From Firefighting To Forward Thinking

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Before we dive in today's episode, I want to take a moment to share something that's been on my heart, something I've been working on behind the scenes for a while now. I'm officially writing a book. This book is called let's Be A Practical Guide to Leading Through Change. And it's deeply personal to me. It's built from real experiences. The uncertainty, the challenges, the moments where I didn't have the answers but had to lead. This isn't just a leadership book filled with theory. It's about navigating uncertainty when there's no clear direction, building internal clarity when everything around us feels unclear, having courageous conversations, even when they're uncomfortable, and leading with value, especially when it's the hardest to do so. I'm also going into topics that don't get talked about enough, like what it feels like to be challenged, overlooked, and even bullied as an adult in a workplace. And how those moments shape the kind of leader you become. This book is for anyone who's ever thought, how do I lead when I don't feel ready? How do I show up when I don't have all the answers? And how do I stay true to myself in environments that challenge me? If this is you, this book is for you. I'll be sharing more about the journey behind the scenes moments, and opportunities for you to be part of it as we go. So stay tuned, because this is more than just a book. It's a movement around how we lead through change together. All right, let's get to today's episode. [00:01:25] Speaker B: Opinions expressed in this episode are personal. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this streaming platform. [00:01:35] Speaker A: Good day, wonderful people, and welcome to another edition of let's Be Diverse. I am your host, Andrew Stout. This episode is dedicated to all my loved ones who've supported me through this journey. Those who have left us will always be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. Today, our topic is from firefighting to forward thinking. Our guest today is such an awesome human. Her name is Laura. Do you, Laura, thank you so much for coming on today. How are you? [00:02:02] Speaker B: Thank you. I like that introduction. An awesome human being. I'm excited. Even more now. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Well, that's the truth. That's what I think of you, for sure. What's. What's energizing you these days? Give me the tea, give me the deets, Give me it all. What's going on? [00:02:13] Speaker B: What's energizing me? Lots of things are energizing me. Honestly, I'm going through a pretty significant remodel. At the house, which is getting me excited and eager to work in my office and know like, that I actually can focus. Like, it's crazy that the chaos of a remodel is getting me excited about work, but it's true. It actually is. [00:02:33] Speaker A: Well, when you're comfortable in your. Your space. I was talking about this on an episode a couple weeks ago. I was mentioning talking about moving desks and how your leader will come to see you and say, hey, I'm going to be moving you from this desk to another desk in this area. There's always a reason for it. But we get so used to working, walking in the building and going to that desk, and then we got to go somewhere else in the building. It totally throws us for a loop. [00:03:00] Speaker B: And I was actually talking to someone the other day about your workspace, and a lot of people have been worked from home for what, six years now, and they've been looking at the same four walls every day. And like, changing something in that is often energizing, whether it's painting the walls or moving the desk to a different location. Just something to like, break up the monotony and. And I think that's what's happening for me personally. [00:03:22] Speaker A: It could be you're used to your stuff, you want to have your stuff and where everything is, and that's normal. That's totally understandable. Well, listen, glad to hear that everything's going well. I hope that the renovations happen soon so you get your spot back. Our thoughts are with you during that process, so we will think about you for sure. [00:03:39] Speaker B: I appreciate it. [00:03:41] Speaker A: So before we begin, I always have a fun, thought provoking question to get things going. Okay, are you ready for yours today? [00:03:48] Speaker B: Give it to me, Andrew. I can take it. [00:03:53] Speaker A: Your question is, if you were an artist, what would you paint on your first day? [00:03:57] Speaker B: On my first day, yeah. [00:03:59] Speaker A: Or what would be your first painting? [00:04:01] Speaker B: I. I probably would see myself as like a landscape artist. Probably go paint mountains. Mountains speak to me. And so if I was an artist and had the capacity and capabilities to paint, it would probably be more mountainscapes would be where I'd go, oh, I like that answer. [00:04:18] Speaker A: That is great. That is great. And you're right. Land, Mountains are so nice to look at. So, yes, I agree. That's awesome. I wasn't expecting that answer, but that's a really good answer. [00:04:28] Speaker B: There you go. See, I'm keeping on your toes. [00:04:30] Speaker A: And you were quick. That was pretty good. That's awesome. Laura, thanks for having so much fun with me to get us