Joshua McNary [00:00:02]:
Hello and welcome to Intentional Change, the podcast for business owners and leaders who want to navigate growth, technology, and transformation not by accident, but with intention. I'm your host, Joshua McNary with my co host, Shawn FitzGerald. We explore practical ideas and share insights to help you lead through change with clarity and confidence. Be sure to follow, share and subscribe so you don't miss the next insight that could change how you think, lead, and grow your business. On today's episode of Intentional Change, we are joined by Brad Faris of anchor Advisors, someone I've had the privilege of knowing and learning from over the last decade. We'll be diving into topics like navigating personal and business growth in uncertain times, balancing strategies with action, and creating more of your best days. We'll also look to explore ideas like how to overcome over planning, build momentum when the future feels unclear, and trusting in the slow process of growth. Whether you're a leader looking for practical advice or inspiration to thrive in challenging times, this episode is packed with insights that you will not want to miss. Brad, welcome to Intentional Change.
Brad Farris [00:01:22]:
Hey, thanks, Joshua.
Joshua McNary [00:01:24]:
Now, Brad, I want to introduce you to my friend and co host, Shawn FitzGerald.
Brad Farris [00:01:28]:
Hey, Shawn.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:01:29]:
Hey, Brad. Nice to meet you. Thanks for being here.
Brad Farris [00:01:32]:
Great to meet you. Nice to be asked.
Joshua McNary [00:01:35]:
So, to start out, Brad, why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, what your background is, the kinds of things you do.
Brad Farris [00:01:42]:
So I'm an executive leadership coach. I work primarily with founders of professional services firms, marketing, advertising, PR firms, IT architects, engineers, those types of firms. And there are some common themes that come up over and over again that kind of inhibit the growth of those firms that they they'll tend to hit a ceiling around 1,000,000, 5, 2,000,000, where the owner themselves is the roadblock to further growth. And it gets frustrating. The owner wants to see growth, but they realize that their leadership needs to grow, their role needs to change in order to grow the firm. And so that's where I tend to step in and help people to find a new level of growth.
Joshua McNary [00:02:25]:
Well, I'm not sure what it says about me, but I think I've been the roadblock in times past because Brad has helped me in my business over the years with various capacities. And that's how we know each other. Meeting many years ago through some networking, and then as you built your firm, I resonated with a lot of your messaging. So I'm really happy to have you here to share with our audience. And I think, Shawn, you're going to love this as well. Because a lot of what Brad shares I think goes right in line with yours and my shared values. So I want to start out, Brad, by talking about the idea of strategic thinking, which is intentional change. It's a lot about what we're talking about on this program, but we have to be careful not to over plan. And this is the way that you have definitely helped me with, with what I just call next action thinking. So can you talk a little bit about that and maybe we can dig into it a little bit.
Brad Farris [00:03:18]:
So I've been practicing in this area for a long time and you know, 10 or 15 years ago I was big into creating these five year plans. And then you work backwards from the five year plan to figure out what your actions are. And, and we spent a lot of time and effort creating these strategic plans that quite honestly didn't make a huge impact for the clients that usually once we completed it they would think about it like six months later. Oh yeah, we had that plan, they would look at it, it wouldn't feel terribly relevant to them. And so I got frustrated that this, all this work was going to something that really wasn't creating a lot of value. So I changed up the way that I'm working with clients and I do something now that I call North Stars and next steps. So the North Star is this is where I want to get to and it's, and it's pretty easy to have a clear idea of like the future that we're trying to get to. But just because we have that future, it doesn't mean that we know exactly how to get there. But oftentimes we can say, well, what is the next thing I can do that help can help me move closer to that goal. And so if we focus instead not on the goal, but just on those next steps, what is the smallest change that I can make that moves me in that direction? That does two things. First, it gives us achievable goals, things that we can make progress on maybe in a week. Right. And if you can make 2% progress every week, you're going to make 100% progress in a year. So by breaking it down into what is the smallest step that you can take is actually getting progress toward the goals. That's the first thing. The second thing is as we take those steps, we get more information. And so if you're familiar with agile programming, it's the same kind of idea that when we do something, doing that thing gives us more information and maybe it changes then how we see the step after that or Even changes how we feel about the goal overall. And so by breaking it down and just making small changes in our lives and business, it makes it more likely that we're going to achieve that change.
