Unlock the Power of Boring Ep 140

In a candid discussion about business growth, the speaker emphasizes the importance of embracing consistency and the power of "doing the boring work." They argue that consistent, mundane tasks lead to compounding results, much like interest, citing the philosophy of Warren Buffett and Einstein's adage on compounding as the "8th wonder of the world." The speaker references Angela Duckworth's book "Grit," highlighting the two key traits for success: resilience in the face of failure and persistence through unexciting phases. They debunk the allure of "shiny new things" and stress that effort counts twice in achieving goals. Real-world application is illustrated through the growth of Gym Launch and the strategy of sales manager Cole, who improved productivity by focusing on fundamentals. The speaker concludes by celebrating their team's success, attributing it to adherence to basics and consistency rather than chasing excitement or innovation.

• The shift from "go the extra mile" to "do the boring work" as a core tenet at gym launch.
• The importance of doing the boring work consistently to unlock growth.
• Consistency is seen as an underrated aspect of success.
• Consistent efforts yield parabolic results due to the effect of compounding.
• Reference to Einstein's quote about compounding interest and comparison to Warren Buffett's success.
• Internal focus at gym launch on doing the same things every day, despite them being boring.
• The monotony of tasks such as working leads, making ads, and repetitive conversations with gym owners.
• Success is correlated with the ability to focus and repeat the same tasks.

"We recently changed out one of our core tenants at gym launch from go the extra mile to do the boring work."

This quote explains the strategic shift in philosophy at gym launch, emphasizing the importance of performing mundane tasks consistently over seeking extraordinary efforts.

"Consistency... yields parabolic results because of the effect of compounding."

The quote highlights the exponential benefits of consistency, drawing a parallel to the concept of compounding interest in finance.

• The lack of glamour in consistency, yet its high value and recognition in others.
• The comparison of consistent results to the compounding effect.
• The analogy between the consistent growth of investments and the consistent application of effort in business.

"There's nothing sexy about it, right? Yet we recognize it in other people. We value it in other people."

This quote underscores the paradox of consistency; it's unglamorous, yet highly valued when observed in the success of others.

"Doing things consistently doesn't yield consistent results. It actually yields parabolic results because of the effect of compounding."

The speaker elaborates on how consistent actions lead to disproportionately large rewards over time, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a steady effort.

• Angela Duckworth's book "Grit" as a significant resource on the psychology of success.
• The Grit index or scale as a measure of two characteristics: dealing with failure and perseverance amidst challenges.
• The two characteristics that create grit: response to failure and resistance to shiny object syndrome.
• High grit being positively associated with success and accomplishment.
• The concept that effort counts twice in the equation of achievement.

"There's a book called Grit by Angela Duckworth... she was able to unlock the psychology behind success."

The speaker introduces Angela Duckworth's book, which explores the psychological traits that underpin success.

"The two characteristics are, how do you deal with failure? A, and then b, how willing are you to stick things out when they suck and not get distracted or start a new project?"

This quote summarizes the two main attributes measured by the Grit scale, which are critical to achieving success according to Duckworth's research.

"The reason that she posits that it's such an important quotient is because effort counts twice."

The speaker reflects on Duckworth's assertion that effort is doubly important in the achievement formula, emphasizing the role of perseverance in developing skill and achieving success.

• Talent alone is not sufficient; effort is required to develop skills.
• Effort is also necessary to utilize skills effectively for achievement.
• The equation of accomplishment involves effort counting twice.

"It takes effort to become skilled in something, even if you have talent, right? And then again, once you have skill, you have to apply effort with that skill to accomplish something, right?"

This quote emphasizes that both the acquisition of skill and the application of skill require effort, reinforcing the idea that effort is a critical component of success.

• Frequent shifts in focus can be a sign of lack of commitment and are often counterproductive.
• Consistency in business ventures is crucial for success.
• The speaker expresses skepticism towards those who frequently start new ventures without seeing them through.

"You can tell the people who are constantly distracted, right, who every time you talk to them, they're like, yeah, we're doing this new thing."

The speaker identifies a pattern of behavior where individuals jump from one project to another, indicating a lack of focus which is detrimental to long-term success.

• Success in business often requires doing repetitive and unexciting work.
• Consistent effort leads to compounding results over time.
• The importance of sticking with a venture is highlighted as crucial for growth.

"But once you have abandoned that first ship to enter this new vehicle, all of what you do has to be about mastering the mundane and doing the shit that is boring as hell. Because it compounds, right?"

This quote conveys the message that persistence and the willingness to engage in mundane tasks are key factors in building a successful business, as their effects compound over time.

• Long-term commitment and daily effort are necessary for significant growth.
• It's the prolonged, consistent effort that becomes challenging, not the initial stages.
• Consistency is more important than intensity in achieving long-term goals.

"The thing is that when you want to massively grow, you just do that same thing every single day, and it's not day two, that's hard. It's day 17, it's day 67, it's day 127. Right. That's when it gets hard, is because you're bored, right?"

The speaker stresses the importance of consistent daily effort over time, even when it becomes monotonous, as a key to substantial growth and success.

• Repetition and volume in any activity lead to improvement and better results.
• Consistent effort results in significant improvements over long periods, even if changes are not immediately noticeable.

"The more volume of sales you do, the better you get at it. Right. The more you make. Advertisement. If you looked at our marketing department's advertisements that we were making nine months ago, compared to the advertisements that we're making right now, it's night and day difference."

This quote illustrates that consistent, voluminous effort in activities such as sales and marketing leads to substantial improvement over time.

• The concept of "going the extra mile" was replaced because it implies a burst of intensity rather than sustained effort.
• The speaker believes that consistent performance is more valuable than sporadic intense efforts.
• Stability and predictability in business operations are essential for a solid foundation and incremental improvements.

"But doing the boring work is whether you can do that consistently is doing it day in, day out, because consistency matters so much more than intensity any day of the week, right?"

The speaker explains the decision to focus on consistent effort in their core principles, valuing it above the occasional intense effort that "going the extra mile" suggests.

• A stable and predictable business allows for fewer variables and more controlled improvements.
• Constant change and chaos prevent effective improvement and growth.

"And if you can make your business predictable, then you have a stable business, and then you have a business that you can now have less variables that you have to worry about, and you can tweak one thing at a time to improve."

The quote underscores the benefits of having a stable and predictable business model, which facilitates focused improvements and reduces the unpredictability that hinders growth.

• Reverse engineering goals is a crucial strategy for achieving growth.
• Understanding current earnings is the first step in setting a financial goal.
• To achieve an additional $10,000, one must calculate the number of extra sales needed.
• Determining the average sales closure rate helps to estimate the required number of appointments.
• Knowing the percentage of appointments set from leads is necessary to calculate the number of leads needed daily.
• The cost per lead must be factored into the budget to reach the sales goal.
• Implementing the calculated strategies, like spending an extra $150 per day on ads, can lead to achieving the desired financial growth.

"What do you make now? I'm not even sure. They don't even know what they're making right now."

This quote emphasizes the lack of awareness some people have regarding their current financial status, which is a fundamental issue when setting goals.

"You want to make $10,000 more than that. Great. What do we need to do to make $10,000 more than that?"

This quote underscores the importance of setting a clear financial target and figuring out the specific actions required to achieve it.

"So we're spending $150 a day extra to get the two sales to hit my goal."

The quote highlights the practical financial planning involved in goal setting, illustrating the additional daily expenditure needed to reach the sales target.

• Massive growth is often the result of consistent, non-glamorous efforts rather than secrets or shortcuts.
• The process involves creating compelling advertisements and maintaining a routine of generating and following up on leads.
• Effective communication with potential clients is key, including asking clarifying questions and fulfilling promises made.
• Many business owners overlook simple tactics, mistakenly believing that complexity is necessary for success.
• Fundamentals like compelling headlines, good creative content, and matching client needs with services are essential.
• Consistent, sustainable progress is more beneficial than sporadic intense efforts.

"There is no fucking secret. You know what I mean? We make fresh ads every week."

This quote dispels the myth of hidden secrets to success, instead highlighting the consistent effort of creating new ads as a driver of growth.

