Oct. 27, 2023

Ep 118: Kerry-Ann T Powell ~ The Power of Multi-Layered Strategic Thinking

Ep 118: Kerry-Ann T Powell ~ The Power of Multi-Layered Strategic Thinking

Ever wondered what strategic thinking really is and why it's relevant? Get ready to unravel the answer in our chat with Kerry-Ann T Powell, a global business strategist, and a champion of small and medium-sized businesses. A Washington DC attorney, lobbyist, and fundraiser, Keri-Ann brought invaluable insights from her journey, drawing a clear connection between strategic thinking and success, not just in business but in many aspects of our lives. 

In our enlightening conversation, we tap into the power of desire and the significance of asking for help, elements often underrated. Kerry-Ann sheds light on how a strong desire can fuel inventive strategies and ideas to propel success. We also take a deep look into the concept of outsourcing, an essential tool in today's fast-paced world. Kerry-Ann shares how delegating tasks to skilled individuals can accelerate your path to success, a strategy that she has effectively employed in her own journey.

We explore the importance of clear vision, the role of values as guardrails in the journey to success, and the significance of having specific measurable goals. Keri-Ann's transition from a constitutional law professor and attorney to a global business strategist offers a fascinating view into the strategic world of lobbying, far beyond backroom deals. So, buckle up and join us in this riveting conversation to inspire a multi-layered strategic mindset for your business and beyond.

Where to find Kerry-Ann:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-ann-powell/

http://www.nobusinesschaos.com

A PDF titled ‘The 8 True Culprits Causing Chaos in Your Business’.  The PDF details the 8 important underlying challenges that most SMEs are facing in their businesses and what they need to do to address them.  

https://www.trafalgarstrategies.co

Support the show

<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>

If you like and appreciate the show, please share, subscribe, give a rating and a review, and buy me a coffee.

<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>
Leave the show a REVIEW on Apple Podcasts or here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-transcendence/id1576720874
<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>
Buy the show a COFFEE here:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tandtpodcast
<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>

BEING SPACE provides Transformational Coaching, Energy Treatments, and Transformative Workshops.
Find out about BEING SPACE and access more great content here: https://beingspace.world

<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>

Join the MAILING LIST for regular updates here:
https://bit.ly/3ZnjiSv

<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>

https://facebook.com/BeingSpaceWorld
https://www.instagram.com/beingspace.world/
https://www.youtube.com/@BEINGSPACEcatherinellewellyn

<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>

The newest episodes of TRUTH & TRANSCENDENCE release on all the usual apps every Monday & Friday! Please subscribe and leave a review.

Thank you for supporting the show!

BEING SPACE
www.beingspace.world
WhatsApp 07770 267230 UK



Chapters

00:02 - Strategic Thinking and Business Success

12:58 - Power of Desire & Asking for Help

23:03 - The Importance of Asking for Help

33:11 - Outsourcing and Respecting Others' Skills

44:55 - Creating a Clear Business Vision

56:43 - Approaches in Constitutional Law and Lobbying

01:10:23 - Understanding Strategic Thinking and Execution

01:19:05 - Pause and Reflect in Leadership Importance

01:26:46 - Delegation and Challenging Beliefs

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:02.362 --> 00:00:07.687
Truth and Transcendence, brought to you by BeingSpace with Catherine Llewellyn.

00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:23.471
Truth and Transcendence, episode 118, with special guest Keri-Ann T Powell.

00:00:23.471 --> 00:00:33.149
Now, if you don't know Keri-Ann, she's a global business strategist, speaker and champion of small and medium-sized businesses.

00:00:33.149 --> 00:00:51.509
Keri-ann has very varied experience, including over 20 years as a Washington DC attorney, lobbyist and fundraiser, and this positions her as an authority on what it takes to strategically succeed while confronting difficult obstacles.

00:00:51.509 --> 00:01:03.787
After raising $120 million to build the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, keri-ann launched her strategic business and consulting firm, trafalgar Strategies.

00:01:03.787 --> 00:01:15.081
She and her team advise business owners from various industries and countries on creating the strategies, systems and mindsets to thrive in business and in life.

00:01:15.081 --> 00:01:40.867
Over the years, keri-ann's expertise and speaking have been sought after by international brands, organizations and institutions such as Working Room's magazine, dallas Leadership Foundation, ciee, association of Fundraising Professionals, mogul and Philanthropist Russell Simmons Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.

00:01:40.867 --> 00:01:44.596
That's a mouthful and more, my God.

00:01:44.596 --> 00:01:53.183
So Keri-Ann is committed to spreading the gospel that running a small and medium-sized business is vital and important to our economies.

00:01:53.183 --> 00:01:58.593
Yet it doesn't have to feel like trying to manage a chaotic tornado.

00:01:58.593 --> 00:02:00.063
That's very good news.

00:02:00.123 --> 00:02:07.427
I should think, for some people and business owners will run their businesses smoothly and feel confident that they will thrive.

00:02:07.427 --> 00:02:21.048
So before I really welcome Keri-Ann, just to sort of introduce our theme, which is multi-layered strategic thinking, which is something I've been fascinated by and trying to learn about for decades.

00:02:21.048 --> 00:02:35.610
It's one of those massive topics because I think many of us have a very narrow view of what strategic actually means and that this is really unhelpful and a broader perspective can be so beneficial.

00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:42.750
So Keri-Ann has been consciously practicing this art, this science, however you call it, for many years.

00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:45.342
She has a great deal of wisdom to impart.

00:02:45.342 --> 00:02:51.301
So, keri-ann, thank you so much for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to come on the show.

00:02:52.506 --> 00:02:53.931
Catherine, thank you for having me.

00:02:53.931 --> 00:02:57.221
I am looking forward to this conversation so very much.

00:02:57.782 --> 00:02:59.449
Yeah, me too, I think it's.

00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:02.498
I was just saying, as we were in the Walmart conversation.

00:03:02.498 --> 00:03:11.064
I was just saying I've been having a chaotic day, which fits in with your theme, and it's so nice to take a break and have an adult conversation with.

00:03:11.064 --> 00:03:12.108
Isn't that true?

00:03:12.108 --> 00:03:15.014
You know, just kind of settle in.

00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:17.264
You know, anyone listening to this.

00:03:17.264 --> 00:03:21.242
I hope you found a way to take a break from you know the madness.

00:03:21.242 --> 00:03:26.722
Possibly Do I just kind of tune in and just kind of settle in and soak up what we're going to talk about.

00:03:26.722 --> 00:03:38.268
Yeah, keri-ann, when can you remember when you first kind of noticed that strategic thinking was a thing you know and an important thing?

00:03:39.991 --> 00:03:41.433
Yeah, that's a really good question.

00:03:41.433 --> 00:03:48.092
I, right out of college, I got a gig.

00:03:48.092 --> 00:04:03.865
It was a sort of a full-time temporary role to play in the United Way, in our community and for those of our international listeners.

00:04:03.865 --> 00:04:13.051
The United Way it is an international organization, but I think it's way more popular in the United States than it is in other parts of the world.

00:04:13.051 --> 00:04:29.072
It is an entity that sort of serves the goal between corporations and their employees philanthropic giving to NGOs, nonprofits that are doing work on the ground.

00:04:29.072 --> 00:04:48.805
And so the United Way you know it's been around for a good hundred years now that goes in and sort of works with corporations, asks for gifts through corporate giving and also through to create employee campaigns so employees can give through their payroll.

00:04:49.786 --> 00:04:51.552
Excuse me about that, catherine.

00:04:51.552 --> 00:05:11.918
So I had this great opportunity, to you know, when I was right out of college, to work there for a number of months during their big campaign period and I realized, oh my gosh, here it is a group of professionals that are doing fantastic work in serving the community, but in a strategic and business like fashion.

00:05:11.918 --> 00:05:16.738
And you know, when you're young you really don't know what you're doing, but you think you do.

00:05:16.738 --> 00:05:35.069
So when I was finished with the task, I ran into the VP's office and I said I know that I'm finished with this project and I'm heading out, but I just want you to know that I would be a really great fundraising fundraising director for your company, and so you should hire me.

00:05:35.069 --> 00:05:37.574
I would be the best director ever.

00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:40.083
How old were you?

00:05:40.083 --> 00:05:40.745
How old were you?

00:05:40.745 --> 00:05:42.990
I was 20 years old.

00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:47.425
What I was talking about.

00:05:47.425 --> 00:05:51.776
But you know, you know she didn't.

00:05:51.776 --> 00:06:02.307
What I loved about her was that she didn't look at me and say little child, you know, you don't know what you're talking about, go learn something.

00:06:02.307 --> 00:06:09.447
She says, okay, thank you, carrie Ann, for that, and I appreciate you coming in and I'll let you know.

00:06:09.928 --> 00:06:13.298
Anyway, I moved on and, you know, spent some time sort of.

00:06:13.298 --> 00:06:23.166
You know, I was working doing some things, and she reached back out to me six months later and she says, carrie Ann, well, we have a director position.

00:06:23.166 --> 00:06:30.548
So there was like a couple of directors in the fundraising department, and so they came.

00:06:30.548 --> 00:06:44.302
They range from the folks who managed the very, very large gifts all the way down we call them tiers all the way down to the smaller gifts, and so, you know, we call them the smaller accounts.

00:06:44.302 --> 00:07:00.399
So she said, well, we've got an opening in sort of the middle, the middle tier, and the good news was that particular tier was broken down into two, so there's another director that was managing some accounts, and then I would like to invite you to come on.

00:07:01.221 --> 00:07:05.031
I was like, oh my God, I couldn't believe she had so many.

00:07:05.031 --> 00:07:13.975
But I got the position and you know it, just, you know I, I just melded with it, just like fish to water.

00:07:13.975 --> 00:07:15.120
It was just, it's my thing.

00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:25.305
And of course my parents were quite happy because of the time I was supposed to be going on to get a master's and a PhD in neuropsychology and I decided I didn't want to do it and they were a little bit worried about the direction of my life.

00:07:25.305 --> 00:07:39.976
But when I was there, obviously I thought you know, just looking and observing and acquiring the skills and learning the skills by being paired with the CEOs of various companies, because that's how we operate.

00:07:39.997 --> 00:07:45.211
We were sort of your peer with the, with the leader in the community business leader, and you basically did the rounds.

00:07:45.211 --> 00:07:50.471
You had to be very strategic and I had to learn how to research and make sure that we were.

00:07:50.471 --> 00:08:00.836
What was it that we were actually going to, how we were going to pitch, and what did we think the particular CEO of the company we were going to pitch to was going to be interested in?

00:08:00.836 --> 00:08:05.735
And what are the directions, what are the ostrichic priorities of that particular company?

00:08:05.735 --> 00:08:09.526
And so how do we want to position the ask.

00:08:09.526 --> 00:08:17.392
And that's when I began thinking this is not just going in and you know saying hey, you know want to buy my Girl Scout cookies.

00:08:17.392 --> 00:08:19.360
This is a bit more strategic.

00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:24.511
And that's when I began realizing it's a great deal of work that goes along with this.

00:08:24.511 --> 00:08:33.624
And then we would do annual strategic planning and at first, you know, I was just sort of more like a junior staff observer.

00:08:34.044 --> 00:08:51.527
But the more I realized how much time and resources and energy was put into our strategic planning processes, I began to sort of be really excited about the idea of wait, this is not just some fly by night.

00:08:51.527 --> 00:08:54.513
Oh, here's a great idea, let's go with it.

00:08:54.513 --> 00:09:02.273
It's, there's a way to make, there are ways to make big ideas happen by being strategic.

00:09:02.273 --> 00:09:11.567
So anything you see out there in the world that has happened and it's been successful, like you know, the recording of this particular podcast, you know the Barbie movie.

00:09:11.567 --> 00:09:16.267
I mean, my goodness gracious, what they did with that marketing.

00:09:16.267 --> 00:09:19.778
It was unreal and I still haven't seen the movie.

00:09:19.778 --> 00:09:21.523
I've heard it was a, you know, an okay movie.

00:09:21.523 --> 00:09:32.461
But the marketing that went into that, I guarantee you there was a significant amount of strategy that was put into place in order for that to be such a huge marketing success.

00:09:32.461 --> 00:09:41.767
So that was really where I began to realize strategy was an important aspect to success in any big idea was when I started working at the United.

00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:42.870
Way.

00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:47.320
Wow, what a fantastic entry into that.

