Getting Ready for The E-Myth Leadership Intensive Essential Leadership Exercises Review and Prepare

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1 Getting Ready for The E-Myth Leadership Intensive Essential Leadership Exercises Review and Prepare

2 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE Introductory Activity Instructions W E L C O M E At E-Myth, we believe effective training means interaction, challenge and involvement. We look forward to engaging with you in a way that will create true impact for your business and in your life. To prepare for the Leadership Intensive, please complete the following exercises and activities before you arrive. Your experience and self-discovery will be part of our getting to know you and overall training conversation. All necessary worksheets with instructions are provided in this downloadable packet. There are four sections you will complete: What is The E-Myth Point of View? The Principle of Life: Your Primary Aim and Personal Objectives Leadership Challenges The Dysfunctional Business Themes Assessment Remember to bring all of the completed sections with you, and, most of all, to be open to looking at yourself and this experience in new ways!

3 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE What is the E-Myth Point of View? The E-Myth Point of View is a perspective, a way of thinking about your business, your life, and the interrelationship between the two. This perspective has several principles, all of which, when taken to heart and practiced, will guide you toward making the necessary changes to create a business that truly works and gives you more life. Michael Gerber s best-selling series of E-Myth books, including The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don t Work and What to Do About It, contain the small business management wisdom and philosophy developed by Michael Gerber since The principles he discovered and proved in more than 50,000 small businesses around the world are sound. Please reflect on The E-Myth Revisited and answer the following questions. How did you first discover the book? What was it that compelled you to read the book? What were a couple of the ah-ha s you experienced while reading it? What principles, ideas, stories or insights impacted you the most? Why?

4 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE The Five Core Principles These principles encompass the essence of the E-Myth Point of View and the solution to typical small business owner frustrations and challenges. These principles form the foundation of entrepreneurial thinking that we teach and coach to in the E-Myth Mastery Coaching program. These are the five core principles of The E-Myth: The Principle of Life The Principle of Leadership The Principle of Ownership The Principle of Systemization The Principle of Excellence In your own words, how would you explain each principle to a fellow small business owner? The Principle of Life: The Principle of Leadership: The Principle of Ownership: The Principle of Systemization: The Principle of Excellence:

5 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE (If you are currently a client in the Coaching Program, or a former client, and have completed this leadership exercise, please review and bring a copy of those documents with you.) The Principle of Life: Your Primary Aim and Personal Objectives Your Primary Aim is about leading a life that is consistent with your innermost desires, core values, and beliefs. A life that feels right every day, that gives you a deeper sense of fulfillment and meaning with every year that passes. A life you live intentionally rather than randomly. In that simple statement you will find your key to living a happy, fulfilled life. A life that is meaningful to you a life in which your business plays a significant role, but far from the only role. Your Primary Aim is your innermost driving force. It s the source of the vitality, the commitment, the vision you need to get the most out of your life and to create a remarkable business in the process. It is that which, more than anything else, gives you a sense of direction and purpose, motivates you to your highest levels of energy, and sustains you over the long haul. The vast majority of people aren t in touch with their Primary Aim. It s there, within all of us, but most of us simply haven t made the discovery at least not yet. Is it really that important? Well, yes it is. Understanding your Primary Aim gives you the ability to live intentionally rather than accidentally, to shape your life rather than live whatever life happens to you. In fact, that s the only reason to bother discovering your Primary Aim. Otherwise, you can simply live randomly, take your chances, and settle for whatever joy and whatever pain comes your way. Your core values, beliefs, and desires shape your Primary Aim. But most people don t understand them and many have false impressions of their true core values. We ve all known people who have worked for some high level of achievement only to find that, having reached it, their success is hollow, somehow unsatisfying. We ve also known people whose lives, whether successful in the conventional sense or not, experience deep satisfaction and a joyful contentment. The difference is that, in the first case, success was not consistent with their Primary Aim. In the second case, their Primary Aim was served. It seems odd that so many people aren t very aware of their Primary Aim because we have a built-in barometer to tell us (if we pay attention) when we are in touch with it, and if we touch it in negative or positive ways. The barometer? Our feelings. Our emotions. Why is this important? It is important because our emotional barometer can help lead us to our Primary Aim. We just have to listen.

6 Discovering Your Primary Aim It s All About You Your Primary Aim is unique to you. It s about what you truly want for yourself. It s not about the obligations you have to others, and it s not about what others expect of you. Think only about yourself and what you want your life to be like. That s difficult for many of us. We are accustomed to putting others first or taking responsibility for them. Isn t that what a parent, a boss, a friend does? For the moment, let go of all these responsibilities and shoulds. Indulge yourself and think in terms of your own self-interest. Think in terms of dreams and fantasies. Reach for what you want. Feel free to let your wishes soar without embarrassment, self-consciousness, or concern for the expectation of others. Look for the Fire It takes careful thought to discover your Primary Aim, the one that fits you uniquely, the one that provides a sense of direction and purpose, and the one you feel in your gut. It s easy to come up with something that sounds good and that should be a good Primary Aim, but doesn t really motivate you. It would be a mistake to go through the thinking and the worksheets provided, just to arrive at a Primary Aim that seems okay, but that in your heart-of-hearts just doesn t have the fire of your most heartfelt purpose in life. Look deeply and honestly into yourself, figure out what you really want from your life, condense it into a brief statement, and use it as an internal guiding light as you plan and manage your business. What Don t You Want? Often it s easier to know what you don t want than what you do want. A good way to begin the search for your Primary Aim is to become very clear about all the things you know you don t want. Make a list. Don t stop writing until you ve put down everything you can think of. There is a basic premise at work here. It says that focusing on what you don t want creates more of the same. These things you know you don t want are probably things you think about frequently. You probably play them over and over again in your mind. The result is that you are mentally rehearsing them, practicing them, reinforcing them. In sports and music, there is a technique called visualizing. The athlete or musician mentally goes through the right motions in preparation for the actual event. It has been proven to be a powerful technique for improving performance, and the same technique works for improving any other aspect of your life.

7 But there is a dark side. If your habit is fault finding and focusing on what goes wrong, then your mind stays on the negative, and even though you wish for the positive, you are mentally rehearsing the negative. It s a tough habit to overcome. After all, if you are told not to think about a pink elephant, what s the first thing that pops into your mind? If you are repeatedly told, or tell yourself, to avoid something, what stays on your mind? So why do we start your Primary Aim exploration by focusing on the negative? It s a way of reaching or discovering what you really do want. Once you have a clear picture of what you don t want, it can be a simple process of reversing the items to determine your truest wants. What Do You Want? When do you feel most free? What is it that makes you feel most in touch with yourself? What gives you the greatest sense of fulfillment? Everyone has had moments of peak experience. What are those moments for you? What do you want your life to stand for? What s really important to you? This is what your Primary Aim is all about. Again, you start by making a list. Think about what you appreciate, what is important to you, the parts of your life you treasure, what gives you your deepest sense of satisfaction. If your list fills up with material things, dig deeper. Your Primary Aim isn t about stuff. It s about being alive. Your Personal Objectives Should Be Consistent with Your Primary Aim Once you ve identified your Primary Aim, how do you live day to day in a way that brings it to life? Personal objectives are an effective way to do it. If your life is like a puzzle, and your Primary Aim is the key to the big picture, then personal objectives are the pieces of the puzzle. Personal objectives are the specific things you want to accomplish within a defined period of time. As you think about your life in the next six months, the next year, the next five years, and longer, you can create any number of personal objectives for getting what you want out of life. The pattern of your personal objectives shapes the pattern of your life. If you choose your personal objectives carefully, they keep you in harmony with your Primary Aim. Question Yourself. Then Question Your Answers. The following list of questions can be helpful for stimulating your thoughts and putting you in the right frame of mind for working on your Primary Aim. Take time to think about your answers. There are, of course, no right or wrong answers, just answers that are true for you. Some questions have easy, instant answers; some questions have difficult answers that can take a great deal of thought; and some questions can cause you to rethink your most basic values and attitudes. Most importantly, be honest with yourself.

