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From Stress to Success: The Groundbreaking Strategies for Optimal Health and Performance

From Stress to Success: The Groundbreaking Strategies for Optimal Health and Performance written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Jennifer Watson, a healer, high-performance coach, and breakthrough speaker. As the founder of Jennifer Watson Leadership, she is on a mission to help leaders heal and accelerate their deeper purpose of impact through vital wellness, leadership genius, and potent speaking.

Embark on a journey from stress to success as Jennifer shares groundbreaking strategies for optimal health and performance in leadership. Explore the transformative power of morning rituals, focusing on the vital connection between nature, breath, and movement.

Key Takeaways

In this illuminating episode, Jennifer Watson, a seasoned healer and high-performance coach, shares transformative insights to guide leaders from stress to success. Emphasizing the pivotal role of morning rituals, she unveils a 3-step formula for leadership mastery, emphasizing sunlight exposure and intentional breathwork. Watson explores the vital connection between nature, breath, and movement, advocating for the transformative power of outdoor exposure and mindful practices. Through a practical guide, listeners gain actionable strategies for morning transformation, delving into the science-backed rituals contributing to optimal health. Watson’s morning routine serves as an alchemical blueprint, merging stress reduction, mindset mastery, and physical well-being for holistic leadership excellence. From stress reduction strategies to fostering a people-centric culture, Jennifer Watson’s expertise provides a comprehensive roadmap for leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of work and creativity while achieving peak performance and optimal health.

Jennifer Watson’s expertise provides a comprehensive roadmap for leaders aspiring to thrive in both their personal and professional lives.

Questions I ask Jennifer Watson:

[00:41] What aspects of your background led to your entrepreneurial journey as a high-performance coach?

[04:11] Do you believe your experience as an athlete helped in your wellness approach to leadership?

[07:10] Would you agree that a lot of leaders are understanding the value of wellness in opposition to hustle culture?

[14:50] Would you agree that this approach could lead to a longer and more fulfilled life?

[15:06] When beginning with a new client is there a one-size-fits-all approach or is every step streamlined to each need?

[20:17] Where can people connect with you ?

 

More About Jennifer Watson:

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Connect with John Jantsch on LinkedIn

 

 

 

 

John (00:08): Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Jennifer Watson. She’s a healer, high-performance coach and breakthrough speaker on a mission to help leaders heal and accelerate their deeper purpose of impact through their vital wellness, leadership genius and potent speaking. She does this through her company, Jennifer Watson, leadership. So Jennifer, welcome to the show.

Jennifer (00:34): Thank you so much for having me, John. It’s an honor to be here going into the holiday season and just honored to serve your community.

John (00:41): So you have, let’s see, not necessarily a typical background entrepreneurial background. So I always sometimes love to say, how’d you get here? What was your journey that led you to this being what you were meant to do today?

Jennifer (00:56): Absolutely. I started as a high level athlete. I was a two-time, All-American track and field athlete. Used to be pretty fast everyone, and go figure. I had my chair of injuries and I started getting interested in the wellness and physical therapy world because I had physical therapy. I went to doctors to help with injuries. And during that whole journey I was also struggling with depression and anxiety. And I started realizing as an athlete that wellness and fitness actually incorporated more than physical. It was mental, emotional, spiritual. And it started my journey toward not only healing myself and optimizing overall health, but understanding that health is mind, body, soul. And because of my thought process on how to engage health in a more powerful way, I started my own practice just a few years after I graduated from PT school because I felt that traditional way of health care, at least in the areas of true healing and optimizing even performance with Hilo athletes was missing some pieces.

(01:57): So my practice has always incorporated mind, body, soul optimization. And from there I just took it in the last four to five years into coaching and consulting and speaking because what I found is beyond my four brick walls of healing, people in leadership positions and executive and business leadership positions wanted this information. And I knew, listen, how can I accelerate this information more powerfully in the workforce? And that’s when I became a coach consultant. And now I get to also speak across the country on aspects of mental emotional wellness as well as really staying into performance and team productivity, no matter the environment that you can truly be successful and keep your health no matter what life gives you. And that’s just an honor for me to do throughout the years that I’ve had here.

John (02:47): So I’m envisioning you working on somebody’s knee and then chatting them up about leadership skills and it just blossomed from there. Is there a little truth to that?

Jennifer (02:59): It’s absolutely, it’s really interesting because a lot of people that came to me, John, were high performers, business leaders, executives that had physical issues but also had some anxiety and depression or had some performance and productivity issues with their team. So of course after working with them for a while, that’s when they started getting some of my expertise. I was leading teams and I was pretty good at it and giving them advice on that. So it was a natural bridge. Such a great question, John, because people ask me, how did you go into coaching, consulting, and speaking from your PT practice, brick and mortar, it was actually a very easy bridge to craft because what you just said, a lot of people were drawn to the type of work I did as high performing business leaders, and I got to just use my skills as a wellness provider and a leadership person because I was growing my own business. So the two got married together to really bring out the coaching, consulting and speaking, and no one’s ever asked me that. So thank you for asking.

John (03:53): I also, I’ve always said for years, I think a lot of people underestimate the physical aspect and maybe the sort of parallels to being an athlete to running a business. I mean, it is very physically demanding. There’s a lot of the, you need to have rest, you need to practice, you need to perform on game day. I just think there’s a lot of parallels. Do you feel like your background as an athlete really helped you kind of understand what was missing maybe in leaders and in entrepreneurial journeys?

Jennifer (04:22): It’s interesting. A lot of executives and leaders that are drawn to me are prior athletes. So it’s funny you should ask that question. And I will say this, I learned about leadership performing in different environments, in environments that were not maybe optimal for race performance in a powerful way. So I would agree with you, there’s a lot of things I learned in performance, mental edge mastery and leadership as an athlete. However, I want all of you to get this. What I also found is some things that were detrimental as an athlete that I had to learn to transition into different skill sets for myself and for the people that I work with to help leadership and performance in a different way. What I mean by that is this, John, and I think it needs to be very clear because a lot of high performers and athletes, former athletes see performing hard as pushing through, as getting through the hard stuff as at all costs of often health, just get it done and be successful.

(05:22): And what happened is a lot of business leaders were tanked, were exhaust and overwhelmed, and I questioned that. I’m like, there’s got to be an easy way in the business leadership world to do things that you can actually be healthy and vital and actually still be a great business leader. So some of the things I took from being an athlete that you had to push through didn’t work in business. So the things I did extrapolate that were good as an athlete were powerful in leadership and performance. But one thing I really feel downloaded just to share with your audience is actually how the transition for me was different, becoming a leader that I had to get a different relationship with resilience, I had to get a different relationship with performance because if I kept up the whole athletic press on, don’t tell anyone, suck it up buttercup.

(06:08): That’s when I started self imploding to be quite frank in my health, in my relationships, Albany in my bottom line when I started shifting what performance meant to me and the relationship with it and shifting how I could shift that for my team and be a better leader in a healthier state is actually where my bottom line took off, where the productivity and performance of my team took off. So I did take powerful things from being an athlete, but the biggest caveat I would give the leaders now is be careful about the push push scenario. I’m not saying that’s not necessary once in a while, but I’ll say on average you need to be in a calmer flow state for you and your team to actually provide value and get things done effective on a time while keeping your health

John (06:52): Well. But one of the points there though, I think athletes are especially at a very high level where there’s millions of dollars on the line of their performance. I mean rest is as equally as important as practice nutrition is equally as important as weightlifting. And I think that a lot of leaders are starting to wake up to that whole, I got to take care of my body if I’m going to make it through this product launch or something. And I think that’s a really healthy thing that I think is finally starting to land and push out sort of the hustle hustle approach.

