Seven figure success starts when you start thinking like a CEO.
Welcome to the John Kitchens Coach podcast experience.
This is your host John Kitchens.
Get ready to think bigger and transform your business into
a path to lasting freedom.
What's happening, brother?
What's up man?
You know, it's, uh.
It's been, it's been interesting and it's kind of cool.
It's kind of cool because you're starting to see a lot of people you know right now.
Obviously gearing up holiday season, no, kind of the crunch.
We're running out of daylight for 2025.
I mean, got, you know, uh, maybe a good seven 10 day.
So, uh, threw it out.
A couple people today, I said, you know.
Why don't you guys run a a seven 10 day challenge, right?
Just, just run something hardcore to keep that final push, you know, going
into that 45 day holiday side of things and, um, you know, just kind of, kind
of thinking through kind of where, where we're at and, and thinking about
26 and thinking about the future.
And you and I have talked about this a lot in that.
Obviously last week we talked about, you know, kind of the clarity compass
of, of reality, but also the destination of where it is we want to go.
You and I have been talking a lot about, you know, kind of the concept
of Benjamin Hardy's, the science of scaling impossible goal with an
impossible timeline and, and really making sure that we're raising the floor.
And then understanding, you know, what we need to give attention to, but more
importantly, what do we need to avoid, which is kind of what Signal and noise,
and avoid the noise and focus on the things that's gonna keep us above the
floor in pursuit of the impossible goal and the impossible timeline.
What other, what other thoughts are you kind of thinking about as we're, you
know, a lot of folks are in the planning phase, thinking about the new year.
What are, what are some things that, that, that you're thinking about,
but you're also conveying the message that you've gotta be top of mind and
aware of as we're, we're thinking about, you know, 26 and beyond.
Yeah, it, it, it's funny.
I am like, man, I'm staying home with like these steps that we're talking about
here with Clarity Compass, with chart, the course, like it's all the, these things
that we're talking about, it kind of in this series we're doing right now are so
foundational that I'm, I'm bringing my clients back to them constantly right now.
Yeah.
It, it's kind of a, it's a version of like.
Stick to the fundamentals, be brilliant with the basics.
Um, you know, we've got teams who just, just like a lot of agents in the
marketplace who came on board in the last 10 years and have had it pretty easy.
A lot of teams, the same thing is true, right?
So, you know, if an agent didn't, was never forced to develop, you
know, really high level of skill on the phone or a really high
level of skill in an appointment.
Same thing with team leaders.
Never forced to develop a high level of skill with the numbers.
Um, or a high level of skill with, with how you, you know,
bring on and retain talent.
So a lot of it's like ba back to basics and yeah.
And let, let's get really good at the fundamentals right now.
Yeah.
And then, and then build on that.
So a lot of like, what do we gotta do to shore up the foundation right now?
Yeah,
man.
I think that, you know, the thing that we always go through every 90
days for, for planning is always that start, stop, and keep doing list.
I think the biggest focus right now for, for a lot of folks has gotta be the stop.
Um, I think they just have allowed so much nonsense to bloat up, you know?
The chart of accounts blow up the p and l blow up their credit card
statement that, you know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of waste.
And I think, you know, you and I have talked about it earlier throughout the
year is, you know, the AI grab, the AI app grab, Hey, you know, uh, what, what is it?
There's an AI app for that, over 40,000 apps out there.
And so you gotta grab this, grab that I've, I, I'm, I'm like, I got Huey.
I'm good.
Like that's, everything's default back to Zy.
Every now and then I'll catch myself on chat, GPT, just 'cause it's easy.
If I'm on my phone, I can get right to chat GPT real quick.
But if I'm sitting down, if I'm on here, if I'm on on on the Mac and
the big Im Mac, then I'm, I'm on Zy.
I'm, I'm working through there, but it's, it's helping me work through
things faster than, than anything else.
So.
One subscription, uh, take that back, two subscriptions, zi and then chat.
Um, you know, the paid version.
And it's just because from, from an ease and it, it.
Strong on Eric and get it into an easy app.
I mean, we could do a shortcut on the phone, but get it into a real app,
then I would have one, I would have zy.
So I think that's just an example to focus on, on the stop doing list.
But that comes in from our last week's conversation around the
clarity compass, uh, you know, a real honest look at current reality.
But then what's the destination?
What are we working towards?
So I'm excited to, to jump in.
With us to, to walk through the second step, which is charting the course.
So really that once the Clarity Compass has has been established, which is
really point a current reality to point B. This step really, and I, and I love
how this kind of flows out, this step is about defining the soul of the business.
Um, it's building, you know, the why.
That will fuel the entire journey and align the team.
And sometimes when we get so head down, right, and I'm guilty of this, um, you
know, sometimes, sometimes we lose sight of why the heck we're even doing it.
And, and it gets real hard sometimes.
Like we gotta, you know, step back and like remind ourselves why, why we're,
we're in the fight that we're in anyways.
So the core concept of this Joel, um, is really.
Charting the course will, will help us transform a simple financial goal.
'cause that's 'cause what do we talk with every time?
Hey, what's the goal?
Start with financial, right?
What's the financial target?
New agents a hundred thousand, right?
It just defaults every time to a hundred thousand.
So how do you chart the course?
That transforms a simple goal into a compelling, durable vision.
And the process of, of really embedding this vision, um, is purpose, values.
And long-term mission into kind of your company's, your business's DNA.
Um, and, and listen, it's not a mission statement.
Now, are mission statements important?
Yes, but it is not a mission statement.
This is the guiding framework that empowers yourself and your
team to make aligned decisions.
This is like.
And I, I wanna circle back on the word decisions long after the excitement
of the day to day is gone, right?
