, okay, so you know, we're we're hitting our numbers, we're hitting our goals, all the things, and then um a year or two later I'm starting to lose people.
00:05:01.629 --> 00:05:04.990
Well, you're starting to lose those people because we didn't have the influence.
00:05:05.230 --> 00:05:08.189
Um, influence is a long-term strategy.
00:05:08.350 --> 00:05:21.790
Um, and I I would argue, and I think Jason would agree with this, that honestly short term, it may actually be a hindrance and it may be something that's difficult for the business to adhere to um because the organization is just not used to it.
00:05:21.949 --> 00:05:31.230
Um so for the people out there that are, I would say, fearful of that transition, um, I I I hear you and I understand you.
00:05:31.470 --> 00:05:44.189
Um absolutely been there before, but long-term influence is the only way to build the best culture, to maintain your team, um, and to get the long-lasting results that you want.
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I mean, if you look at any single business that's ever been formed, um, there really is none that are still here like from, you know, the 17, 1800s.
00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:59.949
They're they're businesses fail all the time, and Jason could could spew some statistics on that.
00:06:00.189 --> 00:06:07.870
Um But the if you want your organization to last longer, I would offer you the idea of influence.
00:06:08.270 --> 00:06:26.350
So when you say that you relate to people who might be fearful, are you speaking to the the people in positions of authority that are fearful of maybe giving up the the the or or who are asking to stop leaning on that authority and start leaning on influence and building influence?
00:06:26.590 --> 00:06:40.590
Are you talking about the people who are maybe the the lower level people in the organization and are they are they fearful of an organization that transforms or or or moves towards an influence-based way of leading?
00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:41.230
Yeah.
00:06:41.390 --> 00:06:43.230
That's a that's a good clarifying question.
00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:47.870
Um speaking to two different groups of people, I I'm I'm really speaking to both that you just talked about.
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So the higher level, the owner, um, whoever it is, the the the big boss, they are and they've operated in the authority realm for a while and they've seen results.
00:07:00.270 --> 00:07:07.629
I think I believe that they are fearful that the results won't be there if they start leaning towards influence rather than authority.
00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:15.069
And then I would speak to the to the lower level leaders um that they could also be fearful.
00:07:15.230 --> 00:07:23.069
Um they will upset the big boss, that they will um say something wrong, that they will go against the culture that's there.
00:07:23.470 --> 00:07:27.310
Um, but I was listening to a podcast this morning.
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Uh I was talking about this like seventh-grade teacher.
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And like, I mean, teachers are in in school systems is such a weird dichotomy.
00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:44.670
But um, the teacher was like like basically having to hold the line with authority every single time.
00:07:44.830 --> 00:07:56.270
Um, he changed his approach, um, started leading with influence, be like went from a seventh grade teacher to now being a principal to now like becoming a superintendent.
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Um so really, really cool story, but influence is the way.
00:08:00.110 --> 00:08:00.509
Gotcha.
00:08:00.670 --> 00:08:09.470
Um so the uh the stat you were talking about, you said uh accue stats, and is, and I want to make sure I got the number right so I verified it.
00:08:10.189 --> 00:08:18.590
Of the Fortune 500 companies that are around today, only 49 of them were Fortune 500 companies 50 years ago.
00:08:18.750 --> 00:08:31.790
So that means 451 of the Fortune 500 companies from 50 years ago are either uh no longer in existence, no longer on the Fortune 500 list, or are are much smaller companies today.
00:08:31.949 --> 00:08:32.909
Um, that's crazy.
00:08:33.069 --> 00:08:40.509
And looking at the stat here, 440 of the original 500 have either gone bankrupt, been acquired or absorbed, or disappeared entirely.
00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.309
So that goes to show just how hard it is to make it in business.
00:08:43.470 --> 00:08:58.909
So, and if you look at the research that's been done on what makes companies thrive, and you read books like Good to Great and these ones that have have used research-based techniques to figure that out, it is the ability to have high-level leadership in the way that we are describing it, combined with great culture.
00:08:59.069 --> 00:09:02.349
You know, culture is a funny thing, and we'll do episodes on that in the future as well.
00:09:02.509 --> 00:09:12.750
There is a subset of people, and and it is, it is the authoritarian people, and to Isaiah's point, the ones that are probably scared of doing it any other way, who see culture as a soft thing.
00:09:12.909 --> 00:09:18.029
Like it's a it's either a bonus or it's unnecessary or it's weak or whatever.
00:09:18.189 --> 00:09:21.549
And the reality is the research does not support that mentality.
00:09:21.709 --> 00:09:25.549
The research says that culture is essential for long-term success.
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And I would venture to say, give me one corporation that has made it, or or even small business that has made it for a long period of time with really crappy culture.
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I just don't think, you know, other than one-off exceptions here and there, I just don't think it's a very um possible or common thing to do.
00:09:43.949 --> 00:09:47.229
So this is something I hope everyone takes seriously.
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I hope that that the people listening understand how important building true influence is.
00:09:51.870 --> 00:09:56.990
And we will spend this episode and the next couple breaking down how to do that so we don't leave you hanging.
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But at first, we got to sell you on the idea, right?
00:09:59.709 --> 00:10:04.509
You have to understand and buy into the idea that influence is a lot more powerful than authority.
