The content of this recording is copyrighted by Sandler Systems, LLC. All rights reserved.
Glenn Mattson
This is the Building Blocks of Success with Glenn Mattson. Today, we're going to be talking about decision making and decision making is when we look at our ability to really drive, really two areas that we've been talking about confidence and courage.
Glenn Mattson
So, when we take a look at confidence and courage, one of the things I want you to realize is that when we get to the point that in our role, we really have to have the ability to have other individuals make decisions. It's really important that you know, in your mind that decision-makers are the ones that help others make decisions. If you're indecisive, if you're a thinking-over kind of person, if you're the kind of individual who walks in and sees what you want to buy and then you say to yourself, you know what, let me think about this, or you can't pull the trigger, you're going to be prone to that when you're out in the real world. So, I want you to realize that this is one of those scenarios in which you get what you give, and you get what you who you are. So, being a better decision-maker is critical in your ability to grow your practice, to grow your relationships with your clients, and to really bring in more business.
Glenn Mattson
So, we're going to spend some time really talking about decision-making. So again, decision-makers are the only ones who can help others make decisions, there's always a plan in place, there's always a plan in place, and whoever has the stronger plan will always win. If you don't have a plan, by pure default, you're going to be part of someone else's. So, let's talk through this journey of what decision-making is and what it can do for you. So, as we start to go through this, one of the things it does is it allows you to increase your self-esteem and allows you to have the ability to say yes and say no, and have the capacity to own your own shadow. You're going to hear me say that quite a bit today. It also really breaks paralysis. If some of you have heard it in the past, it's called the Five-second rule. The second rule is crazy, we're part of your brain will say, You know what, I should go for a walk right now, or My gosh, I just ate a ton over the holidays, you know, I need to exercise, I need to make that phone call, we have ideas of what to do. Then it's unbelievable that our brain will convince us not to do it within five seconds.
Glenn Mattson
So, one of the things we want to have the capacity to do is break paralysis and paralysis is broken by taking action. So, on your note, you never can think through paralysis, action breaks, paralysis. Then once you get moving, and we've talked about this in the past, right, a non-successful mindset will ponder and wait. A successful mindset is someone who takes action right away. They understand that it's sitting there and having quicksand around this amount of decisions is not going to help. So being decisive, having the ability to pull the trigger, and owning more of yourself and each decision that you make is every decision is going to give you insights and how to be a better decision-maker next time.
Glenn Mattson
So let's take the journey today and take a look at this thing called decision-making. I'm going to spend more time in certain areas and less time and others as we go through these really 12 steps that I'm going to share with you now. Yes, it seems like it's pretty logical in terms of the order that they're in. But we're going to spend some time talking about each of these maybe to help you in your mindset and how to become a better decision-maker. As we start to go through this again, you have the handouts that came with - they're inside their your tools, so you can have these, these are areas that when you look at it, as I start to talk, you're more than welcome to take some notes here if you want to. But as we talk, one of the things you may want to look at is these two boxes here, which is are you really in control of that area? Or is that something you may want to take a look at of areas for improvement, and areas for improvement? It's just really looking at yourself from a stoic standpoint, saying, hey, where can I improve in where can I get a little better at, and it may not be a complete overhaul. But having the ability to learn just a little bit here and a little bit there and a little bit here, you start to add those together as those small inches become feet, those feet become yards as yards become significant. So let's take the journey today. And let's go through these 12 steps on how to become a better decision-maker and improve your ability to go from the mind which is a concept to action to learning. So, let's take the journey together.
Glenn Mattson
The first one we're going to talk about today is knowing the big picture. Wean by the big picture is that you have to understand what motivates you. You have to understand why and what you're doing I know accomplish. Historically, knowing the big picture sometimes is taking a look at the areas of your life. It could be business, it could be your financials, it could be health, it can be spiritual, you know, family issues and other things, but looking at all those different areas and asking yourself, what do I want to accomplish, and start to understand what the big picture is.
