Monday morning – live from EntreLeadership!

Monday morning snapshot:

We’ve just been put on notice that Dave Ramsey’s energy level is illegal in the Bahamas (so we have some people working with the local legislature on getting that changed).

This morning Dave is teaching:

• Dreams, Visions & Goal Setting: Without vision the people perish.  Goals are vision with work clothes on. If you aim at nothing you’ll hit it every time (Ziglar). You need goals in every area of your life.

This is the stuff we start with because we can’t help our attendees until we find out where they are and where they want to go.  Establishing goals gives us a framework to build off of.  Dave is a goal freak!  He requires each of us to have goals and evaluate them early and often.  I love working in an organization where everyone appreciates the value of goal setting.  It puts extra energy in the air.

• Time Management & Organization: Spending 15 minutes on your to do list could free up as much as 2 hours in your work day.  You must learn to manage time or the lack of it will manage you.  Most leaders use MBC (Management by Crisis)…don’t do this.  Have a plan.  Don’t have a meeting without an agenda.  Use the stand up technique when the meeting’s over.  Teach your team to respect your calendar.

Keeping track of your time is as important as keeping track of your money.  As a business leader, your personal time is the most valuable asset to the growth of your organization.  Dave is giving tons of great advice on how to get control of your calendar and increase efficiency.  Two of my favorite books on this subject are Time Traps, by Todd Duncan, and Death by Meeting, by Patrick Lincioni.

• Personality Styles and Mission Statements: Understanding how to speak the unique language of your team members will allow you to motivate them in a way that works for them.  Everyone is wired a little bit different and we each tend toward a certain communication style. We teach the DISC model: D = Dominant, Decisive, Doer, Driver, Bullet points and bottom line focused. I – Influencer, Outgoing, Fun, People Oriented, Playful, Party looking for a place to happen. S – Steady, Stable, Loyal, Reserved, Slow processors, Golden Retriever. C – Compliant, Detailed, Facts, Calculated, Task oriented.

We use the DISC model personality style assessment in our hiring process to make sure we’re putting people in the right position based on their natural strengths.  Each of our EntreLeadership attendees take this test before they come, and they each get a unique 20-30 page report on their own personality style.  In addition to covering personality style’s, Dave is giving our attendees solid information on the value of a personal mission statement, and a company mission statement that goes way beyond ‘brochure filler’ material.

• Communication: A winning culture of communication says “When in doubt, ask!”  Everyone on the team turns in a weekly report.  We have a mandatory staff meeting for the entire team every week.  When in doubt, over communicate.  The right hand needs to know what the left hand is doing.

Leaders must learn to communicate effectively.  Picture your team members at the bottom of the sea wearing scuba gear with an air hose leading from their gear to an air tank in the boat on top of the water.  You’re in the boat.  Communication is the air.  Your job is to make sure the air keeps flowing…when communication flow stops, the team dies.

JUST IN FROM LAST NIGHT:

Brian Williams is our Creative Director for Dave Ramsey.  He put together a stellar video that played last night between my welcome talk and Dave’s introduction.  It brought tons of of energy to the room to set Dave up for a great kick off!  Thanks Brian for all of your hard work on this project: