I am deeply honored to share the screen with Aluba Fenix, an executive coach and sports psychologist with over 20 years of experience. In this episode, Aluba emphasizes the constant need to reset and recalibrate our views and values, focusing on aligning the mindset and spirit and unlocking the full potential of an individual or a team in achieving high-performance outcomes.

There is still an awful lot of work to do to make the corporate world more human. Business leaders need to recognize their duty to care for their teams and implement approaches and programs acknowledging that we are working with humans (and not machines).

The biggest skill that we lack as a modern society is an openness to conduct respectful dialogues. We struggle to listen to dissenting voices other than our own. We're only looking for information confirming our beliefs and losing the humility that we could be wrong. Whether in Business or how we run governments, we urgently need to shift around this inadequacy that creates polarization and contempt among ourselves. 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - post-COVID.  How people are shamed for their medical decisions and different groups taking a stand for and against vaccination demonize each other. Marginalizing people who are saying no on this issue is a question of how we've really embraced diversity.

Grow your Business, grow your team, but most importantly — grow yourself. Back in the day, companies would find it absurd to hire coaches and pay them to help workers focus on self-development. The emphasis was on teaching sales skills, objection handling, and the real tactical things. But when businesses recognize that unless an individual does the inner work necessary for self-leadership — they will not be as effective, productive, and profitable in the long run.

Professionalizing corporate athletes. Aluba shares how there's much to learn about how Ireland became the 'world's best rugby team.' That wasn't always the case for them until they changed their habits as athletes. "When I was growing up, I knew quite a lot of the players going for the whiskey and partying after the matches. That doesn't happen anymore because today, they understand that what you do off the pitch is equally, if not more important than what you do on the pitch." Should we adopt the same discipline and professionalism as successful sports teams have, we can change the game and win as business organizations.

Some organizations are further ahead than others in terms of how they view their people. Today, more emphasis is on how people are the source of competitive advantage in the digital economy. Business success no longer depends on how well you do processes or having the most brilliant strategies. The best edge of every company is understanding the science of creating a happier, healthier, and more engaged workplace. 

Tune in to this powerful episode of Barrels and Business ▶️ How To Recalibrate Your Views & Values For Success
 with Aluba Fenix.

Aluba Fenix is a Leadership Coach with over 20 years of experience in the technology sector and a background in Sport Psychology. He is passionate about human potential and how to unlock it to deliver performance outcomes that create a better world. Aluba works with both individuals and teams across the globe, helping them develop the energy, mindset, and habits necessary to perform at their best. His mission is to enable people to access the full power of their imagination and create lives full of passion, purpose, and flow.

For more information on Aluba's work, visit www.vivid-imagination.co.uk

Key points

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:33] Jade welcomes Aluba Fenix and the tale behind his family motto

[00:04:38] Aluba's origin story and spiritual rebirth 

[00:08:44] The African experience and discovering why life is meant to be lived not as an individual but as a tribe

[00:11:11] Why the starting place for leadership is always inner work 

[00:14:47] The corporate world needs to become more human 

[00:15:06] People are the source of competitive advantage in the digital economy

[00:17:08] Jade on why the fate of humanity rests on the shoulders of the business owners and the business leaders

[00:28:21] Aluba tells how we're losing our capacity to accommodate dissenting voices and why that's a real serious problem.

[00:29:53] On embracing diversity and shaming the unvaccinated

[00:49:17] We need the skill of knowing how to participate in respectful dialogues

[01:02:08] Business and rugby

[01:04:48] Pursuing a disciplined approach to your active rest and recovery is fundamental to your professionalism as a corporate athlete.

[01:05:45] The culture of overwork 

Before she became a style icon, an influencer and built a successful business on the internet, Amber Renae was a civil engineer working on a construction site building roads and bridges. Her entrepreneurial journey is a giant roller coaster of success and failures that she rode and overcame again and again. 

In this episode, Amber shares her biggest lessons of learning how to delegate and asking for help from others, removing the ego from all she's created and finally achieving freedom by building a business around a life she loves.

Fifteen years ago, Amber recalled taking the plunge by leaving her good, solid paying job following the dream of starting a fashion label. She began with a sewing machine, sold four shirts to boutiques in Queensland and Brisbane, and had 120 accounts around the world five years later. They did runway shows and influencer marketing, dressing Paris Hilton along with many other celebrities before anyone was doing anything like this. 

Success was halted as Amber's overseas manufacturer went out of business, took her out of business and left her bankrupt. "I didn't believe in support or getting help. I believed in doing everything myself. I ended up in hospital having a nervous breakdown, cancer, and stomach ulcers and worked myself to death at that point."

Jade and Amber explore that a pitfall for many entrepreneurs is not getting clear on the actual job you're doing every day and then understanding how that business makes money. She learned this the hard way, finding herself operating in a business model she was not passionate about.  

Believing that hustling alone is the only way to succeed is a lie. Having built 6-figure businesses in the most rigid industries, Amber learned that business owners and leaders shouldn't make the expensive mistakes of losing themselves to burnout by caring for themselves first.

Sustaining a business requires doing the inner work of getting into alignment and welcoming abundance. To be an impactful leader, you must be able to come from a place of plenty, foster connection and hold space for empathy with others. 