That's discipline, right?
The excitement, the newness, everything wears off.
How do you keep staying the course right in pursuit of, of, of this,
um, destination and making sure you're making the right decisions?
And I think that's the, the, the one of the biggest things from a
decision making standpoint is that.
People don't really know how to make good decisions and, and not having those
solid decision making filters in place.
So talk a little bit about, you know, once you, you know, are able to chart the
course here and, and really lay out kind of the soul of the business, to me, what
I've always looked at in, in this step is that this is the foundational decision
making filters for the organization.
Yeah, I think, I think it, this, this is really important.
It gets overlooked a lot too because this, this step, this step is
so critical for how you're gonna make decisions going forward.
If you're not clear on, you know, your values, which again, you always
say decision making filters, right?
Mm-hmm.
Like we're, because after this step, we're gonna move on to at some point
strategy, which is where we start to talk about what are all of the ways
that we could accomplish the goal.
Um, and a big theme that I've been talking about with clients right now
is like, we're, we're usually not choosing between good and bad ideas.
We're usually choosing between a bunch of good ideas, and some of those ideas
are gonna be more aligned with your values and your vision than other ones.
And that's, and so that's a major piece of decision making.
Yes.
There's, you know, really tactical parts about decision making too.
You know, just looking at prioritizing this versus that.
What's gonna make the most impact?
What's gonna be the easiest to implement?
Like, yeah, we can talk about that stuff, but, but from a, from,
from, still pretty high level view.
If you're not clear on this stuff, you, you can't
effectively make those decisions.
Starting with strategic priorities and then moving all the way down through
how we treat people, how we treat each other, how we behave, what, you know,
what, what's our client experience like.
Uh, you know, the, these things filter all the way through, but
you can't get any of it, right.
I don't think.
If you don't get this part right.
Yeah, so, so spot on, right?
This is something no matter what, skipping steps, like we say, skipping steps
only presents the illusion of speed.
At some point, you're gonna have to come back and address this,
and so the, the step here are the three pillars of a powerful vision.
One is defining your core values, right?
So uncovered the three to five non-negotiables, the
non-negotiable principles that will govern every decision, right?
Value, core values are the ultimate decision making filters.
And becomes the filter of who you hire, who you fire, how your team
operates, and really what they do when you're not in the room.
Yeah.
That's the biggest thing.
You're giving 'em a framework of how to make decisions when you
are not, you're not in the room and you're not, you're not around.
That's the power, the true power of, of having the, the core values.
What's your thought on, on how many, right?
Three to five.
Um.
I think less is more.
I've seen a few companies that have nailed it.
They've gotten three, you know, that's the, the old Darren Hardy only have three.
Um, the five I feel sometimes get a little bloated when you get, like, like
we were, you know, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
Right.
It's just, it's too many.
I think for, for me right now.
Um, at six could, could work and whittle down one maybe.
But, uh, kind of what is your thought, thought on number of, of core values?
If you made me pick a number, I'd say five.
Um, the, there are some really brilliant companies out there who have three,
but usually they, they found a way for their values to communicate a
lot within that one little phrase.
Yeah.
You know, so if you're gonna have three and you just say, oh, it's, uh,
you know, it's integrity, uh, customer service and communication, it's
like, well that's, that's not enough.
To accomplish what you need to accomplish with your core values.
But if you found a way to communicate something at a, at a foundational
principle, like, you know, uh, 100 zero, you know, would be an
example of that, that communicates a lot, that communicates ownership,
that communicates accountability, that communicates we don't, you
know, we don't allow excuses here.
Um, so, you know, shout out to Altaic with that one.
But, um.
So I, I think it, it's hard to have three because you probably need to
accomplish more with your core values than three allows, unless you really nail
these, you know, a phrase or something that you made up that communicates
a lot more than just one word.
Um, I, I like, I like five.
I think for, for me personally, I feel like that.
It covers all of my bases.
You know, at with five I can have a core value that is about humility.
I can have one that's about the kind of client experience that we want to create.
I can have one about the kind of integrity that we want to have.
Um, I can have one about kind of how we want to think big and be
lifelong learners, you know, however you communicate those things.
So for, for me personally, I feel like five is a sweet spot.
Yeah.
It's easy for your team to remember.
Five, you know, it's easy for, um, it's easy to communicate.
Five, it's easy to hit those.
So three is great if you've got something really creative that communicates a lot.
Otherwise, I think five is a sweet spot for me.
And, and more, more than five I got.
I just think it gets hard.
You've got, you know, 12 core values, like your kids can't,
not gonna remember all those.
And, and something that, you know, we get wrong about core values a lot
is, I, I always recommend turning it, turning a word into a phrase.
So like, instead of integrity, maybe it's like we do the right thing or
you know, maybe instead of customer service, it's make great experiences.
So like, give them some teeth, make 'em memorable.
They're like, I, okay, I, I know how to make a decision when I hear, do the
right thing, versus how do I make a decision when I just hear integrity?
Yeah.
So I like giving, you know, a short phrase.
That's kind of my preference.
Again, some of that's personal preference, but there's reasons behind it.
Give it some teeth, make it memorable and make it a filter.
Like what, what were you thinking about when you made that decision?
Oh, I was thinking about make, make great experiences for, for our clients.
Okay, cool.
I, I understand you, you went through a thought process there.
Yeah.
Versus, Hey, what were you thinking about?
Oh, I was thinking about customer service.
You know, it's just, it's just harder.
So you gotta give it teeth and, and make it a, a way for people to connect with it.
Yeah.
So the best that I've seen in a, in a three format, um,
got flushed out with, um.
The, uh, the Benson crew team up in, up in Canada and their first one is Crew First.