00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:58.932
Yes, and that I mean that, also the thing you said about you just walked in and said I would be a fantastic director, fundraising director and you obviously really wanted to do it.

00:09:58.932 --> 00:10:02.427
Yes, and I think I don't know if you agree.

00:10:02.427 --> 00:10:06.105
I think that is an important element in strategy, isn't it?

00:10:06.105 --> 00:10:09.100
But that you've got to actually want to do it.

00:10:10.123 --> 00:10:12.889
Yes, catherine, I will say this.

00:10:12.889 --> 00:10:27.578
It's sort of the timing of this conversation Last week was, you know, I'm going into this week with you know, I have some processes that get me mentally and emotionally focused on the week ahead, but sometimes you have a week prior.

00:10:27.578 --> 00:10:29.947
That kind of is a doozy.

00:10:29.947 --> 00:10:35.702
You know, you have to kind of do a bit more internal work to sort of get you focused.

00:10:38.249 --> 00:10:52.897
Last week I spent quite a bit of time, or it just so happened, that a number of my clients that were, you know, I mean, these are, you know, business owners that are doing big things and they're trying to make big things happen in their organizations.

00:10:52.897 --> 00:11:03.476
And you can imagine it's kind of like, you know, shifting the Titanic a bit when you're trying to make big changes happen in an organization, because it's all these individuals that are part of the organization.

00:11:03.476 --> 00:11:04.980
How I want to do it.

00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:26.104
However, it just so happened that last week there were a number of stumbling blocks and a number of my clients, and so I found myself doing a great deal of hands on work, and one of the things that I began to realize I've known this to be true for a very long time, but when I was faced with the big wall of it.

00:11:26.104 --> 00:11:31.601
Last week I began sort of processing this concept of do you want it bad enough?

00:11:31.601 --> 00:11:32.283
Yeah.

00:11:33.307 --> 00:11:33.607
There's.

00:11:33.607 --> 00:11:46.025
You can do all the things that you say you're going to do to create a good strategy and you can do all the things to create a great execution plan, which, by the way, is, you know, in a very important aspect of strategy.

00:11:46.025 --> 00:11:55.634
Yeah, but the very, very beginning aspect of that, the foundational things that make something work is how badly do you want it?

00:11:56.100 --> 00:12:26.756
Yeah help, Because if you don't have the fire within that says I really want this, whatever the thing is, whatever the big idea is, then when time comes and you hit the obstacles, when you begin to either go down into the, into the darkness of despair, right, or how long you stay there really is motivated by, yes, the tools you use to get out of it, but also to help.

00:12:26.756 --> 00:12:27.760
Badly do you want it?

00:12:27.760 --> 00:12:31.931
And I think that desire I call it the red hot desire.

00:12:31.931 --> 00:12:37.452
If you don't have it, it's very difficult to create a good strategy and execute it well.

00:12:37.452 --> 00:12:38.075
Yeah.

00:12:38.898 --> 00:12:39.659
Why do you think that is?

00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:44.730
Why do you think it is that desire is so important?

00:12:44.730 --> 00:12:55.644
I've got my own thoughts about this, but I just really like to know what do you think is the connection between really wanting it and literally being able to come up with a good strategy?

00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:11.054
Well, you know, not to get too woo-woo, I think if you look at nature, I think that everything is about desire.

00:13:11.054 --> 00:13:15.244
Right, there's more humans.

00:13:15.244 --> 00:13:26.967
We get a chance to kind of be conscious of our desire and, I think, maybe to decide how much we want something.

00:13:26.967 --> 00:13:30.859
But everything in nature doesn't have that capacity.

00:13:30.859 --> 00:13:31.360
It's either.

00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.682
It's life, more life.

00:13:33.682 --> 00:13:52.583
You begin to see, you know, in our driveway at my parents' home it's concrete that's paved right, and the guys that come and do our landscaping, they still have to go through.

00:13:52.583 --> 00:14:01.785
There's cracks within the concrete driveway where there are weeds coming up out of the concrete.

00:14:01.785 --> 00:14:04.429
Like how did you get there?

00:14:04.429 --> 00:14:13.152
I mean, it's concrete, okay, but for the weeds it's all about more life.

00:14:13.152 --> 00:14:23.097
And you can, those landscapers, they come and they do the weed killer thingy-me-jiggie and they come back in two weeks and it's there again.

00:14:23.097 --> 00:14:28.851
Right, it's because the weeds desire is about more life.

00:14:28.851 --> 00:14:32.299
It's like we're gonna grow regardless.

00:14:35.083 --> 00:14:36.386
Yeah, it's not a discussion.

00:14:36.988 --> 00:14:46.849
It's kind of a thing, it's a part of their existence, whereas humans, we have the capacity to determine what we want, which I think is great.

00:14:46.849 --> 00:14:55.341
You know, that's what I guess you know makes us different than the, than other animals and then another species At the same time.

00:14:55.341 --> 00:15:02.254
It is you can always look to nature to determine why things happen.

00:15:02.254 --> 00:15:09.071
If you don't want it, you really there's just no way to fake wanting it.

00:15:09.071 --> 00:15:12.605
There's no way to fake how badly do you want it?

00:15:12.605 --> 00:15:14.614
The other issue along that.

00:15:14.614 --> 00:15:21.788
So there's through that, I think, there's sort of a need within to want it in order to get it.

00:15:21.788 --> 00:15:31.857
The quest, I think, on the other side of it is we have there's one way to do something, there's another way to do something.

00:15:31.857 --> 00:15:33.605
Now, of course, you're trying to cross the street.

00:15:33.605 --> 00:15:34.850
It's kind of easy.

00:15:34.850 --> 00:15:40.046
You kind of just do a thing right, you cross the street, you look both ways and you cross the street.

00:15:40.046 --> 00:15:51.173
If you're trying to cross a, you know, 10 lane highway, then it requires a bit more strategy, okay, because you don't want to die.

00:15:51.173 --> 00:16:06.028
So the ideas that come forth from our minds we have a lot of ideas that come forth there could be oh, just run across and hope for the best.

00:16:06.028 --> 00:16:09.804
Or it could be oh wait, there's like a bridge over the highways.

00:16:09.804 --> 00:16:12.274
Let's go down there across the bridge and do the thing.

00:16:12.274 --> 00:16:17.899
Or maybe we could do something kind of funky and be like do these signs that say you know construction ahead?

00:16:17.899 --> 00:16:19.687
So we stop the traffic and we kind of walk.

00:16:19.969 --> 00:16:23.201
There's many different ideas that could come cross your head to decide.

00:16:23.201 --> 00:16:26.067
Come through your mind and decide how you want to move.

00:16:26.067 --> 00:16:32.246
If you want it bad enough, you will have stronger ideas.

00:16:32.246 --> 00:16:47.292
It will be like your mind will produce more ideas, better ideas, a flood of ideas and give you the confidence to be able to actually think you could implement the idea because you have this desire attracting to the thing.

00:16:47.292 --> 00:16:54.691
But if you have a very low energy around it, a low desire around it, you'll come up a couple of ideas, but they probably won't be that great.

00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:59.570
You know they have the phrase that says necessity is the mother of invention.

00:16:59.570 --> 00:17:00.812
That's really it.

00:17:00.812 --> 00:17:15.027
If you make things in your life in need, if the desire is so hot that it's like I will die without achieving this thing, of course it's being dramatic, but it really is if you elevate whatever the thing is you want to a need.

00:17:15.027 --> 00:17:21.825
Then somehow you're like oh wait, we need to accomplish this, and you have all these great ideas that come forth.

00:17:21.825 --> 00:17:23.669
So I think there's one.

00:17:24.671 --> 00:17:35.634
Looking to nature everything in nature is moving towards something, and moving is mainly moving towards life, and the nature is willing to do some crazy things to make that happen.

00:17:35.634 --> 00:17:37.599
So we're a part of nature.

00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:40.393
We're not like somehow not in nature.

00:17:40.393 --> 00:17:45.450
Okay, just in case I'm thinking, oh, I'm going to look to nature, that thing out there, I mean, we're part of nature.

00:17:45.450 --> 00:17:50.404
And then to the result the cause and then the result.

00:17:50.404 --> 00:18:05.483
When we have a higher need, a higher desire for whatever the thing is, the big idea or whatever, then somehow our mind cultivates better ideas, a better strategy for us to be able to do the thing.

00:18:05.483 --> 00:18:13.166
And I've seen, you've seen it happen in in, you've seen it happen in our history of humanity for a long time.

00:18:14.569 --> 00:18:14.990
Exactly.

00:18:14.990 --> 00:18:17.237
Thank you, beautifully said.

00:18:17.237 --> 00:18:27.124
I think that's absolutely right, and I've been involved in situations where we are trying to implement a strategy and it's not working.

00:18:27.124 --> 00:18:39.242
Sometimes it's because actually we didn't really want the thing, as you're saying, and sometimes because the strategy is not a very good strategy, and I think you're right.

00:18:39.242 --> 00:18:44.884
It's not a very good strategy because because we didn't want it enough, right, exactly?

00:18:44.884 --> 00:18:53.228
Isn't it true as well that if you really want something, you will also make more of an effort to ask for help if you need it to come up with the strategy?

00:18:53.228 --> 00:19:05.867
Yes, because not everyone knows how to make a strategy for, let's say, launching a business, or let's say, right bring out a new product or remodeling a house yeah.

00:19:06.088 --> 00:19:09.132
You know yeah.

00:19:09.173 --> 00:19:18.141
You find, I think asking for help, there's two things that go along with that.

00:19:18.141 --> 00:19:22.779
One is we do sometimes feel like, well, we could do this ourselves.

00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:28.463
Right, there's a certain amount of ego, it's like we could do this ourselves kind of a concept and it's not that hard.

00:19:28.463 --> 00:19:39.134
The other aspect is more like, well, I don't wanna put whatever it takes to ask for help.

00:19:39.134 --> 00:19:55.280
It could be either making yourself vulnerable, whatever, investing the resources, just whatever the thing is that you would need to do to exchange to be able to get the help that you feel like you're giving away the control, whatever.

00:19:55.280 --> 00:19:58.383
So there's that sort of I can do it ourselves.

00:19:58.383 --> 00:20:04.261
Or I don't wanna invest the time, energy, money, be embarrassed that I can't do it.

00:20:04.261 --> 00:20:18.242
But when you want something bad enough and you have the desire for it and you want it to be great, you're like who's the best person that I can get to do this thing?

00:20:19.016 --> 00:20:38.006
I remembered when I was a teenager and at that time there was this haircut thing, sort of like, that I really liked and the person who I knew, the hairstylist that I knew, could do it, was a bit pricey for a teenager's budget.

00:20:38.006 --> 00:20:40.300
And I will tell you what.

00:20:40.300 --> 00:20:52.185
I had all kinds of conversations with my parents to be allowed me to give me the money to be able to go to this celebrity hairstylist.

00:20:52.185 --> 00:20:57.382
And I was, like, willing to wait on the waiting list to be in that in her chair.

00:20:57.382 --> 00:21:09.900
And I wanted it because I knew I wanted that look really badly and I knew I couldn't do it myself Because I knew that time I was like when I was a young kid I was like, oh yeah, this is before YouTube channels.

00:21:10.457 --> 00:21:30.555
I was always experimenting something with my hair, but I knew I couldn't get the look without going, just like I had to convince my parents first of all that they would allow me to do it because it was a little bit weird, plus, invest the money that they thought why would a teenager need to be sitting in someone's celebrity chair and then also to get wait on the waiting list to be able to be in that chair.

00:21:30.555 --> 00:21:35.721
And of course and it was funny, of course, the hair looks great for like two days, and then it just looked pretty different.

00:21:35.721 --> 00:21:48.597
But the point is, though, I was willing to do whatever it took to get that hair style, cause that was to me that was gonna be the changing of my entire life Just getting that.

00:21:48.597 --> 00:22:02.500
Look, I think asking for help or getting the things that are necessary to make whatever the strategy is, or to create the strategy, is motivated by how badly do you want it?

00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:03.096
Yeah.

00:22:04.414 --> 00:22:05.439
I think that's absolutely right.

00:22:05.439 --> 00:22:08.722
Otherwise, I've got an example from when I was much younger.

00:22:08.722 --> 00:22:10.882
I was in my twenties.

00:22:10.882 --> 00:22:11.796
So sometimes.

00:22:11.816 --> 00:22:13.762
I went off and did a transformational weekend.

