Leadership Archives | Eclipse DOT

Why is DOT Compliance important to you the driver?

Posted on June 2, 2023June 2, 2023 by Mikay Samson

When I first started driving trucks (legally) back when I was 18, I never heard anything about compliance.

All I ever heard from other drivers. And to be 100% honest it wasn’t GREAT information that I was being taught.

I heard things like, “Always make sure your load has enough straps!”

My follow-up questions would be something like, How many straps is that? Do they have to be a specific size?

Or the other thing that I got told was, “Don’t be stupid when it comes to driving! Or Cops, you are a billboard for the company.”

I never heard anything about roadside inspections, and NEVER anything about why I always had to fill out these crazy forms every year.

When I got into a DOT position for a company I didn’t do a great job at explaining why these things needed to be done at first either.

But the more I learned about how liability works and how a TON translates back to the driver and the company I started teaching others about why it is so important to be in compliance.

One thing that I didn’t realize is that if as a driver if I was running over hours then I was putting not only myself at risk but also my family.

HOW you ask!!!

Well, when I am knowingly breaking the rules and I get into an accident, even if I’m not at fault I could be charged with more aggressive charges. In a few cases, the prosecutors upped the charges from a misdemeanor to something MAJOR like Homicide!!

That is intentional murder!

CRAZY RIGHT?!?!?!?

The other thing that I didn’t realize is that when I got pulled into a port of entry and inspected. My results were what made the difference whether we got audited or not.

Or even if our trucks were targeted for inspections.

That’s right. when you get violations during a roadside stop that can lead to your company getting more inspections.

Which then triggers an audit! And that audit can cost the company $$$$$.

In 2022 the government issued more than $25,698,341 in fines for onsite investigations alone!!!!

Let me say that again. During audits in the year of 2022 our lovely government issued more than $25.5 million in fines to companies for violations they found during audits!!

Can you say WOW??

I never knew that either.

When I used to get pulled into a port of entry the officer always told me, “This is just a fix it ticket, no fines today!” or, “I’m not going to give you any tickets today just need to get these fixed.”

That way they came off to the driver as a good guy.

What a Crock Of CRAP!!

Because each of those violations is what leads for more roadside inspections, and if you continue to get violations then it leads to an audit.

That’s not all that you need to know as a driver though.

You also need to know that you can get tickets for almost all of these violations.

I personally know one guy who got an overweight ticket for over $10,000.00. Yes you read that right. over $10 Thousand dollars.

This ticket was not in the company’s name. It had the drivers name on it!!!

Can you imagine getting a ticket for over 10K?

You might be thinking, “wow that guy must have been really overweight!”

NOPE. He was only a little more than 5,000lbs over on his drives. He just rubbed the cop the wrong way during the inspection.

Are you guys getting how important that it is as a driver you understand DOT?

As a leader for a company do you understand how important it is to educate your drivers about DOT?

CRAZY important.

Because get this, if you drivers understand why DOT is important then they can be your best advocates for the company.

And I have said this forever, people want to do it right. sometimes they just don’t know how to or what right is.

It is our job as leaders to help those we lead to understand and encourage them what right is.

At this point I would be doing you a HUGE disservice if I didn’t tell you about some the training that we offer to help drivers, leaders, and office staff to really understand DOT.

We offer quarterly training for companies and their drivers we can come to you, or we can make it happen via virtual meetings.

For those of you who love to do the training yourself, we offer train the trainer. And to top it off we have a membership specifically for that. Where you get a weekly group training with other professionals. And a group where you can ask questions and learn as you go.

If you don’t have time and your drivers all over the place, then we have a solution that is in our web-based software DOT Docs. Right now we are building new trainings all the time that you can assign to your drivers as needed. And they can complete them from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection.

How cool is that???

We also offer DOT certifications for those of you are ready to take your knowledge and resume to the next level!

When I say that here at Eclipse DOT we have you covered, we really mean it!

Our mission is to help you grow and scale your business effortlessly. And we do everything in our power to make it happen!

If you want to learn more about any of our services or how you can work with us to make your businesses even more amazing reach out today! info@eclipse-dot.com or check out our website. www.eclipsedot.com

We’ll chat soon.

My tips to “Recharge” Your batteries

Posted on May 26, 2023May 26, 2023 by Mikay Samson

When you read the title to this you might have thought I was going to give you some cooky advice about how to jump-start your car or truck.

Like take a 50-pound bag of potatoes and a spool of copper wire then hook it up to the positive side of the battery. And wahalaaaaa.

I’m just kidding, don’t try that. For real, I have never done that and have no idea if it would work. So really DO NOT try that.

Anyways……..

I hate to disappoint you, but that’s not what’s going to happen here. lol

Today I wanted to let you in on a few of my secrets so that you can figure out how to live a life that you love, every day!!

Are you guys & gals ready for this???

