How To Use Uncertainty & Disruption To Propel Business Growth with Meridith Elliott Powell

0:02Who's Reg Rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, the only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down how to use uncertainty and disruption to propel business growth. To drop these vibe bombs, I am brought to Meredith Elliott Powell in the EO Fire studios. Brace yourself for a powerhouse in business strategy, leadership, and sales. She's a Hall of Fame speaker, award-winning author, and she isn't just redefining the game, she's rewriting the rules. So we will talk about uncertainty, why it's such a challenge in business today.

0:34We'll talk about turning it into a competitive advantage in a nine-step formula and to owe so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Meredith and our sponsors. Is this your year to grow a successful business? Attend the world's highest-rated business growth workshop taught personally by Clay Clark and now featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOfire. Again, request life-changing tickets today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOfire. Over 41 ,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform.

1:19Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com slash fire. Meredith, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with? I would say that the thing I believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with is that success isn't logical. It isn't about the most money you have, the most resources, the best education. I believe success comes down to one thing, and that is what you focus on. And if you believe you will be successful, your mind will find a way to get there. If you don't, it doesn't matter how much money, how much education you have, it will not happen.

2:02How to use uncertainty and disruption to propel business growth. That's our focus today, Fire Nation. That's why Meredith is here to talk to us about that. And uncertainty has always been in our world as entrepreneurs. I mean, let's be honest. But Meredith, why is uncertainty such a challenge in business today? Yeah, you know, it is. Well, I think a couple of reasons. Number one is because there's more uncertainty, I believe in our lifetime now than really there's ever been, but it is, it goes against the grain of what we most want as entrepreneurs. I mean, what we want is predictability and what we want is control.

2:39And uncertainty is what shows up that gives us no predictability and takes away every ounce of control we have. It's about how successful we are going to become. Now you've done extensive research on uncertainty and the impact of course, that it has on the business today. What did that extensive research reveal? Yeah, you know, I have, I have been researching uncertainty, gosh, since about 2016. And, you know, I really take it back to where we started this interview. And that is that success really isn't logical. When I started studying individuals and I started studying companies, if you'd have made me choose which ones would be successful, I would have been wrong.

3:22that how much you can cast a vision and how much you focus on that vision and how much you can focus on what you can control and let go of what you can't, those are the biggest predictors of success in the face of uncertainty. Now, you were surprised by a few things with your research, I'm sure, but what's something that we haven't talked about yet that you were really surprised when you were conducting this research? The people who thrive in uncertainty get in shape for change. They don't sit there and wait for change to happen. They actually start to predict the changes that are coming in the marketplace.

4:04They will think more about what shifts could be happening in the next year and what they could be doing to get ready now. They spend more time building a team that's flexible and agile, and they don't whine and complain when obstacles throw up, show up. They think about how could I use those obstacles to actually propel my organization forward? So I call the strategy conditioning yourself for change. But it's just like you would go to the gym and get in shape or something like that. Like they literally get in shape for change. Now you believe it's possible to turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage.

4:48How the heck do we do this? And give us an example or two. Yeah, I think it is your greatest competitive advantage. And the reason I believe uncertainty is your greatest competitive advantage is because Because for most of your competitors, if not all of your competitors, uncertainty is the biggest thing they fear. You know, think about rising gas prices, inflation, geopolitical tensions, increasing regulation, and the list goes on. Technology. People fear that. And when fear enters your brain, when you are afraid of uncertainty, it actually shuts down innovation and creativity. It shuts down engagement.

5:27Shutting down both of those will lead to negative results. But here's the cool thing. If you decide that uncertainty is a positive, if you believe in your bones that disruption leads to opportunity, it will actually ignite innovation and creativity. You will come up with more ideas to get past the obstacles in front of you. It will increase engagement. And that is the direct line to driving bottom line results. It is the ultimate competitive advantage because most people fear it. If you don't, you've got the edge. You have a proven nine step formula. Go over the first three right now and then we'll dive in deeper, maybe to one or two of them.

6:10But what are the first three steps of your nine step formula? Yeah. So number one, and the nine steps really work in order. So I love that you've asked me for the first three because they build on one another. Number one is that you need a relentless vision. I've said before that what you focus on is what you are going to get. Please note that is not a vision that you did in a strategy class. You stuck on your break room wall and you never look at it again. It is a vision you are so focused on that your mind finds a way to achieve it. I mean, John, I'll tell you that in my business, I read my vision in the morning.

