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How to Fire Yourself… The Right Way

By Jeff Burlingame, Two-Brain Business Mentor So you don’t want to clean your gym anymore?  Or run payments?  Or deal with retail? Whatever it is that you don’t want to do… How do you get out of doing it? At Two-Brain Business we guide our clients to higher value roles, eventually to that of the CEO.  This allows them to do more work on their business and less work in their business, thus making it more profitable.  #emyth Here is our step by step process to get there, no matter the role: Do the job.  And learn how to do it right.  Find out what works and what doesn’t, so that another employee doesn’t end up doing things the wrong way. Document everything.  Once you are happy with how the job is done, write it all down.  This is an SOP (Standard Operating Process).  It starts with how to do the job and ends with an employee contract, evaluation and pay structure.  More HERE. Get the right person on the bus.  This person should be excited to take on new responsibility and growth. Test drive.  Give them 1-3 months in the role to get traction.  If they are unable to be successful by then, or anything else major goes wrong, fire them. Keep OR Fire them. Move on up that ladder to higher value roles Think about all the hours in the day you could free up just by removing a few roles from yourself.  What could you do with that time?  Or better yet, What couldn’t you do with that time? Sky is the limit, be relentless in your pursuit of success. If you need more help, we are here for you.BOOK A FREE CALL  Jeff Burlingame Two-Brain Business Mentor Owner – Friction CrossFit  
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Killing The Canary

by Two-Brain Mentors Brian Alexander and Chris Cooper Even when things are amazing, it’s very easy to focus on the “problem areas.” Our brains are wired to detect flaws. But we often get “false positives”: cues or feedback that seems to knock all the good stuff off the table. We fixate on negative feedback even when it doesn’t represent the average client. And when someone says they don’t like a class time on our client surveys…well, we want to smash the whole puzzle and start from scratch! Right? Brian just shared a fantastic message with his coaches (he oversees 30 of them between two gyms, and relies on his strong leadership style to inspire them to take the right action when they’re out of his sight). Brian’s crew was starting to report that “some of the members” had problems with “some of the services” or “some of the class times”. These are always hard to pin down (WHICH members? What EXACTLY did they say?) but Brian has been through this before. Over a year ago, the rates at CrossFit Illumine rose. A small–but very vocal–minority of clients quit to make a point about the prices. Most have since come back, but at the time, Brian had to fight the temptation to back down from his core values and cave in to keep them. This is how he got through it, and the lesson he shared with his staff today: There will always be a small minority of people who complain about everything. For example, not including Spark in Unlimited memberships, or charging extra for speciality programs, or charging for nutrition advice, not having enough classes, CrossFit being too expensive etc… while we listen to everyone, we act according to our vision for the gym and don’t let the “Loud Minority” sway us because we understand that they don’t see the big picture we do. When I hear, “Everyone is complaining, or “Everyone ...
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TwoBrain Radio Replay: Bob Burg of "The Go-Giver"

 
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How To Choose A Mentor

The #1 thing most successful business owners have in common: they have a business mentor. But you already knew that. When I started mentoring gym owners in 2012, I was drawing on my own experience in the gym AND what my own mentors had taught me. I got lucky: the first mentor I hired, way back in 2009, was exactly the right fit for my business at the time. He gave me clarity and accountability and saved Catalyst Ten years and millions of dollars later, I still have mentors. They’re more expensive (I commit to spending $100,000 per year in mentorship) but I’m saving YEARS by avoiding the “learn as I go” mistake. My mentors in 2017 are quite different from Denis, my 2009 savior. But I still call Denis often; even though I’m now dealing with larger problems, his advice always grounds me. Anyway… After five years of mentoring gym owners, I know that not everyone is a perfect fit. We accept about 3 out of every 10 who apply for mentorship from Two-Brain. For those who DO fit, I ask them to start with this exercise: First, think back in your life. Who was one person who changed the course of your life—it could be a teacher, preacher, coach or creature—who influenced you enough to change your course? Maybe they gave you a new perspective; maybe they just gave you a kick in the pants. Who was it? If you’ve had an influential mentor before, the answer should be obvious. Next: what was their teaching style? Were they Socratic, asking you questions until you came up with the answer yourself? Or were they militaristic, telling you only the next step? How did they get you to change your mind? Third question (and most important): How did they spur you to action? How did they hold you accountable? We now have dozens of mentors at Two-Brain. Each of us ...
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Episode 76: Action!

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Do You Know TOO Much?

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told, “I have self-diagnosed ADD”. I say it myself. But it’s not true. The problem isn’t a lack of focus. It’s not a condition or affliction. We simply have TOO MANY ideas. Thinking of ways to solve problems is not the same as solving problems. What’s the difference? Action. You probably knew that already. So why aren’t you taking action? It’s simple: you’re paralyzed. You’re analyzing options. You’re seeking input, data, and opinion from other gym owners. Maybe you’re even writing a “pros vs cons” list. And NONE of it matters with ACTION. In Jay Williams’ closing address at the 2017 TwoBrain Summit, he walked the 180+ attendees through an exercise on action. Then we committed everyone to their action, and checked in with them all within days. Most seminars, online courses and lectures focus on knowledge; we focus on action. I used to travel around giving 4 seminars every year. For awhile, I sold courses online. But I stopped doing BOTH of these things when I realized this: Lack of knowledge isn’t the problem. Not anymore. Lack of action is the problem. Founding Two-Brain Business in 2016 allowed me to start from a blank slate, with years of mentoring gym owners under my belt. It gave me the chance to rebuild a program from scratch, instead of being married to old ideas like selling courses. So what did I build into the Incubator? Accountability. A one-on-one relationship with a real mentor, who is really successful in the gym industry. A mentoring platform that carries hundreds of NEW videos with updated ideas…and templates to make sure you can use them. An aggressive call schedule (the Incubator is a LOT of work. If you’re not given a deadline, you’ll stop doing the work.) Support. First from a mentor, then from an incredibly supportive group. Access. Our clients can message us through our ...
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