00:10:04.829 --> 00:10:05.629
It just is.
00:10:05.789 --> 00:10:08.110
Oh, and I think you see that in in your own personal life.
00:10:08.189 --> 00:10:11.309
I mean, would you rather be around people who are telling you what to do?
00:10:11.469 --> 00:10:18.589
Or would you rather be around people who you buy into and believe in their vision and believe in their mission and want to show up every day and help them execute it?
00:10:18.750 --> 00:10:27.229
Would you rather be around people who are bought into you, who believe in you, who are trying to grow and develop you, who who care about your goals, who care about your life?
00:10:27.389 --> 00:10:28.990
I mean, which one would you rather be around?
00:10:29.069 --> 00:10:30.429
Which one would you rather work for?
00:10:30.589 --> 00:10:32.429
And I think that's a pretty easy answer.
00:10:32.669 --> 00:10:39.789
So, you know, uh, if we're gonna be great leaders, we have to be and become somebody worthy of following.
00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:45.309
And being worthy of following rises and falls on your ability to build influence.
00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:45.870
Yep.
00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:55.549
And uh some of the listeners may have um read Good to Great before, but fantastic book um about organizational leadership.
00:10:55.709 --> 00:11:01.069
And I'm gonna pull uh just a few stats, but it talks about Kroger, one of their first chapters.
00:11:01.149 --> 00:11:07.309
I can't remember exactly which chapter, um, but it it talks about how they performed.
00:11:07.549 --> 00:11:11.309
Um, and essentially all that Kroger did was get the right people on the bus.
00:11:11.469 --> 00:11:18.349
They had the um, they got the wrong people off the bus, they got the right people on the bus, and then rearranged them in the correct seats.
00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:24.189
Um, and then when you have the right people that lead with influence, then we get the results long term.
00:11:24.349 --> 00:11:32.669
So just to back that up a little bit, um, Kroger beat the stock market by about 4.16 um over 15 years.
00:11:32.909 --> 00:11:39.149
Over so from 1973 to 1998, Kroger outperformed the market by about 10x.
00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:42.509
Um, and then this is pre-my time.
00:11:42.589 --> 00:11:44.429
I don't even know what this grocery store is.
00:11:44.509 --> 00:11:48.349
Um, so that shows my um lack of maturity.
00:11:48.669 --> 00:11:57.149
But compared with their competitor A and P, um, Kroger's returns were about 80 times higher um over that same ish period.
00:11:57.469 --> 00:12:12.269
Um and I mean essentially you're you're looking at the the the raw data here that shows having the right people that that lead with influence long term makes amazing, amazing returns for for your business.
00:12:12.509 --> 00:12:19.389
Um it is it is when I read that and then it has a little bar graph on that page too, which is cool.
00:12:19.549 --> 00:12:22.429
Um like it it's just incomparable.
00:12:22.589 --> 00:12:24.750
Um and then you look at it from like today's lens.
00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:26.750
So so take it outside the book.
00:12:26.909 --> 00:12:30.669
Um like there are so many grocery stores that have gone out of business.
00:12:30.909 --> 00:12:36.269
You talk about Wendixie, um and again, I'm gonna show my age.
00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:39.629
Um I never even stepped inside of a Wendixie.
00:12:39.870 --> 00:12:44.829
Um, but when when you look at like a Win Dixie, they didn't evolve and grow.
00:12:44.909 --> 00:12:55.229
Um and I think true evolution and growth comes when you pee comes when you have people um that are the right people and in the right seat that lead with influence.
00:12:55.469 --> 00:13:05.469
Um I think what Kroger has done an excellent job with is that they have evolved to this huge grocery chain that does things very, very well.
00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:12.110
So a thing that's super popular now is to actually not go shop inside the store to just kind of do that curbside pickup.
00:13:12.189 --> 00:13:13.549
They had to evolve to do that.
00:13:13.629 --> 00:13:16.189
Um, they had to evolve to do Kroger delivery.
00:13:16.509 --> 00:13:20.189
If you had told them 10 years ago that they would be doing that, they probably would have laughed in your face.
00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:25.229
But companies have to continually evolve, and that's why Kroger is still performing extremely well.
00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.909
Um, and I I fully believe it's because they lead with influence.
00:13:29.229 --> 00:13:38.669
Yeah, Zay and I, and somebody else we work with were talking just this morning about the importance of being a transformative leader and and what our job is as leaders.
00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:45.629
When you reach a certain level in an organization, your job is no longer to do or make the widgets, if you will, right?
00:13:45.789 --> 00:13:50.029
Your job is no longer to do the technical side of the job.
00:13:50.189 --> 00:13:54.589
Your job is to build and develop a team of people who can do that at a high level.
00:13:54.750 --> 00:13:56.990
And that's the only way you can scale and grow.
00:13:57.229 --> 00:14:02.029
Because, you know, if you're just a one one-man show, then how do you scale and grow that, right?
00:14:02.189 --> 00:14:05.469
The the the more your business depends on you, the less it can scale.
00:14:05.629 --> 00:14:09.149
And oh, by the way, the more your business depends on you, the less it is.
00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:11.549
Really hard to sell a business that relies just on you.
00:14:11.709 --> 00:14:18.429
And I've sold three businesses and and I had to develop those businesses into businesses that did not need me.