Joshua McNary [00:05:16]:
So we're not throwing out the whole idea of a goal or some kind of end vision. We're just talking about having that and then working towards it. Not with this huge accordion plan of everything perfectly planned, because it can never work that way.
Brad Farris [00:05:29]:
We're talking about never, never the history of ever.
Joshua McNary [00:05:32]:
Yeah, right, right. Having the goal out there, the finish line. But okay, we're going to work towards it incrementally. And I mean, in my, in my world, the part that really changed was that, okay, I'm able now to see around the corner here and start, at least start to see. And that will then adjust how I go around the corner.
Brad Farris [00:05:51]:
Yeah.
Joshua McNary [00:05:51]:
In a more logical way. That to me is what's really been helpful to me being a planner and strategic thinker. I mean, I helped co found the Intentional Change podcast. Right. So, yes, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm, I have that proclivity, but we're not talking about not being intentional. We're talking about being intentional with some action that adds more information to us to be even more intentional.
Brad Farris [00:06:11]:
But yes, and the thing that I want to say about that is that when we made those, those exhaustive plans, there was so much investment that went into it that we felt like a failure if we didn't achieve the plan. Whereas here, by holding that North Star a little bit more loosely as we gather this more information, it allows us to maybe shift the goal a little bit or say, you know, I thought that that was the goal, but I think the goal is actually over here. And that's all okay. Like that's a normal thing that happens in our lives. And so it, it opens us up to, to following different paths.
Joshua McNary [00:06:43]:
Well, that's how we get held back. Right. And the idea of, of having to follow this regimented plan that maybe is dated by now. I mean, especially in my world of technology. I mean, you make a plan with technology today and just wait a week and take it out.
Brad Farris [00:06:59]:
Yeah.
Joshua McNary [00:07:00]:
So you need to be smart about that and then use that new information and not be so beholden to the plan to lose. I mean, you, you number of years ago helped me think about that from an annual plan perspective. One year you just gave me permission to, to just not do one.
Brad Farris [00:07:14]:
Exactly. And I remember that conversation. You're like, really? I, I don't have to do it. Like, no, you don't have to. There's no annual plan police, they're going to show up and take your business license away.
Joshua McNary [00:07:25]:
Right. But that was how I had done it for many years. You know, going back to kind of the, you know, the paper planner days, going way back, dating myself. And, and so that, that idea of, of, of freeing yourself of that and recognizing, okay, I can still have the goals, but, but I can incrementally work towards them and then do smarter, more efficient, more pointed work at that goal through those actions. So what are some practical ways that leaders can take that action without feeling like they're flying by? Because that's what it feels like when you first start doing this. I mean, I know from experience.
Brad Farris [00:08:01]:
So the important thing for me is to have those goals, those next actions be really small so that you can feel yourself gaining some momentum. And when, if, if week after week you're able to complete these small goals, then you can see that there is progress being made. Even if, even if you don't know exactly where you're going to end up, you can see that there's progress being made and you're getting closer to the future that you're looking for. And that, that momentum, in my experience is just, it's so motivating to keep going. Versus right before I got on this call with you, I was working with a client and who had a long term goal. And he told me all the ways that he had tried to get there that didn't work. And so he was stuck. And I said, great, what do you want to do about that? He's like, well, I'm stuck. I can't go anywhere. I'm like, well, what if we went left? What if we went right? Right, like it gives you choices, it gives you different ways that you can move instead of feeling stuck.
Joshua McNary [00:08:54]:
Okay, that leads into kind of another topic area I wanted to raise with you today. And in 2025, as we're recording this, there's a lot of uncertainty. I mean, there's always something to be uncertain about. Of course, the economy, the politics, the, the COVID the whatever the current technology is, AI whatever. I mean, there's always something that can make you feel uneasy and it's hard sometimes to know which way to go. Okay, maybe you now are freed of the Uber plan. That's maybe holding you back. But okay, now do I go left? Do I go right? Do I go down the middle? How conservative or how aggressive am I? So I want to talk about how we manage growth in uncertain times or uncertain thinking perspectives. And so what are some mistakes or maybe some wins that you've seen for business owners that you've worked with when trying to manage uncertain times?