6:46I read it again at noon. I read it again before I shut my office down at night because I am wiring my brain to find opportunity. So that's strategy number one, relentless vision. Strategy number two, condition yourself for change. When we first started doing the research, we looked to the U.S. military and the U.S. military has a great mantra, embrace the suck. And what we mean by embrace the suck, it is not the optimist. It is not the pessimist. It's the person who can use what sucks to their advantage. And so you've got to understand that building a business, the marketplace will change. Sometimes it will change in your favor.

7:23Sometimes it won't. But the longer you can see change coming, the more time you have to prepare, the more in shape you are for it. And number three, competition becomes collaboration. One of my favorites. It is a waste of time. to compete with people. You've got to think of ways you can work together because in the face of uncertainty, saving time, energy, and resources is everything. And if somebody else has already figured it out, collaborate with them and propel yourself forward. Need a relentless vision, Fire Nation. That's a powerful one. Number two, condition yourself to change, embrace the suck.

8:00And I can tell you, having been an army officer for eight years, let me tell you, you need to learn how to embrace the sock. Otherwise you just not got to make it. And then competition becomes collaboration. Meredith, give us one example of this that you think is really relevant to this conversation. Yeah. You know, it's, it's probably my favorite example in the research I've done, but I think as entrepreneurs, sometimes we think that we face challenges that are, that are far too big. And one of the companies that I researched, um, that has been around for over 250 years was Jim Beam, Jim Beam Whiskey.

8:33And I know he's like a god to many of your listeners. But, you know, we think we face obstacles, but Jim Beam had to grow a company in the face of prohibition. And for anybody who doesn't know what prohibition at one time in the United States of America, we came up with this crazy idea that the making of the selling of and God help us the consuming of alcohol would become illegal. And the interesting thing about Jim Beam is that in the face of prohibition, he and none of his competitors believed that prohibition would happen. But instead, even though he didn't believe it, he got ready anyway, and he diversified his income streams.

9:10And so when the unthinkable happened, he not only grew and survived, but every single competitor he had declared bankruptcy. And the only difference between Jim Beam and any of his competitors was he conditioned himself for change. He got ready for what he thought would suck, and he got ready for it anyway. So when it showed up, he was ready, he was prepared and he could thrive right through it. Fire Nation, powerful lessons learned here from these first three steps. The other six are coming in more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Is this your year to grow a successful business? Are you looking to learn the proven processes and success systems that have been used to create thousands of millionaire success stories?

9:52See thousands of success stories and testimonials from real people just like you who Clay Clark has mentored and coached into prosperity at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOfire. Clay's proven business coaching program is month to month and it costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Yes, it's month to month and it costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Schedule your free personal 13-point assessment with Clay Clark himself today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOfire because Clay only takes on 160 clients and only allows 300 attendees to each business conference, you will interact with Clay directly.

10:28See thousands of real success stories and learn about attending the Thrive Time Show two-day in-person workshop featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump, today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOFire. Become the next success story. Schedule a free consultation and request tickets to join football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump, at Clay Clark's next business conference today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO fire. No one really knows what the future holds for your business, not even you. Predictions are just that, predictions. Rates will rise or fall, inflation's up or down.

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11:42Speaking of opportunity, download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning at netsuite.com slash fire. The guide is free to you at netsuite.com slash fire, netsuite.com slash fire. EO Fire turns 13 years old this year, and I'm still loving every minute interviewing amazing guests, having complete location independence. What's not to love? If you're doing what you love, there's nothing better than being surrounded by people who love it as much as you. And if you own your own business, you want to hire employees who love what they do to boost the overall success of your business. Plus, it makes a pretty great place to work.

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12:52Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com slash fire. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire. Meredith, we're back. And you gave us the first three steps of your proven formula when it comes to uncertainty and change. Give us four, five, six. All right. So four, five, six. You know, the most difficult thing that you've got to do in the face of uncertainty is make a decision. I mean, how do you make a decision when you have no idea what is coming at you? And every single company I researched, every single leader made decisions exactly the same way. And that was strategy number four. They made decisions according to their core values.