00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:27.549
And all those businesses are still open today because they didn't need me, because we built them into businesses that that were more self-sufficient, more systemized.
00:14:27.709 --> 00:14:28.909
We developed people.
00:14:29.069 --> 00:14:33.709
Um one of my businesses is is owned today by somebody that worked for me.
00:14:33.949 --> 00:14:43.149
And and it's just, you know, it it that's that's the only way to scale and do the things you want to do in business, unless you just want to stay a local mom and pop and make the donuts yourself.
00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:44.189
That's totally fine.
00:14:44.349 --> 00:14:45.309
No judgment on that.
00:14:45.469 --> 00:14:47.789
But it you won't be able to scale that or grow that.
00:14:47.949 --> 00:14:55.789
So you're if you want something that's that's that's scalable, you need to develop a team of people who can grow and and and execute at a high level.
00:14:55.949 --> 00:14:57.389
Well, that requires influence.
00:14:57.629 --> 00:15:08.669
So as we as we were talking about this episode, you know, what we came into our discussion, Isaiah and I, really not even thinking about this being a three-part episode.
00:15:08.909 --> 00:15:18.429
Once we started talking about every layer and element that we can discuss when it comes to fluence, it became very clear that this is gonna have to be a multi-episode thing.
00:15:18.589 --> 00:15:19.870
And it probably could be more than three.
00:15:19.949 --> 00:15:21.549
We're just gonna try to keep it two, three.
00:15:21.789 --> 00:15:24.349
But I started thinking about this the other day.
00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:31.149
And and this is what one of the things that is gonna make it a little bit of a longer series is you know, what makes a great leader?
00:15:31.309 --> 00:15:35.789
And there's been a few things that have happened to me the last couple weeks that have led me to this.
00:15:35.870 --> 00:15:42.349
I don't know if it's a revelation because it's always kind of been in my mind, but maybe a revelation as to just how important it is.
00:15:42.909 --> 00:15:54.269
But uh I went and gave a leadership talk to, we did a I led a roundtable discussion on leadership with a local uh uh, it's a very large but local police department.
00:15:54.429 --> 00:16:00.589
And when I'm listening to them talk about leadership, they're talking about all the problems they're having, they're talking about the things that aren't going well.
00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:05.069
And then when I'm asking them their their philosophies on leadership, they're saying all the right things.
00:16:05.229 --> 00:16:06.750
Everything that they're checking all the boxes.
00:16:06.829 --> 00:16:10.189
I'm listening to them talk, like, good lord, you guys know what you're talking about with leadership.
00:16:10.349 --> 00:16:17.069
They've been to leadership training seminars, they've been assigned books to read, and these are higher-level leaders in the department.
00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:18.829
And I was really impressed.
00:16:18.909 --> 00:16:19.389
I really was.
00:16:19.469 --> 00:16:21.229
They they knew a lot of really good stuff.
00:16:21.469 --> 00:16:23.229
Say, pause that story for a second.
00:16:23.389 --> 00:16:29.309
And then my wife and I this past weekend went to a marriage retreat, and we do this twice a year, something that we love to do.
00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:37.629
And in that marriage retreat, we had a a wife and a husband and wife team giving a talk on marriage and and how to have a strong marriage.
00:16:37.709 --> 00:17:00.189
And the first night they were talking about communication and how important communication is, talking about, hey, you know what, if you're uh an avoider and you like to run away or you're an escalator, you like to keep lobbing bombs over at your significant other, if you're um somebody who likes to invalidate and make people feel or your spouse feel like their their feelings aren't valid, and they just went through these things that that make you a poor communicator.
00:17:00.349 --> 00:17:03.949
And it hit me that these are great tactics, they are.
00:17:04.269 --> 00:17:08.910
But strategically, how do you execute those things in the heat of the moment?
00:17:09.230 --> 00:17:11.549
Some of the things that we're saying sound great from the stage.
00:17:11.710 --> 00:17:18.910
They sound brilliant from the stage, but the next time you're pissed off and you got to implement those things, it's a whole nother ball game.
00:17:19.069 --> 00:17:24.829
So there's another layer of skills that have to be taught in order to execute these tactics they were talking about.
00:17:25.069 --> 00:17:27.710
And then you go back to the police department, and it's not just them.
00:17:27.789 --> 00:17:29.390
I I've heard this a lot in my career.
00:17:29.549 --> 00:17:32.990
Then it's like, well, how come they know so much, but they're having all these problems?
00:17:33.230 --> 00:17:39.470
Because it at its essence, if someone were to say, what is the first thing you have to do to be a great leader?
00:17:39.630 --> 00:17:43.550
And then by default, what is the first thing you have to do to build influence?
00:17:43.710 --> 00:17:47.870
I really believe, Isaiah, it starts with being able to transform yourself.
00:17:48.029 --> 00:17:50.590
You've got to become a different person to be a great leader.
00:17:50.750 --> 00:17:53.470
Now, there might be people who are already born to be great leaders.
00:17:53.550 --> 00:17:55.230
I don't think that's very common at all.
00:17:55.550 --> 00:17:57.789
But let's leave room for for the exceptions.
00:17:58.350 --> 00:17:59.070
Yeah, you were not one of them.
00:17:59.390 --> 00:18:00.029
I was not one of them.
00:18:00.190 --> 00:18:00.990
You're right, you're right.
