Sam Donaghey

This podcast is brought to you by Fast Slow Motion, a team of expert consultants that have helped hundreds of growing businesses build scalable systems on the HubSpot and Salesforce platforms. To learn more, visit fastslowmotion.com. Welcome to the Fast Slow Motion podcast, where we teach you how to build a business you love while enjoying your life. I’m your host, Sam Donaghey, and today I’m joined by Michael Smith.

Michael is one of our frequent podcast guests, and he is Fast Slow Motion’s Director of People. Today, Michael and I will be taking a look back at some of our favorite moments and key insights from season one of the Fast Slow Motion podcast. Michael, good to see you and thanks for joining.

Michael Smith

Hey Sam, it’s been a great season. Our first season — it’s pretty amazing what our team has launched and pulled off this year. We’ve covered so much ground and so many topics, everything from how to start a great business to how to build a great company culture.

Sam Donaghey

Yeah, and Michael, every time I open up the show, I open with the tagline about building a business that you love while enjoying your life. And that’s really what we help our clients to do day in and day out here at Fast Slow Motion. It’s been great to tap into the wisdom from our team here at FSM as well as our incredible network of clients and partners, and get to share that with a wider audience.

Michael Smith

Absolutely. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of our favorite clips, and we’re going to kick things off with the foundations of any successful business venture — and that’s transforming an idea into a viable business. Back in episode nine, FSM CEO John Burdett came on the show to discuss and explore what’s really important about turning good ideas into ideas that are actually viable business opportunities. What’s the differentiator between those two?

Sam Donaghey

John, how do you actually turn an idea into a business?

John Burdett

Yeah, Sam, I think in today’s culture we’ve kind of glamorized entrepreneurship at some level. And what I fundamentally believe, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs believe, is that ideas are really overrated. Everybody puts a lot of emphasis on the idea itself, instead of the things that really work to build a real business — which is execution, intentionality, focus, and discipline. Those are often non-sexy things, so people don’t want to comment on them or really focus on them. But those are the fundamentals that are really critical to building a real business, much less around the idea.

Inventors are the ones that take an idea and create something. And entrepreneurs are those people that turn those products and services into something useful for customers — that customers are willing to pay for — and build a sustainable business model around that. So just because it’s a good idea does not mean it’s a good business. Entrepreneurs are rarely inventors, and inventors are rarely entrepreneurs.

Thanks to Shark Tank and the popularity of that program, I think a lot of people have gotten a lot more interested in being entrepreneurs, but they always highlight — hey, you’ve got a product and not a business. And I think people are hopefully starting to realize that just because you’ve invented something or you have this great idea or product doesn’t mean you can actually turn that into a real business.

Very few businesses are actually created on a novel idea. A lot of the most successful businesses in the world didn’t really invent anything. They took something and made it better. They innovated on that idea. You take somebody like Apple — they didn’t invent the computer, the smartphone, vision goggles, any of those kinds of things. They just took it to the next level and created a real business around that. So it’s really not about the idea, in my opinion. It’s much more about execution — how do I turn that idea into something that somebody is going to pay for and that adds value in the marketplace?

Sam Donaghey

I really find that quite comforting, to know that you don’t actually have to come up with the next big idea to be successful as an entrepreneur. That was a great discussion. John has been very successful, and it was interesting and refreshing to hear him say that not every great idea translates into a successful business. Michael, what stood out to you in that episode?

Michael Smith

You know, what I got from that was the emphasis on execution. John saying that ideas are plentiful, but it’s the execution that truly makes a difference. So building on that concept, in the same episode we talked about the significance of the role of innovation versus invention in the success of a business. So let’s listen to a segment where John discusses how most top businesses focus on refining existing concepts rather than inventing new ones.

Sam Donaghey

For those that are really interested in being entrepreneurs and building a successful business, how do they actually choose which type of business to start?

John Burdett

Yeah, I think take some of that pressure off. You don’t have to invent something. You don’t have to come up with a perfect idea. So stop waiting for the perfect idea — that would be the thing I would say. Just look around. What are you passionate about? What do you love doing? What’s out there that you can make better and improve? That’s a much better foundation for creating a really good business than trying to invent something or come up with something somebody has never had before. And those businesses are the ones that are usually very, very successful. If it aligns with your passion and you’re solving a real problem, that’s where I would start on that journey.