Jennifer (07:29): It’s interesting because people obviously probably like you, John, say, what are the top three things that you think leaders need, especially post to 2020, what do you think accelerates them? It makes them maybe above the rest, like go from good to great or even from average to good at a powerful rate. And I will say from a physical sense, sleep is hugely important. There’s so much research on this and I’m talking about sleep by the way, prior to midnight. You optimize more REM sleep and deep sleep when you’re getting more hours before midnight. And I would say it’s an active activity everyone. So that’s a number one. Number two, I’m going to go into a little bit later, but it has to do a little bit with nutrition. That’s a good thing that will help with all leaders. But a second middleman that I really want people to get, because people ask me this all the time, if you could pick just one thing, and I don’t think it’s just one thing ever, I don’t ever think, but if I had to pick one thing that would really help leaders be better leaders, help them accelerate their performance, their productivity, create good team culture and connectness in their team and make a lot of freaking money doing it, is this, everybody listen up.

(08:33): You have to learn to manage, refine and master your emotional state. It doesn’t matter if something external has triggered you into bad emotional state or something internal. A belief has put you in an emotional state, big or small, it does not matter Everyone, when you have emotions that you cannot harness to work for you instead of against you, you will lose hours perseverating in the emotion, perseverating in the belief and lose connection to your team and productivity. So I teach a lot of frameworks in my business and on my team as well as a lot of leaders in workshops and presentations on ways to master and harness no matter if it’s whatever it’s coming from. And you guys, that covers a lot of things from bottom lines to communication to losing staff at last minute to everything to maybe some personal stuff happening at home.

(09:27): And these templates really help people understand how to do that. When you do that, it game changes everything. And I see that leaders are understanding the value of that, especially since 2020. So I would say sleep is number one from a physical sense. Even over exercise, everyone, I’m a high level say that number one is sleep. Number two is the emotional regulation and mastery that I really, really want to delve into in the third. I can talk about in a second, but I’d love to answer any questions you have on that. But that’s a big one for a lot of leaders and teams.

John (10:00): Yeah, and I think a lot of it just becomes automatic response. I mean, there’s a lot of things that push our buttons throughout the day. And I do see this, and I know you talk a lot about meditation and pausing and mindfulness, which are all kind of practices to sort of bring all that back in, I think is the longer I stay in this, the more I realize how valuable that is. And I probably wouldn’t go as far as saying I control my emotions all the time, but I realize when I’m being acted on as opposed to me mindfully acting. And I think that becomes, that’s a tremendous skill for sure.

Jennifer (10:34): And the thing is, everyone, by the way, I can just give you kind of a tool right now just help gain traction on this. But there are some people that just have some core triggers that they just can’t get rid on their own. That’s why we have coaches and consultants to help people navigate through that. I mean, we’re human, everyone. And no matter how many tools we try on our own and download from our YouTube, there might be times that you need support and that’s okay. One thing that will help words are powerful, John, and what you said about trying to manage your emotions. I always say you guys shifting the words. So if you’re feeling depressed, angry, sad, frustrated, especially those I call ’em more the negative emotions or negative feelings, I always say change the words if you’re feeling angry, like I’m curious.

(11:14): Okay, curious everyone, that’s a powerful word. It has a higher frequency to, I’m curious why I am feeling anger right now. And when you allow yourself to choose a different word, it actually calms the nervous system everybody. It’s really important to calm your nervous system, to get it on board to chill out so it’s open to its pollution or an idea or a reason in this case why you are angry. So when you choose different words, it already starts chilling out a little bit. I’m not saying a lot all the time depending on where the trigger’s coming from, if there’s trauma behind that, but a lot of times it’s at least going to chill you out. And then that’s what the brain does when it starts calming down the calm, parasympathetic state, the calm state of your nervous system. It’s in more optimal use of brain resources.

(11:59): It wants to create an opportunity and solution for you. It’s going to start looking for answers when you ask a question. So when you ask questions, I’m curious, why am I having anger right now? You’ll find how you start journaling, figure out from their why and then often the solution. So that can create some momentum, you guys, for you, there’s sometimes more depth, there’s more layers to that, especially there’s other team members involved. But it’s a great way to help you start mastering that and moving forward because you’re going to gain productivity, performance and ultimately your bottom line. So those are big things for emotional regulation. So we talked about sleep, we talked about emotional regulation. And the third thing really even before exercise, you guys also didn’t say exercise yet. That’s the fourth. The third is really nutrition. And by the way, I’m a big believer that it’s specific to each person.

(12:44): Metabolic rate, blood type, your past milk constraint. I’ve been a practitioner a long time. So specificity to your type of food plan is necessary to optimize your body and brain to feel vital that day. However, one thing I will say for every American across the board, and I’ll say every American, okay, we genetically modify a lot of different foods in this country for a variety of reasons. And the thing is that’s happening is we have a hard time digesting that colors, food colorings, all this. And one of the things we genetically modify the most are wheat flour, our carbohydrates. And the reason why that’s important for Americans to understand is Americans, 90% of us eat too many carbs, too many wheat products. And most of us in research show that we have a mild to severe allergen to the genetically modified wheat products in everybody.

(13:35): So a mild to severe like celiacs where you have more of an anaphylactic response. And the reason why that’s important, everybody, it puts inflammation in your entire body, your brain, your gut, your whole body. So you think if your brain’s a little plane, do you think you’re going to be able to be more clear on your message, articulate well during the day, write up an email effectively? No. Okay. So those three are going to be probably the biggest dominoes for you to start gaining traction as a powerful leader to stay in your vitality and create connectness and good productivity communication with your team, sleep anything before midnight, that’s going to be the big chunk for you guys. Number two, learning how to manage and emotionally regulate your system. Sometimes you need coaching consulting here, but at least trying to shift your words will open up Pandora’s box in the brain powerful way. And then third, looking at not necessarily eliminating, I don’t eat gluten wheat flour, which is gluten itself, but at least in modifying its usage, which can help calm down inflammation in the brain. And then fourth, we could go into a whole nother podcast is movement and exercise. But those things I believe are really big things that can help people from a general level to create traction as powerful leaders and then delving in more powerful. We need more coaching consulting beyond that. She

John (14:51): Might actually live a little longer too. I mean, what you just gave was really a good recipe for having a more enjoyable life period, right? A hundred

Jennifer (15:01): Percent about the quality of life. Don’t we all want that? The quality of life, longevity of life, right?

John (15:06): So if somebody came to you and said, look, I listened to this or I went to your website and I’m ready to turn things around, is there kind of a recipe for optimal health? Or you maybe said this already that everybody’s different, but there’s probably a few truths I guess that are going to show up on anybody’s recipe, aren’t they?

Jennifer (15:27): No, absolutely. This is number one, we’re just optimizing health. And again, everyone, leaders, this probably goes without saying, this is your vehicle that God gave you. We don’t treat it well hardly at all. It’s really interesting. It’s actually really brilliant just by the way we go on a whole nother podcast on this, the brilliance of the body to rise even with all the junk we inhale from pollution to the food, food to the less activity, to the toxic environment from social media, it’s amazing. Our body actually rises as powerful. It does. So just be thankful and grateful for that everybody. But if you want to optimize this to actually work for you, because this is the tool, this is the vehicle we’re using every day to show up, not just as John just said as leaders, but in our life as husbands, as fathers, as just wanting to enjoy life.

(16:10): First and foremost. I don’t care if you’re a person that’s fit or a person that’s athletic, you don’t have to be get outside. The first thing I do in the morning all the time is get outside in the sun. Even if you don’t have a lot of sun in your area and it’s cloudy, it’s still indirectly getting sun from just being outside in the light. There’s so much that happens from vitamin D to actually grounding with the earth because we’re positively negatively charged. Being so is the earth. It helps pull us into a powerful state of calm state, a parasympathetic state for us to get ready for a day and optimize this. So get outside five minutes, you guys. I’m even saying three hours exercise, five minutes every day, get outside, put your head up in the sun and this is where you’re also going to second breathe.