Brad Farris [00:09:48]:
So let's just, let's pull back the lens a little bit and look at what the problem is with. Let's say I have that North Star, and my North Star might be, you know, I want to develop this new product or this new service offering. Right. And so I'm working toward developing this new service offering, but a new piece of software comes on the market or something changes in my marketplace, and now I don't know if obtaining that goal is actually going to get me the thing that I want. Right. So uncertainty causes us to doubt the goals or the direction we've set. And without some kind of a vision of where we're headed now, we start to feel unmoored, and every direction feels like it's the right direction. And so there's two things that I want to think about there. One is how do I get grounding again to where I can. Can have a vision that I have confidence? The second is what are the experiments I can do to give me some more data that gives me confidence in that longer term. And so when I'm feeling a lot of uncertainty, I want to take even more micro steps. Where can I get some feedback? Where can I get some data that helps me to solidify what my vision? Does that help? Does that make sense?
Joshua McNary [00:11:01]:
Yes. I mean, it kind of goes back to what you were saying before with the, with the next action thing. It's like breaking it down into smaller pieces that gives us some more control over what we're trying to deal with. When you have that big honking thing over there or this big scary monster in the closet over here. The uncertainty, yes. It makes, it makes it scary. It makes it harder to maybe take action. And whereas the next action thing is this, this idea of the, of the plan blocking us, the. The uncertainty, the exterior things coming in on us. The big monster in the closet is, is. Is a similar block to our, to our work. So I like what you're saying with regards to breaking it into pieces.
Brad Farris [00:11:40]:
Yeah.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:11:41]:
Brad, one of the things I'm curious about is, I understand that you're, you know, it's important for a business owner to have a vision, know where they're going, and it changes and things of that sort. But a lot of times as a business owner, we try to solve all the problems ourselves. We think if we just keep hammering it out, we're going to find the solution. And sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.
Brad Farris [00:12:02]:
That's right.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:12:02]:
What are some of the early signs that you have seen when a business owner is stuck or the wheels start falling off and they should be looking towards someone like you or outside help instead of trying to struggle through that change themselves?
Brad Farris [00:12:19]:
So the first thing that comes to mind is a kind of a dramatic signal. But I bet all three of us have. Have experienced this, which is you're waking up in the middle of the night and you're terrified. Right. Like, I remember in 20, late 2020, all the way through 2021, I woke up a lot of nights confident that my business was going right in the trash. Like, I. I have no idea what's going on, and that. That's a signal to me that I am unmoored like, that I don't have the grounding that I need to have. And the way that I started picturing it, it was like I'm. I'm in a Jeep trying to drive down a freeway in the middle of a earthquake, and the ground is moving all over the place, but I'm just going to keep driving. Right. That would be terrifying. That's. That's. That's crazy. I think the other thing that that happens is there's a. Some people, it goes the other way and they just feel unmotivated. They feel like they're burned out or they're. They can't because they can't see that there's any progress happening. They just feel like they're banging their head against the wall. And that's a good sign that you need some outside perspective.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:13:22]:
And I may be jumping the gun a little bit for some questions that Joshua wants to ask as well, too. But how do you separate between the things that the business owner needs to realize and do versus things that the team or the leadership needs to learn and do? Because there's usually a disconnect I find in there, because the business owner can only do so much themselves.
Brad Farris [00:13:47]:
Yeah, that's. You know, that's a really great insight. And one of the things that I tell clients is that it's the CEO's job to break things. Right. If nothing in the business ever gets broken, then. Then what you have is managed decline. Like. Like you're just going to get less and less relevant over time. So the CEO's job is to break some things, to move some things, to change things. But if. But a good CEO knows that there's a limit to how much change I can make in any one given Period of time. And, and so the successful CEO only breaks things at the rate that the team can absorb them. And so having communication, having an agreement between the management team and the CEO about, okay, my job is to push you guys and I need feedback from you when I'm pushing too hard or we're moving too quickly. But resisting change is not the way we're going to get to success either. And so there's an agreement there that we have to have with our team about what amount of change we can absorb without the wheels falling off the bike. Does that answer your question, Shawn?