Self-care is a buzzword right now, yet many still forget that they can only put so much out in the world after looking after themselves first. Running a business requires a body and mind in sound health, often put at risk for the lack of sleep. 

Watch ▶️ The Business Of Chasing Summers And Dreams  with Jade Green and Amber Renae.

Key points

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:06:25] Jade welcomes Amber Renae to Barrels and Business!

[00:07:01] Amber's story from civil engineer to the rise and fall of business #1

[00:11:38] The importance of understanding your business model and how do you make money?

 
[00:13:01] Self-care and sleep 

[00:14:50] Prioritizing holidays and flow state

[00:18:54] Chasing summers as the motto for business

[00:19:20] Starting again as a fashion consultant 

[00:20:23] Failing with business #2 and having a huge identity breakdown

[00:24:57] Learning to trust how the universe uses failures for the purpose

[00:27:47] Empathy is today's top leadership skill 

[00:32:46] The value of delegating to scale and grow

[00:40:10] Decision fatigue is a real thing.

[00:42:23] Amber discovering her love of teaching & helping people, launched e-learning

[00:47:54] Find a business idea that you're passionate about and then outsource the rest

[00:51:29] Sustaining a business requires doing the inner work of getting into alignment and welcoming abundance

Connect with Amber:

http://www.amberrenae.com/freedom-class

https://www.instagram.com/theamberrenae

What experiences have you been putting off, waiting for or not giving yourself the permission to do? Do you work so hard putting off living your best life when you need to live your best life now to run and make the best of your business?  

In this episode of Barrels and Business, Million Dollar Mortgage Broker Elisa McRae joins Jade Green to speak about the value of not getting comfortable with comfort. She shares the importance of being open to trying new experiences that scare you and having more experience outside your work environment to make you a better leader.

Elisa's varied and colourful life experiences contributed to the success she is now. A debriefer at Laser Tag, a newsagent cashier, a food court cleaner, a Fashion Design student, a makeup artist, a beautician apprentice, an office stationary and telephone PABX salesperson, a security system salesperson, a telecom sales manager, a sales scriptwriter, an international DJ promoter, an events coordinator, a vending machine business owner, a property investor, a home loans sales manager, a bank home loans specialist, a home loan lender and finally a mortgage broker business owner and business coach. These jobs she had from age 16 and moving to different places taught her huge lessons on how to take risks that contributed to her professional growth. 

Jade and Elisa further discuss that the thirst for adventure contributes to leaders having high-performance businesses. Elisa shares, "If you live a life of non-experience living in a bubble when you don't learn and grow, the ability to be a leader is much harder. If you think about putting yourself in an experience where it will challenge you, where you might not have been before, and you believe this will be hard. You're a little bit scared, but you're excited at the same time, it's going to push you through that boundary of resilience that you normally have, and you're going to start listening to that other voice that says, 'I CAN', and you're going to start believing that more and more."

Jade adds that teaching a six week "get shit done" plan to teams encourages them to commit to challenging themselves, not waiting till their milestone birthday to live out what they dream of doing. Whether it's to go skydiving, learn surfing, show dance moves in public, or get singing lessons that scare the wits out of you – these are ALL beneficial in becoming a better person and scaling a business.

Don't miss this fun and insightful episode ▶️Leadership Through External Adventures with Elisa McRae.

Key points

[00:00:17] Welcome to the show, Elisa McRae!

[00:06:49] The adventure of surfing and staying in the snow 

[00:07:39] Becoming a better leader by becoming open to new experiences

[00:09:41] Jade's six weeks "get shit done" workshop

[00:10:46] Elisa shares her husband's unforgettable mountain climbing experience  

[00:12:50] People's different comfort levels and the need to push outside of that

[00:13:31] Teaching grit to your teams

[00:14:17] Jade on waiting 20 years to do dance lessons and finally doing it!

[00:18:56] Elisa's take on why leaders need to do less and be more

[00:20:20] Elisa declares to take on her big scary thing, singing!

[00:24:02] Why does overthinking get in the way of everything

[00:24:34] Having fun is vital to learning and integrate

[00:26:40] Elisa reminds creative leaders to need to take more time for nurturing, to take space and breathe to be able to make that happen 

[00:28:57] Teach teams to be self-led and give them the leadership skills 

[00:32:26] Hiring tips: Don't hire out of desperation, in a rush and get people solely with experience

 
[00:35:17] Be the model. The culture of your business is what you do as the leader

[00:39:09] On having regular feedback loops and open discussion

For business leaders Jade Green and Kyle Probert, nothing effectively quiets the "monkey mind" as well as the sun, the sea and the waves. 

As surfers, it takes loads of patience to spot the perfect wave, to wait for it to come and pick them up. It can look quite effortless for some when they can ride at the right place every time. What is important is taking the time to slow down and eventually speed up. 

Tune to the Barrels & Business show — Get In Your Happy Zone and Trigger Flow with Nature.

Key points

[00:01:29] Welcome to the show! Kyle and Jade talk about their impromptu sabbatical for two days.

[00:03:48] Jade shares her first custom board, and her #1 prized possession in the entire world — her eight-foot longboard.

