# Making A Difference: She discusses how companies can adapt and thrive in uncertain environments.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 24 Sep 2024, 26 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/e457643d-cd08-4218-a678-b1f1014dbf06/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dr. Rebecca Homkes. A high-growth strategy specialist, bestselling author, executive advisor, consultant, and lecturer at the London Business School. The conversation centers on leadership, business strategy, uncertainty, team building, growth, and how entrepreneurs can continue moving forward during politically and economically volatile times. Drawing from her expertise in corporate strategy and organizational growth, Dr. Homkes explains why successful leaders focus less on predicting the future and more on building organizations that can adapt, learn, and thrive regardless of external circumstances. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of the interview was to: • Help entrepreneurs navigate uncertain economic and political environments. • Discuss practical growth strategies for small businesses. • Explain how organizations can continue moving forward during uncertainty. • Explore the importance of team building and internal culture. • Introduce concepts from her book Survive, Reset, Thrive. • Encourage business leaders to focus on adaptability rather than prediction. About Dr. Rebecca Homkes Dr. Homkes is: • A high-growth strategy expert • Executive advisor and consultant • Bestselling author • Lecturer at London Business School • Advisor to companies ranging from startups to global corporations She specializes in helping organizations: • Scale effectively • Navigate uncertainty • Develop growth strategies • Build resilient teams • Thrive in changing environments Key Takeaways 1. Uncertainty Is Normal A major theme of the conversation is that uncertainty is not unusual. Dr. Homkes challenges entrepreneurs to recognize that: There has never been a time when business leaders had perfect visibility into the future. Rather than waiting for certainty, successful organizations learn how to operate despite it. Key Point: Uncertainty is a constant part of leadership. 2. Don't Freeze During Uncertain Times Many businesses pause key decisions during election cycles, economic shifts, or market disruptions. According to Dr. Homkes: • Most strategic decisions should not be delayed. • Waiting too long can cause businesses to fall behind competitors. • Leaders should continue making decisions while evaluating new information. Key Point: Growth requires movement, even when the future is unclear. 3. Strategy Begins With Beliefs One of the most powerful frameworks she shared was: "We are seeing X, we believe Y, which means Z for us." This helps organizations: • Interpret trends • Clarify assumptions • Build strategic responses • Align teams Instead of reacting emotionally to headlines, leaders should define what they believe those developments mean for their business. 4. Focus on What Actually Impacts Your Business Dr. Homkes noted that many businesses spend too much time worrying about trends that have little direct effect on them. Examples may include: • Election noise • News cycles • Political rhetoric • Social media debates Instead, organizations should identify: • Which trends truly impact their industry • Which developments affect their customers • Which factors influence strategic decisions Key Point: Not every headline deserves your attention. 5. Stop Trying to Predict Everything One of her strongest messages was: Great organizations do not need great predictions. They need great decisions.…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.
[0:06] Speaker 2: I am Rashan McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[0:10] Speaker 2: where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
[0:13] Speaker 2: stories and.
[0:14] Speaker 1: Start planning their own.
[0:16] Speaker 2: Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
[0:19] Speaker 2: talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
[0:22] Speaker 2: their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making.
[0:25] Speaker 1: A difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
[0:28] Speaker 1: listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on.
[0:31] Speaker 2: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hello, I am Rashan McDonald, our
[0:36] Speaker 2: host is weekly Money Making Conversation Master Class show. The
[0:39] Speaker 2: interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
[0:42] Speaker 2: It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
[0:46] Speaker 2: start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
[0:48] Speaker 2: your American dream. Just keep listening. My guest today really
[0:53] Speaker 2: is a high growth strategy specialist, bestselling author, executive advisor
[0:58] Speaker 2: and consultant sure at the London Business School. Please welcome
[1:02] Speaker 2: to Money Making Conversation Master Class, Doctor Rebecca Humpkiss.
[1:06] Speaker 1: How you doing, my friend, I am excellent.
[1:09] Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.
[1:10] Speaker 2: Well, thank you where you're right now? I know London
[1:13] Speaker 2: Business School?
[1:13] Speaker 3: Yes, So I live in San Francisco, Miami, in London.
[1:18] Speaker 3: So I live in three cities. But today I am
[1:19] Speaker 3: joining you from London, England.
[1:21] Speaker 2: Oh great, fantastic reason I brought on the show because
[1:25] Speaker 2: we're kind of like in political volatile times and as
[1:28] Speaker 2: business or people who are in the business of trying
[1:31] Speaker 2: small entrepreneurs, it affects us. It can affect how we
[1:34] Speaker 2: do strategy, how we hire people, and sometimes we can
[1:38] Speaker 2: get frozen. And that's not a good thing because you
[1:42] Speaker 2: want people still want their pay checks, people still want
[1:44] Speaker 2: their products, and people still want your business be active.