8 What do you want your life to look and feel like? What do you value most? What s important to you? How do you want your life to feel on a day-to-day basis? What would you like people s perceptions of you to be? What are your daydreams about? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up? Do you ever find yourself wishing you were different? What do you wish? Why aren t you that way? What gets in your way? Of all the things you have done in your life, what has given you the most satisfaction or pleasure? The least? If you no longer had to work, how would you spend your time? And with whom? What is missing from your life? When you find yourself wishing for something, what is it? What motivates you to perform above and beyond the call of duty? What are your greatest strengths? What are your greatest weaknesses? What do you want to achieve, but you find it impossible to do? What barriers make it impossible? Think again, are those barriers really insurmountable?

9 Primary Aim Process Worksheet First Step: What You DON T want in your life. 1 Using the blank spaces below, list everything you can think of that causes you anger, stress, frustration, fear, hatred, embarrassment, and dissatisfaction whatever it is that you do not want in your life. Don t think too much about it, just write as many as you can think of. 2 Now go back over your list, thinking carefully about each item. Notice your feelings, your sense of importance about each one. Circle the few items - no more than five or six - that are the most important not to have in your life.

10 Second Step: What you DO want in your life. 1 As before, using the blank spaces below, list everything you can think of that you do want in your life. Look at what your deepest don t-wants tell you about what you really do want. Focus on what makes you happy, fulfilled, satisfied, and what gets you energized, motivated, and purposeful. Avoid the superficial and the material and go for the deeply satisfying, profoundly rewarding life experiences. Again, don t think too much about it, just write as many as you can. 2 As before, go back over your list, thinking carefully about each item. Again, notice your feelings, your sense of importance about each one. Circle the few items - no more than five or six - that are the most important for you to have in your life. Look over those items and rank them from the most important to the least important.

11 Third Step: What are your priorities, and what s in your way? Now, write down the most important items (the ones you circled) from the list of what you want in your life. Write them in order of importance. Think carefully about each of them, and write down what, if anything, is keeping you from having them. Think especially hard about self-imposed limitations. Important things you want in life: Barriers and limitations:

12 Fourth Step: Write your own Eulogy Years and years from now, after a happy and fulfilling life, you are given the opportunity to write the eulogy that will be given at your memorial service. Assuming you have the life you want from this point forward, what will your eulogy say about your life? Looking back on the life of

13 Fifth Step: Your Primary Aim Write a very short statement below a phrase, a sentence, no more than a couple of sentences expressing the essence of what you want your life to be all about. The acid test for your Primary Aim statement is your internal barometer. When you write it, you should feel energy, enthusiasm, commitment, a sense of, Yes! This is me! If not, you haven t gotten it. Keep trying. Dig a little deeper. The essence of my Primary Aim is to live a life that is