[00:06:07] On why people use surfing for flow and why they use it to teach people to get into the flow as well. 

[00:07:27] The value of getting recharged by the ocean and quieting our busy, nagging minds

[00:09:35] The benefits of riding a bike or running in nature trumps running a treadmill or riding a stationary bike at home

[00:13:10] Jade explains that surfing teaches the hard lessons of being patient, waiting for the perfect wave, enjoying the process, holding your center, achieving being in your power zone, standing up, and catching the perfect waves, whether in the water or any aspect of life.

[00:15:39] The value of grounding yourself, clearing your energy and giving yourself permission to go out there and just have fun. 

[00:21:42] Instead of wasting time and procrastinating for three hours, Kyle recommends an alternative

[00:24:31] Do you take a few minutes each day to ground yourself and clear your energy? Do your mind and heart a favor and devote a portion in your 24 hours to keep you centered, happy and focused.

Teams that don't bond won't build a solid business.

According to high energy trainer, speaker, and mentor Jason Everett, many companies still have not gotten away with boring training in the boardroom. In this episode of Barrels and Business, Jason dives deep into the role of games and play in creating special activities that increase team performance and how transformational experiences drive energy into individuals or organizations. 

Watch ▶️ How To Create Lifelong Bonds Through Adversity With Jason Everett.

Key points

[00:06:02] Welcome to the show, Jason! He shares his earlier volunteer experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters in the US as the most meaningful example of why bonding moments are the best life teachers.

[00:09:45] Jason shares the value of his first firewalk and ice bath experience in the presence of other participants. "The difference of 10,000 people in one mindset to do something versus a couple of people supporting you versus if I would just do it by myself is drastically different. Finding a perfect group with 12 to 20 people is a good place to start and do it."

[00:12:44] Lessons from driving rally cars and the efficiency of learning from play and games can make one a different person. 

[00:13:47] The magic of learning is in the debrief of the experience and unpacking lessons from the person's point of view. They discover their own answers to, “Who are you? What happened in that scenario? How can we take this back to business? How do we take this back in an environment that will impact everyone else?” 

[00:15:32] As a team member and leader, participating in games and challenges draws out the rawest emotions that you default to in your most stressful situations. 

[00:24:23] Jason reminds us how normal it is that when you become much bigger than you think possible, you will immediately come under attack from all the people you have intimidated by making you feel small.

[00:28:29] When your people can come to their realizations through play or experience, they will remember it 100 times longer than anything you've ever told or tried to teach them. 

[00:30:58] With the war for hiring top talent right now, what will set you apart is how you provide transformational experiences that money can't buy for them.

[00:33:31] As a coach or mentor, Jason reminds us how people are just waiting for the invitation for them to become more. 

Jason Everett is a 3rd generation business owner with a passion for living life, not 100% defined by work. Over the last 10 years, he has worked with hundreds of businesses, and thousands of individuals turn up their performance and get more from their efforts! Jason works exclusively with people who believe that good enough doesn't exist and that nothing is impossible. He loves helping achieve something people thought was out of their reach, and now it's the new standard.

Connect with Jason Everett on Facebook

Jason Everett Official Website

If you are a business leader trying to help your team achieve flow, the necessary first step is achieving it for yourself. Your people internalize everything that you demonstrate on a moment by moment basis. 

Jade Green and Mind-Body Wellness Expert Andrew Rooke explore how to help you and your teams manage themselves and teach them the ability to be the best they can be.

Tune in to the Barrels & Business show — The Mindset Behind Peak Performance with Andrew Rooke.

Key points

[00:01:56] Welcome to Barrels and Business, Andrew Rooke! Jade and Andrew start the podcast with a Jager bomb and backcountry skiing adventure story. 

[00:09:21] As a former corporate executive director and now a leading transformational health & energy coach, Andrew knows what it's like to be burned out, stressed, and lose his life's purpose. He teaches by learning from experience how to master self-management and changing the response of your nervous system to the external environment. We need to know to engineer our biology, physiology, and psychology into a state that we desire for a given task. 

[00:12:34] The core thing that everyone says after a breathing exercise is they feel "I've been given a gift." Jade shares how implementing different breathwork styles in the workplace teaches people to drop into the third space to disconnect from the negative things that are going on. 

[00:14:52] Being calm, collected and connected is what you want in your team environment. 

[00:16:01]  The ability to go from being aroused, mildly anxious and primed for a challenge versus being calm and relaxed is a superpower everyone should tap into.  

[00:21:51] Andrew states that most people overthink the hell out of everything they do. And so, they never experience flow. He expounds how our prefrontal cortex gets effectively shut down, and thinking is gone as the neurology moves backwards into the motor control centers of the brain and the body takes over, and that's true flow.  

[00:24:41] Clarity is kindness. Jade Green reminds us that as leaders, we need to call on people's mistakes for them to learn and grow.

Prior to the age of 40, Andrew Rooke was executive director of a global fintech firm, responsible for a $100m budget and 800 staff across the globe. Despite the outward success in his career, the passion began to fade and in its place came frustration and burnout.  Knowing deep down a change was needed to rebalance family and re-energise his body, brain and life and to reignite the spark in his career, Andrew launched his now thriving executive coaching business and has found a way of living enabling true flourishing, impact and personal expansion.
 