[1:47] Speaker 2: So why we talk about economic and business decisions? What
[1:53] Speaker 2: should not be delayed or should we delay at all
[1:55] Speaker 2: doing this little window prior to the election.
[1:58] Speaker 3: Yeah, and we go back to you. People want their paychecks,
[2:01] Speaker 3: but they also want to work for organizations that are
[2:04] Speaker 3: moving forward, right, and we are as leaders going to
[2:08] Speaker 3: be constantly running organizations through uncertain times. You know, tell me, Rashan,
[2:12] Speaker 3: the last time you run a business through certain times,
[2:14] Speaker 3: like when you had perfect predictability of what was going
[2:17] Speaker 3: to happen next. So while we have more geopltical uncertainty now,
[2:21] Speaker 3: we need to distinguish that from the key decisions that
[2:24] Speaker 3: we have to make, and if we don't do that,
[2:26] Speaker 3: we end up putting our organizations in these constant holding patterns,
[2:29] Speaker 3: you know, always waiting for another few months, tell me
[2:32] Speaker 3: no more, always waiting for another few months, and tell
[2:34] Speaker 3: me more more, and then we've actually fallen behind everybody else.
[2:37] Speaker 3: You've got to be very purposeful and only wait when
[2:40] Speaker 3: that's the right thing to do. Now, there might be
[2:43] Speaker 3: a few decisions. If you're a manufacturing company deciding your
[2:46] Speaker 3: new site location, you might want to wait until after
[2:48] Speaker 3: the election, but the majority of our strategic decisions can
[2:51] Speaker 3: proceed as planned as long as you're ready for the
[2:54] Speaker 3: as long as you're very clear on your beliefs. So
[2:57] Speaker 3: we're saying, you know, we have this belief as an organization.
[3:01] Speaker 3: Because of this belief, this is the decision that we're
[3:03] Speaker 3: going to make. But I'm going to incrementally so kind
[3:06] Speaker 3: of peace by piece, invest in that decision as I
[3:10] Speaker 3: am testing my beliefs. So we can keep moving and
[3:13] Speaker 3: acting if we make decisions based on beliefs. But we've
[3:16] Speaker 3: got to keep testing those beliefs as we're executing.
[3:19] Speaker 2: Now, I'm a minority company, Rebecca, Yeah, and so there's
[3:23] Speaker 2: some diversity, diversity, equity inclusion. THEI fact, there's a movie
[3:27] Speaker 2: I right now that's anti DEI, and so certain companies
[3:31] Speaker 2: have set aside and we know that that the political
[3:35] Speaker 2: one political size of anti DEI saying yeah, in fact,
[3:38] Speaker 2: they've said.
[3:38] Speaker 1: That the VP is a DEI. Yeah, that's how she
[3:42] Speaker 1: got a position.
[3:43] Speaker 2: And so as a person who deals with companies like that,
[3:46] Speaker 2: then I'm I'm not saying the word fearful, but it
[3:49] Speaker 2: does make me wonder about opportunities that may not exist
[3:54] Speaker 2: if one side wins versus the democratic side wins, DEI
[3:58] Speaker 2: will probably prosper. Yeah, how should I view that and
[4:01] Speaker 2: how should deal with that?
[4:04] Speaker 3: It's a great question. Look, and we are in very
[4:08] Speaker 3: divisive times, right. We are very bifurcated as a country
[4:11] Speaker 3: between one side or another, and there's many of these
[4:14] Speaker 3: social topics are very clearly falling into one line or
[4:16] Speaker 3: the other. Now, my first challenge is always Now, there
[4:20] Speaker 3: will be a difference perhaps in regulation, like and what
[4:22] Speaker 3: is actually regulated, what is mandated, what is forced, But
[4:25] Speaker 3: that's not why most companies are doing their deb strategy.
[4:28] Speaker 3: They're doing it because it's part of their organizational purpose.
[4:30] Speaker 3: They're doing it because that's what their talent and employees
[4:33] Speaker 3: say that they want and say that they appreciate, and
[4:35] Speaker 3: so all of those things, as long as it's still
[4:37] Speaker 3: part of your organizational purpose, it's still Cordier strategy. We
[4:40] Speaker 3: should continue going forward with that. Now, again, we could
[4:43] Speaker 3: say that might affect some of the talent that I get,
[4:45] Speaker 3: It could affect some of the funding that I might
[4:47] Speaker 3: have access to, But as far as making those decisions,
[4:50] Speaker 3: think about my organization, my beliefs, my purpose, right then
[4:54] Speaker 3: I would still be making those same decisions along the way. Now,
[4:58] Speaker 3: one thing we could do burn strategy, we have different options.