Glenn Mattson
Now, this is a piece here, but the big picture that I want to share with you, I'm not talking about what I would hope to have, this is what I'm planning to have. It's very different, right, hoping and dreaming is nice. That's the stuff that you think about when you're driving home. But what we're talking about is, what's the big picture of where you want to be? What's the big picture of who you want to be? What's the big picture of what type of lifestyle you want to have, and what type of clients you want to be helping? So, the big picture is understanding where you're going, because there's going to be plenty of times you're going to get knocked down, it's going to be plenty of times that you're going to find yourself on the ground and needing to be picked back up again. That big picture is a massive magnetic draw to you, that keeps you moving forward. So, when we look at the big picture, that's also why if you look at horses, some significant running and race horses, they have blinders on, they don't look into the left and they don’t look into the right, they understand where they're going. It's creating some tunnel vision, if you understand the big picture. In that big picture, you may not know how we're going to get there. But that big picture should be the thing that really draws you in your gut, and the desire to take the action to do the things that are going to be uncomfortable, that have to get done. So really spend some time on what the big picture is.
Glenn Mattson
Now, as you look at the big picture, we have to turn around and convert it to goals. Right? So, once you understand your goals, these are some statistics that you may want to write down and they're just they haven't changed much, and it's pullback that they've done. So, here are some numbers. 80% of the people who walk on planet Earth have no concept of goals. They go to work, they come home, play with the kids walk the dog have dinner, watch Netflix, and repeat the next day. Okay, now roughly about 16%, a little less than 16% kind of have an idea a little bit of what they may want to have in life. Like wouldn't it be nice, “Hey, I wonder if” but then we have less than 4% who actually write their goals down?
Glenn Mattson
The scary thing is that less than 1%, less than 1% write their goals, they have a plan. They share it with people because the more you share, the more accountability there is. You share it with others, and you got to make sure you have like-minded people around you, especially on your quest to walk up that mountain there's going to be plenty of times you're going to get stopped and get hurt. You don't want someone next to you saying you know what, you're crazy, stop climbing, you want someone next to you saying, Hey, you're going to hit setbacks, let's keep going. So, when you have your goals, and you take a look at that, that 1% That 1% out-earn the other 80%. Nine times in a lifetime, nine times in a lifetime. So, setting goals is critical, because you have got to have the understanding that when I set a goal, I'm going to have to take risks. When I set a goal, I'm going to have successes and lessons, but you have to understand what you're shooting for.
Glenn Mattson
Now, your goals are two areas to make sure you have in your notes, goals aren't just results. Goals are also the behavioral goals that you have to get to get to the results. So, a goal could be I need to have five referrals this week, you know what a goal could also be is, you know, don't panic and literally sweep through suit when it's time to ask for one referral. So sometimes your goals are micro, and sometimes they are big picture, but you got to have goals and you got to have long-term, short-term term, and daily goals. Okay? Now with that, your goals are where we're going. The key here is how we're going to get there. That's developing your plan.
Glenn Mattson
Now, the key thing about developing your plan is that as you start to put your plan together, your plan should be result based and your plan needs to be behavior-based, leading and lagging indicators, your behaviors will always get the results if you're just going to turn around tell me that you need to have five, you know, first appointments from referrals, okay, that's fine. But how many times do you need to ask, how many dials do you need to make, and what behavior do you have to get the results? So, developing your plan is how you see yourself going to the grocery store, and how you see yourself actually taking what actions to get to where you want to go. So, developing a plan is how you're going to accomplish your goals. Those are plans and you should have a plan that's broken down where you have benchmarks for your year, then benchmarks for nine months, six months, and three months. Then every month you have benchmarks of what you need to accomplish. In those sides that month is every week, and then every week is every day. So that when you jump out of bed and you put your feet on the floor, you should have a clearer idea of what do I have to do today, to get to my weekly not to get to my monthly to get to my quarterly to get to my annual. So, the plans are really important.
Glenn Mattson
I'm going to talk about something called IPD II and in a couple of seconds what your plan is, is important. Now, as you start to create your plan, and by the way, never is your first plan always the best, right? So, you have to write down a plan. Then after you write down the plan, you have to sit back and ask yourself is okay, what are the risks here? What are my options? Is the only way to grow the business by doing referrals the only way to grow my business through my natural market is the only way I can grow my business through networking. So, taking a look at maybe just how you're going to go to market, which is understanding what are their past or art. What other options do you have? Now, with those options you have to understand are risks.
