The Stop Doing List E-Book

Matt Malouf

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 189

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Learn what not to do to grow your business The Stop Doing List gets you off the treadmill of unproductive, frenetic activity, and sets you on the path toward growth. Running a business has never been easy, but today's nonstop 24-7-365 world makes moving forward more difficult than ever before. Plenty of resources can show you how to make lists, create schedules and manage your time, but they all seem to expect your time to be 100 per cent devoted to work - not only is that no way to live, it's no way to grow. Instead, try doing less. This book shows you how to stop wasting energy on tasks that don't move you closer to your goals, so you can focus on the things that do. You'll identify your own Stop Doing list, and learn a systematic and practical way to eliminate, automate or delegate these tasks so they never end up on your To Do list again. You'll discover your personal path to business success, develop a winning mindset and forever change the way you run your company - and along the way, you'll gain the freedom, energy and time you need to take back your life. Author Matt Malouf has helped businesses around the globe - from $20M+ corporations to start-ups - achieve their growth objectives. Now, he shares his proven strategies with you: it's not about doing more; it's about doing what matters. * Find your inner genius and use it to grow your business * Switch your mindset to one of success * Attract, train and retain the people you need * Make lasting changes to the way you think about your business If it seems like the more you do, the less you achieve, it's time to stop and breathe. Get smarter about growth and start developing The Stop Doing List.

Leseprobe

THESTOPDOINGLIST

MORE TIMEMORE PROFITMORE FREEDOM

MATT MALOUF

First published in 2017 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064 Office also in Melbourne

© Envisage Australia Pty Ltd 2017

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Creator:

Malouf, Matt, author.

Title:

The Stop Doing List: more time, more profit, more freedom/Matt Malouf.

ISBN:

9780730337447 (pbk.) 9780730337454 (ebook)

Notes:

Includes index.

Subjects:

Success in business. Creative ability in business. Business enterprises — Australia.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Kathy Davis/Wiley

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART I: YOUR MINDSET

CHAPTER 1: GET INTO THE LEARNING ZONE

The comfort zone

The panic zone

The learning zone

CHAPTER 2: FOUR NEGATIVE MINDSETS TO RESET

Negative Mindset 1: ‘They can't do it as well as I can.'

Negative Mindset 2: ‘I don't want to give up control of this task.'

Negative Mindset 3: ‘I can't afford it.'

Negative Mindset 4: ‘This is all good, Matt, but I just don't have time to implement this.'

CHAPTER 3: FIVE ESSENTIAL MINDSETS TO GET

Essential Mindset 1: Say no

Essential Mindset 2: Less is more

Essential Mindset 3: Investment, not expense

Essential Mindset 4: The 80/20 principle

Essential Mindset 5: Don't sweat the small stuff

PART II: CREATE YOUR STOP DOING LIST

CHAPTER 4: YOUR TIME IS WORTH MONEY!

The busyness trap

Time management

CHAPTER 5: DISCOVERING YOUR GENIUS ZONE

The four zones

CHAPTER 6: THE STOP DOING LIST

Step 1: Complete a time log

Step 2: Calculate your hourly rate

Step 3: Identify your genius

Step 4: Run tasks through the Focus Funnel

Step 5: Write your Stop Doing List

Stop doing the small stuff

A business owner's projects

PART III: HOW TO STOP DOING

CHAPTER 7: THE KRC MODEL AND THE STOP DOING LIST

Knowledge is important

Taking responsibility

Taking control

Combining the three areas

Applying the KRC model to the Stop Doing List System

CHAPTER 8: TRAINING, SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY

Training

Systems

Technology

CHAPTER 9: REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Daily reports

Weekly reports

Monthly reports

Accountability

CHAPTER 10: MANAGEMENT

Meeting rhythm

CHAPTER 11: THE RIGHT STAFF

Hiring

Onboarding

Moving a team member on

CONCLUSION

RESOURCES: WHAT TO STOP DOING

Audio & video editing

Content writing

Customer relations

Financial duties

General administrative tasks

HR

Research

Social media

Technical support

Transcription

INDEX

AN INVITATION FROM MATT …

MATT MALOUF KEYNOTE SPEAKING

EULA

List of Tables

Chapter 4

Table 4.1

Chapter 6

Table 6.1:

Table 6.2:

Table 6.3:

Table 6.4:

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1

Figure 1.1

the comfort, learning and panic zones

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1

the four zones

Chapter 7

Figure 7.1: the KRC model

Figure 7.2: linking KRC

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1: training, systems and technology

Figure 8.2: the four stages of learning

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Malouf is a passionate business coach, speaker, author and entrepreneur on a mission to help entrepreneurs around the world break the shackles of mediocrity and reach new levels of personal and business success.

Looking Back

Matt launched his career as an Ernst & Young accountant after graduating from Sydney University in Accounting & Finance. He has since enjoyed a varied career that has seen him work with start-up ventures, right through to some of Australia's largest companies including Rio Tinto, AMP and Aon Hewitt.