So they played with the name and they came up with Crew first.
And essentially that's we over me.
And what they do is that we all act like owners of one team.
We collaborate, share playbooks, and celebrate each other's wins.
We over me.
Um, which I, I I love that, right?
It puts the team first, crew first.
So it's just kind of, kind of the team aspect.
Number two, um, raise the standard and raise the standard is we
deliver five star experiences and lead execution in every detail.
Raise the standard details, sweat the small stuff, details matter.
Five star experience, right?
So are you raising the standard?
Did you raise the standard in that situation?
So I, I, I really love that one.
And the third one.
It's so important.
Own the outcome, right?
Own the outcome.
Uh, if it's yours, it's ships.
We move with speed and accountability.
So that ties in extreme ownership.
That ties in the 100 zero principle that ties in those things to
owning the outcome, raising the standard and it's team.
Team first.
We over me, and I can tie in a lot of things there too.
It's like.
I'm not trying to be right.
I'm trying to get to right outcome over ego.
Right.
So there's a lot of things that you can fall within there.
So to your point, you know, if you're gonna have, you know, three, four to five,
you're usually are gonna have some things that you can tell a little bit of a story
that falls underneath there as well.
So yeah, whatever, whatever those values are.
I love that.
That's a great structure too of, we've got the, we've got the memorable
little phrase, but then Yeah, we got a little explanation there.
And it's not a two page explanation, it's.
A sentence or two, what do you mean by that?
And then the, the, the phrase of the core value, uh, becomes the
shorthand for the deeper explanation.
Yeah.
And that's a way now you talk about get people to really understand
and internalize these things.
Mm-hmm.
That's how we do it.
Hey, yeah.
Hey, when, when we say, you know, when we say this, this is what we mean.
Yeah.
But now that everybody knows that all we have to do is say the word or the
phrase and it connects back to Yeah.
The, the deeper value.
So I think that's such a great way to get that.
Internalized and spread throughout the organization.
I love it.
And you know, rule of thumb is the people that you bring into your ecosystem and
your team, the rule of thumb is more than 50% of the values they have to align with.
Not everybody's gonna align to every value.
So when you have three, they have to align to two.
If they aligned all three, great, but they have to align to two.
If they align to only one, it's not gonna work.
So you like five, they have to align to three.
Um, two or one is not gonna work.
So you already know that.
And that's part of the onboarding process.
That's part of the hiring process, that's part of the evaluation.
Coming out of kind of a pro probationary period, evaluate kind
of where you at with the values.
How do you grade yourself on, on this one, on this one, on this one, on this one.
I, here's you can improve.
So a lot of hiring and firing and grading.
For us, it was 50% right.
You're a 50, 50% core value alignment and then 50% on can you get the job done.
So that's kind of how the evaluation and how we used the core values, um, yeah.
In that situation,
I, I like that.
I feel like it's, it's good to be, it's good to be realistic about it.
And, and then you gotta figure out like, which, which, which ones
are the non-negotiables, right?
Yeah.
So like, if you have an integrity, core value, or do the right
thing value, like everybody's gotta be on board for that one.
Right.
But if you've got a, yeah.
A think big value.
It's like, well, maybe it's okay that your TC isn't the biggest
thinker and that doesn't really resonate with them as somebody who
wants stability and wants, you know, structure and, and stuff like that.
So, yeah, I think, I think that's a valuable, a valuable thing.
There's ones that you, you can't, can't compromise on.
Um, but, you know, be a little bit realistic about what it
means to align with those.
A hundred percent.
So number two, step in creating this powerful vision is
articulating a core purpose.
Okay?
So answer the critical question, why do we exist beyond making money?
Like why does this company exist beyond making money?
And this purpose really becomes the emotional fuel.
For the team attracting a players who are motivated by more
than just a commission split.
And I think you know, the other book that I'm pushing hard again right
now is Choose Your Enemies Wisely.
And I actually listened on, on my Drive yesterday, I actually listened
to chapter four again on Choose Your Enemies Wisely, which was.
Enemies and competition and the importance of having the fire and the
emotion, right, and then understanding the logistics and the logical side
of things of the competition are why they're, why they're different.
Right?
Competition's black and white, you know where they're at.
You know, you can find weaknesses, but you need the emotional fuel to keep going
when things are tough and there's nothing better than those people that doubt you,
that you know, listen, I don't know if it's healthy or not, but I make a list.
I keep it on my phone anytime, any little slight, any little thing, any little
thing that got overlooked, somebody chose another way, whatever it is.
Right?
It's, it's in, it's in my notes and it says fuel, and I take note, right?
I take receipts.
Um, because that works for me, right?
That like, I don't let go as part of my, you know, CS sc
personality on the disc is like.
I, I tend to hold grudges and I don't let shit go.
Like I, I, I, I still hold onto shit from 10 years ago.
Is it, is it healthy?
Probably not.
But you know, that's, I just, I know that about me, but it's
there when I need to tap into it.
Yeah.
And so I think, you know, what is that emotional fuel that you have for
why you do, for what you do beyond?
That you can put out into the marketplace, that's gonna be an attraction piece.
They're like, man, I like that, that I can get behind that.
That's exciting.
Yeah.
And, and I think it, it's such a, if you can communicate it in a really,
in a real way, like people want to be a part of something special and they,
they generally want to be a part of somebody who believes what they believe.
So if it's about, you know, if it's about proving 'em all wrong, like you can
lean into that and maybe you'll attract.
You know, the misfits who are hungry for a chance, and they're gonna be some,
you know, some of your best people, you know, maybe it's about what kind
of impact you're gonna make, but, but people want to be a part of something.
Yeah.