Ok my first tip is to get your mind in a place where you LOVE what you do!!!

That’s right if you LOVE what you do then you will never get tired.

Just kidding. I LOVE what I do, but I still get tired. But in being 100% transparent I work WAYYYYY more than a lot of people do and I hardly ever get burnt out.

And.

The big reason for that is because I absolutely LOVE what I do.

Let me give you a quick preview of my typical day. I wake up at about 3:30-4 am and pee. That’s right I have to take a wizz first thing in the AM. Then just after that, I take 30 minutes total on social media. but I’m not scrolling and using it for entertainment.

I am using it as a tool.

I am spying on my competition and potential customers to see if they have anything cool coming up. I make it point to wish everyone a happy birthday if they have a birthday that day.

Then I find 5 posts on each platform, like them, and comment on them. Those 5 posts are for potential clients or current clients.

After that, I make a pot of coffee for my amazing Queen (Jenna). Ok I drink a few cups too.

Next, I head to my home office where I check my emails and put out any fires that need to be addressed.

After that, I pick 3-7 projects that I want to get done today. I start with one that can either get done in 2 hours or one that I can pause in 2 hours when the kids get up at 6 am.

At 6 I step away from my computer and with the help of our little Maltipoo Rosie, I wake the kids up. I’ll have to make a video of her doing her job. It is absolutely amazing how much she loves her job. Lol

Then I take about 30 minutes with the kids before they catch the bus. After that, I usually spend about 10-15 minutes chatting with Jenna to top off her tank of quality time.

Then it’s back to the grind.

I hit the office and get it done.

About the only time that I step away from my computer is when I need to pee or grab more water to drink.

Most days it seems that I have some type of meeting(s) between 9 am -1 pm. So, I make sure that I am doing projects that I can easily step away from during those hours.

After the meetings, I take the afternoon to make sure that todays projects are buttoned up.

I usually finish up the day at about 5-6p, head upstairs, and help with dinner or make dinner if Jenna is chasing the kids.

Then I spend the evening with my family (recharging my batteries)

If there is something pressing after the kids go to bed and I finish reading to them I get that one item knocked out. And then head to bed.

Most nights Jenna and I watch one tv show together and then fall asleep about 9:30-10 pm.

I know you didn’t really want to hear about my schedule, but you needed to hear about so you can see that when I say that I GRIND, you can see that it is truly a GRIND. No lunch most days, a protein bar for breakfast, and I make sure that I get my batteries recharged with my family as much as possible.

Even with all of that, I do and all the stress that comes with running a growing small business I still LOVE what I do.

My second tip for recharging throughout the day is to build a playlist of music that gets you pumped!

I have one that I call setting the stage on Amazon Music. Check it out here, but be warned it is a WIDE variety of music and it might not all be clean music.

This helps me focus and get stuff done. Not to mention that the beats of the music keep me motivated throughout the day.

Those are just things that I do every day.

The next thing is to find something(s) that you can do every week that helps you.

For me its time with my family.

Like on Saturday when we play a family game together. That right there recharges my batteries and does it QUICK!

Some games that we love are, CashFlow, the Thing, Cribbage, Hand and Foot, and of course Clue!!

If you want more info on any of those games hit me up and I will be more than happy to share what they are. CashFlow is my favorite one because it makes me want to grow my assets!!

Then the next step is to find something that charges your batteries that you can do every quarter.

I really like to take a family trip every quarter. We go places like the beach, or a national park or where ever, just as long as we go as a family.

This one might be harder. But if you get creative you can definitely make it happen without costing much money.

Like a long weekend trip to a state or national park.

It shouldn’t be a trip where when you get back from you feel like you need to go back to work to rest up. I used to travel like that, but not anymore.

Now we go and have fun, we don’t try to pack every moment with something to do. We also don’t make a lot of schedules when we travel. We say if we make it to this it would be awesome, but our plan is to recharge, not drain!

Personally, I try to go to some sort of business event every quarter.

This is 2-fold.

One I learn, and to be honest, I recharge when I learn!

Second, it gets me around people who want to grow!! And I know that we are the sum of the people we surround ourselves with. So, if I hang around 5 broke people I will become the 6th. but if I hang around 5 billionaires I will become the 6th!

Well…….

I know that it’s not much, but those are my tips and tricks for keeping my energy and motivation throughout the day, week month, and yes even year.

Because if you want to be ULTRA successful then you have to find a way to keep moving when everyone else is sleeping.

What is that one phrase, I don’t quit when I’m tired, I quit when I’m finished.

Or my other favorite quote from Thomas Eddison is, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

I hope that this helped and that you find a way to keep your “Batteries” charged without hooking up jumper cables every time you stop. Lol

Serving Your Tribe

Posted on May 20, 2023May 20, 2023 by Mikay Samson

Hey guys, hope that you are having a wicked awesome day so far and that you are living the life that you love.