Glenn Mattson
So, when you start to take a look at the time, energy, and effort that you have to put into this plan? Is this the best plan? A lot of times if you go ask other individuals, people who have traveled this road before, they may turn around and say, Hey, Alex, I love your idea. But you may want to think about doing this in addition to what you're doing right now because they've had experience and they can help you understand things as you start to look at your options here, maybe some different ones that maybe you haven't seen. So now options are things that on how you can get to the end result. So, for instance, I was just talking with someone a couple of minutes ago, and they're not great at shaking the trees. So, one of his options was, well, maybe I should start buying practices instead of overcoming his fear of prospecting, right is an option. So, a lot of times when you put down a lot of different ways, different ways to get to where you want to go, you need to start understanding the risks with each of those. Your own personal buy into those some options are great and some are not. But you have to have options.
Glenn Mattson
So, understanding the things that you can do to get to where you want to go. Now realize we're talking about sales right now. But you can put this entire process into anything that you do. So, if some of you over New Year's are going to create a, Hey, I'm going to do this as my New Year resolution, same process. If some of you want to have better relationships, same process, some of you want to lose weight, gain weight, gain muscle, or lose whatever, it’s the same process. So, you want to be better at certain processes, so it doesn't change much. So, when you have your options to lay them all out, you're asking yourself, okay, where's my risk tolerance in each of these areas? So, what you're really trying to do with your options, is not necessarily pick the best one, but get rid of the ones that don't work. So, this is more about the selection process.
Glenn Mattson
Now, realize when you do goal setting, it's an emotional process. Goals are things that your inner child should be excited about. Let your child's ego state, when you start to get the goals, that's where I want to go. I want to get there and set my goals, and here's my plan. That's all the little child and study that says something gets you excited. It's the stuff that gets you up at night and keeps you motivated. But we also have to let the adults play. What I mean by that is that once you understand what you want, and what you're going to plan to get, you got to have that adult personality inside your brain look at and say, Okay, let this thing sink in right now. Let me actually take a deep breath, walk away from this thing, and come back and really look at my plan my process, and my fears along with it. Because sometimes when we do goal setting, we use words like make sense. I'll try. I'll give it my best shot. Let's see what happens. That's not goal setting, that's hoping to - big difference.
Glenn Mattson
Okay, we're trying to improve your decision-making. So, you remember your goals are that little person inside of you that wants to get better and wants to run hard. I want this, I want that - that's a child ego state. Your adult ego state is the one that says you're sure about this. Did you look at it from all the different angles you're going to do with this thing says, You said that last year was going to be different this year. So, your adult is really where you start to get away from the emotional process of it and actually look at it from a more stoic process. That gives you the availability of really having some serious checkpoints and for some of us letting it sink in is also bouncing off of somebody else. Okay. It's also very helpful. Now, once you say to yourself, all right, I'm getting closer here, this is getting good stop buying into this, now's the time that we really start to have to peel back the onion. So now when we look at this, and then if you have your, your, your notes, we're really on number six right now, right?
Glenn Mattson
So, we've done the first five, which is to know what you want and put a plan together with your goals, once you have the goals down, understand the risks that you may have to take. Some of those risks are failing, some of those risks are embarrassment, some of those risks are going to be trying, and you may not succeed, right? So, you're going to have lessons. So, when you have that all done, let all that sink in and say, okay, is this really where I'm going to go? Is this really the path I want to take? Now, remember, I don't want you to use words like I hope, I wonder, I'll try not particles, that's not part of decision-making. It's really about evaluating the risk. When we evaluate the risk, one of the things we have to do is, make sure you've heard me talk in the past about risk-taking, it's one of my favorite topics and failures were my favorite topics. But you have to look at this thing and say, Can I live with the worst-case scenario? Don't aim just for the best case, you got to ask yourself, can I live with the worst case, because on this path, you're going to have failures, you're going to not hit every single marker that you have. So, if you don't hit certain markers, are you okay with that, you have to have the ability not to risk more than you're willing to lose. That's called sacrificing.
Glenn Mattson
So, you have to take a look at the risk evaluation. Now, don't get fear involved in this, right? So, fear is, is when you say to yourself, who scares the heck out of me, it's supposed to scare you, right? Getting outside your comfort zone is getting outside of your comfort zone. So, if you want to grow as a human, if you want to grow as a producer, if you want to grow as a business owner, there should be lots of times that you are freely nervous, right, and you have some discomfort. But remember, you bought into this. So when you evaluate your risks, really take a look at from where you sit, if I'm going to be doing this, and it says I have to make this amount of phone calls, hypothetically, and I'm a, you know, hypothetically, if you're a three to one, I had to do a dial-up phone three times to get one in your mind. Are you ready for that? Can you handle the worst-case scenario, so do not pass by looking at the rest, this is really important. I find this one to be one of the most important ones, because of the next one we're going to talk about.