This experience enables Matt to teach entrepreneurs how to apply big business principles in a small business environment to fast track growth.

Having started, grown and sold a number of businesses himself in a variety of industries, Matt also has hands on experience with every stage of the business lifecycle, from conception through to exit strategy.

Approach to Coaching

Matt's business coaching methodology is simple. First, you need a strong understanding of where you are now, including all the variables that are restricting and supporting your business growth.

Once you're clear on your current coordinates, Matt begins mapping the journey from where you are now, to where you want to be. He works with you to establish meaningful, measurable and achievable goals by which to track your progress, keeping you accountable and ensuring you're always moving in the right direction — with pace.

With a winning combination of traditional and contemporary business education and the support of structured accountability calls, Matt helps clients uncover what their businesses need to shift from ordinary to extraordinary by becoming the facilitator of change.

Proven Results

A multipotentialite drawing knowledge and experience from a host of industries and personal mentors, Matt has helped clients add millions of dollars in turnover, with most doubling or tripling profitability in under 12 months — all without pressure on internal resources.

His eye for recognising lucrative opportunities, matched with proven strategies, gives his clients a competitive edge in every aspect of business. While a focus on ‘quick-wins' is central to success, it is the accountability element that helps Matt's clients turn visionary ideas and bold plans into profitable results.

Areas of Expertise

With extensive training in every area of business including sales, marketing, leadership, human resources, strategy and finance, Matt takes a holistic approach to uncovering the roadblocks in your business and uses a hybrid of tools to creatively overcome challenges by implementing systems and continually improving processes.

Whether yours is a startup or an established business, Matt refines every detail from the ground up, ensuring your business is both efficient and profitable.

Looking Forward

A balanced and mindful husband, father and entrepreneur himself, Matt's goal is to help fellow business owners worldwide achieve business fulfilment faster than they ever dreamt possible — without sacrificing personal relationships or recreation.

To achieve this, he has developed a system that helps business owners excel in their own ‘personal mastery', teaching new-age strategies for becoming more disciplined and better time managed.

Matt helps business owners understand and focus on what they need to ‘stop doing' as opposed to the traditional methods of time management that focus on to-do lists and calendar management.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank all of the amazing business owners who have inspired me to write this book. This book would not exist without your commitment and dedication to growth.

To Andrew Jones — your help and guidance through the process of putting the book together was amazing. Without your help this book would not exist. Thanks for listening and somehow understanding what I was trying to get across — you're a legend mate!

I would like to thank my mum and dad — Roger and Margaret Malouf. Your never ending support and belief in me inspires me to be my best every day and I thank you for all that you do for me and my family.

Lastly to my wonderful wife Danielle and our three children — Aden, Scarlett and Avalon. You guys are the greatest joy in my life and the Stop Doing List system was ultimately created so I could spend more of my life with you — so thank you for your patience, belief and love.

INTRODUCTION

If you're like most business owners I work with, you probably got into business to earn more money, have more time and find more freedom. However, many business owners feel like they've lost control of their business and life.

Rather than earning more money, they're making less than they did when employed — and are often losing money in the bad years. If they have an employee or two, often they're paying them more than they pay themselves.

Rather than having more time, they're working longer hours, up to 70 or 80 a week, sacrificing a social life, their health and even family to keep their business running.

Rather than having more freedom, they find themselves tied down to the business, unable to take a day off, let alone a holiday, for fear their business will suffer.

Rather than the growing, healthy business they dreamed of having, they're stuck in a business suffering from:

low profit (or even losing money)

no growth

stagnation.

Meanwhile, as business owners, they:

can't exit their business

suffer from burnout

have health problems arising from stress.

Since entering the world of business coaching and consulting, I've come across these problems time and time again with my clients. As I watched them transform their businesses through doing less work every day, I was inspired to write this book.

The Stop Doing List is not about giving you more work to do; rather, it's about identifying low-value tasks in your day-to-day routine, then stopping them. I've watched businesses rocket from stagnation to year-to-year growth through implementing these simple practices.

Through this book you will:

get a clear assessment of your own value as a business owner

find a way to start decluttering your business

learn to implement a step-by-step Stop Doing List system in your business.

Your Stop Doing List involves more than just delegating or outsourcing; it starts with your mindset. Far too often the restrictions in businesses come from the owners themselves. Part I goes in depth into the fears surrounding delegation — and how those mindsets can be changed.

Then in part II we move into the Stop Doing List, a simple step-by-step system of working out what to stop doing. As you go through this system, you'll learn how to:

focus on the activities that truly generate the profit in your business

identify background tasks that simply distract you

only do the tasks you love, allowing you to love your business.

Finally, in part III we set out the nuts and bolts of how you manage your people and your business effectively with a less-is-more approach, and how you actually find people for your team.

