Entrepreneurs: Let It Go!

[00:00:18] Hello, everybody. I am Andy coming to you from the United Kingdom.

[00:00:23] And I'm Scott and I'm still in Canada.

[00:00:27] Lucky you.

[00:00:28] Still Scott and I'm still in Canada.

[00:00:29] Still Scott, you're still in Canada. And this is still the Tea and Timbits podcast,

[00:00:33] Global Perspectives on Business Development to Help You Prosper, but not to help you speak.

[00:00:40] This week we are going to be talking about Letting Go.

[00:00:43] So it's the final episode of our entrepreneurial themed series that we've been doing now through

[00:00:52] the month of August.

[00:00:53] And so it certainly seems like this is us letting go of a particular theme, but that's not the

[00:00:59] purpose or what we mean by letting go.

[00:01:02] We will tell you more about that in just a moment.

[00:01:04] But first, Scott, you have a story for us.

[00:01:06] We're also very sorry for putting the frozen theme song in your head now.

[00:01:09] So.

[00:01:12] Oh, no, now you've got it.

[00:01:14] Here.

[00:01:18] Now it's in his.

[00:01:19] Oh, no.

[00:01:21] Right. Now we have to change, change the topic or change the title of the episode.

[00:01:27] Yeah, not happening.

[00:01:30] Funny, funny story before I get into my actual story, just before we hit record,

[00:01:34] I was just checking my inbox and, you know, we have a contact form on the website

[00:01:39] and, you know, it's kind of a catchall for anything.

[00:01:41] And we get all kinds of things through it.

[00:01:44] And sometimes you even get a client who reaches out to you that way.

[00:01:49] A lot of times it's like we can we can provide services.

[00:01:52] You can outsource to us and we should be the best business partners.

[00:01:55] Everyone that just came in to a corporate.

[00:01:59] Contact form was somebody selling.

[00:02:04] Spells.

[00:02:06] They could.

[00:02:06] Yep, they could cast a spell to to provide prosperity, to solve problems.

[00:02:14] And it was 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed.

[00:02:18] Okay. Fantastic.

[00:02:21] Wow.

[00:02:23] Fantastic.

[00:02:23] That was not the story I was going to tell.

[00:02:27] Right. I was going to tell a story about internal process validation.

[00:02:32] So we have we are a growing business and we have definitely been feeling in the past year

[00:02:42] that some of the things that we used to be able to do well

[00:02:46] are no longer being done as well as we know that they should be getting done.

[00:02:50] And there's all kinds of different reasons for that.

[00:02:52] And you could just kind of point blame and whatnot.

[00:02:54] But what we are doing at the moment is a series of internal workshops

[00:02:59] to say where's the pain?

[00:03:02] Where does everybody feel is the priority level for solving these different pains?

[00:03:09] And what are people's perspectives on potential solutions for some of these

[00:03:14] some of this friction that we are encountering?

[00:03:18] And we're getting all kinds of great feedback, you know, and there is external factors,

[00:03:21] but there's also internal factors.

[00:03:24] But we did it.

[00:03:26] I was in one of these conversations yesterday.

[00:03:29] It's very hard, by the way, to just let everybody else speak

[00:03:32] when you're sort of the business owner in this situation.

[00:03:36] But somebody on staff pinged me after the fact to say that was really good.

[00:03:43] Do you think we could do this like on a monthly basis?

[00:03:46] And not because like we have so many problems and so much friction

[00:03:50] and we should be working on all the time, but because in the conversation

[00:03:54] it surfaced that there are certain people who have certain challenges

[00:03:59] that are already sort of solved or for them more of an annoyance

[00:04:04] for somebody else, almost a minor inconvenience or somebody else

[00:04:07] doesn't even deal with it.

[00:04:09] And just to be aware that somebody else and so there were these little

[00:04:12] sort of ancillary benefits and quick fixes that a lot of people got

[00:04:17] for their their individual circumstances.

[00:04:19] OK, yeah. In addition to, yes, we had a broader conversation

[00:04:23] about the theme of some of our overarching, broader themes and processes

[00:04:26] that we're going to continue to work on together.

[00:04:29] But I thought I would share that as sort of we set out to achieve one thing

[00:04:34] and we're still working on that, but it had this excellent additional benefit.

