The holiday season can oftentimes be jam-packed with sales and added stress for yourself and your small business. Joining us today to discuss how business leaders can manage this added stress is Mike Robbins, speaker, coach, former professional baseball player, and best-selling author of “We’re All in this Together.”
Transcription:
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Mike, thanks so much for joining us once again on the show.
Mike Robbins:
Jim, good to be back. How are you?
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Good. I’m doing great. Hopefully, you had a nice Thanksgiving.
Mike Robbins:
Yep.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Great. So now, as I mentioned in the opening, a lot of leaders and sales managers and small business owners and such are trying to close the year out strong. It’s been a very unique year, to say the least. Now here we are, once again, looking at maybe another virus or at least a variant coming our way. We don’t know what’s going to happen there. I think it’s got some business people nervous, certainly the stock market’s a little nervous over it as well. But from your perspective, what should owners and leaders and salespeople be focused on during the holiday season, specifically and preparing for the new year?
Mike Robbins:
Look, Jim, I think it’s important to acknowledge what an up and down and challenging year it’s been for so many businesses on the heels of last year, which was challenging for a whole different set of reasons, but we’re still in the midst through all of this. I come from the world of sports. I played baseball in college and then played professionally with the Kansas City Royals for a few years. And my coaches used to always say, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” So I think as we come down the stretch of the year, it’s important to really stay focused and try to finish strong, while at the same time, realizing that most of us, business owners and employees, have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster and it looks like that’s going to continue.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. And who better learn from than right here in Atlanta where our studios are. Home of the world champion Braves, right?
Mike Robbins:
Exactly. The Braves are a great example of it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And I’ve been using them as an example all the last month or two as they won the world series, because the Braves lost a bunch of games throughout the season and really struggled to make adjustments. Lost some players, had to make adjustments, and then at the end of the season, even though there were a couple teams in the national league that won over a hundred games, they were the ones at the end with the trophy. And so I think that’s a good analogy for everybody in Atlanta and Braves fans. But even if you’re not a Braves fan or a sports fan, to remember that it really is about how you finish. And finishing strong is importance of this last month of the year. Can we stay focused, really run through the tape, to use another sports analogy, and then as we get into the end of the year and start thinking about next year, of course, we can reflect on some of the lessons from this year.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. It has been crazy as we just mentioned. However, in the midst of all of this, the economy still seems to be just pushing right along. Interest rates remain low and we see a little bit of a tick and in gas prices. But overall, whether you go buy a car or you want to buy a car, you want to buy a boat, you want to buy an RV, whatever it might be, the lots are empty. And all of these different companies tell you, “Yeah, you want that boat? It’s going to be a year from now because we’re sold out.” The demand still remains high. Earnings are up. Now a minimum wage job is $15 an hour, set by McDonald’s and Starbucks. Things are also very, very good out there. And I think it’s important for reviewers, see if you agree, to realize how you know how good they are right now, right?
Mike Robbins:
Oh, absolutely. Think about it, Jim. When we went into COVID, 20, 21 months ago, even with everything that’s happened and as challenging as it’s been, if you think about the economic reality right now, compared to where we were right at that time in March of 2020, I don’t think there’s hardly any business owners… Certain industries have been impacted in different ways, but in general, if you look at the stock market, if you look at the demand for so many different products, if you look at just employment rates and so many factors, it’s pretty remarkable that we’re as strong as we are. And at the same time, I do a lot of work with teams in different industries.
Mike Robbins:
And what I’m finding is, regardless of the industry, people are more exhausted than I’ve ever seen them. And so for business owners understand it is important to celebrate some of the wins and the successes, and at the same time, do whatever we can to take care of our people for two reasons. First of all, it’s the right thing to do. And second of all, there are lots of options and opportunities for employees to go other places. So it’s really incumbent upon employers to take care of their teams and their people as much as possible, especially right now.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Boy, that is so true. They’re calling it the great resignation. 4 million people will resign their positions by the end of this year as a total for the year, but those are crazy numbers and these are great paying jobs. So I think what we’ve learned is that to your point, it’s not all about the compensation that we give to our employees, but it’s how we treat them and what freedoms we give them and what career paths that we give them to work on. Because right now, everybody just like business owners and entrepreneurs have done over the last 21 months, they’ve asked themselves, “What’s in it for me? Am I doing work that’s rewarding? Do I like this is? Do I see myself here in five years?”
Jim Fitzpatrick:
And if the answer to those questions are no, they are out. They’ll do their side hustle. They realize now, many people, that they can work from home. So you see a lot of people out there starting their own home based businesses. And in fact, started 21 months ago, I just spoke to one entrepreneur, and they have a staff of 25 in an office building. So I think it’s interesting that this has woken up everybody, not just entrepreneurs and business people, but also all of those employees that work for those people. And to your point, very important that we take good care of them, right?
Mike Robbins:
Absolutely. I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing for two decades now. And whether it’s in the tech industry or in the auto industry, or whether it’s small businesses, I’ve learned through my research and my experience, Jim, that people really work for two reasons. They work for money, obviously they have to support themselves, but they also work for appreciation and for some sense of meaning and purpose. So again, as employers, if you can think about, “Is the team feeling valued and appreciated? Do the people on the team have a sense of meaning and purpose in what they do?” And while these things, for many years, were thought of as soft and fluffy, they actually drive a lot of people’s decisions about whether they stay or whether they leave.