Andrew helps his executive clients, board members and business owners perform at their highest levels in business and life through a unique blend of eastern ancestral wisdom and modern western science in fields diverse as psychology, biology, neurology and business.
 
Andrew has been trained at London Business School and MIT and mentored by some of the worlds best in field including Paul Chek, Ben Greenfield, Sharon Pearson, Dr DeMartini, Dr Daniel Amen & Dr Datis Kharrazian.  
 
Andrew is a serial entrepreneur, and currently runs two coaching, consulting and advisory companies focussed on creating conscious leaders and organizations.

Connect with Andrew Rooked in LinkedIn

Andrew Rooked Official Website

Did you include book reading as a non-negotiable for your 2022 resolutions? It's one habit worth doing throughout life and helps equip you to become your best version as a human and a leader. 

In this episode, Jade Green and Kyle Probert sit down to discuss one of the most notable books every entrepreneur should read: The Art of Impossible. Bestselling author, peak performance expert and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, Steven Kotler, reveals over twenty years of research and cutting-edge neuroscience as the secret to the world's most exemplary humans. This book is a must-read to help you get out of your way and realize that you can hack the limits of your mind: you can do the impossible!

Tune in to the Barrels & Business show — The Art of Impossible.

Key points

[00:02:15] Kyle and Jade kick off the podcast discussing energy trade-offs and the value of starting a ten page daily reading habit. In a few hours of smashing books in a week, you get the author's long years worth of mastery. 

[00:05:28] Kyle shares why The Art of Impossible is a super enjoyable read. This particular Steven Kotler clearly explains the science of peak performance and serves as a playbook for anyone looking to improve themselves.

[00:09:45] Kyle explains the way the book all starts is about the concept between "impossible" and "IMpossible".  

[00:16:17] The frustrating thing is how everyone is encouraged to go and become an entrepreneur, and not everyone should be an entrepreneur. Kyle emphasizes why one must have the curiosity, passion, motivation and drive to get through the days where it's just grind, grind, grind.  

[00:26:18] Kyle Probert cites writing a book as an example. If you need to write 30 chapters that need 100000 words, you start by writing 250 words every morning. "It's not hard to sit there and write 250 words and break it into tiny chunks. The key thing is that the small habits that stack together will get you crushing the impossible."

[00:30:34] It is necessary to find your "flow" and perform at your very peak.

[00:36:21] To achieve the impossible, you need skills and knowledge. Learn more and ask better, smarter questions because the quality of your life directly correlates to the quality of questions you ask.  

[00:41:44] Jade Green reminds you to give yourself permission to start wherever you're at. The mistakes we've made in the past and our current reality may be too far from how we want our lives to be, but what matters is deciding to change today and making small steps that will make all the difference.

[00:50:25] You can't achieve the impossible without creativity relevant to you as a person; whether you're an artist or creative in problem-solving, figure out how to cultivate yourself in your most creative state. 

[00:59:08] The habit stacking and other methods you're using help you achieve the impossible. But the important thing is you need rest and fun to help support you to do that. 

[00:45:52] Connection trumps all. It's the one thing that you can do differently that will make the biggest difference in every area of your life, especially in your business.

In this amazing conversation with Andrew Houston, owner and founder of Profit for Contractors, we go through what you need to do to stand out, attract people and win the war of top talent from the competitors. As a business owner and as a business leader, we teach you how to connect with your humans so that you cannot only retain them but also motivate them to stay with you and up the profitability levels by getting each of the individuals to love working with you. 

We go deep on the leadership mindset and how you utilize that to frontload your recruitment process and your retention strategies and turn them into weapons for you. So jump in. Dig deep. This one has so many tangible tips on how to hire, train and lead your team to greatness! 

Watch: Become The Best Workplace With No BS with Andrew Houston.

Key points

[00:07:11] Every business owner needs to start to take extreme ownership. Often if there is failure or success in the output, we must adopt the mindset that often, we may have been a cause in a situation. 

[00:13:55] Learn to manage your energy at work and home. Step into the "third space" and think about the outcome you want and what energy you need to radiate to your clients, employees and when you go home to your family. 

[00:16:49] Practice breathing exercises to keep you centered. It can only take 5 minutes to tell your parasympathetic nervous system that you are safe and don't need to freak out, especially in the middle of stressful moments at work. Changing the chemicals and biology within your body quickly puts you in a position to respond with intention rather than responding from your current emotions. 

[00:22:37] A reminder for you today: your employees and the people in your team are not apps that don't have feelings, emotions and things running in their background. If you can focus on your humans and help reduce their stress levels and everything else that's going on in their worlds, expect them to give back their best to you and your business. 

[00:26:16] Studies show with the top places to work in the world that if someone has a best friend at work or feels like they are genuinely cared about by someone -- they last seven times longer. With lesser turnover and less cost of attrition, people who love to work for you and stay are, in fact, more profitable.

[00:29:36] Icebreaker cards are a simple yet often overlooked method that does wonders to initiate a funny or thoughtful conversation that creates an emotional bond between the team members.

