System & Soul

So, you think you’re a good driver, huh? Well, research shows more people are not as good as they think they are. Same thing goes for listening skills. Turns out that nodding your head, interjecting the occasional “Ah hah,” refraining from interrupting, and regurgitating words don’t cut it for good listening skills. In today’s System & Soul tip, Chris White discusses the qualities of a good listener, according to new research. Why is this important for you as a business leader? If you can’t listen, you can’t lead. Without good listening skills, how will you know core issues within your business? How will you gain insight into solutions? How will you foster a team that confides in you and feels heard? How will you build trust? A lot is riding on your listening skills. If you’re interested in discovering more about your leadership and the health of your organization, visit us at SystemandSoul.com, and take our 5-minute diagnostic test on your company's health. S2 Tips are brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

In one form or another, you’re probably heard, “What get’s measured gets managed.” That’s because metrics are insanely valuable assets that provide clarity and control in your organization! We’ve talked a lot about data-driven decisions on the podcast recently. But it’s easier to talk about data in theory than it is to practically implement it into your business. That’s why, today, we’re sharing the scoreboard component of the System & Soul model. Your scoreboard is a practical way to assess and manage your business through data, metrics, and KPIs. In this episode we demystify the scoreboard, discuss common missteps in keeping a scoreboard, and explain why this is such a valuable tool for examining whether the core functions of your business are winning or not. Whether you’re a pro at scoreboards, brand spanking new to scoreboards, or don’t know how or what to measure with your scoreboard, this episode will help you gain more clarity and control for your business. This episode is brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

You’re a leader who cares about getting results, achieving your vision, and caring for your team. But, if you’re a leader who lacks trust in your team’s ability to deliver on goals, you have two options: be a micromanager, or... give abundant clarity! Most micromanagers find themselves in the weeds because they weren’t clear enough on the objective from the start. In this week’s S2 Tip, you’ll learn about a tool at System & Soul called CAR, which will teach you how to be clear on objectives, give the freedom and trust to the people to execute, and be accountable to achieve the desired outcome. S2 Tips are brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

Leadership is an elusive concept. Just about everyone has their own definition of what leadership is. And, most people’s definition is a reflection of who they are rather than the actual qualities that building a healthy, successful, and growing organization requires. This poses a potential problem in the workspace by creating subjective (often unspoken) expectations of leadership. In this episode of System and Soul, we talk with our good friend John Ott, leadership development coach and Operator at Exceptional Leaders. John shares the components of leadership that he and his organization have identified through extensive research and data. Of the ten key attributes they’ve identified, two of them are responsible for three quarters of a leader’s effectiveness, according to their data. We discuss these two attributes and uncover some of the key practices many leaders often overlook when it comes to the soul of their organization. Learn more about Exceptional Leaders here, or connect with John on LinkedIn here. Download a PDF on this topic here.  Download a PDF on "How We Change" here. This episode is sponsored by Keystone Search. The team at KeyStone Search is an expert at helping Visionaries hire their ideal Integrator. KeyStone has conducted successful Integrator searches across the country and they are proud to say when EOS Worldwide needed a new Integrator in 2016, KeyStone was the firm of choice. If hiring a "rock star" Integrator is in your future, go to www.keystonesearch.com

When you’re in the grind, it’s hard to get the time you need to get clear on the biggest issues and opportunities in your business. That’s one big reason that breaks are a huge asset to entrepreneurs and business leaders. So, how do you spend your breaks? In this week’s S2 Tip, we challenge you to take some time during your break (whether it’s vacation, a sabbatical, or even your intentional clarity break) to dig into the questions that will challenge you. Chris White shares the questions he’ll be asking on his vacation, and he encourages you to do the same. The questions you need to ask are the ones you keep putting off and avoiding. It’s time to get crystal clear. S2 Tips are brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

