How the military / army can help you run a successful TV Magic business
One of our prominent franchisees, Matthew Brandon is ex military. The franchisor himself served in the Reserves..
LESSON 1
Taking the INITIAL, first step is always the most difficult decision.
Whether we’re aggressively shaving our faces in our morning routine (after the corporal demonstrated this horrific feat in 30sec flat), ascending our first 8m rope unharnessed with full pack on or carrying loaded rifles on a 30km full-pack march with a bunch of “crazy” individuals, … our ability to take that first step dictates our success or failure. All of us ask ourselves “Can I do it when the time comes?,” and when that answer is “yes” we often succeed. (Note I said: ‘often’ because ‘A decision’ is often the primary factor). Ideation without execution has no value, and there are many more “dreamers” than “doers.” Those who don’t hesitate in taking the first step – taking the difficult assignment and accepting additional responsibility – are a valuable commodity. The most valuable lesson that can be adopted by military lessons is “ BE A LEADER”.
Say “YES” to business success: all problems really are:
1.Challenges;
2.Situations;
3. And opportunities
LESSON 2
Accepting RISK is a requirement, tolerating RECKLESSNESS is not.
When my friends from UQ (university of QLD) first learned I was going away for basic training to join the Army Reserves (not even the FT army) they all had the same response “Shane you’re crazy.”
Perhaps. However, after experiencing a manifold of policies and procedures in the handling and well-being of my loaded-rifle and fellow comrades, I soon realized the risk associated with the action of ‘committing to such a situation’ was much less than I had anticipated. I received ‘on par training’ with the, ‘regular army professionals’ and it put me at ease.
In the business world, the ability to make a distinction between mitigated risk and recklessness is critical: mistakes in judgment can cause an entire business unit to lose thousands, or even tens of thousands of dollars and fail. The military teaches this to its personnel every day. It’s called “Follow the RULES”
Consulting with your Franchisor, Franchisee of the Year or any of the known TV Magic Leaders before you attempt to: ‘reinvent the wheel’. This step MUST be considered OBLIGOTORY.
LESSON 3
Faith in your team, training and equipment significantly reduces fear.
I remember standing at the edge of a 40-foot rappelling tower, preparing to step off and run down its side face-first in an Australian rappel. Would I fall? Would the rope snap? As I stepped off the tower, the instructor on belay pulled tightly on my rope and froze my descent instantly. I learned instantly to have faith in my equipment and my team.
It doesn’t matter if this is your first business or your fifth business. Newness = anxiety. There is always going to be a certain amount of excitement and apprehension. Franchisees who have developed this mindset manage their fear response and stress levels much more effectively than those who haven’t.
The military teaches this to its personnel very effectively. Through the task of changing operating basis and asking personnel to do NEW things WITHOUT ADEQUATE EXPLANATION, over time, dramatically reduces the anxiety to the point where doing NEW things is comfortable. One learns how to be comfortable with being UNCOMFORTABLE.
DO NEW THINGS REGULARLY. Change the way you shave your face. Change your morning routine. Learn a few words in a new language. Change anything. Change the SMALL THINGS. As anxiety decreases, faith increases.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. Powerful stuff.
LESSON 4
Never forget the reason you decided to pursue your mission.
Every single soldier I’ve been in proximity with, who has done a long, rigorous march with full webbing and a full-pack has thought about quitting at some point during the arduous 15-50km, myself included.
When the environment gets miserable and you’re exhausted, those thoughts are natural. We reach down deep, find a reason to persevere and remember what inspired us to voluntarily subject ourselves to these conditions.
Intolerable conditions exist in all business environments: In our industry it includes: tight dark spaces, dirtiness, itchiness, unco-operating wall cavities, faulty unpredictable nature of electronics and difficult customers who would sell their own soul (and you along with it) at the first sight of embarrassment or through lack of understanding.
When you first experience these scenarios, the first reaction is to quit … unless you have the mindset to persevere.
Perseverance will always win over intelligence, luck, skill, know how and even at times - experience.
Perseverance is not forgetting the reason you decided to
pursue your goal/dreams in the first place.
LESSON 5
Despite the best planning, unforeseen things happen.
At times, it seemed to me that the officers/corporals or the sergeant didn’t have experience or know how in what they were doing. As plans were always changing or we were being told to do things that opposed what we were briefed on.
It’s because the entity that can exercise the law of requisite variety the most effectively – WINS.