[5:02] Speaker 3: We have an action to take action to get results.
[5:04] Speaker 3: We can also do something called acting to shape, where
[5:07] Speaker 3: we take purposeful action in the market, not to get
[5:10] Speaker 3: immediate results from my business now, but to shape the
[5:13] Speaker 3: environment in my favor. And so in strategy, especially growth strategies,
[5:17] Speaker 3: we've got to make sure we're taking advantage of all
[5:19] Speaker 3: of our stances, which include not just acting for results,
[5:22] Speaker 3: but acting to shape and acting to learn. So this
[5:25] Speaker 3: might be an instance where your organization needs to do
[5:28] Speaker 3: some shaping strategy as well, right.
[5:30] Speaker 1: And that's why I asked that question.
[5:32] Speaker 2: Sometimes these questions are personal, doctor River, So yes, that
[5:36] Speaker 2: was a personal question.
[5:37] Speaker 3: Ask me anything, asking individuals who are.
[5:39] Speaker 2: Listening to my show now, because we are all leaders,
[5:42] Speaker 2: and when you are a leader, you're always talking about
[5:45] Speaker 2: developing practical strategy. Yes, and I always say that because
[5:50] Speaker 2: these are uncertain times. You know, the interest rate went down,
[5:53] Speaker 2: gas princes are dropping, that may affect home mortgages, that
[5:57] Speaker 2: may affect inflation. They say it's a stable or that's
[6:01] Speaker 2: why they was able to drop the interest rate.
[6:04] Speaker 1: These are uncertain times.
[6:05] Speaker 2: What are the practical strategies for small businesses and entrepreneurs?
[6:09] Speaker 2: We're not talking about the big corporation.
[6:10] Speaker 3: Yeah, I want I want to talk to you. I
[6:14] Speaker 3: want to talk to people like you who are running
[6:16] Speaker 3: small businesses, which of course are the backbone of the
[6:18] Speaker 3: American economy. Now, before we can talk about practical strategies, though,
[6:22] Speaker 3: I want to talk about the word uncertainty. Okay, And
[6:25] Speaker 3: here's how I want you to define it. A serious
[6:27] Speaker 3: of future events which may or may not occur. Whether
[6:30] Speaker 3: or not those events are good or bad depends on
[6:33] Speaker 3: what we're trying to do and how we're set up.
[6:36] Speaker 3: So that's your job as an entrepreneur figure out what
[6:38] Speaker 3: you're trying to do and then set your business up
[6:40] Speaker 3: to succeed regardless of that situation in front of you.
[6:43] Speaker 3: So that's the first very critical step, and the second
[6:47] Speaker 3: one is setting your beliefs. We talked about this a
[6:50] Speaker 3: bit on DEI and B, but you know all of
[6:53] Speaker 3: these trends, you know, elections, interest rates, geopolitical instability, immigration policies.
[6:59] Speaker 3: These are trends, right. We don't actually do any strategy
[7:02] Speaker 3: by listing trends. Sit down with your team and say
[7:05] Speaker 3: what's our beliefs, what's our stance, and how these things
[7:07] Speaker 3: will go forward? And it's this sentence, I'm seeing X,
[7:12] Speaker 3: and we believe why, which means Z for us. And
[7:16] Speaker 3: if you just keep completing that sentence, we're seeing this
[7:19] Speaker 3: trend and we take this belief for the midterm, which
[7:22] Speaker 3: means this implication for us, then you're building yourself this
[7:26] Speaker 3: framework that you know which choices you're making based on
[7:29] Speaker 3: what beliefs. As those beliefs are affirmed, we're going to
[7:32] Speaker 3: invest more in those in those activities. As those beliefs
[7:35] Speaker 3: are not, we might start pausing and even stopping some
[7:38] Speaker 3: activities and replacing them with those where our beliefs are
[7:42] Speaker 3: still affirming.
[7:43] Speaker 1: We know.
[7:43] Speaker 2: It's really what basically what you're saying is that stay
[7:46] Speaker 2: strong in your beliefs, have a plan of action. Yeah,
[7:48] Speaker 2: you know, you know this is kind of like different.
[7:50] Speaker 2: You know, we always talk about budget. We always talking
[7:52] Speaker 2: about financial planning. That we're talking about structure planning. Yes,
[7:56] Speaker 2: the strategy being practical, that's what we're talking about right now.
[7:59] Speaker 3: Yes, Because here's the thing. Here's the thing, Kretie. As
[8:02] Speaker 3: we sit down to review strategies, we tend to start
[8:05] Speaker 3: these meetings with the question. We tend to start the
[8:08] Speaker 3: meetings with the question are we on track to plan? Right?
