There's a commonly repeated customer service data that says sixty eight percent of clients leave a business not because of product quality, but because of unreliability. That's sixty-eight percent. I want you to think about that for a second. You know how to do the job, but knowing how to do something doesn't entitle you to keep the opportunity. Talent without consistency is just a placeholder, and that placeholder is waiting to be replaced. Can I say that one more time? Talent without consistency is just a placeholder waiting to be replaced. And today that's what I want to talk about. I want you to look at what you're actually producing from your seats where you're sitting, and why AI is coming for every unorganized process in your building. Because there's something happening right now, and I don't think enough business owners and leaders are paying attention to it. You can be talented and still be replaceable, you can be knowledgeable and still be replaceable. You can own the company and still be the biggest problem in it. Because having a title doesn't automatically make you a leader. Starting the business doesn't automatically make you the business owner. Starting the business doesn't automatically make you a business owner. Being the person that everybody calls is not automatically going to make you the boss. Sometimes you're just occupying space. And before you start thinking about other people, your boss, your manager, the coworker that you don't like, I want you to come back to this, come back to reality. Back to life, back to reality. Yes, because it's really easy to identify a placeholder behavior in somebody else. But it is a different conversation when you got to look at your own self. And something happened to me that made me think about this, and this is why I am coming to you today with this episode, and it had nothing to do with some huge company, nothing complicated. Do you want to know what it was? Take a wild guess. It was my grass. So let me tell you, I hired this guy. Okay, so I used to cut my own grass, and it would take me about five hours to do the front and the back lawn. And I just nothing complicated. You know what it was? Take a while, guess. It was my grass. Yes, I know that that he wasn't thinking about that, but yes, it was my grass. So what happened was I hired this guy to cut my grass. Prior to me hiring him, I was cutting my own grass. And I was it was taking me about five hours to cut the front and the back. Now, one day I seen a little slithery looking, you know what I'm saying. Those little things, those little reptiles. And I don't do reptiles, I don't do slithery little suckers. So I had to stop. At that point, it was like a done deal for me. It was like, uh uh, I'm not doing this no more. I'm gonna get somebody else to do it. So I hired this guy, and part of the reason why I hired him is because I wanted to support him. He needed the opportunity. I seen what he was doing, and I needed somebody to cut my grass. So it was cool beans for me. And I told him when I talked to him, so then I went up to him and I was like, hey, sir, I really could use your help. You know, I see that you're cutting this person's grass, but uh, I need someone to cut my grass. So I told him what I was looking for, and I said exactly what I needed. Every other week I would like my grass cut. That's it. I wasn't asking for some complicated landscaping schedule. I wasn't asking for him to do anything crazy. All I wanted was for my grass to be cut every other week. You know how it is, like when you go get your hair cut. Well, maybe some of y'all don't, but I used to have my hair very low. I had like a boy cut. And the I would go crazy if my shape up looked it dull. I wanted my edges to be pointy, right? I wanted my edges to be on point. That's how I like my grass to be cut. You know, ladies, you don't want to be walking around with your nails halfway done. You know, you want to make them look refreshed. So I wanted my grass to be looking tight. But he didn't even come every other week. He came whenever he felt like showing up. And I could probably count on my hands how many times he showed up in a summer, probably like four times. I'm reaching out to him, like, hey sir, are you coming this week? I'm texting, are you gonna cut the grass? And after a while, I'm still sitting here thinking, why am I chasing somebody down to give them my money? And then I just started thinking, like, why am I chasing somebody to give them my money? But this is where it becomes more interesting. I tipped him every single time, even though he showed up late, I was giving him extra tips. And he didn't even deserve the tip. I wasn't giving him a tip to reward his performance, I just was trying to support him. I wanted him to win, I wanted his business to win, and there's a big difference with that. But eventually I got tired of dealing with him. So I fired him, and then he came back and he wanted to work again, and he was like, I will I won't do it again. He needed another chance, and I gave it to him. Because sometimes you think, okay, maybe they don't understand, or maybe they understand now. Maybe losing the opportunity would have wakened him up or something, right? Maybe this time he's gonna take it seriously. Nope. Same behavior, same inconsistency, same problem. I fired him again, but this time I replaced him. And that's when something clicked. That's the first time that I fired him, the space was still available. I didn't