The law of requisite variety states that: in order to deal properly with the diversity of problems the world throws at you, you need to have a repertoire of responses which is (at least) as manifold (numerous and varying) as the problems you face.
In NLP it states, the system/person with the most flexibility of behaviour will control the outcome/results.
The debriefs themselves were fantastic. Well thought out intentions and all steps were executed with confidence and commitment. However, the results often turned out to be on par with terrible. In life and in business:- things happen; deal with it. Adapt and overcome. Drive on and move forward.
Things regularly go wrong in the world of business. Customers cancel, double-book you, you break your phone, you drop expensive equipment, and jobs/upsell efforts don’t turn out as expected.
It can be confusing, stressful and even demoralizing. The successful business owners who survive these situations psychologically are the ones who have done their homework and trained themselves
(ie. They have done the extra work – reading books, educating themselves and extra curricular activity..)
“READY>FIRE>AIM” instead of “READY>AIM>FIRE” (If you wait until you’re on target, you’ll never take a shot. By then the target has moved).
LESSON 6
Successful accomplishments make the journey worth the effort.
In army basic training, in Wagga Wagga I had a left ankle so swollen that weight couldn’t be put on it. Derived from what started out as a very small blister, which was foreboding a very unfavourable 2 weeks in ‘Army hospitable’. Not only did I not enjoy these 2 weeks but I found the whole 8 weeks spent in ‘basic training’ to be the biggest culture shock in my entire life at that age.
The best part of my gruelling 8 week ordeal was – coming home. When I got home however, and had my first spare 10 seconds of freedom (where a corporal wasn’t screaming at our platoon or me personally) I looked in a mirror and what I saw was the physique of a warrior. I had 8 pack abs and definition in my pectoral muscles that I have never had previously. I was always a reasonably toned, athletic, and “strong” as teenager from playing lots of sports and doing martial arts, however, when I returned after 8 weeks, the transformation was more than spectacular. I felt that I had the body of a model or a true professional soldier as seen in the movies.
In that moment I had realized the pain was worth the effort. While this lesson may seem the most obvious, it is also the most difficult to follow. One can never truly know this until one has survived the adverse circumstance and persevered until successful. After numerous adversities and numerous successes, this belief becomes intrinsic and non-negotiable. A textbook on business leadership may convey this concept, but it can’t convey the experience that makes it real.
You will have your times where you make $500 profit per hour, customers tip you $50 on top of that & days where you make $1500 and it feels as though you barely did any work. It is these times that make up for the more challenging times. All in all, our training and systems will prepare you for REAL life as a technician.
From week 1 you will have work to do, and making $1000 per day may SOUND too Good to be true but in actuality, even our latest franchisees
find that it is true and it is no longer ‘that good’. The $1000 per day
benchmark needs updating. To grow beyond one’s capabilities of today,
one must be willing to continually develop themselves and take on
further training & make changes. It has been said that the greatest fear
in life, is not public speaking or even death but:- The fear of CHANGE.
LESSON 7
Always look sharp.
In the army, I remember our belt buckle had to line up with our shirt buttons. Our laces had to be laced a certain way, how dress boots and belt buckle had to be shined to perfection. Our step and drill practice had to be flawless.
As an outsider, you saw a group of men who, if were given the challenge, to accomplish the impossible, they would have “Got it done”.
Our uniforms made us feel a certain way. When we felt that we were ‘superior’, our postures became erect and we stood in our boots in a superior manner. Your daily activities and performance is carried out and heavily influence by the way you feel.
Put on your best uniform.
Dress for success.
Always look sharp.
The science of dressing for success = money!!
LESSON 8
Have stellar organisation and cleanliness.
When the army corporal came around to do room inspections, our bed sheets had to be that tight in order for a coin to bounce off its surface or otherwise the whole platoon would be made to remake all our beds over again. The officer’s ruler would measure our ironed handkerchiefs and they had to measure 100mm x 100mm – a perfect square and sit in the exact position in our cupboard as everybody else’s also.
The arduous discipline and rigorous organisation of Australian Army Basic Training was a culture shock for me. It taught me stellar organisation and cleanliness skills.
If you have a clean, organised and well setup van that is stocked up properly, you can become 3x as efficient. You can maximise on upsells and prevent ‘money being left on the table’.
It is easy to get by for a whole month without a single set top box in your van. However, as soon as you have 10 x set top boxes in your van….. How many set top boxes do you sell that month? All ten.
Any business leaves money on the table. Having stellar organisation and cleanliness reduces that.