00:18:01.150 --> 00:18:02.430
Uh and I'm still not.
00:18:02.590 --> 00:18:02.830
Yeah.
00:18:03.310 --> 00:18:04.590
You should probably get another co-host.
00:18:05.630 --> 00:18:05.870
Yeah.
00:18:06.110 --> 00:18:07.470
We're yeah, where are we?
00:18:08.430 --> 00:18:08.590
Okay.
00:18:08.990 --> 00:18:09.150
All right.
00:18:09.230 --> 00:18:13.630
So I might not be here for the next two episodes on influence, but we'll try to get through this one.
00:18:13.870 --> 00:18:14.029
Yeah.
00:18:14.190 --> 00:18:14.350
Yeah.
00:18:14.509 --> 00:18:14.750
Fair.
00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:15.550
Yeah, we will.
00:18:15.789 --> 00:18:16.110
Fair.
00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:19.630
Um but but but you need to transform who you are.
00:18:19.789 --> 00:18:19.950
Right.
00:18:20.190 --> 00:18:30.430
The reason people have a heart that the reason people know some of the tactics of leadership and understand the principles, but cannot execute them is because they have done no work on themselves.
00:18:30.590 --> 00:18:34.350
So when they get into the heat of the moment, they can't manage their emotions well.
00:18:34.509 --> 00:18:34.750
Right.
00:18:34.830 --> 00:18:43.230
So with when it comes to taking care of the people around you, and all these things matter when it comes to influence, you're unable to do that because you don't truly care about the people around you.
00:18:43.390 --> 00:18:43.630
Right?
00:18:43.710 --> 00:18:48.269
You haven't evolved from the immature, selfish desires that you have.
00:18:48.509 --> 00:18:52.590
Um, you know, you see your the people that work for you as bodies.
00:18:52.830 --> 00:19:03.630
I remember when I first started with with Chick-fil-A, I would sit down with leaders and start their uh leadership coaching and development, and they would just be talking casual conversation.
00:19:03.789 --> 00:19:04.750
Yeah, the so-and-so.
00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.350
Now he's he's a body, he's a body.
00:19:06.430 --> 00:19:07.789
They were referring to people as bodies.
00:19:07.950 --> 00:19:12.670
And I remember thinking, how can we look at the people we care about and refer to them as bodies?
00:19:12.830 --> 00:19:14.430
I don't call my kids bodies.
00:19:14.670 --> 00:19:20.029
I don't call them, yeah, there's a body in the kitchen making some dinner, you know, talking about my wife or whatever.
00:19:20.269 --> 00:19:22.430
So why would I say that about my coworkers?
00:19:22.590 --> 00:19:28.029
It's because we have detached emotion from that body and they are just a warm body to fill a role.
00:19:28.110 --> 00:19:29.310
We don't really care about them.
00:19:29.550 --> 00:19:32.910
Well, when that's how you feel, really hard to build influence, right?
00:19:33.070 --> 00:19:36.190
When you can't manage your emotions, really hard to build influence.
00:19:36.350 --> 00:19:36.590
Right.
00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:38.910
So, so what let's go to another one.
00:19:39.070 --> 00:19:41.150
Ego, the one you hear us talk about a lot.
00:19:41.310 --> 00:19:44.830
If you can't manage your ego, impossible to build influence.
00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:48.029
So if you want to be a person of influence, it's got to start with you.
00:19:48.190 --> 00:19:59.150
It's got to start with A, having the requisite self-awareness to know that these suffer or these are blind spots for you, which is why having people around you to tell you those things is important.
00:19:59.710 --> 00:20:02.509
But what are you doing to work on your ego?
00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:04.830
What are you doing to build your humility?
00:20:04.990 --> 00:20:15.230
What are you doing to develop your heart into somebody that loves and cares for other people and can look at the people that are busting their ass for you with gratitude and thankfulness that they're doing that?
00:20:15.310 --> 00:20:17.710
And then think to yourself, what can I do for them?
00:20:17.870 --> 00:20:20.269
Beyond a paycheck, brother, beyond a paycheck.
00:20:20.350 --> 00:20:21.630
That ain't good enough anymore.
00:20:21.710 --> 00:20:22.990
But what can I do for them?
00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:36.670
And then lastly, is can I regulate my emotions well enough that when I enter into conversations, when I enter into feedback, or when I'm frustrated and mad, I don't blow up the entire relationship because I can't manage my emotions.
00:20:36.830 --> 00:20:39.390
Because every time I do that, I damage my influence.
00:20:39.550 --> 00:20:43.870
So I think if we're talking about influence, it's got to start with an evolution of yourself.
00:20:44.029 --> 00:20:48.430
And you have to understand where you need to evolve and then go to work evolving those areas.
00:20:48.670 --> 00:20:49.310
Totally agree.
00:20:49.550 --> 00:20:53.470
I think something that we suck at modern day-wise is looking in the mirror.
00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:53.870
Yeah.
00:20:54.029 --> 00:20:58.509
Um, and I still have a ton of ton of work to do in that realm.
00:20:58.750 --> 00:21:03.950
Um, but being able to look in the mirror and then have humility on that.
00:21:04.110 --> 00:21:15.230
Like, hey, I really want my spouse, or I really want my my peer, um, or I really want this employee to do this thing, and then you're not doing it yourself, is the craziest thing ever.