replace him. So there was somewhere for him to come back to, and then the second time there wasn't any place for him to come back to. Somebody else was cutting my grass before he even got to my door. The work was getting done, the problem was solved, and suddenly his ability to cut grass wasn't enough anymore. And somebody else could cut the grass too. And suddenly his ability to cut grass was not enough because somebody else could cut the grass. And the difference was these people that I hired they showed up. And that's business, that is leadership, that's entrepreneurship. Your ability got you in the room. Your consistency is going to help you determine whether you stay in the room. And I think sometimes we become so comfortable with being needed that we forget needed doesn't mean irreplaceable. That's where the placeholders are created. A placeholder starts believing they need me. I'm the only person that can do this. I know how to do this. Nobody understands this business like I do. I am the one. My clients, they only want me. My employees, they can't do without me. I've been doing this for 20 years. Okay, and what are you producing now? Because experience doesn't excuse pure experience doesn't excuse poor execution. Talent doesn't excuse inconsistency and your knowledge doesn't give you permission to stop growing. That's where I want to challenge you. Because some of us have mistaken being needed for being valuable. Mm-hmm. Yup. I know you, I know I hear you. I hear what you're saying. You want me to say it again. Some of us have mistaken being needed for being valuable. And that is not the same thing. If everybody has to call you, if nobody knows where anything is except you, if you have to personally touch every client or fix every problem or answer every question, you might look at that and say, see, they can't do this without me. But I look at that differently. And I have to ask you, where's the system? Because maybe you are not indispensable, maybe you create a dependency. And that's something that I see in businesses all the time. The owner becomes the system. Everything's in their head, the process is ask me, the backup plan is this, call me. Don't start this before I look at it first. That's just how I do it. And then you complain. And this, I want to laugh, but then I want to cry for you. Because I see this all the time. The complaints are I am overwhelmed. I don't have any help. I don't have enough time. My employees don't take the initiative. We're not growing. Of course you can't. You haven't built anything that can move without you. That's uncomfortable, right? But sometimes that is an accidental thing that takes place. Being needed feels good. I know. I've been there before. Being the person with all the answers, you feel important. Everybody's calling you makes you feel valuable. But nobody's being able to move without your approval, and that makes you feel powerful. Nobody able to make a move without you makes you feel powerful. But leadership isn't about making people dependent on you. Leadership is about building something capable of producing results that goes beyond you. That's the difference between leadership and occupying space. And this is where and why. And this is where your why becomes extremely important. I don't care how long you've been in business or how many teams you have led, because I believe a jacked up why will eventually crack. Because I believe a jacked up why is eventually going to create a jacked-up leadership. You have to know why you're doing this. And I'm not talking about that cute answer that you put on your website. Our mission is to empower such and such. No, I am talking about you. And I'm not talking about that cute answer that you put on your website that you pitch in the elevator every time you talk to somebody. Oh, our mission is to empower dot dot dot. No, I am not talking about that. I'm talking about you. Why o you? Why are you really doing this? Why did you start this business? Why do you want to lead? Why do you want more money? Why do you want the title? Why do you want the platform? Why do you want people working underneath of you? Because if the real answer is I want people to know my name, I want to prove something, I want people to, I want the shine, I want the followers, I want more money. I'm the boss, then that's going to be a problem, and we have to deal with that. Because your why is going to affect how you move. And this is what I meant when I was talking about connecting the dots between who you are and how you move. You can't separate the two. What's driving you eventually shows up in your decisions, and when you are the entire why, when when and when your entire why is centered around just you, eventually your leadership is going to become centered around you too. What do I get? How does this benefit me? Why aren't they appreciating me? Why aren't they listening to me? I'm the boss. Why aren't they paying me more? Why aren't people supporting my business? Why aren't my employees working harder for me? Me, me, me. And this is selfish ambition, and it can get dangerous if you do not stop. And I don't want you to misunderstand me, so let me back this up for just a second. I believe in ambition. I believe that you should want more. I believe that you should make more money. I believe that you should grow and scale and build something big. That is not what I am talking about right now. Get paid for your expertise. Yes, absolutely. But ambition and