Transforming Goals into Achievements

Uncover the secrets to mastering negotiation and fostering personal growth in a world that’s ever-changing. This episode begins with a poignant reflection on the emotional aftermath of a presidential election, recognizing the divide and the compassion that ties us to our fellow citizens. As we shift gears, discover how one listener successfully implemented our negotiation strategies to request a pay raise, demonstrating the transformative power of acknowledging and articulating your strengths. Learn why flexibility in awarding raises and benefits can lead to rewarding excellence beyond traditional boundaries, and how these insights can empower you to enhance your professional journey.

As the year draws to a close, it's imperative to set your sights on a clear vision for career advancement. We discuss the necessity of crafting a detailed roadmap with specific goals and milestones, breaking them down into manageable one-year goals and quarterly objectives. The journey doesn't end there; adapting your strategies to meet new objectives is crucial for navigating future successes. By shedding unnecessary tasks and seizing negotiation opportunities, you can maintain a laser focus and embrace continuous learning. Commit to your vision, and join us next week as we continue to chart the course towards personal and professional success.

Chapters

• 0:03 Negotiation, Feedback, and Employee Investment
• 5:32 Career Vision and Goal Setting
• 14:43 Success Through Adaptation and Negotiation

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:03

oh, I love that, I love that hey y'all, welcome back to another episode of feed me your construction content.

Speaker 1: 0:09

I'm carolyn mcmahon I'm joshua mcmahon glad to be back it's uh good to be back. It's good it's a tough week both feeling better yes, much better physically, much, much, much better mentally mentally I feel really good too.

Speaker 1: 0:23

It's just a tough week. It's Wednesday, we're recording day after the election presidential election in America. You know tough day. And here's why I say it's a tough day, because half the country is hurting today while the other half is celebrating. So it's a difficult day when you look at your country man and country women, and you don't want to see your people hurt. I, countrymen and countrywomen, and you don't want to see your people hurt right, I mean I think that's how we are anyways, right, so we have a lot of compassion for people.

Speaker 1: 0:50

How do we handle things? As you move forward, though, you wake up and you figure out. What do I do next? What's my plan?

Speaker 2: 0:57

Right Move forward.

Speaker 1: 0:59

Yeah, it doesn't matter who wins. That's how we approach it and we're not going to get into any more than that, because this is not a political show, but what we will do is talk about last week we talked about negotiation how do you come in and you ask for more money, you ask for benefits, all those things. It was really good, right, because I listened to the episode, which I don't listen to the episodes often anymore, not because I don't like my voice, but you know.

Speaker 2: 1:26

We need the downloads dude.

Speaker 1: 1:27

We do, we do, we do. But I did listen to it and I could tell how passionate you were about the topic of negotiation, because not just because it was about you, but I think it's an interesting topic that we all can benefit from and we can all get value from. You really took it to heart and you applied some of what you learned.

Speaker 2: 1:49

The shutting up part was a hard lesson.

Speaker 1: 1:54

You struggled with it.

Speaker 2: 1:55

I struggled with it.

Speaker 1: 1:57

It's very difficult and it takes time and it takes a lot of practice, but once you recognize it, you'll start to use it more and more in everyday interactions, which makes you better when it comes time for that stuff heck yeah here's something funny I haven't shared with you yet, but one of my people called a meeting. What day was it? Monday, maybe? So I'd like to have a meeting with you and talk about the podcast and some of the points you made. I said, yeah, I, yeah, I love feedback.

Speaker 2: 2:25

One of your people, yeah, where you work.

Speaker 1: 2:28

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:30

Oh, okay.

Speaker 1: 2:31

I said I'm always open for feedback. So I said, man, we can use the feedback from this to fuel the next week's episode. I'm like we got the content. This is beautiful.

Speaker 2: 2:40

Oh gosh.

Speaker 1: 2:42

Yeah, oh gosh, yeah, oh gosh. It was a four-page document. It was a breakdown of the stuff that they have done. It was a request for an increase in pay. Oh shit, oh my God. So that was my initial reaction as well.

Speaker 1: 3:03

I appreciate you listening and they said you've got to take this seriously or I can't get through it. And I said, okay, you're right, you're right, let's take this seriously. What's your objective? And we worked through it and what we did was we took advantage of the opportunity. I shared feedback on the notes that were in there. I said, hey, you're cutting yourself way short in these areas. You need to put more attention here. This is where you're really excelling and you're leaving it off the table. So tighten that up, go back to the drawing board, add more meat. And we talked through all those things and I said you know, I don't know that I can get you the kind of money you're looking for, but let's keep working on it. And now I understand kind of where they're looking to be so I can start exploring how to potentially make that happen to potentially make that happen.