Shawn FitzGerald [00:14:49]:
It does, it does. And I think that agreement or that communication between those different levels, that can be a tricky thing in and of the it is too. But if your team doesn't support you or isn't aligned, things can get worse. So that alignment is really important.
Brad Farris [00:15:07]:
And it again, a skilled leader is building that kind of trust with their team where the team can give the, the, the leader feedback. And there are situations where that trust hasn't been built. And the, you know, the, I can't remember the name of the book, but there's an example that I read of a Korean airline jet where the, the pilot was flying the airplane into a mountain and the, the co pilot saw that was happening but didn't feel like he could say anything about it. And you can hear on the flight recorder he's saying things, but they're very subtle. Like, hey, have you checked your visuals? You know, I think there might be something we need to avoid, but didn't feel comfortable saying what needed to be done. Pull up, we're going to hit a mountain, right? And they flew the plane right in the mountain. And I see that in businesses all the time.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:15:57]:
Following that thread, Brad, you know, you, you kind of crossed over the, the mindset of I'm focusing on the team and the movement. The plane, in this case, it's moving forward. It's a combination of lots of different people parts moving and then an individual who is the pilot and they're not doing something right, they're not thinking right, they're not acting right. So what are some of the things that you do to help business owners kind of straddle both of those lanes where they need to focus on the team, but then sometimes you need to focus on the individual. And sometimes as a business owner, I have found in my own story, I focus on the individual too much. And you know, how, what are some of the things that you have helped business owners do to straddle that?
Brad Farris [00:16:43]:
So I talk Shawn, about having three levels of leadership. We think of leadership as just this one thing, that you're a leader or you're not a leader. But in fact, there are three levels in leadership that I think are really important to pay attention. The first level is self leadership. How do I manage my own thoughts and emotions and actions so that I'm showing up as my best self? And I think a lot of business owners, we neglect this self leadership. We don't take care of ourselves because we're trying to take care of the business. And that means that we're showing up tired and hungry or without having good exercise or good energy. And so our interactions with people aren't what they could be because we haven't, we haven't taken care of ourselves. So that's the first level, is that self. The top level is leading the team. What you were talking about, about inner, inner the interplay between the leader and the organization. And that's what we usually think of as leadership. But then in the middle there's this, this third layer. And most of leadership actually happens one on one. It happens when I meet someone in the hallway or when I sit down at someone's desk or when I'm sending email. And that one to one leadership, if we're doing a good job of managing ourselves, is often the most powerful level of leadership where we're really focusing on communicating clearly to each of the team members and building that trust so they can communicate back to us. And so paying attention to all three of those levels of leadership helps us to stay in line and in tune with our team. That. Does that help bridge the gap you're asking about?
Shawn FitzGerald [00:18:17]:
Yeah, I think that's great insight. I think that's so important. Thank you.
Joshua McNary [00:18:20]:
Hey, Brad, I wanted to bring up another angle here. That's something that you and I have talked about in the past. You were publishing some of your newsletters here recently on this topic. You had a couple in a row or within a few weeks of each other talking about how to bring out your best days. Because you were just talking about us as leaders, making sure we're showing up and taking care of ourselves first. Right. So then we can serve our staff, our clients, those around us, you know, even in our personal lives, our families and communities. So could you talk a little bit about what you were sharing in those newsletters about how we end up maybe not in a position to serve in that way through our best days and how maybe to work to rectify it.
Brad Farris [00:18:59]:
So a lot of this, this thinking came out of the last six to 12 months where there have been a lot of things occurring that have upset sort of our ability to make plans and be consistently following our plans. And in that situation where there's a lot of turbulence, we need to be creative problem solvers, we need to be resilient, we need to have all of our best thinking skills available. And I was looking at clients who were showing up tired, exhausted, trying to do too much, trying to pack their, their days full. And I had a group of owners together and I said, you know, if you think about the days where you made big mistakes or where you just didn't show up as your best self, what did those days have in common? And everyone around the table said, well, I was in back to back meetings. You know, if I just, if I go back to back to back, by the end of the day, I'm a jerk. You know, people are going to send me an email and I'm going to blow up at them.