And so, you know, we, we talk a lot about the, like, the vision of getting people
to come along with you on your vision, but the purpose is just as important
because why, why are we doing this?
Why would I want to be a part of this?
What, what are we doing here?
And even you can communicate that in a, in a real way.
Like this is where a lot of people go wrong with, with just cheesy or
kind of stripped down, you know, purpose statements that don't really
do anything, but man, be honest about it and be unapologetic for it.
And then, mm-hmm.
See who's, see who's excited about coming along with you.
You know, for me, I, you know, I just adopted the, um, you know, Simon
Sinek Start with Why Framework, right?
So, you know, obviously the start with Why book, but he also has, you
know, how do you uncover your why?
And really the, the, the formula is what are you the best in the world at so that
you can do that thing to get, that's gonna give you the most fulfillment.
So what are you the best in the world at that you tap into that you can, that
you do, so that you can do the thing that gives you the most fulfillment?
And, and I think that's just a really good framework to, to uncover that
why, and, and I don't know if there's sometimes maybe not enough energy
or, or something behind it, but it's always a great, great place to start.
Right?
Um, you can have that why statement core focus.
It can, it can kind of fall in, but, hmm.
Why, why, why are, why are you doing this beyond money, beyond a commission check?
Beyond, beyond that thing.
So I think that's important to, to take into consideration.
Yeah.
And I think, and again, you just, it, it, it has to be honest.
And I'm thinking about, uh, a guy we both know, well, I won't name him on
here in case he doesn't want, but we were at a, one of the kitchen tables
and he was like, you know what, man?
He is like, I'm not trying to change the world.
I'm not trying to change the real estate industry.
He's like, I just wanna create an incredible life for my family.
I'm like, great.
That's your, that, that's your purpose.
Yeah.
Now you need to find people who, who want that too.
And now, so when you're talking to an agent, you're trying to recruit, it's
like, here's what I'm doing over here is I'm trying to create an incredible life
for my family and I'm getting after it.
Yeah.
And that's if you want to come along and run with me, like let's go.
Yeah.
And people are attracted to that, right?
Yeah, they are.
So that became a really effective way to, for him to communicate his purpose.
If he would've said, Hey, uh, out here trying to change the real estate industry.
It, it would fall flat.
People would see through it, and it's disingenuous, right?
Yeah.
He's trying to create, he's trying to change his, his, the
life for hi, you know, his small sphere, his family and friends.
And a lot of people want to, want to come do that with him, you know?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Because that's what they want to do, right?
They wanna make things better for, for them and their family.
So they're like, oh, I can get behind that.
And, um, you know, remember we talk all the time, right?
You know, the vision of the company has to be so big that people
believe they can accomplish their dreams by being a part of it.
And, you know, they align to your values.
They see the purpose, and, and, you know, like, man, I want that too.
I want that for my family.
And then the third step here in, in creating this, a powerful vision.
Is setting up the BHAG, right?
That big, hairy, audacious goal.
Um, you know, I think, I think it, it, it falls in to whatever, um,
whatever timeframe you wanna put it in.
That's, that's where I've kind of come with it.
You know, I was with John and Ryan last week, Joel, and,
um, talking to their team.
I asked everybody in the room, I said, how many of you guys plan
on being out of this, out of this game in the next 10 years?
Raise your hand.
Not one hand went up.
Everybody in that room plans on playing the game for more than 10 years.
So when we're talking BHAG, right?
Recommendation is at least a decade.
I've seen people like ask too far.
You gotta do five years.
That's too far.
You need to do three years.
What?
What are we gonna do in a year?
I don't know.
That's what you're gonna do in 2026.
There's a place on the strategic plan to talk about 2026.
I wanna know what your big, hairy, audacious goal is.
Now you look at, you look at somebody like what, you know, the
science of scaling, what, what?
Benjamin Hardy talks about, he talks about, you know, three years, right?
That's kind of his, his, his framework is very, you know, um,
impossible goal with an impossible timeline and do it in three years.
So you could default to the BHAG here.
However, there is also a three year picture on the strategic plan
that gives you a three year window.
So my recommendation here would be, have some fun with it.
I, I would say right now we're going into a stretch to the end
of the decade as a four year run.
It's a little more than three, but you got four years.
But if you go five, that's December 31st.
2030, right.
So you could have some fun with that, or you could say, man, I ain't
going nowhere for the next 10 years.
I'm gonna ride this.
I'm, this is, this is my career.
What am I like?
I'm not trying to be done.
And so you could set the 10 year mark, so wherever that falls, right?
So taking the future destination from, from step one, right?
In charting, you know, uh, the, the clarity compass.
Crystallize this now into a clear, measurable, and audacious target.
And I would say 10 year, right?
If you're, if you're gonna be in the game set longer, because we
overestimate what we can do in a year.
We underestimate what we can do in a decade, right?
More of the, I think it's, uh, I don't know if it's the Japanese
culture or the Chinese culture, but they think in centuries, right?
They're not thinking in decades.
They're thinking over the next a hundred years.
What they're building.
Like, think about that for a second.
Like, if you have somebody that's in the game that's building, that's
trying to play the game for a hundred years, how you gonna beat them?
Right?
Right.
Good luck.
Um, that's like, they can stay, they can stay on the treadmill
a lot longer than anybody else.
So I think where you want to go.
So that's why we did the clarity compass first, right?
Current reality to the destination.
Now the BHAG has to be.
It has to be in that point of clear, measurable, and obviously audacious.
That's why it's the big, hairy, audacious goal, and that'll galvanize
the entire organization and provide a long-term strategic focus.
What's beautiful about this too, Joel, we talked about decision
making filters with your values.
Here is the decision making filter.
Yeah, I don't know.
Trav, that's a great idea.
