Episode 26 - Transformative Leadership Through Strategic Thinking and Execution

Unlock the power of strategic thinking and transform your business leadership approach with us—LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes, Acacia Smith, and Lavonne Shields—as we navigate through the complexities of planning, adaptability, and fostering a strategic mindset. Expect to gain a wealth of knowledge as we argue the need for both detailed plans and mental agility, ensuring you're equipped to lead with confidence. Business owners facing the overwhelm of modern entrepreneurship will find solace and strategies in our discussions, as we balance the scales between meticulous preparation and dynamic execution.

Dive into the trenches of company leadership, where we dissect the CEO's role in system creation and the art of delegation. We share personal challenges and triumphs, illustrating the delicate dance between steering your vision and harnessing the expertise of others. Listen closely as we reveal the essence of a playbook that empowers your team to succeed, with or without you at the helm. Our anecdotes and industry insights will leave you with a blueprint for accountability and the agility to adjust to the rapid pace of business evolution.

Wrap up your listening experience with a masterclass in developing a strategic mindset. Imagine tapping into your subconscious like a chef crafting a culinary masterpiece, blending creativity with business acumen. We emphasize the importance of aligning daily actions with your vision, dissecting strategic behavior change, and the art of communication. This episode promises not only to set the stage for strategic goal setting but to ensure those goals resonate deeply with your core values and are effectively imparted to your team. Join us and step up your strategic game to steer your business to triumphant heights.

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Produced and Recorded by Randall Hayes.

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LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes:
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Transcript

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 0:56

Hi, my name is LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes and I am your overall CEO.

Acacia Smith: 1:01

Hi, my name is Acacia Smith and I am your marketing expert.

Lavonne Shields: 1:04

And I am Lavonne Shields, the accounting strategist.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 1:08

And today we are talking about the foundations of strategic thinking, so let's get into it. When you start thinking about strategic thinking, what are your thoughts?

Acacia Smith: 1:22

Smart goals.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 1:24

Smart goals. Jesus, I'm so tired of hearing about smart goals.

Lavonne Shields: 1:28

If there is a plan, if there is actually a thought out process which you plan on going through.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 1:34

Now, does this thought out process have to be one that is written out or you just thought about it?

Lavonne Shields: 1:40

I think it can help if it's written out, especially if you're working with a team.

Acacia Smith: 1:44

I mean I would do the best way to do it.

Lavonne Shields: 1:49

I mean we should all be on the same page, at least in the same book, you know.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 1:55

I mean, I think that's like later, though that's like later in your strategic thinking process. I don't necessarily think that it's in your initial strategic thinking process, because you can't have everything written down. You kind of almost have to have it in your mind, go out and test it and then, after you finalize that, then you're going to.

Acacia Smith: 2:16

I mean, there's smart goals. No, oh, what you just said, you're making attainable steps in your business to start accomplishing.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 2:28

And then you're building out the plan, right, but I think most people are testing that, though Like it's not actually written down. It's not measurable because you haven't done it already.

Lavonne Shields: 2:39

However, you should have the parameters laid out as far as okay. When have we swung too far to the left and when have we swung too far to the right?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 2:48

I mean, I guess.

Acacia Smith: 2:51

What are you hitting?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 2:53

I don't know. I don't know because I don't think that's necessarily my process all the time. I think one I'm more of a doer than I am a person that's going to write everything down and then go do like that. That does not work for me personally. So I think, and honestly, even having the idea of doing that is overwhelming. And I just want to point out that there's an alternative board and 71% of business owners report feeling overwhelmed with daily tasks and challenges, and I think this is part of the reason why Because they have to write it down.

Acacia Smith: 3:34

That's not why they're overwhelmed and shabby. I feel like most business owners are like that. And because they're overwhelmed, they are being overwhelmed by the lack of preparation Structure, because if you bring someone in, how are you going to duplicate that? How are they going to model what you're doing? Do you want them to model that?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 3:58

I mean, I want them to have a bigger. It's all about bigger picture. It's all about can you set back and see your business from a bigger standpoint? It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to have everything written down, but are you able to visualize where you want to go and at least be able to tell people how to get there? So I think that's the part that we're almost all as a visionary, as a visionary, absolutely.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 4:31

Strategic thinking is a cornerstone of successful leadership. It's about taking a step back to see the bigger picture and chart the course for the future. And I think for most entrepreneurs it's the shift from being reactive to proactive and being able to say like, okay, what is it that I want to work on in my business strategically, and not only who do I need to bring in? And all of that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to write those things down right at the beginning.