started. Here, who are you and what do you do? Who are you, what do you do and what really drives you to do the work that you do? [00:04:43] Speaker B: I am, I'm Laura Dolly. I am the owner of Elevation Business Consulting. I'm also the COO of Equinox Business Law. So all of my work and all of my capacities is really focused on the operations of businesses and that back office piece. And so my work is really focused on helping the business owners relieve what they feel is the burden of the back office. And what drives me is small business is the backbone of the economy. Everybody hears about the big companies, but there are so many small businesses that are keeping everything moving forward. And I love to see small businesses succeed. The challenge is, is that a lot of the owners struggle with that back office piece. And so what drives me is really helping them achieve their success. Achieve growth by having strong, streamlined, fixed, efficient behind the scenes because it just kind of creates that foundation for more success. And that, that just gets me energized because I know it's going to help everybody's community, whatever part of the world you're in. [00:05:43] Speaker A: When you talk about small business being the backbone of our universe, our world or our communities, it's so important. And when you think about it, organizations, their people are the backbone of those companies. But sometimes it's not looked at. Right. So I love that analogy that you use there. [00:06:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean this is right. The thing like the small businesses are in all of our towns, communities, cities, whatever, and they are employing. Maybe they only have two employees, maybe they have 75 employees. But those people are part of the community. Right. It's not one of those. I just go to work Macaug and a wheel like when you work for a small business, you are connected to that business and ultimately the community in some way, shape or form. There's just a stronger connection there. When those all succeed, like the benefits are. Are visible around beyond just that business. [00:06:33] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah. We all want, we exactly when we want them to succeed, want everything to succe, want everybody to succeed, then the business is going to be long around long term. So that's what we want. And people are going to have a place to go to work every day. And which is the most important thing for sure. [00:06:51] Speaker B: Exactly. [00:06:52] Speaker A: So, Laura, the title of this episode is From Fighting from Firefighting to Forward Thinking. [00:06:57] Speaker B: I love it. [00:06:58] Speaker A: Why do you believe so many business owners find themselves stuck in constant reaction mode instead of leading proactively? [00:07:06] Speaker B: Well, I think it's. It goes back to when most people start their business and there are obviously exceptions, but many business owners start their business, it's just them. They're doing everything from delivering the services to everything that has to happen to run a business. And they have to get it all done, no matter how much time it takes or how much business are bringing in. And ultimately then they may get to the point where they're hiring additional folks to deliver services, but they're still the ones behind the scenes doing the work. As they continue to grow, they get stuck in that firefighting mode, because even though they may bring in a bookkeeper, they may have a website person, they're still stuck driving all of that work, being the decision maker, managing service providers, finding all the clients. And so then they are making every decision for the business. They are so stuck in that cycle that if they don't take a step back and figure out where they don't need to be the decision maker and find people who they trust, they just keep being in that reactionary mode. And it isn't until they one day proactively take a step back that they can ever break the cycle. And it doesn't happen overnight. It's not one of those, like, today, I will stop being the firefighter. It's a process to kind of pull yourself out, but you have to decide. And then I love your title from firefighting to forward thinking, because it's like you have to stop and say, where do I want this to go? What, what does the future look like? And then you have to figure out how to get there. But until you actually stop and say, I don't like the current state, I want something different, you're always going to be just reacting to whatever comes your way. [00:08:40] Speaker A: And I'm sure we're going to get into this, to this as the conversation goes on. But yes, the reaction is, I got to do this. Like you said, I got to do this, I got to do that. I got to get this done. I got to get this done. But there is no. I think we find ourselves, we're in a situation where there's no creativity and there's no innovation because we don't have time for that because we have so much other things that we need to do. [00:09:06] Speaker B: Yep. [00:09:06] Speaker A: And that we forget about what the important things that we need to be doing, which is maybe getting out to some seminars or going out on business meetings or traveling or whatever it is. We just don't have time for it, which. And in a lot of cases, it's needed. [00:09:27] Speaker B: Well, and I'll push back a little, too, on like, don't have time for the important things. I think a lot of the stuff that business owners are doing is important. It's just not necessarily what is the best and highest use of their skillset. When there are other people who are either more jazzed by the tasks, like they love to do bookkeeping, or. Or it's just kind of at the right level for somebody's skills. And. And you're totally. You're totally right, though. It's. It's getting out. They spend so much time in the weeds of the business. It's giving out. And in a seminar or conference is a great example because it's a forced break, whether it's two days in Vegas at a conference or two hours on a seminar where they aren't reacting to something. And that forced opportunity to stop. And stopping is hard for a business owner. Right there. Go, go. I mean, you're a business owner. You know, this is go, go, go. What more can we do? And so that. That forced stop is. It's not always the easiest thing, but. But yeah, it is. [00:10:30] Speaker A: It's not the easiest thing to slow down and think, but, yes, we have to. I find myself sometimes kind of saying back, okay, what do we, you know, what do I need to do? Or what. What. What can I be doing differently? And even this podcast, I was trying to do innovative and different things and. And looking at it at a different lens. So it's not always the same. You know, people use the term or word vanilla, but, yeah, it's always. I don't want it to be vanilla. I want it to be different flavors. Right? [00:10:58] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah. Every week. Right. [00:11:01] Speaker A: You know, so. So, Laura, what are some of the warning signs that a business owner has become trapped or in operational chaos or survival? [00:11:12] Speaker B: There are many. I think one of the most common ones and one of the most common ones I hear is I want to take a vacation. If you can't take a vacation. And by vacation, I mean a true vacation. [00:11:21] Speaker A: When we're. [00:11:22] Speaker B: You're not checking in all the time, you're not stopping to make sure payrolls run right like you. You're literally checked out. I think that is one of the most common ones because so many business owners are like, oh, my goodness, if I step away for five days, what's going to happen? And the truth is not much, but it is that that's when they're in that survival mode. That. That operational chaos is a great, great phrase for it, I would say. Also, if they're putting in excessive hours and there are some Entrepreneurs who believe that excessive hours is a badge of honor. And my philosophy is that excessive hours means you're not actually enjoying your life or your business. So if a business owner has found themselves stuck in there putting in 70, 60, 70, 80 hours a week too much, then that's when they're in survival mode because they don't have any space. More systematic, more. Another sign is more operationally if deadlines are missed or projects never, like internal projects never get finished, it's because everything's funneling through that owner and there's actually not, you know, or operational structures. It's all chaos. And I hear that a lot. They're like, we start all these initiatives, but nothing ever gets finished. Like, we were going to install this new software system that was going to help us do blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but we couldn't, we didn't. And it's usually because the owner's too much of a bottleneck in it. And then I think the other one, and you see a lot about this out in media, is that only the owner can do the sales and only the owner can deliver the services. Like, those are two huge bottlenecks. It also probably means the owner feels like they're the only one who can do all the other stuff and that. That tends to be an indication that they need to stop and assess. [00:13:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:02] Speaker B: And not be so reactive to everything. [00:13:05] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't think we want it. Like, we don't want to be a micro manager, we don't want to be a micro managing leader, and we don't. Certainly don't want to be a micromanaging owner. That's. Those are three. Those are three things that we just don't want to be because. Yeah, then we're never going to get away. And I agree with you, everything is important, but we're never going to get away from those tasks that someone else could be doing to take. [00:13:31] Speaker B: Exactly. Right. Yes. Yes. It doesn't always have to be the owner. Right. Like, there's only a few things on the list that only the owner can do, and that's, that's where you have to really assess and, and sales is. Is not one of those other people can sell. Now there's the beginning. Probably only the owner because they truly know what they're offering. As your business grows, other people can sell. It's better if other people are selling it, not just the owner. Makes it easier to sell your business in the long term. [00:14:00] Speaker A: Oh, for sure it does. For sure it does. Laura, you work closely with professional service business Owners on action plans, accountability and thought partnerships. How do those elements help leaders move from simply putting out fires to actually creating sustainable growth? [00:14:18] Speaker B: Excellent question. I think thought partnering is kind of where it starts. Having a thought partner gives an owner a safe space to think about what is possible, what the future could hold. Many business owners will ultimately bring in a coach, or some will join masterminds or even just have a peer, but they create that relationship so that they're no longer alone. Being in the business owner is lonely. And so having that thought partner is someone to brainstorm with that you can truly open up and be vulnerable and look at the cracks in the business and how the business is working, working. That is the first step because, I mean, there are people who can figure it all out without that thought partner. But if you're truly in a spiral of chaos, having somebody who, for 30 minutes or an hour, a month or a week or every other week, whatever, that you sit and you just work through what's in your head, get it all out kind of thing, that's the first step because you have to like, again, create the space. And that thought partner is often the one that helps you really brainstorm what is possible. The next on that then is an action plan. We dream the dream, but you can't, you can't do it all in a day. You have to figure out like, what are the right milestones, what's the right step? So you build out an action plan that is a plan that tells you like, where are we going? And set those milestones. And then obviously you have to be realistic that you're not going to do it all in the first quarter. That'd be nice. It doesn't work that way. And then I think accountability, obviously we know what accountability is. It's making sure it happens. And there are business owners that once they have that plan, they will run with that plan and they will hold themselves to it. They will recognize when something's unrealistic and they will shift it. But many struggle because what we were saying, they get pulled into everything else in the business and so they just go to where they know and feel is the most important place for their time at the moment. Whereas having an accountability structure in place, again, a coach, mastermind, you are forced to hold to that schedule or justify why you couldn't hold to the schedule. And that is what then allows you to actually ultimately make the move towards that more forward thinking, that more working on the business versus in the business approach to running your business. But until you've gone it out and really mapped out what needs to happen. There's nothing to hold you accountable for. [00:16:32] Speaker A: No. And I think it's always good to have somebody there to brainstorm with and to think of different ideas, because we can't do everything, so we're not going to think of everything. Right. So there's going to be some things you're like, oh, gee, I never thought of that. What a great idea. [00:16:48] Speaker B: Yep. [00:16:48] Speaker A: But it's always they say two heads are better than one, so I'm a firm believer in that. Right. [00:16:53] Speaker B: I agree. I mean, I think it's sometimes just getting out of your own way. Right. Like, often you're the. You're the reason, like, and you maybe you know it, maybe you don't, but you're the reason that things aren't changing. And having somebody be able to reflect that back makes it a little bit more obvious. Two heads are definitely better than one when it comes to really thinking what is possible. But finding that trusted person, I think, is the challenge that many business owners face because they are lonely at the top. They don't have a peer in the business to have those conversations. And so finding that person. Some people say it's their spouse or partner always an option. I know mine's like, stop talking to me about your business. So I have to find my own thought partners on the business. [00:17:32] Speaker A: You can always talk to me, Laura. You can talk to me. You can talk to me. [00:17:35] Speaker B: I'll remember that. I'll remember that next time. But it is, it's, it's, it's getting out of your own way and having someone help you do that. [00:17:42] Speaker A: Yeah. And I mean, I mean, we're talking about accountability, a message for leaders out there. If you're doing something and you want to make everyone in your business accountable, well, then you have to remember those things accountable. Because if you are not being accountable for those things, people. I think leaders forget, and I've been preaching this to leaders quite often here. People today that are working in organizations are really, really intelligent. They know what's going on. And if they see that something is not going the way that it's supposed to be because the leader is not doing or holding. They're holding everybody else accountable, but they're not holding themselves accountable for those same things, that's something that's huge because that could really cause a. A rift on your team because they're following that. Right. So we, if you're, if you're making them accountable, you have to make sure that you're accountable for that. Same thing. [00:18:45] Speaker B: I think that's a big piece too. A business owner starts to make these changes, whether small or large, in order to free themselves up to be more forward thinking, they're bringing the team along. You have to bring the team along. They have to know what's happening. But not, not suddenly. Someone just like spontaneously combusting. It's okay, I want to delegate this to you and I'm going to delegate this to you and you're going to, as the owner, make sure they do what they need to do. But then part of that is to your point also you as the owner committing to now I'm going to step away, leave you, trust you that you're doing that and focus on something that only I can do. Strategic plan or the certain relationships. And good business owners have a strong enough relationship with their team that they could say, hey, hold me to account when I'm micromanaging or I'm trying to pick it up from you because I'm showing lack of trust or I just don't understand. Right. Those are really strong relationships and those are where you're gonna see the best businesses succeed. Because it's, it's a two way conversation instead of a top down directive. [00:19:42] Speaker A: Right, right. It's where people are. You're having a conversation, I'm listening to you, you're listening to me. And there's things that's good, that things are gonna happen. Yeah. But when it's one directional conversation where I'm talking at you and it's totally, it's two different things for sure. [00:19:57] Speaker B: And it just pisses people off. Yeah, right. To your point, people are smart. They don't, they don't want to be treated like their children. [00:20:02] Speaker A: No, no, I know. I don't. [00:20:04] Speaker B: I don't. [00:20:07] Speaker A: So, Laura, for le. For leaders listening who feel overwhelmed and stretched thin every day, what are some practical ways they can begin shifting from reactive leadership to forward thinking leadership? [00:20:20] Speaker B: So I think the first step, and it's going to sound kind of silly, is to track your time, go through the exercise of tracking where you're actually spending your time and then evaluate which of those things only you as the owner can do and which of those things could be delegated. You may not have the person to delegate it to today, but if you've identified, I could delegate payroll or I could delegate my bookkeeping or my website work or whatever it is that you're like, I. Someone else could do it. The first step is really understanding where are you spending your time. And sometimes there's aha's, that come out of that where you're like, why the hell am I doing that? And so you can, then you can, you know, kind of rejigger how you're spending your days. So I, again, it seems kind of silly, but like, I feel like the first step is you gotta look at actually how you're spending your time. And, and I also think some of that has to be including personal time because I think some people feel like, oh my Gosh, I'm working 80 hour weeks. And then when they truly map it out, it turns out that like four hours of a day is spent with family stuff. And I'm not saying it's not exhausting, but there's different priorities on that. If you're spending four hours a day dealing with family stuff, you're not really working 80 hours a week. You just need to like, acknowledge it. So I think that's, that's probably the first thing that any leader who wants to make a change to do is you just have to evaluate your current state. And then the second thing is you have to figure out where you're going and you have to write it down and, or type it. I'm not anti typing, even talk to text, but you have to get it documented because you can sit there and have the dreams in your head, but until you put it on paper that you want to double in size or you want to be able to take four weeks of vacation a year until you document that, it's really hard to map out what needs to happen to get to that point. And so I think those are the two simple two steps that I think anyone could take. And when you actually write out where you want to go, also you often get those aha moments where you're like, well, I could very easily do that. And you can also build your plan for how you're going to get there. I think the piece on all of this for any of your listeners is that it's a process. Making the change from fear of firefighting to forward thinking is not going to happen overnight. The decision to make a change can happen overnight, but it is going to be a process to finally alleviate yourself of enough of the bottlenecks you've created. It's just going to be a process and you'll get there six months, 12 months, sometimes even longer, where you finally realize like, oh, I kind of actually like this work. Again, I. [00:22:57] Speaker A: When you're saying tracking your time, that's so ingenious to me. And it's it, but it's so but it's so simple, right? Like, it's such. It's something that you're like, wow, what a great idea. But it is really easy to think about because, yeah, you are like, I'm. I, I'm so swamped. I got all this stuff to do. Okay, well, what are you doing throughout your day that is keeping you from the things that you really want to be doing? What's. What's doing that? What's keeping you from it? And then, like, and then when you think about it, then you're then, like, you said, the aha moment of like, okay, that's what's keeping me from that. Well, how do we fix it? [00:23:36] Speaker B: How do we fix it? And there's often some quick wins in that where you're like, wait a minute, that person's responsible for that? Why am I taking over that step? They need to have that step of the process. Like, I don't need to be in that step. Right. Like, sometimes it's just those small bits where you're like, oh, I didn't realize I spent that much time approving time cards. I don't need to spend that much time approving time cards. Someone else can approve the time cards. Right? Like, it's, it is, it is fascinating. And I, I've worked with many executives and I've had them do the time tracking. Of course, they're always like, oh, this sucks. I hate it. I was like, it. Not asking you to submit a time card. I'm just asking you to write down on a piece of paper, track it in a spreadsheet. Every time it comes back with, like, I had no idea I was spending that much time in that area. An area I want nothing to do with. [00:24:27] Speaker A: It's eye opening. It really is. When you think about it, it's super eye opening. [00:24:32] Speaker B: Yep. It really is. And it's such a simple thing, right? It's not, it's not like a complex process. It's literally like just jotting down notes. [00:24:40] Speaker A: No, for sure, for sure. So, Laura, before we wrap up today, what is one key takeaway do you like our listeners to remember from this episode? [00:24:49] Speaker B: What I would like the business owners in the group to remember is that they are not alone. That they may feel like they are unique in this. Stuck in a firefighting space. They may feel like they made the worst decision ever to start their own business. And they are not alone in that, because a lot of people feel that way. I think they need to remember that it doesn't. That's not how it has to be. And they can. You can take the steps to build the business you want and a business that serves you and actually appreciate the business for what it is and not as a burden. I think that is what's most important is that this is so common. You're not alone. [00:25:27] Speaker A: Yeah. And I think that there are people out there probably listening that feel like they're in competition with people and they can't contact them because they don't want to give their amazing ideas or their thoughts to somebody else. And I'm not saying that you have to do that, but it is nice to be able to pick up the phone and say, I have this thought. What do you think? And you don't have to do what that person is suggesting, but just to put that idea out there forward for them to see what they're thinking is, is amazing. And I know myself, I have several people like yourself that I could say, hey, are you free? I have this thought. I want to get your thinking on that or your, your thought process on this. And it's so nice to be able to do that because like you said, we're all in this together. So why are we trying to push other people away? Let's, let's stick together and let's, let's work together and, and all achieve our common goal. [00:26:35] Speaker B: Agreed. Agreed. And it's so true. Like, obviously there is competition out there, but everybody is offering something unique and different. You have to know what your unique and different is. That often the conversation, even if they are someone offering a similar service, it's not about take steal my thunder. It's about everybody's going to generate different ideas based upon the lens with which they present their services. It's. [00:27:01] Speaker A: It. [00:27:01] Speaker B: There's so much diversity in what we're offering, like professional service providers. Like, there's a gazillion different ways to be an attorney. So just being an attorney doesn't immediately put you in competition with that other attorney. They offer different services, different approaches, different. So it's like they're not, not everybody is your competition. I agree with you. And we all win together. We can all win together. Which comes back to the point earlier about community, small business. If we can all succeed, just think about how much stronger our, you know, real communities that we live in would be because people would be thriving. And that's my utopian view of where the world is headed and I'd like to take part in helping that happen. [00:27:43] Speaker A: Well, for sure. And it's a great, it is a great view. I, for Sure, I am 100% on board on that for sure. My call to action today would be to like share and follow this episode. Laura, I wanted to take the time to thank you for coming on today. What I admire about you is your energy, your forward thinking, how engaging you are and how kind you are. I've always thought since day one that you are one incredible human. And I am super happy to not only know you, but to have been able to collaborate you and with you and to call you a friend. So thank you so much for, for joining me today. [00:28:23] Speaker B: Well, Andrew, I appreciate being called a friend because I what I admire about you is your ability to connect with so many different people of backgrounds, types, sizes, shapes, everything. You just connect with such a wide variety of people. It's so fascinating and you're just so welcoming. I. I appreciate you so very much. [00:28:41] Speaker A: No, I appreciate that. That's very kind. That's probably one of the nicest things I've heard this week. So thank you so much [00:28:48] Speaker B: on behalf [00:28:49] Speaker A: of myself and my guest Laura. I'd like to thank you all for listening today. And until next time, be safe. And remember everyone that if we all work together, we can accomplish anything. [00:29:01] Speaker B: Cheers. You have been listening to let's Be Diverse with Andrew Stout. To stay up to date with future content, hit Subscribe.