[8:12] Speaker 3: We love to ask our team if we're on track
[8:14] Speaker 3: to plan. I'm going to challenge you. I want you
[8:16] Speaker 3: to ask your team a different question at the beginning
[8:18] Speaker 3: of the review meeting. Instead, ask the question, has the
[8:22] Speaker 3: situation changed?
[8:23] Speaker 4: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[8:27] Speaker 4: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[8:36] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
[8:40] Speaker 3: Right has the situation changed? Because see, sometimes being on
[8:45] Speaker 3: track to plan is not a good thing if the
[8:47] Speaker 3: situation's change, and asking that question takes the assumption there
[8:51] Speaker 3: was only one track and we got it right the
[8:53] Speaker 3: first time. So I like to start my review meetings
[8:56] Speaker 3: with the question has a situation changed? Are our beliefs
[9:00] Speaker 3: still tracking? If so, our strategy should be two. If
[9:03] Speaker 3: our beliefs aren't track, here not affirm we might need
[9:05] Speaker 3: to replace something we're doing, because here's the cool thing
[9:08] Speaker 3: about strategy. It can and should change as we're executing,
[9:13] Speaker 3: as we're learning and bringing new information in.
[9:17] Speaker 2: Okay, Now here's something that's interesting. Team building? Yes, okay,
[9:22] Speaker 2: I hear that a lot. I'm in fact that as
[9:24] Speaker 2: a small company, I'm about to help my first team
[9:27] Speaker 2: building all right, event you know, I'm a ward winding cook,
[9:30] Speaker 2: so I always cook at the office.
[9:31] Speaker 3: But oh I'm jealous and make score an insight to
[9:34] Speaker 3: the steam building thing.
[9:35] Speaker 2: Now, yes, and so, so tell me the value of
[9:40] Speaker 2: team building within the company.
[9:44] Speaker 3: Human beings crave connectivity, and as much as we speak
[9:48] Speaker 3: about you know, fully remote offices and AI replacing human beings,
[9:52] Speaker 3: I'm not yet convinced that human beings don't crave connectivity
[9:56] Speaker 3: with others and wanting to work for an organization where
[9:58] Speaker 3: they have aligned per with others. Right, and are striving
[10:01] Speaker 3: towards the same event, and so there's a higher level, right,
[10:05] Speaker 3: which is that there's also a more execution level. Why
[10:08] Speaker 3: these team building things matter is because one of the
[10:12] Speaker 3: biggest differentiators of organizations from super small to super large
[10:18] Speaker 3: do really well in external uncertainty, which we've been speaking about,
[10:22] Speaker 3: is they build something called internal predictability. And it's a
[10:26] Speaker 3: little bit non sexy phrase, I know, but this is
[10:28] Speaker 3: what sets companies apart who do really well when the
[10:31] Speaker 3: world around them is changing, is they build something called
[10:34] Speaker 3: internal predictability. And it comes to show when you can
[10:37] Speaker 3: answer yes to four questions. Okay, and I won't ask
[10:40] Speaker 3: you to say if you can say yes, but I
[10:41] Speaker 3: want you to think about your team. Here's the four questions.
[10:44] Speaker 3: Can everyone on your teams say yes too. I know
[10:47] Speaker 3: what we're trying to achieve and why it matters. That's
[10:50] Speaker 3: question one. I know we're trying to achieve and why
[10:52] Speaker 3: it matters. Question two, I know where critical decisions take place.
[10:57] Speaker 3: Question three, I can rely on other to do what
[11:00] Speaker 3: they say they will do. In question four, when I
[11:04] Speaker 3: do adapt, it's recognized and rewarded. How do you do
[11:08] Speaker 3: on the four questions of internal predictability.
[11:10] Speaker 2: Well, I think that two and four yeah, superstar, all right,
[11:16] Speaker 2: one in three shakey, Okay.
[11:20] Speaker 3: So here's here's the bad news. You need all four
[11:23] Speaker 3: to build this element. And that goes back to why
[11:25] Speaker 3: team building is so important, because these things about the
[11:28] Speaker 3: reliability are so much easier when we know the people
[11:31] Speaker 3: on the other side of that commitment. The decision making
[11:33] Speaker 3: so much easier to route the decisions to the right place.
[11:37] Speaker 3: But tell me more on how you did well.
[11:39] Speaker 2: I meant tell you if you know, just overall, because
[11:42] Speaker 2: this is a good conversation regards to I hope people
[11:44] Speaker 2: who are listening to taking all this in because it's
[11:47] Speaker 2: about honesty. You know what I've done in the last
[11:50] Speaker 2: I say year and a half, doctor Rebecca, is.
[11:52] Speaker 1: That I have been honest about my flaws.