Glenn Mattson
So, when you look at your risk, and you evaluate your risk, remember, there's emotional rest as financial risks, there's, there's going to be time issues that you have a lot of emotional risking, right? So, if you're peering with somebody else, where you're doing some ensembles, or you're part of a team, other risks get involved in it. You have to evaluate those and make sure that you let it sink in and make sure you're committed to it. Which then brings me to the next one. This is a total commitment. And this is something you may want to write down in your notes. Is this. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to reach your objective? Just write it down. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Now, of course, I mean, legally, morally, and ethically, right? I mean, let's just let's be straight here. I never want anyone to be immoral, or unethical, it's just it's awful. But you have to ask yourself, are you fully committed to this thing? You don't ask it after you start the plan, you have to ask it before you start the plan. This is vital, you have to ask yourself, am I going to use excuses? Am I going to bring up the same reasons why I couldn't do something last time, excuses erode your decision-making more than anything else.
Glenn Mattson
So, you got to make sure that as you put this plan together, and you look at the behaviors and the actions that you need to do look at it and say, Hey, am I in this thing? Am I going to do this? That's why you have to let it sink in, then you have to look at all the risks. Then you have to look at it and say, Is this a go? Again, no tries, give it a shot. Let's see what happens. That's already setting yourself up for failure. It's already setting yourself up to expect and or accept anything but your success. So, ask yourself again, am I willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my objectives legally, morally, and ethically? So big, big question. This is where I spend most of my time and a coaching standpoint, driving this and looking at it from different angles and saying, okay, well what happens if this is current? Are you sure you're still in Europe? Well, last time you said you didn't want to do that because you have to look at your roadblocks. You have to look at the things that this year held you back from a cop crushing your goals. Can y'all have it? I know you do; we all do. So, some of it's going to blame time, some of it is I don't have and they're just excuses. So, you have to get committed. So, you have to take a look at what you're used to doing, throw it up the window, and make sure you're in.
Glenn Mattson
The next piece here is more about timing. Timing is when should you pull the trigger, and make sure that you're going to be when you save yourself, you're going to be totally committed, it’s that you don't have to do everything at once you have to realize, especially with goals, that there are massive baby steps. So, if some of you are afraid of rejection, for instance, well, not only do you have to get better at their behavior and being more consistent, but you also have to add into that your fear and work with your AV journals and the things we've talked about to increase your courage. So, you don't expect immediate results when you put these things together. So, checking your timing is making sure that what we call the cookbook, which is your monthly and your weekly and your daily goals is real. You have good checkpoints. Checkpoints of persistency. Right? So, make sure that you're on track. So, checking your timing is really about having the right path. Is it the right route? Am I ready for this? Am I going to do all this? Is this going to fit into my life? Is this going to fit into my current plan? So, when you check your timing, we're kind of past a lot of stuff.
Glenn Mattson
So now it's time to act. This is really important for whatever it's worth. So, IPD is: identify what you want, put a plan together, make the decision, you're going to do what the plan says. The E is execution done. So, if you look at your car, your front windshield is twice as big. If not even bigger than your rear, there is no sitting still, you're either moving forward or moving backward. So, you have a plan. In your mind, you're saying to yourself, okay, I got this, I'm into it, now's the time, and get going. Right? So, act, decisiveness is held to your self-esteem that I'm going to make the tough decisions. I'm going to, because every time you make a decision, it adds more and more to your self-esteem and more and more courage. So, act decisively.
Glenn Mattson
This is one that we have to make sure that you realize so after the fact I call it owning your shadow, owning your shadow means that every decision you make, or you don't make has repercussions. Never, ever complain about your repercussions. The lot you have in your life is based on the decisions you've made. So, you've got to own yourself, you got to own your decisions, you got to own your shadow. So, stop blaming outside people stop blaming the economy, stop blaming anybody. Okay. So, if you hear nothing else about what I'm going to say to you today, this is the one to make sure you take with you. Right, so you make sure that remember, every decision you make, or you don't make, has rippling effects, all that rippling effect is on you because that's the decision you made. So, any of your outcomes that are part of those ripples get can't pass the poop, right, you can't pass the buck, you got to own it.