And again, the template is there from a lot of very successful businesses — the Apples of the world, the Microsofts of the world, the Facebooks of the world, even people like Uber who created a whole other marketplace. They didn’t invent the taxi. They just took it to a different level. Now you take somebody like Uber in their journey versus Apple — very, very difficult to break into that market. They had so many hurdles. It required a tremendous amount of cash and perseverance and all those kinds of things because of really disrupting a very established marketplace. But I would look for ways of how can I make something better? What am I passionate about? How can I improve and add more value to something versus inventing some new idea?

Sam Donaghey

John shared so many thought-provoking points in that conversation — just a ton of value for anyone interested in starting a business. Okay, so moving on from the concepts around starting a business, we’ve also covered a lot of topics that are important for anyone at the next stage, which is trying to grow and scale a business. In episode four, FSM’s Director of Growth Michael Johnson identified common struggles in business growth, and he highlighted the role of processes, automation, and visibility in scaling effectively. So here’s a clip where we discuss two of the most common barriers that businesses experience.

If a business isn’t guided by these types of principles, are there any commonalities that you’ve seen — common struggles that keep businesses from growing?

Michael Johnson

Over the years I’ve noticed some commonalities, and I’ve actually got a list of 15-plus reasons why your business isn’t growing. I’ll probably talk about five today. The first two are really around sales, which is a key driver for the organization.

The first one I call pipeline ignorance — it’s really not knowing what’s in the pipeline. The way this manifests, we see leaders with a deal spreadsheet. What we find going through this process is that there may be multiple versions of that. The way sales teams work when there’s not a standardized process, what we find is you get a lot of new deals and a lot of closed deals, but there’s nothing in between. And so the leaders in the company don’t really have visibility into the actual pipeline, and the sales team doesn’t have a strong process they can follow to help them succeed. And so you lose the opportunity there for coaching, for making really good decisions, and for really understanding what’s going on in the business.

The second one is kind of related to that. I call it a lagging pipeline. They have this deal spreadsheet, they have almost an informal process, but they’re not getting the information they need as the process rolls along. We worked with a company — the CEO was very involved in sales. As we started working with them, he had this deal spreadsheet and the system he was using had a lot of good details and good process. But as we dug in, what we found was — and he didn’t even realize this — he was the only one updating the spreadsheet. He was capturing details from emails, noting what this person said, and going and updating it. But there was someone else who had their own spreadsheet, and there was another salesperson who wasn’t entering deals until they closed.

And so he was missing the ability to see into his process, find more important deals to focus on, find less important deals to maybe not focus on as much, to coach his team, and to help them win. Having that kind of disparate, unstandardized process really had a negative impact.

The solution here is really standardizing the processes in the sales cycle. You want to give your team expectations of what to do, standardize those processes, have it in a way that’s easy for them to maintain. Put it in one place with standards and stages. When you have this, you can peer into it. You can see exactly where deals are. You can coach your team. You can be intentional and win more than you were before, and know when you’re going to lose. It just has this whole other level of visibility and capability for your team to win.

Sam Donaghey

Yeah, that episode was fantastic, especially how Michael broke down all five of those common growth barriers and the ways to fix them. Any listeners who are interested in growing their business should check out episodes 18 and 19, because that’s where Michael breaks down what we call our scalable business framework. He did a deep dive on how to build a business the right way and set it up so that it can really flex and scale as the business grows.

Michael Smith

Absolutely. And you know, when we’re talking about growth — having a thriving business isn’t just about whether the business is financially healthy. It’s also about the culture of the organization. Now, Michael, you’re Fast Slow Motion’s Director of People, and I’m the Recruitment Director. So the next topic is near and dear to both of us.

Sam Donaghey

Hey, that’s right. And back in episode three, we sat down with Matt Dyar, the Chief Operations Officer at Fast Slow Motion, and discussed with him the importance of building a bulletproof culture — one that not only survives but thrives during adversity. Let’s listen to a clip where he digs into why it’s important to build that type of culture.

Matt, do you think it’s essential for all businesses to have a healthy culture like Fast Slow Motion? Is there ever an exception to the rule?

Matt Dyar

There is. I would say there’s definitely an exception to the rule. Having a healthy culture and running a profitable business are not mutually exclusive. You can have an unhealthy culture and run a profitable business. There’s nothing that says you can’t. However, here’s my warning — here’s what I’m crying out to anybody who’s listening. It’s temporary.

If you’re not focusing on culture today, if you don’t have an adaptable organization, if you’re not building a bulletproof culture, your success is temporary. Because I assure you, there is somebody in your space, there is a competitor who has a very clear purpose. They’ve got a good mission, vision, and values statement. They’re attracting the right people. And they are going to eat your lunch. It’s just a matter of time.