Lavonne Shields: 5:02

It doesn't have to be an essay, but a bullet point. I mean, the brain can only hold so much stuff.

Acacia Smith: 5:07

Right, you're not gonna follow a step by step.

Lavonne Shields: 5:09

sometimes the brain can only hold so much information in it before it starts to mix stuff up. I mean, Kelly Bundy is an amazing example of that.

Acacia Smith: 5:18

So I can say from a marketing standpoint right, we all know they say it takes seven times for somebody to take action or to see something before they take action. And I think that when we talk about this as a CEO right and decision making and being adaptable, the marketing plan never goes just step by step. Sometimes the change is based off what you're saying, like what is it Now? I'm getting engagement, or the demand is different, or I'm getting something, the feedback or a different market is responding.

Acacia Smith: 5:50

Yeah. So I think that adaptability I hear in what you're saying like you have to be adaptable as a CEO. So how do you be adaptable? And like what helped you guide yourself? I would say, well, I'm more of a.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 6:08

I think that I'm more of a doer. So, in order for me to find, I'm also by nature more scientific, so I'm more of a right, there's a hypothesis.

Lavonne Shields: 6:23

Right, they stuff down.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 6:26

That's what they teach you inside. That is not necessarily true. They go and they try to figure it out, and then they chart the course. It's kind of like you know how to tie your shoe right. Well, the hypothesis gets laid out. Well, the hypothesis gets laid out, but that's not always the initial start of it.

Lavonne Shields: 6:45

It's the base, I mean, but it's the baseline. It's the question, because that's what business life all of that is nothing but a series of hypothesis Right is. The goal is to get to this, and this is what we think is gonna get us there the theory yeah, so can we make this a theory? I'm not asking you to do a dissertation. Okay, can you pull up points?

Acacia Smith: 7:03

and stuff out. Yeah, this is a transparent communication, like space and I feel like communication. When it comes to CEOs, you have to be the visionary. There's levels to this, of course you want, so you don't have to work on your business or in your business. You have to work on it at a certain level. So what is that level that has?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 7:24

that. Well, I think it's chaos in the beginning. Oh, to be honest, well, it is because you don't know what you don't know. You're trying to figure it out.

Lavonne Shields: 7:30

You're literally building a plane as you fly Decision making?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 7:32

okay, yeah, you're trying to figure out.

Lavonne Shields: 7:33

Do I need the wings first, and the engine, the speed? All of that comes into play. And then you start putting it together as you go and then continuing with the plane analogy. Once you get to your first destination, which is whatever your first goal is for your business, then you're realizing okay, so we want to put effort into the wings because they keep us in the air. Now we want some seats, but you still. There is a good thing about getting it out of your head and at least getting into a visual standpoint, to where you're able to see and see your parameters.

Acacia Smith: 8:07

I mean right here. It says the Small Business Administration reveals that only 20% of new businesses survive past their first year and roughly 50% survive past the fifth year. So this sounds like a critical issue when it comes to decision making, especially in your first one to five years of starting your business. So how do you guys believe that impacts the company's growth? From your experience in making those decisions in chaos?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 8:37

Well, I think it's being strategic about where you want to go right, thinking about all of the, like I said, the bigger picture things like where do I actually see myself talking about it, doing it, practicing it? Okay, now that we have a solidified system, now going and saying this is how I want things, cause I mean even now that I think about where I was as to where I am now. I didn't write down much in my first one to three years.

Lavonne Shields: 9:11

I mean I mean you don't have to shake your head at me. I mean, you guys can't see her shaking her head, but she's shaking her head. But that doesn't mean that I was going to be unsuccessful.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 9:19

That just means that I had a vision and I was doing majority of the work and I was getting it done.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 9:25

And then, once I was able to solidify those things, what I think ends up happening is a lot of different people pull from these different areas of information from other people and then they don't solidify themselves because they have all these different things and this is how someone so told you to do it and this is how someone so told you to do it, and this is how someone so told you to do it, and they can't bring it all together for themselves. And I think that's when you fail is you're trying to look like all of these other people instead of just saying, okay, this is what I'm going to do, and then let's dial in and figure out what are the moving parts and then be able to explain that to the next person, because it's all about replication. And if I can explain it to you and you can do it, then now we have a system, but I also have to do it before I can explain it to you, and that's where other people like that.