[11:56] Speaker 2: And in other words, I reset my company in April
[12:00] Speaker 2: twenty twenty three, and I've looked back and I went
[12:02] Speaker 2: the employees I have now and employees I have previously.
[12:06] Speaker 2: The ployeres I have previously can't even work for me now.
[12:09] Speaker 2: So I had to make that honest reset. And I
[12:11] Speaker 2: think that when I go through these courses one through four,
[12:15] Speaker 2: I evaluate them based on the fact that I'm in
[12:18] Speaker 2: the process of maturing as a leader. I also being
[12:23] Speaker 2: more open to like I said, I'm doing a team
[12:25] Speaker 2: building event. I always felt that, you know, snacks at
[12:29] Speaker 2: the office, come in, you got a cake waiting, and
[12:32] Speaker 2: then we'll share a cake and then go to work
[12:35] Speaker 2: where I'm actually actually setting aside in the moment shutting
[12:39] Speaker 2: down activity.
[12:40] Speaker 1: We finished the event, go home.
[12:42] Speaker 2: And so I have built my whole career as an individual,
[12:46] Speaker 2: and as an individual, translating that to a company has
[12:51] Speaker 2: been difficult because I've been winning by myself, and so
[12:55] Speaker 2: that's been the term for me when I go through
[12:57] Speaker 2: these questions, because understand.
[13:00] Speaker 1: That as a solo artist, oh you're all star.
[13:04] Speaker 2: You run at a company, you have to value other
[13:07] Speaker 2: people's feelings. I tell you some things like because I
[13:11] Speaker 2: get to work on time. And so I had to
[13:13] Speaker 2: understand sit down with my hr Sa Rashaan, give people
[13:16] Speaker 2: a little window, you know, don't don't you know they
[13:19] Speaker 2: might be eight oh five, eight oh six, don't hold
[13:23] Speaker 2: them to that same brand that you're hell holding yourself to.
[13:28] Speaker 2: Because other people have traffic, they come from different loans,
[13:30] Speaker 2: they might have a flat tie, all these different things
[13:32] Speaker 2: and put into perspective. So these questions that you asked
[13:36] Speaker 2: me are working for me now. But if you'd asked
[13:39] Speaker 2: me a year ago, I'd have been a failure on
[13:42] Speaker 2: all four.
[13:43] Speaker 3: And that again, this internal predictability. That's the secret sauce.
[13:47] Speaker 3: We could talk about all the external uncertainty, but doing
[13:50] Speaker 3: well on it it's building this internal predictability because you
[13:53] Speaker 3: just said it. Look, growth is a team sport, right,
[13:55] Speaker 3: it's not an individual one. We're playing football, not tennis
[13:58] Speaker 3: when we're trying to grow urban ISAs. And that's why
[14:01] Speaker 3: it's so hard. Now doable, very doable. Don't want to
[14:04] Speaker 3: make it sound to any listener like it's not doable.
[14:06] Speaker 3: But you've got to commit to having a gross strategy
[14:09] Speaker 3: because it's not just about having the strategy, it's about
[14:11] Speaker 3: committing to building the capability of growth with your team.
[14:15] Speaker 3: But you use the critical word there, use the word reset,
[14:18] Speaker 3: and that I love hearing that word because reset is
[14:21] Speaker 3: the power move. You know, it's very easy to say,
[14:23] Speaker 3: you know, don't just survive, thrive, right, But organizations and
[14:27] Speaker 3: entrepreneurs who are willing to go through these purposeful resets,
[14:30] Speaker 3: that's a power booth. Being able to thrive through different
[14:33] Speaker 3: changing external conditions.
[14:36] Speaker 2: Well your bore reset, okay, capital, I'm.
[14:43] Speaker 3: Trying the power of the reset, the power of the reset.
[14:45] Speaker 1: Power to reset, you know. But we needs uncertainy times.
[14:48] Speaker 2: And that's why when I saw an opportunity to bring in,
[14:50] Speaker 2: I wanted to reset my audience because we all ain't
[14:54] Speaker 2: on certain times. And when this election happens, you're still
[14:56] Speaker 2: going to be under certain time. Yes, because yes, a
[14:58] Speaker 2: lot of things are done political, you know, and I
[15:02] Speaker 2: think kind of convenient. The gas prices are dropping and
[15:04] Speaker 2: we yeah, election times coming up, and interest rates dropping,
[15:08] Speaker 2: the election drop, ye, when the election happens, and how
[15:14] Speaker 2: the party wins, are they going to go back up?