selfish ambition, they are not the same. Ambition says something like, I want to build something great. Selfish ambition, I want to be great. And everybody else exists to help me get there. It's all about me and where I'm trying to go. You see the difference? When clients become nothing but transactions, when employees become nothing but labor, when your partnerships become nothing but opportunities, and your business only exists primarily to feed your ego, you are not really leading anymore. You are using the position, and eventually that's going to show up in your performance. When your why isn't clear enough, your priorities aren't going to be clear. And when your priorities aren't clear, everything is going to become important. You've chasen every opportunity, every client looks like your client, every idea becomes the new direction, every new tool you're purchasing it, every person you're saying yes to, every emergency becomes somebody else's urgency. And all you're doing is moving, moving, moving. But you're not going anywhere. And that is why your vision matters. Vision is going to tell you what deserves your yes. A clear why helps you decide what do you actually who do you actually serve? What problem are you actually solving? What opportunities fit you in your business? What opportunities don't fit you? What should you be doing? That's leadership, and that is when you need a system. Because vision without a system stays in your head, and your business is not going to be able to execute whatever's trapped in your head. And your system doesn't have to be complicated. I know people when I talk to them and I say, Well, what is your system? They want me to come on board and help them with their business. And I'm like, what systems do you have in place? And when they hear system, they immediately start thinking that it's about some expensive software. A system is simply answers to basic questions. What needs to happen? When, where, how, and why? What does this successful completion look like? Who's accountable? That's a system. If a client comes into your business, you want to know how they find you? Who's going to follow up with them? The follow-up game is trash for a lot of companies. What happens if you don't respond? What happens if they're not qualified to be your customer right now? How do you determine whether this person is actually the right client? How do they become a paying client? And what happens after they pay? What do you do after they pay? Those are what systems are for. And that's what I'm talking about. See, my grass guy, he thought that he can just come and cut the grass because he has the lawnmower. But I have a lawnmower too. I just don't want to go back outside and get in the grass because I might come up face to face with that little slithery thing that was out there when I was out there cutting grass. But he didn't have a system. So let's get this right. Let's work on this. If you were in business for I don't care if you were in business for years. This is a good thing to always come back and check. I don't care if you were in business for years, if you were leading a team for a thousand years. The number one thing that you need to do is check your why. Because if you don't know why you're building, why you'll start. Because if you don't know why you're building, eventually you're gonna start building, and whatever feeds you fastest, the money, the attention, the recognition, the comfort, your action is going to be simple. Because if you don't know your why and why you're building, eventually you're gonna start building around whatever feeds you the fastest. That could be your money, your the attention, recognition. So what do you do in this moment? You need to think about this. Start with this sentence. So what do you do about that? Well, it's simple. I want you to finish the sentence. My business needs to exist because this business needs to exist because. Finish the sentence. And the number one rule that I want you to remember is don't mention yourself in the first sentence. Don't mention your income, your freedom, or your lifestyle. What problem exists that your business is responsible for that you're able to solve? I need you to get clear on that because once you know your why, you are here. It becomes easier to determine what belongs in the business and what doesn't belong. This is still true for if you are leading a team. You've built dependency. And I'd rather tell you this now than to clap. And I know that that sucks to hear that. But don't you want to hear the truth now? Than to be sitting up there exhausted. So here's what I want you to do in this situation. Identify one thing this week that only you know how to do. And I want you to write that process down. And I want you to teach it to someone, document it, and create a backup. Because a real leader doesn't become less valuable when somebody else becomes capable. We got to stop gatekeeping in this season. Number three, look at what you're actually producing. Your title is not a result. Being busy is not a result. Working twelve hours, that is not a result. So you have to ask yourself, what changed because I was here? Did the revenue improve? Were there client did the client satisfaction improve? Did the response time improve? Did my team become stronger? Did we decrease the mistakes? Did the process become easier? Do we serve more people? Ask yourself those questions. And then choose one measurable outcome that you're responsible