14 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE The Principle of Life: Your Primary Aim and Personal Objectives Your business is a vehicle for more life. ~ Michael E. Gerber Once you ve identified your Primary Aim, the question is: how do you live day-to-day as an expression of your Aim? If your life is like a puzzle, and your Primary Aim is the key to the big picture, then personal objectives are the pieces of the puzzle. You know about goals we all do. You ve set them and even been successful in achieving many of them. By the age of eight or ten we begin to get an idea of what we want in life. A picture begins to emerge in our minds of a degree, a job, a car, a house, a family as we move through our teenage years our goals become clearer to us. Soon, we re twenty-five or thirty or thirty-five and we ve achieved many of these early goals and trust we re on the way to others. And new goals are already forming in our minds. As life goes on, for most people, goal setting becomes a more casual and far less specific process wants and desires seem to occur and plant themselves in our minds almost before we realize it. We don t often set goals within a one-year time frame, and we rarely make a conscious choice about which goals are most important to us. We find ourselves in pursuit of goals before we really have taken the time to think them through, determine their real cost, or consider what s really important to us. We give up creating a life that is more meaningful and fulfilling and settle for what we have. The goal-setting process can bring up a lot of feelings about success and failure. As human beings we have an enormous capacity to remember our failures while forgetting our successes. So you will need to watch yourself and notice what comes up during this process. Our limiting beliefs about ourselves become like brick walls in front of us, keeping us from even thinking about how to make the big changes or set the big goals. The good news is you can let go. You can take a deep breath and connect with what you really want in your life because life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. So begin by taking a moment to think about and feel how you want each of these four areas of your life to be. On the next page, describe what you want to do, be, have or feel in each area.

15 Personal Objectives Process Worksheet Describe what you want to do, be, have or feel in each area. Health and Well Being Relationships Creative Expression Financial Supply

16 Personal Objectives/Goals are the specific things you want to accomplish within a defined period of time. As you think about your life in the next six months and beyond, you can create any number of personal objectives for getting what you want out of life. The pattern of your personal goals shapes the pattern of your life. Choose your personal objectives carefully and make sure they keep you in harmony/alignment with your Primary Aim. Specific Goals In 6 Months By Next Year In 5 Years

17 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE Leadership Challenges Journal We would like you to put attention on those leadership and management challenges you are currently experiencing. For the next two weeks, notice and identify some of the things you find personally challenging or in other words, things you find hard to do, and as a result, tend to avoid. As you know, continuing to avoid these things will keep you from achieving your goals and leading your company to its next stage of growth and development. Here are a few examples we consistently hear from our business owners: Giving or receiving critical feedback Giving up certain types of technical work Delegating work to others/letting go Firing under performers Taking time off/being away from your company Managing money If you already know you share one or more of these, write those down in your Challenge Journal. Then, between now and the Leadership Intensive continue to notice what you find challenging in the day-to-day experience of leading and managing your company. Please bring a copy of your Challenge Journal to the session. You will learn a powerful process that will help you begin to transform these self-limiting beliefs and behaviors. Challenge Journal Instructions: 1. Use the table below to document and track the things that are challenging for you. 2. See if you can locate some of the underlying beliefs you have about these challenges. Write down as many as possible. Pay attention to how you feel when a challenge comes up. Notice what happens when you avoid it. 3. Now look at the corresponding business results that are not occurring because of it. 4. Give each challenge a priority ranking. Rate each one according to your level of avoidance and how much it is impacting your personal or business results. Use this simple formula: 1 = high priority 2 = medium priority 3 = low priority

18 Leadership Challenges Journal What do you find Challenging? What are the beliefs/feelings you associate with this thing? What Business Results are being negatively impacted? Priority (1,2,3) E.g., Conducting performance reviews with employees. Uncomfortable, don t like to make people feel bad. I m afraid they won t like me. My mother was a very critical person. Productivity issues, delay in meeting deadlines and completing projects. Wasted time not delegating more. 1

19 GETTING READY PREPARATION FOR THE E-MYTH LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE The Dysfunctional Business Themes Assessment The business is a reflection of its owner(s). As long as all humans have issues, all businesses will be dysfunctional in one way or another as a reflection of those issues. Interestingly, small business dysfunctions can be categorized easily into eight primary themes. Of course, every person and business is unique and must be respected as such, but understanding and utilizing these Dysfunctional Business Themes in context will empower you to help your prospect or client get from where they are to where they want to go in the most efficient way. This is an investigation into exactly what is meant by The business is a reflection of you and what there is to do about it. Literally all patterns of undesirable results in a business can be traced back to one or more of these themes. The themes will be revealed at the Intensive and we will show you how to apply what you ve discovered. Important Instructions: Check either TRUE or FALSE for each statement. These statements are designed specifically to illuminate deeper dimensions of how the business is a reflection of you as its owner and leader. Do your best to be completely honest with yourself to get the best results. The assessment is intentionally black and white. Please do not try to mark areas in between the boxes or make explanatory notes. Either it s true or it s not. Partly true or false will not be helpful here. If your business has more than one owner, then each partner should submit their own.