(16:53): Okay? Breath is life. It’s not only necessary for all the interactions, it’s a catalyst for many things inside our body to happen autonomically, but it also is huge for stabilizing our nervous system, our brain to body to be in a calm state. Again, the reason why I keep saying this, everybody 90% of the day, our human beings are supposed to be in a calm, parasympathetic state is actually reversive that so many Americans and leaders are stressed out. But the reason why that’s important, research shows we need that for optimal brain and body to function. So that’s why they get outside. Now that you’ve been outside for five minutes, we start breathing you guys, there’s so many different types of breath work out there. I use Wim H method with some of my clients, depends on what your needs are with more performance based, trying to help with anxiety.

(17:40): But no matter what, just getting outside, taking 10 to 20 deep breaths starts that cycle, going to get you into a calmer state. Again, there’s more specifics. I teach to get more nichey. Depend what your needs are, but getting outside and breath is next. Third, the one thing that I always say you guys have to do is move. It doesn’t have to be exercise move. It could be dance for five minutes. It could be jumping jacks. It could just be you doing some burpees for five minutes. It could be you just walking your dog. The reason why that’s also important is it’s a triple kind of opportunity for you to not only get the blood flowing, okay, movement to the brain, the body get blood flowing. But guess what else it does. If you’re waking up with way, we talk about the beginning of all this emotions that don’t feel good.

(18:28): Emotions are energy. Just like food is energy. When you start moving, you actually start moving some of those negative anger, depression, anxiety, outside of your body. I’m not saying it’s going to be perfect, depends the layers of what’s going on there, but it can move it through you guys. I do this every morning. If I’m feeling anxious about something, I literally will jump up and down outside and it does move me into that calmer state because I’m moving energy that’s not good out of my body and I’m getting the circulation pump for the day. So get outside deep. And

John (19:03): It makes for some good Instagram posts too.

Jennifer (19:07): Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Those are biggest, those are probably the biggest three things, John. But then I would say is this connection is key. We’re relational beings and one thing that’s going to help us from a vitality of physical standpoint and also an emotional standpoint is get connected to people that are your tribe. It’s not just your team that’s in your business that’s on the same mission and mission that love it, but also the people outside. We always hear this that the five people that you’re on the most also influence you the most, right? But get around people that you feel good around. Everyone that works on your physical, emotional, mental wellbeing. Let alone all the things that can help you and mastermind and get the things that you want done in your business. So connection with people is the right people. Moving, really making sure that you’re doing some breath and getting outside. If I give any tools, will be the that I would give to people to start your day off. This is going to help you get to a higher frequency, calm the nervous system to be ready to go and perform no matter what is happening in your environment that day.

John (20:10): Well, I happen to be lucky enough to live in a national forest, so forest bathing is certainly something I do every single day. Well, Jennifer, I appreciate you taking a moment to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast anywhere you want to invite people to connect with you.

Jennifer (20:23): Absolutely. So I’m the most active on LinkedIn and Instagram. LinkedIn. I’m Jennifer Watson and then on Instagram it’s the Jennifer Watson and I do answer my own dms. So if you have any questions about this podcast or connecting with me more and learning more about what I do and how I can support you, connect with me there. I’d be more than happy to support you.

John (20:43): Awesome. Again, thanks for taking a moment to stop by and hopefully we’ll run into you one of these days in Colorado. Soon.

Unlock Your Creative Compass: Merging Mysticism, Marketing, and Making

Unlock Your Creative Compass: Merging Mysticism, Marketing, and Making written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Will Cady, Reddit‘s Global Brand Ambassador and founding Head of Karma Lab – a team of best-in-class creative and strategic minds, backed by media, marketing and ad industry experience that make them uniquely positioned to guide and collaborate with brands as they find their home on Reddit and around internet culture. Will’s unique background combines mysticism, marketing, and making, creating a rich tapestry of insights for navigating the world of creativity. His latest book ‘Which way is North?‘ outlines seven directions, which help professionals divide their inner world into different experiences through meditation to convert anxiety into action.

Key Takeaways

Embark on a transformative journey through the seven directions, strategically open-ended questions designed to unlock creativity at the intersection of mysticism, marketing, and making. Will Cady shares insights on turning anxiety into a catalyst for innovation, the power of divergent thinking in strategic questions, and the integration of head and heart in the creative process. The episode explores the normalization of meditation and its potential to unlock human potential, offering a comprehensive roadmap for navigating the dynamic landscape of creativity and self-discovery. Tune in for practical tips and valuable insights into building a people-centric culture in the ever-evolving dynamics of work and creativity.

 

Questions I ask Will Cady:

[00:43] What is Reddit?

[01:22] Is it fair to say the company is best at ensuring conversations in community spaces stay in context?

[03:03] What does a global brand ambassador do?

[04:36] How does being a brand ambassador integrate with leading at Karma Lab?

[05:58] Explain how your book title ‘which way is north’ diverges from the common saying ‘find your true north’?

[07:28] Given the context of the book, did you feel any creative pressure in writing it?

[08:40] How do you suggest people use the book?

[12:12] To what degree did your background in music influence the creation of this book?

[14:26] Can you touch on the line your draw between mental health and creativity?

[16:51] Can you talk more about the necessity and normalization of meditation in entrepreneurship?

[18:33] Can you pick apart what you call the seven directions in the book?

[22:52] Where can people connect with you and find a copy of which way is north?

 

More About Will Cady:

Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:

 

Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!

Connect with John Jantsch on LinkedIn

 

This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign

Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days with our special offer. Sign up for a 15% discount on annual plans until Dec 31, 2023. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today!

 

 

 

 

John (00:08): Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Will Cady. He is Reddit’s global brand ambassador and founding head of Reddit’s Karma Lab creative strategy team. And we’re going to talk about his recent book, which way is North, a creative compass for Makers, marketers, and mystics. So will welcome to the show.

Will (00:33): Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

John (00:35): So let’s pretend you were at a cocktail party and there was a person there that somehow had never heard of Reddit, and they just came up and said, what’s Reddit? How do you tell people? What’s the quick version of what is Reddit?

Will (00:49): Yeah, the quickest way to say it is Reddit is where the best questions live, and it’s been that way for over 18 years now, just celebrated it’s 18th birthday. So it’s pretty foundational to the internet and what makes it different than the other places is the questions that people ask remain and you can see the conversations and communities that form around them. So when I say best questions, I mean like Reddit is literally famous for some of its questions like the ask me anything or is a hot dog a sandwich, for example?

John (01:21): Well, it’s also pretty famous for policing too, right? I mean, there are a lot of people that are very passionate community members that you better up your game if you’re going to go there and answer a question or ask a question. I mean, is that a fair assessment?

Will (01:37): It’s become famous for figuring out how to structure the way we connect and converse online into these community spaces that have clear rules. And the community construct is something that is, it’s a part of the internet past, but it’s also looking to be a part of the internet future.

John (01:56): And I guess policing is probably not the right word. I think they’re just passionate about staying on topic, for example, and the topic is in some better than, I mean, there’s some topics on there that are so micro that they’ve probably collected the 10 people that care about that thing on that subreddit.

Will (02:16): Sure, yeah. Well, the keyword is context and that’s become such an important word for business as well. And when you have a context and a conversation that everybody’s trying to have in that context, then there’s things that do and don’t belong in there. If I started droning onto you about my baseball card collection right now, you’d be like, that’s nice, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Will we got to bring it back to the context that this conversation is supposed to be in. And that’s happening at the scale of millions upon millions on Reddit every day, people holding the context that they want to have a conversation in.

John (02:54): So my rookie Reggie Jackson card, you don’t want to hear about is that what saying

Will (02:59): Maybe do you want to pivot?

John (03:02): This is another dumb question, but I have to ask, what does a global brand ambassador do? Is there a job description of that?

