Stay Fit and Avoid Weight Gain While Traveling

6 ways to avoid having your next business trip ruin your fitness routine

We hear a lot of pleas for help at this magazine, and not all of them come from the interns we occasionally dangle out the window by their ankles. In fact, the most common cry we hear goes something like this: Hey, Men's Health! I have no problem eating right and working out when I'm home. But whenever I travel, I turn into Camryn Manheim. Anything I can do? 

To which we'd like to answer: Heck, yeah.

There's a boatload of reasons traveling sabotages even the most disciplined man's eating and fitness habits. Your schedule is disrupted. You're surrounded by gobs of unhealthy food. Your barbells are replaced by a dorky suitcase on wheels. But here's the thing: If you learn to recognize these potholes—and avoid them—you can actually return from your next trip leaner and healthier than when you left. So grab your bags. It's time to learn the new rules of the road.

The Airport Expands Your Gut

Today, traveling means waiting. And waiting? That means eating. Not only are you within striking distance of the airport food court, but also the normal aggravation you endure when traveling fires up your body's stress hormones—actually making you crave those sugary, high-calorie foods you find at the airport. 

The result: A couple of hours in an airport terminal can easily turn into a couple of thousand extra calories in your diet. For instance, munch a Classic Cinnabon while you're waiting at the gate and you've ingested 700 calories. A Starbucks blueberry crumb cake? Another 800 calories. Worst of all, those high-sugar, high-carbohydrate foods are the least satisfying when it comes to reducing your hunger—and the best at spiking blood levels of insulin, a hormone that stimulates fat storage.

Solve the problem: Pack more than your clothes "These days, the food you put in your carry-on bag is every bit as vital as the clothes you put in your suitcase," says Pamela Peeke, M.D., Ph.D., author of Fight Fat after Forty. 

So pack travel-friendly foods like snack packs of StarKist Tuna Salad and Crackers, beef jerky, and low-calorie meal-replacement bars, powders, and ready-to-drink shakes like Meso-Tech (muscletech.com). 

But don't buy just any energy bar. "Instead of your typical carbohydrate-heavy endurance bar or snack, look for one that provides a minimum of 20 grams (g) of protein. It'll be more satisfying," says Dr. Peeke. 

The Flight Makes You a Blimp

It's no secret that airplane air is drier than George Hamilton's skin. (With a relative humidity of less than 10 percent, the cabin is twice as arid as the Sahara Desert.) But most travelers don't realize that breathing dry air can turn you into a blimp. "Dehydration due to airline air is a major cause of fatigue, and fatigue gives you a reason to eat," says Dr. Peeke.

Solve the problem: Start drinking and flying Keep your appetite in check with a solid liquidation plan. Drink 8 ounces of water before your flight. More important, bring one 16-ounce bottle of water for every 2 hours you'll be in the air, and down it all before you land.

As for airline food, follow this three-step process when you can: Pass on any food with "pas" in its name—pasta and pastries, for instance; make sure a protein dish (chicken, beef, or fish) is your main entree; and request seconds of any fresh vegetables they serve. 

Snacks? Ask for nuts or fruit instead of pretzels and chips. And choose 1 percent milk as your beverage of choice (other than water). Its perfect combination of protein (8 g), carbohydrates (11 g), and fat (2 g) will fill you up and keep you that way better than nearly any other snack.

Working Out is Hard Work

At home, fitting in your workout is simple—it's a regular part of that monotonous, my-soul-is-dying rut you call a life. But things are less predictable on the road, and missing a workout can make your belt feel tighter. A review board for the American College of Sports and Medicine found that, on average, men need to exercise at least 200 minutes a week just to maintain their weight.

The Hotel "Gym" Is a Joke

Many business travelers say it's nearly impossible to find a hotel with a decent gym. Too often, the "state-of-the-art exercise facility" the brochure crows about is a supply closet with a 15-year-old NordicTrack. 

Solve the problem: Make reservations without reservation Lack of decent workout space might be the most common travel problem, but it's one of the easiest to solve. Try these tips:

Book the right hotel. Visit fitforbusiness.com. The site rates the top hotel workout facilities in 280 cities around the world and provides a list of hotels that offer free access to local health clubs.

Use your room. Try the go-anywhere workout on the next spread. It's the best we've seen for mimicking a free-weight program.

Find a gym nearby. Use the Men's Health Gym Finder to locate fitness clubs, health centers, gyms, and sports groups wherever you are traveling.

If all else fails, swim. Even if the hotel pool isn't big enough for laps, just tread water for 14 minutes. Research shows that's enough activity for a 180-pound man to burn 200 calories.

Booze? You Lose

Frequent business travel can drive a man to drink—especially if he's on an expense account. That's okay occasionally, but if you make heavy drinking a nightly habit, you'll max out your pants faster than you do the company credit card. "Besides being packed with extra calories, alcohol compromises your willpower. So you're less likely to stick to your eating plan," says Althea Zancosky, R.D., an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman in Philadelphia.