Acacia Smith: 10:20

That's what you're saying.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 10:21

They can't barely do the job, and yet they're trying to explain how to do the job. You haven't even perfected it.

Acacia Smith: 10:27

So how are you moving forward If you?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 10:29

have not perfected what you need to do, and that's not just writing it down, that's actually physically doing it labeling it, that's internalizing it and then going back and refining it.

Lavonne Shields: 10:44

Process Okay, so something to throw out there.

Lavonne Shields: 10:48

Interesting little thing, because you said to do it and perfect it from a CEO standpoint, is it to be able to do it to a point where it can be explained to somebody and then allow them to come in and perfect it. That more so CEO thinking, where you realize, okay, I know what the vision of what this say. We're talking about marketing. I know what the vision of this is. This is what I'm looking for and this is what I have done and based up about being able to reach my market. And then you find the expert where they'd be employee or an outside contractor to say, okay, I'm going to perfect this for you.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 11:21

It could be. But then what if they're doing it and that's not how you want your company built?

Lavonne Shields: 11:26

That's where the accountability comes in.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 11:27

Right, but if I allow, somebody to come in and then they are putting the systems in that they know then what happens to your vision for the company, and as a new CEO, you don't know those things, and so you're relying on this person to come in and provide these services for you, and then they're not, and then eventually you don't have to change them anyway because they don't. It's not the same vision In order to get to perfection.

Lavonne Shields: 11:59

is the testing right?

Lavonne Shields: 12:00

It is, it's a lot of engaging and testing and monitoring and the accountability. So it's just the question of from where my thought process is from a CEO standpoint. You're looking at all of these systems that are in go right now. You might have identified maybe three that are priority. Can you be in all three? Or, especially if all three of those need to be need to go at one time, if it's hiring plus marketing, plus onboarding of clients, well, okay, this is the vision, this is the outline of what I have done.

Lavonne Shields: 12:33

Now I'm going to come in, and then someone needs to step into this, and then the accountability comes in. Okay, so we're checking in on the what's working, what's not working, right. It's going to always be a constant adjustment, whether it be because of people, because of the regulations in your industry, whether just trends in general. There's going to be a moment where you got to do the step back with an evaluation of the what have we been doing? But if you don't, you're going to keep doing the same thing over and over again without realizing that you're actually having adjustment, and I think that's where I want, I guess, to make kind of like the delineation between the two.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 13:09

Is that actual doing part versus the strategic planning part of it?

Acacia Smith: 13:16

Being reactive versus proactive.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 13:18

Yeah, it's being reactive versus proactive, so where is it that I will see my company and moving it 10 years? I think that's what I love about the EOS system that we're doing right now is you put the vision into play and then you allow for the people to start filling in the gaps. But you can't put them into play if you don't have the actual vision of what that is. It's like we were just talking in my EOS meeting the other day and one of the things that he was saying is he was like you know, keisha can leave the room right now because it's not her job anymore to actually go out and do. She's done that for the past four to five years. She's done that. You guys have the vision. You know exactly how she wants things. So she does not. The visionary does not have to stay in that position because you've already put the vision into play. So I think that's the point.

Acacia Smith: 14:18

A playbook is the key though. Yeah, because like any good team and I hate to use sports analogy like any good team you need that playbook. You know if the coach isn't there, there's someone leading. You know there's always someone leading, but they're in that responsible right For what we're saying, an accountable for what the business or the company or the CEO's vision is. But that playbook, I need that playbook. So it's not telephone, you know, because the chain of command and the communication, right, we all have different dreams, but when we share a vision, that's when the team succeeds, and I think that's the point.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 14:56

But you can't put the playbook together until you run the actual play. Otherwise you're going to be sitting there scratching stuff off. You need to run it and see how it's going to operate and then you can be like okay, this is tried and true. We've ran this four to five times. We've made adjustments here and here and there, so I'm not saying that you don't never have to write it down. What I'm talking about right now is literally having a strategic mindset and thinking part of it.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 15:22

Now strategic planning is totally different, so I think that's where we're kind of looking at. Where are we going? What comes first? So, strategic thinking, strategic planning, strategic leadership what's the process? I?

