This hit home for me recently when a client said something that I thought was really insightful.
"Brad, we need our systems to be as simple as our business is complex."
But why is simple so hard?
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One of the most common mistakes I see my clients make as they scale is becoming too reliant upon back and forth communication to get stuff done.
You know what I mean if you've ever had to send 6 back and forth emails just to get a status update, if you've had to answer the same question a million times, or if you've had to dig through your inbox or chat history for that critical piece of information you're looking for.
Yes, communication is incredibly important. But too much of it becomes detrimental if you want your business to be scalable.
Why?
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What are the most important metrics if you want your business to be scalable? 📈
I get this question a lot. I guess people think I'm a data nerd (and they're not wrong. 🤓)
While of course there's not a one-size-fits-all answer, here are the 4 key metrics that I focus on with my clients as they scale their business…
How many times have we all been told that it pays to be different?
What we weren’t told is just how difficult being different can actually be.
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A Hindu priest and a philosopher dismount their asses and walk into a bar...
At least that's how I'd like to imagine the story starts.
In any case, the two were having a dispute about the path to enlightenment in which the philosopher argued the following...
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Have you every felt like you just wanted to throw your hands up and just start all over again?
Maybe you've been grinding and grinding and nothing seems to be working?
Or you've been growing so quickly that everything around you feels like a hot mess?
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The future of your business has never existed before.
Think about that.
That vision you have in your head about what you want your business to become has never existed before in the history of humanity.
And that begs a really important question.
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The past few months have been an absolute whirlwind. From some absolutely huge client wins to some exciting leaps forward with BE Lean’s capabilities and offerings, I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath.
Your support has meant the world to me through it all, so I wanted to give you a little taste of what’s been going on as I’ve been working to expand the impact of this little business I call BE Lean.
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“When you have one foot in the past and the other in the future, you’re just pissing on the present.”
I can still picture our instructor Michelle standing with her legs spread wide as she imparted this lesson upon our cohort of the Possibilities Seminar, a personal development program focusing on emotional intelligence.
As life-changing as that workshop was for me (and I don’t say that lightly), this particular lesson didn’t really land for me at the time. Sure I got the point - don’t live in the past or the future. Be present.
But how do we move forward in life or in business with two feet firmly planted in the here and now?
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Brad Talks Shop on The Edges of Lean Podcast
I had a blast talking with Bella about some of the things I’m most passionate about, including answers to many of the questions people have asked me over the years.
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Traction. Profit. Throughput. Innovation.
These are the four ingredients you need to scale a business.
But here's the important bit. At any given time, you should be focused on one, and only one, of them. Do you know which one your business should be focused on?
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When I talk to people about what it is that I do, I often talk about that time in the growth trajectory of a business when everything that used to feel fun and simple becomes messy and complex.
But what if things get to a point where everything feels that way? When everything feels equally important and equally chaotic?
It's definitely time to systematize, right?
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I am NOT the right guy for you...
For better or worse, we like to draw analogies between businesses and rocket ships an awful lot. In most cases, having a business take off like a rocket is considered the pique of success.
But here's the thing.
Have you ever spoken with the leader of a company that's built like a rocket ship?
They're doing amazing things. But they're also stressed out, burnt out, and spending all their time in their business.
New Years is always a special time for BE Lean because it not only marks the beginning of a new year, but it also marks the anniversary of when I started the company.
And this year, BE Lean hit its six year mark! 🎉
Last week, I got back from a truly incredible vacation through Asia.
Being able to experience different cultures and ways of life is such a gift. And travel has been an investment in my personal growth as well.
There's so much I'm still digesting about our trip, but here's one thing that really stood out to me.
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The thing I like best about travelling is the new perspectives that it offers.
Sometimes those perspectives come from the differences of a place or culture. Sometimes they simply come from not being at home.
And having just gotten back from vacation, here's what I'm reflecting on.
Fulfillment comes from accepting that you can't have everything you want.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking to a networking contact when he said, "So Brad, So you're the scalability guy. How do you scale your business when it's just you?"
It wasn't just him. I get asked this question constantly.
I responded, "Well it's true that I help my clients scale their business, but what my clients want isn't necessarily the same as what I want."
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It's election season!
If you live in Maryland, early voting is open, and you have until July 19th to cast your vote in the primary.
But I didn't write this talk politics. Yes, you should vote. But in deciding who I want to vote for this year, I realized something.
I was expecting too much.
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How entrepreneurship gave me the confidence to be me
Nobody told me growing up that I needed to get straight A’s and a college degree.
Nobody told me that I needed to get a stable, well-paying job and climb the corporate ladder.
Nobody told me that I needed to find a nice girl, settle down, and start a family. (Ok maybe my Jewish grandmother did, but let’s roll with it).
But in upper-middle class suburbia where I grew up, when the dominant thing you see around you is one kind of path, you think that’s the path you’re supposed to follow too.
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Remember when you were young and life used to be simple and fun?
When your biggest worries were whether mom brought home the right flavor of cereal from the grocery store or if you'd be allowed to sleep over at your friend's house.
And then you grew up, and adulting happened…
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