[00:37:44] Determine what makes you different. Think about your three biggest competitors in your field — what do you offer that makes you more desirable and makes you the best choice as a great place to work for? 

[00:39:36] Have you sat down with your people and had those conversations? Like understanding their intrinsic and extrinsic motivators? What is the stuff that's outside of work that excites them or helps them grow? Remember, they can have a paycheck anywhere else. BUT ask yourself: how can you support them besides the salary you give them? Otherwise, you are just asking them to trade their time for money, and nobody else will work as hard as you. 

[00:45:52] Connection trumps all. It's the one thing that you can do differently that will make the biggest difference in every area of your life, especially in your business. 

Andrew Houston is the owner and founder of Profit for Contractors. He has been consulting trades business owners for over a decade, helping them improve their business skills to achieve their personal and business goals. He teaches strategies and tools and gives valuable insights in his The No Bullsh*t Podcast for Contractors. 

Website: Profit for Contractors
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profitforcontractors

After a four-year stint in the U.S. Army, a one-semester attempt at Law School, and switching careers from corporate finance to commercial real estate, John Lee Dumas has gone on to found and host an award-winning podcast, has become an author, and has interviewed thousands of entrepreneurs. It is that dynamic background that makes him the perfect guest to show you how to build a kick-ass team.

Learn more about his journey on the Barrels & Business show — How to Build a Kick-Ass Team with John Lee Dumas.

Key points

[00:01:19] Three-hour morning routines don’t start overnight. John’s morning routine lasted a mere 15 minutes when it began, but has since grown to three hours over the course of six years.

[00:06:07] It's not a blanket, X, Y, or Z. It's a sit-down, individual, what would make this the best job for you?  People should not only have a chance to voice what’s important to them but they should be heard on an individual level since they are the only ones capable of doing exactly what they do.

[00:08:29]  Empowering your team. “If we can satisfy people’s growth, their contribution needs, and they feel like there's some significance there - then you're helping to fill up that cup and grow as a human. It's going to make them less likely to leave.”

[00:09:31] Discussing the current mass resignation issue. People are resigning for two reasons. They hated their job to begin with, and the pandemic has made people think about what is most important to them.

[00:13:49] Staying social despite working remotely. With people working all over the place domestically, and internationally, meaningful interactions must be scheduled and followed through on. 

About the Guest

John Lee Dumas is a former active-duty U.S. Army Officer and the founder & host of Entrepreneurs On Fire, an award-winning podcast where he interviews inspiring entrepreneurs to help people along their entrepreneurial journey. He is also the author of The Common Path to Uncommon Success, your 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment. During his career, Dumas has interviewed over 3,000 entrepreneurs, including Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, and more.

Are you having a hard time handling your teams and keeping them on track? Kyle Probert and I can't emphasize enough the necessity for organizations and companies to focus on culture overhaul and how vital the care factor is that makes employees happier, productive and engaged.

Key points

[00:03:55] The idea that the people should just turn up for work and grind is so outdated. We've evolved as humans, as business owners and as entrepreneurs. And yeah, happiness really is that key thing is keeping people functioning well. Removing the hurdles out of their way and just letting them get on and be successful. [00:04:18][22.8]

[00:05:49] Maintain that care factor so that your people adopt a culture of going out of their way to help each other.  When they treat each other not just another person or a colleague but as friends, they are bound to help and make each other's life easier.  

[00:11:36] Think about your third space. Work on lessening the stress and pressure because not every day is going to be rainbows and lollipops. Find ways to help your employees and your team cope and support them too so that they can be fully present in their families when they leave work.

[00:15:33] We can't expect our teams to be vulnerable with each other if we're not willing to be vulnerable ourselves.  [00:15:38][5.0]

[00:20:52] As a leader, and maybe as a boss, we forget that our ego is our enemy. 

[00:23:28] Creating ripples in the organizational chart. The network concept outweighs the old hierarchy structure that helps paint that picture of everyone working together. We talk about the circle and the ripple effect and how those ripples when they interact with each other, get bigger as well. 

[00:30:01] Applying scrum meetings is the best practice by providing an open platform for the team to communicate with each other and ensure that all the information is available for everyone. If everyone shares what they're working on or where they get stuck, all the hurdles can be moved out of the way and success is made to happen. 

[00:33:18] Figure out who's the ball holders and who clears the field to go where the team needs to go. And that again brings in that camaraderie, so if you think about the concept of friendship or mateship, it makes work smooth and effective.

[00:37:21] Happiness is the most fantastic hack to productivity and profitability. Starting meetings with breathwork or a gratitude session creates wonders on how the week will be productive.

[00:40:46] Nerf guns and office fun. Enjoying some lightheartedness at work is a virtue that every company should try to embody. We talk about how nerf guns can foster play as productivity for adult learners and workers.

[00:45:52] Most leaders do not apply the changes they propose to themselves, yet they tell the team to do it. Develop accountability items every week that should be the number one part of doing their jobs. A leader needs to walk their talk. 

[00:50:42] Create a culture where it's totally accepted and expected to stick your hand up and ask questions. Remember, there are no stupid questions, except for the questions that are not asked.

[00:55:48] If you want to be a business that really pushes forward without losing good people to others, you need to give them some creative license and creative freedom.