Is it gonna move you closer to the BAG or is it gonna move you further away?
Man, I don't even think it's gonna even nudge me one inch towards my
BAG then the answer's probably no.
Yeah.
Real simple.
Right?
So that's why we, that's why we like, we get the compass.
And then here we crystallize that destination.
We gotta know we're gonna get there.
How are we, you know, like, we don't know how we're gonna get there,
but this is where we're going.
Um, and so it was sup super important to, to have all three.
And remember all three is what creates your powerful vision.
Yeah.
And that's such another a, a good example of, of the, the right things, right.
Order principle.
Because if you start off by thinking about how you're gonna get there and then
you, and then you base your goals based on what you think you're capable of.
Then, then you'll, you'll always sell, you know, sell yourself short.
So we, we, we set the goal Again, don't know how, don't know how exactly I'm
gonna get there, but that's the goal.
Well, now we can be way more effective when we get to strategy,
when we get to, uh, what are the priorities we're gonna work on.
So just, I, I think about this all the time with, with this whole framework
is just write, write things, right?
Order.
And it's so intentional.
That is a good example of that too.
Yeah.
' cause we can't nail the BHAG if we don't know where we're
at and where we want to go.
So now we're charting the course and we're building this.
So remember, a business without a clear vision can't, can't
scale beyond the founder.
And I'm, and, and you do this as well, running into individuals that are
navigating themselves out of production.
However, that's not possible without a clear vision.
You just can't do it.
You can't do it, so you gotta have that clear vision.
Charting the course.
Listen, is a system for building the vision beyond vague mission statements
to install the three pillars of high performance culture, right?
A purpose that inspires values, that guide decisions, and a long-term goal
that unifies everybody's efforts.
That's how they all work together.
So it's really the foundation that'll allow you to attract and retain a players.
Then empowered them to think like owners and build a brand that has
a lasting impact in the market.
That's, that's.
The whole reason that we chart the course.
So some benefits align your A players, um, unite the team with, with the mission.
So clear that it's a magnetic for top talent and, and a filter for
wrong hires, wrong fit, right?
You got a filtering system to navigate people out.
It simplifies your, our strategic decisions.
'cause Joel, like you mentioned, when we get down into that, that part.
Which is gonna be part five of this process.
That's where we lay out the execution roadmap.
And if we don't have this in place, we can't lay out the roadmap.
We're gonna, our roadmap is gonna take us.
In the wrong place.
So you gotta be able to have that utilizing our core values as clear,
consistent framework for making, you know, the right call and everything
from marketing to new hires and then building a lasting legacy.
Um, I was at an event last night and it was an interesting, you know, lady that's
been just a rock star in the marketplace.
Been in there 40 years and.
Asked her the question, you know, of, uh, what do you think about your legacy?
And she goes, I don't.
And she had a good reasoning behind it, right?
She's like, you know, if I think about legacy, then I'm thinking about not being
in the business and I'm in the business and I don't wanna be in the business.
And, you know, I kind of, I kind of thought about it.
I appreciate, I appreciated her answer.
And, you know, um, I still think that, that you want to
leave that my, my favorite.
Take on on Legacy, and I think it was Dana White that said it.
And he's like, listen man, I just, I, I just want my kids
to say that I was a good dad.
That's it.
That's my legacy.
And I'm like, dude, that's so good.
So good.
It's a good dad.
That's a good dad.
Um, so building a lasting legacy with the vision, what you're able to
accomplish, are you doing right in there?
That, that, you know, our kids see us doing good for the community.
They see us doing good for other people.
If that's, if that's what you want to live and, and, and leave behind.
So be able to create a brand and a reputation and a culture that can thrive
and grow for decades, um, completely independent of your personal production.
That's, that's it.
Right?
Because you know, I promise, I mean, even if you say you're
gonna be in the game for 10 years.
You could say, I, I don't, I wanna be in the game for 10 years, but
I don't wanna sell for 10 years.
I think you would get more of those answers than you would somebody
saying, man, I'm just gonna keep selling houses for the next 20 years.
Yeah, man, if I could back out and, and have more time freedom and still
income to where I can go, pursue.
Other opportunities to build wealth then, you know, there's,
there's some things there.
So, Joel, I wanna jam through this real quick, um, on, on kind of the
vision framework worksheet, and then, um, we can, we can kind of wrap it up.
But I wanna, I wanna jam through, through this as there's, um,
there's three parts to it obviously.
So we've got, um, you know, part, part one of, of the worksheet.
Is uncovering your core values, right?
The DNA of your decisions.
So from goal setter to vision builder, goals are about what you want to get.
Um, the vision is about who you want to become.
That's, that's, that's the essence, right?
We talk about, you know, who do you have to become in order for you to achieve
the goals and the outcomes that you want.
And this is really the framework you get to design this, um, and, and plan
for kind of what we started with.
This is the soul of your, of your business, and it, it moves beyond the
goals this month, the goals, you know, this quarter, the goals this year.
And, and and really puts a guiding force in, into the business, um,
foundation for, for attracting a players.
'cause none of us get to where we want to go without having,
having a players around us.
And, and really to simplify the decision making process because a lot of people
don't know how to make good decisions.
So this is a framework to make better decisions, but also empower the
people around you to make decisions that you would make if you were
there without you being there.
So I think that's, that's super important.
Hey, I have a quick question.
Do you know exactly where you are in your business and at
what stage is keeping you stuck?
If not, download the eight stages of the real estate business.
It's the most powerful tool we've ever created, and it shows you how
to stop surviving and start scaling.
You can grab the blueprint at the eight stages.
That's the, the number eight stages.com and get clarity on your next move.
Alright, let's get back at it.