The last thing I wanted to do was give you yet another book dealing only with theory, telling you what you should be doing but not how to implement the solutions. So please take the time to complete the exercises and answer the questions throughout the book. When you commit to the work you will achieve amazing results. I have also created a step-by-step guide to make it really easy to implement the Stop Doing List system, downloadable from www.stopdoing.com.au.

I hope the Stop Doing List helps you find what you dreamt of when starting your business: freedom, increased profit and the time to spend on what is truly important to you.

CHAPTER 1GET INTO THE LEARNING ZONE

Do you like to control every aspect of your business? While you may answer yes to this question, I am here to tell you that doing everything does not give you more control. If anything it reduces your ability to control your company, as you are spread so thin that things slip through the cracks. So you decide you need to let go and you try to delegate some tasks. You employ someone or outsource some tasks to someone, only for them to screw it up — again — so you are left to clean up the mess, and the little voice in your head says, ‘I told you it would be easier to do it yourself.'

You see, in order for the Stop Doing List system to work for you (and it does work), you need to understand it's not as simple as telling somebody what to do. For the system to succeed you must be committed to behavioural change.

In order to achieve a goal you have never achieved before, you must start doing things you have never done before. This behavioural change is required for you and your people, but inevitably it must start with you! This sounds easy, but if it were that easy there would be no need for this book. Behavioural change requires you to consistently do something different.

Without understanding that you must leave your comfort zone in order to achieve behavioural change, you will struggle to let go of the majority of the non–income generating tasks that are holding you and your company back. Figure 1.1 shows the different zones.

Figure 1.1 the comfort, learning and panic zones

The comfort zone

We have all heard the term 'comfort zone' used in business in some way or another. It is where many business owners operate from. Put simply, it's where our natural skills and abilities lie. For many business owners, their comfort zone is filled with big lists of what they need to do, which tend to be lower value tasks that have high urgency. When I first start working with a business owner their comfort zone rarely consists of focusing on tasks that will move them towards their goals faster.

It is important to note that if you choose to spend the majority (if not all) of your time in the comfort zone you will make little progress, if any. This is because your comfort zone consists of things you can already do quite easily. You are unable to learn and build new skills in the comfort zone.

The panic zone

Quite often the people I work with make a decision to jump out of their comfort zone to move towards their goals. This is often after reading a book, attending a seminar or hearing someone inspiring that fires them up. Their challenge is they jump so far out of their comfort zone that they become stressed, anxious and even overwhelmed, which often leads to inactivity (the opposite of what they are trying to achieve!). We refer to this as the panic zone. When you are in the panic zone every activity or task feels tough and unachieveable. You will find yourself in a state of confusion or panic and feeling so uncomfortable that achieving the tasks is near impossible.

Like the comfort zone, you can't make progress from the panic zone. I find a lot of business owners enter the panic zone when they take on too many new tasks or projects. Your goals and dreams will not be realised from the panic zone.

The learning zone

The learning zone is the zone between the comfort zone and the panic zone. This is where real progress is made. The learning zone is where new skills are learned and mastered. It is where you will gather forward momentum towards your goals and often see great revenue and profit improvements in your business.

To be honest, while the learning zone is the more appropriate name for this zone, I personally like to call it the 'earning' zone. In the earning zone you will feel a little uncomfortable. This is good: growth cannot occur in your comfort zone. The easiest way to explain this is a simple metaphor. If you have ever trained with weights in the gym you will understand that if you choose:

easy weights to lift you will make no progress

weights that are too heavy you will more than likely injure yourself

weights that challenge you to the point where you can safely do 10 repetitions and physically cannot push another one out, you will achieve growth.

This is the learning zone.

Identifying the learning zone

Many business owners don't know where their comfort zone ends and their learning zone begins. Because progress can only be achieved by performing tasks within the learning zone, we must first define the boundaries of this zone. ‘So how do I know which zone I am in?' you may ask.

Well let's start with your comfort zone. If you don't find yourself challenged and rely largely on habit or past experience, chances are you are working inside your comfort zone. Start to take note of the tasks you naturally choose to do, or tasks that don't stress you out. Please note that you don't want to avoid performing tasks in your comfort zone; in fact, at times it may be beneficial to the business. But you want to avoid spending all of your time in the comfort zone.

On the opposite end, the panic zone is quite easy to identify. Tasks or activities in the panic zone often create high levels of stress, do not come naturally to you, and are often short-lived because of the amount of ‘pain' they create for you. An example of the panic zone is adults learning to swim. Often the student is stressed and unsure, causing their body to tense right up. This stressed state makes it impossible for them to learn and often causes them to struggle and be unable to stay above the water. It's only when the student begins to relax and understand how to get their body to float that they can begin to learn how to swim.

So, if we know that in the comfort zone things appear to be predictable or too easy, and the panic zone is characterised by high stress or feeling frantic, the learning zone is easier to define. This growth zone is where we perform