Glenn Mattson
So, taking responsibility for your actions, taking responsibility for your decisions, and taking responsibility for the outcomes, your decisions are what make you successful. So, take a look at your failures, and don't blame other people really important. Now, this last piece is about timing. Timing is true that it is for it is true. Timing is everything. You went through this before with your decisions in terms of your plan at the right time. So, I talked about timing is just being patient with your growth, some of you are going to have a roller coaster, you're going to go up you're going to go down, some of you are going to have staircases, some you're going to make people move, but you have to remember time, energy and effort is what makes change. Some of you will have less time, so we're going to take less energy. So, I'm going to take a lot more time and energy to get to where you want to be. So, realize that timing, is not a microwave, this is a long cook. This is how you actually become better at what you do.
Glenn Mattson
So, the last piece is probably my favorite one is having the courage to fail. Having the courage to fail. For many of us, that's the cross that we have to bear is that we still look at failure as a negative, we still look at failure means I'm a loser, right? We still look at failure as their parts. So, no one likes to fail. It's not like I'm saying to you, Hey, Tyler, go out there and fail 500 times. Right? But look, man, if you're supposed to be setting appointments, and you have to make phone calls, and you have to, for instance, dial a phone nine times to get one appointment I wouldn't say your goal should be one appointment I should I want you to your goal to be is go get me eight people who say no change your perception what successes. So, taking a look at having the courage to fail is what's going to give you the strength to win. If you're afraid of failure, you're going to live in the world of I shoulda, coulda, woulda why denied. That's not the place to be. That's what we're trying to eliminate by being better decision-makers. So, the courage to fail, and I'll leave this with a one-liner. Do you in your mind believe that you failed at something? Or do you believe you're a failure? Because I'm a failure? Because I can't ask for referrals. Really? No, you just failed at asking for referrals. So, make sure you change your mindset on where you are to stop using things like: I can't, I don't know, I can't do that. Anytime you say I can, I won't use the word yet. In the end, I can't do that yet. Right, have the courage to fail small, it'll build your self-esteem, and you can feel a little bigger and a little bigger and a little bigger.
Glenn Mattson
Remember, you can't lose a piece of business you never had. So why are you afraid of losing business that you don't even have yet? Okay? So don't be afraid of the wrong stuff. If nothing else you do in 2024 is have the ability to learn how to fail, you're on an elevator for the next best of your life. So, failures are one of the biggest holdbacks that people have to being successful. So having the ability to change this thing to a lesson, that my lesson made a big difference for you moving forward.
Glenn Mattson
So, as we wrap up our session for today, one of the things again, I want you to do is the fact that decision-makers can help others make decisions, I want to make this really clear. Then I'll let everyone go into the world of AI. Having the ability to say I help people educate them, I help them understand what they have, you're going to be out of business, AI and what's happening now and what's coming down the pipe is going to take the educational piece away from you, or potentially not have it as a strong enough piece for you. I'm going to turn around and tell you that your gift, the thing that you can bring as a financial Sherpa to other people, is helping them make the right decisions. Most people want to kick it down the street. So having the competence and courage to be a decision-maker yourself will help you get others to make a decision. If you know something that needs to be done, and you don't do it, you make excuses, you're going to accept that from people. If you know something needs to be done and you put a plan together and you make the hard decisions to get that plan to take action, you won't understand why others won't make decisions.
Glenn Mattson
So, moving forward as we start to get into next year. Take a look at what you've done this year. Take a look at your growth. Ask yourself, “What can I be better at, what do I have to do more of, what do I have to do differently?” We have to stop doing and we have to start doing great five quadrants the phenomenal five quadrants better, more different start-stop. Take a look at utilizing these 12 steps to help you become a much stronger decision-maker. Remember, when you make this New Year's resolution do not say, “I hope I'm going to, I'm going to try.” Whatever you decide to do, make sure you stick to it because you're going to find yourself completely increasing your self-esteem, especially if the road is hard and you keep doing the right stuff even when it's hard. They build your self-esteem, incredibly rebuild your courage, and build massive confidence.
Glenn Mattson
This is the Building Blocks of Success with Glenn Mattson.
Sales coaching to maximize team performance
Building Blocks of Success - Season 4
Building Blocks of Success - S3E6 with Glenn Mattson: The Power of Mentoring
Building Blocks of Success - S4E4 with Glenn Mattson: KPIs and Goals