00:22:13.762 --> 00:22:20.438
Yes, I didn't know they'd done, but when they came back they'd obviously had a transformational weekend, got amazing results.

00:22:20.438 --> 00:22:22.104
Yeah, and they said you should do it.

00:22:22.104 --> 00:22:29.703
I won't know, I can do it by myself and within about three months I so really wanted what they had.

00:22:29.703 --> 00:22:31.601
I really couldn't do it by myself.

00:22:31.601 --> 00:22:40.403
I slunk off and secretly went and did this transformational weekend without telling them, Cause I had to really get over ego and everything.

00:22:40.403 --> 00:22:41.759
But I really wanted it.

00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:43.640
Yes, yeah.

00:22:44.948 --> 00:22:49.844
I really wanted it, but it was interesting, catherine, that the whole ego thing around asking for help.

00:22:49.844 --> 00:22:54.003
I find it to be a very interesting dynamic with humanity.

00:22:54.003 --> 00:22:56.636
Yes, Absolutely.

00:22:57.675 --> 00:23:03.026
Did you study it, cause you were thinking of doing a masters in neuropsychology.

00:23:03.026 --> 00:23:04.358
Had you studied psychology?

00:23:04.358 --> 00:23:05.301
Yes.

00:23:05.301 --> 00:23:07.098
In your first degree.

00:23:07.721 --> 00:23:27.741
Yes, so my focus there was more on how does a brain operate, particularly after it's been injured, sort of this concept of cognitive recognition, but obviously so I spent a great deal of time in neuroscience and that kind of world.

00:23:27.741 --> 00:23:30.523
My research was around brain activity.

00:23:30.523 --> 00:23:58.842
However, I do remember when we were talking a lot about and I spent a lot of time in spaces where people are doing practitioner work around helping people kind of address, because really, at the end of the day, I mean, even though I'm a strategist, I've come if you cannot address the mindset things that keep people from doing the thing, if they want to do a big thing, then it's really for naught, to be frank.

00:23:58.842 --> 00:24:11.044
And so what I have found is we societally I mean there are other there are cultures where asking for help is actually not so, is not a bad thing.

00:24:11.044 --> 00:24:19.022
So I do think that that it is cultural, not just humanity, that has a bit of a problem with asking for help.

00:24:19.022 --> 00:24:37.878
There is, there are some cultures that are more, more not willing to ask for help, or asking for help is kind of a you know there's something that it's looked down upon and so there's, you know, obviously more Western cultures than Eastern, you know.

00:24:37.878 --> 00:24:38.741
That's just to be honest.

00:24:39.474 --> 00:24:52.605
However, there's also, though, something within us that says we can do a thing, and we should be able to do a thing, because the reality is we have the capacity to do a lot.

00:24:52.605 --> 00:24:56.403
We're willing more than we think we can.

00:24:56.403 --> 00:25:30.928
As humans, we are using such a small portion of our capacity mentally, and I'm really personally I'm eager to see how some of the things that keep us from, you know, being very, I don't know, low brow is probably not fair to say, but operating such at such a low capacity as the human race, I'm eager to see those things begin to dissolve so we can really really hit big, big things.

00:25:30.928 --> 00:25:44.983
I feel like some of the small problems, some of the problems we have that we've perpetually dealing with as a human race, are just, you know, they're just like really, are we still dealing with that?

00:25:44.983 --> 00:25:47.320
So, sort of like.

00:25:47.320 --> 00:25:51.441
I just feel like we should be involved in that, but nonetheless so.

00:25:51.961 --> 00:26:04.182
I think it's the greatness within us that's calling forth our greatness, and when we say we need help, it's almost like it's a distorted version.

00:26:04.182 --> 00:26:13.202
I don't think it's the real version, but it's a distorted version of us saying but I should be able to do this on my own.

00:26:13.202 --> 00:26:17.625
It's almost this we have echoes of our greatness out there.

00:26:17.625 --> 00:26:35.381
We haven't quite interpreted what that really means, but we know that we can do way more things than we think we can, and so the idea of having to ask someone for help, I think, makes us feel a bit like we're coming against what our true nature is.

00:26:35.381 --> 00:26:40.640
But I think, again, it's a very distorted, not very healthy place.

00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:58.522
Because, you know, there's a proverb that I often remember it's an African proverb, but I don't know who said it and says if you wanna go fast, go alone, but if you wanna go together, if you wanna go farther, go together.

00:26:58.954 --> 00:26:59.818
I've heard that, yeah.

00:27:00.755 --> 00:27:03.163
And that's how I feel we are.

00:27:03.163 --> 00:27:15.921
So back in our ancestors' days, when you know they were operating in tribes and clans and stuff like that, obviously a part of that was just, you know, the fact that they couldn't survive without it, because there's, you know, wildebeest out there.

00:27:15.921 --> 00:27:27.701
But I do think that there was something around humanity where going together does get us farther, and that includes asking for help.

00:27:28.194 --> 00:27:37.817
Yes yes, brilliant, I completely agree with that and I like the way that you framed that as that it's essentially.

00:27:37.817 --> 00:27:47.521
It's a misunderstanding about our nature, and I think that's right because I've noticed that in myself and in clients and friends and other people.

00:27:47.521 --> 00:27:54.382
As people have evolved in their own individual lives, they've become better at asking for help.

00:27:54.382 --> 00:27:55.496
Yes.

00:27:56.694 --> 00:27:57.136
Without.

00:27:57.136 --> 00:28:14.460
Sometimes, at the very beginning they're very good at asking for help as a victim you know whining to be rescued, right but then over time it kind of evolves and they get better at recognizing what help they want and better at selecting the right people and better at asking for it.

00:28:14.460 --> 00:28:15.383
Yes.

00:28:15.383 --> 00:28:22.819
I've noticed often it's the very, very senior people who have no ego or issue about asking for help because they know they've done it.

00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:24.077
That's how they got there.

00:28:24.077 --> 00:28:24.902
Yeah.

00:28:25.434 --> 00:28:31.661
And now they're doing it selectively, they're doing it strategically and it makes all the difference.

00:28:32.795 --> 00:28:38.160
That is so wise that it's such a great observation, catherine, because it is a part.

00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:52.665
Once you do the healing within, you know the ego calms down quite a bit and because you begin to own yourself in a way that you didn't own yourself before.

00:28:52.665 --> 00:29:18.743
Not you, but you know the proverbial us, I guess, so we, when the person who's the most confident in the room, you could tell when someone is quite confident and they are owning themselves, they have a way of being that is very different than the ones who are putting on as if they are confident or putting on as if they've got it all together.

00:29:18.743 --> 00:29:21.598
They are so willing.

00:29:21.598 --> 00:29:30.502
People who have done the work or are very centered and anchored are so much more willing to ask for help.

00:29:31.214 --> 00:29:52.799
You know, oftentimes you hear junior staff, sometimes in organizations, say well, you know what does the CEO do, you know everyone's doing all of his work and we're just funneling it up at the top and that's a lack of understanding about what it means to be a leader and what it means for someone to rally the troops into be a strategic leader.

00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:54.236
I was.

00:29:54.236 --> 00:29:58.962
I don't know if you're familiar, I'm sure, with Outlander the series.

00:29:58.962 --> 00:30:00.156
I haven't.

00:30:00.278 --> 00:30:01.221
I tried to watch it.

00:30:01.221 --> 00:30:04.000
I just couldn't bear it, but I know it exists.

00:30:05.104 --> 00:30:08.663
You're right, okay, the blood and glory, it's like quite a bit of violence there.

00:30:08.663 --> 00:30:34.006
But so I was watching it and I think this season, this season is sort of they're now in the United States and it's the Revolutionary War and they have, you know, and, like you know, warfare back then is so much different than warfare today, right, in terms of the way the generals and so forth operate.

00:30:34.006 --> 00:30:39.718
And the generals are sort of away from the battlefield.

00:30:39.718 --> 00:31:04.700
They're kind of in the back on the top of a hill somewhere looking down, and they are directing, they're leading the troops in different directions based on what they see from the hill, and they're conveying that leadership to the ground, the leadership that's on the field, and then the leadership on the field is conveying that to the troops.

00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:09.355
And you know I was watching this, you know scene.

00:31:09.355 --> 00:31:12.923
Of course, to be truthful, I love Atlanta because of Jamie, but nonetheless.

00:31:12.923 --> 00:31:19.089
But you know I was fascinated, though it struck me.

00:31:19.154 --> 00:31:41.861
I'm always looking for gems of things that can help me understand what it is that I do, and I hope it was a really great analogous concept of as you begin to own yourself in your leadership, whether it's your leadership of your life, your leadership of your team, your leadership of your organization, you begin to realize what your role is.

00:31:41.861 --> 00:31:44.894
There are many things you can outsource.

00:31:44.894 --> 00:31:52.118
I mean, for the most part, you can outsource the majority of things in your, in your purview.

00:31:52.118 --> 00:32:01.298
What you cannot outsource is the strategic direction of whether it's your organization, your team, your life.

00:32:01.298 --> 00:32:20.278
You cannot outsource that, and the only way that you can be able to be good at strategically directing an organization or a big idea is by being on the hilltop and looking, so you're not actually on the ground doing a great deal of the actual work.

00:32:20.278 --> 00:32:25.750
The work that you're doing is being able to be above and look and see.

00:32:25.750 --> 00:32:38.563
Ok, this is where we need to move left, move right, stand retreat, do the thing whatever it is that needs to happen and then be able to convey that to whomever it is.

00:32:38.563 --> 00:33:11.040
That is sort of that you are leading, whether it's the leadership on the field or in your life, and so I really think that, even from from really basic things in our lives, as you get busier and more your life is more complex and the more impact you are having, I will you know one of the things that I have a hard time even just getting you know particularly women, but men as well to do is outsource some things in their lives that need to happen in order for them to be a strategic leader.

00:33:11.546 --> 00:33:14.071
Basic things like dinner.

00:33:14.071 --> 00:33:18.269
Can you outsource that?

00:33:18.269 --> 00:33:21.586
Because you need to eat health, healthfully, okay.

00:33:21.586 --> 00:33:29.150
However, you're working these number of hours in a day and then you've got a.

00:33:29.150 --> 00:33:35.435
When you get home, you're on the board of directors of somebody's you know nonprofit charity organization.

00:33:35.435 --> 00:33:44.228
You taking your kids to you know little league football, whatever it is that they're doing after after school, and so they're.

00:33:44.429 --> 00:33:50.311
But people got to eat, so you have time to get home and then to prepare a health meal.

00:33:50.311 --> 00:33:51.334
And is that?

00:33:51.334 --> 00:33:52.757
Is that what you have the capacity?

00:33:52.757 --> 00:34:02.659
Let's look at your hours, and so the idea of really bringing in someone who's actually preparing your meals freaks people out of like, well, no, I should be able to feed myself.

00:34:02.659 --> 00:34:05.268
Why, yes, you are feeding yourself.

00:34:05.268 --> 00:34:11.757
Your outsourcing and delegating the role of healthy food and, frankly, you don't cook that well.

00:34:11.757 --> 00:34:13.039
Your food is not that good.

00:34:13.039 --> 00:34:23.478
But there's someone out there that loves to cook healthy food and will make it and put in the fridge and all you've got to do is warm it up and the whole family is eating a feast Right.

00:34:23.478 --> 00:34:28.576
Even that idea about what does it mean to ask for help?

00:34:28.576 --> 00:34:45.795
The people who are on their self and own their, their, their worth and own what it is that they are doing in the world are way more comfortable just saying yeah, the dinner is not my, not my thing, we're going to have someone do that and do that.

00:34:45.795 --> 00:34:47.469
Well, yeah yeah, yeah.

00:34:48.304 --> 00:34:56.978
I had an example years ago where I discovered that it's possible to get someone to come and take away all your laundry and do all the ironing and bring it back and do it beautifully Right.

00:34:56.978 --> 00:35:03.753
You have to make the effort to tell them how you want it done Right and they want to do it yes.

00:35:03.753 --> 00:35:06.172
That's my point.

00:35:09.032 --> 00:35:09.875
What's my point?

00:35:09.875 --> 00:35:13.472
I was traveling all over the place the whole time staying in hotels.

00:35:13.472 --> 00:35:19.012
Yeah, you know, and someone came in, someone did that, someone fed the cats, you know, somebody.