Speaker 2: 3:55

Well, do you believe that raises and benefits can only be awarded in certain periods of time?

Speaker 1: 4:04

No, I don't. I don't see it that way. I know a lot of people do, a lot of business owners do, because they say, hey, our budget's set, we don't want to change it. I look at it a little bit differently, because if this person, or any person left tomorrow, I would say, oh well, you know what, I can't fill that void until the end of the year because my budget doesn't allow it. Or say I can fill the void, but it has to be the exact same pay or less, because my budget matters.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Well, how the heck do you run your business with that mindset? I might find someone to replace them. I might pay 20% more. So I think, when you consider it, if people are your greatest resource and I want to invest in my people because I'm going to get a lot out of it, I'm going to gain and they're going to gain I think it's foolish to say we only do raises at this time. I would rather say, man, these people are excelling and I'm going to give you a raise now. I'm going to give you a bonus now, whatever it is, because I need to make sure that you know that I'm serious. I want you here. So I appreciate it. And when we started this podcasting putting out content, it was always like I'm going to use this stuff against you. I said, good, I hope you do, because I want you to get better. That's the intention of this entire thing is for you to get better. So kudos to you for doing it and next week let's try again.

Speaker 2: 5:29

All right Interesting so here we are everybody.

Speaker 1: 5:32

We're the first week, first full week of November, two months to go in 2024. The elections are behind us. It's time to refocus. How do you say I want to negotiate, I want to get that bigger paycheck, I want to get that new opportunity? All that sounds great, but the part that we didn't add is you don't just do that overnight. It just doesn't magically happen. It's November, it's review season. I'm going to go in and ask for a raise. Oh, okay, is that how you operate? Some of you probably are shaking. Yeah, hell, yeah, that's how I do it. I do my job. I go in and ask for a raise. Okay, good, good luck. Go back to the beginning of the year.

Speaker 1: 6:14

The first four episodes of 2024 for our podcast was all about vision, and we beat vision to death because it is so imperative to everything you do. A business without a vision is not going anywhere, and it's very difficult to recruit A-level players. You, as an individual, need to have a vision for where your career is going. If you don't have a vision, how do you know you're going to get there? How do you even know where you're going?

Speaker 2: 6:45

I just follow you, you follow me.

Speaker 1: 6:47

No, you don't, Don't give me that.

Speaker 2: 6:48

Get out of here with that nonsense.

Speaker 1: 6:52

You have to set a vision and listen. This is something I didn't understand until probably two years ago. I didn't understand is something I didn't understand until probably two years ago. I didn't understand vision. I didn't understand the value of it, why it was important. All I knew was I'm going to get to a point where I'm making $250,000 a year and this is what it is. It didn't mean anything. There was nothing around it. There was nothing to support it. It was just a number I threw out there because it was so far out of reach that I thought I would never get it. So I'd have to work hard to get there. That was it. That was my vision. It doesn't hold water. A vision today needs to be. I'm going to be in this role. These are the things I'm going to be doing. These are the things I'm going to be accomplishing. This is what my team looks like. This is how I'm growing people around me. Start to build a vision. Then you'll start to do things to put those things in place.

Speaker 1: 7:41

So, as we wrap 2024, this is the best time to start evaluating your vision, because the year's coming to a close. Yes, you want to charge and finish the year strong, but why not take this time now and say, hey, go to a quiet space, like we said in the beginning of the year, and just write down what does this time next year look like? What does this look like three years from now? Business owners do this, or they're supposed to be doing this, and the ones who aren't they still. They just kind of flop around and they get lucky or they don't. Individuals need to do this as well, and I would say this you're not going to know what it is. It's going to be very difficult. It's a new skill, so get uncomfortable and just start painting a picture of what a vision looks like.

Speaker 1: 8:28

Once you've created that vision, next up, it's easy. It's one-year goals. What are you going to accomplish in the next 12 months? And if you think backwards, babe, you want to go in there and you want to ask for a raise of 25%. So that's kind of your vision. Your design center is doing this. Your selection process is this your timeline from intake to spitting it out and having to go to purchase it is this. That's your vision. Now you break that into one-year goals and what does that look like? When will you have this portion done? When will you have this portion done. When will we have that portion done? When will this like? Then you can start to bring your vision to life, okay.

Speaker 2: 9:10

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:11

As you're doing that and we start talking about the review time, where do you get all the information to say this is what I accomplished this year. It goes back to your vision, it goes back to your one-year goals and you say this is what I set out to do, this is what I accomplished, this is what I thought it was going to be done, this is when it was done. So you can just start breaking those things down. As we say, breaking it down, break your one-year goals down into one more bite. What do you think that would be For me? Yeah, no, for anybody.

