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Guest: Jack Daly
Episode in a Tweet: 15-time Ironman finisher, serial entrepreneur and top sales trainer Jack Daly shares 7 hard-earned business lessons learned from being an Ironman.
Quick Background: It takes discipline, character, and grit to be an Ironman–let alone a 15-time Ironman finisher. After finishing the Ironman in Kona back in 2013, Jack sat on the beach and reflected back on his life in business and sports and came up with 7 lessons learned in his Ironman journey. These lessons are universal and apply whether you’re running a Fortune 500 company or the next hot startup.
Transcript: Download the full transcript here.
Key Insights:
7 Ironman Business Lessons
Jack Daly: I go into companies and ask for the written systems and processes and their playbook, and they look at me as if I’m the man from Mars.
1. Start with a Vision.
I built six very fast-growing companies into national firms, and they were very fast-growing on the top and bottom line, but I never had a company that I couldn’t paint the picture of what it was going to look like when it was finished. When we had just 5 to 10 employees, I would talk about our company as if it was 500 plus people. This would help pull the rest of the organization along towards the vision.
2. Create a playbook.
Sports teams at every level in any sport are typically run better than most businesses. There isn’t a coach out there in sports that would ever think about putting their players on the field without a playbook, without the systems and the processes that will enable that team to win more than they will lose. Yet, I go into companies and ask for the written systems and processes and their playbook, and they look at me as if I’m the man from Mars. Don’t be that company.
3. Establish systems of measurement.
Things that get measured get done. I really encourage the listeners to go to my website and check out my annual goals, but also check out my annual Year in Review report that I gave to what I call the board of directors of my life. When you look at that report and see the degree of depth that I measure things in my personal goals, in my Ironman, in my marathons, in all of those endeavors, then I challenge the listeners to consider this, can you imagine what I’m measuring in my businesses?
4. Get coached.
I have five coaches on my personal board of directors. I have three coaches for my business. I have six coaches for my triathlon sport (swim, bike, run, overall, nutrition, strength). That’s 14 coaches I’m leveraging in order to expedite the successful completion of my vision. Coaching works.
5. Practice and train, train and practice.
Take any discipline in life. Go to music, go to art, go to whatever you want it to be, and then look at the people that excel. What you will find is a person who practices more than they participate in that endeavor. So, why should we expect anything different in business? Take the time to practice.
6. Eat well and stay fit.
I can take disappointment. I can take failures. I can take mistakes. I can take rejection. I can take and deal with the negatives that come up in our business. I can stay awake longer and be alert. Why? Because I eat well and stay physically fit. You should too.
7. Feed the 6 inches that makes all the difference.
Fifty percent or more of success in any dimension in life is 6 inches, and that is the space between your ears. It is our attitude. We have to be so maniacally focused on the vision, and have an understanding that those goblins are going to come out of the woodwork on us, on our business, but because we have such a positive attitude, and we’re resilient, and we’ve got grit, that we will win our medal in our business.
Coaching Takeaways:
1. Create a vision and let it pull you to victory. There’s a direct correlation between the clarity of your vision and success in your business and personal life.
2. Be better prepared than your competition before you go into battle. Don’t wing it. Figure out what works, practice it long and hard, then go out and perform at your highest level.
3. Feed the 6 inches between your ears with the right attitude. Nothing is more important to your success than the right attitude. If yours isn’t where it needs to be, fix it.
Transcript: Download the full transcript here.