You've probably seen all sorts of videos and memes about people being in an office and still thinking they're on Zoom — muting and yawning while somebody else is talking. 

While it can take adjustments easing back in the workplace, business coaches and authorities Jade Green and Mark Creedon discuss mindset changes that need to be adopted to get the most out of your team, and strategies to thrive as a leader in the new normal.

Tune in to this new episode of the Barrels & Business show — Reset Your Workplace Culture with Mark Creedon.

Key points

[00:10:56] Mark Creedon shares, "If you don't change your frame of mind before you walk in the door, it doesn't matter what "fake-it-till-you-make-it" smile you put on your face; you will be taking that negative energy as you walk through your business."

[00:14:26] Take ownership and assess that in every situation that fails or succeeds, often it is caused by you as the leader. Jade emphasizes that you cannot just throw a training manual of words at your people and hope for the best. Always assess what you could have done better with your team or what you could do differently? 

[00:23:07]Your employees are your number one customers. If you want your people to give exceptional customer service, they will never give it if you don't provide them excellent employee service.

[00:25:01] There is a massive war for great talent right now. Jade reminds us that if you don't convince your valuable people that you're worth staying for, they can leave. It's time to rethink your outdated methods and think: What can I do differently? 

[00:26:22] Values are a set of beliefs that you can't force upon other people, but a set of virtues is something you strive towards as a collective. Jade Green

[00:30:38] Create your ready tools to help you change your energy state. Jade recommends having a different Spotify list for every occasion. When preparing for a talk, she listens to meditation or soulful music and an essential blend of oils. She has ready her favorite pump-up tracks before team sales and marketing meetings. She calls another playlist "thinking music" when she needs to write and create plans.

[00:39:46] Culture is what your people do when you're not watching. What are your virtues? What beliefs do you live and will die for? What do you want to strive towards, and what legacy do you leave behind? The answers to these questions reflect Who you are and what you stand for sets the culture. Your people will model you and mirror who you are back to your customers and clients. 

[00:50:34] Pretend it's Monday, the first day of your team coming back to work, whether that be physically or virtually. Imagine how you want them to think, feel and say after completing their deliverables? How would they respond to their partners and spouses when they go home and get asked: "How was your day?"

Think about that. And whether they would be telling a story of frustration or feeling excited to go back to the office the next day inspired — this depends on the experience you strive to deliver to your people who are your best asset.

Website: Business Accelerator Mastermind

In 2008, Brett Vowles and Shelley Hedley became business partners with franchised retail stores in Sydney. They were shopping for roller skates and noticed a minimal number of stores that carried roller derby equipment, roller skates and inline skates in general. Always searching for new opportunities, the couple easily saw a hole in the market for roller skates. They took the leap, moved away from a franchise model and started their own brand that became a huge hit in the market. 

Learn more about their inspiring story of the Barrels & Business show — The Business of Skating and Connection with Shelley Hedley and Brett Vowles.

Key points

[00:02:49] Lean in and discover Shelley and Brett's origin story delving into the business that started when they saw the 'problem' of limited stores that had a good range of roller skates and provided expert opinions.

[00:10:39] Why understanding your customer and how you can increase the lifetime value is the secret sauce to success. "They come in to buy the kid's scooter, and later on, the whole family comes in to buy again from that one purchase."

[00:15:53]  How do you start? Find that niche market and communicate with them. Finding the niche needs to have a balance that it's not too small but also not too large. The brand needs to have a specific direction. The more specific you are, the clearer your brand becomes.   

[00:22:08] Understand the benefits and pitfalls of going with a franchise versus your own brand. Buying a franchise is easier, yet there are pros and cons on those fronts.

[00:37:30] Changes in technology and what you're able to do without having this physical presence in like 100 different shopping centres, you know, so that's where we had to learn to like, pivot and change quickly. 

[00:39:50] When COVID hit, they focused on the best performing shops. As leases ran out, it was a necessity to let shops close. "We put the focus on the website, and since, the website has grown at a crazy amount, and it's now one of our best performing shops."

[00:43:21] Creating the trend for rollerskating. Everyone was in lockdown, and as it is an individual sport, parents who used to do that 20 or 30 years ago got skates again, and their kids too, all of a sudden, you've got a big resurgence and roller skating. 

[00:57:38] For business partners that are also married couples, it is imperative to segment your time and put in a schedule so that you do have that one-on-one time with family and that time where you can spend on to the business. 

[01:05:00] Sell products that your people also love. "Going out on a skateboard, going for a ride or a scooter, these items make people feel happy. So it does definitely help to have products that people love. Most of our staff own most of the things that we sell, which definitely helps."

[01:11:03] Harness the brainpower, ideas and creativity of your team. Jade believes that this is something severely underutilized in a lot of small to medium businesses

About the Guests 

Shelley Hedley is a Canadian born entrepreneur and co-founder of Skate Connection and Coast Skateboards. With 12 years of experience owning retail spaces with a background in design and marketing, she moved to Australia after graduating with a Bachelor's of Human Ecology focusing on textile science and later completed a post-graduate in design. A mother of 2 sons + 1 stepson, Shelley is an ex-roller derby player and loves the balance between roller skating and yoga. 