00:35:19.012 --> 00:35:44.501
You're absolutely right, and there's some people over here in the UK who think that asking people to do things for them that they'd rather not do, is rude, you know, like, and I kind of argue with that because I said, well, these people are doing it, they're doing it because they want to do it and they appreciate the money and they're good at it.

00:35:45.063 --> 00:35:50.682
Yes so there's a lady who comes and cleans here at my house and she says I love cleaning other people's houses.

00:35:50.682 --> 00:35:52.929
I hate cleaning my own house.

00:35:53.391 --> 00:36:08.304
Someone else cleans my house, she says See, and that right there is that because we often, I think it's because we just because you don't like the thing doesn't mean someone else doesn't like the thing.

00:36:08.304 --> 00:36:08.844
Yeah.

00:36:09.925 --> 00:36:11.347
And it's just like you're.

00:36:11.347 --> 00:36:11.608
You know.

00:36:11.608 --> 00:36:19.679
If you know, obviously I work primarily business owners and I always say, yeah, the business that you do the reason why people hire you to do the thing?

00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:21.422
Yes, because they actually can do it.

00:36:21.422 --> 00:36:23.284
They actually don't want to do it, right?

00:36:23.284 --> 00:36:26.199
So is it being rude to hire you?

00:36:26.199 --> 00:36:27.204
No, it's not.

00:36:27.204 --> 00:36:32.586
The reality is there are tasks that make our lives work, and we were.

00:36:32.586 --> 00:36:40.286
When we were living in tribes and so forth, we all were doing different things and everyone was doing a thing we're not doing.

00:36:40.286 --> 00:36:47.702
That's not how we live now, but it doesn't mean that the whole idea of going farther together doesn't still exist.

00:36:48.061 --> 00:36:55.219
Yeah, and so I believe in leaning into your strengths, leaning into the things that make it easier to do.

00:36:55.219 --> 00:37:00.155
You know, there's a lot of leadership tests now and they're like you.

00:37:00.155 --> 00:37:01.858
Just, you know, swing your hip and there's one.

00:37:01.858 --> 00:37:16.710
However, the reason why companies love these sorts of tests is because the thing, for instance, you, I'm a much, I'm a big picture thinker, I can be very granular.

00:37:16.710 --> 00:37:19.077
Just because it's what I do.

00:37:19.077 --> 00:37:33.753
I help people become granular, but how I operate in the world is, if there's a big problem, I'm able to strategically think about it and and I like it's like easy for me to do that.

00:37:33.753 --> 00:37:37.010
It is not a heavy lift, it just is just like breathing.

00:37:37.010 --> 00:37:38.155
Yeah.

00:37:38.284 --> 00:37:48.039
However, if I need to sit down, I look, I'm an excellent writer part of my one, because I just from my childhood, but, to you know, I honed it when I was in law school.

00:37:48.039 --> 00:38:13.134
I'm an excellent writer, but, oh my goodness, the level, like the feeling I have, the heaviness I have when I have to sit down and write a thing I mean, but yet there's people on my team that are like the headphones on, like they're excited, they're like, yes, give me something else, you know.

00:38:13.134 --> 00:38:20.858
And so the heaviness that I feel versus the lightness and excitement that someone else feels.

00:38:20.858 --> 00:38:31.280
It means that just because you don't like it doesn't mean that someone else is on my someone actually might find joy and happiness with doing the thing.

00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:48.284
And so I think it's really important to to break away our own preconceived notions of what's considered a thing that no one wants to do and respect the tasks and the skill sets of everyone that's doing the thing.

00:38:48.284 --> 00:39:01.034
I think that's where problems arise, where, just because you don't like it, then you decide it's not really important work and that's where the problem arises.

00:39:01.284 --> 00:39:14.896
I think, for instance, the idea of women's work the reason why women's work became not became lower work or lesser work, was because men who were in charge didn't like doing those things.

00:39:14.958 --> 00:39:24.650
That would be, you know, considered women's work, and so it was delegated to women, and then it became a women's work thing, and so we're not, we don't pay.

00:39:24.650 --> 00:39:38.284
We don't pay for jobs that primarily women do, because at the time that we began to develop the society, men were the ones who were deciding well, that's not really valuable work, because I don't really like that work, so it's women's work.

00:39:38.284 --> 00:40:17.244
However, if you decide to re or reorient your mind, to take away the biases that you have about what's considered good work, bad work or whatever but it is the work of life, the work of moving forward, the work of advancement of humanity Then you begin to respect the people that are doing it and you begin to to respect the fact that, if it's, if you are not, if that you know he always is stoked if that's not your ministry, then you outsource it and you pay people well and you celebrate the fact that they love it and you don't.

00:40:17.666 --> 00:40:19.132
Yeah, I love that.

00:40:19.132 --> 00:40:22.134
If that's not your ministry, outsource it.

00:40:22.134 --> 00:40:32.117
Yes, beautiful, yeah, and I think is this is this part of what you mean by multi layered strategic thinking.

00:40:32.117 --> 00:40:32.806
Yes.

00:40:34.565 --> 00:40:36.588
So, we talked about really wanting it.

00:40:36.588 --> 00:40:55.815
We talked about being grounded enough and having done the work to the point where we're able to ask for help and see that as a powerful thing to do not a failure, yes and to respect the tasks that we don't feel like doing and to respect the people that do want to do those things.

00:40:55.815 --> 00:40:58.880
So those principles, on their own, it just gold.

00:40:58.880 --> 00:40:59.786
Yes.

00:41:01.786 --> 00:41:07.918
I would say, when you start thinking about the bigger picture of multi layers strategic thinking.

00:41:07.918 --> 00:41:12.596
I like to think of it sort of like a upside well, like a funnel.

00:41:12.596 --> 00:41:21.255
Okay, so the big part of what we're talking about portion is being very clear about what is the thing that you say you want.

00:41:21.255 --> 00:41:27.951
So we may have, you know, because of our we're having a great time conversing, catherine and we probably should have started with the biggest thing.

00:41:27.951 --> 00:41:37.432
The desire is important, but the what is is actually next to the desire.

00:41:37.432 --> 00:41:47.251
I know that you know you're listening to be saying well, of course, the whole point of this is I want the what.

00:41:47.251 --> 00:41:48.873
I have a strong desire for the what.

00:41:48.873 --> 00:41:59.652
I will tell you this in my 20 plus years, I mean, I had a conversation just last week that was absolutely painful.

00:41:59.652 --> 00:42:05.771
I was a very respectful client and I could not.

00:42:05.771 --> 00:42:11.378
It took me 30 minutes for me to get out of that person.

00:42:11.378 --> 00:42:16.835
What exactly was the what that they were trying to do in their organization?

00:42:16.835 --> 00:42:35.826
You might, you might think you have a very clear vision in your head of what it is that you really want, but it is very easy to have it being a bit muddled and not out there articulated on paper, and that is why I believe writing.

00:42:35.846 --> 00:42:37.967
You know there's a study that it was.

00:42:37.967 --> 00:42:39.088
It's been a while it's been on.

00:42:39.088 --> 00:42:41.371
The study was on a not a long time ago.

00:42:41.371 --> 00:42:44.414
It was studying a lot.

00:42:44.414 --> 00:43:22.257
It was a longitudinal study, sociologically longitudinal study, of individuals that graduated from Harvard University and, for those who don't know, harvard University is one of the premier universities in the United States and they studied these individuals over a period of I think it was 20 or 30 years, so quite long, and they had them, you know, sort of tell them what they wanted to do, what the goals they wanted in their careers when they at graduation.

00:43:22.257 --> 00:44:08.264
They just studied them all the way until, you know, the end of the study was just 20 or 30 years and they found that the key, one of the key drivers of success was actually not how great the goal was or how much, how many people the person knew of course that does help and how much access you have all my good stuff but it was basically whether or not someone wrote down the vision or the goal, versus not the individuals that wrote down what it is that they wanted to do and, in the most much clarity as possible, were more likely to achieve it over that period of time Now.

00:44:08.264 --> 00:44:13.797
So writing down is a thing, but I'm not telling you this story for the purpose of like oh no, go, let's write it down.

00:44:13.797 --> 00:44:25.960
However, when I do strategic planning with companies, the what actually ends up taking up a very large portion of the planning day.

00:44:25.960 --> 00:44:42.978
So sometimes we'll do a full day with the organization, sometimes we'll they'll do like a weekend off site, you know a couple days, and so if it's a full day, half the day is spent figuring out the what you know, particularly if it's a group of people who's kind of determine a what.

00:44:42.978 --> 00:44:54.159
And so you'd be surprised, catherine, that the what you want is a hindrance, because many people don't have the clarity of that.

00:44:55.166 --> 00:44:59.072
Now, I also believe in creating the what a bit further down.

00:44:59.072 --> 00:45:00.155
Like you want to have.

00:45:00.155 --> 00:45:05.706
I like to think of sort of a core strategic I call it a core strategic goal, that's the.

00:45:05.706 --> 00:45:10.456
If you're in business, it's like what do you want to look like in, say, 15 years?

00:45:10.456 --> 00:45:28.757
Once you have that kind of what very clear, then I believe in doing a breakdown of one year year, one meaning this year that you're in, another annual goal of two years out and then one three years out, no more than that, and it's a very, very large organization.

00:45:28.757 --> 00:45:30.264
I might take them to five years.

00:45:30.264 --> 00:45:34.936
However, for the most part, you can go from one year to your three year.

00:45:34.936 --> 00:45:45.199
Once you articulate your one year goal, that is connected to your core strategic goal, which is the 15 years never going to change for kind of a goal.

00:45:45.199 --> 00:45:47.766
And just so you know.

00:45:48.168 --> 00:46:00.835
Underneath all of this course, strategic goal part, you do want to be very clear about your, your values, and you want to be very clear about your purpose.

00:46:00.835 --> 00:46:08.931
And when I say purpose, I don't mean those you know boring statements you see companies have on their website.

00:46:08.931 --> 00:46:12.675
You know to be, though it's a treatable, but whatever the thing is.

00:46:12.675 --> 00:46:18.961
When I say purpose, I mean something short, very pithy, but powerful.

00:46:18.961 --> 00:46:22.811
So, for instance, you know our company.

00:46:22.811 --> 00:46:35.777
Our purpose statement is where, in the business of helping businesses thrive, it's that short, so having a short, but it's a very powerful for us because the word thrive is important for us.

00:46:35.777 --> 00:46:38.911
We're in the business of helping businesses thrive.

00:46:38.911 --> 00:46:41.175
It really is a powerful statement for us.

00:46:41.175 --> 00:46:50.059
You need to come up with whatever your powerful statement is and be really clear about that as well.

00:46:50.364 --> 00:47:01.981
So I like to think of business vision if you're looking at a different business has three elements your values, your purpose statement and then the core strategic goal.

00:47:01.981 --> 00:47:06.099
Once you have that, you start thinking about your core strategic goal.

00:47:06.099 --> 00:47:13.320
Then you break it out into, say, three years out Year one is now year two and then year three.

00:47:13.320 --> 00:47:23.199
You want to create strong goals that have very strong characteristics, marked characteristics, right, they're specific, they're measurable.

00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:24.534
We all know what smart means.

00:47:24.534 --> 00:47:33.219
And then we know that those three goals, if accomplished, would lead you towards your core strategic goal.

00:47:33.911 --> 00:47:34.994
So the what is?

00:47:34.994 --> 00:47:45.463
You know we don't want to make it too complicated for the listeners, but the whole point is that exercise helps you create a very clear what.

00:47:45.463 --> 00:47:53.494
So you've got the passion and the desire for the what and you're very clear about the what, why that's important.

00:47:53.494 --> 00:47:56.518
And then you're like well, why the values have to do with anything.

00:47:56.518 --> 00:48:09.119
The values is what keeps the guardrails going, because you might say I want this what and then, when you start moving towards that, you're willing to do.

00:48:09.119 --> 00:48:15.657
You know, are you willing to do everything to get the what, even if they violate your values?

00:48:15.657 --> 00:48:22.360
No, it also allows us for you to know what are the priorities that drive you.

00:48:24.550 --> 00:48:27.527
So, if you're in business, if you know that.

00:48:27.527 --> 00:48:50.721
You know I was at a speaking at a conference the other day and it was for the home service industry, and so these are like folks who are like you know your interior designers, your landscapers, your pool people, you know all of those companies that basically make your home fantastic, and one of the values that you know.