13:26If it aligns with your core values, it is the right decision for you. If it does not, let it go. Sounds simple, which it is, but it is not easy. You've got to have courage to do that. So strategy number four is to know your core. Strategy number five is how you make money in the face of uncertainty. I don't care if your whole market blows up. An uncertain marketplace is the best market to grow in. Your customers need you more. But the way you grow in the face of uncertainty is by securing your base. That is strategy number five. Listen, listen, listen to your customers. Because people spend money not on a product or service.

14:04They spend money with someone who can solve their problem. And the only way to solve their problem is to talk to them. Number six, one of my favorites, build your network. You will literally change your life. The power of thriving in uncertainty comes down to the connections and the relationships that you build. Invest in your network and your network will invest in you. Fire Nation, number four, know your core. Number five, make money in the face of uncertainty. Listen to your customers. And six, build your network. And since it's your favorite, Meredith, give us an example of number six of how that's worked with you, with one of your clients, one of your favorite examples here.

14:45Everything to me, good in life has happened to me because I have really built my network. But my favorite story around it was somebody who missed the opportunity to build a network. I am a big golfer. If I had been born with the trust fund I was supposed to be born with, I would be on a golf course. And one day I was playing in a golf tournament with a couple of my girlfriends and we needed a fourth. It was a charity event. young man walked up to the golf tournament needed a team to play with he ended up playing on our team and he was an unbelievable golfer he jumps in my cart I ask him a few questions and I find out he's 27 years old second job out of college and he has been sent to western North Carolina where I live to open up the territory his company's never sold anything there and I think this kid has hit the mother load he is the luckiest kid alive I am about to make him a legend in his company because there isn't a door I can't open for him.

15:37Between my girlfriends and I, there's nobody on his prospect list that we can't have him in front of first thing Monday morning. But as we go hole to hole, he never asks a question about me. By the ninth hole, I'm down to his birth order. I got nothing else to ask him. I throw him in the cart with my girlfriend and I said, you try. Same thing. We ended up winning the golf tournament. Kimberly Clark sponsored it. I won a year's supply of paper towel and toilet paper. I didn't know before COVID what an advantage that would be. I think it was probably like having cigarettes in prison, I would guess.

16:11But my point was he left the tournament never having made the connection. He was one connection away from somebody who literally could have had him be top five in his company five years in a row. Networking is awkward. It is uncomfortable. But it is through the connection of strangers that you will find every opportunity to not only thrive in uncertainty, but be successful. Man, I need to hunt this guy down. I just don't think he's a success at anything he does in life. Maybe except golf, obviously. But let's go through 7, 8, 9. Let's finish strong. Yeah. So, um, so strategy number seven is to strengthen your team.

16:46Whether you work on a team, you're just connected to people or people work for you is that the quality of the people that you surround yourself with is going to determine your success. But the only way that you can tap into that quality is to stop telling people what to do and start asking them for input and advice. People will help you more. If they feel like you are valuing them, you are listening to them and you are asking for their inputs and their advice. So think about the quality of the people that you surround yourself with, but engage them, ask for help, include them in the process, turn on their intrinsic motivation.

17:24Strategy number eight is to shed fast and keep moving. You've got to realize in the face of uncertainty through no fault of your own, no fault of your own. Some of the strategies that you used will no longer work. And the reason is because the marketplace is changing so wickedly fast. And because it is changing so wickedly fast, you have to understand what makes you productive and where you're wasting your time and energy in just being busy. And so Shed Fast and Keep Moving is about asking yourself every couple of months, what did I do that grew my business? What did I do that worked? What did I do that I need to do more of?

18:07What do I need to double down on? Where am I wasting my time and energy? What do I need to stop doing? What isn't effective anymore? And what do I need to be doing that I'm not doing that could really take my business to the next level? I think one of the biggest mistakes people make in the face of uncertainty is they work harder instead of working smarter. And the only way to understand how to work smarter is to review your own work and take the time out to really say what worked, what didn't work, and what do I need to do more of. And the last, of course, is rinse and repeat. You know, this is so much more than a formula.