[15:16] Speaker 2: You know, that type of volatility. But I'm gonna talk
[15:18] Speaker 2: about I'm gon going a little deeper. When I hear
[15:20] Speaker 2: people talking about immigration, trade and offshore exploration and fracking
[15:25] Speaker 2: and all that stuff as they small business, we're hitting
[15:28] Speaker 2: things because immigration can affect everybody.
[15:31] Speaker 1: Yes, sorry, it does affect everybody.
[15:34] Speaker 2: How do we look at these things when we're watching TV,
[15:36] Speaker 2: watching these people making decisions and voting, and half the
[15:40] Speaker 2: country is this side of the table, and half the
[15:42] Speaker 2: country is this side of the table. How is a
[15:44] Speaker 2: gross from a gross strategy standpoint, how do we react?
[15:49] Speaker 3: Well, I'm not being silly when I say take a breath.
[15:52] Speaker 3: Sometimes right in the American news cycle, take a breath
[15:55] Speaker 3: and go back to there's this very simple question I
[15:59] Speaker 3: am and we've already said this question. I am seeing
[16:02] Speaker 3: X and I believe why, which means Z for us.
[16:06] Speaker 3: And you know we're seeing these things in immigration, Well,
[16:08] Speaker 3: what's our belief How is it going to pan out
[16:10] Speaker 3: over the next two to three years and what would
[16:12] Speaker 3: that mean for us? And here's what I found with Sean.
[16:15] Speaker 3: If you force your team and force sounds bad, but
[16:17] Speaker 3: you know, if you work with your team to go
[16:19] Speaker 3: through these you realize a lot of these trends won't
[16:22] Speaker 3: really have an impact on your strategy. They're noise. A
[16:25] Speaker 3: lot of trends are noise. Only a few will truly
[16:29] Speaker 3: impact our choices. So here's what I like to do.
[16:31] Speaker 3: I like to take all of those trends we're talking
[16:33] Speaker 3: about and complete that sentence I'm seeing X and we
[16:36] Speaker 3: believe why, which means Z for us. And then I
[16:39] Speaker 3: want you to rank them. You know, in the Office
[16:41] Speaker 3: of Virtual get out that classic two by two and
[16:44] Speaker 3: rank them by impact to our industry and criticality to
[16:48] Speaker 3: our choices, and you'll see that a lot of things
[16:51] Speaker 3: are really moving the macro environment our industry, but they're
[16:55] Speaker 3: not really going to impact our choices. You know, we're
[16:57] Speaker 3: already there, or we've got plenty of time. Others might
[16:59] Speaker 3: be super critical to us. And then just focus your
[17:02] Speaker 3: time on those choices and those trends that meet both
[17:05] Speaker 3: of those things. But I've got something else. One of
[17:07] Speaker 3: my favorite exercises to do when I've got all of
[17:10] Speaker 3: these big trends is here's what I do with Sean
[17:13] Speaker 3: I cast. I tell my team, look, let's stop asking
[17:16] Speaker 3: what could happen, because here's the bad news slash good news.
[17:19] Speaker 3: I can't predict the future, and I don't think you
[17:21] Speaker 3: can predict the future, right. But what I want to
[17:25] Speaker 3: do with my team is get great at making good
[17:27] Speaker 3: decisions even though I can't make great predictions. So I
[17:30] Speaker 3: challenge teams stop spending more and more time trying to
[17:33] Speaker 3: predict the future, trying to do scenario planning, trying to
[17:36] Speaker 3: do trend setting. Instead, we're building the capability and making
[17:39] Speaker 3: great decisions even though we can't make great predictions. So
[17:43] Speaker 3: I change the question instead of asking what could happen?
[17:46] Speaker 3: Ask what could make us and what could break us.
[17:50] Speaker 3: Most things that happen, even with you know, a Trump presidency,
[17:54] Speaker 3: are still going to fall under the bell curve, which
[17:56] Speaker 3: means roughly within the realm of profitability. But there's going
[17:59] Speaker 3: to be some tales, some outside events that are big
[18:02] Speaker 3: risks and are big opportunities. Most people, even entrepreneurs, are
[18:07] Speaker 3: great at answering what could kill us. They're terrible about
[18:11] Speaker 3: saying like what could make us? And go to call
[18:13] Speaker 3: them kickers and killers? What could make us and what
[18:16] Speaker 3: could break us? And you sit down with your team
[18:18] Speaker 3: and you say, okay, here's the trends for each of
[18:20] Speaker 3: these trends. What are five kickers? What are five ways
[18:24] Speaker 3: this trend could be a growth opportunity for us? And
[18:26] Speaker 3: you've got to train your brain. You've got to start
[18:29] Speaker 3: with the kickers. Because every team I work with, and
[18:32] Speaker 3: I'm not being hyperbolic, every team I work with can
[18:35] Speaker 3: give me twenty killers in five minutes. Every team takes
[18:39] Speaker 3: a long time to get down to five kickers. We
[18:42] Speaker 3: have not trained our brains to see big, uncertain things
[18:46] Speaker 3: as growth opportunities. So you've got to build that capability.