Brett Vowles is a New Zealand born entrepreneur who moved to Australia in 2002. The co-founder of Skate Connection and Coast Skateboards, Brett has 16 years of experience owning retail spaces with a study background in accounting. He is a proud father of 3 and always chasing the kids on skateboards and scooters. 

Skate Connection was founded in 2013. Skate connection is a scooter/skateboard/roller skate store that provides friendly advice from industry experts. Their showrooms have provided fun wheel products from families to athletes who enjoy the surf/skate lifestyle. 

IG: @ skateconnection.com.au 
FB: https://www.facebook.com/skateconnectionau/

Tripadeal CEO Richard Johnston On Overcoming Pandemic Challenges

Two years of lockdowns and bans have turned the travel and tourism industry into one of the enormous casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. In this episode, Tripadeal, co-founder Richard Johnston and I sit down for an insightful session sharing the success story of a company born out of an idea in Bali in 2010. His company captured the market of holiday-loving baby boomers. When a global emergency happens, Richard shares how wisdom and integrity are needed to ride out the continuing crisis management to choose to take care of their people and customers.

Key points covered in this episode: 

Key points

[00:02:41] The need to shift. Like everybody else, Richard shares how TRIPADEAL is now an outbound package holiday business that sells bucket list dreams at affordable prices. 

[00:04:32] How COVID's effect on travel was very much a supply crisis. This exceptional moment no one's ever seen before that literally stopped the world.

[00:11:36]  Richard describes the mental fortitude needed to handle the crisis when people were feeling responsible, freaked out, stressed out and didn't know what they had to do. 

[00:22:12] On strategies and tested measures. If you have one product that resonates with a certain number of people, be open to investing and doing a bit more as you test it out. Try again if you hit a dead-end. 

[00:22:58] Taking risks is a superpower. Richard shares this as the greatest element of his partnership with co-founder Norm. "We're both in for the risk. He was never trying to stop me, and I'm never trying to stop him. So we were encouraging each other to take more risks, and I think that was the superpower that we had that most people don't have.

[00:23:49] Risk appetite comes from the background of being a surfer. "You get excited by risk, the adventure and the unknown, not knowing what's ahead. So we've been almost designed, brought up growing up in Byron Bay with that mindset. I always want to go surfing and travel so that there's an element of risk just built into it, and you never know where your next meal was coming from. You're never really safe. So you don't sort of fear risk."

[00:28:17] Learning from business ideas that failed. "I think we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If we'd been a few years earlier, we probably would have gotten the traction, and it did get a bit of momentum. But I think we can say that we missed the mark slightly."

[00:31:39] Simplify your approach to business. Many entrepreneurs need to learn from this rule. The more you simplify your offering, like how you should be able to see in Amazon in 10 seconds exactly what the offer is and make a compelling case for why you've got an excellent service or product that people want. If you can't do that, you've got a particular business that it's not going to work.

[00:34:01] When choosing print ads trumped advertising on Facebook. "Everybody thought print was dying. So we put ourselves in our customers' shoes, and as it turns out, the Baby Boomers who still read the papers are the most likely to want to buy a package holiday out beyond these bucket list destinations that we are sending them to. They had the most amount of time and money on their hands, and they could travel out of season."

[00:45:14] Sponsoring different football teams is a way to give back to the community and build credibility. "Remember being the kid and how much you appreciated the local businesses sponsoring a footy club."

[00:46:48] Accept that you lack understanding in many aspects of running your business. Richard shares, "Rather than pretend, admit completely that you can't do it all. If you have that awareness, you can mitigate that by hiring good people who can fill in those gaps."

[00:53:37] Valuing people. Richard shares how they fought to keep their people and managed to keep on full salary when not a great deal of travel was going on in the world.

[01:01:00] Preserve your brand. Cherish it and keep it optimum, polish it all day long and make sure everyone loves your brand. 

How your Mindset can Sabotage your Hiring 

If you are in Marvel Comics, how do you assemble your team of superheroes who you can trust with your life and will have your back? They will be running through a wall for you and will take on a common enemy, banding together and going to war with you? So you want to think about if you're going to create a team of heroes that have your back in your business, what can you do to bring them together and find them in the first place?

Key points covered in this episode: 
 

Key points

[00:02:07] Get to know Jade Green. Her expertise takes root from 13 years in headhunting and recruitment - from your mom and pop store to Google and every industry you could possibly imagine along the way. She shares what it takes to select the right people and what it takes to win them, and most importantly, what you need to do to set them up for success so that they can be a hero in your team. 

[00:03:53]Jade believes that "happiness is the greatest hack to productivity and profitability". So what we do is look at how we make our staff happy so that they are ultimately the most productive and profitable for us? Looking at employees as just people you pay to do work is really outdated thinking.  

[00:06:13] Understand the strategies for satisfying the 7 human needs of employees. If we meet the human needs of our people, then they are happy. And when they are happy, they work the best for us. 

[00:09:44] Use icebreaker cards to start team meetings. You can get everyone on the team, whether freelancers or full time, to get to know each other and learn how to work together with a little bit of variety and fun.