Because that is probably the most important part of life that sometimes we forget. Or at least I forget sometimes.

The other day I had a conversation with a young lady after training that I put on.

She came up to me afterward after everyone left the room and said, “Dan this was probably the best training that I have ever been to. You did a great job making it relate to everyone in the room especially me. Most of the time when I go to training being a young woman in a room full of guys I feel out of place. But today I felt like I BELONGED here. Thank you!”

What do you say to that?

Thanks??

After a little awkward silence, I could see that she didn’t just want to tell me that. She had other reasons for coming over to see me. So, I asked her what caused her to come to the training.

I got the typical answer, My boss made me. Lol

After some more casual small talk she was still hanging around, so I kept digging and finally, she started to open up.

“Dan as you know I work in an industry that is full of guys, and sometimes being a young female I feel a little out of place. Do you have any suggestions that might help me feel less out of place?”

YOU BET I DO!!!!

Being a leader in the industry our team is mostly made up of ladies and let me tell you my whole team is awesome, and we all pull out the weight.

And when someone is not pulling their weight, they know it and find out pretty darn quick that they better shape up or ship out.

But that is for another blog……

The advice I gave her was something that I learned a few years ago and really wished that someone would have told me when I was 22.

What I told her was that her gender is not a determining factor in any position in today’s world. it might have made a difference back in the early 1900s and before, but not anymore.

The only thing that is holding you back from being ULTRA successful is your own mind.

I thought maybe she would give me a look and roll her eyes at me like most people do when I give them such a simple and straightforward answer.

But instead, she paused for a second reflecting on what she just heard, and said, “That is so true. I haven’t advocated for myself and to be 100% honest I don’t really have any goals set in my life to help give me a true direction.”

We chatted a bit more and I found her more about her situation. This is something that I really like doing because it gives me the opportunity to learn about all the circumstances.

There is always at least a few circumstances in everyone’s life that are causing these doubts and disbelief.

After a while, she asked if I had any advice on how to change her mindset and really propel herself forward.

I gave her a few books to read that changed my entire life. Like Napoleon Hills Think and Grow Rich. And of course, Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends And Influence People.

Before she left I asked her what she really wanted to do and where she wanted to go. In other words what were her goals and her purpose in life?

She said I don’t know.

So……

We worked through a small goal-setting process that I use all the time.

By the end, she was a whole new person and had a whole new outlook on where she wanted to go.

You see when we set goals we create what Napoleon Hill calls Definiteness of Purpose. When we have a purpose it is easier to create the route.

The way I explained it to her was, that if you don’t know where you want to go and jump in the car and start driving you might be moving but if it’s in the wrong direction and you finally figure it out after 2 days of driving you might be farther away from your destination then if you would have just held tight.

Does that make sense???

As leaders, it is our job to help others find their purpose and passion.

NOT OURS, but theirs!

As a leader do you push others to be better even if it’s not what’s best for you???

I am so grateful that she took the time to jump out of her comfort zone and chat with me.

That right there is why I always hang around after every live event making myself accessible to everyone who attended.

You never know who God will introduce you to, and how might be able to help them!

Update on Jill (not her real name)!

We chatted the other day again after she had read both books and she sent me the goals that she built for herself.

Now that she has a destination in mind, I encouraged her to make the hard decisions that were going to help her get to the final destination.

The other thing that I did was encourage her to think bigger!

A lot of times we don’t think as big as god has plans for us.

Because God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. And we are all called to do something, but it is our choice whether we pick up the task and take action or stay on the sidelines.

I am pleased to say that we are currently in negotiations to have her join the Eclipse DOT team!!! And I couldn’t be more excited to potentially bring her into the Eclipse Family!!!

But the choice is hers!

Just like the choice to change your life is yours! Will you make the change and get in the game, or will you be a bench warmer sitting there waiting for someone to tell you to get in the game???

Take that chance and get out there.

Taking Responsibility for Our actions

Posted on March 31, 2023May 8, 2023 by eclipsedot_i

“When you blame others, you give your power away. when you take responsibility, you take back your power, to transform your life.”

Yesterday I recorded my second-ever VLOG/Podcast (Video Blog) for Leading From The Middle Of The Pack.

I am a bit unique in the fact that I do not like scripts. More to this point when I was a kid we used to put on one-act plays for our community and I was the one that the directors hated.

Not because I was a bad kid or a bad actor. But I HATED sticking to the lines.

What I loved was being able to put my one spin on it and make it mine. (that’s one reason I never did drama in high school, lol)

To get back to the point I’m trying to make here. I’m not a script guy, I’m more of a bullet point guy.

So as I got ready to record this vlog/podcast I had my topic in front of me and nothing else.