00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:19.870
Like you want someone to have emotional intelligence during a difficult conversation, and then you suck at it.
00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:21.630
How do how in the how does that make sense?
00:21:22.269 --> 00:21:25.630
Um, you want someone to be there on time and you're not there on time?
00:21:25.789 --> 00:21:27.070
How the hell does that make sense?
00:21:27.150 --> 00:21:27.550
Yeah.
00:21:27.710 --> 00:21:32.269
Um, and you lose influence every single time that you do something like that.
00:21:32.509 --> 00:21:37.070
Um we talked about trust is a a big part of influence.
00:21:37.390 --> 00:21:39.230
Um, and how do you build trust?
00:21:39.310 --> 00:21:42.190
It's uh a large part is by building a track record.
00:21:42.350 --> 00:21:45.870
Um so you you have to be a person of your word.
00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:55.470
Um, and then like whatever standard standard that you believe in, you have to like live that every single freaking day.
00:21:55.630 --> 00:22:05.310
Um if you don't, if you show one chink in the armor, then that grants the opportunity for them to poke holes in you, and you can't let that happen as a leader.
00:22:05.550 --> 00:22:13.870
Um, so I I think influence sometimes can sound like a very, very true fru kind of style of leadership to some of the more old school guys.
00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:20.029
And I and and and I hear that you saw some success from authority.
00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:23.150
I'm just telling you, it does not work with this younger generation.
00:22:23.310 --> 00:22:31.870
Like it just it it does not it doesn't work with anyone, but Especially not this younger generation, you will get your butt kicked every single freaking time with them.
00:22:32.110 --> 00:22:33.470
Because they don't respond to that.
00:22:33.630 --> 00:22:35.150
That's not how they were raised.
00:22:35.310 --> 00:22:43.150
Um, they were raised off of frankly participation awards and um everyone doing a great job even when you didn't do a great job.
00:22:43.390 --> 00:22:47.230
Um, so you come in and you just hammer people, it's not gonna work.
00:22:47.550 --> 00:22:53.390
Well, in this generation, and you know, every every previous generation bangs on the new generation, right?
00:22:53.470 --> 00:22:55.070
That's that's an age-old thing.
00:22:55.390 --> 00:23:01.070
And and there's some things that Gen Z and and and what's the one after that's it, Alpha?
00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:01.470
Okay.
00:23:01.870 --> 00:23:05.710
There's things that they're going to do that are silly and goofy that we're not gonna fully understand.
00:23:06.029 --> 00:23:08.830
I'm not gonna fully understand because I am older than Isaiah.
00:23:08.910 --> 00:23:12.269
I have been inside an AMP, a Wendixie and a Piggly Wiggly.
00:23:12.509 --> 00:23:14.590
So that kind of gives you my my age.
00:23:14.670 --> 00:23:18.029
Um Yeah, they do they do understand like growing hair on top of their head.
00:23:18.190 --> 00:23:19.950
That's a pretty cool, pretty cool key.
00:23:20.350 --> 00:23:22.029
I lost the mastery of that long ago.
00:23:22.269 --> 00:23:34.029
Um but but uh you know that this generation, one I think the one thing they're doing right, or there's a lot of things they're probably doing right, but one thing one of the things we can highlight that they're doing right is they need more than a paycheck.
00:23:34.110 --> 00:23:36.509
And and and spoiler alert, we always have.
00:23:36.670 --> 00:23:43.310
But sometimes when there's a desperation in life and we need money, because we talk about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?
00:23:43.390 --> 00:23:44.750
We need water, food, shelter.
00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:47.390
Well, if you need for food and shelter, we need money.
00:23:47.710 --> 00:23:52.269
So if our money needs are high enough, that's all we're gonna care about is are you paying me?
00:23:52.430 --> 00:23:56.910
But we live in a society today where success is almost ubiquitous, right?
00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:04.750
It's it's the social media A's, the, the, the iPhone A's, and and the and the the ability to make money has never been easier.
00:24:04.910 --> 00:24:08.110
Uh, the the job options have never been more plentiful, right?
00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:10.350
The days of command and control are gone.
00:24:10.509 --> 00:24:11.630
They're just gone.
00:24:11.950 --> 00:24:16.830
And one of the qualities that a great leader needs to have is some level of openness.
00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:25.870
So when you look at, you know, some of the leadership traits that have been studied, the big five, which is introvert versus extrovert, openness, consciousness, things like that.
00:24:26.029 --> 00:24:32.830
Um there openness is a very important leadership skill and conscientiousness is what I meant to say.
00:24:33.150 --> 00:24:36.910
And and openness, it's you gotta be conscious.
00:24:37.070 --> 00:24:41.390
Uh uh you uh but openness is an important skill.
00:24:41.550 --> 00:24:48.029
And openness can mean a lot of things, but one of the things it can mean in leadership is are you open to to doing things a different way?
00:24:48.430 --> 00:25:00.269
And the old codgers of the world who, dang, and I want to do it my way, great, the world's gonna pass you by, and it likely already has, and you're likely out of business already or tr you know in the process of shutting things down.
00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:02.910
But we have to understand this generation won't respond to that.
00:25:03.150 --> 00:25:09.470
Um, so we just had a small technical error, so I'm gonna we had to reboot a little bit, so I'm gonna pick up where I left off.