Will (03:08): Yeah, the way that I approach it is with this speak, listen, build framework. So I’ve been at Reddit for over eight years now. I started expanding into Los Angeles. There was an experimental hire to see if there’s opportunity for Reddit as a business in la and of course there was. You’ve got so much going on down there and my role back then was really to tell our story and to share that and then listen to what people reflected back, like what stuck with people, what did they believe when we shared that story that Reddit actually is, and then bringing that back to the team and saying, here’s where the story is resonating. Let’s build against that common point. So a lot has happened in the eight years since I was just the one phone number in LA to call for Reddit and we’re a global business now, so I’m effectively doing that same thing at a different scale. This year alone, I’ve been to Amsterdam, I’ve been to Sydney, Australia, I’ve been to many different cities across the US and it’s bigger audiences, but it’s the same thing. Speak, tell the story, talk about community, talk about context, talk about where we’re going, and then listen to how people respond to it and then converse internally say, this is where the opportunities are because these are the stories that people are actually picking up that we’re putting down.

John (04:36): So the other part of your title I guess is founding Head of Karma Lab. So how do those two things, well, I guess you’re probably better describe what you do at Karma Lab, but then how do those two things kind of integrate?

Will (04:50): Karma Lab is Reddit’s internal creative strategy agency. So when I talk about those early days when me and a group of people were going out and we were telling the Reddit story and figuring out what people wanted from Reddit, when we were sharing that story, it started to build a little bit of a playbook for activation on the platform. If you are a business or a celebrity, we know the Ask Me anything, for example, that’s just one play in the playbook. And for those that don’t know and ask me anything is going to a community on Reddit. It could be the food sub Reddit, it could be the car subreddit. Again, the context for a conversation and having that conversation that’s relevant to what it is that you want to be talking about and the way that I have this book in the world and I want to talk about it. That’s one example of many different activation strategies for engaging with Reddit. Karma Lab is the creative strategy agency that is internal to Reddit that was built around that playbook that we started to develop and it was my privilege to be the leader and the founding that team.

John (05:57): So let’s talk about your book, shall we? One of the things that you and I were talking a little off air that there are some other books that are maybe sort of in this category that are structured much differently and I’ll just start with the title. There are a lot of books that encourage you to find true north, your true north and you start with which way is actually north. I think right off the bat, that’s a very different approach. There was supposed to be a question in that, but I really just wanted to hear if that resonates with you.

Will (06:27): There is a question in that. The question is the title. So one of my principles here is I believe in big questions. I believe in good questions. That’s what my time at Reddit has taught me is that questions are more powerful than answers because they are the beginning of a journey, not the end. So which way is north? It really describes the whole attitude of my voice in that book. I’m not telling anybody what their true north is. That’s not for me to say. What I am offering is a way to think about that. And so the book goes through a lot of other different questions that help people to unlock their creativity for themselves in their own language, in their own terms, identify their purpose, and it’s a formula that I’ve used over and over again with many different people and with businesses and it works. It’s the questions that make it work.

John (07:23): I want to get into the directions because obviously that’s the heart of the book, but I’m curious as an author, if you’re going to throw a book out there for makers, marketers and mystics, did you feel any creative pressure yourself to feel like, oh, I have to be extra creative in this writing?

Will (07:42): I did. I felt like I was betting on the de-stigmatization of the topic of mysticism as the years go on following the de-stigmatization of things like mental health and following the cultural response to uncovering the human elements that AI can’t reach. So where I felt the most pressure was how do I write this book in a way that is going to be relevant years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now, and still be relevant for when it comes out in 2023?

John (08:28): The book is for when people pick it up and read it, a collection of essays, meditations, somewhat memoir, which is not a classic format necessarily, especially for a nonfiction book. How do you suggest people use this book?

Will (08:44): Best way to use it is to pick it up and give it a read through and then have an ongoing relationship with it, like an oracle in a way. Just open it up to any page and see what that first sentence has to say that pops into your vision. You could even start with that too, so you could buy the book and never read it front to back and just use it like that. And it’s really, it’s a book that’s written in the age of short form Hot Takes, right? Everything from Twitter slash x to all of these 120 character, whatever. I wrote it with a sense of prose, but also with a sense of at the beginning of some paragraphs, at the end of some paragraphs, I’ll condense big ideas into one pithy line because it’s meant to be a little bit of a fortune cookie in that way.

(09:38): When do you open up a page? So that’s one way to use it and another way to use it is to really dive deep into it. I did write every sentence with a lot of intention. I did create every exercise and meditation with a lot of intention and a lot of people have reflected back to me that they’re taking this book very slow and that they’re really digging into what each page has to offer, and they’re experiencing very powerful positive transformations because of that. So it’s designed to meet people where you’re at whatever your level of comfort is. This book is designed to meet you there.

John (10:17): It’s my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at ActiveCampaign. ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with a must have platform for intelligent marketing automation. We’ve been using ActiveCampaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. ActiveCampaign is that rare platform that’s affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs, and they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there’s no credit card required. Just visit active campaign.com/duct tape. That’s right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by December 31st, 2023. That’s activecampaign.com/ducttape.

(11:22): Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign. Today I want to get into the questions you called ’em the seven directions, because you’re right, I can see where people would take a long time because they might just not be able to answer number two for a long time when they got there, right? Yeah, we’ll get to that because people don’t know what I’m talking about, but I want to back up a little bit. I didn’t read in your bio but on air, but I know you have a background in music as a musician, and I’m wondering what role in the classic sense, you don’t practice music today, but I’m wondering what role that background played in the writing of this book, in the nature of which in songwriting, every line has to be so intentional in a short song, right? So I’m wondering what to the degree you understand that role or that background played in the creation of this work?

Will (12:21): Here’s the thing, I’m trying to be a voice that represents the rebalancing of the humanities in our education and our investment because during my upbringing, and when I say we, I mean America. We rightfully invested in STEM because science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, they build what we need in order to create our future. But we divested from the humanities in that process. We made humanities, arts and music and understanding different cultures. We made that pay the price for this investment. That wasn’t the path that I went on. It wasn’t the path that I was originally going to be on. I wanted to be an astronaut. I went to space camp and I was like a math whizz, but then somebody put a guitar in my hand and it was over and I went into art. The truth of my career as it’s born out is that my greatest skills that I’ve had to offer have come from my education in the humanities.

(13:24): And while technology is able to build the future that we want, it’s the humanities that help us choose it. I think we all feel right now, we haven’t chosen the future that we want. There is a crisis of humanity. So my musicianship, yeah, just a bass player, but also not just a bass player because through the base I learned so much about the human experience that can’t be put into words, that can’t be put into technology, that can’t be calculated, that can’t be engineered. It’s not about this domain of explanation and logic. It’s about the domain of experience and intuition. So music really is the backbone of this entire book, and if I as a musician can put forward a perspective that helps people to think about the importance of prioritizing humanities again, then I believe that others that come from similar backgrounds and creativity, we’ll be able to do the same.

John (14:24): One of the other important threads, you already mentioned mental health, but there’s a line in there where you talk about transforming anxiety into creativity. So talk a little bit about the role of anxiety in makers, marketers, and mystics. Is there an elevated sense of anxiety if you consider yourself a creator?

Will (14:46): Relate to this? I haven’t really shared this perspective before, but maybe the core experience, there’s a lot of core experiences where this came from, and I recount them in the book, but this is not in the book. Learning how to take a solo in a improvisational jam session, especially as a bass player when that’s normally what you do. I mean, you want to talk about turning anxiety into creativity. Everybody’s watching you, and then all of a sudden the light is on you. You got to say something interesting. That is the current that I learned to play with that I have put into this book. It also comes from some of my experience on the mystical side. There’s a scene that recounts a sit that I had with a zen master that talks about fear. There’s a lot of other different stories and exercises in the book like that. But what I feel is that, well, it’s not even a feeling, it’s a fact. I mean, we’re in a anxiety pandemic right now. The amount of anxiety that everybody is suffering through is enormous. And my submission into the conversation is basically, Hey, y’all know about art therapy, about this idea of taking what you have on the inside and getting it out. Here’s a formula for doing that. And it’s not really just about feelings. It’s actually an engine for inspiration, for innovation, for driving purpose in your life and your business. It’s really a reframe.