Indeed, toss down four or five drinks and you're logging the caloric equivalent of a slice of cheesecake and an 8-ounce sirloin. Worse, you'll be more likely to order the cheesecake.

Solve the problem: Put a governor on your alcohol intake—and your appetite  Remember, you're on business, not vacation, so drink as you would at home. When you're out with clients or business associates, make friends with Tom Collins and Bloody Mary. Each has fewer than 130 calories.

Take control of your food intake by ordering lean meats—chicken, fish, steaks with "loin" in the name. They're rich in protein, which makes you feel full while you're eating. And they're not easily upsized. Round out your meal with a house salad and a side of vegetables. 

Minibars Create a Mega-You
Hotels may be the worst diet trap since Thomas Jefferson introduced french fries to the American colonies in the late 1700s. Room service offers high-calorie, restaurant-quality food delivered straight to your door and charged to your room, no cash needed. And the minibar isn't an amenity, or a "bar" at all. It's an evil little fat-making refrigerator with prices that make the $1.25-per-local-call charge seem cheap. 

Solve the problem: Sabotage the system. Make room service and that damnable fridge work for you, instead of against you. 

Don't open the room-service menu. "You're more likely to eat what you should if you're not sidetracked by a slew of exotic choices," says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of Food and Mood. Instead, simply order a grilled chicken breast, salmon steak, or sirloin with a side of steamed vegetables. "They'll be happy to make it for you."

Make a preemptive order. Once you've settled in, place an order for a plain turkey sandwich, no chips, with the mayonnaise on the side. Then tuck it away in the refrigerator in case you feel the need to feed later that night (or don't have time to stop for breakfast the next morning). 

Create your own minibar. Ask the concierge for directions to the nearest convenience store and pick up easy-to-eat-foods like yogurt, fruit, and lunchmeat. When you shop for your own snacks, you'll be more likely to choose them over the ones supplied by the hotel. 

Source: https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/a19538322/stay-fit-while-traveling/

ENTREPRENEURIAL COUPLES

Every year, millions of couples take on the challenge of starting a business together. For some, it is the best decision they ever made. Not only do they get to spend more time together, they get to pursue their passion side-by-side with their best friend. But for others, it becomes a constant source of contention, where the stress and struggle eventually become so inflated that the business and sadly, the relationship, implode.

So what is the difference between the couples that make it and the couples that break up? Why do some succeed while others do not?

The stresses with starting a business are inevitable — the financial risk, the long periods of uncertainty, the seemingly endless list of tasks to accomplish. It’s all par for the course when you’re building a business from the ground up. That’s why you must have structure and strategy, not only with your business, but with your partner. By implementing your own working system, which includes rules, rituals and shared working habits, you and your partner can create a healthy work relationship, and ultimately, a happy personal relationship.

To help you better understand how to navigate this process, here are 5 tips to strengthen your business and your romance:

BUILD A STRESS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Your ability to manage the stress that comes with starting your own business is even more important when your life partner is your business partner.

When someone experiences a stressful situation, the body sounds an alarm and quickly transfers control from the rational brain over to the emotional brain, which is also known as the amygdala. The amygdala can be a bit dramatic, making bad things worse, and worse things catastrophic. So when the day-to-day setbacks or typical pressures of starting a business occur, the amygdala thinks the sky is falling. All rational thoughts go out the window, and the emotional nonsense that has gripped our brains can lead us to say or do some hurtful things.

This is why you and your spouse need to develop a stress management plan that includes approaches that elicit a relaxation response (deep abdominal breathing, visualization, yoga), ways of reframing and discussing irrational thoughts (a detailed communication plan), or a designated timeout period so that if a situation becomes too intense, you both take a 15-minute walk on your own then come back to resume communication.

LET THE BEDROOM BE A BEDROOM

The bedroom should be seen as a resting place, where you only do two things that start with the letter “s”. And no, I’m not talking about “strategize” or “send emails.” When we do anything other than that in the bedroom — work on our laptops while in bed, send emails from our smartphones, bring work talk into pillow talk — we condition our brains to think that the bedroom is meant for those things. According to a Harvard sleep study, we begin to disassociate the bedroom with the idea of peace and passion.

Discussing work issues or doing work in the bedroom can also have physiological effects that impact the health of our relationship.These types of activities are both stress-stimulating that cause the body to release cortisol, which is associated with increased alertness. This means it will be difficult to fall asleep, and even more difficult to fall into a deep sleep. Lack of sleep means you won’t be your best the next day.

When you work together, it’s easy to make the bedroom a surrogate office. Just remember, as harmless as this may seem, it actually can wreak havoc on the intimacy of your relationship. So do personal and your business relationship a favor, whatever you need to do for or discuss about work, just let it rest until the morning.

KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL

When you work alongside your spouse, it’s easy to fall into the trap of treating your “colleague” with less than professional standards. But just because you are comfortable with your partner doesn’t mean civility should take a back seat.

