Sustaining a Culture of Excellence Over 26 Years

Audio Transcription

If you are growing a business and need to know how to create a culture of excellence in your business then listen in as Dr Z and business coach Clay Clark will tell you exactly what you need to do to keep your culture excellent.

How to Create A Culture Of Excellence For Over 20 Years In A Row

1. You have to weed the lawn before they spread.
   1. If you do not pick the weed it will spread and infect your entire garden (your business).
2. Is it harder to get to the top or stay at the top
   1. It is harder to get to the top because you do not have the swag of someone already at the top.

What Is The Hardest Part of Getting to the Top of The Castle of Success

1. Tips for scalding the competition who are climbing the castle walls
   1. Dr Z – You have to make an offer that people really want and you must be GREAT at every aspect of the business
      1. The offer is important to get the Golden Look and WOW the client the first time.
      2. You have to have a Purple Cow to stand out from the crowd
   2. Wes Carter – Delaying gratification is hard but it is so worth it when you hit your long term goals.
2. Best way to scald your competition
   1. Z – Mystery shop and crush them in your business with their own marketing.
   2. Wes Carter – Meet potential clients and tell them you want to fly out to meet you
      1. He pays for it and doesn’t bill for his time.

We’re answering questions from the thrive at nation that have an email to us to info at thrive time show.Com and his next question that we’ve been asked consistently from the thrive nation (other than how we make our business conferences so awesome) is how has dr. Z been able to build a culture of excellence for 20 years in a row, because the thing that is amazing about the the victories you had in business isn’t that you had one big year or one big month or one big quarter? Is it that you’ve been consistently win? It you’ve been consistently a category leader in the automotive auction, since you talked into it. You’ve been consistently a category leader in optometry, since you hopped into it. So the consistency is what I want to focus on. I want to get marshalls take on it. I want to get wes’s take on it, but just looking at it from the outside I’m 37, and since my wife was 19 she’s now $0.30 over that that the entire span of time, those 18 19 years, you consistently been the category leader if you’re in tulsa and you I’ve ever turned on your radio or you ever talk to a human in tulsa. When you hear the word optometrist, you will at least know of the name who is coming your mind of dr. Robert, zoellner associates, so I want to ask you, cuz man, there’s gotta been some rough patches in your personal life or what passes are rubber patches, the business life? How do you stay consistent day after day me? Some people struggle to straight i, just drink two days in a row of positivity and three or four or four weeks. How do you do it? Man answer this question. I’ve got to go to one of my favorite places I’m at down. Here’s the deal in order to keep the consistency over multiple years. You have to be willing ready, able to pull weeds, pull weeds, ready, ready, willing and able, ready, willing and able to pull weeds if you get rid of dandelions in your yard. You are dandelion is the weed. I know it is actually a flower kind of, but you know we we we call anything. We don’t want your yard, we want we trick question, we want anything, we call and we don’t want in our yard, because of weed right okay. So if you, if you leave it alone, it will it bloom and it’s the little things that float around and you’ll have more dandelions right and then and then you don’t get those and then they’ll bloom, and then the season float around and pretty soon any any thing you don’t want to grow in your lawn is a weed correctly employee that you did. It says best ring in your office that you don’t want is a weed correct.

Any anti-anxiety medication they sell in colorado is a weed, correct. Okay. What I’m saying is this is that the entrepreneurs that are aggressive and purposeful and pulling those weeds and the weeds could be policies, bad employees, bad products, bad branding, praxis, baumer’s, open ocean, commercial that doesn’t work and I didn’t work problems, a lot of people, you know think they can life coach, someone and change them different stay loyal to this function as you’re ready. Let me know I’m going to continue that commercial made out of work on that station, but I’m not going to pound it a sin for a while, but it’s 8 minutes long, so you might as well keep listening to it right cuz. We committed to listen to the first four minutes of it. It sucks, but let’s go and continue listening to the final fargo as well finish watching the terrible movie for you do you just have to be very and that’s kind of general thing, and we can break that down into specifics, which kind of been like, for example, an employee. That’s that bad! If you don’t pull that, we didn’t fix the rest of them play. Why are you playing what is scott light a couple times in a row, everyday marshall, so you created a culture of excellent for 20-years 20-years. You got into the car more than that. Don’t jump out of your yard short. How far is 26 +, but I wouldn’t call you later I’m six years, radiology call marshall I want to ask you this question:is it harder to get to the top, or is it harder to stay at the top it’s harder to get to the job it’s harder to get out absolutely I agree. I did hear some reasons. Why? Because you got so much more dover come you don’t have name recognition, I agree, you don’t have it. You know critical mass super agree, I mean you, don’t have all the swag you have once you get to the top. What causes since I caught suits earth versus hoodies question? If you were storming the castle start, would you rather be up on the wall the castle firing down at somebody. Would? You rather be trying to sling a ladder up to the wall and crawling up for on the carport and see if I can get go to a fiery furnace to get up to the top if. You didn’t get the rest out for nothing. So here’s what it here’s! What I see is a players-only like to work with a player’s true, and if you have one or two b players in your organization, then they’re only going to hire people that are less diligent and less productive, less effective at their job than them in order to make themselves up here, greater and so getting to that entire office which you will learn about during one of our monthly business conferences.

Culture where everybody is in a player is crazy hard, but once you do it, it’s self-policing, and so what’s carter’s on the show and I wanted to ask him, because he has an entire office of a players in. Do you see this across industries a lot of clients I think a lot of what it is ego that some a players are phil personally jeopardize by other players coming in, and you have to get over that that you want to surround yourself with other excellent people and not be intimidated, because that you’re, afraid of going to outshine you use, is bizarre when I first heard it, but I agree, he actually bruins his client list. He actually pulled weeds from his client. Explain your theories on pruning your client tree i, ain’t, crazy, i, have a theory, one I’ve ever eaten client i. Should fire that’s about the right, I found that was talk to me. Somebody just that just blew somebody’s mind about what people are going to be a bigger pain in my neck. Then it’s worth even if they pay not even counting the people that I’m going to work for and never get paid. So I think you know they probably varies from industry, but that one ever eaten client I’m, better off, saying no and letting them go down the road. But it’s hard to get up to the top of success where you can have those kind of decisions you don’t have that feeling, but I want to talk about the. What is the hardest part of getting to the top of mount awesome i, wouldn’t talk about pouring hot tar on your competitors. That’s what I want to talk about, scalding your competition and, what’s the hardest part about getting to the top of the wall of success at the top of success and installed our competitors I want to talk about the early days when I got that ladder and how high school, but that louder got to the top. That’s that’s the fun stuff. I want to talk about that medieval device. Where you put you stretch out the competitor to the arms, you say they could guarantee bring down the wall. I want to talk about vassals and fiefs and any other medieval terms that I know justin be allowed next year, as a professional sports get ready to enter that thrive. Time show 321 boom time show on the radio and during this site, action-packed it’ll be your final segment of this hour of power, and we have three topics running it into here real fast here including business conferences that you need to attend. Okay, so tell me number one I want to talk about it. What was the hardest part about getting to the castle of success? Okay, I want you get to a castle a castle as a wall around to keep up the bad guys and i. Believe it’s much easier to stay on top then to get their z. It said that he agrees on that too. So what is the weather going to ask the questions? Around, the horn here? What’s the most difficult part of getting to success, ii is your tips for scalding. Your competition is trying to climb up your castle walls. How do you keep them out?

You would you like to use the fire arrows, the molten tar? What’s your preferred method and third wheel jounce to become a professional, a professional sport? If you have time to get to that, will get into it so see you start with you. What was the hardest part for you about getting to the castle of success, figuratively speaking, every business that I have started. There’s always that little kind of going to hook your there’s always that little. You know you have to make an offer. You have to make a when your marketing cuz, that’s all marketing right to produce. You have to come through it. You have to have your your business is only as strong as its weakest link, and so you don’t have an idiot answering the phone. Then you’re not going to be able to come in the door, but where’s my beer have all the parts and pieces right, but I really think things is making that offer that people can’t refuse to come in the door. See you right to get them in the door, get the phone to ring, get them to click on you to if you’re doing it on lock that form online form whatever it is, and so you have to make that offer. They can’t refuse it so hot. So hot, don’t know when it starts off. My no-brainer was pair glasses pair of contact lenses or exactly clear contact paper. Colored contacts for $99 pairs of contacts and eye exam for just $99. Okay, then clear cuz, I’m kind of a bluish-green. What did you get one of each so you can wear blue and when I went and purple that you’re from up north, no purple rain prince? What happens is that you have to find how you can differentiate yourself when you’re, when you’re on the bottom and you’re trying to get yourself up you have you can’t you can’t be just another me to you:have to have a purple cow soap to purple cows to no-brainer offers an example. Barbie cookies, the first cookie that she had the offer she had to do to become successful was the first cookie you have is free about. One of the three people would take advantage of her and the offer and not come back to add a 3-1 comeback elephant. The rumor first haircut is a dollar. That’s a no-brainer off you wanna build a lifetime relationship. Then the no-brainer is critical. When asked you, what was the toughest part for you getting to where you’re at right now as a partner with one of the most prestigious firms in tulsa oklahoma delayed gratification, the lane? What you want to pull out for yourself to pour back into the business, giving up your personal time, freedom to pour back into the business, give you that maybe d’alene family or family goals to pour back and visit, there’s just so much delayed gratification that goes into taking a long-term, much of it like 10 years of it sometimes you’re, building towards a goal, and if you work hard enough you’re going to get there, you don’t need it right now.

I have a question for marshall. This because, and the best example I can give. You is the start here book. Many of you are trying to download the book and robes and it’s hilarious, but the other day this is probably I’d, say two conferences ago. So I guess it should be about 2 to 3 months ago someone came in and they said, I’d like to have marshall morris is my coach and I said: really you would and they go yeah I’ve read his book start here, wow and that client I watched online that that research company whatever date they love that guy and so i, want to have him now. I know when I had to tell people how you should use marshall morris as your coach and they’re like, I can’t have you clay and I had to build up his profile and now I’m try to do to keep marshall humble as I best could talk bad about him on the radio about town to me you talk down something like marshall I know. This is above your pay grade, but you are afraid to ask for you, but you been so in those seats are probably we’ve known each other. We work together, we’ve known each other for a nine year relationship in the last 2 years. You really start to turn on the juice. As a coach. Can you talk to me about delaying the gratification? As you were, writing the start here book how long did it take? How did you do it? Did you ever feel like giving up? Well, we wrote the book and what it took about 10 years for all the stories and prince, okay of knowledge, the other stores in there to collect the actual pen to paper. We wrote it in about 2 months, which actually do a lot of authors. What I hear is pretty, but for us it felt crazy long, because it’s doing like 40 hours a week, we were pulling two all nighters a week in order to get it done right in so what that required is a ton of trade-offs in a ton of sacrificing while some people were going out or while some people are actually sleeping, we were riding start. Your phone can’t even say:hey. Are you the guy that felt awesome because it is a business owner that number one is humble enough to know that he doesn’t know everything and he is willing to accept the knowledge to be taught in order to improve his business and get to his goals. That is a cool feeling, but you don’t get that overnight. You don’t get that because you had an idea, but because of the hours that you’ve invested in order to write the book or build the business, create business conferences systems, get to your big goals. That’s really cool. In the longer it takes the sweeter taste.

So yeah baby i, ask you this take care. Take. What’s your favorite way to scold your competition at least be cheaper competition from climbing your castle walls? What’s one of your favorite moves, my favorite moves to mystery shopping and then just to have like a billboard when people walk in your office that breaks down the you know the one sheet, the comparison:yes exactly but I’m trying to take his southwest, who does it was i, do a comparison transparent. It is the same thing it’s kind of like you call us when you do the quotes with board up there and it shows the apples to apples comparison, what it cost for my competitors, I love doing that stuff, that’s just so fun can i. Tell you something:i love doing porn hot oil on a guy climbing test I like to make it I learned this from the sam walton book called made. America sam walton used to he started off is the underdog. He opened up a the five-and-dime after how many bankruptcies I woke up, he’s open about the he he did not do very well, so it won’t and struggled it’s. What happened is he opens up his first walmart and he goes in the small remote communities were no one else wanted to be any services at community eventually took up a lot of those communities. Now we have to go, head-to-head remember:kmart was the incumbent. So now he’s going to the cities were kmart’s there. It was. Was I’m, going to open up right across the street from the at kmart and I’m, going to operate at a loss every single day until they can’t hang on and then when they finally run out of air oxygen ammo whatever it is, I’m going to keep doing my no-brainer to stop on their neck and then, when they grass prayer and ask for help I’m going to keep doing it and then, when they’re dead, that’s not raise my prices up to their everyday, reasonable prices. So I love the idea of just under cutting price, isn’t staying low (which is why we have affordable business conferences) and see how low you can go and just staying there. I love knowing I can go lower than anybody else and just stay there for years. Cuz it won’t. You come up. You win you knocked out from under. What’s going on and I would be remiss to say that there’s a certain part of that that I know i, know sam his book and and I know he’s competitively price. I know they have some paul slater’s, but you can’t is a side. Note business side. Note here is a business coach. You some of that just be careful with as far as your purpose of why you’re selling some of your product, what you’re selling them for another word. If your operating at a loss to run somebody out of business that could be potential lawsuit right, west yeah I mean on a small scale, you’re, probably okay, but you can easily run into monopoly laws and things like that price-fixing.

If you join with others to do it, she is out of town. That’s when you can really run to the shopping list of all things law and tell open in west. What is your favorite move to beat your competition when I like to do I have clients all over the country, so you might have to apply this to a local business, but I will meet new client potential clients and tell them. I would like to fly out to meet you and they say well. I can’t afford that I said no! No I’m going to pick up the dime I’m going to fly out on my dying to meet you I’m not going to bill you for my time. Let’s just sit down and meet each other and make sure we like each other, and usually they are blown away, the one that attorneys going to spend time with you and not building, and to that I’m going to pick up my own travel expenses so whatever that is, even if your local going out of your way to develop those relationships, build up that goodwill free, we have the podcast, those are free. We have the in-person business conferences. If you leave us an objective review on itunes and subscribe and email as proof that you did it to me by emailing us to info at thrive time should I come, we can be free tickets. Do we have the world’s best online business school? It’s just $19 a month, and we have one-on-one business coaching with scholarship programs to help anybody looking for a hand up and not a hand at a hand out and is always what the in the show with the boom. So here we go free to one boom boom boom boom boom. What you got now is now