[18:50] Speaker 3: So again, you sit with your team and I'm going
[18:51] Speaker 3: to check for your homework on this. When you're Sean,
[18:53] Speaker 3: You're going to ask them what could make us and
[18:55] Speaker 3: what could break us? And what I like to do
[18:58] Speaker 3: is say you've got to do ten kickers before he
[19:00] Speaker 3: can do any killers, because this is how we're going
[19:03] Speaker 3: to start building our brains as a team. That all
[19:06] Speaker 3: of these trends contain an opportunity for those who are
[19:09] Speaker 3: willing to look for it and then shape or learn
[19:11] Speaker 3: to grab it.
[19:13] Speaker 2: You know, this is so cool because of the fact
[19:16] Speaker 2: that you know when you when you out there, trusted yourself.
[19:21] Speaker 2: I'm gonna tell you something about me, Dr Rebecca. I've
[19:26] Speaker 2: always had people around me that have known me for
[19:30] Speaker 2: a long time working for me, and I will be
[19:32] Speaker 2: honest with you that tended that turned out to be
[19:35] Speaker 2: a flaw in my business model because people they think
[19:40] Speaker 2: they know you, they have stereotypes they've developed about you,
[19:45] Speaker 2: and then all of a sudden, so they function a
[19:47] Speaker 2: way instead of being an active thinking peryer. Well, Rashan,
[19:51] Speaker 2: you know he's gonna do that anyway. Rashaan's going to
[19:54] Speaker 2: do that anyway. So I've learned this might be a
[19:56] Speaker 2: recommendation of other people out there when they hear these
[19:58] Speaker 2: things coming to my office, that hire the right person
[20:01] Speaker 2: for the position. Anybody you hire, I don't care if
[20:04] Speaker 2: your sister or brother make them feel out an application.
[20:07] Speaker 2: Everybody you hire should have a resume. They shouldn't just
[20:10] Speaker 2: be somebody you know. Their skill sets should have value,
[20:14] Speaker 2: not just value to that one, but the value to
[20:18] Speaker 2: several things within your company. Because you're a small business,
[20:20] Speaker 2: and so the people I have working for me now
[20:24] Speaker 2: don't know me. I hire them on what they could
[20:27] Speaker 2: do for me. And previously, prior to the reset, I
[20:33] Speaker 2: hire people who knew me and didn't really take in
[20:37] Speaker 2: strong consideration about their work history, about their resume, and
[20:43] Speaker 2: about what they can do for me five or ten
[20:45] Speaker 2: years from now. And that's when the growth strategy that
[20:48] Speaker 2: you're talking about is so important.
[20:49] Speaker 3: Correct, Yes, absolutely, Yeah. You want to bring a team
[20:53] Speaker 3: around you who is going to share this commitment to growth.
[20:57] Speaker 3: And while there's comfort around working with people who know us,
[21:00] Speaker 3: you leads into a tramp if they make these implicit assumptions,
[21:04] Speaker 3: you know, they just assume they know what you're gonna do.
[21:06] Speaker 3: They just assume you know where we're going to go
[21:08] Speaker 3: and so we're going away from that making great decisions
[21:11] Speaker 3: even though we can't make great predictions. Right. So you
[21:13] Speaker 3: can build it with people you know, but you've got
[21:15] Speaker 3: to be very purposeful about it. Right. But I like
[21:17] Speaker 3: to be very clear talent coming in, do we have
[21:20] Speaker 3: this very clear role that we know that they're playing
[21:23] Speaker 3: for us. Or here's I like to divide it. Because
[21:25] Speaker 3: you're a small business. You can't just hire anybody, right, right,
[21:28] Speaker 3: It split all of your hires into two right, Either
[21:31] Speaker 3: what I call a tour of duty, as in I
[21:33] Speaker 3: have one very specific thing, like maybe I need to
[21:37] Speaker 3: build a CRM system for the first time and integrate
[21:40] Speaker 3: it with my old systems. Maybe I want to open
[21:43] Speaker 3: a new product line or go into a new state. Right,
[21:46] Speaker 3: So a very specific tour of duty. But you know
[21:48] Speaker 3: when you make that hire, when this is completed, I
[21:51] Speaker 3: might not need this individual anymore. But you're being very
[21:53] Speaker 3: purposeful about this. You're gonna hire the perfect person for
[21:55] Speaker 3: that job. Or you hire for what I call repurposability,
[22:00] Speaker 3: which I made up that word to be clear, which
[22:02] Speaker 3: means this person has this skill set as I constantly
[22:05] Speaker 3: reset my business, this individual has a skill set that
[22:08] Speaker 3: can constantly repurpose for value creation. And I like to
[22:12] Speaker 3: just put everyone in two streams because we tend to
[22:14] Speaker 3: overhire for kind of a jack of all trades. You know, well,
[22:17] Speaker 3: this person can do this and that and that, but
[22:20] Speaker 3: if you really force yourself, no, as a small business,
[22:23] Speaker 3: every hire has to be very purposeful. This is a
[22:26] Speaker 3: tour of duty or repurposability for value creation.
