Gino Wickman (00:00):
Welcome to the Shed and Shine podcast. I am Gino Wickman. This is where Rob Dube and I help driven entrepreneurs shed their shit, free their True Selves, unlock true entrepreneurial freedom and shine. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us and we hope to make a huge impact on you.
Gino Wickman (00:21):
Hello and welcome back. I call this episode How to Solve Business Issues Faster and Better. So I'll start by saying, when the 10 Disciplines are implemented in your life, they serve as boundaries, a filter, a litmus test, and a compass for solving issues better and faster. And so when the 10 Disciplines are in your life, that just simply means you can put an issue in, or when an issue comes up, you run it through your customized answers to the 10 Disciplines and the right and best solution will always bubble up to the surface. I say customized because everyone is unique, and when you implement these 10 Disciplines in your life, they are fully customized for you. And so for instance, 10-year thinking, your 10-year vision, what you see in 10 years, the way you think 10 years out is different from other people.
Gino Wickman (01:35):
Another is know thyself. You in your True Self, your genetic encoding, all of your strengths and weaknesses, your personalities, your traits are unique and different than everyone else. And your 100%, your 100% is different than others. The hours you work per week and weeks per year is different than others. Some work more, some work less. And when you take just those three Disciplines and run those as a filter on an issue, you are going to get a different solution than someone else.
Gino Wickman (02:10):
Now, with that said, the assumption is that you have read shine and you've fully implemented the 10 Disciplines in your life and you Flowt as you build your business and live your life. And as issues come up, you seamlessly solve them naturally and habitually as the 10 Disciplines are running in the background. Now, that's utopia. That's an assumption I'm making in terms of where we want you to be, in terms of what is ideal and what we're working toward here, all of us are. But for the sake of this episode, I'm going to take a little different approach and I'm going to assume that you haven't fully implemented the 10 Disciplines in your life, and I'm going to show you what would look like if you did.
Gino Wickman (03:01):
And so, with that, I'm going to walk you through, like I said, an exercise to accomplish this. And so step one of the exercise is I need you to pause and ponder and right now think of the biggest issue you are facing right now in your business. So the biggest issue you are facing, biggest challenge, biggest problem, biggest issue. I'm going to use the terminology issue throughout most of this episode. Also, please know that this process, everything I'm talking about absolutely works for personal issues as well, but for the sake of this episode, in this exercise, I urge you to please focus on a business issue. We really want to keep this business-focused. So look at that issue or think about that issue. And let's start with Discipline number one.
Gino Wickman (03:54):
So Discipline number one, 10-year thinking. With this Discipline in your life running in the background and thinking about that issue, it will prompt you to ponder and think of questions like, what is the best solution thinking 10 years out in the future? How will this issue and its potential solution affect what you see for your life and your business 10 years from now? So for instance, you may have a certain vision for the size of business you want to build. You may have a vision for what your personal life looks like, family and friends, a vision for your financial independence and maybe an amount of money. And so with that clarity, you run this issue that you're faced with through that long-term filter and you ask yourself, does it fit? What is the right and best answer that aligns with that 10-year thinking?
Gino Wickman (05:01):
And so an example is, in the EOS process, when I work with my clients, of the 135 clients I've worked with, 40 were partnerships. Of the 40, 18 had serious partner issues, the relationship was strained. And of the 18, seven ended up parting ways. And in every case, when I'm faced with partner issues with my clients, I say to them, "Life is too short." And so with whatever issue you are facing, it's the same thing I do with them. I get them to think 10 years from now, do you really want to be experiencing this frustration, dysfunction, angst, et cetera? And that really helps put things in perspective.
Gino Wickman (05:49):
And then the last thing I would share with you on this Discipline is as you look out 10 years with the solution and the decision you're about to make on this massive issue that you're faced with is will there be resentment? The decision you're about to make or not make, look out 10 years, look out even one year, five year, but ultimately 10 years, will there be any resentment? And that will help you make a much better decision.
Gino Wickman (06:14):
Onto number two, Discipline. Number two, take time off. And so with this issue you're facing, are you taking time off so that your head is clear? You will not solve business issues well if your head is not clear. If you're sitting there burnt out, you are about to make a bad decision. And so taking time off when you're fresh and clear and energized, you will make a better decision with what you're faced with. Ask yourself, will this issue or the decision you're about to make affect your time off in any way? If all of a sudden the decision is going to force you to work four more hours a week or an extra day a week, that's going against the power of taking time off and re-energizing, recharging your batteries and being clear.
Gino Wickman (07:09):
And then the last question I would urge you to ask is, is your energy high when you think about solving it? When faced with the issue, if it's draining your energy, and again, you're burnt out, you're just not going to make a great decision. When you're rested and clear, your energy should amplify and you should want to attack this issue and solve it for the long-term greater good.
Gino Wickman (07:32):
Onto number three, know thyself. On this Discipline, when you know yourself, when you know your True Self at your core, start by asking a question, does it fit with who you are? Does the decision you're about to make, the solution to this problem, does it fit with who you are?
