Branches & Roots V1:E3: What is Your Model For Success?

What is Your Model for Success?

Welcome to the 4th quarter for the first half of the year.  We have noticed in past years that this can be a time full of ceremony and also when people start to get that "itch".  The weather is warming up, or is already warm and summer is within reach.  What will you be doing this summer to tap into your re/creative mindset?

With the help of some friends "in" the network and some new relationships we thought it would be fun to share what we have learned in the areas of Winning Business Models, Leadership, and your Brain.

Winning Business Model

On the Business Model Front, we have noticed that some really big companies are being built around something quite simple, we have come to call this the Grandparent Business Model because Grandparents do a great job of creating an environment where the parents and kids can be together, and in a sense they are just the community keepers.  We have noticed friends like Andy Kurtzig (withwww.justanswer.com) and Rob Kelly (with www.ongig.com) building companies with this theme.  If we all participate in communities, could you create one?  Here's our whiteboard wall art to capture it.

Bill Walsh on Leadership....

On the Leadership front we learned a bit about Bill Walsh and how he approached group dynamics from an interview we had with Sports Pscyhologist Glen Albaugh.  Turns out Glen and Bill were life-long friends dating back to both of them coaching at Fremont's Washington High.  Glen shared that one of Bill's almost natural behaviors was to respect everyone, never take away a person's dignity, and in between use wit to keep it interesting and use his drive to challenge people to bring their best.  What a fascinating recipe.  R to the D with W to the I and C to the B.

We think this is very portable to many environments, how about you?  Here is our view of tapping into people's extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as it relates to management and leadership.

What is your Brain’s Processing Power?

The subject of the brain was at the center of our time with Glen Albaugh, author of Winning The Battle Within.  His study of how your executive, emotional, and imaginative quadrants function at different times have application in both sport and business.  Being able to move from the executive to the imaginative while being careful to not let the emotional high jack the proceedings is no easy task.  This is especially true when the stakes are high and time is short.  Glen's writings and work have him at the forefront of this area and we recommend reading his thoughts which he publishes here at www.wbwgolf.com.

Interesting Book
The Lean StartUp by Eric Ries

We are sure many of you have already read this book but we had to share that not only is it a good read, in the last few years a conference has been started around the "Lean" movement and the father of that movement is Steve Blank who teaches at Cal and Stanford.  His talk at the conference is worth a listen and is applicable for people in all types of industries, not just software.

Golf Tip
DON'T BE A HERO!

A common mistake that will crush your score for all golfers whether scratch or a 20 handicap is trying to pull off the 'impossible' shot when you find yourself in trouble.  Everybody has been in a situation where they see that magic 3 foot window in between tree branches and your mind pictures the miracle shot that slides the ball perfectly through and onto the green.  Well guess what.....99 out of 100 times for the average golfer you will hit the tree and end up most likely in worse trouble.  So if you are really trying to work on your game and bring your handicap down, don't get out of trouble by making more trouble.  Instead think ahead to how you can minimize the damage by making a smart shot and heading to the next tee with just a bogey instead of a frosty snowman.  It may not be the daring way to play, but you won't be shaking your head at the end of the round saying, "if only on that one hole..."  

Survey Results and New Question

The results were interesting on our survey for your All-Time Leaders - Mom, Dad, Jesus, teachers and world leaders were the winners.  Wonder why there weren't very many bosses on the list, what does that say about our worklplace....shouldn't a boss be a mentor?

Speaking of Model's, we would like to hear from you.  What is your secret sauce or recipe for success.  (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BTSsecretsauce)