If your mind is a mess, your whole life will be a mess. Fortunately your mind is something you can manage. Proper mind management can help improve your leadership ability, help companies reduce burnout, and it’s perhaps one of the most important skills anyone can learn! Today on System and Soul, we’ve invited none other than neuroscientist and mental health expert, Dr. Caroline Leaf, onto the podcast to discuss her passion for making improvements to mental health simple and sustainable, and how you can improve your mental health and rewire your brain with simple and scientifically tested techniques. You can learn more about Dr. Leaf at DrLeaf.com, or by picking up one of her books, such as her latest release Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess. Dr. Leaf has also developed the Neurocycle app––a resource for people who want to detox their brain by eliminating stress, anxiety, depression, and toxic thinking. Find more resources by Dr. Leaf here! This episode is sponsored by Titus Talent Strategies. Titus Talent Strategies equips companies to make the best attraction, engagement, hiring, and development decisions to meet their organization’s people and performance objectives. Learn more at titustalent.com.

Anybody else out there hate small talk? It’s so easy to ask pass/fail, yes/no questions that we’ve made a habit out of confusing small talk for real talk. Terrible questions give no room for creativity or collaboration. But great questions have the power to connect people, provide the opportunity to learn something new, and can reveal important issues in your business. In this episode of S2 Tips, we encourage you to exercise your question-asking muscle. Asking “backdoor” questions is key to relating to your people, identifying problems, and opening the door for collaboration and input. S2 Tips are brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

A rapidly increasing number of businesses are using data to make better, well-informed decisions for their organization. With data analytics becoming more necessary and accessible, it’s also becoming more ubiquitous in today’s business world. This week on System & Soul, we talk with Nelson Davis, Founding Partner and Chief Visioneer at Analytic Vizion. Nelson explains how organizations can benefit from analytical-based thinking and what first steps any organization can take to become better data-driven decision makers––what Nelson calls “analytic maturity.” Listen to learn how your organization can benefit from analytical-based thinking and about the incredible culture at Analytic Vision, where they’re fostering data driven thinkers and teaching them how to start their own data analytic companies. This episode is sponsored by Delegate Solutions. Many entrepreneurs are overwhelmed, burnt out, and frustrated because they aren't able to spend enough time on their highest and best work.  They know they need to delegate to an assistant, but they don't want the responsibility of managing one. At Delegate Solutions, we provide leaders with a different approach to admin support, without the hassles of committing to an employee.  We support our clients remotely in as little as 1-2 hours per day all the way through to full-time.  Our systematic approach includes customized delegation coaching to help you figure out what and how best to delegate, coupled with a team of thinkers and doers to continually get those things off your plate. We love to help visionary leaders free up time so they can do more of what they love and have a big impact. Learn more about our delegation support system by visiting www.delegatesolutions.com.

What does a successful mission look like? How do you navigate and anticipate obstacles, move forward with limited resources, and stay on track while trying to make progress in your business? In this week’s tip, we talk about “Commander’s Intent.” Commander’s intent is the tool that military planner’s and strategists use to paint a picture of what a successful mission looks like despite ambiguities, obstacles, and limited intelligence. This episode is brought to you by Ninety. Ninety is a cloud-based collection of the essential business building and awareness tools you need to make running your business almost easy. The clean and extraordinarily intuitive system includes every one of the tools you need to not only run your operating system but cascade it down and throughout your company. Learn more at Ninety.io

People are messy. Not “cluttered desk, haven’t showered in a couple days, Cheetos in the beard” kind of messy… hopefully. People are messy in the sense that we’re all different––we’re wired differently, we work differently, and we move at different speeds. This is a wonderful thing by the way. But, how does your organization ensure that people aren’t getting left behind, too far ahead, or off track because of these differences? This is where “cadence” comes in. Cadence is the heartbeat of your organization––it’s the rhythm and process of making sure everyone is moving in the same direction at the same speed and pace. In this episode, we talk about the key components and practices that your organization should embrace to create, manage, and maintain its cadence. Learn more about cadence and the framework for the system and soul of your business at SystemandSoul.com. This episode is sponsored by Keystone Search. The team at KeyStone Search is an expert at helping Visionaries hire their ideal Integrator. KeyStone has conducted successful Integrator searches across the country and they are proud to say when EOS Worldwide needed a new Integrator in 2016, KeyStone was the firm of choice. If hiring a "rock star" Integrator is in your future, go to www.keystonesearch.com