Acacia Smith: 15:38

really like, in marketing especially. I do not like to reinvent the wheel, so I'm going to find something that models or I can edify. Let me use that word edification. I'm going to find something that I can edify and then go for it there. But that's thinking as a creative and I think as a visionary that we are those creatives. So I feel like we always have to take from something we're modeling to, you know, edify to the best abilities that we can at least like, duplicate those things for the team. It's what I'm thinking, that's how I think. So, starting with, how can I approach the situation? I'm going to think about what is the most similar industries, right, or who's in my niche, competition, if I'm going to break it down for y'all, but who's in my competition and who do I want to surpass or be like you know, and then from there capitalized. But I don't know. I can't go from. I have to take from an idea.

Lavonne Shields: 16:42

Well, me. But that interesting part if we go back to the importance of strategic thinking, that just shows where it makes the argument. For most people will just go out there and just launch, just on general principle, yeah, I'm going to do this, and then you're mad that it wasn't. What was the?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 16:58

thought you didn't hit the right target.

Lavonne Shields: 17:01

It was a low-flying thought process, you know. I was like, oh no, I can do it Okay, based off questions. You didn't try it.

Acacia Smith: 17:09

You didn't try it, but I get the chaos to part two, because, being a part of a team, right, we are going to keep running that play and then correcting it, correcting it.

Lavonne Shields: 17:18

Hey, you're not in the right spot.

Acacia Smith: 17:20

Let's do this.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 17:21

Let's go here, especially with teams Sometimes you don't always have the same people, but that's frustrating. I mean, my son has played football his entire youth and I'm looking and I've seen multiple and I do mean multiple teams and they are running that one dumb ass play that they just keep running over.

Acacia Smith: 17:41

That's a dumb ass.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 17:42

Thank you, thank you.

Acacia Smith: 17:45

That's a dumb ass you cannot run up the middle. That's a different game. You've already seen that 10 times.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 17:50

Why are you following this playbook if it's not working for you?

Acacia Smith: 17:54

Because there are people who just go by the paper.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 17:57

But that's what I'm saying. I think you need to have one, you need to have a strategic mindset. You need to have that strategic thinking you need to be able to adapt. But those people that are just going out and just being like, yeah, I have the book and the book says this and I'm going to follow the book and know your book is bullshit.

Acacia Smith: 18:15

So I want to ask what. You specifically.

Lavonne Shields: 18:18

I want to ask you guys.

Acacia Smith: 18:20

I want to ask you guys, what are practical steps, then, to the strategic mindset that you're sharing? Look at you trying to bring us yeah, you know, I just want to make, I want to make it make sense. So this is a strategic mindset, not the planning portion. And when we think about having taking steps to have the mindset and not just the plan, what does that look like to you then?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 18:44

Well, I think it's one starting from laying out whether you need to put it on a big wall or you need to put something it's not going to be in a formal portfolio.

Lavonne Shields: 18:58

Are you still trying to say I'm like no.

Acacia Smith: 19:02

I'm like no, you're trying to say you got it right.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 19:05

No, no, you should have it, no, no.

Acacia Smith: 19:09

Whatever, no takers are money makers. We're not doing that.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 19:17

Okay, you're saying it's not formal when I think of writing it down. It's not a formal write down, it's. It's chaotic, right down it's. I have all of my ingredients in front of me.

Lavonne Shields: 19:28

It's kind of like when you learn how to bake, you don't necessarily have.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 19:32

I don't think that they started out with oh I'm going to go ahead and bake some bread, let me go ahead and get the recipe. No, the very first thing that they did was they tried a little bit of this and they tried a little bit of that, and then they put all of those things together and then somebody said how did you do that? And now I have to explain it to somebody.

Lavonne Shields: 19:50

That's that very first step. When I coach people, that's what I tell them. That's getting your most comfortable space, wherever that is in the, in the woods and the hot tub, whatever that is and ask the question because you wouldn't have the thought if it wasn't meant for you to have it Right.

Acacia Smith: 20:04

Start there. That's your responsibility, people is, you know.