John (16:14): You talked about, I don’t think you used the word normalize, but meditation is still one of those things that I think increasingly, I have been practicing probably for 30 years, and it was very out there from a western standpoint. Even then it’s come into business conversations now, I think particularly as people talk about MINDBODY spirit for entrepreneurs, a lot of this book is about, I mean, you’ve even called these questions meditations and going into meditation to consider them. Is that something that’s just, if you’re going to call yourself a mystic or a maker, are you just going to accept that or do you still find some resistance in just the concept of meditation and how people think about it?

Will (16:55): It is being normalized. Meditation. It’s really moved a long way. And if you’ve been meditating 30 years, then you may or may not agree with the sentiment I want to share here, but there is so much more to go than the first steps that our popular culture is currently on. And isn’t that an incredibly exciting premise that we as a modern culture, as a working culture are just beginning to bring meditation into the workplace? But it’s an infinite game that keeps going, and your human potential expands with every step that you take. So imagine what’s ahead for you, listener. If you’re just beginning meditation right now, it keeps going. And as it keeps going, you keep going. You become more creative, you become more purpose driven, you become more aware, you become more calm, you become activated. Whatever that descriptor is, it’s further down that road.

(17:56): At the beginning of writing this book, and I talk about this in the opening, the identity as a mystic felt like a bit of an embarrassment to my identity as a marketer and vice versa. But they’ve integrated. They’re all coming together into this one identity. So I do think that my hope is that this book will stand the test of time, but my hope is that the subtitle will be non-essential within a couple of years because I’m pointing to three different things that are coming together right now. And I hope that in five years people will be like, oh, that’s just a creator.

John (18:33): Yeah. So let’s talk about what you call the seven directions. And maybe I’ll just let you run with it because I don’t want to pick which one is your favorite direction, but I’ll throw out their example. Question number one, what is in front of you? And I mean on the surface, that’s a lot from a question standpoint. I’m curious, however you want to talk about the seven directions, because I think the questions are all so insightful and so deep, but they seem so simple.

Will (19:02): I refer to them as strategically open questions, and that comes from the merging between my, well all three of the maker, the marketer, and the mystical background. So as a maker, as a creative, you have something that’s called divergent thinking. How many different things can you do with this pen and all these different ideas that you come up with, all these different ways to interpret something. So this question is designed to be up for interpretation. As a marketer, it’s similar because I have participated in countless brainstorms, I have led countless brainstorms, and there’s a way to set the table to billiard break into a conversation. And it’s a strategically open question that does that. And then as a mystic, a lot of the esoteric systems, a Jewish esotericism, for example, Kabbalah is extremely pronounced in how it stretches your brain to hold multiple different ideas at once.

(20:08): And so this idea that is being put in front of you is what is in front of you. And so that could mean many different things. The maker, the creative, knows how to really just expand into a bunch of different ways to play with that. In the same way that you can come up with dozens of different things to do with a pen, the marketer knows how to apply to be directional to that, to make it actually valuable. What are we going to do with this idea of what’s in front of, this is my future. Okay, well here’s where I think the market is going, right? Or what have you. And then for the mystic, it’s the ability to sit in the discomfort of allowing what’s in front of you to be something completely unexpected. And so when I lead meditations or the two places I do this the most, utilizing these questions is leading meditations or advising businesses.

(21:08): When I’m leading meditations, I just let it hang and I walk people through a visualization process so that they can be surprised by what’s in front of them. For business advising, I just let them journal. And it’s interesting how sometimes what comes up is their personal hopes and fears more so than their business. And so then it’s like, well, okay, so that’s what we’re really dealing with here. And then you work through that. And then to your point, you ask, which is my favorite? It’s meant to be different every day, every time you ask. And you might feel a little bit more of an attraction to one question over the other, or you might interpret one question differently from one day to the next. What’s in front of you on one day could be about your future, what’s in front of you the next day? It could be about what is literally in front of you, the book that you hold in your hands, or it’s this item that’s on your desk and you’re like, I’m noticing my glasses now. I never really paid attention. Is that a story that I’m telling myself about clarifying my vision? I’m not wearing my glasses enough. Why don’t I wear those more? And it’s just, it’s making sense of your head chatter through the lens of these questions,

John (22:23): And we ultimately end up at what’s in your heart, which could be a good place to start too. But maybe it takes a lot of work to get there, doesn’t it?

Will (22:31): It’s a great place to start. Most of us, myself included, have a hard time getting there. The modern experience keeps us in our heads. So maybe I just wrote this book for myself.

John (22:45): Well, those are the best books. Those are the best products that people create. Well, will, it was a pleasure having you stop by the Duct Tape Marketing podcast. Is there a place you’d invite people to connect with you or obviously to pick up a copy of which way is North?

Will (23:00): Yeah, pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore. Support your indie bookstore, and you can find me at will katy cady.com. I’m on LinkedIn, I’m on Instagram. Will Cady, you know where to find me. Happy to chat.

John (23:15): Awesome. Well, again, thanks for taking a few moments out of your day to stop by, and hopefully we’ll run into you one of these days out there on the road.

Will (23:22): Likewise. Thanks for having me.

Generating Leads in Professional Services: Proven Tactics You Can’t Ignore

Generating Leads in Professional Services: Proven Tactics You Can’t Ignore written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Marketing Podcast with John Jantsch

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I’m steering the ship solo, diving into the intricate world of marketing for professional services. Whether you’re a consultant, agency, fractional CMO, or part of the legal and accounting landscape, this episode is tailored just for you. Join me as I unravel the unique challenges of marketing in the professional services industry and provide valuable insights to elevate your client-building strategies.

Key Takeaways:

Businesses often find themselves ensnared in seven deadly marketing mistakes, hindering growth and success in the professional services realm. Let’s explore these pitfalls and uncover strategies to sidestep them:

1. Lack of Vision (01:25): Embark on a journey to success by establishing a clear vision for your business. Without a roadmap, you risk wandering aimlessly. I delve into the importance of having a strategic direction to guide your professional services endeavors.

2. Trying to Please Everyone (02:32): Discover why attempting to cater to a broad audience can be detrimental. I share insights on the power of narrowing your focus and tailoring your services to a specific target audience for more effective client connection.

3. Being Just Like the Competition (05:54): Stand out in the crowded professional services landscape by avoiding the pitfall of mirroring your competitors. I shed light on the significance of embracing your uniqueness to carve your niche and attract the right clients.

4. Wasting Marketing Resources (08:49): Every marketing resource is precious. I discuss the pitfalls of mismanagement and offer strategies for optimizing your marketing efforts to achieve maximum impact in the professional services industry.

Stay tuned for the next episode, where I unravel the remaining three deadly marketing mistakes and provide actionable tips on steering clear of these traps.

 

Get Your Free AI Prompts To Build A Marketing Strategy:

Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!

Connect with John Jantsch on LinkedIn

 

This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign

Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days with our special offer. Sign up for a 15% discount on annual plans until Dec 31, 2023. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today!

 

 

Mastering Growth Momentum: Unveiling Your Agency’s True North

Mastering Growth Momentum: Unveiling Your Agency’s True North written by Tosin Jerugba read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with John Janstch

 

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Frank Cowell, the Chief Revenue Boss at Revenue Ranch. Frank Cowell is a speaker, best-selling author, and entrepreneur in the San Diego, California area. With over 20 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience, Frank serves as Chief Revenue Boss at his latest venture, Revenue Ranch. He works regularly with business owners and executives who are looking to grow faster and smarter.