So can you be successful for a short period of time and not focus on your culture? Absolutely. But if you have any sort of long-term goals, if you want to be around for the long haul and you’re not investing in your culture, if you’re not reiterating your purpose on a regular basis, somebody out there will eat your lunch. It’s just a matter of time.

Sam Donaghey

Culture really can make or break a business. Do you have any favorite takeaways from that episode, Michael?

Michael Smith

Yeah, I think for me, my favorite thing about the episode was Matt’s focus and intentionality around building and preserving a company culture that stands the test of time. You know, company culture is not easy. We’re humans working together to achieve a common goal, and we’re not always going to get it right. Business is hard. But what Matt is saying here is that the difference between a business that does care about its culture, values, and its people — and is truly focused on building a bulletproof culture — versus a business that, while profitable, is pretty transactional, is night and day.

Sam Donaghey

Agreed. And a healthy culture helps you attract and keep talented team members, and will also help you in the day to day as you serve your customers and treat each other well within the organization. That’s just a successful business.

Michael Smith

Definitely. So when it comes to creating a strong culture, it starts with effective leadership. And Michael, this is a favorite topic of yours, right?

Sam Donaghey

So back in episode 11, you came on the show and talked about leadership, and you discussed why leadership is a non-negotiable trait when hiring and training employees. This was a really great episode. Here’s a clip where you explained how an ownership mindset among team members is crucial for a company’s success.

Michael Smith

We want people to come into our organization with a leader mindset, an ownership mindset where they’re saying, I want to do everything I can possibly do to help the company be its best. And when I help the company be its best, then I’m successful as an individual, and then we’re successful as a company.

It really starts with wanting people who are self-aware as individual leaders, who come in with the attitude that they want to get better at who they are in all aspects of their life so that they can be their best contributor to the team. And that starts from a place of humility. That might seem like a strange word to use, and some people think of it as a weak word. But being humble is actually a strong thing, because you’re self-aware of the skills you bring to the team and also what you don’t bring to the team and where you need help.

I also wanted to think about this — everybody is also a follower. Even the owner of the organization is following something. He’s following either the board of directors or other people in his life. But in every aspect, I want followers to follow from a leader mindset — in other words, they’re still thinking as that owner who wants to be at their best. And I think that’s what a good leader is.

Sam Donaghey

Leadership and the way we embrace it as a value really does set the tone for the entire organization. Expanding on that, we talked to Jeff White, our Chief Delivery Officer, about how he develops leaders inside our organization. He is so great at developing leaders within our company, and he came on the show to talk about what he calls second-order leadership. You guys talk about how nurturing leadership at all levels contributes to a successful and thriving organization.

So with this idea in mind — if Fast Slow Motion is a place where everyone is a leader, how does that mentality help a company scale?

Jeff White

I think that’s a helpful question to explore a little bit, Sam. When I started at Fast Slow Motion, there were 8 or 9 team members, and we’re now over 100. Seeing that growth and that scale, it would have been very challenging if the team wasn’t empowered.

When I first started, you could, as a leader, lead by what I call line of sight. You can sort of keep track of everything that’s going on, and that will take you to a certain point in your organizational growth. You don’t necessarily have to empower the team, and you can have a successful small business. But eventually it will start to constrain your growth, because you can only see so far as a leader.

So from the beginning, if you’ve been intentional as you grow and scale, the team can now make decisions relatively autonomously — with checks and balances — for the benefit of the whole company. That not only creates a win for the company, it also creates a win for the team member and the client. And it has allowed us to grow and scale over the years. It really comes down to the team’s ability to lead themselves and our clients.

Sam Donaghey

Empowering others to lead creates a ripple effect throughout the company. And I think at Fast Slow Motion, we like taking concepts about things like leadership and service and extending them beyond what businesses typically do. And that’s definitely true in the way that we approach sales.

So back in episode 13, we had one of our good friends and former employees, Barry Thomason, on the show. Barry is just a great mentor and sales coach, and he had some fantastic wisdom to share on why viewing sales as a service opportunity can be such a game changer for a business. Here’s a clip from that conversation.

Barry Thomason

Sales is really a service. It’s a service job. If you think about retail sales — somebody walks into a retail shop, the little bell rings at the door, and the sales staff looks up and says, may I help you? Right. That’s what sales is. The person walking in the door is indicating they might be a buyer, and your job as the seller is to help the buyer.

So I found that by using that context, your job is not to manipulate your prospect and pull some kind of fast one on them or get them to do something they shouldn’t do. Your job is to help them. They’re trying to evaluate an idea, solve a problem, figure out how to do something. And your job is to kind of help them through their process.