00:48:50.721 --> 00:49:10.186
I did an exercise with a couple with the folks that were in my workshop was a couple hundred folks, and one of them was a gardening, a gardening company, and one of their values was we're always on time, never late, and I was like, praise the Lord, you sit there and you wait for the.

00:49:10.186 --> 00:49:17.041
You know you have a 12 o'clock appointment for the person that come to your home to do a thing and you're waiting there for you know two hours.

00:49:17.041 --> 00:49:21.500
And they're like, oh, we're on our way, we're on our way to finish the thing with your neighbor or something.

00:49:22.130 --> 00:49:24.789
So the idea, so those values are really important.

00:49:24.789 --> 00:49:26.313
You're like, look, we don't.

00:49:26.313 --> 00:49:45.418
We, this is how we operate, this is who we are, and this is by this value we will not violate, regardless of what's going on, and that's what creates your brand, that it also keeps you and your people together and if it's just you, if it's a value of your life, it makes you realize OK, these are the things that are important to me.

00:49:45.418 --> 00:49:50.795
Yes, right, so that's why you know you're like well, I thought we're too much strategic thinking.

00:49:50.795 --> 00:49:53.695
Yes, and your values are part of that.

00:49:53.695 --> 00:49:57.559
However, there's a past, there's a desire, and then there's the what.

00:49:57.559 --> 00:49:58.672
That's really important.

00:49:59.414 --> 00:50:00.016
Fantastic.

00:50:00.016 --> 00:50:04.335
Wow, I mean, I feel everything you're saying.

00:50:04.335 --> 00:50:05.719
I feel like there's so much to think about.

00:50:05.719 --> 00:50:10.434
It's almost difficult to come up with the next question Because it's so fascinating.

00:50:10.434 --> 00:50:24.811
I'd love to hear a little bit more about your 20 years that I mentioned in the bio, where you were working as an attorney lobbyist in DC.

00:50:24.811 --> 00:50:30.240
You haven't talked much about your life as an attorney and as a lobbyist.

00:50:30.240 --> 00:50:36.177
Now I have a feeling that there are some very interesting stories in there that you're thinking.

00:50:37.510 --> 00:50:38.956
You know I will tell you this.

00:50:38.956 --> 00:50:48.126
So my, my desire to so you know, my desire to become an attorney was really motivated by the work that I was doing.

00:50:48.126 --> 00:51:05.309
You know, obviously, right, we all we go through, we pick a path and we go down that road and then there's some, there's some forks on that road, but we can't see those forks when we're deciding on the current path, and so it's sort of interesting to kind of see.

00:51:05.309 --> 00:51:17.682
So I had never thought about the law until when I was working with the United Way and I was about three years in by this point.

00:51:17.682 --> 00:51:20.389
I had really, you know, it was a bit.

00:51:20.389 --> 00:51:21.949
You know, I look back at it now.

00:51:21.949 --> 00:51:23.909
I'm like what was I doing?

00:51:23.909 --> 00:51:25.726
What was I eating?

00:51:25.726 --> 00:51:27.516
What am I taking back then?

00:51:27.516 --> 00:51:30.065
Because you know, you're younger, Just have this whole thing.

00:51:30.065 --> 00:51:32.344
So it's a very meteoric type of rise.

00:51:34.137 --> 00:52:08.719
And you know, in my place I was Promoted, like quite a bit, and I was eventually training folks on on on strategy, on strategy and fundraising tactics, and I just really thrived there and obviously a part of it is because they were willing to invest in me and I was willing to invest in myself a lot of times, you know, early days when you know you're the junior person on the team, you know I would use my vacation days and I would use my vacation days and use my own personal money to go to conferences or workshops.

00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:09.440
So I could learn.

00:52:09.440 --> 00:52:17.097
I knew I had a vision of what it is that I wanted to be, but, but I also felt, like the folks that you know, I want my.

00:52:17.097 --> 00:52:22.739
My CEO and members of the board and my boss were very good at investing me as well.

00:52:22.739 --> 00:52:24.494
So, you know, it was sort of two straight street.

00:52:24.775 --> 00:53:04.030
Nonetheless, by the time I was about three years in, I realized that, even though I really enjoyed raising all this money for these wonderful organizations, I began to sort of be a bit confused because, for instance, one of the organizations that we funded that we would all you know, we would bring out as a big success story of all of the contributions that our city was was supporting, was a domestic violence shelter, and it was a very large domestic violence shelter.

00:53:04.030 --> 00:53:11.030
It actually had a school on site and you know it's one of the largest ones.

00:53:11.030 --> 00:53:16.027
If I remember I don't know it feel like it was like one of the largest ones in the southeast part of the United States.

00:53:16.027 --> 00:53:17.030
It was just was a big one.

00:53:17.030 --> 00:53:19.018
It kind of had a lot of accolades.

00:53:20.213 --> 00:53:32.759
And I remember thinking to myself that's why I really love, you know, gen Z, right now because they're at the stage where they're thinking and looking and they're observing and they're like why do we do this?

00:53:32.759 --> 00:53:33.492
Why are we?

00:53:33.492 --> 00:53:38.030
Because sometimes, as you get older, you get used to the things in society that make no sense.

00:53:38.030 --> 00:53:43.842
But younger people have the capacity to look at things and be like that makes no sense.

00:53:43.842 --> 00:53:52.010
And so at that point I was still at that stage, like why do we have domestic violence in the first place?

00:53:52.010 --> 00:54:01.396
Like what's going on here, like why is this a thing and why is it so difficult to minimize it?

00:54:01.396 --> 00:54:14.960
As opposed to expanding the facilities to support the people particularly at that time mainly women that were affected by domestic violence, why aren't we shrinking the problem?

00:54:14.960 --> 00:54:17.260
And that was when I began.

00:54:17.260 --> 00:54:19.010
Really, I couldn't.

00:54:19.010 --> 00:54:29.989
My mind and my energy was more leaning towards how do we create a solution, as opposed to why are we raising all this money to sort of do a thing over here?

00:54:29.989 --> 00:55:18.762
So that's when I started having conversations with people, you know, who were indifferent, because by that time I had had a larger Rolodex, so I had more people to kind of shoot the breeze with and get insight from, and so I started talking to a lot of different people and one of them was an attorney and who was one of one of our you know, sort of junior volunteers that you know she was moving through the ranks in leadership but was still willing to just sort of chitchat about life, and I said I don't know what is the best way to fix these problems, and she says, well, you know she's like the law is a great way to do it.

00:55:18.762 --> 00:55:22.114
You don't have to just go and become a lawyer.

00:55:22.114 --> 00:55:32.005
That's going to, you know, work with an individual family law or something and go to the courthouse every day and work individual problems.

00:55:32.005 --> 00:55:36.902
The laws is a way to you can use the law to solve problems, and you can.

00:55:36.902 --> 00:55:38.733
And I was like, really so.

00:55:38.753 --> 00:56:03.021
Then I went on a rabbit hole there and I began to realize it's so many of our policies in the US were being led by lawyers, and so I started looking into law school and I chose a law school that happened to have a strong reputation around public interest and public policy and as a result, I got a chance to go to Washington.

00:56:03.021 --> 00:56:10.880
They have what they call co-ops once you get to your second year, and so I got a chance to work with you know four organizations.

00:56:10.880 --> 00:56:26.010
Well, I worked with a judge one year and then three organizations that were doing some amazing policy work in based you know, national policy work, and I worked with them during the time I was in law school in Washington.

00:56:26.010 --> 00:56:42.030
So by the time I was finished with law school I had great opportunities because I had kind of leveraged my relationships that way and so I got this great fellowship, very competitive fellowship, working for a law firm that focused on constitutional law.

00:56:43.114 --> 00:56:51.500
I began to become a big fan of constitutional law my first year because my constitutional law professor was just the best and I kind of became a bit of a geek around that.

00:56:51.500 --> 00:57:08.166
So I focused on constitutional law and the fellowship that I worked on was basically cases that we were using those cases to be able to shift policy through that policy that came from the Constitution.

00:57:08.166 --> 00:57:13.380
So my focus was, you know, primarily First Amendment.

00:57:13.380 --> 00:57:17.835
So my first bit of our first amendment would be our like, free speech, religion, that kind of stuff.

00:57:17.835 --> 00:57:31.940
Our 14th amendment, which was primarily race and sort of human rights type things, some of our gender rights as well, and then sort of focusing on consumer rights.

00:57:31.940 --> 00:57:43.465
And so it was really fantastic because the first case that I worked on coming out of law school and working at the fellowship was actually a case that we argued into the Supreme Court.

00:57:43.465 --> 00:57:51.030
Obviously, I did not stand in arguing this we're a junior attorney at that time but there was one section of the brief that I was responsible.

00:57:51.030 --> 00:57:59.862
I mean, it was unbelievable right, working on this section of the brief where, you know, our Supreme Court justices were going to read me.

00:57:59.862 --> 00:58:03.018
So it was kind of very cool.

00:58:03.492 --> 00:58:23.030
And then, of course, we got a chance to go into the gallery and watch the senior attorneys argue and I think from that experience I realized that you can do a great deal of work as an attorney, doing what we call impact litigation, this concept of large cases.

00:58:23.030 --> 00:58:34.030
And again, it's very strategic right, because you still have to have a client and you still have to work from the very, very beginning the trial court and you bring the trial court to the appellate court from the appellate court.

00:58:34.030 --> 00:58:38.030
So you got to be strategic about, you know, do you want to file in the state court?

00:58:38.030 --> 00:58:39.576
Do you want to file it in the federal court.

00:58:39.576 --> 00:58:49.605
If you file it in the state court, can you begin to, you know, make some state law and then from the state law you want to then be able to get enough cases in the state law that it becomes a federal issue.

00:58:49.605 --> 00:58:54.240
Or do you want to file it through the federal courts and it move up towards the Supreme Court?

00:58:54.240 --> 00:58:56.677
And, of course, not every case gets to the Supreme Court.

00:58:56.677 --> 00:58:58.358
You have to be granted cert.

00:58:59.150 --> 00:59:03.119
So you know a part of that which just even that idea of what's the strategy.

00:59:03.119 --> 00:59:04.362
Is this a good client?

00:59:04.362 --> 00:59:14.724
Not that the client didn't experience some amount of whatever violation of his constitutional right, but is it enough that it would be good enough for you to be able to bring it to the top?

00:59:14.724 --> 00:59:26.585
Because the goal here was we were not only about individual rights, we're talking about the rights for all, changing the landscape of what we thought was a better way of doing things.

00:59:26.585 --> 00:59:29.735
And so it was really interesting, like when people do intake.

00:59:29.735 --> 00:59:37.989
So as a part of being a junior attorney, I'd have to do intake and we would go through and read these cases and like, but this is a really good case.

00:59:37.989 --> 00:59:43.822
This client, you know, you know, go to my senior attorney was like okay, carrie Ann, let's talk about this.

00:59:43.822 --> 00:59:49.030
You know, is this a strategic way for us to get to the issue at hand?

00:59:49.030 --> 00:59:52.820
And so you have to always be thinking what's the issue at hand?

00:59:52.820 --> 00:59:57.802
And this is a really good way to think about when you're doing strategy in your business or in your life.

00:59:58.391 --> 01:00:03.030
There's an issue at hand that you have to be focused on and there will be distracted.

01:00:03.030 --> 01:00:05.030
There are many distractions around it.

01:00:05.030 --> 01:00:08.960
You might say, well, I'm going to go over here and do this and over here and do that.

01:00:08.960 --> 01:00:13.010
You have to always ask yourself what is the issue at hand?

01:00:13.010 --> 01:00:15.030
What is the purpose of my existence?

01:00:15.030 --> 01:00:16.989
Why does this business exist?

01:00:16.989 --> 01:00:18.958
What is the organization trying to do?

01:00:18.958 --> 01:00:31.030
And are these other things, while they are laudable and good and holy, are they a distraction or are they driving you towards the issue at hand?

01:00:31.030 --> 01:00:33.878
And I think that's where a lot of people get distracted.

01:00:33.878 --> 01:00:38.858
It's this concept of, oh, but this is good, yes, but it's not going to get you to it.

01:00:38.858 --> 01:00:53.679
And I had a whole conversation with someone last week and I was just like it was really interesting conversation because they were like but no, I want to get there and I feel like I need to get here and here but that's not going to get you here.

01:00:55.132 --> 01:01:09.824
So, anyway, so that was really my first real job into law and then I realized there are many other ways that I can be able to address issues, not just as an impact litigator but also as a lobbyist.

01:01:09.824 --> 01:01:14.215
And people probably say, oh, lobbying is sort of the bad word, you know, kind of gives you.

01:01:14.215 --> 01:01:20.003
You kind of imagine these kind of backroom deals with whiskey and, you know, cigar, smoke and that kind of thing.

01:01:20.003 --> 01:01:29.010
It's really more, you know, are you advocating for a policy and being able to educate the legislators around the issues?

01:01:29.010 --> 01:01:32.989
And I felt during that time, you know, it was really important for me.

01:01:32.989 --> 01:01:44.786
So I got a chance to get a position where I was a staff attorney for a national organization but also heading up the lobbying arm of that particular issue.

01:01:44.786 --> 01:02:01.010
It was primarily around consumer rights and fear trade and such, but that was really really cool because I was able to emerge both my litigation part of my experience along with the lobbying part.

01:02:01.130 --> 01:02:13.824
Because I felt that you know, and I guess that's the part of me that's important, like I feel that, if you can think about, just because you know, there's that statement, catherine, that says if you have a hammer, everything's a nail.

01:02:13.824 --> 01:02:14.945
You've heard that state.

01:02:14.945 --> 01:02:29.248
So it's like if you you know I'm an attorney to everything it needs to be a case Well, actually, no, you know, I, at that stage of my career, I realized, just because I'm an attorney and I'm a constitutional lawyer, you know the idea of this.

01:02:29.248 --> 01:02:30.030
It's going to be about litigation.

01:02:30.030 --> 01:02:35.030
That's how we're going to change policy, this idea of no, there's also another way to do it.

01:02:35.030 --> 01:02:37.030
And so everything is not a nail just because you have a hammer.

01:02:37.030 --> 01:02:42.030
So it's good to have two hammers, or three or four or many different tools in your toolbox.

01:02:42.612 --> 01:02:45.019
Remember, the whole point is what's the issue at hand?

01:02:45.019 --> 01:02:46.364
What are you trying to get to?

01:02:46.364 --> 01:02:47.106
What's the purpose?

01:02:47.106 --> 01:02:48.030
What's your core strategic goal?

01:02:48.030 --> 01:02:56.030
If you can come up with really you know a couple of strong tech tactics and ways to go about doing it, then it's important to do that, to do so.

01:02:56.030 --> 01:03:07.577
So that's why I really enjoyed being a lobbyist, because it was like, okay, another tool to get to the issue at hand, and that was really fun and exciting as well.

01:03:07.577 --> 01:03:12.378
And yeah, there are a lot of, there are a lot of stories.

01:03:12.378 --> 01:03:14.061
You begin to kind of realize that.

01:03:14.061 --> 01:03:36.030
You know, democracy is one of those things that it's very fragile and we have to all those of us that believe in democracy in its purest sense, need to be very we have to look, we can't ignore, we have to pay attention.

01:03:36.030 --> 01:03:37.932
It's like a child, you know.

01:03:37.932 --> 01:03:39.594
If you just, you know, you look away once.

01:03:39.594 --> 01:03:45.744
The next thing your child is, like, you know, eating glue, yeah yeah.

01:03:46.532 --> 01:03:48.900
And so you kind of need to be focused very much on it.

01:03:48.900 --> 01:03:54.297
And I think those days were times when I, you know so I had this very idealized idea.

01:03:54.297 --> 01:03:56.742
Of course, we're young, you really want to be idealized.

01:03:56.742 --> 01:04:00.876
You know to idealize things and I was very idealistic at that time.

01:04:00.876 --> 01:04:06.695
I had an idealized view of democracy and what it looks like.

01:04:06.695 --> 01:04:11.780
And then, when you are in it, the challenges, you don't want to swing an ice swung.

01:04:11.780 --> 01:04:16.166
I swung from idealism because idealism isn't actually helpful, to be honest.

01:04:16.166 --> 01:04:18.791
I think it's good for different stages of life.

01:04:18.931 --> 01:04:31.655
But I did swing into, you know, into kind of this cynicism, because when you begin to see it for what it is, you're like even your heroes and heroes you're like, well, goodness gracious, look at you, you're a hot mess, aren't you?

01:04:31.655 --> 01:04:51.467
So I just I did swing a bit to cynicism and then I came back around to pragmatism and I think that's what serves my clients even now, because I'm just like, look, I believe in, in, in what you're doing, your business, your organization and the big idea that you have.

01:04:51.467 --> 01:04:53.030
Because I don't take clients and I don't believe in what they're doing.

01:04:53.030 --> 01:04:54.891
I can't be one of those people.

01:04:54.891 --> 01:04:59.418
I don't have the capacity to do that sort of this cognitive dissonance thing.

01:04:59.418 --> 01:05:04.744
However, if I, if I believe in something I'm like, I believe in that, I'm with you, I agree.

01:05:04.744 --> 01:05:09.914
And what's the issue at hand?

01:05:09.914 --> 01:05:11.317
How do you get there?

01:05:11.317 --> 01:05:12.878
How do you be strategic?

01:05:12.878 --> 01:05:16.742
And how do you recognize that not everyone feels the same way you do?

01:05:16.742 --> 01:05:27.655
And if you can bring people along and, you know, be a leader enough that you can bring people who are excited about something that you can do, excited about something bigger than themselves and what it is that you're trying to do, you can make things happen.

01:05:27.655 --> 01:05:33.581
But you just saying you're going to do a thing and not being, I guess you know.

01:05:34.161 --> 01:05:40.371
You know we talked to Catherine about the sort of core strategic goal thing and the annual goals and everybody likes that part.

01:05:40.371 --> 01:05:42.434
Yeah, people love that part.

01:05:42.434 --> 01:05:44.797
It's like, oh, I'm coming up with a thing.

01:05:44.797 --> 01:05:59.239
But then when we shift into okay, now, what are your quarterly goals, what are the monthly KPIs, what are the weekly KPIs, what are your daily metrics that are going to judge whether or not you're doing the thing?

01:05:59.239 --> 01:06:20.039
Oh, my goodness, you would think that you know hell and fire and roomstone have happened, because no one likes to go that granular, even those who are, you know, even the sort of engineer types you do have to get people like on a day to day basis, what are you doing every single day, you and your team?

01:06:20.039 --> 01:06:32.788
And how are you measuring those things every single day and making sure that you're optimizing every single day so that you can hit that big goal?

01:06:33.369 --> 01:06:52.983
Because strategic thinking is 67% of strategic plans everywhere, not just small and medium-sized companies, not just 67% fail because of the execution, lack of execution, poor execution.

01:06:52.983 --> 01:06:55.119
And how do you get to the execution?

01:06:55.119 --> 01:07:06.927
Part of things is by having very clear metrics, very clear KPIs, very clear what happens every single day to get you to that.

01:07:06.927 --> 01:07:15.106
And that's the part it's not boring, I mean that it's not exciting, it's not sexy, but that is where the magic in the mustard really is.

01:07:15.106 --> 01:07:29.382
And if you can feel good about the big picture and feel good about the day-to-day activities, you then have a strategy that's worth something.

01:07:29.382 --> 01:08:01.601
So I think that's one of the things that I began to kind of recognize is that sometimes you have a win and sometimes you don't have a win, but every single day, if we're doing the thing, then you have the big time when that legislation went into play and you're happy, or a new interpretation of a clause on the Constitution has now changed because you had 10 years worth of work to do it.

01:08:01.601 --> 01:08:06.284
But you can say that it's big and you're like, wow, that's fantastic.

01:08:06.284 --> 01:08:10.806
And that's where I do think, what Mary's strategy.

01:08:10.806 --> 01:08:12.099
But those days were great.

01:08:12.414 --> 01:08:17.083
And then, once I was doing that, one of my friends sent me a message.

01:08:17.083 --> 01:08:27.988
She worked with me she's also a director of a program in the same organization and she said Carrie Ann, did you know they're building a memorial to Martin Luther King on the National Mall?

01:08:27.988 --> 01:08:30.481
I'm like, no, did not.

01:08:30.481 --> 01:08:37.186
And she said, well, they are, and they're looking for someone to do corporate fundraising.

01:08:37.186 --> 01:08:38.881
And I was like, oh Lord, have mercy.

01:08:40.118 --> 01:08:43.667
It just so happened that I happened to have the skill sets.

01:08:43.667 --> 01:08:50.126
I was in the right place, right, because I developed those skill sets from when I was, you know, the other way.

01:08:50.126 --> 01:09:03.804
I had now developed a, I was now in Washington, I had developed a great deal of understanding of how the city works and how big ideas come to play on a national level.

01:09:03.804 --> 01:09:05.577
So I had the.

01:09:05.577 --> 01:09:12.293
I was, you know, still hopeful about good things, but I had kind of been seasoned.

01:09:12.293 --> 01:09:34.997
So it was a bit more pragmatic and I think that was probably the best place in my life to then kind of put my hat in the ring and they hired me to do primarily just corporate fundraising and then a year later, just so happened that the director of fundraising left and they asked me to take complete charge over it and that's when I was able to.

01:09:35.059 --> 01:09:44.805
I think when we got there probably about 30 million we were at 30 million at the time and when I was finished with it we raised over 120 million.

01:09:44.805 --> 01:09:46.881
We needed about 120 to build it.

01:09:46.881 --> 01:09:54.542
Plus we had another 8 million we needed to raise for the, you know, opening of it, because obviously it's an international project, so their heads of state had put up a lot.

01:09:54.542 --> 01:09:56.414
So it was a kind of a thing.

01:09:56.414 --> 01:10:01.707
So, and you know, I always said, oh, I was going to do that and then head back to the law.

01:10:01.707 --> 01:10:10.340
Well, you know, again you go down one path and then another fork happens and then you know that's when I started.

01:10:10.340 --> 01:10:16.326
So that was my journey there, kind of a long-winded story, but there were some really amazing moments.

01:10:16.326 --> 01:10:23.514
But I think I definitely had a great deal of growth and seasoning around.

01:10:23.514 --> 01:10:25.167
What does it mean to be strategic?

01:10:25.650 --> 01:10:26.033
Absolutely.

01:10:26.033 --> 01:10:27.757
It sounds like you've.

01:10:27.757 --> 01:10:50.007
It sounds like you put yourself through a very intensive training around strategic thinking under all sorts of different situations of pressure and all sorts of different challenges, so I could imagine you being a fantastic strategic mentor for anyone.

01:10:50.007 --> 01:10:55.065
Really, I think you must be very, very good at what you do.

01:10:55.454 --> 01:10:57.421
You know baptism by fire there, catherine.

01:10:57.421 --> 01:11:12.920
Yeah, I'm like I kind of know what I'm talking about, not just because I have ethereal, because there are folks right, this idea of strategies up in the air and you know, people think strategy they think it's all this thing that's up there and only smart people do it.

01:11:12.920 --> 01:11:18.194
No, no, no, no, no, it is down the ground, it's.

01:11:18.194 --> 01:11:20.662
Everyone can do it.

01:11:20.662 --> 01:11:31.458
I think the real issue on the table is recognizing where to start, and we start about that.

01:11:31.458 --> 01:11:33.219
Do you have a desire?

01:11:33.219 --> 01:11:34.479
And then what is the thing?

01:11:34.479 --> 01:11:36.198
Be really, really clear about it.

01:11:36.198 --> 01:11:40.884
Then bringing yourself down, it's like a funnel.

01:11:40.884 --> 01:11:47.802
You want to go from the big picture all the way down to the everyday things that you are doing, measuring that out.

01:11:47.802 --> 01:11:59.841
There's a point in time when vision blends more into, because people almost say, oh well, there's strategy and there's execution.

01:11:59.841 --> 01:12:01.100
There are two different things.

01:12:01.100 --> 01:12:02.800
I don't believe that.

01:12:02.800 --> 01:12:05.302
I think it's just simply the funnel.

01:12:05.302 --> 01:12:06.238
Think of the funnel.

01:12:06.238 --> 01:12:31.377
At some point, the vision and more visionary things blend into the action, and the bridge between the visionary and the action is and the execution is sort of like the concept of we call playbooks or action plans, and so you can.

01:12:31.377 --> 01:12:32.081
If you're.

01:12:32.322 --> 01:12:35.914
There's always, you know, people think sports and they think everyone is a playbook.