00:25:09.710 --> 00:25:12.910
Uh, but I think where we left off, Isaiah, is we were talking about trust.
00:25:13.710 --> 00:25:22.029
And you had brought up the word trust and just how important that is to building influence.
00:25:22.110 --> 00:25:27.870
And and what I think I want to use the rest of this episode on because we don't have that much time left, is maybe touching on a couple things.
00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:30.350
The first is all right, we want to build influence.
00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:34.750
Well, we have transformed ourselves, and I think this is where I was before we had the technical error.
00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.029
We we try we are transforming ourselves into becoming that person.
00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:47.150
But then if we lead an organization, that organization has to be driving towards something or stand for something that matters to the people.
00:25:47.390 --> 00:26:01.550
So this is why we've either got to come up with a universal mission for our business or hire people who are uniquely motivated and have a desire to reach the same goals that we're shooting for as an organization.
00:26:01.710 --> 00:26:05.950
So if you look at maybe the first two steps of building influence, it is who do I have to become as a person?
00:26:06.110 --> 00:26:18.350
And the secondly is okay, now that maybe I represent that and to your point, and then I can model the things that need to be modeled, now does my organization represent something worthy of influence and worthy of following?
00:26:18.509 --> 00:26:23.550
And that comes down to your mission and your vision that that you know we you hear talked about a lot in the world of business.
00:26:23.789 --> 00:26:30.750
So I think that if if we can check those two boxes, then we move into maybe the more individualistic stuff like trust and all that.
00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:32.910
So before we move on, what are your thoughts on that?
00:26:33.070 --> 00:26:40.029
So you we got to transform ourselves, but then from there, build a mission and a vision organizationally.
00:26:40.190 --> 00:26:42.269
And look, this could be for your family as well.
00:26:42.350 --> 00:26:51.789
It doesn't have to just be for an organization, but if we're gonna talk about business, build a mission and create a vision that your people can truly in their hearts and souls buy into.
00:26:52.110 --> 00:26:52.350
Yeah.
00:26:52.430 --> 00:27:03.390
I think uh I go back to to Chick-fil-A first, and I'm like, no one that we that we work with or that that work for us um is passionate about selling chicken.
00:27:03.550 --> 00:27:08.590
I've never I've never met a person in my life that's like, let's go sell some freaking chicken today.
00:27:08.830 --> 00:27:10.830
Um there may be that person out there.
00:27:11.070 --> 00:27:12.190
If you are, my bad.
00:27:12.670 --> 00:27:22.029
Well, well, hey, before you but real quick, just and and for anyone listening, even Truvic Cathy, who started Chick-fil-A, like his old adage was, I want to sell more chicken so I can do more good.
00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:23.630
It was never about the chicken for him.
00:27:23.710 --> 00:27:27.150
It was it was the vehicle that chicken provided so he could do more good in the world.
00:27:27.390 --> 00:27:27.630
Yep.
00:27:27.789 --> 00:27:36.190
So the the thing that Jason and I used to get our people bought into our ideas um is we are in the business of transforming lives.
00:27:36.269 --> 00:27:38.269
And that means transforming the business.
00:27:38.430 --> 00:27:42.350
Like we want to do bigger, cooler things, we want to invest more in people.
00:27:42.509 --> 00:27:49.230
Okay, well, we have to change the business and we have to make the business profitable every single day, or else we're not granted the opportunity to do that.
00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:57.230
Um so when you when when we set the vision and like we fully believe in that, uh that's that's a big key.
00:27:57.390 --> 00:28:02.670
Um we can't just say that, hey, we're here to transform lives and then do absolutely nothing to actually do that.
00:28:02.830 --> 00:28:09.870
Um and then you get your team to buy into that, then there's a crap ton of influence that can that can happen from that standpoint.
00:28:10.110 --> 00:28:22.750
I'd point to the uh the the guy that owns a small landscaping business or yard work business, and um you're not you're not gonna get a bunch of people that are like, dude, I freaking love blowing off driveways.
00:28:22.910 --> 00:28:24.590
I freaking love planting flowers.
00:28:24.670 --> 00:28:27.230
Now there's the weird botanist out there.
00:28:27.390 --> 00:28:29.550
Um, thank you for what you do.
00:28:29.710 --> 00:28:40.670
Um, but like you get people believing into, hey, I want to change this city that I live in to make it more beautiful and to attract more people to live here.
00:28:40.910 --> 00:28:43.870
You get them bought into that vision, that changes everything.
00:28:44.110 --> 00:28:50.350
Um, so one, you have to fully believe in whatever vision that you're going for, whatever you want to achieve.
00:28:50.430 --> 00:28:54.350
Um, and then you have to get your team bought into that same exact thing.
00:28:54.509 --> 00:29:02.029
Um, because it it w whatever product your company is selling, oftentimes people are not very, very passionate about that.
00:29:02.190 --> 00:29:05.470
Um, but what they are passionate about is what they are passionate about.
00:29:05.550 --> 00:29:12.750
And we have to tap into that and then utilize that to get their best work.
00:29:12.990 --> 00:29:17.150
Yeah, and one thing that almost everybody is passionate about also is themselves.
00:29:17.390 --> 00:29:21.630
So there has to be a what's in it for them part of the mission and vision as well.