Keep in mind that you are starting a business, so use your business etiquette. This includes:

• saying “please” and “thank you”

• not pointing at your partner with your index finger

• not interrupting or over-talking each other

• being mindful of your language

• not taking personal calls during work sessions

• giving your undivided attention when your partner is speaking

Keeping your relationship professional does not need to mean being cold and distant. It simply means being mindful. By treating your spouse with respect, you will create a happier, healthier work environment, and ultimately, a happier and healthier home.

GO OFF-SITE

For most couples starting a business together, it means transforming your home into your office. Your kitchen becomes your break room, your dining room table becomes your conference room, and everywhere in between becomes brainstorm central. After a while, it may start to feel like you’re living at the office, because, well…you sort of are.

To avoid the groundhog’s day scenario that working at home can create, select a day every week that you and your partner relocate to somewhere outside your home to work. Not only will you help break the monotony, it may just help you be more productive.

By changing your environment, even just for one day, you can help stimulate creativity and inspiration. You are exposing yourself to new surroundings, new people, and new energy. This means that you will find a new perspective, make new connections, and receive new inputs — all of which can help foster the birth of new ideas.

Going off-site also creates a new tradition for you and your partner that you can look forward to each week. It becomes “your thing” together, where, for instance, you take turns choosing the off-site location. And this sense of camaraderie and teamwork will ultimately enhance and empower your bond, making you better life partners as well as business partners.

PAY EACH OTHER COMPLIMENTS

Every day, make it a point to recognize each other’s strengths. If your partner puts a significant amount of effort into a task or does something well, do not let it go unnoticed. Even if the day has been stressful and unproductive, instead of dwelling on the negatives, redirect the focus to what did go well. There may be days where this means telling your partner something as simple as: “I’m so impressed by how resilient your are.” Just be sure to be sincere. Paying a compliment that seems contrived can actually work against you.

This advice should also be applied to your relationship in social settings. Compliments shouldn’t start and stop when you are alone with your partner. In fact, it is just as important to tout each other’s strengths when you are in public. This lets your partner know that you not only recognize their attributes, but are proud of them, which gives them a sense of pride in themselves and the relationship.

Compliments show appreciation, which allow your partner to feel valued. And when you feel valued, you feel more committed to your work, and ultimately, your relationship.

There is no way around it — starting a business with your spouse can be difficult. But it can also provide great rewards, and not just financially speaking.

Going into business with your spouse can give you and your partner opportunities you may not get otherwise. You have the chance to come together over a shared belief, work under the same mission, and strive towards the same goal. It’s not just time you will be sharing, it’s passion. And through this passion, you become closer and more connected. Essentially, you are enhancing your commitment to each other by your commitment to your business.

So take the time to develop structure and strategies, not just with your business, but with your business partner, and learn how to make working with your spouse work to your advantage. It may just be the best thing to ever happen to your professional and personal life.

Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/entrepreneurial-couples/

Entrepreneurship is Not as Glamorous as it Looks

Gary Vaynerchuk talks about he current state of entrepreneurship and how gender plays a role in it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE

The title of this blog post simply cannot be overstated – the importance of understanding people. But what does that mean? And does it really apply to you?

Firstly, this applies to everyone – it doesn’t matter if you’re big or small, young or old, American or Indian, your ability to understand the people you encounter throughout your life will be one of the primary determining factors of whether you’re happy, wealthy and successful or not.

That seems like a big statement to make, however when you start to examine the human species and our need to coexist in vast societies in order to thrive, it becomes increasingly clear that if you can’t understand – and therefore successfully co-habit with – your fellow humans, then life for you is likely to be short, miserable and extremely lonely.

But what about the hermits, you cry! In return, I ask you this – take a good honest look at their lives; is that really the life you want for yourself? For your loved ones? For your children? Okay, so let’s cut the bullshit. Yes – people have managed to survive in the most destitute of circumstances, but that’s just the thing – they survived. Now let me ask you this – you’ve got one life; do you want to survive, or do you want to thrive?

For me, it’s ALL about living this life to the maximum and THRIVING all the way to the grave. The only way to do that is to push your own limits every single day, and to make your main priority in life asking better and better questions… questions are everything, and the right questions will change your life in ways you cannot even imagine.

But what does it mean to understand other people? Well, for me, it means to be constantly working towards achieving a certain level of comprehension around the subject of why people do the things they do. Why do they react in different ways to the same situation or stimulus? Why do people get crazy about sports? How do you inspire someone to be the best version of themselves by helping them to unlock the deepest depths of their unique mental capacities and empower them to unleash them upon the world?

But do you know why this is all so important? Do you know why it’s imperative you find answers to these questions? I’ll tell you; because when you enable others to understand themselves, and the limitless possibilities that lay before them in their lives by answering these paradigm shifting questions, you unlock the doors of limitless potential for yourself also.

Think about it, if you can unlock the world for someone else, then that means you have the key and you know how to find the door – just think about what that means for you in your life! Simon Sinek said it perfectly when he describes his realisation that we’re going about life all wrong – we’re going after our dreams, trying to achieve our goals and conceiving ways that we can be all that we want to be… when really we should be asking ourselves better questions – how can you help others achieve their dreams (so they in turn can help you achieve yours along the way)? How can you help others achieve their goals(so they in turn can help you achieve yours along the way)? How can you conceive ways to help others become all that they have dreamed of becoming (so that they too can dream with you about how you can achieve the way)?

Surround yourself by inspired people, and you too shall become inspired. Always work to inspire others – push them beyond yourself, and you will find that they often reach back and return the favour. The focus should always be on the difference you can make to the lives of others, rather than on the difference you can make for your own life – focus on the former and everything else takes care of itself.

Though, I digress.

You need to understand what makes people tick, and why they do the things they do in order to best manipulate your own life. That word – manipulation – is soaked in negative connotations. I should imagine most readers cringed at the mention of it in that context; manipulation of your life through the manipulation of the lives of others? Sounds terrible, and certainly more than a little conceited!

Well, not really – keep your knickers on ladies and gents.

You, and everyone around you, are manipulating events, people and situations every day of your life. As parents we manipulate our children through proven persuasion techniques and tried and tested methods that we develop over the years in order to get them to follow our rules, and conform (to a point) to acting in the way that we desire (dictate). As human beings we are adept at manipulation, and as with the gun and the hammer, just because it CAN be used with malicious intent certainly doesn’t mean that it’s ALWAYS used as such, nor that it has no value in everyday society.

Think of it this way, if we were crap at getting the things we want in life, then we would be pretty crap at surviving long term as a species – it’s pretty necessary in order for us to thrive, and sometimes that means utilising our skills of manipulating our environment to put us ahead of our competition – often in the past, this was a matter of life or death – survival of the fittest, and this instinct lives on in us all to this day.

Understanding all of this not only empowers you to get what you want out of life, but it also protects you from those in our societies who would look to exploit these principals and innate human characteristics. In fact, these techniques can be so reliable simply because they are built into our nervous systems – these programmed responses are literally a part of our DNA, and this is what leaves us susceptible to manipulation. It all works on a sub-conscious level, and so most of the time you have no idea what’s going on, or even that you are being influenced as much as you are. So in understanding and possessing these skills yourself, you are protecting yourself from the bad actors in the crowd, whilst still getting the most from life.

At a rudimentary level, it’s boils down to one thing – if you don’t understand people, then you’re likely to struggle in getting along with people, and your success in life depends on your ability to integrate into society in order to extract the benefits from it. If you don’t get along with others, others are less likely to be interested in building relationships with you, and opportunities are the babies of well nurtured relationships.

Your network is your net worth – financially, spiritually, and inspirationally. Learn to understand others and you shall not only learn to understand yourself, and what makes you tick, but you shall also fund the key that unlocks the untapped potential in your life… and when you do that, everything changes.

Source: https://littlegreysays.com/2018/05/09/the-importance-of-understanding-people/

WHO COMES FIRST – YOU OR OTHERS?

SEE HOW "SELF-SORTING" EMPLOYEES CAN MAKE OR BREAK A COMPANY

Posted by: Tony Robbins

If you’re involved in hiring people, wouldn’t you want to know where an applicant fits on this scale?Some people look at human interactions primarily in terms of what’s in it for them personally, some in terms of what they can do for themselves and others. Of course, people don’t always fall into one extreme or the other. If you sort only by self, you become a self-absorbed egotist.

Not long ago, a major airline found that 95% of its complaints involved 5% of its employees. These 5% sorted strongly by self; they were most interested in looking out for themselves, not others. Were they poor employees? Yes and no. They were obviously in the wrong jobs and obviously doing a poor job, though they might have been smart, hardworking and congenial.

It goes back to building a team that works. They may have been the right people, put in the wrong slots.

So what did the airline do? It replaced them with people who sorted by others. The company determined this through group interviews, in which prospective employees were asked why they wanted to work for the airline. Most of the individuals thought they were being judged by the answers they gave in front of the group, when in fact they were being judged by their behavior as members of the audience. That is, individuals who paid the most attention and gave the most eye contact, smiles or support to the person who was doing the speaking at the front of the room were given the highest rating, while those who paid little or no attention and were in their own world while others were talking were considered to be primarily self-sorting and were not hired.

The company’s complaint ratio dropped over 80% as a result of this move. That’s why metaprograms are so important in the business world. How can you evaluate a person if you don’t know what motivates him? How can you match the job you have available with the correct person in terms of required skills, ability to learn, and internal makeup? A lot of very smart people spend their career totally frustrated because they’re doing jobs that don’t make the best use of their inherent capabilities. A liability in one context can be a valuable asset in another.

In a service business, like an airline, you obviously need people who sort by others. If you’re hiring an auditor, you might want someone who would sort by self. How many times have you dealt with someone who left you in a confused state because he did his job well intellectually but poorly emotionally? It’s like a doctor who sorts strongly by self. He may be a brilliant diagnostician, but unless you feel he cares about you, he won’t be totally effective. In fact, someone like that would probably be better off as a researcher than as a clinician.