Joshua McNary [00:19:55]:
It takes a lot of energy to do those things.
Brad Farris [00:19:58]:
Yeah, yeah. And because you're, you're. One person said it best. He said, you know, something that happened three meetings ago is still on my mind. And so I'm not able to focus and be present on the meeting that I'm in. And so then I'm reacting to things instead of responding. Right. And we've all, we all experienced it, but in times where there's a lot going on, we need to bring our best selves. We need to be clear and be present with the people that we're with so that we can take that conversation as far as we possibly can so that we can resolve things completely in one meeting if we can, or in one email as opposed to going back. And we just don't have time for all the back and. Right. And so that means that we're taking time ahead of time to get good sleep. 1 hour less sleep a night has the cognitive effect of having a beer once an hour. And if you, if you were drinking a beer every hour, would you be great at your job? Probably. I wouldn't. I know I wouldn't. Let's just put it that way.
Joshua McNary [00:20:53]:
I don't think that's a good idea.
Brad Farris [00:20:55]:
Not recommended. Right. So getting good sleep, exercise for me, and again, other people might have this different. But if I'm exercising on a regular basis, it gives me so much more confidence and makes me feel like I'm doing something for myself, that I'm worth something and it helps me to respond better in interaction and then eating well. So that I'm well fueled for what's going on. Taking the time to do those things is just not optional when the world is what it is.
Joshua McNary [00:21:24]:
Those are all really important points to make. And us as leaders and us as staff members, whoever's listening to this, I mean those, those tips you were giving there about showing up in a position where you can actually make a difference. Be intentional with your actions as best as possible because we're always going to have curveballs come out sure. Along the day, but. But you're going to be more ready to hit those curveballs by being more prepared in your, your presentation for a best day and creating, manifesting the best days rather than maybe letting them happen by osmosis, through which they do happen, you know, even if you aren't planning for them. But, but to have more of them, which is what I think one of your newsletters specifically was titled is more Best Days.
Brad Farris [00:22:05]:
That's right. Just putting some buffer between your meetings. Like if you put 50. When I hired an assistant to manage my calendar and when I hired her, I gave her. I said two things. I said, number one, if I ever have a meeting on a Friday, you're fired. Number two, if meetings ever touch, you're fired. And you know what? Meetings never touch. And I don't have any meetings on Fridays.
Joshua McNary [00:22:25]:
Good expectations is also a good thing a leader does.
Brad Farris [00:22:28]:
Clear communication.
Joshua McNary [00:22:30]:
Absolutely. Okay. Well, another topic area I had planned to have us talk about was this, this idea of trusting in the slow work. I mean, you sent me a. I don't know if it's a poem or. Yeah, let's call it a poem. Limerick. I'm not sure what the technical term is, but a nice little dialogue that. It was called the Trust in the Slow Work of God and it was by a Frenchman, some long Frenchman's name. I don't know if you know.
Brad Farris [00:22:55]:
Yeah, it was a monk from like the 14th century or something. Okay, okay.
Joshua McNary [00:22:59]:
That's what it was. So we'll link that in the show notes. But this was important a number of years ago when you showed it to me because it was the idea of being intentional, slowing down, recognizing you didn't have to run the race every day. Which relates to a lot of things we've been talking about today, both operationally and personally already. So maybe talk about a little bit about that concept. And those that are wanting to read the poem can, can, can download it while they're, while they're listening.