Because what I learned over the years is, whether you believe it or not, you might be doing all this sales stuff over here — but the buyers do a lot of buying stuff on their own over here, and they’re going to do their stuff with or without you. So you need to get on board with them and serve them, and then the deal will move along.

And when you do that — like in a Fast Slow Motion context — you’re bringing in the professional staff, and when they look at it that way, they’re like, okay, this is not dirty. We’re not here to pull something off on our prospect. We’re here to help this person. And sometimes we help them by saying, you know what, we can’t help you — we’re not the right provider, you need to try something else. Or maybe you need to not do what you’re contemplating doing, even though that’s going to cost us money, because you’re not ready for it. That’s the job. If you help the buyer, you’ll make sales.

Sam Donaghey

You know, that perspective shift can transform how a business interacts with its customers. And you really have to be intentional in your hiring processes to find people who can buy into operating that way.

Michael Smith

Hey, that’s true. I really enjoyed it when we flipped the tables and you became a guest on the podcast and talked about something you’re passionate about — the idea of values-based recruitment and why alignment matters if you want to find and hire superstars who want to stay around for a long time.

Sam Donaghey

The third component you mentioned about values-based recruiting is alignment. Let’s unpack that.

Absolutely. You know, alignment is all about making sure that the candidate’s values, mission, and goals match the company’s. And this is just crucial in values-based recruitment and also for long-term success.

Alignment helps a candidate become an employee who is engaged and committed — their values resonate with the company’s and it really sets them up for success. We want people to not only fit in, but to thrive and contribute and make an impact. Alignment is just such an important piece of the puzzle, because when things are aligned, it leads to high performance and better retention rates. It makes teams more cohesive, and everybody is working towards common goals and sharing the same principles.

And Michael, you know, at Fast Slow Motion we hire to culture. So alignment is mission critical. We want to make sure that every team member is genuinely invested in our mission, our work, and the success of the company. So as a recruiter, it’s my job to clearly communicate Fast Slow Motion’s company values and mission during my calls with candidates. I think this helps candidates understand that the company stands for something, and then it helps them decide if what we stand for aligns with their own personal values.

For me personally, I want to be transparent, open, and honest about expectations and what to expect at Fast Slow Motion and what we have to offer here. I’m not a believer in sugar-coating anything to get people through the process. I want to find out if we’re misaligned as early as possible, and I don’t want anyone to waste their time. I want to get the right people on the bus. I want people to be happy here, and I want them to stay for as long as they’re happy. FSM isn’t for everyone — we’re clear about that. And that’s why alignment is so important, because a recruiter can sometimes mis-sell the role or the opportunity, and then that ends up costing the candidate time and effort, and it costs the business time, effort, and money as well.

Michael Smith

You know, if you’re trying to grow a business, bringing the right people on board is so important. But once you’ve hired the right people, compensating them fairly is crucial as well. In episode 23, John Burdett was back on the podcast to discuss how strategic compensation systems can create a meritocracy and drive the success of a business. So let’s listen to what he had to say.

John Burdett

Well, we see compensation as a big alignment tool, and it creates a flywheel for the employees to feel empowered to make the right decisions for the business. Nobody has to micromanage the business. Everyone is focused and concerned about the right things. There’s no room for politics and bureaucracy. Instead, you create a meritocracy where everyone is focused on fulfilling the purpose of the business. B players have nowhere to hide, and A players make a ton of money and stay with the company long term.

Sam Donaghey

So you’re saying the team won’t put up with mediocrity when you have this flywheel in place and compensation that is aligned with the business goals and objectives?

Michael Smith

Well, my big takeaway from season one is that building a business you love while enjoying your life involves a holistic approach. It really does. It’s not just putting your business idea into place and putting all your energy into growing revenue. It’s about growing a business you love, and you have to focus on what your values are. I love that our organization actually started with values, and that’s how we play out and what we lean into on a daily basis — internally with our team members and externally with our clients — because that will impact your day-to-day life just as much as the bottom line.

Sam Donaghey

Michael, thank you so much for joining me for this recap of season one. For our listeners, thanks for joining us, and we look forward to having you with us for what’s ahead in season two. We’ve already got so many great guests lined up, including loads of successful entrepreneurs, tech and business experts, and more. Remember to like and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform, or you can find archived episodes at fastslowmotion.com/podcast. And if you have any questions or topics that you’d like us to cover in future episodes, reach out at fastslowmotion.com/podcastfeedback.