Speaker 2: 9:40

If you're going to break down one-year goals down into one more bite. What would you? What do you think that would be for me? Yeah, no, for anybody.

Speaker 1: 9:43

If you're going to break down one-year goals, how would you break it down?

Speaker 2: 9:46

I mean by quarters, by quarters.

Speaker 1: 9:48

It's easy right sure and there's many names for how you call these quarterly goals, and we at our company, we've subscribed to four level coach, which is a coaching service out of canada great, great people oh yeah yeah, oh what do they?

Speaker 1: 10:05

say uh, I don't know, I don't, I I know, but I can't think of it now. Thanks for putting me on the spot. A that's it a so if you break down your quarterly goals and what what we like to call them, based on four level coaches, vitals and not goals I like to look at the vitals as almost it's life or death. I want it to be extremely serious, to the point that if you don't get it done, you're going to lose your company.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 10:37

I want it to be because, listen, if it's not that serious, then why the hell are you doing it? It's like if it's just saying, I'm going to do my job, you're going to do that anyways. It's got to be so serious that it moves the needle of the company to make an impact. So, when you're talking about getting a review and getting a big bump in pay, well, have a vital. That's so damn important that you can show somebody. This is what I set out to do, which was crazy, and we did it and this is how we accomplished it. So, create those vitals, those 90-day vitals, because it's so serious that you'll get to that one-year goal and you'll get to your vision and you'll get to the vision of making more money and all that stuff, or bigger roles, more perks, whatever it is.

Speaker 1: 11:23

But what happens? You challenged me with this before we went on the air. What happens if your company doesn't support that stuff? They don't support. You've got your vision, you've got your goals, you've got your vitals and you're hitting it. You're doing all this stuff, you're improving the business. What happens then? Do you stop doing it Right or do you plan your exit? Maybe you plan your exit. We're not telling you to go find new jobs. We're just saying that if you're doing these things, that better you. They better the company, and the company doesn't appreciate it. There might not be alignment between you and the company. That's not always a bad thing between you and the company.

Speaker 2: 12:03

That's not always a bad thing and it's hard for you, especially with your drive, your ambition. Yeah, when companies are not ready for you right, they're not ready for your escalation, you know they want you to wait, be patient, and some people can't subscribe to that. They've got to move on to other things, because slowing down is like death.

Speaker 1: 12:27

It is for me. I have two speeds stop and go and my go is very quick, and I think what I have experienced in my career, as I look back on it, was not necessarily that I wasn't advancing quick enough for my liking, it's that the business didn't have a vision. I didn't know where the business was going to say, yep, I'm aligned with this. So what I knew was I came into a business that was struggling and needed help. I write the ship. Whatever department, whatever area I'm in, I write the ship. I get things moving in the right direction. I set extreme goals for that division to move in a direction. Then the company doesn't know what to do. They don't know what to do with me. Then people start getting scared. I'm going to take their job, it's happened. And then I say, hey, you know what? That's fine, I'll move on because this isn't for me and it's okay.

Speaker 2: 13:17

Right.

Speaker 1: 13:22

So it's not a bad thing. So, look, we're talking about vision, one-year goals, your vitals, which is your quarterly goals, all to get you to a review, to give you the opportunity to negotiate for whatever terms you're looking for. I want to close this by saying what helps you do all of these, all of these things to be accomplished, is having a routine. You have to have a routine how you do what you do. If the first thing you do when you get to work is check your email, you're not taking your vitals, you're not taking your goals seriously enough, because your email is not going to move the needle of the business. Your emails are simply a part of doing work. Yep, I'm looking at you.

Speaker 2: 14:12

Looking back at you.

Speaker 1: 14:13

And next to me on my computer at home and at work, I have my vitals and my goals. So when I get distracted and I'm like, oh, what am I supposed to be doing, I'm looking at the vitals and I'm getting back on track. Write it down, have it beside you all the time, because you need to know why you're working so damn hard. Why are you working so late? Why are you getting up so early?

Speaker 2: 14:37

I have a picture of my dogs. That's what it is.

Speaker 1: 14:41

Hey, if that's what moves you, then great. All right, let's wrap this up. This is what I want to share with you. What got you here won't get you there. I don't know who said it, but I love it, because whatever got you to this point in life is great, but if you have a goal to get somewhere else, the things you've been doing won't get you there. Determine what things you can delete from your routine to help you stay focused on your vitals. Stay focused on your one-year goals and get to that vision, and negotiate every single opportunity you get.

Speaker 2: 15:20

I love it, you're always learning Till next week. Yeah. All right See ya See ya till next week. Yeah, all right, see ya, yeah.