Putting the right person in the right job remains one of the biggest problems in American business. But it’s a problem that could be dealt with if people knew how to evaluate the ways that job applicants processed information.

At this point, it’s worth noting that not all metaprograms are created equal. Are people better off moving toward things rather than away from them? Perhaps. Would the world be a better place if people sorted more by others and less by self? Probably. But we have to deal with life the way it is, not the way we wish it were.

You may wish your son moved towards things rather than away. If you want to effectively communicate with him, you have to do it in a way that works, not in a way that plays to your idea of how it should work. The key is to observe a person as carefully as possible, listen to what he says, what sort of metaphors he uses, what his physiology reveals, when he’s attentive and when he’s bored.

People reveal their metaprograms on a consistent, ongoing basis. It doesn’t take much concentrated study to figure out what people’s tendencies are or how they are sorting at the moment. To determine if people sort by self or others, see how much attention they pay to other people. Do they lean toward people and have facial expressions that reflect concern for what others are saying, or do they lean back and remain bored and unresponsive?

Everyone sorts by self some of the time, and it’s important to do so sometimes. They key is what you do consistently and whether your sorting procedure enables you to produce the results you desire.

Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, philanthropist and the nation’s #1 Life and Business Strategist. Author of five internationally bestselling books, including the recent New York Times #1 best-seller UNSHAKEABLE, Mr. Robbins has empowered more than 50 million people from 100 countries through his audio, video and life training programs. He created the #1 personal and professional development program of all time, and more than 4 million people have attended his live seminars.

Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/leadership-impact/comes-first-others/

HOW TO MAKE EMPLOYEES INTO LEADERS

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY EMPOWERING YOUR EMPLOYEES TO TAKE CHARGE

Posted by: Team Tony

You may only think of leadership in the context of how you lead your business, but in fact, this is a critical error that you should avoid. Leadership should be part of the everyday culture of your business. Employees at all levels of the company can lead, and when they do practice great leadership in their work, they will enjoy greater empowerment.

Follow these tips for turning employees into leaders and increase your company’s productivity as your empowered employees take charge:

FOSTER INFLUENCE

In order to lead your employees, you must master the skill of influence. Harnessing the power of identity is essential to influence.

What is your identity? It is the set of rules and beliefs with which you define yourself and provide for others so that they may define you. You call your business’ identity its brand.

Ask your employees the following questions: How would you like to shape your personal brand; how would you like to describe it? How would you describe our business brand? Once they give their answers, assign them the task of fleshing out and expanding their sense of the business identity so that they can clearly communicate it to others. They will be the force behind that business brand moving forward.

LEAD COURAGEOUSLY

All people, including your employees, demand courage in the people who lead them. They need to have total confidence in your willingness and ability to protect the business and make the right choices under difficult circumstances. When you lead by example and demonstrate courageous leadership to your employees, you will inspire employee loyalty and awaken their sense of courage.

Innovation, emerging intact from adverse situations and beating tough competitors all require courageous leadership — from employees at all levels. Without this kind of courage, the status quo always reigns supreme, and this is not how success happens in business. Show and tell your team that you expect nothing but courage from them, and that they can expect the same from you.

BE AN AUTHENTIC, TRANSPARENT LEADER

An authentic leader is honest and transparent in all things, including in the personal face they show to the world. His or her actions align with expressed core values. An authentic, transparent leader inspires confidence and loyalty, not concern about possible ulterior motives.

Leaders who are authentic and transparent don’t keep employees guessing; they are forthcoming about challenges and setbacks, not just with good news. You don’t have to get every detail right, but you do have to walk the walk in terms of owning your own mistakes and create measures to fix them so that your employees feel empowered to own and fix theirs, too.

This kind of authenticity is contagious. Let transparency and accountability be central to your organizational culture.

DON’T DELEGATE — LEVERAGE RESULTS FROM YOUR TEAM

You can’t do everything yourself, but if you focus on simple delegation, you are missing precious opportunities. When you delegate work to employees, you order them to complete that task. You’ve handed them the rules and the expected outcome with little room for creativity and problem-solving.

Instead, try to leverage the task at hand. Inspire your employees by communicating what you need from the work and letting them figure out how to make it happen. Don’t divorce yourself from the process, but don’t micromanage it, either. Instead, support your employees as they work toward the common outcome. In this way, you are sharing your goals with them so you can work together to see them through.

By leading in this way, you are showing your employees how to lead their own task-driven workday. They become inspired by the common goals of the business and feel far more invested in outcomes.

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

Great leaders are great communicators. There is no exception to this rule. Without the ability to make others understand goals, outcomes and missions, you cannot inspire employees. Great communication is part of the bedrock beneath a successful team because it forges true connections between people.

Teach your employees effective communication by example. They will master these techniques over time, which adds the value and efficiency of great leadership to your business at all levels.

IGNITE PASSION

If you are genuinely passionate about your business, your enthusiasm will infect your employees. The reverse is also true. If you want your employees to lead, they need to share your passion for your business, and only you can help them do that. The best leaders exude passion in every aspect of their work, whether they run the entire business or are just getting in off the ground floor.