20 True False Business Theme Assessment # Section 1 1. I have a difficult time finishing what I start. 2. Commitment makes me feel like I'm limiting my options. 3. I'm frustrated by the fact that my people are not as inspired as I am. 4. My employees don't follow through like I need them to. 5. I get bored easily doing routine tasks or after the excitement of a new idea wears off. 6. Some people say I change my mind too often I don't enjoy managing people and wish my employees didn't need so much support. I have a hard time delegating because people don't see the end result like I do. I generally see others as the cause of problems before I see my own contribution. 10. It's difficult for me to slow down and focus. 11. I have people in my life (spouse, key manager, etc.) who I feel ground me I cross organizational lines sometimes in my business in the name of moving quickly. I like to keep the energy up and plan exciting things in advance to look forward to. I don't always keep my word and am more of a 'go with the flow' kind of person. Freedom means being able to do whatever I want and is one of my most important values. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

21 True False # Section 2 1. I find goal setting difficult and generally avoid it. 2. I'm comfortable with hard work and see it as the solution to my problems Leadership is uncomfortable for me and I'm most comfortable doing the work myself. I don't often have a clear vision of what my business will look like in the future because it seems like there's so much to deal with right now. Planning isn't interesting to me because it seems like things never go as planned anyway. 6. I often don't feel inspired about my organization. 7. My employees don't seem inspired about the business. 8. When I start to imagine or plan for the future, I feel a fear of failure. 9. Failure for me means things are not going as planned. 10. I don't have a sense of what my company's brand identity is. 11. I don't feel my organization is a canvas for self-expression. 12. If we just do what we do well, I expect the business will grow. 13. I don't pay much attention to our competition. 14. It doesn't seem realistic to make a living doing what you're passionate about. 15. I'm not sure what I would do with myself if I didn't have to work. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

22 True False # Section 3 1. I tend to imagine the worst-case scenario first. 2. I have difficulty with procrastination. 3. I like to keep busy and feel uncomfortable if I'm not doing something. 4. I tend to operate in overwhelm a lot. 5. It's hard for me to "get back on the horse" after something doesn't work. 6. I have difficulty making decisions if I haven't thought through all the possible outcomes. 7. It's hard for me to stay organized because I'm so busy. 8. I tend to avoid uncomfortable situations, especially when they involve confrontation. 9. Often I know what I need to do but just can't bring myself to do it. 10. I find myself in analysis-paralysis periodically. 11. I seem to be more willing to stay in discomfort than risk change. 12. I know I should delegate more, but it's much easier to do it myself many times. 13. I have difficulty trusting others to take responsibility. 14. I often wish growth didn't have to be so uncomfortable. 15. My mind moves so fast it's sometimes hard to slow myself down. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

23 True False # Section 4 1. Sometimes I feel like I have Attention Deficit Disorder. 2. I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. 3. I am easily distracted by new ideas. 4. When I'm feeling low, a new idea will always make me feel better. 5. Some people say I change my mind too often. 6. I get bored easily and need a lot of stimulation. 7. It's hard for me to stay organized because I have so many projects It's hard for me to delegate because thinking things all the way through isn't easy for me. It's difficult for me to slow down and focus. It can make me feel very uncomfortable. I find it difficult to say "No" to new opportunities and am afraid I might be missing out. 11. Structure can make me feel limited. 12. I tend to give in to my strong need for instant gratification. 13. I need to have the TV remote control. 14. If I am not in control of my time, sometimes I feel trapped. 15. Accountability makes me very uncomfortable. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