18:43It's a lifestyle. It's something that you do over and over again. It's a way that you work. You focus daily on that vision. You embrace the suck and get ready for the changes. You make, you collaborate, you look for people to work with, you make every decision according to your core, You grow from the inside out. You listen, listen, listen to your customers and understand the customer complaints are the path to profitability. You build your network every chance that you get. You strengthen that team and you focus on productivity and let go of busy. You do that over and over again. You'll not only find success, but you'll really turn uncertainty to competitive advantage.

19:24Strengthen your team, shed fast and keep moving and rinse and repeat. Let's go with ShedFast and Keep Moving because this is an interesting one to me. What's an example of you or one of your clients or just somebody doing this at some point that you think would be a meaningful example? So really, there's two I want to tell you quickly. I actually learned this strategy because I researched companies that have been around for over 250 years. And if we all go back to our high school history class and think about the last 250 years, these are companies that have come through world wars. They've come through economic depression.

19:57They built businesses when they didn't even know if their way of life would still be there. And there's so much to learn from them. And one of the companies was Martin Guitars, legendary guitars. Anybody who loves music knows Martin Guitars. And Martin Guitars was started by Christian Frederick Martin back in the 1800s when he opened his first guitar store in New York. And he was an immediate success. The quality of his guitars just was impeccable. and everybody wanted them. But when he moved the company to Pennsylvania, he died and the company passed to his 21 year old son, Frank. And when Frank took the business over, he asked himself three very important questions.

20:41What did my father do? Well, what do I need to never change about this company? And the answer was the quality of the guitars. The second question was, what did my father not do? Well, what do I need to stop doing? Well, like I said, it wasn't his father's fault. But when his father was alive, the population of the United States of America was in the Northeast. But since his father had passed, the population was moving west and trains had the rail system had come to the US. And if Frank had only focused on the Northeast, he wouldn't gain market share. So the last question was, what do I need to be doing that my father didn't do?

21:19And that was move the business west, open new stores and expand the market. Add to that, immigration had come to the United States of America. And people weren't just buying guitars. They were buying different types of instruments that came from their culture. So he expanded to include ukuleles, to include the mandolin. So I love this example because it really shows why Martin Guitars is still in business today. They don't lose what is the heart of them, the best of them. But they pay attention to the marketplace and ask themselves what needs to move. Now, for me, I do this in the business all the time.

21:57I speak about uncertainty. And if you look at the years of COVID, how I spoke about uncertainty, what I wrote about uncertainty and what I offered my very clients is very different than what I do now in the face of uncertainty. Why? Because my customers' problems are different. Uncertainty looks so different than it did four years ago. And I think so often we all wear a badge of being busy when busy is not the route to success. It's about being productive. And you do that by being in face of constant change and shift and be willing to let go of what isn't working, try new things that are. Those are wise words.

22:35And Meredith, I just want you to wrap up everything you shared today, which were so many value bombs with the one key takeaway that you really want to make sure our listeners get and understand from our conversation today. The one key takeaway, the mission I am on in life is to help people believe that uncertainty always leads to opportunity. That when the darkest hour shows up in front of you, it is the door to growth and profitability. If you can shift your mindset to believe that uncertainty leads to opportunity, you are going to gain serious competitive advantage. Meredith, if Fire Nation is listening and they're connecting with this, which I know a lot of them are for sure, what is your call to action for our listeners today?

23:19Yeah, well, call to action is I want you to join me as a Thrive Insider. I want you to go to my website, which is nothing more than valuespeaker.com. There you can find my Thrive system. There you can find my steps and my strategy. And there you can join my community, become a Thrive Insider and join the mission to help people learn to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage. Fire Nation, you're the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with MEP and JLD today, so keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Type Meredith in the search bar.

23:56The show notes page will pop right up. And Meredith, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Meredith for sponsoring today's episode and Fire Nation's successful entrepreneurs accomplish big goals. That is why I created the Freedom Journal to guide you in accomplishing your number one goal in 100 days. And we're talking step-by-step. Visit thefreedomjournal.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Is this your year to grow a successful business?

24:29Attend the world's highest rated business growth workshop taught personally by Clay Clark and now featuring football star Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOfire. Again, request life-changing tickets today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOFire. Over 41 ,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com slash fire.

25:11Thank you.