So, uncovering your core values, really, the d, the DNA of the decisions.
Um, core values are not aspirational.
That's, that's the big get because sometimes Joel, you and
I will see, you know, somebody has 7, 8, 9, 10 core values.
Most of those are aspirational, most of them are not core, right?
There, there is that difference.
So non-negotiable principles, they're already present in your organization's.
DNA, um, discover them.
We don't invent them.
Um, they are the rules of the game, defining how we behave
when no one is around watching.
They make it easy to do the right thing and hard to do the wrong thing.
Um, so I think that's, that's important distinction between core and aspirational.
Yeah.
Yeah, I do think that's really important because the, the, if if they're not core
to you, then they're ne they're never gonna be truly core to the organization.
Yeah.
You just, you can't, again, people just see through that kind of stuff, it,
and it, and it, and it, and it fails.
So, yeah.
I, I totally agree.
Some, some things have been really helpful for me in, in, in working
with my clients is a lot of ways you can, you can back into them.
What are the things that make you the most angry about business?
And when you see something, you know, doing something the wrong way
in business, what are those things?
What kind of people?
You know, for me, like, uh, one of mine has always been humility, but part
of the reason it's that is because.
I just, I would, I would literally rather not be in business than have
to deal with arrogant people all day.
Mm-hmm.
So that's, you know, like I kind of backed into humility as one of my core values.
And so like, that's one of my non-negotiable ones for, for team members,
for me is like big, big egos, cocky, like just, Hey, I got my faults too.
Like, nothing against your faults, but like, yeah, you can't be here.
I don't want to be around.
Yeah.
So I think you can, you can work your way into them by like, what, what's.
What things infuriate you?
What things, you know drive you crazy?
What things would you, you know, do anything to, to change or to fix?
Um, you know, you might be onto something with your core values here.
Yeah.
Um, I, I wanna hit the, the, the exercises here.
Um, and then, uh, you know, I'm not gonna go into detail, but I will say, you
know, anybody listening in, if you want the details of this exercise, if you're
listening to the podcast, um, you can, you can message DM. Um, DME DM Joel, um, we'll
get you guys a copy of, of this exercise.
And the same if you, if you didn't catch, um, the clarity Compass,
you can go back and listen to that.
That's part one and you can, you know, get, um, get kind of that, that worksheet
of, of being able to lay out that.
But I'm not gonna go into details.
I'm just gonna name the exercise 'cause I, I want to hit this and, and, um,
be, also be sensitive to time here.
So you nailed, you nailed one of the exercises, Joel, and
that's the frustration filter.
So discovering your non-negotiables and it, it's really times
that you feel frustrated.
For me, it was always when my skin's boiling, right?
That's, that's a frustration.
Something's, something's not jiving with my core values.
So like that is, um, time, um, like people robbing my time or
not being respectful of my time.
That usually will make my skin boil.
Um.
You know, knowing my working genius and I'm a, I'm a D and D's, um, uh.
Crave, crave trust, but also get frustrated with why Prove it.
What, what is that?
Right?
So there there's some understanding in there.
Is is, is that a frustration?
I don't, I mean, is that a core value in there?
I don't know.
This is just part of the exercise.
Yeah.
So you wanna describe those times?
Frustrated, disappointed, angry, um.
Then try to describe it in much detail as possible.
Um, what, what was violated, right?
Is there a value or belief in there that was, that, you know, for certain
that that was, that was violated.
The other exercise is.
The opposite, the peak performance story.
So a moment your business felt alive, right?
You were the time, you were so proud, um, the business, um, I
mean, you wanted to, you know, um, Travis' a great example, right?
Something he's proud of in the business.
I mean, we'll get a text, you know, 11 o'clock at night from Trav.
He's so excited about something happened, right?
So that's a peak performance story.
So there's, there's something in there that's probably a value of his.
It could be a gut check back to the values is like, what, you
know, what, what's happening here?
Right?
Or could be a deal that you saved.
It could be a client testimonial, right?
Uh, maybe the team pulled through on something that was absolutely incredible.
Tell it in detail what was the situation.
And try to exact extract the, the principles out of there, right?
Looking at it, what were the values that were, that were kind of at play, right?
Man, the team was just relentless in finding a solution.
Um, you know, we told the hard truth.
It was a, it was such a, a brutal conversation, but man, we had it.
We told it.
We were kind, but we were candid.
We had the compassion, but we, we had the difficult conversation.
Hey, there was a time, man.
Our team, man, they had our back.
Right?
I didn't think they were gonna have our back.
They had our back.
And so trying to, trying to pull those things out.
So when you have the frustration, but you also have the the performance,
then you move into kind of running them through the gauntlet and this is
where you can combine them and you're looking for your top five or seven.
Okay?
And you wanna run 'em through the gauntlet.
If you wanna run 'em through the profit test, would this stand?
Would, would you stand by this value even if it cost you a profitable
client or a big commission?
That's the profit test.
Would you stand by this if you had to cut your number one client, if you had
to cut and lose the biggest commission ever, but they violated this value.
That's the profit test.
The second is the future test.
The future test is, would you, would, would you want your organization to
embody this value a hundred years from now long after you're gone?
That's the future test.
Does this one stand the test of time?
And then the third is.
The hiring and firing test.
Would you be willing to fire a top producer who consistently
violated this value?
Are you using it as a screen to hire new values?
Um, so tho those are the three, and sometimes right, the hiring or the
firing also takes a hit on the profit.
So those two kind of, kind of come together, and so you
wanna be able to do that.
Then finalize three to five, right?
We gave the three to example.
Joel loves the sweet spot of five.
I, I'm right there with Joel.
I, I, I, I think I like the five sweet spot and the ones that
survive are your true core values.