SELF-AWARENESS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

One thing that most great leaders share is emotional intelligence. Without it, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to be a self-aware leader. The self-aware leader understands his or her strengths and weaknesses, but doesn’t stop there. He or she also works to maximize strengths and improve in weak areas.

This kind of leader inspires employees to engage in the same kind of introspective self-analysis. The result is a more productive team of self-aware and self-motivated people.

STAY APPROACHABLE

Leaders who inspire others to strive for more welcome opposing opinions, criticism and new challenges. They know that they have nothing to fear, and that this kind of feedback will only enhance their performance and ability to lead. This kind of leader invites employees into active roles in the business process. He or she inspires employees, helping them be unafraid to innovate and contribute.

Remember, you don’t have to exhibit each and every one of these qualities right now. Take a measured approach and work on your leadership over time. Meanwhile, your employees will be growing their own leadership skills as you model great tactics they can use. As your own leadership style thrives and deepens, so will the leadership your employees exhibit as part of your team.

Team Tony

Team Tony cultivates, curates and shares Tony Robbins’ stories and core principles, to help others achieve an extraordinary life.

Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/productivity-performance/make-employees-leaders/

MINDFUL SCALING

HOW TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS SO IT GROWS QUICKLY – BUT IS ALSO SUSTAINABLE

Posted by: Kerry Song

When we think about successful startups or small businesses, we think about companies that create massive growth in a short period of time. In fact, we think of “hockey stick growth” – where there is an initial period of linear growth, but once the business hits an inflection point, revenue shoots up sharply towards the sky.

But while that kind of growth may be the long-term goal for any startup, too often, founders place their focus on achieving it right away – some will even seek outside investment just to jumpstart that turning point. The problem with that sort of tunnel vision is that it diminishes the importance of the period of linear growth that comes before the rising handle of the hockey stick – that is, the blade.

The blade typically lasts about three to four years, and it is where the most important work is being done. It’s where you, as a founder, will be doing all the heavy-lifting – juggling sales, marketing, operations, production all while revenue barely trickles in. And it will also be where you are establishing the very foundation of your business.

The blade period is where you establish your core values, your company culture and your brand identity. It’s where you will develop the client experience you want to provide and create the initial business model when you take your product or service to market. And it’s where you will establish standards and guidelines that you believe are strong enough to help you endure the emotional, psychological, tactical and even physical turbulence that is inherent in starting a business of any kind. In short, it’s the make-or-break period of any business.

Scaling a business is not easy to do, which is why it should be done as thoughtfully and meticulously as possible. Because in the long run, when you do hit that surging growth curve, you will want as solid of a foundation as possible to hold you up. So rather than focusing solely on the massive growth numbers you need to hit, strategize and execute the things you must do to build a business that will last. Here are four places for you to consider:

PERFECT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

With their focus on massive growth, many founders forget to ensure that their product or service is devoid of problems or errors. They often figure that they will just fix it after getting more users or more distribution. This “just ship it” approach has worked well for many tech companies, because in many cases, all it takes is one tweak to some back-end code that with one press of a button is applied across a number of touch points – hence, a scaled fix. But for many businesses, the “fix” is not as easy. So, if you don’t work out the kinks and get rid of the bugs now, they will only be exacerbated when you scale.

Founders also become fixated on creating a product or service that is scalable, rather than one that is of excellent quality. But that order should be reversed. It doesn’t matter if it’s scalable if it isn’t a great market fit. In fact, it’s wise to do things that don’t scale early on. That way, you can use the feedback to find the issues, then to go back to the drawing board – following the learning curve to perfecting your product.

Working on the issues in your first version also helps you assume more control over the scaling process, because you will have a deeper understanding of what you want and what you need your product or service to be. Plus, each iteration builds upon the last. And if that base model has not been perfected, you risk going down the wrong path entirely.

CREATE THOUGHTFUL PROCESSES AND OPERATIONS

Scaling doesn’t just involve growing upward and outward, it also means ensuring that your internal processes and operations are functioning seamlessly. The last thing you want is to start losing customers you’ve worked so hard to acquire because some part of your infrastructure is weak. Granted, some of the systems and processes that work when your company is in its nascent stages won’t work on a massive scale. So as growth ensues, you will have to adapt and implement new systems. However, by establishing thoughtful processes and operations, you will be able to really establish your company’s narrative – that is, who you are and how you want your company to run.

For example, consider the way you take orders. Perhaps in the earliest stages, you are using a simple e-commerce solution. And that may work when you are only receiving 20 or so orders a day. But as you scale, the system may become overwhelmed and many of the orders will get lost in the shuffle – so you will need to recruit new solutions.

The point, though, is that in the blade period, you are establishing key tenets of your business that you will want to keep no matter how big you grow. You will have certain pieces on lockdown – when the customer receives notification that the order has been processed, how long before the order ships, what types of communication lines must be set up between the order and production, how long it take for the order to ship. You will also know that you want to maintain a high quality of customer service and experience – so that the customer has complete transparency on their order and can always expect delivery at a certain time and in a certain capacity.