Gino Wickman (07:53):
I was talking to a friend just yesterday and he's looking to get a patent on an idea that he has and he's wrestling with, does he go down the road of getting this patent and then starting his own company and building a manufacturing company, or does he just simply sell the patent? And as we were having the conversation, he knows the 10 Disciplines well, and he said, "This is what you mean by know thyself." And so this is where he has to look at himself and say... He's actually retired. He's my age. He has to look at himself and say, do I really want to go at this thing for the next five and 10 years and build another company or do I just want to sell it? And so the answer will be found in knowing yourself and what it is that you are genetically encoded to do and where you are in your life.
Gino Wickman (08:40):
Another way to think about it is, what would your heart do? And so when I talk about your True Self, so remember we talk about all decisions are made out of love or fear. Love is True Self. Fear is ego. And so as you think about this issue, if you're coming from ego, if you're coming from fear, you're probably going to make the wrong decision. If you're coming from love in your True Self, you're probably going to make the right decision.
Gino Wickman (09:08):
And then the last part of Discipline number three, know thyself, is does the decision keep you in your superpower in what you are genetically encoded to do? Does it affect that in any way? Are you going to sacrifice any of that in any way? At the end of the decision, when you put the solution in place, it should only magnify your superpower, not diminish it, not sacrifice you in any way. And so, again, with that clarity, that will lead you to a better solution.
Gino Wickman (09:42):
Onto Discipline number four, be still. So you're faced with this issue. It's a big one. And so sometimes just simply meditating on it, journaling about it, contemplating about it, praying about it, whatever form of stillness works for you, any one of those four, the right answer will kind of bubble to the surface. Another way to think about it is, what is your gut saying? What is your intuition telling you? And the reality is you can't hear your gut and you can't listen to your intuition if there's too much noise going on in the background. So you have to be still to hear what your gut and intuition are saying. They are always right. And sometimes the answer just comes up when you stop and let your soul catch up. Sometimes, literally within minutes, once you get still and you're looking at that issue, you're seeing that issue, you've written that issue down, whatever way you're seeing it, the answer poof sometimes comes right to the surface.
Gino Wickman (10:47):
Onto Discipline number five, know your 100%. And so this is the number of hours per week that you work, the number of weeks per year that you work, the perfect energy maximization. Question you have to ask with this issue you're faced with and the solution you're looking at is will it have any effect on that? And will this decision increase that or will it decrease that?
Gino Wickman (11:20):
The example that comes to mind here is the thought of let's pretend you just lost your sales manager and you're faced with this big challenge, this big issue, and now you're faced with, is it time to go out and hire a new sales manager or are you going to go back in the sales manager seat? And if you run that decision through these 10 Disciplines, especially knowing you're 100%, it's going to lead you to a better answer because the best answer may not be you jumping back in that seat because something's compelling to do that or you want to save a few bucks or you think you're the only one that can save it. The right answer might be get to work on hiring your new sales manager as fast as possible.
Gino Wickman (12:05):
Onto Discipline number six, say no often. So whatever it is, this issue you are facing, I want to start with something really simple and just ask you, how about just saying no? What about the possibility of, whatever it is, just saying no. Now, I'm going to expand a little more, but try that on first. But it might be an employee might be asking you for something and it's a big ask and you're feeling pressure or you're feeling guilt or you're feeling some past baggage creeping up when you know the answer should be no. Do a checkup on what is the guilt, where is it coming from, why the pressure when the answer is just simply no.
Gino Wickman (12:56):
And it makes me think of a TV show that I was watching and it was about a principal in a high school and this principle was terrible at saying no in a funny set of circumstances. One of the seniors in the high school got involved in the process and was great at saying no. And he would bring this student in to all of his tough meetings when someone had to be given bad news, and this student was just masterful at it and the principal was terrible at it. So it's just funny that yesterday I was watching something on this exact subject. So check yourself and look at why do you struggle with saying no when you know that's the right answer.
Gino Wickman (13:36):
Another thing I would introduce to this is something I learned from my dad, and it's a decision-making process. With every decision you're faced with, there's only one of three options, and that's to live with it, leave it or change it. And so in this process, let's make an assumption that this issue you're faced with, you are no longer willing to live with it. You cannot live with it because every once in a while you will decide to just live with the issue, but let's pretend that's not an option here. The remaining two options are to leave it or change it. Leaving it means to end it, to end the relationship, to sever whatever's going on there. And then change it means there's something within what's going on that you just have to make a change. It's not about parting ways on something. And so that's what we're down to. And I would urge you to just really look at is this something that you're ready to end, leave, quit, part ways, or is it something that just simply needs to be changed?
Gino Wickman (14:37):
And then the last thing I would say on this Discipline is funny line I heard about the definition of leadership, and leadership is about giving bad news at a speed that your people can absorb it. Now, that's probably not the best way to say that, but the point is really important. Whatever this tough decision is, I'm guessing someone's not going to like the decision and that someone may even be you, but you've got to get your psyche right. You've got to really work on your internal baggage. You've got to work on being comfortable being the bad guy from time to time because it's just a part of the business. And so maybe that's something you have to look at within yourself.