Lavonne Shields: 20:07

First get into that space, ask your unconscious mind what does this look like? Mm, hmm? And then, if you can, either with the recording it or writing it down, scribble the thoughts as they come out, because they got to get out of your head. That's the whole thing. If they're in there, you can't see the flow of the connection of this idea, or this idea, or or you don't realize that you've been writing the same idea from different.

Acacia Smith: 20:28

You know what we talk about. You know what we call that in marketing Imagination.

Lavonne Shields: 20:36

Get it all out.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 20:42

Things that you need and for some people is going to be all of your ingredients for candle making and for some people is going to be you.

Acacia Smith: 20:50

So let's write and we have to write it down, people it's the cook versus the chef, I guess it's a cook versus the chef.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 20:57

I don't know. I think I'm a cooker Now you are a chef.

Acacia Smith: 21:00

Uh oh, If you're a regular cook, you're going to follow the I like to taste too but if you are a true chef, you're going to mix it up. You might know the foundations right, the foundations but you're going to take that and put your own flavor. Yeah, it's a flavor. It's what is your flavor Authentically Chef?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 21:21

Can I get my head? Can I get my head? I'm just saying, I need my head. Yeah, you're not a cook.

Acacia Smith: 21:27

You are a chef and the chefs lead the kitchen. They lead the the rest of the team. I'm a sous chef. When I'm not there, they're able to lead the team as well. If we want to put it into a different realm, that was an amazing analogy.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 21:40

I watch a lot of cooking shows and I was thinking to myself there's nothing written down. There's nothing written down on those cooking shows. They have to turn as I turn to Levan. There's nothing written down on those cooking shows. They have to know, they have to, they have to.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 22:00

Like I said, imagine they have to have flavor Relied on their taste buds, and I believe that's literally business. You have to rely on your taste buds, you have to rely on your instincts, and we don't get. You don't get a lot of that, and so that's your. That's your first thing that you need to do. You need to take whatever that instinctual thing is, rely on it and then build something amazing.

Acacia Smith: 22:27

Yeah, I agree and honestly, if, if you do not know about in marketing to do your brand, get your brand guidelines, I honestly, I honestly hurt for you. Oh, dude, because what she's saying is the. It's the ingredients. What are my ingredients? You don't have to have it all planned out in a document. You know what I mean. It's the colors, it's the, the ideas, it's putting it all together, so that way you have something that's a chart. You know, this is what we're focused on and this is what we use in this kitchen. When you open up the cabinets, what are we going to cook? You know?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 23:05

so I want to toss our next thing to Levan so, because you know she like writing stuff down.

Acacia Smith: 23:11

So what are what?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 23:12

are going to be our principles of goal setting. To make sure you have your pencil in paper.

Lavonne Shields: 23:20

The principles of goal setting, I mean it goes back to one the vision.

Lavonne Shields: 23:24

I mean if you're not clear on the what it is you're shooting for, then you've already lost right there. If there's no clarity and it's not an alignment with your core of who you are, then I mean, that's that's where I start. Right there is understanding. You know what, what is it, what are we, what's the vision that we're looking for in achieving this goal? Because if you can't, don't know what your why is, you don't know what all that is and everything behind that becomes irrelevant.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 23:50

Yeah, and unnecessary, absolutely Like delegating tasks. Well, she jumped way ahead of me before I was ready to get there, but it's all right. So everything that she said in the beginning, you guys don't ever tell her. I said this, but she's right, you know, I'm gonna. I'm gonna say that whatever she said in the first, did I?

Acacia Smith: 24:13

get cut out, because the first thing I said was what Smart goals?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 24:17

No, I still don't like smart goals. I think we need another word for smart goals.

Acacia Smith: 24:21

Strategic planning there you go.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 24:24

That sounds better, that sounds better.

Acacia Smith: 24:27

Oh my goodness, I would say no, but this is a true thing business owners try to get away from. Don't talk about me, I'm sorry. I say it for myself too. I don't want to do the foundation stuff and put it on paper. I'm the creator, I'm the visionary, and it's tough, but that's the hard part pushing through those emotions right and being able to be that model and edify those things. I don't want to do this. I will, though, but then Okay.

Lavonne Shields: 24:53

So here, here's the interesting little, the end game, the top out there.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 24:57

The top.