Frank is author of Building Your Digital Utopia, which details a concept he pioneered to help brands create digital experiences that systematically accelerate growth. An energetic and entertaining speaker, Frank presents regularly to regional and national organizations on topics related to revenue operations, business strategy, and digital marketing.

Renowned for his expertise in accelerating agency growth. Frank’s insights into mastering growth momentum and unveiling your agency’s True North are invaluable for those seeking to elevate their agency success.

Key Takeaways

Emphasizing the importance of a clear True North, Frank guides listeners in defining a razor-sharp strategic direction that informs every decision. He introduces the concept of identifying the number one blocker to growth, encouraging a systematic approach to chip away at obstacles in quarterly cycles. Frank underscores the power of intimate knowledge about your audience, advocating for the ownership of a specific niche to navigate technological shifts successfully. The journey to agency success is framed as a continuous process, with a focus on success stacking and the creation of a culture of momentum. Tactical adaptability is key, with Frank advising agencies to leverage their relationships to initiate collaborative discussions within their niche, navigating evolving landscapes with confidence and purpose.

Questions I ask Frank Cowell:

[00:54] Why do you believe the title ‘Chief Revenue Boss’ is well suited to you at this stage of your career?

[03:44] What key moments in your career best prepared you that title?

[06:51] In your book “Digital Utopia,” what’s the meaning of systematically accelerating growth through creating experiences?

[11:55] How do you apply ‘Momentum Management’ in the world of business ?

[18:05] What advice do you have for scaling in a world where technology seems to affect everything ?

[21:16] Where can people connect with you and learn more about your work ?

 

More About Frank Cowell:

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Like this show? Click on over and give us a review on iTunes, please!

Connect with John Jantsch on LinkedIn

 

This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by ActiveCampaign

Try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days with our special offer. Sign up for a 15% discount on annual plans until Dec 31, 2023. Exclusive to new customers—upgrade and grow your business with ActiveCampaign today!

 

 

 

 

John (00:08): Hello and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is Jon Jantsch. My guest today is Frank Cowell. He is a speaker, bestselling author and entrepreneur, currently serves as the chief revenue boss at Revenue Ranch. He works regularly with business owners and executives who are looking to grow faster, and he’s also the author of Building Your Digital Utopia, which details the concept he pioneered to help brands create digital experiences that systematically accelerate growth. So Frank, welcome to the show.

Frank (00:40): Hey, Jon, thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.

John (00:42): So a couple things I want to get in a little bit into your, I love always to hear people’s entrepreneur during like, how’d you get here? Right? But I want to focus on one thing. Revenue Ranch is your company. You’ve given yourself the title Chief Revenue Boss. Does that imply automatically what you think is the most important role for you currently in that business, or is that just what needed to be filled?

Frank (01:06): I think for me, the play on the Revenue Ranch aspects, so Boss is a common term on a ranch, and then revenue tying into the company name. Ultimately it’s my job to create direction for the company, but in this chapter of my life, after having exited an agency, this business is less about growing a massive team of people and more so about working with agency owners as they try to navigate this journey of being an agency owner. So I help guide them on that journey and we put a program together to make that happen. So Chief Revenue Boss is more so just a tie into the company name and that kind of ranch theming.

John (01:49): I guess what I was getting at a little bit is I see a lot of business owners, let’s call them rather than CEOs, who really think revenue and vision and maybe culture are my only real jobs because they’re so down in the weeds doing everything else, and I think it almost feels like a luxury if you get to a point in your business where you can say, look, these are the only three things that I need to focus on because they’re the only three things that matter necessarily to scaling.

Frank (02:18): What’s interesting about the CEO role is the CEO is responsible for what I call true North, and it sounds simple, but it’s a massive decision to make regarding what goes into creating true North. And then, oh, by the way, making sure that the decisions within the company and how you align the team so that they all are inspired by, they’re clear on true North, and they also make decisions about True North. That’s a very big deal, even though it sounds simple on paper. And then ultimately, if we look at the KPIs, if you will, of the other functions in the business, the major functions, those aren’t directly the responsibility of the CEO, but indirectly they are. If you were to go to the shareholders or the board, they don’t really care that there’s a head of marketing responsible for active lead generation that ultimately is going to fall on the CEO’s shoulders as to why the company isn’t growing at a respectable rate. So it’s kind of a yin and yang thing there.

John (03:19): Yeah, no, I actually agree with you. I think that a lot of people, it’s easy to explain the concept and a lot of books do of True North, it’s probably the hardest thing to actually get around to getting right, and I think that’s where people are really struggling. Give us a little bit of a snippet of your journey to how you got here. You talked about owning an agency already, and obviously we know what you’re doing today, but it’s always kind of fun, I think, to go through what molded you to this place.

Frank (03:47): Yeah, so I’ve always been a salesperson at heart ever since I was a kid. I was in love with this idea of product and creating a business and selling things and moving something into a market and satisfying the market. Even as a kid, I would order these products that I was responsible for selling and my parents would be like, what did you just commit to this? Hundreds of dollars of stuff that’s in our house now that you have to go and sell. I was like 12 years old, and so I’ve just always been that way, and if we fast forward, along comes the information superhighway. That’s what we called it back then, the internet, the worldwide web, we called it the Information superhighway, and there was a big theme back then of the information Superhighway is coming. That was the big message out there, and none of us really knew what that was.

(04:38): Well, me being very curious, I started dabbling and trying to figure out what is this thing? And it wasn’t long before I said I could probably sell stuff on this thing, and that’s when I launched my first web page through my America online web space, and I paid some guy 50 bucks to do it. I found him on America online, and at the time, 50 bucks, I had to ask my wife for $50. I said, Hey, is it okay if I spend $50? That was a big deal to me back then. And so she said, sure, I believe in all your crazy wacky ideas. So I got this thing uploaded and I was selling some information products, and then I decided I wanted to change it, and I was like, oh, this guy’s going to want 50 bucks again. And then I thought to myself, Frank Computers and back in junior high, you did a certain amount of programming that you learned, I could probably figure this out.

(05:31): So I cracked open a text editor, and lo and behold, I saw the words on the screen that I wanted to change. I changed it, saved it, uploaded it, and my mind was forever blown. I was like, oh my gosh, the power I now possess. So that led me on a journey to teaching myself how to program. I started programming in flat file databases using a language called Perl. Back then we’re talking, this was the late nineties, by the way, and so when it comes to the internet, I’m an old guy, and so that led me into creating my own content management system, and then I launched a web design shop, and then that eventually morphed into a branding agency and creative agency, and I went through that whole journey, did M&A type stuff, and then last year I exited my agency. So yeah, it kind of was a roundabout way of this sales marketing career that was underpinned by my desire to build things and deliver things to a market.

John (06:29): Yeah, it’s funny, I started my agency over 30 years ago, so yeah, pre-internet as well. But I always tell people the only thing I was sure of is I could hustle work, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs kind of have that bug, and sometimes it could be a weakness, right? We don’t stay focused because we’re able to do that. Talk a little bit about,

Frank (06:48): That’s such a point, John, such a

John (06:49): Great point, and we can come back to that. I want to talk about the book Building Your Digital Utopia. You talked about this idea of creating an experience that systematically accelerate growth. So kind of unpack that idea for us.

Frank (07:01): Well, I’m a systems guy. I’m a frameworks guy. Everything I do, I want to put a system around. I want to put a framework around, I want to put an ABC 1, 2, 3, so much so to where my wife sometimes is like, oh my gosh, there’s a right way to do everything, isn’t there, Frank? Because that’s just how I view everything. There’s a ABC 1 23 when it came to my agency experience and what we were doing for clients, which was essentially inbound marketing, content marketing. I wanted to create a way for our clients to understand the complexity of content marketing. Now to marketers that might be listening, we might think, oh, it’s easy to understand, but we also have to remember the people that buy what we have to offer, let’s say content marketing, it’s not so easy for them to understand and they don’t understand the strategic aspects of it.

