Intense and Intentional Learning

Two questions for you and your business:

What have you learned in the past 90 days?

What are you going to change as a result?

My short answer: The past 90 days have been a period of intense action and learning for my company. I’ve learned a ton about my clients, my team, and my self. I’ve discovered/invented a new approach to working with clients that creates breakthrough results very quickly. I’ve learned a lot about the market and the logistics of hosting events. I’ve learned what clients really want and need in order to support their growth. Based on that learning, some changes are coming to the business in terms of our offerings and teaching schedule. This is all from the intention to equip you and your business for breakthrough growth. Stay tuned as we implement these changes.

My longer answer: Intense action yields intense learning.

Not just more of the same action, but a conscious decision to push the envelope.

Inaction yields no learning. More of the same action yields more of the same results — and no learning.

Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills. So if you really have learned something new, then you really can’t keep doing things the same way as before, can you?

Ninety days ago, on September 1, we initiated a surge of activity. We decided to host the Value Creation Intensive in November. We then taught the entire seminar in advance through a six-part webinar series in October. We held the event the week before Thanksgiving. The week prior, we decided to adapt the agenda to incorporate new approaches to helping our clients — even if the event seemed a bit clunky — but I think it paid off. Overall, every person got what they wanted and needed. On the details, some things worked well, some didn’t. We knew that going in. But the big stuff that I’m really excited about worked fabulously.

How did we get to that point? In September, I co-led a client retreat in Arizona for entrepreneurial lawyers with seven-figure plus law firms. While at the retreat, I noticed a pattern across these clients — a pattern that was costing them a lot of money and opportunity. So I put my mind to work on how to help them solve this problem.

Then, while still in Arizona, I discovered the fascinating work of an individual who is an expert in trauma therapy. What exactly does this work have to do with business strategy? I wasn’t quite sure at the time, but I had a strong sense that there was a connection. I read several of his books within a two week period. A month later, I went to a three day training that he hosted in Chicago. Not just to learn his methods, but because I had a specific hypothesis of how I could adapt and apply his work to the world of business.

Within a week of his training, I was leading a retreat in Sicily for a mid-market industrial equipment company where the theme was leadership and influence. During that week, I created the opportunity to test the new method with my client in a private session. Wow. What an amazing experience. New learning, new insight, applied and validated.

Since then, I’ve tested this new approach with ten different clients and the results are profound — clearing significant blocks to growth and profitability. The coolest thing is that this approach is completely new and did not even exist in my world or my client’s world 90 days ago.

I wonder what I’ll learn in the next 90 days.

How about you?

What have you learned about your market?
What have you learned about your client’s wants and needs?
What new approaches have you learned and applied?
What have you learned about your team?
What have you learned about your self?

Remember the words of Eric Hoffer: “In a world of change, the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned shall find themselves perfectly suited for a world that no longer exists.”