By doing things that don’t scale, you can really establish who you are as a company and how you want to fit into your customers’ lives. And that starts with running through your internal processes and operations. Because even if those systems change as you grow, you will want to uphold the standards and expectations you have established – because that’s what preserves your company’s character and integrity.

ESTABLISH YOUR TEAM

It may seem obvious that you have to establish a strong team if you want to scale. After all, the quality of leadership can make or break your company. And each new hire can be seen as an asset you acquired to help further your company’s growth. It’s also clear that the management structures that will work well with a company of 15 will not work with a company of 150, so you must focus on building a flexible team that can readily adapt as your business grows.

But what might not be as apparent is that your team also consists of the external relationships you have built. What suppliers do you use? What about partnerships with other companies? How are your relationships with other entities in your industry? And perhaps most importantly, how are the relationships you have established with your customer base?

One of the best things about a small business is the ability to establish intimate relationships with your customers. You get to give them the experience that you want, from beginning to end. And the goal should always be to create a raving fan – someone who will be a staunch advocate for your brand, who helps spread the word and your message.

Remember, the community that you create around your business can bolster your foundation so that you have even more strength and leverage as you grow. So take the time to really build the “team” that will propel you into the future.

BUILD YOUR BRAND

Last, and certainly not least, spend this time building your brand: Learn who you are as a company and what you offer your customers. How do you compare to the competition? What do you have that no one else does? What are your biggest weaknesses? What makes you so powerful? What is your message? How do you disrupt your industry?

It could take years to answer these questions. It’s not enough to speculate; you must be able to answer from experience. The beautiful part about this is that it also affords you the opportunity to make changes where necessary. Smaller businesses have the benefit of being able to shift gears more readily than larger corporations. So if your answers signal a need for a new approach, use that as an opportunity to innovate and adapt.

Remember, your brand will also set the tone for your company’s culture. It will set the standard for how you make your hires. It will help you establish the kind of client experience you want. It will impact marketing, sales and design efforts, and it will influence the kind of company you ultimately become.

So take the time and do it right. Scale thoughtfully. Embrace the growth mindset, but be mindful as you do so. Because massive growth is one thing, but it’s sustainable growth that makes for a lasting company.

Kerry Song

Kerry Song is a writer and producer with a background in economics and finance. Her passion is to create meaningful content that engages and empowers the audience to become more mindful and more compassionate with themselves and with others.

Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/mindful-scaling/

Accelerated Learning: How To Get Good at Anything in 20 Hours

Learning is the key to progressing in life, so wouldn't it be cool if we could accelerate our rate of learning?

We have such little time here on this planet, and of that we spend so much surviving, working, socialising, caring for others... so how can we maximise how effective we are in the short space of time we get each day to dedicate to learning and growth?

This video bares all.

ARE YOU SHARING OR SELLING?

DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT REVEALS THE 85-10-5 RULE OF SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS

When I speak with people at Business Mastery, many want to know, specifically, how to use social networking feeds such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook to communicate effectively as a marketing and sales tool. While there is no right or wrong when it comes to content creation and sharing, I’d say that a loose guideline may be helpful as a way to think about the various uses of social networks.Social networks are a great place to share content, to interact with others, to listen in on what’s happening, and yes, if approached carefully, social networks can also be a way to get the word out about you and your business. However, as I review individuals’ business-related social streams, I find way too much selling going on. Too many companies are shouting into the social world.

THE SHARING MORE THAN SELLING RULE

As a way to think about your social activities, I’d suggest you should be doing 85% sharing and engaging, 10% publishing original content, and only 5% or less about what you are trying to promote.

Sharing more than selling via David Meerman Scott

MAKE 85% SHARING AND ENGAGING

Sharing and engaging include such things as commenting on someone else’s blog or Facebook post, quoting a tweet and adding your take, sharing a photo of somebody else, or responding to somebody who has said something that interests you. You can also share an interesting blog post or news report with your network.

Most people, especially those new to social networking, don’t share and engage enough. I’d say you should be doing it with at least 85% of your social interactions, but it could be much more. Since sharing and engaging are the easiest aspect of social networking, it shouldn’t take much for you to do more of it.

MAKE 10% ORIGINAL CONTENT

I’d recommend that 1 out of 10 of your social interactions be publishing something original. You can write a blog post, tweet about something that interests your marketplace, or publish a video. The more helpful this content is to your buyer personas, the better.

Many people worry about social networks as a tool of business because they think that everything they do has to be new content. But I suggest only 10% needs to be!

MAKE 5% OR LESS A PROMOTION ABOUT WHAT YOU DO

One out of 20 interactions (or fewer) can be something that you want to promote to your audience. This is when you can share a new product your company offers, a special discount for social followers, or other content of a promotional nature.