[00:04:39] And we don't certainly don't operationalize the process

[00:04:42] of talking about internal friction.

[00:04:45] So maybe we will on some cadence going forward.

[00:04:50] I like how it can often be the case as well,

[00:04:53] is that you do something for one particular purpose

[00:04:56] and then something else positive comes out of it as well.

[00:05:00] It's very rewarding because then at least you know you're doing something right.

[00:05:03] Right. So I don't know that parallels to a to a theme of letting go.

[00:05:10] But let's see where the conversation leads us.

[00:05:13] That's right. That's right. This is.

[00:05:14] I mean, I want people to really is.

[00:05:23] Understanding that letting go of things is crucial for growth and innovation and so on.

[00:05:28] And holding on to outdated practices is the sort of, you know,

[00:05:33] or failing product or whatever it may be.

[00:05:39] Also, unproductive team members.

[00:05:42] That's the thing is that, you know, those three things, I think, you know,

[00:05:46] outdated practices, failing products and unproductive team members.

[00:05:51] If you're holding on to those things, you are holding your business back.

[00:05:55] And that's what I see very, very regularly in the companies

[00:05:59] that I've been working with in the places where you have issues

[00:06:03] and it doesn't matter what industry it is,

[00:06:05] it's those things that are holding people back.

[00:06:08] But it's it's also being clear about how to identify those

[00:06:12] and how to deal with those is the key and identifying what to let go of.

[00:06:18] Because it may be that it looks like it's an unproductive team member,

[00:06:21] but actually it's a failing product or it may be that it's a failing product,

[00:06:24] but it looks like it's an outdated practice.

[00:06:26] So it's really important to be clear of it before you start taking any

[00:06:30] decisions or actions.

[00:06:31] But ultimately I want people to come away from this understanding

[00:06:34] that don't keep hold of things that aren't working.

[00:06:39] And I guess from an entrepreneur in our theme of entrepreneurial issues

[00:06:45] and challenges in the month of August here,

[00:06:49] this is more in my mind about things that your time as the entrepreneur

[00:06:54] are better suited to that and letting go of some of those things

[00:06:59] that are better, better managed or addressed by somebody else

[00:07:04] for a variety of different reasons.

[00:07:06] Yeah, it's about focusing on the long term vision and great

[00:07:09] to good of the business really, isn't it?

[00:07:11] For some entrepreneurs, absolutely.

[00:07:13] I think most people who start a business who are entrepreneurial,

[00:07:17] it is probably more because they need to be working on the business.

[00:07:22] Although I see a lot, especially in the tech sector,

[00:07:25] a lot of entrepreneurs who are the founder of the idea.

[00:07:29] They built the first version of where they are the the inventor.

[00:07:34] But they are not a business person.

[00:07:39] And so, you know, it's not always about being letting go of the doing

[00:07:45] and focusing on the building.

[00:07:47] Sometimes it's the other way around.

[00:07:49] Yeah, that's a very valid point.

[00:07:52] I mean, in your experience, what is the best way to,

[00:08:00] you know, what is the best process for letting go of something?

[00:08:04] That's a really good question because I don't think that I really know.

[00:08:08] I think that it often happens in my mind too late for me anyway.

[00:08:14] So yeah, it's it's doing things so long and just knowing that,

[00:08:21] like, you know what, I can just do that.

[00:08:23] I can just figure that out.

[00:08:25] I know I can I can address that, solve that, produce that in in a nanosecond.

[00:08:32] And somebody else, you know, boy, it's going to it's going to take them

[00:08:35] a very long time to build the context of awareness, understanding

[00:08:39] and confidence to as efficiently provide the solution.

[00:08:45] And when I can do it quickly, they can do something else.

[00:08:50] And and so I find myself in that trap on a regular basis

[00:08:56] and and avoiding, you know, supporting somebody else's skill

[00:09:03] to eventually get to that same point or recognizing when,

[00:09:08] you know, they're doing something that they should let go of

[00:09:10] because they need to be focusing on higher value things.

[00:09:16] So do you do you feel that, you know, that process of letting go

[00:09:20] is something that should happen quickly or is something that can happen

[00:09:24] or should happen gradually over time to minimize the impact on the team

[00:09:29] and the operations? I don't.