[22:30] Speaker 2: We know as we wrap up this interview, Yah, I've
[22:33] Speaker 2: used the word reset a lot.
[22:35] Speaker 3: Yeah, and I love it, and I love it you're
[22:36] Speaker 3: speaking my love language by using the word reset y because.
[22:39] Speaker 1: I didn't want to bring that up early.
[22:40] Speaker 2: On because that's your book, Survive, Reset, Rive, because I
[22:43] Speaker 2: wanted to personalize it and let you understand that one
[22:47] Speaker 2: of the things that motivated me for this interview. Because
[22:50] Speaker 2: I'm doing that and more importantly, give us a brief
[22:53] Speaker 2: overview of your book and encourage us to and motivate
[22:57] Speaker 2: us because it is Survive, Reset and thrive, leading breakthrough
[23:01] Speaker 2: growth strategy in bottatal times.
[23:04] Speaker 3: Lois Yes, thank you. And the notion is growth is
[23:07] Speaker 3: a loop, not aligned. Is that if we really want
[23:10] Speaker 3: to constantly grow our businesses regardless of the environment around us,
[23:14] Speaker 3: we need to embrace this loop thinking, and it's constantly
[23:17] Speaker 3: going through this loop of survive or stabilize when the
[23:20] Speaker 3: market throws a shock at us, reset or change when
[23:23] Speaker 3: the situation around us changes, then go back to being
[23:26] Speaker 3: a thriving organization. And as an entrepreneur, it's the movement
[23:30] Speaker 3: across these three modes that are just as powerful as
[23:34] Speaker 3: a place within each one. And in the book I
[23:36] Speaker 3: Guide Entrepreneurs of how can you be better at surviving
[23:39] Speaker 3: and move out of that phase faster? How can you
[23:41] Speaker 3: do a really good reset? Then what does it take
[23:44] Speaker 3: to be one of these thriving organizations that can grow
[23:47] Speaker 3: through any market circumstances?
[23:49] Speaker 1: Wow, thank you for coming on my show, Money.
[23:52] Speaker 3: Made No Thank you so much for having me. It
[23:54] Speaker 3: was that an absolute pleasure.
[23:55] Speaker 2: Well, you know it's really great because you know, I
[23:58] Speaker 2: got personal, which is it's unusual for my show, but
[24:02] Speaker 2: I felt that this is what had to be an
[24:04] Speaker 2: honest show. When you talk about resetting and you're starting challenging,
[24:07] Speaker 2: I'm living these same volatile times that my listeners are,
[24:11] Speaker 2: and so I'm that same entrepreneur, I'm that same person
[24:14] Speaker 2: dealing with DEI. I'm that same person who has to
[24:17] Speaker 2: cast a vote, and that vote will make a difference
[24:20] Speaker 2: in this country and we're gonna have to deal with
[24:22] Speaker 2: it for four years. What you've allowed by coming on
[24:25] Speaker 2: this show today, Doctor Rebecca, is that Humpkins. Is that
[24:29] Speaker 2: you allowed me to say, Rushan, don't be comparalyzed by
[24:33] Speaker 2: the situation. Continue to move forward, continue to have growth strategy,
[24:38] Speaker 2: continue to have team team building events. Understand your employees
[24:43] Speaker 2: have a voice, Acknowledge their voice. Implement some of the
[24:46] Speaker 2: things that work within your company. This is what I
[24:49] Speaker 2: might take away and hopefully take away from the people
[24:51] Speaker 2: who enjoy this interview. Thank you again for coming on
[24:54] Speaker 2: Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
[24:56] Speaker 3: Thank you my pleasure.
[24:58] Speaker 2: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[25:01] Speaker 2: hosted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[25:04] Speaker 2: on the show today, and thank you for listening to
[25:07] Speaker 2: audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
[25:09] Speaker 2: I want to be a guest on the show, visit
[25:12] Speaker 2: Moneymakingconversations dot com.
[25:14] Speaker 1: Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
[25:17] Speaker 2: Join us next week and remember to always leave with
[25:19] Speaker 2: your gifts.
[25:20] Speaker 1: Keep winning

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