Mike Robbins:
And again, given everything that we’ve all been through over the last 21 months, people are looking around and questioning a lot of things, as you say. And so it’s important, the best small business owners and even managers and leaders in larger companies that I work with are really connected personally with their team as much as possible, especially their managers, so they have a real sense of where people are at and how people are doing.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
I know that you talk about a growth mindset. What is it from your perspective and why is it important right now?
Mike Robbins:
Growth mindset is really this notion that we can learn and grow and challenge ourselves. We’re not just stuck with a certain set of skills and abilities. And there’s a specific aspect of growth mindset that I’ve been studying for a number of years, Jim, that I think is really important. And that is really looking at anything and everything that comes our way as an opportunity to learn and to grow. So again, if you think of some of the challenges that we’ve all faced over the last almost two years, there’s been a ton of growth. A friend of mine, many years ago, explained it to way. I was going through a difficult time in my own life, in my own business. And he said, “Mike, when you go through something challenging, there’s a tendency to ask a very simple but dangerous question, which is ‘Why is this happening to me?'”
Mike Robbins:
He said, “But if you change the word two to the word four, that’s a very different question when you ask, ‘Why is this happening for me?'” And I think, again, for business owners, for people in all different walks of life, if we can look at some of the challenges that we may be facing right now and ask ourselves, “Why is this happening for me?” Or if you think of it more collectively for the team or the company, “Why is this happening for us?” There’s been so much growth and forcing us to pivot, if you will, over these last 21 months. And while it’s been painful in to challenging a lot of ways, there are so many business owners and leaders that I talked to that have said, “Wow, we didn’t even realize we could do certain things. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to now do business in different ways.” And that doesn’t mean this has all been fun and easy, but there’s a lot of growth opportunity right now and will continue to be as we move through this.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. And it’s easy to get down in some cases. I know businesses have been negatively affected, but by the same token, we speak to a lot of business owners that pivoted during these times and came out on top. Restaurants come to mind where they never had a takeout business like they’ve got now, and that seems to be the majority of where their profits lie. And then so many other businesses out there that have learned to pivot quickly and on the other side say, “Wow, we now have a new division of our business that we never thought possible before. And our business is flourishing through all of this.” Right?
Mike Robbins:
Totally. I’ve been out speaking for the last 20 years and traveling around the country and around the world at events and conferences, and obviously during COVID, all of that got shut down. I’m now starting to speak again in person at events. We’ve done over 200 virtual events with me just here in my office on Zoom or on video, which wasn’t even really a thing before COVID. And so now as we move hopefully past this, for me personally, obviously my business is somewhat unique, but grateful for the opportunity to be able to reach people virtually and digitally in ways that we hadn’t really thought of doing before. And I think a lot of businesses, that is the case.
Mike Robbins:
And now one of the challenges is going to be, “How do we integrate this on the side of COVID whenever we get to that point, and figuring out hybrid work and figuring out ways to do things virtually as well as in person?” Some businesses are set up for that, others aren’t. But it’s really going to be incumbent upon business owners to continue to be as creative as possible with how we engage both customers, as well as our teams.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. You mentioned teams, and every team’s got a leader and a coach. And it’s important to be that strong leader and coach during these times. Talk to us a little bit about that. You’ve been literally on the field and on a team and you don’t see that winning season without very strong leadership and very strong coaching, right?
Mike Robbins:
Absolutely. And it’s both coaching from the senior level managers, owners, leaders in companies, but also within the team itself. And think about sports, hopefully you have a good manager to lead the team, but you also need leadership within the players. What I often say is, there’s no insignificant acts when you’re a leader. People are paying attention to the things you’re doing and saying, and not doing saying. And one of the things that’s been so hard, Jim, about COVID, and I talk to a lot of leaders about this, is that going through this experience as an owner of a business, as a leader in a business is really challenging and has been really scary for a lot of leaders that I talk to. You got to take care of yourself as well as then show up and take care of the and the organization. And so what really helps is if the leadership team, the senior most leaders, support one another as we’re continuing to go through these unprecedented times.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. No question about it. Hey, you are an author, an incredible speaker and obviously a leadership expert. You know a lot about this. And I know you probably have another book you’re probably working on. Can you tell us anything about what the future holds for publishing here?
Mike Robbins:
My most recent book came out last year. It was called We’re All in This Together, which obviously I didn’t write it with COVID in mind, bu it’s been very appropriate and relevant so I’ve been talking a lot about that. I have a few different ideas for my next book. I think the next book might actually be more about communication and presentations and really about speaking from the heart. Because I think one of the things, Jim, that we’ve learned through COVID, even though we’ve been disconnected and separated in lots of ways from each other, is that authenticity and really speaking and connecting and communicating on a human level is even that much more important these days, although it can be even more challenging.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s right. And who would’ve thought that a book titled like that, the timing was incredible. And people probably thought to you, “Wow, how did you knock out a book so quickly with a title like that that helped so many small businesses?” And we’ll show here on the screen how to get a hold of that book. And of course, below this interview on our homepage, you’ll be able to connect to get the book, which I highly recommend. Mike Robbins, speaker, author, leadership expert, Forbes contributor, and all around good guy. Thanks so much for joining us, once again. I know that our viewers and subscribers get so much out of your visit here, so thank you so much.
Mike Robbins:
Thanks, Jim.
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