00:29:21.789 --> 00:29:30.590
So we talk about the Chick-fil-A stuff, you know, and we talked about in in prior episodes that we are trying to get a third location, which is very rare in the world of Chick-fil-A.
00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:39.789
And, you know, so it becomes okay, well, why should the team member making 20 something an hour care about a third store?
00:29:40.029 --> 00:29:43.390
Or, you know, because they're not they may see a bump in pay.
00:29:43.550 --> 00:29:45.470
Great, that's a motivator for sure.
00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:47.390
That's an extrinsic motivator.
00:29:47.470 --> 00:29:50.110
Um, those are not as powerful as intrinsic motivators.
00:29:50.269 --> 00:29:53.230
So we have to now tap into intrinsic motivators.
00:29:53.390 --> 00:30:18.910
Well, one of the things that that we are telling these people, because it's unequivocally true, is what we have to do to get it third store, who we have to become as an organization, the the things that we need to up level, the the and the business lessons within all of that, whether it's up leveling the team, developing the team, building the systems, managing the finances of the business, having better marketing, you get to be a part of all that.
00:30:19.070 --> 00:30:20.590
So you get to see how it's done.
00:30:20.750 --> 00:30:22.910
So think of what that does for your growth and development.
00:30:23.070 --> 00:30:29.870
So not only do we have this mission that we want the third location, but what's in it for you is extrinsically more pay, more opportunity.
00:30:30.029 --> 00:30:30.830
Sure, that matters.
00:30:30.990 --> 00:30:35.470
But even more importantly, intrinsically, is what do you get to become in this process?
00:30:35.710 --> 00:30:41.230
You get to become some somebody more knowledgeable, somebody more informed, somebody with a higher level of skill.
00:30:41.390 --> 00:30:49.150
Those things then translate to higher confidence, and you can package all of that and go do great things in this world with those skills and the and that confidence.
00:30:50.430 --> 00:31:00.269
So it's not just about the mission and the vision of the organization, it's about the mission and the vision of the individual and how those two missions and visions connect, and you've got to connect those dots for people.
00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:10.990
So now as we're starting to build this out, now you got okay, you, the leader, has transformed into somebody who loves and cares for your people, who manages their manages their emotions at a high level, right?
00:31:11.070 --> 00:31:16.590
You you have transformed yourself into somebody who wants to develop the people around you.
00:31:16.750 --> 00:31:19.550
It is not just self has selfish needs and desires.
00:31:19.710 --> 00:31:23.470
Now you've created a vision and a mission that people can buy into.
00:31:23.550 --> 00:31:30.350
And oh, by the way, you've also created a mission and vision that that matters to them the most and that and that grows them and leads them closer to their goals.
00:31:30.509 --> 00:31:34.750
So you can start to see the framework of real influence building here.
00:31:34.830 --> 00:31:38.990
And let's juxtapose that to authoritarian, just do it because I said so.
00:31:39.470 --> 00:31:41.950
Which one is gonna inspire your team more?
00:31:42.110 --> 00:31:42.350
Right.
00:31:42.509 --> 00:31:45.630
So those are the first two check boxes on building influence.
00:31:45.870 --> 00:31:47.310
Um, and and I'm torn here.
00:31:47.390 --> 00:31:49.390
We're we're we're coming towards the end of this episode.
00:31:49.550 --> 00:31:51.789
And Isaiah, you did touch on trust.
00:31:52.029 --> 00:31:54.670
And I have a, you know what, we'll probably wrap it here.
00:31:54.750 --> 00:31:56.350
Let's do a little teaser, okay?
00:31:56.670 --> 00:31:59.630
There's the four C's that I want to talk about next episode.
00:31:59.789 --> 00:32:17.150
And trust is heavily involved in the first, um, the first actually, you know, looking at them really involved in all four C's, but I want to tease the four C's because there are four things you can do once you've checked these first two boxes, to be clear, to really put your ability to build influence on steroids.
00:32:17.310 --> 00:32:19.630
And we'll save those four C's for the next episode.
00:32:19.710 --> 00:32:20.110
What do you think?
00:32:20.269 --> 00:32:21.390
I think that's a great idea.
00:32:21.630 --> 00:32:23.789
Those will those will take a minute to work through.
00:32:24.029 --> 00:32:24.350
Yep.
00:32:24.509 --> 00:32:24.830
Yep.
00:32:25.070 --> 00:32:27.230
So uh uh any closing thoughts on this?
00:32:27.390 --> 00:32:30.830
This is a good framework, a good foundation to building influence.
00:32:30.910 --> 00:32:38.190
And above all else, I hope everyone, at a minimum, is starting to open their mind to the notion that influence is what matters the most.
00:32:38.350 --> 00:32:44.990
And that way you can open your heart, your mind, your body, your soul to the lessons we're going to teach in the next few episodes on how to do that.
00:32:45.150 --> 00:32:48.110
But with all that being said, anything you can say to close us out?
00:32:48.350 --> 00:32:51.870
Yeah, I want to give just one real quick practical step.
00:32:51.950 --> 00:32:57.550
Um, because I want to I I I always kind of want to structure this like, hey, we give the good deep philosophical talk.
00:32:57.630 --> 00:33:03.870
Um, we walk them through the ideas, we get them bought into it, but then I also want to walk through any practical thing that we can give them.