(07:46): So I wrote a book that intended to teach the strategic aspects to get a business owner, a business executive, to understand what good inbound slash content marketing looked like. And oh, by the way, the underpinning, the big theme of that was relationships, that we can actually build relationships in a digital format. We have to just take that relationship psychology and apply it to the content. And so once you do that and you overlay that idea of relationship psychology, you now have specific types of content you need at various stages. And it’s not just so, it’s not enough to say, oh, awareness, decision, consideration, that’s not enough to say that we actually have to understand the psychology of meeting the psychological need at that place. And so that’s what we attempted to do was apply that psychology to that process and it works really well because now we can teach people, business executives a strategic understanding of content and digital marketing.

John (08:48): Yeah, 15, 20 years ago we were talking about content is king. You remember everybody was saying that and then it became air, frankly, and I think today we’ve risen it to the strategic level. You don’t talk about content as a blog post or as a content management system. It’s actually how are we going to use it to be the voice of strategy is how we talk about it, because I think it’s become that important, but it’s also, it’s complex. It’s changing, it’s getting harder. There’s so much garbage out there that I think I understand the confusion, right, and I’m sure you see it too. Yeah.

Frank (09:23): I think when, and this is Go ahead,

John (09:25): Finish that point.

Frank (09:27): I was going to say, I think when businesses don’t, I’m going to bring back something I mentioned at the top of the conversation, and we’ll get into it too. When we talk about the number one thing that I think CEOs are responsible for, especially in agencies, but what a lot of businesses lack what’s called a true north. And when you don’t have a true north, it affects everything. So specifically we’re talking about content marketing. Well, guess what? That’s why you’re going to produce a bunch of stuff for SEO and you’re going to produce a bunch of stuff for social and it’s all over the place. And then people wonder why it’s not getting traction. Well, because to get traction with marketing, this was true yesterday, and it’s so true today. To get traction, you need longevity. The problem is if you don’t have a true north, you will constantly be changing directions and you will never have the longevity required to get momentum going. And that’s actually the key word that drives everything I do right now with my clients and my methodology. It’s this idea of momentum. It’s the only magic elixir that ever truly exists in business and in life, and you could actually harness it.

John (10:38): It’s my pleasure to welcome a new sponsor to the podcast. Our friends at Active Campaign Active Campaign helps small teams power big businesses with the must have platform for marketing automation. We’ve been using Active Campaign for years here at Duct Tape Marketing to power our subscription forms, email newsletters and sales funnel drip campaigns. Active Campaign is that rare platform that’s affordable, easy to use, and capable of handling even the most complex marketing automation needs, and they make it easy to switch. They provide every new customer with one-on-one personal training and free migrations from your current marketing automation or email marketing provider. You can try Active Campaign for free for 14 days and there’s no credit card required. Just visit activecampaign.com slash duct tape. That’s right. Duct Tape Marketing podcast listeners who sign up via that link will also receive 15% off an annual plan if purchased by December 31st, 2023. That’s active campaign.com/ducttape. Now, this offer is limited to new active campaign customers only. So what are you waiting for? Fuel your growth, boost revenue and save precious time by upgrading to active campaign today.

Frank (11:54): Yeah,

John (11:54): Let’s talk a little bit, I think you call it momentum management even. So let’s talk a little bit about that concept. Again, unpack that a little bit so that, I mean, I think people conceptually can get that, but how do you apply that in a real world, in a business?

Frank (12:10): Yeah, simply put, momentum again is the only magic elixir that really exists. It’s this magical thing that’s infectious that when you start harnessing momentum, everyone gets caught up in it, everyone gets excited, and you have people working together towards a common cause. Without momentum, things start to feel stale and stagnant. And as agencies, we know that is awful in the agency space because our people, which is essentially the product, when they start feeling stale and stagnant and the business isn’t going somewhere, they’re easily distracted by other opportunities. There are many other organizations willing to woo our talent. So we have to create momentum. So how do we do that? The way we do that simply put is by making sure that we obsessively work on the right things in the right order, and disproportionately deploy time, money, and resources against those things. So there’s a few things to define that and get there.

(13:10): I’ve already mentioned true north quite a bit, and I’ll go back to that. It’s really critical that you as the agency leader or any business owner that you e established a true north for the business. Well, the true north, what is it? The true north basically says this is who we’re for. This is what we do in the world. This is the transformation we bring and this is the mission we’re on to get there. It needs to be so sharp, it could metaphorically cut. Meaning when you come across opportunities, it’s either going to cut yes or cut no, and it’s going to be very black and white. The problem with most businesses, they’re not willing to make that sharp of a business strategy decision. So they end up taking some things over here, some things over there, some things right there, and then before you know it, you don’t have the focus.

(13:58): So the true north needs to be something that is razor sharp. Again, I like to tell my clients it should metaphorically cut. If you touch, it cuts you. It’s that sharp. And then your job as the owner is to make sure that all plans align to true North. All people that you hire align to true North, and all the day-to-Day behaviors and decisions align to true North. So that’s number one. We must have a true north, right? So we’re talking about things like vision, mission, values, how you articulate the brand, and then how you define what I call the boulder in the business. And the boulder in the business is the number one strategic imperative that you have to accomplish in the next one to three years. So that’s your true north. So if we start there, if we don’t have that, then gaining momentum is going to be really difficult.

(14:43): And then I can go on to a couple of more points if you want, but yeah, let’s do it. Are we good? Okay, so we’ve got true north. The next thing we need to do is is that we need to uncover the number one blocker towards True North, and we need to analyze that number one blocker on a consistent basis. I like to say in nighty day cycles or quarterly cycles. So what is our number one blocker towards True North? Now, I talk about there being seven core capabilities in every business. One is True. North two is exceptional execution. We’ve got world-class offering systematic sales process, actively generation, empowered work experience, and cash and profit optimization. Those, by the way, align with job titles, but I don’t use the job titles. Those are the seven capabilities. So what you have to do as a business owner is you have to regularly understand of those seven capabilities, which one is our number one blocker to growth.

(15:41): And you as a business owner must know that at any given point in time, and once you define your number one blocker to growth, then what you’re going to do is the third thing is you’re going to chip away at that blocker in nighty day or quarterly cycles. So the plans you come up with aren’t to boil the ocean, aren’t to get rid of that blocker to growth in one plan, your objective is what can we accomplish in this quarter to chip away at it and understand that growth getting to a place of big success is a journey, and it’s about success stacking those little wins quarter after quarter. So what happens when you do that? Well, you gain momentum because not only are you chipping away at the blocker, which frees up and makes your company spend faster, but you’re creating a culture of winning with your team. And when your team feels like winners, they start to get caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm of it. So those are the three things that I would say as know your true north, know your number one blocker to growth, and then in quarterly cycles relentlessly execute, chipping away at it in small chunks, quarter after quarter.

John (16:54): As I listened to you described that one, how often the number one blocker for people is they don’t have a true north, right?

Frank (17:02): It’s interesting enough, John, it’s actually if we put those in the right order, a lot of people might say, well, I don’t need strategy at this point in time or company’s small. It’s like, well, could you spend just a handful of weeks getting together with the few people you have and agree on what the strategy is? We’re not talking about spending months or years on this, but could you get together and just create some clarity around where you folks are going? Because if you can’t do that, you’re going to continue to spin your wheels.

John (17:32): So one of the things I’m seeing in the agency world is, and we’re picking on the agencies it sounds like, because we both serve a lot of agencies, but this is business in general, is just that they see what everybody else is doing out there. It’s like this is how it’s always been done, and I see a whole lot of pressure right now on marketing tactics, price pressure on marketing tactics today, and a lot of agencies going, we are just throwing bodies at stuff, but we’re making less and working more. So I’m curious if you see that same mentality out there, but also what do we need to be doing or how do we need to be looking at things differently if we are going to scale in a world where technology is constantly changing and creating a lot of pressure on price or on profit?

Frank (18:17): Yeah. Again, I’m going to be redundant here, but I go back to true North. I think about there’s two agency relationships in particular that come to mind for me in one relationship. In this one agency I know of, they made the decision to get really sharp on their true north, and they stuck to it and they relentlessly executed against it. The other agency who by the way, was bigger than this other agency has stagnated because they did everything else, but they didn’t have the courage to make the decisions about True North because they had this fear of missing out. So what ends up happening is they’re not magnetic to anyone audience, but because they’re kind of there for many audiences, now, why is this the answer to the thing that you just brought up? The reason it’s the answer is because as tactics shift, and let’s say we have these massive shifts like AI coming in with content, and how does that affect SEO and how does that affect content marketing?

(19:21): These massive shifts coming in. When you own an audience and you own a particular problem, then you are the one that has the voice within that community to start having conversation with them about how they’re going to leverage this technology or if it’s even applicable at all. When you have that kind of intimate knowledge about that audience, it’s okay that you may not have the answer, but you have the audience and you have the conversations there, and you have the relationships to go back to that audience and say, why don’t we do a roundtable? Why don’t we do a forum where we talk about the disruption that’s happening with this new technology? I’m not claiming to have the answers, but I do know your industry and I do know your problems, and I do know what we have to get you to where you’re wanting to go from a strategic standpoint.

(20:11): When you have that kind of intimacy, the tactical problems come and go. As you know, there will be another massive shift in the future, and there will be another one that will always happen. When you have that intimate knowledge of a given market and you understand them better than anyone else, and you’ve put in the work to develop the relationships in that market, you can then go to them and not claim to have the answers. And that’s really the big revelation. You don’t have to have the answers of knowing what to do with the technology, but you do have to have the relationships with an audience that’s greater than your competitors, so that way you can bring that question to that audience and have a round table discussion and start to create insights and ideas about what that industry can do with the new tech.

John (20:59): Such a great way to build such a great way to build trust too, with that audience doing exactly what you described. Well, Frank, we have run out of time somehow. I wanted to get to stepping away from your agency, which I know we could do a whole show on. So maybe we’ll have you back to cover just that one topic, but I’d invite you to invite people to connect with you or where you’d like to connect or find out more about the work you’re doing there at Revenue Range.

Frank (21:23): Yeah, I think the biggest thing I can do for listeners, because we talk so much about momentum and figuring out which area is your number one blocker and what you should do about it, that probably the best thing I could do is direct people to an online tool that I developed where people can go through and answer some questions about their business, and it will help uncover your exact blocker to growth. So if you just go to Growthmomentumroadmap.com Growthmomentumroadmap.com, you’ll have access to a tool where we’ll walk you through exactly what your number one blocker to growth is, and it’ll give you a roadmap on what to do about that.

John (22:01): Yeah, and we’ll have that link in the show notes as well. Well, frankly, again, I appreciate you taking a few moments to stop by the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, and hopefully we’ll run into you one of these days out there on the road.

The FearLess Business Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

The FearLess Business Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch sits down with host Jamie Lieberman on the FearLess Business Podcast to discuss how to find resilience in your entrepreneurial journey and his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.

While he wrote the book a year ago, the concepts of self-reliance and resilience feel particularly relevant in this current moment, as we face the global health crisis and times of uncertainty in all areas of life. Centered around quotes from transcendentalist authors, a time period that Jantsch identifies as the first counter-culture period in American history, The Self-Reliant Entreprneur is designed to help entrepreneurs trust in themselves and their journey

To learn more about the book, check out the episode below.

Listen: John Jantsch on the FearLess Business Podcast

Productive Flourishing Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

Productive Flourishing Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch sits down with host Charlie Gilkey to discuss his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.

Jantsch founded his own marketing firm nearly three decades ago, so he’s been on his own entrepreneurial journey for quite a while now. While he’s written several books on marketing, this latest book is a departure. He knows that being an entrepreneur is hard, and that to succeed, personal development needs to become a part of the process. He wrote The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur to help individuals to find their own path, gain trust in themselves and their ideas, and flourish in both their personal and professional lives (which are so deeply intertwined).

To hear more from Jantsch about developing a practice to develop self-reliance, gratitude, and resilience, check out the episode below.

Listen: John Jantsch on the Productive Flourishing Podcast

Eventual Millionaire – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

Eventual Millionaire – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch speaks with host Jaime Masters on her podcast the Eventual Millionaire about his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.

Jantsch is well-known in the world of small business marketing, but his latest book is a departure for him. He wanted to move beyond the world of marketing how-tos and write a “why-to” for entrepreneurs. When we work on ourselves, we can build better businesses, and Jantsch set out to create a daily devotional to help all entrepreneurs and business owners do just that.

On this episode with Masters, Jantsch talks about the mind-body-spirit connection and how that plays into our entrepreneurial life. To learn more about his thoughts on meditation, self care, and growing through difficult times, check out the episode below.

Listen: John Jantsch on the Eventual Millionaire podcast

Leveraging Thought Leadership – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

Leveraging Thought Leadership – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch visits with Peter Winick on the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast to discuss his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.

Jantsch is well-known in marketing circles for his small business marketing expertise. He’s written five books in that space, but this latest book is a major departure. The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur is much more of a spiritual why-to for entrepreneurs who are looking to shift their mindset and find meaning in their work and life.

Jantsch shares his experience of writing this new book and having to market the book (as a marketer) beyond the bounds of the industry he’s most closely tied to. While it certainly represented a risk, as he could have alienated his core tribe, Jantsch feels passionately about the link between your business life and your personal life and wanted to write the book he wishes he had to help guide his own entrepreneurial journey.

On this podcast, he talks about the process of writing and marketing the latest book, shares some insights into the world of public speaking (another side of his business), and talks about how he’s expanding into new product offerings within his core business this year.

Listen: John Jantsch on the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast

7-Figure Small – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

7-Figure Small – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch talks about his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, on the 7-Figure Small podcast with host Brian Clark.

Being an entrepreneur is hard. It can feel isolating and self-doubt often creeps in, so it’s important to find ways to become more self-reliant. This doesn’t mean forging a path all alone—you can and should find allies who support you—but it does mean knowing when to seek advice and when to trust yourself.

Jantsch is a long-time entrepreneur, so he knows the struggles of the journey well. He wrote The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur as a “why-to” text for entrepreneurs to help them find the courage, strength, and wisdom to keep moving forward in business and in life.

The title comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous essay, “Self-Reliance,” and the work is driven by quotes from Emerson and other Transcendentalist authors. Jantsch draws great inspiration from this time period, which he labels as one of the first counter-culture movements in the United States, and he sees many parallels between the ideas explored by the Transcendentalists and the traits a modern entrepreneur must cultivate.

To learn more about the book and to hear Jantsch’s list of the seven most important aspects of self-reliance for entrepreneurs, business owners, and freelancers, check out the podcast.

Listen: John Jantsch on the 7-Figure Small podcast

Make It Right Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

Make It Right Podcast – The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch stops by the Make It Right podcast to talk about his latest book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, with host Janet Eastman.

Jantsch started his own small business marketing firm more than 30 years ago. Over the course of his entrepreneurial life, he developed a morning routine to help him find focus and meaning at the start of his day so that he could show up and be the best business owner and leader. His new book is one that he wishes he had to incorporate into his daily practices. It’s designed to fit into your morning routine so that you begin your day grounded and inspired.

On this episode, Jantsch shares more about the Transcendentalist authors and quotes that permeate the pages of The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, and he shares an excerpt from one of the daily entries.

Listen: John Jantsch on the Make It Right Podcast