[00:09:32] I mean, I'm giving you non answers here because I also think I really have a good answer.

[00:09:36] I don't think there is a fixed answer.

[00:09:38] I think it is very circumstantial.

[00:09:40] It has to be done with intention.

[00:09:41] I think I guess to answer your first question is how does this how does this

[00:09:45] done? You have to have some focus time to reflect on this.

[00:09:51] And if I go back to my story at the top of the episode here,

[00:09:55] socialize it with the group, find out where your friction points,

[00:09:58] where your challenges are, where your opportunities are,

[00:10:00] where things are not being done or they are being done and

[00:10:05] and and get the feedback from the team

[00:10:10] because maybe somebody else can can do it wants to do it.

[00:10:14] We'll point out for you that you shouldn't be doing it.

[00:10:17] And so I think with without having some intentional

[00:10:22] capacity to reflect on the contribution that you do make,

[00:10:28] it's almost impossible to to have the self-awareness for everything

[00:10:33] that you should or should not be doing.

[00:10:36] Would you say that there's a different process of letting go for

[00:10:40] letting go of products and services, letting go of

[00:10:44] outdated practices, letting go of personnel?

[00:10:47] Or would you say that there's a similar approach to all of those

[00:10:51] that it's all based on data fact and, you know, risk assessments

[00:10:55] for the internet that they would have?

[00:10:58] I mean, I think it's much easier to build to measure for

[00:11:03] underperforming products and services and people.

[00:11:06] You can you can you can simply see utilization, productivity,

[00:11:10] behavior analysis, you can see profitability, revenue, that kind of thing.

[00:11:16] And that's sort of an easier measure often than sort of some of the

[00:11:20] individual contributions when you're excelling at something.

[00:11:25] Sometimes those are the things you need to let go.

[00:11:26] So sometimes it's not like underperforming things need to be like.

[00:11:29] No, OK. Right.

[00:11:31] So I so one, I think there's a trap there where there's an underperforming thing

[00:11:34] that you should let go and you try to hold on to it.

[00:11:36] You try to rescue it.

[00:11:37] You over invest in bringing it back.

[00:11:40] Or you just don't want to let that client go or or whatnot

[00:11:44] because they've been great to work with for 10 years,

[00:11:47] but they take too much of your time now.

[00:11:51] When when when you have something on the other side, which is

[00:11:55] this is just working really, really well.

[00:11:59] It can also be something to for you to individually,

[00:12:02] that doesn't mean a business necessary.

[00:12:04] Let's go with it, but it's reallocation.

[00:12:06] It's giving passing it on.

[00:12:07] It might lose efficiency because somebody else needs to take more time

[00:12:10] to do the same thing.

[00:12:12] So I think that's where the difference is in my mind.

[00:12:18] Yeah, makes makes a lot of sense.

[00:12:20] I think ultimately, you know, if you want to succeed with,

[00:12:24] you know, with with letting go, it's.

[00:12:28] It's very easy to be drawn into, you know, focusing on,

[00:12:32] oh, this thing isn't working or this thing isn't working as I want it to.

[00:12:35] Or this thing isn't performing as it should do,

[00:12:37] or this thing isn't giving the results that we wanted.

[00:12:40] But I think so long as you stay true to your like your business vision,

[00:12:44] your your.

[00:12:47] Focusing on your core strength and making sure that

[00:12:51] it's in the name of innovation and an evolution of the business,

[00:12:54] then I think you're going to be OK.

[00:12:56] And then it may be that you dial back on something

[00:12:59] or that you increase other things or that you go,

[00:13:01] actually, this is our highest performing product,

[00:13:04] but it doesn't match with our goal.

[00:13:06] You know, do we change the entire vision of the company to go that way?

[00:13:10] Or do we actually adjust and spin that off into something else

[00:13:15] and then continue with our original goal and vision

[00:13:18] and focus on that with the resources that we have?

[00:13:20] You know, there's many, many different outcomes

[00:13:22] depending on the scenarios and circumstances you're in.

[00:13:24] The key message is is being willing to actually look at it,

[00:13:28] not get stuck in the same way and repeating the same old things,

[00:13:33] but actually continually looking at it.