Okay?
And then the final exercise on the values is we bring them to life.
So we make them real.
A value is useless if it's just a word on the wall.
I like Joel's example a little bit earlier.
Right.
You have that remember little thing and then you have
little bullet points under it.
That's, that's kind of my go-to on, on how to, to, to line those out.
Um, and, you know, what is it, and, and then what does it mean
that, that's kind of the example.
So that's a great exercise.
To, to really uncovering the core values.
Remember that the, your core values are the DNA of your decisions.
That's the DNA of of your decisions is in there.
So that's, that's part one of, of the exercise.
Part two is articulating your core purpose, your infinite.
Why give the example of the why statement.
Your purpose is your reason for being boiled down into its essence.
It's not what you do, but why it matters.
Okay.
It's a cause not a goal.
It can never be fully achieved, which is what makes it an
infinite source of inspiration and motivation for you and your team.
You could go through the five why's, right?
You know.
Drill down, you know, what do we do?
Why is that important?
Why is our mission to contribute to that?
Right?
And go 5, 6, 7 layers deep on the why.
Um, I gave, you know, my example of Simon Sinek.
Start with why, um, what are you the best in the world at so that you can do the
thing that gives you the most fulfillment?
So that's, that's one path.
There's the other path of going 5, 6, 7 layers deep of what do
we do and why is that important?
The second exercise is the contribution and impact statement, right?
So this is what is the single biggest contribution we make
to the lives of our clients?
Think beyond transaction
confidence, peace of mind, clarity, and a complex sit process.
Um, what is the lasting impact of contribution?
And then start to combine these ideas.
Once you kind of start looking through this, then crafting your final
purpose statement answers from both.
Look at common themes, most powerful emotional language.
Draft a single concise statement that is infinite inspiring and easy to remember.
To create life changing opportunities through real estate, or to be the trusted
guides on our community journeys home.
Whatever that is.
I think Sam has a really good one.
I can't remember off the top of my head what it is, Joel, but Sam Basil
has a, has a really, really good one.
Helping, helping make wise real estate investments or, or so, but
that has meaning to him, right?
That, that, that fuels him.
He knows what that, that is about.
So there's certain things in there, right?
So like mine best in the world at inspire and challenge people to think bigger
so that they can transform their life.
Transform their business.
That's the fulfillment is the, is the transformation.
And I used to have it flipped the way around, right?
Transform your business and transform your life.
And I'm like, you can't transform your business until
you transform your life first.
It's who you have to become.
So like that pulls for me.
And so like people that that love the transformation, people that
love to inspire and challenge, that's, that's kind of our.
Our purpose in there.
So I think there's some great exercises to be able to get in there to kind
of flush it out and, and listen, like all of this guys, listen,
you have to also let it marinate.
Like don't go through this process and run out and get the tattoo.
You gotta, you gotta try it on, you gotta try it on, and you're doing this
work, you're getting it, but you gotta put it into action to see if it stands.
If it stands up, um, like.
That, that's the biggest caveat going through this is you're
gonna get really good at it.
But this is why we revisit it every 90 days.
Right Joel?
And we probably dive a little bit deeper annually on it,
but I like it every 90 days.
It's like, is this still our value?
Is this still our purpose?
Does this still resonate with who we are?
Are we making decisions off of this?
So there's ways to always, you know, check it, but if you're going through this for
the first time or revisiting this and, and, you know, and it's been a while.
Land on it, but let it marinate, let it breathe for a little bit before you
run out and get the, get the tattoo.
Yeah.
It took, it took me, uh, it took me six, six months, uh, after
starting Growth Centric to when it, when I, when it clicked that
I was, I was missing something.
And so when talking about purpose for, for growth centric, it's that the world
needs entrepreneurs and that people deserve to work for great companies.
Dude.
I love that.
And I only had one of those two things in the beginning and it was, it just, I
knew it wasn't, it, something's missing.
And I finally just said, oh, well, it's just, it's two things.
It's both.
Yeah.
Yeah, dude, it is.
It's so good, man.
I love when you, when you flush that out and you told to me the
first time, and dude, it just hit.
I was like, dude, that is, and and, and I understood every angle where you
were coming from with it, just from your experience and your perspective
and why you were so passionate about that and why that was so important.
That's really, really good.
Part three, the final step in, in the exercise is setting that
big, hairy, audacious goal.
What's the mountain that you're, you're committed to climb and listen, not
everybody wants to scale Mount Everest.
You know, some people want to go to the top of Mount Scott.
Right Trav.
So, you know, there's, there's a couple paths up.
Mount Scott.
There's only one path up at Mount Everest that you can get
back down and, and, and survive.
So what is the mountain you're willing to climb?
The Big Harry audacious goal is the tangible, energizing, long-term mission
that focuses your team's efforts.
It's a, I would say 10.
You know, you can push it.
10, 25 year goal that's so big and compelling that it, that it unites and
galvanizes the entire organization.
It should feel about 70% achievable, but require you to be better
than you are today to get there.
Okay.
And I don't even know if it needs to be 70% achievable,
maybe, maybe 50, 50% chance.
I would like, I would wanna stack the odds more probability yes.
Than just a coin flip.
So being able to, to kind of get in there and, and have those reasoning.
So step one, choose, choose your BA, c flavor.
What, what of type of challenge most excites you.
Target, right?
Are we, are we trying to hit a quantitative goal, serve a thousand
families in a single year by X, Y, and Z?
Um, are we competitive focused on beating a specific rival to become
the number one independent real estate team in, in Oklahoma or passing, you
know, x, y, and Z in market share?
Do we, are we, are we a role model emulating the traits of a successful
company outside your industry, right.
To become the Ritz-Carlton of, of real estate?
Setting the national standard for excellent client experience.
Are we an internal transformation, right?
A fundamental change to your business model to successfully
transition from a single team in a multi-state expansion network with
10 locations by X, Y, and Z, right?
So pick your flavor, target competitive role model, internal transformation.
Then step two is the gut check, right?
So we've gotta run it through another gauntlet.
What is the gut check?
Gauntlet Run your drafted BHAG through these questions.
Okay?
This is important to to set it.
Does it set a clear finish line?
Can you win or lose?
Does it excite you on a gut level?
Is it audacious but not a fantasy?
Does it force you to build new capabilities and leave your comfort zone?
That's a big one.
'cause if you stay comfortable, you're not gonna ever hit it.
You have to get uncomfortable and, and remember, right?
Commitment, courage, capabilities, confidence.
So you might not have the confidence to get there because you have to develop
the capabilities for that to be true.
Will you be proud to be working on this for the next 10 years?
Will you be proud to work on this for the next 10 years?
And then the final step,
make it vivid, and this is where the vivid vision piece comes in.
Right?
Make it inev.
And that's one of my favorite concepts, inevitability thinking.
Right.
And Joel, you and I, I've talked about this.
Trav you might not have and and anybody listening in, so Leanne's son.
Fantastic world class athlete for his age, um, wants to play quarterback at LSU.
So how do we create the conditions to where playing quarterback
at LSU becomes inevitable?
Okay.
Who does LSU draft?
Who do, who do they recruit
to?
LSU.
Where, where, what schools?
What programs, what trainers, what, what summer programs?
What, seven on seven?
Like who do they, where do they go to get quarterbacks?
There's a trend there.
There's certain places that they look where, okay.
Once you know that, how do you get into those locations?
How do you get into those schools?
How do you get in with those trainers?
You get in with there, right?
And, and then it's how, how do you have to be mentally?
How do you have to be physically?
What grades do they look at?
What attributes do they look at?
And you go get those trainers and you build those relationships.
And so that's kind of the thought process of how do you make success inevitable?
And you gotta have inevitability thinking for, for that to, for that to be true.
So A-A-B-A-G needs an emotional component, right?
So.
What's the vivid description, Joel?
The book is Vivid Vision.
What?
Who's the author of that?
Cameron Harold.
Go through it.
It's frustrating, but it's, but it.
It's great, right?
Because he prompts you to think he never gives you the answer.
He, he, he prompts you into thinking through this and, and, and creating that
vivid, that vivid vision of what it looks and feels like to achieved your BHAC.
Imagine.
Imagine you're a journalist writing a story about your company in
the year you want to achieve it.
That's a good one, right?
You're a journalist writing about your company in the year
that you achieve your BAG.
What's the headline of the article?
What are your clients saying about you?
What is your team celebrating?
What has been your impact to the community?
How has your role as CEO evolved this description makes the goal
tangible and emotionally resonant?
That's a great exercise.
So good
vivid, vivid vision, and then your, your a journalist writing the article
about your company that it just achieved this BHAG that brings it to life.
And that's, that's so important.
Yeah.
That's incredible.
I like 10 years too.
And this, this is a good example of, um, of this system that you've
developed kind of being pressure tested over the years because we've
read all these different things like you were talking about that says you
should have this, it should be that, it should be that, it should be that.
And it's like, well, you, there's, there's space for all of these.
So, you know, so you, you've taken some of the best pieces
from different methodologies.
Put them through dozens of, you know, seven and eight figure businesses
and figured out, Hey, I think this is what works best for most people.
Yeah.
So I really like kind of that, that distilling process that you did with
this, because I've always felt, and this like what you put together here
is the first time I'm like, yes, yes.
Like that thing was, that thing was missing this piece and that
thing was missing this piece.
So I just love it.
But I like 10 years, two for two reasons.
One is it, it, it gives you the freedom to go incredibly big.
The Mount Everest, but it also gives the people who don't want to do Mount Everest
a a, a way to accomplish something big without having to do anything super crazy.
Yeah.
Right.
Like if, if, if, if I, you know, if we're at a hundred transactions and I
want to get to a thousand, like that's, that's a big, hairy, audacious goal.
But if we talk about 10 years, I don't have to double every year.
To make that happen, we can, we can have sustained growth.
We can go at, at our own pace.
Yes.
It's still uncomfortable.
Yes.
It's, you know, it's not guaranteed success, but so I, I really
like the tenures too, for both.
Everybody fits into that.
Yeah, for sure.
And, and, and it can be, you know, we always, we always kind of default to oh,
a revenue goal or a transaction goal, but it, it can be a profit goal, it could be a
mm-hmm.
You know, what's, what's, uh, Brett Jennings working on right now?
Right?
Yeah.
Of a hundred, a hundred agents
that make a hundred, a hundred a million a year, GCI.
Right?
Like, what a creative, powerful way to, to express that.
You know, it doesn't have to be a revenue or a transaction goal.
It can be a, you know, number of agents on my team who are
making over a hundred grand.
Yeah.
And he hit the original BAG.
Right.
So he had to reset it and he hit it.
His original BAG was to do a billion in production.
Yeah.
Then, then he came back and said, you know, a hundred agents that
each, do I wanna help a hundred agents do a million in GCI each.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
So it's fantastic, brother.
I appreciate you and, um, I'm, I'm loving.
You know, this, uh, the agent to CO series, we're through part two.
Next week we will have the operating system, the CEO operating system, um, is
gonna be the next step in the process.
And I look forward to, uh, jumping in with everybody and,
uh, continuing the conversation.
Same.
Awesome.
I'm really excited.
Appreciate you guys.
See you.
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