Brad Farris [00:23:28]:
So there's two things that I think are background for that. The first is all problems exist in the future. We get really worried about things, particularly our own expectations. Oh, I, I, I should have achieved that goal already. Really? Why? Like what, what gives you that idea? Right. I should be better at this. I should be further along. Other people are further along. We're making comparisons and, and all of those things are ways that we're scaring ourselves. We're making, giving ourselves, um, problems that, that if we just stayed in the present. Here I am. These are the problems that I have. These are the challenges, these are solutions. This is the progress I've made most of the time. If we can stay in the present, things are actually really good. You know, I, I, I, I had a, I had a conversation earlier this year. A client was telling me that she had so much business, that her team was way overworked, but she couldn't possibly hire anybody because of course the economy is going south the second half of the year. I said, okay, I mean, if you know that, let's start betting on the stock market, because that sounds fantastic. But right now the problem you have is that your team is burning out and you need to hire somebody. Like, if we stay in the present, we have enough things to deal with what's going on in the present. And so trusting in the slow work of God means that we're going to get there in the right time, believing that there's a higher power and that, that the things that are going on in our life are unfolding in the time that they need. And we might not like that time. We might have agreements about that time. You can go outside and shake your fist at the sky and see how that helps. But maybe just being okay with being with what is might be a different.
Joshua McNary [00:25:07]:
Way to handle and that relates to the next action. Thinking we were talking about earlier, you know, is the idea that you can't know all the answers all the time. You know, you, you, you're, and, and the more steps you take forward tend to reveal those answers. So it's, it's, it's a, it connects with that in a way. That North Star idea that you were talking about. Yes. As well, earlier in, in that context.
Brad Farris [00:25:28]:
Yes, absolutely. And that they're, they're interrelated. They came to me in the same time that if we can be okay with what is because we can't control, like, what is, is right. Another thing a mentor told me is that if you can't influence something, then it just is right. You don't have to be mad about it. The client said, no. Okay. The client said no. Now, maybe there's some ways that I could change that, but maybe there aren't. And if there aren't, then it, it's like the tree in front of my house. Like, it doesn't. I don't have to have any emotion.
Joshua McNary [00:25:56]:
Patience. It's patience and perspective, which, you know, is hard to do in certain capacities. You know, when, when there are uncertainties or there's cash flow issues or, or you're tired. You know, again, relating to some of the other themes we've had here. It can be harder to do these things, but it's something to aspire to and try to make decision making and actions in our business, be more strategic, be more intentional by having some, some belief in some, some greater thing kind of pushing this all the way through. And, and I think we've seen in our businesses that, you know, that we've seen some of these things play out and maybe they haven't played out exactly how we expected.
Brad Farris [00:26:33]:
Yes.
Joshua McNary [00:26:33]:
As you were alluding to. But they, they have and do play out.
Brad Farris [00:26:36]:
You know, it's interesting what you said, Josh, and I just, I just want to point this out. You said it's hard sometimes to stay in the present, which I agree, it can be hard to stay in the present. I think it's also hard to live in the future. You know, like, I have a friend who's is kind of one of those worst case scenario guys and he says, you know, I've, I've enjoyed dozens of disasters that never happen and it's super hard to like live through all that roller coaster of up and down of these stories that we tell ourselves about how everything's going to be a disaster instead of just being where we are. I mean, I think it is hard to be where we are. It's a continual discipline. But it's also hard not to.
Joshua McNary [00:27:13]:
Absolutely. Yeah, it does, it does make it harder. And I think back to. I'm a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fan from years ago. Saw the band in concert many times. And there's a line in one of the songs from Wildflowers, the album Wildflowers that Tom sings is. Most things I worry about never happen anyways.
Brad Farris [00:27:34]:
That's right.
Joshua McNary [00:27:34]:
And that's something that even as a teenager hit me hard and tells you something about my personality and, and, and it's something that, you know, I've, I've, I've retained and I do think back to that very regular. That's basically the same concept he was talking about. So it's Something in the ethos of our culture and, and the ethos of being a business owner that I think we all can remember and gain from.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:27:56]:
So, Brad, you've talked a lot about the business owner needing to kind of protect their own space, to give themselves time to get rested, you know, to be able to do their job well. And you were also just talking about how we need to let things evolve or develop because sometimes there's other things that happen that we may not understand or be prepared for. But then again, there is the cold hard fact that the business needs to grow, money needs to come in and things of that sort.
