Hi, this is Mike Crowe, and I run home inspection business.

In fact, I've run a couple of home inspection businesses.

You know, true joy for me, though, has been helping literally

thousands of home inspectors build really solid home inspection business as well.

We can help a single man operation be able to do over three hundred

thousand dollars a year,

maybe all the way up

to 400 thousand dollars a year as a single inspector operation.

Even better for me is the 80 plus companies that we have helped

be able to build million dollar home inspection businesses.

I would like to help you be able to do the same thing.

We're picking up where we left off last week.

Chapter 16 of the Myth.

It's all about your people strategy and the game associated with it.

If you haven't listened to last week's episode, you should do that now.

So here's something important.

Let me give you some rules of the game, this is straight out of Chapter 16.

So here are some of the rules of the game.

Never try to figure out what you want your people to do.

That's not the game.

Never figure out what you want your people to do

and then try to create a game that if it's to be seen as serious,

the game has to actually come first, what your people do.

Second, so the game comes first.

Number two, never create a game for your people.

You're unwilling to play yourself.

You know, I have done some things a couple of times

and I go, oh, that sounds like great.

You know, go do that. But I'm not willing to do it now.

You know, if I'm expecting them to do a 17 point

introduction, I should be willing to do a 17 point introduction.

If I'm expecting them to walk a roof and a certain pattern,

I should be willing to walk that roof in a certain pattern.

If I'm expecting to write something up in a report a certain way,

then I should be willing to do that

if I'm expecting them to answer the phones with.

Thank you for calling Texas back. This is Mike Crowe.

How may I serve you? Then I can expect them to do that.

But if I'm not willing to do it, I really should not expect them to do it.

OK. Number three,

make sure there are specific ways of winning the game without ending it.

This is one of the greatest things

that I've been trying to share with people the other day.

You know, if you look at football or baseball or basketball

or even the Olympics, that just recently happened.

One of the things that you're going to find is that at some point

somebody's number one, somebody who's number two

and somebody's number three and the World

Series, there's somebody that's a winner and somebody that came in second.

OK, same thing with the Super Bowl.

Same thing with all of the games out there.

But the true games in life are not like that.

The true games in life are not, you know, you versus them at first versus second.

That just isn't the way it works.

It's you versus yourself.

And how can we make it better next time?

This is an important point.

And I just want to make sure that I get it across to you.

That game is never ending.

Maybe until the day we die.

But even then, if you set it up right.

Walt Disney and Disney World is still going on out there.

And Disney is long dead.

Walt himself is long gone, but the game still goes on.

OK, so make sure there are specific ways of winning the game without ending it.

And number four, changed the game from time to time.

The tactics, not the strategy.

So the strategy, of course, is it's at the moral underpinning of your game's logic.

It's the foundation of you and your people's commitment to each other.

But change is necessary for any game can become ordinary,

no matter how exhilarating it is.

And so I will tell you, for instance,

you know, when the pandemic of 2020 hit, everything had to change.

Now, the good news is for my company is that we were already

in the middle of changing everything.

And we were moving more to online, moving more to Facebook lives,

we were moving more towards doing the Big Bang marketing online,

because you can reach so many more people faster digitally than you can.

Most of the time by walking in and out of places.

But you do need to make changes.

Now, here's what didn't change.

Our motive didn't change.

Our ethics didn't change. Our foundation didn't change.

We knew what we wanted and we knew who we were

and how we wanted people to be able to see us, perceive us.

So none of that changed.

But how we played the game changed.

You know, I loved that movie Moneyball.

Guy, what a great movie.

Baseball didn't change, but how they played, it changed.

We're not looking for people that are hitting home runs and long balls

every single time.

You know, we're measuring basically one thing and one thing only.

Can they get on base?

I still remember one part of the movie goes, this guy gets on base all the time,

but it's because he's walked like seven out of eight times that he gets on base.