Most people sell way too much, and, as such, their social feeds don’t have much interaction. People just don’t want to be sold to. However, if you are helpful and engaging and responsive on your social feeds, then you build an audience who will want to hear from you and who will be receptive to learning more about what you and your organization does.

SOCIAL SHARING ON INSTAGRAM GROWS BUSINESS

Nantucket Island is my favorite surfing spot. When I’m there, I’ll occasionally take a lesson at Gary Kohner’s Nantucket Island Surf School. Kohner grew up on Nantucket and started surfing in 1984. He founded the school in the summer of 1999 to share his love of surfing and the ocean with others. Besides offering lessons for people of all ages and weeklong surf camps for kids, Kohner also rents surfboards, stand-up paddleboards, and wetsuits. He is an avid photographer and shares photos almost daily on his @nantucketsurfing Instagram feed.

Kohner’s Instagram is a great example of the “Sharing More than Selling Rule.” He shares images all the time and very rarely sells his services directly. Yet the beautiful images help to market his business.

Kohner uses simple equipment that anybody can master: a GoPro in the water and an iPhone on land. “I’m a little OCD about certain things I enjoy,” Kohner says. “I enjoy taking the pictures. I enjoy playing with the editing tools on Instagram and then putting it out there. It doesn’t feel like it’s a work thing. It’s something I do for fun. I try to keep it fresh and keep it interesting so I figure it gives people something to look at.”

Gary Kohner, Nantucket Island Surf School, Instagram @NantucketSurfing

Instagram is a great social network to share about any product or service that has a visual component or customers who use the product in interesting ways. It also allows those who don’t feel as comfortable creating written content to get their ideas out there.

Kohner shoots a bunch of photos from the water and then looks to find the best ones to post. “If I’m using the GoPro while surfing, I usually have it on an automatic setting. I’ll come in sometimes with over 1,000 pictures. I go through them quickly and weed out the ones that are junk, because a lot of those pictures are just not good and you can tell right away,” he says. “I will pick out the top 50 or so that look the best, and out of those 50, I usually pick the top three or four that I really like. I’ll save them and use them for Instagram. That’s why I’m able to post stuff daily. If I go out surfing one day and take a bunch of shots, I can save those up and post them over the next week.”

Kohner sometimes posts epic shots of a really good surfer on an awesome wave, but he also posts beginners standing up for the very first time during a lesson. “It’s a nice moment to capture,” Kohner says. “I wish I had a shot of my first ride when I was a kid. [My account is] an Instagram for the surf school, so it makes sense not just to have surfers inside a tube [a cresting and breaking wave that is challenging to surf], but have it more accessible to everybody.”

When Kohner posts shots of people surfing, they often repost on their own Instagram accounts, which extends his reach. “I have a lot of kids who taken lessons with me follow me on Instagram,” Kohner says. “I’ll ask the parents, especially if they’re younger kids, ‘Hey, I’m going to take some pictures; if I get a good one, is it cool if I put it on my Instagram?’ And the parents almost always agree. I tag the surfer and the kids love it. They say: ‘Oh, I’m on Gary’s Instagram! I’m on the surf school Instagram! I’m famous!’ And they share on their Instagram with their friends. So much of my business here in Nantucket is word of mouth; I’m sure that my Instagram is helping.”

Gary Kohner, Nantucket Island Surf School, Instagram @NantucketSurfing

I know for a fact Kohner’s Instagram is helping market his business. When people who know I love surfing ask how to get started, I just point them to Kohner’s wonderful photos. That often leads to them signing up for lessons.

Instagram allows users to comment on each other’s photos. Many people pay attention to those who tag them in these comments. If you use Instagram for your business, you should pay attention, too. For example, when I shared a photo of me wearing my Nantucket Surfing T-shirt and hat on Hawaii’s North Shore, I included this caption (tagging Kohner’s Instagram ID): “Showing my @nantucketsurfing colors at Sunset beach prior to watching the Vans Triple Crown.” Kohner responded to me: “I’ll be there tomorrow! How long are you going to be around the North Shore?” And I replied: “Hey Gary. I just left. . . . Have fun! It was my first time and loved it.” A friendly approach like Gary’s is a great way to acknowledge or endorse customers who take the time to talk about you and your product or service.

Kohner’s Instagram helps keep his business top of mind with the typical family that visits Nantucket for a few weeks each summer. When the kids follow Kohner’s photos all year long and Mom and Dad ask the kids what they want to do while on Nantucket Island, the first thing they’re going to say is that they want to go back and take some surfing lessons.

“A lot of people are away doing their thing in the winter,” Kohner says. “They don’t surf year-round, so I remind them of that memory of surfing, the time they spent in Nantucket. If they’re coming back, it’s going to be ‘Let’s go surfing!’”

Header image © Shutterstock/Twin Design

David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott is an internationally acclaimed sales and marketing strategist who has spoken on all seven continents and in 40 countries, including Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery events. In partnership with Tony, he created the New Marketing online training program, which teaches entrepreneurs how to align their marketing with the way that people buy.

Source: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/are-you-sharing-or-selling/