Brad Farris [00:28:30]:
Yeah. So.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:28:30]:
So what would you say to one of our listeners who is going, well, I understand the need for the personal growth, but I also have to make sure the business grows because there's people counting on the business to succeed. Where, you know, how do you find that intersection between personal growth and the growth of the business playing out? Because they can be at odds at some time.
Brad Farris [00:28:53]:
Yeah. Can I ask you a question, Shawn?
Shawn FitzGerald [00:28:55]:
Go right ahead, please.
Brad Farris [00:28:57]:
Let's say I took the best player on your local high school football team and said, suit up, buddy, you're going to the NFL. How, how, how would that work out?
Shawn FitzGerald [00:29:05]:
Well, in, in what capacity? How would the person do? Yeah, well, I think that it would depend on how they contribute to their team because in that situation, the win involves everybody, not just one person, of.
Brad Farris [00:29:20]:
Course, but, but a high school football player is unlikely to have the skills and the ability and even the strength and size that they need to be successful in this. That agree with that.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:29:29]:
Right. But, but also on the same token, there must be something they possess. Otherwise for sure, whoever sent them up there, if they're not prepared, then that was a mistake. So you have to assume that there's room to grow. Of course.
Brad Farris [00:29:41]:
Right. So what I see sometimes I see, I see owners who want, who say I want to be in a business twice as big as I am. And, and I think that's great, that's a good North Star. Right. But you may not have the strength or the ability to lead a business is twice as there. There are going to be things that are required of you as a. In that business that's twice the size that you.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:30:03]:
Sure.
Brad Farris [00:30:04]:
And so focusing on how can you grow yourself enables or creates the ability for the rest of the grow. And if we try to grow the business without growing ourselves, we end up out over our skis. We end up like that high school player who's getting crushed by a three pound defensive lineman.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:30:22]:
Right, right. Well, what are some of the things that, that you. What is something that a business owner can do to get that resilience, to get those skills, to get the confidence that they need to basically perform at the next level?
Brad Farris [00:30:39]:
Yeah. So most of the time, well, I see business owners coming to me saying, brad, what I need to do is just to work harder. Right. Like, because working hard is what got me to here. If I just work twice as hard, then I can have a business that's twice as right.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:30:52]:
And we know that that will work.
Brad Farris [00:30:54]:
Okay, I'm glad.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:30:56]:
Yes.
Joshua McNary [00:30:56]:
Well, and in sports, in sports, sometimes, you know, there's, there's, there's people who skill wise are maybe comparable to someone else that goes on further.
Brad Farris [00:31:08]:
Yes.
Joshua McNary [00:31:08]:
Right. It's not always like strictly the hard work and like the same skill. It's the mental side, it's the.
Brad Farris [00:31:14]:
That's right.
Joshua McNary [00:31:15]:
It's the teamwork side that Shawn was alluding to and such as.
Brad Farris [00:31:18]:
Well, and we talk about when rookies enter into the pro sports, we talk about seeing when the game slows down for. Right. When they can see things that are happening, they've built up the patterns, they understand what's going on. And so there's a mental part of what happens that then enables the physical part to. And so a lot of what I see changing is often identity. So the, the person that's in that million to $2 million business, they feel like they're the glue that's making everything happen. There. There's a, there's superhero mentality. I have to swoop in and save the day. But the bigger the organization gets, the more things there are to swoop in and that strategy. And so it's a change of identity that says, no, actually, if I'm saving the day, that's a problem. That means that the organization has failed in a way where they're not. They don't have the resiliency to be able to take care of these problems. So I had to step in. I have one client that writes down every time he felt like he had to save something. And at the end of every month, he goes through that list with his team and says, how can we make sure that none of these ever happening? So it's, it's changing your identity from the person doing things to the person who. Creating the systems, methods that allow other.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:32:30]:
You know, I, I think that for the people that are listening to this podcast right now, I think that what Brad just said is something that you really need to back up and listen to again. Because I think the, you know, in my experience, especially with people we've talked to here a couple episodes back, where when I was talking with Mike Wagner, he was saying one of the biggest mistakes that business owners, leaders do is they confuse leadership as being something of being in power. And he said, in actuality, it's being empowering so that it's not you in control, it's you enabling the control in your team in order to build that high performance team that we're all looking for. And I think that's. I mean, I can look back in my time if all these different companies and places I've worked and some of my worst experience with leaders were they were power hungry or they were selfish or they were controlling or all these negative words, but they were trying to control so much and they didn't understand what their role was. And I think that that mind shift of being one of empowerment versus being one of the being in power, I think is so, so important. And we all fall into that trap even when we know better.