Gino Wickman (15:23):
On to Discipline number seven, don't do $25 an hour work. So with this issue you are faced with, I would ask you, can you pay someone to solve it? Can you delegate this? Is this really your problem to solve or is it someone else's problem to solve? And if you realize this can be delegated, this is someone else's problem to solve, then just delegate it to them and tell them to solve it.
Gino Wickman (15:56):
Another way to think about this, don't do $25 an hour work also means don't do low energy work. And so check yourself on this. Again, if it is truly zapping your energy and this is not for you to solve, maybe there's a better way to approach this. But an example would be, when I have $1,000 problem and I realize that it's going to require $2,000 of effort and time and resources to solve it, you have your answer. Sometimes cutting a check just simply solves the problem or you just need to let it go and not deal with it because it's going to cost more to solve it. This also applies to lawsuits. You're being sued for $10,000, but it's going to cost you $20,000 to defend yourself, even though you know are right, is it really worth the time and the effort and the energy? And sometimes it's your ego that's wanting you to stay in the fight. Now, I get it because it would be hard for me in that situation because I have high integrity, but you've got to do the math on your time and your effort and your energy. And so, again, sometimes it's just simply a mathematical trade-off and money can solve your problem, not always, and most of the time not.
Gino Wickman (17:11):
Onto Discipline number eight, prepare every night. Somewhere when your day ends and before your head hits the pillow, you sit down and lay out your day tomorrow in chronological order, go ahead and put that in your prep for tomorrow and just simply time block it. And so let's just hypothetically say at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, you're going to work on this issue. And so you schedule that for 10 o'clock tomorrow. Here's the powerful thing that will happen. Worst case, again, you're going to get to 10 o'clock tomorrow, you're going to hunker down. You're going to think about that issue again. You might spend some stillness around it, but nonetheless, you're going to work on that issue, but what's powerful is your subconscious will start going to work the second you commit to solving that at 10 o'clock tomorrow and you will sometimes wake up with the solution or the solution will come to you by 10 o'clock tomorrow. I've had that happen to me a thousand times.
Gino Wickman (18:12):
Onto Discipline number nine, put everything in one place. So this Discipline, again, is where you will have one place that you put everything that comes up throughout the day. And what has just come up today is a big issue you are faced with. And sometimes, when you get hit with that big issue, you just go, ugh, and you write it on your one place and then you save it for later and just let it go at that moment knowing that at the end of the day when you clean up your one place and compartmentalize everything, it will be there at the end of the day waiting for you, but the solution may come to you by the time you get there because it's always back there in your subconscious and it's always working once you write it down.
Gino Wickman (19:04):
But it doesn't have to be solved by the end of the day today, or it doesn't have to be solved tomorrow. So this thing you're faced with right now, you may have two good weeks to solve it. Heck, you may have six months to solve it. And so when I have an issue that takes longer than a day to solve or I've got more time to solve, I just simply put a stake in the ground, which means I set a date and I set a time that I will solve this thing. And let's pretend it's a month from now. Your subconscious will be working for the next month on it. And miraculously, somehow the answer always comes to me by that date. Not only do you get to get it out of your brain for that moment, but there's a release and a relief that happens. And in that, I think that's that opportunity that your brain just turns off in your subconscious goes to work. So try that right now. That might be the best thing for you to do is just write it in your one place right now and let it go until the end of the day today.
Gino Wickman (20:08):
Onto Discipline number 10, be humble, which means remember the spectrum. One end of the spectrum is arrogance. The other end of the spectrum is humility. Where are you on the spectrum? Because on the arrogance side, that means that your ego is at play. Fear is at play. On the other end of the spectrum is humility. That's your True Self, that's your soul, that's love, that's a love-based decision. And so check yourself and remember, the best way to practice this Discipline is by practicing gratitude. If you are just grateful, if you practice gratitude, it will humble you.
Gino Wickman (20:56):
I was dealing with a people issue, but I was getting really worked up, really wound up about it, and I realized that I was coming from the wrong place. It was really fear-based what was happening for me. And so when I caught myself doing it, I just took a deep breath. I thought about it and I thought about all of the great things about this person, all the things I appreciate about this person. And what that did is it just grounded me and helped me really see everything clear and put it in perspective. And so I would urge you to do the same with this issue that you're faced with. It then helped me relax, like I said, see it all clearer. Now, all that said, the issue was still real and it was a big issue, but it was so much clearer and I was able to then deliver the message better. I was able to then share my side of the story better and just come from a better place, which led us to a great solution. And so please try that on.
Gino Wickman (22:03):
And there they are, the 10 Disciplines to help you solve this big issue you're facing right here and now. And if you need help implementing these 10 Disciplines in your life, please read Shine. Also, consider taking our self-study, consider getting in our group coaching program, consider joining our mastermind. You can find those at our website, the10Disciplines.com. And with all that said, I hope that helped.
Gino Wickman (22:39):
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us, and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, if you'd like to see where you are on your True Self journey, go to shedandshinepodcast.com to take the True Self assessment and receive personalized guidance. If you're all ready to begin your inner world journey with Rob and myself, please join us for the next round of the 10 Disciplines Group Coaching program. We wish you all the best in freeing your True Self, stay focused and much love.