24 True False # Section 5 1. I have perfectionistic tendencies. 2. My employees just are not detail oriented enough for me It's hard for me to let go of control and trust people to do the work as well as I could. Often it's just easier for me to do it rather than take the time to train someone else. Sometimes when an employee isn't succeeding with something, I'll take the work back and do it myself. 6. I don't really know the best way to train someone. 7. I've had a lot of bad experiences with delegation I like the idea of empowering employees, but it's never seemed to work for me. If my employees would demonstrate more responsibility, I would give them more authority to make decisions. 10. I think my employees are scared of me. 11. My employees don't take risks like I would like them to. 12. My employees don't challenge my thinking. 13. I don't like it when plans change. 14. If I can t do something really well, I'll procrastinate or not do it at all. 15. Quantification seems like a good idea, but I like to be involved enough to be able to see and feel what's going on. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

25 True False # Section 6 1. People in my business don't own their responsibilities like I would like. 2. People seem to ask me to help them make decisions they should be able to make on their own. 3. Sometimes I feel like my employees delegate tasks up to me. 4. I'm generally not comfortable confronting people. 5. I tend to be more focused on other people's needs over my own. 6. Sometimes I feel taken advantage of by people. 7. It's hard for me to say "No" to people I care so much about people that I avoid saying or doing things that would hurt them. Sometimes I get frustrated with how people don't appreciate everything I do for them. 10. I have some passive-aggressive tendencies. 11. I think I can be generous to a fault. 12. It's difficult for me to hold people accountable because I can see how hard they're trying/working. 13. Sometimes I work so hard I don't take care of myself. 14. My people don't seem adequately challenged. 15. I'm concerned if my people are pushed too hard, they won't like me or their work. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

26 True False # Section 7 1. I love setting goals and thinking about what I will achieve. 2. After I achieve goals, I feel the need to create new ones. 3. How I feel about myself depends a lot on how much I got done in the day. 4. I routinely get done less than I would like. 5. People have told me I'm insensitive to their feelings. 6. I don't understand how unambitious many people can be. 7. I'm not sure what my passion is, but when I have the time and money I plan to find out. 8. Failure is devastating to me. 9. I have a hard time taking criticism. 10. Keeping busy and having a positive attitude seems to be the secret to happiness. 11. Sometimes I overwork and need to just collapse for a while. 12. I'm frustrated when emotion gets in the way of productivity. 13. I have heroic tendencies or ideas about myself. 14. I was a kind of "star" at one point in my life in one domain. 15. Sometimes I see people as a means to achieve my own goals TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left.

27 True False # Section 8 1. I generally prefer to manage numbers and systems rather than engage with people. 2. I avoid conflict and it s hard for me to confront people. 3. It's difficult for me to make quick, decisive decisions. 4. I don't understand why people let their emotions get so involved in their work. 5. Peace of mind is a core value for me. 6. Getting along with people and maintaining harmony is more important than telling them exactly what I think. 7. It's not easy for me to express inspiration about my business. 8. Holding people accountable is very uncomfortable for me. 9. There are certain aspects of my business that I just don't want to deal with. 10. Sometimes when critical priorities show up, I find myself doing unimportant things. 11. My people are hard workers, but lack enthusiasm It's easier for me to make decisions by myself than when other people are around. There are personnel issues in my business that I know of and I'm choosing to live with rather than address. 14. It's hard for me to know what I really want. 15. Having a comfortable quality of life is more important than setting goals and achieving them. TOTALS % Add up only the total True answers in this section and input the sum in the True column. Then divide the number of true answers by the total number of questions and times 100. (e.g., 8 15 = 0.53 x 100 = 53%) Input the percentage on the left. Please transfer all of your scores below to see a side by side comparison.

28 Scorecard: Section Score % Date: Score % Date: Score % Date: Score % Date: