Diversity in Business and the 5 Critical Steps to Properly Implement Business Strategy

0:00 The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are solely those of the hosts and their guests and not those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services, or products mentioned on air or on our web. No liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing W FOURCY Radio. Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out that everything you have ever learned about growing your business is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right way to grow your business by learning business and financial strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here's your host.

0:47 President of Next Step CFO Michael Barbarita and joining Michael for today's show as an executive moderator is chooky Ovio. Yes, this is shooking, and I believe that gratitude is undefeated and growth is about the next step. It is an honor for me to moderate today's discussion with my good friend Michael. Michael how are you. Picchu little down because of the Buffalo Bills didn't win. It's not that I'm a Buffalo Bills fan. I just hate the Chiefs, so it's a little down about that. But I want to thank you for introducing me. My name is Michael baberta president of Next Step CFO, and next Step CFO is a fractional CFO and strategic implementation for them. Business owners hire us to double their profit through implementing business and financial strategies that their competition isn't doing.

1:42 And our vision is to ensure that overwhelmed business owners achieve the time, freedom, and consistent profits to build a legacy and the life they desire. Our mission is dedicated to guiding small business owners to leveraging their time, exploding their profits, and building a meaningful legacy. The show Powerful Business Strategies in our book of the same name, is a step toward accomplishing that vision and mission. So with that like to hand it back to my co author and moderator for the show, Chicky Obia. Michael, thank you. So I'm really energized by today's episode. It's a two part episode. Diversity in business is a first component and then the second component, five critical steps to properly implement business strategy. Before we jump into this and really capture the insights that we've packed into today's episode, I just want to throw out a quick disclaimer. So, look, Michael and I were both affiliated with a number of different organizations, and I currently serve as the managing director of business Development for Veta Price, a global business focused law firm.

2:47 In addition to that, it's truly an honor to collaborate with Michael to moderate business roundtables really coast to coast with small to medium sized business owners, and then we document the insights from those roundtables into our book called Powerful Business Strategies, which we are always revising and updating. But please note that the views expressed in the show today are our personal views based on those business success stories, and my mission as the Fearless moderator is to ask the right questions to help you, the listener, learn the best strategies that the competition isn't doing. With that, back over to.

3:29 Michael, Thank you to Key. So here's something that I'd like to share. You know, if you have a business problem that you'd like us to answer. Our business question or a strategy that you'd like us to ask about. Please email us at ask at NEXTSTEPCFO dot net. That's ask at NEXTTEPCFO dot net. It doesn't matter what the business problem is or the question, and we will answer it for you. But there are a couple of things that we do ask Number one, please state whether it is something we can answer on the air or if it is confidential, and of course if it's confidential, we won't put it on the air. And number two, please provide your phone number because business problems can be complex, as you probably know, and we might need more context or clarity. So that email address again is ask at NEXTSTEPCFO dot net. And I want to point out that we had a couple but they requested confidentiality, which we will always honor. And so today I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the profound impact business owners have on our society. You are the invisible force that powers our communities forward every morning, every single morning, when a city comes to life, it's because of you. The coffee shop where neighbors connect, the manufacturing plant providing stable jobs to families, the innovative tech firm solving tomorrow's problems. These all exist because someone like you had the courage to turn an idea into reality. Not just creating products or services,

5:03 you're creating the foundation of our communities. Every paycheck you write helps a family thrive. Every tax dollar you generate builds our schools and paves our roads. Every innovation you bring to market moves society forward. When economic times get tough, You're the ones will find ways to keep your employees working, often putting your own needs on the side. Your impact goes far beyond the bottom line. You're the first to sponsor the local Little League teams, support community events, and step up during crisis. You're teaching the next generation that was hard work and determination that they too can shape their own destiny. Destiny. Never doubt your importance. You are the backbone of our economy, the heart of communities, and the spark that ignites progress. Society needs your entrepreneurial spirit now more than ever. I'm so excited to be interviewing our guests today with the expertise and the fascinating topic of diversity. Doctor James o' rogers has practiced diversity management in an enterprise performance discipline for over thirty five years.

6:15 His colleagues recognize him as one of the leading strategists and the number one thought leader in the field of diversity management, and he is known as the diversity Coach, a prolific writer and thought leader. Doctor Rogers' seminal works on diversity management have guarded him global acclaim or resentating with audiences across continents. His books, including Managing Differently, Getting from one hundred percent of Your People one hundred percent of the Time, and Diversity Training That Generates Real Change, serve as cornerstones in NBA courses and organizational transformation initiatives. Distinguished by his pragmatic approach and business centric focus, Doctor Rogers stands at the vanguard of diversity management strategy. He emphasizes simplicity, pragmatism, outcome orientation, efficacy, and sustainability by marrying sound management principles with nuanced diversity initiatives. His expert navigation of complex organizational landscapes underscores his unparalleled understanding of executive needs and business imperatives, and in addition to his current role as the executive coach to C suite executives, Doctor Rogers serves as a doctor as a director of the Executive Academy of itSMF. His mission is to prepare leaders of color for a changing world. His value to aspiring leaders is based on his executive career, his work as a trusted advisor over three hundred senior leadership teams, and

7:49 his role as board leader for several high profile nonprofits. We are honored to have doctor Rogers, Doctor James Rogers, Doctor Rogers, welcome to the show. Well, thank you, Michael, and thank you Chokey. It's delightful to be here. Thank you. And so I mean, please start off doctor Rogers by asking what is shape your understanding and approach to diversity management. Well, first of all, it's important to understand that I'm a former corporate executive. I'm an engineer by training. I'm a very practical guy. So I didn't get into the diversity space because of any social agenda or any political point of view. I got into it because I knew that it was a way to help businesses to prosper.

8:33 Enterprise performance is my platform, That's what I'm all about. Fortunately, I met as soon as I left Corporate America, I met the father of the diversity movement, doctor Roosevelt Thomas. He became a friend and my mentor, and we worked on the philosophy behind diversity management. He called it managing diversity. I flipped the switch and called it diversity management, and we basically worked on that and was very, very successful. In the early years. Over two hundred and fifty executives endorsed the work. It's only in the last twenty five or so years that the movement has gotten hijacked and the language it's gotten co opted. So what we were working on is hardly recognizable today because remember that I work on diversity management. I am not a DEI advocate or a DEI consultant. I work on diversity management, which is a business discipline. So what has shaped my view is experience seeing that it worked and being involved being a pioneer in helping to craft or to shape the discipline so that it is a great benefit to businesses of all sizes.

9:46 By the way, really intriguing, Doctor Rogers. So it's very interesting, right, A large portion of our audience, Doctor Rodgers, are business owners, and I think they will really resonate with the fact that you mentioned you're practical, like you take a pragmatic approach, so you make this point about a discipline. Here's a question, what is the current states of diversity management as a discipline and is that term still relevant today? I think it is, but it has to be elevated and voices like mine have to be positioned. So that's why I appreciate talking on shows like yours. The unfortunate thing is we live in a society where people engage in meme adoption, emmy meme adoption. In other words, they just follow what the ladies. Somebody said something and they latch onto it without thinking. And that is the current state of the diversity movement. I use that general term.

10:44 The diversity movement has been co opted and hijacked by that so that it no longer even resembles call doctor Thomas and I originally started and which was, like I said, endorsed by the majority of the business community. So it's in a bad shape right now. A lot of my young colleagues say, oh, isn't it awful that THEI is about to die? I say, for you, this is the first time. For me, it's the sixth time I have seen the die six times, and it dies because people lose sight of the intent and the value that it brings and the social value will never be sustainable. Doing it because of the George Floyd incident is not sustainable.

11:29 That's not a good reason to have a business discipline. It is a good reason if you can see that I make more money, I reduce my costs, I improve my cycle times, I get better EBITDA. You know, all of those business measures improve when I have frontline teams that work seamlessly together, even when they're made up of diverse composition. That's right. And doctor Rogers, what new initiatives are you using to navigate changes in this field? Well, one of the. Things that I'm trying to do in order to interrupt the current conversation because we have to find a way to break the old habit is I remember why we started it in the first place. While we started diversity management in the first place was in reaction to a new fact of life. The Husson study said that by the year two thousand, the majority of the new entrants to our workforce would be non what I call non traditional workers. They would be people of color, and women and immigrants and openly gay people and all of those different categories which we were not used to at the time.

12:47 So the purpose of diversity managements to say, here's a new reality, you're not used to it, let me help you get ready for it. And it's called diversity management of reason. It's not called diversity leadership, and it's not called diversity equity and inclusion. It's called diversity management because it's intended to help you manage a new reality which is increasing diversity. So one of the things that I'm working on now is we are at another inflection point. And that inflection point is not only do we have different types of humans in the workplace, we are now going to be joined by non humans AI agents, machines, robots.

13:28 I've just been listening to Mark Binioff who's saying stuff like he invented it. I put this out there a year ago. But the new workforce is going to be made up of sentient and non sentient beings. You're going to be working right next to an AI agent that's going to be answering questions for you. You're going to be working right next to a robot who is doing routine, mundane things that you don't have to do anymore. And you've got to learn to manage your enterprise with those new entities as well as all of the human diversity that's there. So I'm trying to move us beyond this incessant argument about different types of human beings, and let's settle on the fact that all humans are one thing.

14:08 We are human, We are sentient. We have the same needs and the same obligations and the same wants as each other. So all the differences that we make about each other need to become irrelevant. Why because we've got new players in the marketplace and they are non sentient beings. Doctor Rogers, I want to pick up on that point. We have new players in the marketplace. The business owners and the business leaders that listen to the show are always interested in trends like where are we headed? So in that frame, I want to ask you a question based on that. So, what are the trends that give insights to the direction of d and I, Well, the.

14:51 Trends, of course is that DEEI the latest version is dying. Affirmative action family has at his death and most people say, oh, ain't it awful? And I say, well, why is it awful? And so we have to look at things and we have to think about him rather than feel about them. So that's one of the trends. Let's acknowledge those things are going. We now need to focus on and apply our energy to what we really need to do. What are the things that are really important to keep businesses healthy and alive having to do with the workforce. The workforce is made up of humans and non humans. So I am really pushing hard on this idea that no matter what science business you are, you're already using technology.

15:38 You're already using AI. I was telling someone, you know, every time I write a an email or write something on the computer, Grammarly pops up and says, no, I wouldn't say it that way. I say, it's a different way. I've got to work with this guy called Grammarly. We have arguments about you know, wait a minute, that's not that doesn't sound like You'll say, okay, if you want to sound like, you push this button. So what it's going to be like to work with nonsentient beings? But we're not used to it, and we need to develop the same technology that we use in diversity management getting us used to different types of humans in the workplace.

16:18 We use that same technology and to get us used to working with nonsentient beings in the workplace. Interesting. And you know it is a political world, doctor Rogerson. So how can we keep diversity management from being politicized and perverted so that becomes it effective? Well, the only way we do that is with defective leadership and education. The biggest problem we have is we've allowed activists to hijack the conversation and they're very good at making mean statements and getting people to endorse those ideas so that it becomes popular without question what I mean by mean statements. People think that memes are because of the Internet. Means have been around since the existence of mankind. Someone has an idea, they just want people to adopt it. They don't want them to question it, they don't want them to think about it. They just here's my idea. Everybody's salute and do like I say.

17:15 We've gotten so good at that because we're lazy. We don't want to think. We rather feel. Mark Twain said years ago that you know, as human beings, we do no end to feeling, and we mistake it for thinking, and unfortunately we falling into that trap. And what we need is solid leadership. I wrote an article and Leader to Leader magazine which I asked a question who should lead a diversity initiative? And it's not who you think, And the purpose of that was to remind leaders that you can't just abrogate your responsibility. If diversity management is a business issue you are for CEO, you have to grastipate, you have to understand it, you have to lead it. You can't just put it off onto some brown skinned person to say fix it and call me, because the net result is what we've got ineffective, a way to get it off the CEO's plate, but actually making no progress. So that's really what we've got to do.

18:11 We've got to step back. We defined it, keep it simple, and let's not be stupid about it. Being stupid means that we've forgot what we were trying to do in the first place, and we allow others to hijack the conversation and co opt the language. Doctor Rogers, I wouldn't pick up on that point because that's so profound, just this idea of leadership and the phrase is a solid leadership. So from that perspective, what are some of the common obstacles that prevent companies with solid leadership from achieving meaningful outcomes with diversity management. So let's just make an assumption that they already have the leadership in place. What are some obstacles that prevent them from really moving forward?

19:00 An inside pressure. If you're a leader of an enterprise of any size, you've got other stakeholders, You've got board members, you've got employees who have political points of view and they want to express them inside the workplace. Good stolid leadership are ones who will set a path and hold to it and not be diverted because someone else has an opinion. I mean, we thought we elevated you to leadership for a reason. We want you to lead. That means I've got an idea, I've got a concept, i got a vision, I'm clear about it, and this is where we're going. Now. Either you want to join me on that trip or not, but this is where we're going.

19:42 And so our leaders sometimes give in to political and social pressure just kind of to keep peace if you will. You know, great leaders over the years, one of the things that they recognize is if you're going to be a real leader, peace is not in our You're going to You're going to rus for some feathers. If you really clear about where you're going, and you want people to to to join you in getting there, you have to be strong. It's interesting that we'll start to bring this to a conclusion. But Michael was sort of struck by doctor Rogers and the use of the word diverted. So maybe there's a new mission statements for leaders, right, don't be diverted in diversity.

20:31 Jookie, that's good. I'm going to write that down. I have a couple of follow up questions to doctor Rogers because I was thinking about a lot of the things that you said. You know, many businesses struggle with talent acquisition and retention. And based on your executive coaching experience, what innovative strategies have you seen companies use to not only attract diverse talent, but also create an environment where that talent drives measurable business perform it's and profitability. You know, here's the thing that I pushed back on that question because it has an assumption in it that I have found out to be true. People are looking for the best talent in the marketplace for what they're working on. They're not having trouble finding it, they're having trouble getting it. So what I'm suggesting to people is go to the marketplace and get the best talent that you can. You know how to do that, You know where it is. If you don't know, ask somebody. For the longest time, I live here in Atlanta, Georgia. For the longest time, I had clients who were saying, well, we need to have to hire more black people, and I don't know where to find them. I said, you have the Atlanta University Center over there with Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and you have Georgia Tech, which is probably one of the most diverse technical schools in the country. And you have Georgia State, which graduats more African American uh uh graduates than most schools in

22:06 the nation. So tell me what is it you're missing. So if you don't know, find out the talent is available. When people say I can't find it and that is a deficit in skills, that is not a statement about uh, the supply. It just means you don't know. So if you don't know, find out uh. And you know, I have to be harsh with people about that, because there's really distraction. It is not it is not based in fact and they're not thinking interesting And. Is there is there something that you could advise companies to integrate diversity management into their strategy, you know, particularly if it comes to like market expansion and revenue growth, that type of thing.

22:50 The purpose of diversity management is to broaden your perspective. Each of us is in a business. We want to be as clear as we can about what the marketplace is and what the market demands of us as a business. I have a good friend who runs a very nice sized, small to mid size construction company, and I tell him all the time, you're missing some perspectives. You're not going to grow if you just continue to run this business the way you're running it. You need some perspectives different than the ones you've got. And so that's really the purpose of diversity and diversity management is deliberately go out The question becomes in recruiting, the question that you have what perspective am I missing on our teams so that I can see the market clearly for what it is, not for what I think it is. And when that's when you go recruit. You going and recruit and you say, you know, I got a bunch of engineers here, but I don't have anybody who understands the sociology of society right now. I need someone like that on my team.

23:52 So that's what I'm looking for, rather than just continuing to load up on the same types of talent, the same type of perspectives. In your perspective and you'll get better results and the the the research supports that. Fascinating, excellent. Any any other comments or questions from you, Choky before we wrap it up? No, I mean this is chock full of insights. Uh. Dr Rogers, thank you. Yes, I would have to. I would like that one thing, Michael, I heard you talking about the importance of business, and I'm with you guys all the way I think businesses is the It is the bedrock of our society. Jim Kramer said something long ago, and I believe in and it's been part of my practice. All social change begins with business. So if we can get our businesses to understand this, to practice this, they will, they will excel at it. They'll understand that it works. You're not doing it because it's the politically correct thing to do. You're doing it because it helps your business strive. And once we do that, diversity in society will become a non issue.

25:00 Excellent. Well, doctor Rogers, I just want to thank you so much for coming it those insights who are really terrific. We'd love to have you back on a future show, by the way, right, and that would be great. Well, thank you so much, and well, okay, and we'll be right back talk about the five critical steps that you must take to implement business strategy. Hey there, business owners, let me ask you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors? Frustrated with slow growth and slim margins? Well, I've got news for you. Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon, your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael Babarrita from Next Step CFO. I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael. How do I find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why we've created our game changing implementation program called Next Step to Market Dominance.

26:07 In just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step to a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch. By crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer. By building a strategy that turns you into the go to expert in your field. Now this is in theory. These are battle tests strategies that have helped businesses like yours double, triple and quadruple their revenue. Don't let another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward slash contact. Fill out the form and in the message section put the word dominate or call us at seven eight one three two six three A two two. That's next STEPCFO dot net forward slash contact or call us at seven eight one three two six three A two two. Well, welcome back. So you know, as you can tell throughout the series of radio shows that Chicky and I have done, that we're very passionate about what we do, and we could go on and on and talk about this stuff for days. And as you know, we've covered in great detail things like the position of market dominance in previous shows and other business strategies and why it's important for your business. But here's the thing. Whether you work with next Step, CFO or someone else, there are still some steps that you have to take in order for you to create a position of market dominance, or really implement any business strategy for

27:41 that matter, if it's going to be effective for you. So let me walk you through these critical steps. I call it the critical five. There are five steps that you need to take, and I'm going to focus on position of market dominance a little bit. Just a little bit, but by and large, these five steps need to be taken no matter what business strategy that you implement. So the first step is clarity. Before you can start to do tactical things, you have to strategically understand why am I doing this, where am I headed, and what does success look like for me? And that's not in your business everyone, but in your life. I've seen this mistake happen over and over again. I did it multiple times myself, and a lot of you out there are in this position right now where you're so excited and make your impact in the world that you jump out there and create a business, and now all of a sudden, you have to change your life to fitness business thing that you created. And I'm sure many of you have experienced this other than me. So the first step is to avoid all that confusion, because the way it should really work is that you should go out first and think about creating the life you want and then let the asset, which is the business, serve you, allowing you to get to that life. I hope that makes sense. So that's

29:13 that's the first step. You see, all the gurus out there will tell you one funnel away or one marketing strategy away. You're not your one clarity step away. It's the clarity that allows you to take all of the actions to get you where you want to go. Look, it's not your fault. No one's ever showed you how to how to go about getting clarity of direction to figure out where you're going. You know you're doing the same thing I did. I just jumped in. I was excited inspite all of my haters. By the way, you know, the family and friends, and you know they'll tell you it's not going to work. But in spite of them, I just leaped in, and all of a sudden I had to adjust my life around the business, and my life became unmanageable and hopefully people out there can relate to this and what we would and what we do that that no one tells you to do is we're going to get clarity first. You see, the business has its place. It's designed as a separate asset to support you to that kind of life, which is time, freedom and consistent profits. That's what the clarity is going to end up getting you. And uh, you know, if a guru or an advisor or coach or anybody attempts to support you without starting first with clarity as to way you're going with your life, I would run as fast as you can because clarity is the only way you could have a roadmap. If they're saying that they if

30:46 some guru is saying that they have a step by step roadmap without making sure that you have clarity and direction, then it's cookie cutter and it's not about you. It's all about them. So now that we're getting clarity, there are a few more steps that are involved in clarity, Like number one, you first have to understand what a position of market dominance is and what it isn't And we're going to dive into that. It's not just a headline. You know, remember we've talked about things like the conversion formula. This is where you getting into your customer's mind. And remember they already have a problem. They're looking for a solution and they can't find it. So whoever can articulate that problem and solution in the language of your market in a way that makes them raise their hand, that's the business that's going to win. So clarity, clarity is critical to get it clear on where you're going, where you're headed in your life, and then the roadmap. So now you have clarity, we're now putting together a step by step, paint by numbers roadmap to actually accomplish the time, freedom and consistent profits that you're looking for. But you can't get it without the clarity. And I hope everyone sees why clarity is the most important thing before we do another tactic or another thing that the gurus say that you're supposed to do. Look, if you don't have clarity, you're here now you want to get to hear you're asking for a roadmap, but you don't know where you're going.

32:19 So it's important that we know where we're going, why we're going there, and the hurdles because without the clarity, there's just no way to have a complete plan. So step one, we're going to get clear. So here's what that looks like. How many of you out there are just fed up with those up and down sales cycles because you're not quite clear of what you're supposed to do next. And that's what the first step is. You know, you can't have a position of market dominance if you don't understand where you're going. That's the first step. And I see this mistake all the time, and there's simply no understanding of where you're going at the start, and that's really we have a big problem. So step two is that step by step roadmap. So for position of market dominance, First we need to identify who the customer is. Second, we have to identify the real problem that the customer has. Third, we have to come up with a solution to that problem. Fourth, we have to find ways to test our problem and solution make sure we get it right. And then fifth we have to leverage our position of market dominance and how we'll use it. And this is where the beauty of the group of a group comes in. You'll get feedback from not only your strategic imbmitation specialists, but also from your fellow business owners. And what this means to you is that you're not alone in the wilderness. You gets support from all angles. And now we know exactly

33:51 where we're going with our life. We have the actual step by step roadmap that's all created for you, and now we know exactly what we want. That's going to free you from the up and down sales cycles, free you from the frustration of knowing where your next customer is coming from, and free you from being part of the rest of the crowd where you don't stand out and you're just a commodity like everyone else, doing what your competition is doing. So these I laid out is not the only components of a roadmap. If I was to stop here, that's not a roadmap. You know. It's at a roadmap. You have to manage the time.

34:33 You have to manage the actual effort. Again, if you don't know where you're going, you don't have a map. But if you don't know what work you're going to do and how to manage the time necessary to complete the work, that's a problem. And that's another thing people do backwards. They stop mapping out the time and they put aside maybe an hour or two hours, and they don't even know how long a particular task is going to take to complete. We're going we're going to reverse that. We have the roadmap, so we also know what the necessary tasks are, and then we're going to allot the necessary time. So step three. So so far we have clarity of step one. Step two is that step by step roadmap. Step three is you have to upgrade your skills.

35:21 You know, you're a different person. Now what got you to be one hundred thousand are It's not going to get you to be a millionaire. So there's a skills upgrade. And some of you might be wondering if you can even do this, Can you even do a position of market dominance or any business strategy for that matter, can you even implement it? Well? Before I don't know if you remember my ski guarantee that I've talked about a couple of times, but before I implemented my ski guarantee where a customer, one of the problems that the ski industry had is that the customer really never knew if the ski that was being sold was the right ski for them until they got up on the mountain and tried it out. Well, none of my competitors would ever allow that because the skied depreciates dramatically. But we implemented what we called a ski guarantee. Because the ski the scheme spring times you don't like it, bring it back to a brand new pair, and keep bringing it back until we get it right. And the reason why that worked was all the customer really wanted was a great ski experience. They didn't want to put one over on the business owner. It wasn't their intent. So with the ski guarantee, what I did before we implemented that ski guarantee, if a customer came into our store and said that the pair of schemes that we sold to them were wrong, guess what we did. We give them a brand new pair, no question to ask. All I did was put in my offer to make my offer more compelling. I'm gonna

36:54 do it anyway. And that is part of a skills upgrade. And now that we know where we're headed, we have a roadmap. You now have to upgrade your skills. Let's talk about some of that skills upgrade. Well, this is where you get into understanding who your customer is. I mean, the biggest challenge for business owners is they can't identify the real problem that their customer already has. You're going to be able to do that through this position of market dominance program that we have in that strategy. That's how you separate yourself from your competitors. We're going to get clear on what your market is already screaming at the top of their lungs that they don't want this problem.

37:45 And you're speaking to one person and not an age range, because how many of you out there have ever met a single human being between the ages of twenty four and fifty four, So that's another problem. That's another problem with while you're struggling because you're talking to someone who doesn't exist. There's a twenty seven year old and you speak with them one way, and then there's a fifty year old who has is dealing with completely different set of challenges. Although the problem may be the same, but it's a completely different set of challenges. But because of where they are in their life, it's different. Messaging and the other skills upgrade that's going to occurage you really understand how the position of market dominant its converts in how to present the offer. That's another one of the skills upgrades. And here's one that's really helpful. So one of the things that the position of market dominance does is that perfects the skill when a person asks what you do? You know how a person asks. You're at a networking meeting and the person asks what you do, and you stumble and bumble a little bit to find the right words, and sometimes you find yourself talking too much.

39:04 And other times you're talking and the other person starts looking down at their phone and you just don't know what to say. Well, we call this your ten to thirty second sound bite, and let me tell you why this is so critical that you nail it. You see, when a person meets you, they don't know what to say, so by default they start the conversation what do you do? And for the person who is intentionally mastered, the answer to that question is a marketing strategy, they'll blow away their competition because when you answer that question the right way with a position of market dominance. By the way, there is a few magic words that come after it that lets you know that that is an ideal client or an ideal referral source. And here are those magic words.

39:54 Here is how you know you nailed what you said about what you do. When you say what you do, the person responds with, how do you do that? Those are the magic words that opens up the next step of your sales process. And that person that just said to you that what you do is a value to me. You see, you're not only going to show how to craft the perfect We're not going to only show you how to craft the perfect ten to thirty second sound bite, but also how to be able to take that to the next step to convert that to an opportunity because you understand the conversion formula and with a position of market dominance, you will get a lot of people saying, how do you do that? When you have the right one.

40:47 And so, now that we have clarity and know where we're headed and we have that step by step roadmap, we've upgraded our skills. Step four is mastering your psychology and what it took for you to start that business and what it takes to have a consistent, successful, thriving enterprise requires a different type of mindset. The same person that shows up that goes from zero to two hundred and fifty thousand in sales will never make it past two hundred and fifty thousand unless they have the right mindset to go from two undred and fifty thousand to the next level. So we're going to make sure that you as a person of being upgraded along with the business because the business can't grow unless you do. You have to have the right mindset to see things the right way. You know, back when I was in the ski business, we implemented that ski guarantee we have skied the twenty three times, don't like it, bring it back to a brand new pair that I talked in previous shows earlier today. But the mindset of my employees when I introduce that, and the mindset of other competitors was that thousands of pair of skis are gonna come back and we're going to lose a ton of money. That didn't happen. The return rate was a tenth of a percent.

42:09 Once again, you need to have the right mindset to see things the right way. So now that we have clarity, clarity, we know where we're headed, and we have that step by step roadmap. We've upgraded our skills and master our psychology. Okay, that's great, but then we have saboteurs, organizational terrorists, I refer to them a little earlier, whatever you want to call them. It's normally family and friends who are the ones who are going to tell you that you can't do this, that you're going to fail to go get a real job. I mean, anyone ever tell you to go get a real job or question what you're doing. Well, that's what we're going to do in step five. It's to optimize your environment. Make sure that you're surrounded by the right person or the right people who are going to encourage you, keep you on the right track, because there's going to be days that you're going to want to quit your business. There's going to be days when you're going to want to ask you when you ask yourself, why did I go down this journey of becoming a business owner. It's safer and easier to get a job.

43:17 It's safer and easy to give up in your dream. So you need to stay the course, and you can't do it alone. It's really difficult to do it alone. And that's why for the select few that will accept for our invitation to be with like minded people that's going to support you and your strategic inmotation strategist and a team at Next Step CFO, we would support you all the way so that when you have those bad days, we can make it a lot better because we have to focus on where you want to go in your life. And one of the reasons why people love to work with us is because we do use a team approach.

44:00 So once again, whether you work with Next Step CFO or someone else, there are five steps that you must take in order to properly implement a position of market dominance. Step one is clarity, know where you're headed. Step two is that step by step roadmap. Step three is a skills upgrade, Step four is master psychology, and step five optimize your environment. Triocky. Does anybody have any questions? No questions? Today looks like we covered all the bases. Michael, okay, really good. You know, I do want to take a quick commercial break if we can at this time. Hey, their business owners, let me ask you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors? Frustrated with slow growth and slim margins? Well, I've got news for you.

44:50 Everything you've ever learned about growing your business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here to let you in on a secret weapon, your position of market dominance. It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael barber Rita from Next Step CFO. I know what you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, how do I find my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why we've created our game changing impleventation program called Next Step to Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step to a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique strengths that competitors can't touch, by crafting a message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy that turns you into the go to expert in your field. Now this is in theory.

45:40 These are battle tests and strategies that have helped businesses like you as double, triple, and quadruple their revenue. Don't let another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net, forward slash contact. Fill out the form and in the mesa section put the word dominate or call us at seven eight one three two six three A two two. That's next step CFO dot net forward slash contact or call us at seven eight one three two six three eight two two. Well, welcome back, and you know in a few minutes that we have left. I'd like to just give you a story that, well, this has happened to me, and I think I hope what I hope to do with this story is that I hope that it inspires you to really go for your dreams. Because back in two thousand and two, I put together a complete written business plan to create virtual trade shows on the Internet, and it was called trade shows on thenet dot com. And these virtual trade shows would help small companies who can't afford to attend or exhibit at important trade shows an opportunity to attend them over the Internet. Now, I never wrote a complete business plan with financial projections and the whole works that I never implemented except for this one. I even bought the domain trade shows on the net dot com. And as I reflect back on

47:11 why I didn't pursue my business plan, I remember I was fraught with fear of making any kind of change, self doubt that I could even do it, fear and self doubt that I couldn't raise the money, fear and self doubt that I couldn't find the technical expertise, fear and self doubt that the idea was before its time. I could have hit enter, but I hit the leap. A year later, I received an email from a company called On twenty four, who, among other things, creates and builds virtual trade shows. And they had three benure firms on their board, and they were doing extremely well, and by the way, they're still in business today, thriving. And I saw pieces of their virtual trade shows and it's exactly what I envisioned. And I even had more bells and whistles than they did. Evidently, Irvan twenty four Shara Charan.

48:02 He had no fear and no self doubt about raising money, He had no fear and no self doubt about finding the technical expertise, and he had no fear and self doubt about the timing of the project. He didn't hit the lead he had entered. Wouldn't it be a shame to do what I did and let and and not hit enter, and let fear of making a change and self doubt prevent you from serving the world. To get a copy of the book Powerful Business Strategies. Simply go to our website www dot NeXTSTEP CFO dot net. It's totally complimentary and until next Monday at noon Eastern time for CHUCKI Obio. My name is Michael Barberita, and remember, don't keep doing what your competition is doing.

49:00 I've been listening to Powerful Business Strategies finding out that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong. Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern time on W four CY Radio with your host Michael Barbarita of NeXTSTEP CFO and moderator chugy Obio