Lavonne Shields: 24:59

I mean because people attempt to do all of this by themselves, right? And if you know you're not the documenter of your visionary, you're having your visionary moments, then wouldn't it be great to be able to bring someone in and say, hey, I'm about to throw this up, I need you to get the strainer.

Acacia Smith: 25:19

Honestly, though, that goes back to what she was saying at the beginning. So doing the chaotic part and then realizing, you know not opportunity. Because I'm not good at that part. You know I don't want to do that.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 25:33

You can tell who's the visionary at this table. We are all visionaries. Thank you, the implementer.

Lavonne Shields: 25:42

I mean it is. It starts like that. You know, when I'm meeting with people, they're like well, what should I do First is talk, yeah, talk, and then I will feed back to you what I'm hearing. I think she just said I was right.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 25:54

I think that's what I think. I will take some notes.

Acacia Smith: 25:57

As I'm taking notes about what they're saying.

Lavonne Shields: 26:00

Someone take some notes, I will feed back to them what I'm hearing, and then that allows their vision to start to take better shape. Yeah, so that's how we've got a shape. Yeah, we know what it is that we're. We can we have a starting point at that point? Other than that, that's usually where most visions die is that they don't know how to turn it into a tangible something.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 26:22

So having the end so that's what, that's where that first year doesn't like.

Acacia Smith: 26:26

The end game matters the most.

Lavonne Shields: 26:29

But it is definitely want to begin with the end of mind. What is it you're?

Acacia Smith: 26:32

shooting, for that's a vision right.

Lavonne Shields: 26:34

But at the same time it's the being able to turn the idea into something that has some sort of structure of creating the mission, stability to it. So where you can, you can connect to it, because in your brain it's just floating around with everything else. Did I breathe where the children?

Acacia Smith: 26:51

So you need actions, yeah, feeling the storyline, yeah.

Lavonne Shields: 26:55

And then now it's something tangible that you can, whether you're you physically wrote it down, so it literally is tangible, or it's just out of your head and someone else is now helping you form it, but it's got to come out of here. So I think step one is to reflect. Then right, Absolutely.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 27:10

So one, it says, to reflection and planning Self reflection. Step two is defining your business vision, breaking it down to attainable goals. I guess smart goals, that's what you want to call it, that's what you want to call it. That's the specific, be measurable be, achievable, be relevant, be time bound.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 27:34

Now, don't get me wrong. I love smart goals. I think that they're amazing. I'm just, you know, being facetious right at this point, because everybody says it and nobody really understands it, and I think that's my. My issue is the world will start talking about smart goals and we, as behavior analysts, we don't necessarily call them smart goals. You need to have an operational definition of what you're doing. You need to be clear, concise, right and it needs to be measurable. So we don't necessarily call them smart, but there's only three things that you need to remember. What's the operational definition Like? If I'm going to say, you know, drink your water, then what? What does that even mean? Am I going to scoop it up with my hands? Am I going to grab a cup?

Lavonne Shields: 28:24

Am I going to I'm like you're combining specific and the measurable into one.

Acacia Smith: 28:31

Absolutely Relevance.

Lavonne Shields: 28:33

Yeah, so what are we doing? Yes, we're drinking water. How much water.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 28:37

How much water Exactly?

Lavonne Shields: 28:39

And what? What form are we using to do that?

Acacia Smith: 28:41

Ye s, Again your hands, your cup, are you yes? So you said operational, and then Operational definition Be clear, concise. Clear, concise, so it has to be achievable.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 28:52

Yes.

Acacia Smith: 28:53

Okay.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 28:53

And it needs to be achievable, and then it needs to be measurable.

Acacia Smith: 28:56

Measurable.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 28:57

So when we look at, those three different things as far as behavior changed and those are the three areas that we're looking at to see where you can have the most impact on your behavior change. And then the last part is obviously establishing those priorities and figuring out you know what, what's going to make sure that what I'm doing is impactful and it's going to be worth my time, that I'm actually doing it. And I think once you get into you know, visualizing and then putting it down on paper and then making sure that somebody can understand it, then you can start getting into delegation. Because if you start delegating at the visualizing part, you you missed it. You missed it. That person is not going to know what you're talking about and then you're just going to be frustrated. I tried it a couple of times. I'm not going to lie, I don't. You know I want to lie or tease.