for and improve on that for the next thirty days. Because leadership should always leave evidence. Number four, build one system. Don't try to systemize your entire company in one month. You're gonna make yourself crazy. Trust me. I tried to do it all in one day once upon a time. And you're gonna go cray cray. I want you to choose one repeated process. Maybe it's gonna be lead intake, or maybe it's gonna be follow-up. Maybe it'll be your lead intake or your follow-up. Maybe it might be your scheduling or invoicing or something like that, onboarding. Just write it down and then write down what is going to start this process. What is going to happen next? Who's going to be responsible? What decisions you need to make, what information is needed, and what happens when something goes wrong. Oh, and add this one. What tells you that the process is complete? And that's it. Now you have something that you can improve. And last but not the least, number five, stay a student. Stay a student. This matters so much. The minute that you start believing that you're the only one who knows something, and I know we all can relate with being around somebody who you can't talk to because they know it all. But when you start becoming the know it all, you already are becoming dangerous to your own growth. You don't have to be the smartest person in every room. You shouldn't even want to be in a room where you're the smartest person. Ask questions, listen, listen, listen. That is the number one thing that I think a lot of people have trouble with. Listen. Learn. Hire people who know things that you don't know. And let somebody else show you a better way. And be okay with that. And when it's time to make a decision where you have to change based off of evidence, do it. Because humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it is being secure enough in what you bring that you don't even have to pretend that you bring everything. And I want you to remember my grass guy. I ain't saying no names, but I want you to remember him. Because I felt some type of way about this. But no, seriously, he didn't lose the opportunity because he couldn't do the work. I mean, he could cut the grass. It was mediocre. And I ain't throwing no shade. But he lost the opportunity because he became unreliable. And I think that's what some entrepreneurs and leaders need to hear. You might be excellent at what you do. But excellence without consistency eventually becomes a liability. And I don't do liabilities. Your clients should not have to chase you. Your employees should not have to guess what to do next. Your partner should not have to wonder. Your business shouldn't operate differently depending on what mood you're in on that day. And you definitely should not be sitting in a position because nobody better shown showed up to do the job. Because mark my words, eventually somebody will, something will, and that's where we're going to talk on Wednesday about. Because eventually somebody will or something will. That's lazy. I am going to be going deeper. Wednesday, we're going to be talking about AI not replacing leaders, it replaces placeholders. Because before you start building agents and before you start automating everything or start throwing AI into your company, you better know your why. You better have a system. You better know what you're actually good at. And you have to remain a student. And you definitely need to know who could use the AI on your team and who should not be using AI or certain AI tools. Because AI can enhance your greatness, but it can also expose your weakness. And if you don't have a system, it AI is not. Because my grass still gets cut. The work didn't disappear when the person did. Somebody else showed up. Somebody else became more consistent. Somebody took the opportunity seriously, and the position moved on. And that is business. Nobody owes you the seat forever. Nobody owes you the seat forever. Not because you started the company, not because you've been there the longest, not because you know the most, not even because people currently need you. You have to continue growing into the responsibility that comes with the opportunity. So until next time, build the vision and know your why. Create the system, stay consistent, stay teachable, and stop trying to prove how much everybody needs you. Build something that creates results. And make sure that when you occupy a position, the position is better because you are in it. Because there's a difference between holding space and leading something somewhere. And if this episode made you feel uncomfortable, good. But don't send it to your manager yet, though. And if this episode made you still feel uncomfortable, good. But don't send it to your manager yet, okay? Do your own work first, then send it. And I want you to comment and I want you to answer this. What is one thing in your business that depends too much on you right now? I want you to name it and do it before we talk on Wednesday. And I'm going to show you guys what to start doing. Like this episode. Share it with another entrepreneur or leader who isn't afraid to check themselves. Because on Wednesday, we are going in, okay? We're going to be talking about what to do about this situation. And I want you to like this episode. Share it with somebody, another entrepreneur, another leader who is not afraid of checking themselves. And come back on Wednesday because we are going in from the leadership to execution standpoint.