[00:11:48] Treat your team like humans, not like an application. If there is no connection, especially working with remote groups in other countries, they're not going to have any buy-in to who you are and what you do. It's easy to say no to messages on a screen. 

[00:14:42] Once you get someone great, you need to keep them. Recognize that every team member keeps your business running, regardless if it's a small or big role. (Even if their pay scale is low or they're in a developing country, give them the recognition and significance they deserve.) Don't hierarchy, then don't make one person within your business more important than the rest. 

[00:20:46] Hire people better than you and then get the fuck out of their way. Find someone and delegate essential tasks that you cannot do and focus on your genius mode. Then think about how you can grow them, what can you do for them and what you can add to them.

[00:23:01] The number one salespeople aren't just doing it for hitting the dollars and for the commissions.  Money can be a motivator in the short term. After that, it's got to come from intrinsic motivation, like they feel like they're contributing to something else that other human needs are being satisfied. And this is where people go above and beyond.

[00:28:31] Create a team of heroes that have your back, bring them together starting with belief systems and communicate having a common why.  

[00:34:16] How do you stand out? How do you make quality people even want to come and apply for you? 

[00:41:13] Create the avatar for your ideal candidate. What type of person will want to do the job, and where could they come from? What are the skills that you do need? What's going to excite them, and where do they hang out? Where can you ask for referrals and make an advertising funnel? 

[00:46:36] Think about the WHY behind your business. What is it beyond just making money that you and your business do? This is how you build a kick-ass culture. Culture is what your people do when you're not watching. 

[00:55:37] Make your ad that goes out on a job board exciting and ensure they're enrolled in the process. 

[01:02:38] What can you do to be a better leader? Refer to the amazing book Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink, a retired navy seal commander who led seal team 3; it's about understanding where you're at and how you're always at cause in some respects. 

Tobias Young is the founder of the TYF Online Fitness Coaching programs that allow clients to do gym workouts whenever it fits into your schedule. 
For more information, visit https://tobiasyoungfitness.com/

Finding The Best Candidate For Your Business with Julian Van der Waal

If your people haven't really bought into the "why?" -- it's maybe because you don't have it. Businesses lack their overall purpose, centering on the WHAT instead of focusing on WHY. In recruitment, this vision and sense of direction are what your potential perfect candidates are also looking into. 

In this episode, I share these insights with Business Consultant and Master Sales Coach Julian Van der Waal and discuss the crucial things entrepreneurs and business leaders need to communicate firsthand to get the perfect candidates on board.

Key points covered in this episode:

[00:01:24] Learn 5 Dimensional Coaching. Most entrepreneurs are one-dimensional; they focus purely on their business to the detriment of their relationships. Often, they achieve the wisdom to configure living a more fulfilling life when their health is already suffering.

[00:02:27] Life isn't just for grinding; it is for living too. Build your habits around your concept of spirituality. It's time to awaken and remember we are all connected souls with a higher purpose.

[00:05:22] Why femininity in business is important. Julian shares that going deep into his masculine energy is bad for business. "We're driven decision-makers. At times it can be bad energy. So, tapping into that femininity is not a sign of weakness but a super-strong strength. Most would think it's girly. It's got nothing to do with it."

[00:07:13] Your energy has a massive impact on the people around you. Are you giving life or sucking it out of others? Be careful because this can be a major cause for your people or your staff to "abandon ship".

[00:08:34] Like a phone, you need to stay charged to work in ultimate performance. It's super important to sit down and do an exercise to ask what lights you up and recharges you. If you do, you'll show up energized and become unstoppable.

[00:10:42] When you go on a holiday, please do it for yourself, not for social media. Julian recommends using less phones and laptops and focusing on resting and enjoying the time you take off to recharge.

[00:15:54] A good candidate goes searching to connect with your "why." If you get them on board with your why and your vision, they're going to stay with you even through the tough times.

[00:20:37] Too many times, entrepreneurs default to hiring people like them, which is the exact opposite of what they need.  Remember, you don't need more of you but those who will compensate, support, and fill in on the things you cannot do or tasks that are not in your genius zone. 

[00:28:01] The only way to succeed in scale is to have your people doing one thing and do that one thing really well. Break down tasks and give them to someone in that genius zone and the rest, decide to get them outsourced or get a contractor. And it's going to be a far better use of your money and your time than trying to pay someone trying to do too many different things & do it poorly. 

[00:30:24] If you have to do everything, you don't have a business but a job. -As many business owners and entrepreneurs are still stuck trying to do everything themselves because they "do it better." If this is you -- you'll be in startup mode for the rest of your career if you fail to see the value of delegation. Ego is also the enemy when you fail to realize that you don't need to do EVERYTHING. 

[00:39:59] How many times have you recruited for the same job in your business over the last one to three years? -Julian reminds businesses how getting the wrong people costs you more resources, energy, and time.

[00:42:25] Get people on board with the WHY and the vision. If you do, they're going to stay with you through the tough times. Make sure you hire in line and that you're showing up in that as well. Because people don't usually leave companies, they leave managers.

Julian Van der Waal is quickly becoming one of Australia's most sought-after Sales Coaches and Business Consultants. Julian consults globally for business and strategic advice. 

For more information, visit https://www.julianvanderwaal.com/