Lavonne Shields: 29:54

I want to lie to y'all.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 29:56

I tried it a couple of times where I thought that that's what I wanted. I tried at least two to three different times to get an assistant, and I'm thinking that this person is understanding me, but I'm not necessarily being clear this is called dating.

Acacia Smith: 30:10

Yeah, are they dating or courting you?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 30:13

Right, right. I need you to read my mind.

Acacia Smith: 30:16

I'm sorry husband yeah Work husband, work wife.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 30:20

I do apologize, right, because as a visionary you can get stuck in thinking that you said something that you actually did not even say and you did not prepare them for what was happening next. So just want to put out there. So how do you get in? Sync with that longterm vision being this in that daily the hard, knock life of it, because you're going to find people and be like. I didn't say that, like what?

Lavonne Shields: 30:49

are you doing?

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 30:50

Why are you doing that? And then you'll find people who are overly eager, so they go do stuff that you definitely didn't ask them to do, and then they went and did that shit wrong.

Acacia Smith: 31:01

Her vision was not aligned.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 31:02

Like no. So what I've learned is there's a healthy balance of being clear, asking for clarification, asking for that person to regurgitate back what you said to them, survey and then being able to say yes, that is what I said. And if you are working with a visionary, if you are the visionary, you may want to stop what you're doing right now and assess how you're communicating, what your needs are, Because you can get caught up in a strategic mindset and thinking and thinking that you're giving information that you're actually not giving. So my advice would be to remain open to learning and growth, embrace your challenges and make sure there are opportunities. Don't hesitate to seek guidance from mentors and peers. Like I said, I have this stage. I have a therapist. That's number one.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 32:03

I have a life coach, I have another CEO group, I have and I have a group of friends that I meet with on a regular basis to tell me like hey, you're doing things right and you might want to be strong, but I'm remembering that just because you went into business for yourself doesn't mean that you have to do all of this by yourself.

Lavonne Shields: 32:23

Yes, this is not natural, because that's what you miss as an employee. You got all your other employee co-workers that you're able to talk about, and it's all under the same umbrella of this is our job and this is how things are going. But once you make that transition to the other side of the fence, it gets lonely until you realize but there's all of these resources that are designed to prevent you from feeling that isolated feeling. But if you don't have anyone who can help you bounce that idea back off whether it be a mentor or someone in your peer group or just even someone that because you learn a lot when you teach, so you have someone who's behind you that you're also coaching and mentoring then it becomes full circle and it gets embedded in. But if you're just out there, just willy-nilly, just out there just doing it, then you wonder why your results are hitting this.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 33:14

So we'll end with. Strategic thinking isn't a one-time event. It's a habit that needs to be nurtured. So stay committed to your reflection, your goal setting and aligning your actions to your vision. Did you hear that? Align your actions to your vision by being strategic? Thank you for showing up today listening to us banter back and forth. Hopefully you got something out of that. My name is LaKeysha Cobbs- Hayes. You can find me. You can find me. You know see.

Acacia Smith: 33:48

I can find me.

Lavonne Shields: 33:50

You can find me.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 33:52

Strategic underscore behavior. Or you can find me. I mean, if you really just want to know who I am, I advise it. I'm fine. You know why not? You can find me at LaKeysha, Cobbs- Hayes. Or you can look us up on trueceolifecom if you want to join our accelerator program, and I'll bounce it to LaVon.

Lavonne Shields: 34:14

LaVonne Shields, the accounting strategist, and you can find me at the accounting strategist on all platforms. Well, can we? Linkedin, instagram and Facebook? Don't be looking for me somewhere else. I ain't there, so you can find me on LinkedIn. Instagram and Facebook. The accounting strategist, or LaVonne Shields Again if you want to see things that are a little interesting about me? What?

Acacia Smith: 34:36

about TikTok.

Lavonne Shields: 34:39

No, you don't want to climb on it.

Acacia Smith: 34:41

Oh, okay, never mind. Well, my name is Acacia Smith. I'm a marketing expert, so if you want to work with me, you can find me at blckmgmt, on Instagram and Facebook All right Till next time.

LaKeysha Cobbs-Hayes: 34:56

Yeah, thank you for joining, thank you.