[00:13:35] Like we said last week, it's important to.

[00:13:38] Have that reflection on a business and be prepared to evolve

[00:13:43] and working on the business will allow you to do that

[00:13:46] as well as working in the business.

[00:13:49] And I kind of find the word innovation

[00:13:53] a little bit cringe sometimes, but I really like it in this context.

[00:13:59] I think that that is something you need to think about

[00:14:03] whether or not as part of your corporate culture

[00:14:06] and business posture.

[00:14:10] If you want to be advancing and innovating,

[00:14:15] you cannot expect it to just fall in your lap

[00:14:19] or to just organically happen.

[00:14:20] You have to think about whether or not you are maintaining

[00:14:25] a certain level of innovation.

[00:14:29] And if you are advancing and to advance, you have to let go,

[00:14:33] not necessarily in equal weights, but something has to give,

[00:14:38] something has to change, something has to grow,

[00:14:40] something has to advance if that is going to take place.

[00:14:45] Yeah.

[00:14:46] A lot of businesses that I have worked with clients,

[00:14:51] what not business partners,

[00:14:54] they get very comfortable in their lane

[00:14:59] and then they shift to out of an innovative posture

[00:15:03] into an operating posture.

[00:15:07] And some of them do it with intention

[00:15:10] and be like, you know what?

[00:15:11] I got it to this point and I'm happy

[00:15:12] and I like the lifestyle or, you know,

[00:15:15] I was able to go public and somebody else just took it

[00:15:18] and integrated it in as a standard line item,

[00:15:21] a standard SKU, whatever.

[00:15:24] And I'm not saying there's necessarily anything bad about that.

[00:15:27] As long as again, it's sort of done with intention.

[00:15:29] It's like, you know what?

[00:15:30] I'm going to accept the fact that this is where we are now

[00:15:32] and I get to what I get to let go of in that point

[00:15:36] is as much working on the business as I used to.

[00:15:39] And now I have more time to do some other adventure,

[00:15:42] whether that's personal or professional.

[00:15:44] That's true.

[00:15:45] But I think as well, this idea of continuous improvement

[00:15:50] is more natural in the entrepreneurial environment

[00:15:53] because of course it comes from, you know,

[00:15:56] that desire to see something that needs to change

[00:16:00] and embrace that and take that to the market.

[00:16:01] But it's important, as you say,

[00:16:04] to ensure that that's there, but it's done in the right way.

[00:16:08] And that you're not just changing for the sake of changing.

[00:16:11] Oh, you know, Scott and Andy said on the podcast,

[00:16:14] we need to change and innovate.

[00:16:15] OK, we'll do that.

[00:16:16] You know, it's got to be for a real purpose

[00:16:19] and not to say that we're wrong,

[00:16:20] but we don't know your business.

[00:16:24] And I mean, if all else fails, just reach out

[00:16:27] and touch and I will give you a magic spell

[00:16:29] in order to solve it.

[00:16:33] Be careful of those spells might turn into curses.

[00:16:36] I think that was a different offer.

[00:16:39] Very good, very good.

[00:16:40] I think we've concluded this episode and this series very well.

[00:16:46] And, you know, even though we were talking about letting go

[00:16:48] the conclusive message that we had at the end there

[00:16:54] was about innovation and growth.

[00:16:56] And I think ultimately, this is what it's all about.

[00:17:00] If you want to succeed in business,

[00:17:02] you've got to be willing to innovate.

[00:17:03] You've got to embrace the ideas and the entrepreneurial mindset,

[00:17:07] as we said, into an existing business.

[00:17:09] No matter what the size, keep all of these things in mind.

[00:17:13] Go back, listen to some of the other episodes

[00:17:14] and have a think about that.

[00:17:16] And the only constant is change.

[00:17:20] There we go.

[00:17:21] Please go to Tntimbits.com to find out ways to get in touch with us.

[00:17:26] Propose new series ideas and to give us feedback on the series

[00:17:30] that you've just listened to about entrepreneurial development

[00:17:34] and listen to future episodes by signing up

[00:17:37] and subscribing on the same website as well.

[00:17:40] Thank you very much, Scott.

[00:17:41] Thanks, Andy. Thanks, everybody.