00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:09.070
Um one thing that I use often is I will ask for people's opinions.
00:33:09.310 --> 00:33:28.350
Um, and genuinely, like I want to hear what they have to say, but the other side of ask for of asking for someone's opinion is it kind of inherently builds um a little bit of trust and then inherently like kind of shows that I value their opinion on something, thus building influence.
00:33:28.509 --> 00:33:36.590
Um, so even if it's the the silliest thing, you will always hear me asking questions because I I want to hear your thoughts and opinions.
00:33:36.670 --> 00:33:38.590
It lets me know more about that person.
00:33:38.830 --> 00:33:47.950
And then it also builds a little bit of influence with them because it's saying, hey, I actually care about your opinion and what you have to say on this, on this subject.
00:33:48.110 --> 00:34:06.990
Um so that could be something as small as um uh uh asking a question about how they think a system is performing, um, to how a team member employee is for performing, um, to super like like broad questions.
00:34:07.150 --> 00:34:10.429
Um, but I use it all the time, works incredibly, incredibly well.
00:34:10.670 --> 00:34:16.829
Yeah, and you're tapping into one thing will really hit heavy in one of the next two episodes, and that is the law of reciprocity.
00:34:16.989 --> 00:34:22.909
And this is a law that humans all, other than psychopaths and sociopaths, if you will, uh fall into.
00:34:22.989 --> 00:34:24.110
We it's a law.
00:34:24.269 --> 00:34:28.670
Um, and that is that we want to reciprocate things that are done to us and for us.
00:34:28.909 --> 00:34:32.989
So when somebody brings you a gift, there's a need to reciprocate on some level.
00:34:33.150 --> 00:34:36.430
And sometimes it's to get them a gift, sometimes it's just to say thank you.
00:34:36.670 --> 00:34:43.150
But imagine if I said, hey, somebody's gonna bring you a gift tomorrow and you can't say thank you or even even acknowledge it.
00:34:43.309 --> 00:34:44.430
I mean, that's painful.
00:34:44.510 --> 00:34:46.510
That'd be you'd have a really hard time doing that.
00:34:46.750 --> 00:34:47.070
Why?
00:34:47.389 --> 00:34:48.590
Have you ever thought about why?
00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:50.829
Like, why do we feel the need to reciprocate?
00:34:50.990 --> 00:34:52.510
That's just who we are as humans.
00:34:52.670 --> 00:34:54.909
And and again, we'll touch on that more later.
00:34:54.990 --> 00:35:02.030
But what Isaiah's talking about there is if the number one way to build trust or to get trusted or to be trusted is to extend trust.
00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:06.030
Like because when he's asking those questions and saying those things, he's extending trust.
00:35:06.269 --> 00:35:06.909
And guess what?
00:35:07.070 --> 00:35:14.510
The number one way to begin building influence with one particular individual at a time is to allow them to influence you, right?
00:35:14.590 --> 00:35:17.550
So when I'm a dictator, that doesn't build a whole lot of trust.
00:35:17.710 --> 00:35:20.269
When I'm a dictator, that doesn't build a whole lot of influence.
00:35:20.430 --> 00:35:23.230
But when I come to you and say, look, I'm trusting you, what do you think?
00:35:23.309 --> 00:35:24.990
Or I'm trusting you, what is your opinion?
00:35:25.070 --> 00:35:25.789
What is your idea?
00:35:25.869 --> 00:35:26.670
What is your plan?
00:35:26.829 --> 00:35:27.869
Let's use yours.
00:35:28.110 --> 00:35:35.710
There is a reciprocation that that occurs, and especially if I do it consistently, where the person wants to extend those things back to me.
00:35:35.789 --> 00:35:38.349
And they are now more open to letting me influence them.
00:35:38.430 --> 00:35:40.590
They are now more open to trusting me.
00:35:40.750 --> 00:35:44.670
So we will pull on that thread a little bit uh stronger in the in coming episodes.
00:35:44.829 --> 00:35:47.389
But but those are great practical uh pieces of advice, I say.
00:35:47.550 --> 00:35:48.030
I appreciate it.
00:35:48.269 --> 00:35:49.389
Appreciate you, brother, as always.
00:35:49.630 --> 00:35:50.030
Yeah, man.
00:35:50.110 --> 00:35:55.150
And thank you guys for listening again to Mac and for part two of this, and then eventually part three.
00:35:55.230 --> 00:36:03.789
Um, and and we will continue to build out what it takes to have the influence needed to be not just a great leader, but more importantly, an effective leader.
00:36:03.950 --> 00:36:05.550
And with that, we will close it out.
00:36:05.710 --> 00:36:15.789
As always, if if you like what we're we're doing on this podcast and and you believe in what uh the mission that we're on, and you want to leave us a review or a star rating, that would be amazing.
00:36:15.950 --> 00:36:18.829
If you believe we deserve a five star rating, that would be incredible.
00:36:18.990 --> 00:36:22.430
If not, I would ask you to leave the star rating that you think we deserve.
00:36:22.590 --> 00:36:27.070
But then if you could just reach out and let us know what you think we could do better, that would be amazing as well.
00:36:27.150 --> 00:36:29.869
So, with that being said, we'll wrap it up and we'll see you guys next week.