"Most things that are advanced, right? Most of the things that give people these crazy results are simple, not easy."

The quote suggests that the most effective strategies are often straightforward but require discipline and effort, rather than complexity.

"What drives it is making compelling heads, getting applications in, working the lease to get them to show up for appointments."

This quote identifies the fundamental activities that drive business growth, emphasizing the importance of engaging marketing and effective lead management.

• Simple tactics are often underestimated by business owners who seek complex solutions.
• Consistency in business practices leads to predictability, systematization, and increased margins.
• Sustainable progress through simple actions yields greater compounding results than inconsistent bursts of effort.
• The success of simple tactics is demonstrated through consistent sales achievements and business growth.

"They don't even do the fundamentals. They don't even do the simple things that make you successful."

This quote points out the common mistake of neglecting basic, proven strategies in pursuit of unnecessarily complicated ones.

"But sustainable progress is actually pretty simple to do, right? And it compounds far more than these intense bouts of effort."

The quote emphasizes the superiority of steady, sustainable progress over irregular, intense efforts, highlighting the compound benefits of the former.

"It gives your business consistency, it gives your business predictability, it allows you to systematize things, it allows you to increase your margin because you have consistent flows in, consistent flows out."

This quote explains the advantages of simple, consistent tactics, which include the ability to systematize business operations and improve financial stability and growth.

• Cole, the sales manager, focused on fundamental practices to increase team productivity.
• Emphasized one-on-one coaching, role-playing, and feedback without changing existing processes or compensation structures.
• Resulted in a 2.5x increase in productivity per team member.

"Cole, for example, who's our sales manager, crushes it. He's doing an amazing job. He said, I don't want to do anything new. I just want to hop on one on ones with every single one of the sales guys. And I want to coach and role play and listen to their recordings and give them feedback."

This quote highlights Cole's approach to improving sales team performance by focusing on individual coaching and feedback rather than implementing new processes or changing compensation.

• Consistency in business practices, such as advertising, leads to better results.
• Incremental improvements and consistent efforts over time are key to significant growth.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of doing "boring work" regularly for long-term success.

"Doing these big bouts, then it doesn't create consistency because then you have, like, okay, well, we do this one thing four times a year. Like, all right, why don't you just do it every week of the year and decrease the flow so that you can give everyone a better experience."

This quote stresses the importance of consistent actions over sporadic efforts to ensure steady growth and a better experience for both staff and customers.

• There is a common misconception that there is a "magic sauce" or secret to rapid business growth.
• Success is often attributed to mundane, consistent work rather than exciting, one-off strategies.
• The speaker dispels the myth of a secret formula and reinforces the value of consistent hard work.

"And they're like, no, but what do you really do? And then you get to laugh on the other side of the table because you remember what you were like when you used to ask the same questions, wondering, what's the magic sauce? What's the secret? Because there is no secret."

The quote illustrates the common disbelief that simple, consistent work is the key to success, as opposed to some secret strategy.

• The speaker celebrates their team's achievements, attributing success to doing the "boring work."
• Highlights the best month in sales and the lowest churn rate as results of sticking to fundamentals.
• Encourages persistence and daily improvement, aiming for long-term achievements.

"We had our best month ever last month. Highest number of sales, lowest amount of churn all time, which is phenomenal. So just like, great job. And it did it from doing nothing sexy, but doing all of the boring work and just following the fundamentals."

This quote celebrates the team's success, which was achieved by consistent effort and adherence to basic business practices, rather than through innovative or "sexy" tactics.

• The speaker motivates listeners to avoid distractions and maintain focus on their goals.
• Encourages the development of "grit" and resilience to push forward incrementally.
• Suggests sharing the message with one's team to inspire consistent effort and improvement.

"I hope that nothing shiny distracts you and no failure gets in your way so that you have the grittiest. You become the grittiest motherfucker. Around, and you can just keep moving forward 1% a day, every day, until all of a sudden, you look back and you're like, holy shit. Look at what we just did."

The quote is a motivational call to action, urging listeners to remain undistracted and resilient, focusing on making small daily improvements that accumulate to significant achievements over time.