01:12:35.914 --> 01:12:39.865
If you're watching a sports, you're like wonder what the coach's playbook is.

01:12:39.865 --> 01:12:45.804
On this, you've got to hear the commentators say that we all have a playbook, whether it's in our heads or written it down.

01:12:45.804 --> 01:12:49.983
It's the, it's the, it's the everyday things that we do.

01:12:49.983 --> 01:12:51.546
That will get us to the thing.

01:12:51.546 --> 01:13:05.962
So it's really really clear to figure out what is the thing that you know, like, what are the, what are the actual behaviors that you do, and then the how you do, the behaviors that make you get you there.

01:13:05.962 --> 01:13:07.286
You know what I'm saying.

01:13:07.286 --> 01:13:15.779
And then if you can kind of figure out, okay, then that's your playbook the how, what does it take and how do you do it, and then how do you measure it.

01:13:15.779 --> 01:13:38.024
And that way you can teach that to, so that if it's about your life, you're like okay, this is how I get from being having a life changing spiritual experience to from from from being focused on ego to focused on on impact.

01:13:38.024 --> 01:13:38.646
Yeah.

01:13:38.947 --> 01:13:39.548
How do you get there?

01:13:39.548 --> 01:13:40.256
So it's so.

01:13:40.256 --> 01:13:42.685
It's not just in business, it's happens in life.

01:13:42.685 --> 01:13:46.805
It's just that we don't know we have a playbook and we start doing other things.

01:13:46.805 --> 01:13:53.764
But if you know, you have a playbook, articulating the playbook, so you can teach the playbook to other people, whether it's your kids.

01:13:54.204 --> 01:13:59.739
Yeah, so, for example, if you want to be fit and healthy, you sign up for a yoga class that happens every Wednesday morning.

01:13:59.739 --> 01:14:04.182
Yes, that automatically is a piece of strategic activity.

01:14:04.302 --> 01:14:07.902
Yeah, yes, and Catherine, you know what else is a part of that playbook.

01:14:07.902 --> 01:14:28.802
So you go into the yoga class every Wednesday morning, you're also putting your mat by the door, you're putting your your tennis shoes by the door, or you're picking at your clothing the next, like the night before, or you fill your water bottle already and it's in your bag, or right.

01:14:28.802 --> 01:14:33.546
It's all of those things that are boring and the steps we don't always think about.

01:14:33.546 --> 01:14:49.840
You know, when I used to, when I used to run marathons, I would even try to have my sneakers tied a certain way, so, like at four am, I would run at four am, just like, just put my shoe, put my foot in.

01:14:49.840 --> 01:14:51.805
Yeah, right.

01:14:52.795 --> 01:14:53.356
Or I would have.

01:14:53.356 --> 01:14:57.927
At that time I used to drink weak, weak grass and I remember that used to be a thing at one point.

01:14:57.927 --> 01:15:06.003
So I literally put the little weak grass things in the glass so they would melt, so that when I would wake up I just grab the glass, do a swig, put the shoes on, head out the door.

01:15:06.003 --> 01:15:07.087
That's the playbook.

01:15:07.087 --> 01:15:10.856
It's not just I'm going to yoga every Wednesday, it's what.

01:15:10.856 --> 01:15:13.163
All of the steps that require you.

01:15:13.163 --> 01:15:19.140
And then, if you know you've got to, you know, say, you have a couple of yoga pants and a couple of yoga tops that you wear.

01:15:19.140 --> 01:15:20.237
So you've got five of those.

01:15:20.237 --> 01:15:26.341
You know you got to wash them, yeah, yeah, because they, they, they get sweaty.

01:15:26.341 --> 01:15:31.444
And so if you know you don't have time to wash them, then you outsource the washing part.

01:15:31.926 --> 01:15:34.534
Yeah, someone come and pick up that's a part of the playbook.

01:15:34.534 --> 01:15:38.425
Who washes the socks and the yoga pants and the tops?

01:15:38.425 --> 01:15:43.024
And then even to the point when how long does a yoga mat last?

01:15:43.024 --> 01:15:48.685
You know, okay, after a while it's not as squishy as it once was, so you got to buy it, I don't know.

01:15:48.685 --> 01:15:52.201
So you have to buy a new yoga mat once every two years.

01:15:52.201 --> 01:15:53.403
So you have that.

01:15:53.403 --> 01:15:54.725
That's a part of the playbook.

01:15:54.725 --> 01:15:55.266
Yeah.

01:15:55.835 --> 01:15:57.057
And all these.

01:15:57.217 --> 01:16:00.185
As the seasons change, what you're going to wear changes.

01:16:00.185 --> 01:16:02.358
Yes, you have to constantly.

01:16:02.358 --> 01:16:12.106
So that's the other thing in a good strategy, isn't it, that you have to be able to adapt to the changing seasons and other environmental aspects around it Exactly, exactly.

01:16:13.534 --> 01:16:15.255
And then what happens if your yoga student goes out of business?

01:16:15.255 --> 01:16:19.747
So maybe you want to have a couple of yoga studios, all you know, in your back pocket.

01:16:19.747 --> 01:16:25.506
So you know that and you can, maybe you would go to a couple of them to test it out.

01:16:25.506 --> 01:16:37.706
And maybe if depending upon if you're going to yoga on Wednesdays, but sometimes, like every couple of Wednesdays, you have to go pick up your daughter from ballet lessons.

01:16:37.706 --> 01:16:42.606
So then maybe you time it and say, oh, can I get to this yoga studio?

01:16:42.606 --> 01:16:44.179
Can I get to my yoga studio?

01:16:44.179 --> 01:16:50.904
Based on traffic and the fact that her class ends at five, can I get there?

01:16:51.574 --> 01:16:58.819
So you do a couple of different ways, you know, like, okay, well, what we're going to do is we'll, we'll, we'll, maybe we'll take the public transportation that day because it's easier for me to get.

01:16:58.819 --> 01:17:06.484
And then, if she's with me, do I drop her home first, be you know, with her dad, or am I going to go straight?

01:17:06.484 --> 01:17:09.484
And then there's like, is there childcare in that area that I could?

01:17:09.484 --> 01:17:12.564
So there's, all of these things are part of the playbook.

01:17:13.034 --> 01:17:15.404
Absolutely right, amazing.

01:17:15.404 --> 01:17:19.698
Well, I feel like I could just pick your brains for hours and that would be.

01:17:19.698 --> 01:17:20.699
That would be a bit cheeky.

01:17:20.699 --> 01:17:53.226
Just to kind of move into a slightly different part of the conversation, because obviously, with everything going on in the world at the moment, there are a lot of people in leadership positions and that includes people who are simply trying to be better leaders in their own lives, and obviously everyone's been listening to this and taking it all in and, you know, I hope some of the people listening will actually contact you, because I'm sure that some of these people could really benefit from your very, very expert and experienced help.

01:17:53.226 --> 01:17:54.777
But is there something?

01:17:54.896 --> 01:18:13.341
if you could say something now to people who are trying to be better leaders, trying to be more strategic is, and particularly those people who are thinking this sounds fantastic, but I don't even know how to even start, how to even get myself in the right mindset to even think about this.

01:18:13.341 --> 01:18:16.042
You know, what might you like to say to those people?

01:18:19.059 --> 01:18:19.099
Um.

01:18:19.099 --> 01:18:20.724
So we're not alone.

01:18:20.724 --> 01:18:48.259
You're, probably the majority of people one, because, no, no time in history has been Um, so we've been, we are, we are to the brink of, of busyness, and we are bombarded with information, way more information than than any other time in human history.

01:18:48.259 --> 01:19:01.105
Therefore, we feel the sense of overwhelm and guilt about not being better than we are or not having the time to do the thing um, or be a better leader, be more strategic.

01:19:01.105 --> 01:19:02.417
You're not alone.

01:19:02.417 --> 01:19:03.979
Most people are feeling that way.

01:19:05.975 --> 01:19:14.948
I often say that for you to start would be just to pause a bit.

01:19:14.948 --> 01:19:22.405
I know that it sounds more difficult than it than it than it.

01:19:22.405 --> 01:19:28.619
It sounds difficult because you're thinking, you're telling me, carrie Ann, that all this is busy, we're busier than we were before, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

01:19:28.619 --> 01:19:29.644
But now you want me to pause.

01:19:29.644 --> 01:19:40.184
The thing is, you can't really, you can't really get there without a pause and without some time of of of reflection, of what it is that you actually want.

01:19:42.454 --> 01:19:53.225
And the other thing, too, is around to pausing and reflecting on what are the, what is the most important things to you, the, what are the most important priorities to you?

01:19:53.225 --> 01:19:56.262
And it goes back to you.

01:19:56.262 --> 01:20:03.925
You may say I want to be a better leader or I want to be more strategic, but maybe that's what you think you should say.

01:20:03.925 --> 01:20:17.984
Maybe the reality is you know, I always think of leadership, catherine is three prongs leadership of oneself, leadership of one's team and leadership of one's organization or business or whatever entity.

01:20:17.984 --> 01:20:23.506
So you may be saying I want to be better leader of our organization.

01:20:23.506 --> 01:20:36.640
However, it could be that what you really desire and what's deep inside of you, and maybe what's the most tender, most young places of you, are saying I just need for you to lead me a bit more.

01:20:36.640 --> 01:20:38.318
Can you?

01:20:38.318 --> 01:20:42.546
If you're promising that we're going to go to yoga, can we actually do that please?

01:20:43.215 --> 01:20:46.908
You know, or if you want to be more strategic around your health.

01:20:46.908 --> 01:20:49.516
You know, you told me that you would.

01:20:49.516 --> 01:20:51.542
I'm saying me and your inner self.

01:20:51.542 --> 01:21:01.021
You told me that you were going to start drinking some water, but really, if it's true, you've been chugging a bunch of coffee and tea, so can we just get some water please?

01:21:01.021 --> 01:21:14.247
So just listening to yourself so that because if you're feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, oftentimes there are some fundamental things that support our well-being that we're skipping over.

01:21:14.247 --> 01:21:25.125
That's why I always like to say leadership of oneself, leadership of one's team, leadership of one's organization, so just being still and understanding what it is that you actually need to be leading.

01:21:25.125 --> 01:21:46.528
And then the more you build up the foundational things, the more you can come up with more bandwidth, because then you're not as tired, not as exhausted, you're hydrated, you're eating good greens and you're you know, you're moving your body, so then you can kind of have more energy, more life to give towards the idea of big ideas.

01:21:46.528 --> 01:21:54.662
You can't be talking about big ideas and big strategy when you're slipping through the door and like plopping on the sofa.

01:21:54.662 --> 01:22:04.542
You know microwaving dinner, you know for the family or for yourself, and there's a hierarchy of needs, and so I want to just say that.

01:22:04.542 --> 01:22:10.998
So there's a pausing a bit, stealing the brain, really understanding what you truly need, and then how do you lead?

01:22:12.414 --> 01:22:22.067
Also, around strategic leadership, particularly if you're leading your team or leading, a lot of folks often say, oh you know my team, I just can't get my team to do the thing, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

01:22:22.067 --> 01:22:35.105
And I think oftentimes it means because you're not leading well, because you don't have a very clear vision for the team, you're not inspiring people to do things, and sometimes because you're not providing them with the tools they need to do the thing.

01:22:35.105 --> 01:22:42.007
So it's not when I say that strategy is not some up in the sky thing, it's really down on the ground.

01:22:42.007 --> 01:22:47.367
That's what I mean is sort of pausing and understanding what is really missing.

01:22:47.367 --> 01:22:50.462
And we often misdiagnose that quite a bit.

01:22:50.462 --> 01:22:56.287
And oftentimes when I'm called in and they're like oh, you know what we really think.

01:22:56.287 --> 01:23:00.699
You know, we have this big strategy, been trying to implement it for a number of years, we can't get it to work.

01:23:00.699 --> 01:23:07.358
And it's because we think that, you know, you know, I don't know whatever the thing is that they think it is.

01:23:07.377 --> 01:23:38.220
You know, I was talking to a client and they're like, we think they have this really fantastic restaurant and you know, they had this great patio and they weren't getting enough customers in and they thought it was because they didn't have a covering and a very expensive covering that was going to be able to, they were going to be able to purchase, to kind of cover the patio when it was very cold, when the winters were months, were there, or if it was raining, and I was like, okay, yes, let me tell you that would be great If you could have this wonderful thing.

01:23:38.220 --> 01:23:39.304
It would be fantastic.

01:23:39.304 --> 01:23:44.006
However, you also have an inside restaurant and it's still not full.

01:23:44.006 --> 01:23:45.318
You don't like.

01:23:45.318 --> 01:23:46.682
You still have tables that are empty.

01:23:46.682 --> 01:23:58.225
So maybe that's not the covering, that's the problem, okay, but they were going to invest all those thousands and thousands of dollars so that someone can read you know, custom fit, this covering and the thing and the thing and the thing.

01:23:58.225 --> 01:23:59.778
So you want to.

01:23:59.998 --> 01:24:09.141
There's lots of misdiagnosing, so I want to just say to you, leader out there, who's thinking you want to be more strategic, I get it, you're not alone, okay.

01:24:09.141 --> 01:24:13.395
So no shame, don't internalize any shame, that's not a thing.

01:24:13.395 --> 01:24:18.320
Just be still and it'll be still might be.

01:24:18.320 --> 01:24:31.837
Just, you know, block off a couple hours on your calendar for you know, the next, you know next week, thursday, where no one can put a meeting on your calendar and it's just you and you're able to kind of still your brain.

01:24:31.837 --> 01:24:42.164
Whatever still in your brain looks like Some of us still our minds by listening to some music, some people need to be out in nature, some people need to just breathe and people just need to have some sense.

01:24:42.164 --> 01:24:48.287
Whatever it is that you can do to still your mind and then start just jotting down brain dumping.

01:24:48.347 --> 01:24:51.564
What are the things that you really truly need to be able to do that?

01:24:51.564 --> 01:24:59.840
Maybe you have supported yourself enough, maybe your team is working well and maybe now it's really about strategic organization on building.

01:24:59.840 --> 01:25:09.020
And if that's the case, then you want to just first think about what is the core strategic goal, what do you want and how bad do you want it?

01:25:09.020 --> 01:25:10.404
And be honest with yourself.

01:25:10.404 --> 01:25:22.262
And if that is, if you have, if you think you're at a 10 for how badly do you want it and you have a very clear vision of what it is that you want, then start the process that Catherine and I talked about earlier.

01:25:23.195 --> 01:25:28.627
Or strategic goal meaning, with your business vision, what your values are, three years out.

01:25:28.627 --> 01:25:32.731
Once you get the first year, start creating objectives for the first year.

01:25:32.731 --> 01:25:33.856
Don't go more than four.

01:25:33.856 --> 01:25:39.939
Then those four, those four objectives coming out of the first year, you come up with tactics for that.

01:25:39.939 --> 01:25:42.083
Then you add measurements around it.

01:25:42.083 --> 01:25:46.483
What are your metrics, what are your KPIs, what are your quarterly, monthly goals?

01:25:46.483 --> 01:25:51.024
And then you go to your annual, your daily things, and just start from there.

01:25:52.086 --> 01:25:52.606
Beautiful.

01:25:52.606 --> 01:25:56.421
Wow, well, this has just been such an amazing conversation.

01:25:56.421 --> 01:26:01.563
Has there been a favourite part of our conversation today for you, carrie Ann?

01:26:02.865 --> 01:26:17.417
Wow, I think the concept of really the delegating part, the outsourcing, I felt like that was a good thing that we don't you know a lot of hosts don't like to we don't really talk about that much, right?

01:26:17.417 --> 01:26:19.692
This concept of what does it look like on a day to day?

01:26:19.692 --> 01:26:25.034
Because you know, it sort of feels like a thing that oh wait, that's not strategic.

01:26:25.034 --> 01:26:33.354
But I love that we dive a bit into that because it's a practical thing and it gives people permission to say, yeah, you can hire someone to do that.

01:26:33.984 --> 01:26:38.153
Yeah, absolutely yeah, and it can be a quick fix to a whole number of things, can't it?

01:26:38.153 --> 01:26:43.055
You just get someone to take over a whole section of what you're trying to deal with.

01:26:43.055 --> 01:26:45.188
Yeah, suddenly you can breathe.

01:26:46.505 --> 01:26:57.997
One of my mentors always says sometimes the question is not what, sometimes the question is not how, sometimes the answer is not what or how, sometimes the answer is who.

01:26:57.997 --> 01:26:58.757
Yeah.

01:26:58.757 --> 01:27:03.215
So you may be thinking you as a leader, how can I be more strategic?

01:27:03.215 --> 01:27:07.573
Maybe the question is who do I need to help to become more strategic?

01:27:07.573 --> 01:27:17.314
Yeah, and that could simply be hiring someone to take some loads off your plate so you can become a more strategic leader, or it might need someone to help you develop a strategic plan.

01:27:17.836 --> 01:27:18.356
Absolutely.

01:27:18.356 --> 01:27:32.255
I've had so many clients where they wanted to be more strategic and they've then put a lot of work into basically delegating as much of their job as possible, like you were saying and then suddenly they've got space and they've said to me but do I have all that space?

01:27:32.295 --> 01:27:33.216
What am I going to be doing?

01:27:33.216 --> 01:27:34.648
I'm still putting a salary.

01:27:34.648 --> 01:27:37.791
That's when you start looking at the future.

01:27:37.791 --> 01:27:40.212
That's when you look at the interface with the rest of the market.

01:27:40.212 --> 01:27:45.595
That's where you look at all those other things, because you can't look at at the moment and that you really want to look at.

01:27:45.595 --> 01:27:48.052
Oh my, God, that would be fantastic.

01:27:48.664 --> 01:27:51.353
Catherine that, right there, that's the nugget.

01:27:51.353 --> 01:27:53.806
That's the nugget, that is it.

01:27:53.806 --> 01:28:06.798
I think it's difficult for people because, particularly if people were brought up in the middle class, in the middle class, it's this concept of you have to earn your work.

01:28:06.798 --> 01:28:20.837
There's this work ethic concept that doesn't serve us in the capacity of making big things happen.

01:28:20.837 --> 01:28:31.057
You feel a bit of a way of you're like, well, work hard and do the thing, or whatever.

01:28:31.057 --> 01:28:37.864
It's a difficult concept to break away because it's a value-based belief.

01:28:37.864 --> 01:28:48.006
When we have value-based beliefs, that is connected to our identity, you're like, well, that's not how we do it and who's the we?

01:28:48.006 --> 01:28:50.497
Can we just identify what the we is?

01:28:50.497 --> 01:28:53.287
And then, who told you that's not how we do it?

01:28:53.287 --> 01:28:55.649
Whose voice is it?

01:28:55.649 --> 01:28:59.752
Are there people who are now dead and gone that told you that's not how we do it?

01:28:59.752 --> 01:29:05.582
They're not living in the current world, so maybe you can change that.

01:29:05.582 --> 01:29:06.426
This is how we do it.

01:29:06.426 --> 01:29:12.594
So this is how we do it now, but it's hard because of identity and tradition and class.

01:29:12.594 --> 01:29:13.737
That's a big part of it.

01:29:13.737 --> 01:29:14.890
We don't have time to go into that.

01:29:15.364 --> 01:29:25.172
However, I do think if you're having some resistance in delegating so that you can have capacity within your time, your calendar, to think strategically.

01:29:25.172 --> 01:29:30.650
It might be because of the beliefs that you were taught around.

01:29:30.650 --> 01:29:32.154
What does it mean to be?

01:29:32.154 --> 01:29:36.252
And I always say question those beliefs.

01:29:36.252 --> 01:29:37.877
Question those beliefs.

01:29:37.877 --> 01:29:44.051
And if people are like, well, if we question our beliefs and go against the things of tradition, then the whole world is going to go to pot.

01:29:44.051 --> 01:29:57.195
I would say this Thomas Jefferson used to say this one quote and I believe it In matters of style and trend, go with that.

01:29:58.444 --> 01:30:17.930
In matters of principle, stand like a rock, but there are some principled things that you don't want to leave behind the ideas of respecting people, being kind not nice, but kind Principled things.

01:30:17.930 --> 01:30:25.377
But if there's a movement towards a trend or a style, go with that.

01:30:25.377 --> 01:30:29.395
Now, obviously, the question is what's the difference between style and principle?

01:30:29.395 --> 01:30:32.393
That isn't that you have to work out on your own.

01:30:32.393 --> 01:30:41.760
However, just because we are saying that right now, this is how we do, it is no longer the way you were taught.

01:30:41.760 --> 01:30:46.972
This is how we do it and that's not how we can do it now.

01:30:46.972 --> 01:31:03.127
So you can disobey your ancestors beliefs around that and own your beliefs today At the same time, you might feel well, you might think that that is actually a principle but it's not.

01:31:04.505 --> 01:31:17.592
So we are unable to understand what's considered a principle, an enduring value, versus that's how they did it then, because that's all they had to do it.

01:31:17.592 --> 01:32:01.336
So I think a part of that is that part making sure that if you're having resistance in clearing your calendar and your capacity, your mental and emotional capacity to be able to think strategically because then you're not working in the business, you're not doing the actual thing, you're up on the mountain top a bit looking down then that is really, if you're having some resistance with that concept, then it might be because you were taught that you carry the load and you work hard and that's what you're supposed to do and that, I'm saying, is no longer necessary and you can question that belief.

01:32:01.636 --> 01:32:05.725
Yeah, beautiful Amen to that, I agree Fantastic.

01:32:05.725 --> 01:32:08.795
Thank you so much, carrie Ann.

01:32:08.795 --> 01:32:16.154
You really do have an enormous amount of wisdom and experience, and so if people want to find you, where would you like them to go?

01:32:17.426 --> 01:32:23.570
Well, I always say I'm a human being and I love meeting people, so I hang out on LinkedIn.

01:32:23.570 --> 01:32:28.652
If you're on LinkedIn, send me a message so you have a part of Catherine's crew.

01:32:28.652 --> 01:32:30.449
I heard you.

01:32:30.449 --> 01:32:33.413
I want to connect and let's just say hi and let's chat.

01:32:33.413 --> 01:32:35.109
I really do love that.

01:32:35.109 --> 01:32:40.015
Just don't just don't follow me and be like lurking in the background.

01:32:40.015 --> 01:32:42.472
Let's connect, let's be real.

01:32:43.225 --> 01:32:53.467
If you feel that you, if you're running a business, and you're feeling as if some of the things we talked about are resonating and you're feeling like, oh wait, there are some me.

01:32:53.467 --> 01:33:00.113
Not being strategic in the business is causing me to have some chaos, I have a really great tool for you.

01:33:00.113 --> 01:33:03.533
It's a book that I wrote, took a download of my brain a bit.

01:33:03.533 --> 01:33:04.988
It's a very short read.

01:33:04.988 --> 01:33:11.551
It's called A True Culbrits Causing Chaos in your Business, and in that I talk a great deal about strategy.

01:33:11.551 --> 01:33:16.994
You can download that as my gift to you and you can find that on knowbusinesschaoscom.

01:33:16.994 --> 01:33:26.020
And if you just want to find out more about my business and what we do, you can hit me at TrafalgarStrategiesco, but find me on LinkedIn, say hello.

01:33:26.020 --> 01:33:27.264
I'm on Instagram too, but I spend more time on LinkedIn.

01:33:27.264 --> 01:33:27.845
Beautiful, excellent.

01:33:30.189 --> 01:33:35.387
So it sounds like you're actually using LinkedIn like what it's supposed to be used for, unlike most of us, so good for you.

01:33:35.387 --> 01:33:41.395
Well, I will put those links in the show notes so that people can actually find those really, really easily.

01:33:41.395 --> 01:33:45.264
Yes, thank you, karyanna, it's been so fascinating.

01:33:45.264 --> 01:33:49.354
Thank you, and I picked up all sorts of hints that I'm going to go off and use myself.

01:33:50.188 --> 01:33:52.944
And that makes me happy, fantastic.

01:33:53.185 --> 01:33:56.493
Thank you so much and have yourself a beautiful, beautiful day.

01:33:56.493 --> 01:33:57.605
You did the same.

01:33:57.605 --> 01:34:10.529
Thank you for listening to Truth and Transcendence and thank you for supporting the show by rating, reviewing, subscribing, buying me a coffee and telling a friend.

01:34:10.529 --> 01:34:19.632
If you'd like to know more about my work, you can find out about mentoring, workshops and energy treatments on beingspaceworld.

01:34:19.632 --> 01:34:23.554
Have a wonderful week and I'll see you next time.