Brad Farris [00:33:47]:
Yeah, that's. That's critical. I love that.
Joshua McNary [00:33:50]:
All right, well, we're getting down to the end of our time together. I'm sure we could talk for hours upon hours. But I'm going to bring us to our closing question that we ask all those that join the show. So, Brad, what's one piece of advice you would give business owners trying to navigate uncertainty and who are trying to grow?
Brad Farris [00:34:07]:
I keep a little card on my desk here that says you can accomplish your goals in a very slow, relaxed way. You can accomplish your goals in a very relaxed, slow. And when I hold that up for people and they look at it, generally people laugh or they're like, are you crazy? But thinking about the fact that there is a way for you to. Where you can be relaxed slow, regardless of how uncertain things are, regardless of how much work there is in front of you, there's a way to do this. And. And for many of us, we get stuck in a groove where there's only one way that I can solve this problem. And that thought, there's a way that I can do this in a relaxed way that breaks me out of that and says, okay, maybe I should do.
Joshua McNary [00:34:47]:
That's awesome. And I know you shared that with me in the past, and I think. I think I've gotten better at that. And I don't just smile anymore.
Brad Farris [00:34:54]:
Yeah.
Joshua McNary [00:34:54]:
Yeah. So that's good. Okay. Our final, final question is, what is the best piece of advice you've ever received that has stuck with you?
Brad Farris [00:35:04]:
I had a former coach and she would tell me to stay. And stay is an acronym that says stop thinking it's about you. And tons of times when I'm in a tussle with someone or when I feel like there's a, there's a power struggle or, or someone's not getting what I'm trying to get them to do or they're disappointed in me. The assumption there is that always it's that I've done something, that I am the problem. And nine times out of ten that's not true. It might be that they had a bad day or that there's just a situation here that's not clear. And if I can back up and say okay, if this isn't about me, what else could that gives me a way out of a lot of areas where he's stuck in a Excellent advice.
Joshua McNary [00:35:42]:
That is great advice for us to end the show on Brad. Thank you for that. This has been great. Where can people find out more about you online?
Brad Farris [00:36:01]:
The best place to find out about my organization, our services is anchoradvisors.com or if you look me up on LinkedIn. I'm Brad Farris with an A F A R R I s on LinkedIn. I also I wanted to let you know that there are a couple of assessments on my site that are free, free to take, don't require an email. You get the information right away. One, if you were thinking about those, those levels of leadership and you want to think about well how am I doing on that self leadership, that place where I see a lot of people falling down. If you go to anchoradvisors.com self leadership assessment, there's just an 8 or 10 question survey there that can help you if you're looking to grow your business. There's there are different predictable phases that businesses grow through, go through as they grow and if you go to anchoradvisors.com Growth Phase, an assessment there that tells you what phase that you're in and can give you some advice that can show you what are the next steps that you can take that'll that'll help you get to the next level.
Joshua McNary [00:37:01]:
Perfect. That's great. And we'll make sure those links are in the description and show notes here so people can get easily to those. This has been great to have you here today, Brad. Thanks for joining us today.
Brad Farris [00:37:11]:
It's been a joy. I'M so glad we did this.
Shawn FitzGerald [00:37:14]:
Thanks Brad.
Joshua McNary [00:37:17]:
Thanks for listening to Intentional Change. If today's conversation sparks something within you, I hope you will apply it with purpose in your own business. I'd love to hear how our Intentional Change podcast is helping you make a difference in your business. To drop me a Note, please visit mcnarymarketing.com and click on the contact button in the top right. To contact Shawn FitzGerald, my co host, visit readytolevelup.com and one last thing, don't forget to subscribe and share this show with others in your network. Help us bring Intentional Change to every growing business. Until next time, I'm Joshua McNary. Bye now.