So he rarely ever hits. He just gets on base and he looks over.

The guy goes, does that count? He goes, yes, that counts.

Good. Bring him in.

And so how you play the game?

A lot of times it's just as important.

And it allows you to be able to win the game.

And number five, never expect the game to be self-sustaining.

People need to be reminded of it constantly.

People need to be reminded that there is a game constantly that we are

measuring ourselves constantly, that we are trying to improve constantly.

This is where the management comes in to a large degree.

We want to make sure that people get excited about it. They see it.

They feel it is OK.

And remember, in and of itself, the game doesn't exist.

It is alive to the degree that people make it so OK.

But people will have this ability

to forget things that they start and to be distracted by trivia.

So most great games are lost that way.

Don't expect your people to be something they're not.

Remind them time after time of the game,

they're playing with you and you can't remind them too often.

I'm just going to tell you, you can't remind them too often.

Number six, the game has to make sense.

You know, if the game doesn't make sense, if people can't measure it,

if they can't see if it's muddy, if it's muddy in the middle, muddy at

the end, and it's not really measurable, then the game will fail.

All right. For a game that is it tested?

Is it a game at all? A game that is it measurable?

Is it a game at all?

You can have the best reasons

in the world for your game

and still end up with a loser if the logic is not supported

for the strong emotional commitment that is necessary to play the game.

And if their commitment wanes, it means that

they and most likely you have forgotten the logic.

So you need to make sure you have that in there.

Number seven, the game needs to be fun from time to time.

Note that I said from time to time. He says that here in the book.

I love that note

that I said from time to time, no game needs to be fun all the time.

In fact, a game is often no fun at all.

There's part of a thrill of playing a game.

Well, learning how to deal with the no fun part of it can actually kind of resemble

your dignity, your your commitment, even maybe while you're falling on your face.

And by the way, we make mistakes here.

And I'm always amazed at how

some people look at what we're doing here and go, wow, that's terrible.

And they focus on the negative, the negative, the negative, the negative.

And at some point I go, what did we do anything? Right.

You know, well, we got paid.

Well, there you go. That sounds promising.

You know, and I love my dad, but sometimes my dad would say,

you know, if we can't get this right, we just need to get out of the business.

What I know, of course, is that

we're never going to be perfect, we're never going to get it right

100 percent of the time.

What's important is honestly is to get it right more often than you get it wrong

and to make sure that the numbers

work that way, because there are days when I was out there doing inspections.

There was no fun it at all.

However, there was fun.

I will tell you that sometimes when I'm sitting around

inspectors, it's fun to talk about all the bad things that happen.

So there's that as well.

But make sure that the fun you plan is fun.

So do some other things, maybe picnics or baseball games

or parties or different things, and so that they can be fun.

For instance, we do a lot of silly things around here.

And our Christmas party is a blast.

A Christmas party is a blast.

And fun needs to be defined by your people. OK.

If it's fun to them, then it's going to work.

But not too often. Maybe once every six months or so.

Something to look forward to and and maybe even then something to forget

and get back to business so that you have that number.

If you can't think of a good game still won.

And I'm going to tell you, this is where I get really good.

If I can't think of a good game, I go pick one up from somewhere else.

Even this morning, I was talking with one of our people

and I was talking about Abbott and Costello

was talking about Laurel and Hardy. I was talking about the Smothers Brothers.

And one of the things was I took part of of one of those things

and turned them into something else that I could do in our business,

in our marketing and make it fun.

I stole the idea from somebody else in that essence. OK,

and I'm going to tell you that most cases I'm not really good at playing games.

It takes effort for me to play a game.

But I will tell you, I'm very passionate about it

when I play a game and I am very driven to win. OK.

And there's nothing worse than pretending to play a game.

And so you need to try to make sure that you're real with that.

So the logic of the game. OK.

And you go through the whole process here and he talks about the logic of the game.

I'll let you work your way through that pretty much.

But here's what a business can do.

It can become that place of community.

You know, it was fun.

I have a young lady here.

Her name is Jen Starkey that is helping me train coaches

that will be coaching and other industries.

And one of the things she said that we did really well around here

and other things that we do is create a community

and you want to make sure that you're creating that in your business.

It can become a place where words such as integrity, intention, commitment, vision,

and actually it can be used not as nouns, but as verbs

and action steps in the process of producing a worthwhile result.

So one of the reasons what I'm training people, one of the things

they hear me say is, A, the more money we make, the more people we can help, OK?

Because that is a worthy result.

A worthwhile result.

All right. So moving on, one of the things he says as we go through

this is that your philosophy should be the philosophy of the company.

So you need to make sure you have a worthwhile philosophy.

If you're just trying to make money is not a real worthwhile philosophy.

I find that a lot of times I have to be asked people like seven different times.

Why is that important to you? Why is that important to you?

Why is that important to you?

And when I finally get down to is for me, a lot of times it's well,

because I want to see other people succeed as well.

I mean, that's like my ultimate goal is I want to see other people

succeed as well.

And I know that when I help other people succeed, then I get everything I want.

And of course, that goes back

a long time to great gentleman by the name of Zig Ziglar.

So the idea when it's communicated to your people, both word

and deed, you have a well planned process.

And the importance of that cannot be overstated.

You know, the boss, he says here in this, the boss communicated his idea through

documented systems and through his warm moving and positive manner.

He knew that he could communicate the orderly yet

human process of pleasing customers to his people

only if it were communicated to them in an orderly and human way.

You know, it's kind of funny sometimes my wife, I love her so much

and I think it says race on applications and different things,

and she's gotten to the point where she likes to say human, human.

I'm part of the human race, you know, because we all are.

And it's important for us to to make sure that we act

human in everything that we do.

So as the manager, continue to explain this to the guy, he said

the hiring process was comprised of several distinct components.

And then he went through all those components like a scripted

presentation, communicating the idea and the group meeting with each applicant

individually to discuss their reactions and feelings about the idea.

Note number three, notification of the successful candidate by telephone.

And even then, it's a scripted presentation.

No for notification of the unsuccessful applicant still calling them

and telling them thank you.

Maybe even having a standard letter signed by the interviewer

and then five on the first day of training.

Boy, this gets so fun.

On the first day of training

should include certain activities for both the boss and the new employee.

So, again, reviewing the boss's idea, summarizing the systems

through which the entire system brings the idea to reality.

Taking the new employee on a tour of the facility,

answering clearly and fully all the employees questions,

issuing the employee uniform and his manual, reviewing the operations

manual, including the strategic objective, the organizational strategy,

the position contract and the employee's position,

and then completing his employment papers.

You know, this is so fresh for me, Jonathan.

My oldest son was bringing on a new person the other day, and I watched him

go through all this.

He walked the gentleman through all of our office space.

He talked about what it was going to be like being trained.

He talked about the systems. He talked about the routines.

Of course, he got his paperwork filled out, talked about uniforms.

And it was so it's so much fun seeing this being done

inside my own company by my oldest son.

So here's the question Are you beginning to understand that systematizing

your business need not be a de humanizing experience, but

in fact quite the opposite, that in order to get your people to do what you want,

you first have to create an environment that will make it possible.

That's so important, let me say it again.

To get people to do what you want.

You first have to create an environment that will make it possible

to make them want to be there, to make them glad that they're there.

I was just talking

with my younger son the other day, and he has just taken a new job.

And he said that the people that originally started

the company, one had died and then one basically retired.

And so they brought in these people

to take over the business and run the business and everything.

And the first thing the guy came in and did

or the people came in and did that were now running the company was.

What's your job? What do you do here?

Why is that necessary?

And two main things happened out of that.

One was they got rid of people that they didn't think the job was necessary.

What do you mean what you know.

Thank you, but thank you for playing, but not today.

The other thing they got rid of was anybody that was difficult.

Anybody that was difficult.

And so my son said it's great because the only people that are left,

they're the only people that are

left in the company are the ones that have really important jobs.

And the people that want to be there.

He said it's such a great place to work.

He says it's such a great place to work.

And so I had a chance to sit with him

at family night last night and talk about that.

So with that idea, you can finally say, just as maybe the young manager

did here, you know, this is where we really shine.

And I will tell you again.

Are we perfect at this?

No, we're not. Do I make mistakes?

Yes, I do. Do I say something to an employee from time to time?

I wish I hadn't said.

Yeah. You know, every week sometimes it feels like every day,

every month for sure, I say something, I go back there .

I wish I hadn't said that or I wish I had said it easier.

I wish I had said it different.

But I will tell you, every day without fail, every day without fail.

I'm telling people how much I appreciate them, how much I am so glad they're here.

And what we are doing here and why what we're doing here is important.

People have to know that what they're doing is important.

And by the way, in the old days, people did it because they had to for a living.

We live in a day in a time where people get to choose where they want to work.

They can go work at McDonald's

and make minimum wage and maybe make fifteen dollars an hour.

I don't know. OK.

Or they could choose to work in a place that makes a difference.

You know, there used

to be the president of Pepsi-Cola and Steve Jobs recruited him.

And finally, one of the things that really got Steve Jobs to move the guy

from Pepsi over to Apple was he said this.

Do you want to sell sugar water your entire life?

Or would you like to do something that will change the world?

And I try to remind the people that are working here with me

that what we do here is changing the world, we're changing how people move

into homes, we're changing how real estate agents work with their clients.

We're changing how home inspectors are working with the home

buyers and different folks as well.

And we have a simple purpose, and that is helping people help themselves.

And that's our overlying big objective here.

Now, I'm not saying yours needs to be that.

In fact, I'd be a little surprised if that was exactly yours.

I won't be upset about it, OK, because I think it's pretty damn good go.

But I will tell you that at some point.

Figure out what will make your company have a bigger meaning

than just doing home inspections, than just earning money.

Now, I will tell you, money is how we measure whether you're winning or not.

And sometimes people get upset by that.

Well, that's just a shame.

But here's the other thing is the more money you make,

the more people you can help.

All right. Well, that was a little bit long tonight.

And the next time we're actually going to go

into your marketing strategy, which is Chapter 17.

And I will tell you that I've enjoyed this so much.

And we've only got a few chapters left.

We've only got a few chapters left.

And boy, I'll tell you what, they're going to be some big ones.

And then I'm going to try to summarize some of this as well.

Just remember this.

You get a choice of what you want to do in life.

And hopefully you work for a company

that thinks that this level plays at this level.

And if you can't find that company, then build one yourself

and maybe you're building your company already.

And if you are, then let me or let someone help you build that.

You know, there's a good chance I will never be your coach. And that's OK.

Find a coach somewhere, someone that can coach you on how to put that together.

You know, I've been so excited.

We've had a number of people respond to me and go, hey, Mike,

I want to find out more about your private coaching group or private

coaching clients and different things.

And if that's something you're interested in, well, then send an email

to hello at Coach Blueprint dot com.

And you know what?

Look me up on Facebook. I'm not there every day. Not even close.

But I do get on there on a regular basis and say hi.

And I look at people and people send me a friend request.

Well, then I usually accept them, especially especially when I see

that they're with a home inspection business,

because my heart bleeds for home inspectors.

But the truth is, anybody in business and trying to grow a business,

my heart bleeds for you as well, because you know what?

You're doing something that is so important

and it's going to affect not just your life, not just your family,

but hundreds, thousands of other people's lives as well.

And of course, you need to make sure you find the right people

that are willing to help you accomplish that.

Bottom line here.

Be successful and be around those that are successful.