“Why It’s Important As A Leader To Take Responsibility For Our Mistakes!” You should check it out it’s episode 46 (shameless plug)

Anyways……

As I was talking through the topic, I discovered that there are really 3 reasons why we NEED to take responsibility for our actions.

The first reason is for our peace of mind.

Now you might not believe this, but I used to NEVER claim responsibility for my mistakes. I was always finding a way that wasn’t my fault.

When we find an excuse it does a couple of things to us internally. One thing that it does is it allows our mind to truly think that there was nothing that we could have done differently to get a better outcome.

There is ALWAYS something that we could have done differently and it most definitely would have achieved a different outcome.

The other thing that it does is it allows us to continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

I believe it was Albert Einstein that said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.”

What great wisdom!!!

If we want different results we have to change something. And when we don’t think that we could do anything different, then guess what????? Nothing will ever change. Because in our mind it wasn’t our fault, so we just keep doing the same things over and over again.

The next reason we need Take Responsibility For Our Mistakes is because of the effect it has on those who are around us.

Think about this for a second…..

Will you trust someone who says, “Hey I messed up? But this is what I’m going to do to make it right!”

Will you trust the person who says, “There was nothing that I could do it is out of my hands!”???

I know that I would trust the person who admits the mistake. You see we all want to follow someone who is human. Because that makes them more relatable.

So when we Take Responsibility For Our Mistakes we are actually making ourselves look and come across as stronger to those around us!

The last thing that I’m going to talk about today is how it looks to those who look up to us when we Take Responsibility For Our Mistakes.

Whether you want to believe it or not, there is someone who looks up to you!

You might not see them right now, but I guarantee that there is at least one being in this world that looks up to you.

Now ponder if you will for a moment, who do you look up to??

Are they perfect, or imperfect?

Do they make mistakes or not?

Are they arrogant, or humble?

Is his name Dan??? Just kidding lol.

My point here is that you don’t look up to people who are perfect. There has only ever been one human being that was perfect that ever walked this earth. And his name was Jesus!

I want to leave you with this one final thought.

If the people we look up to are NOT perfect and they make mistakes, then why can’t we make mistakes too????

Time to take action.

The next time you make a mistake, let the world know, “Hey I messed up!” Don’t expect instant forgiveness though.

It’s really that simple. Just say, “Hey guys I made a mistake. And I’m going to try to fix it.”

A Little More

As I sit here pondering (that’s a big word for me, lol) my past, all the mistakes I have made come to the surface.

Not like cream on top of milk, but more like oil on top of the water.

It’s kind of cool to look at, but I don’t really want to touch it. lol

Anyways…….

I have made a TON of mistakes, and in the past, I didn’t really admit to those mistakes. Today is not going to be about making a list of the past mistakes I have made. Because it would be too long. Lol

No, today is going to be about one mistake that I made a while ago that I never really claimed as a mistake until just the other day.

A couple of years ago I went to this convention for marketing. I was really stoked to go to it.

After landing I grabbed an uber to my hotel and got checked in. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I walked to my room.

You see I do really good in crowds of people, and I don’t really get too excited about what everyone else is excited about. Or at least I don’t show my excitement. I can thank my mom for that, she is extremely good at controlling her emotions. (Thinking about that I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing because I can hardly ever read her. Unless she’s mad, then I can read her. Lol)

As I walked to my room and got unpacked I noticed that there were banners all around the hotel for the event. This was a massive place, and their brand was everywhere. It was super cool to see. But also, a little scary. What did I just get myself into???

A little while later I walked down and got registered. They gave me a name tag. Ugh I HATE name tags!! And a wristband. Then I started exploring the hotel a little bit because the conference started tomorrow.

As I walked around I would say that 90% of the people I saw either had on some type of SWAG for the event or a nametag. Again it was kind of cool, but I could also feel the butterflies building in my stomach even more.

I grabbed some dinner and went to my room for the night.

The next morning I got up and headed down to the event about 1 hour before it started. Not knowing what to expect.

As I approached the room there was a CROWD of people. When I say a crowd I mean there were a few people there. I later found out that there were about 4500 people there!!!!

Those dang butterflies came back, my mouth dried out and I could feel that it was going to be hard to talk to anyone. I mean this was a business event and I had just hired my first employee less than a month ago for the second time.

The first time I hired someone it didn’t work out because we didn’t really have enough work to keep both of us busy. It really sucked to have to tell someone that. That right there is something that no one tells you when you start a business. You are literally responsible for someone else’s family if you don’t have the work or can’t pay the bills you have to be the one to tell them.

All of those emotions were surfacing once again as I looked at this HUGE crowd. So I worked my way around them to the far side where I found a little corner to stand close to a door that I could get into the room when they opened it.

I chose not to talk to anyone about anything. Instead, I just stood there waiting for them to open the door.

The next four days were amazing. and I did end up meeting some pretty amazing people. But the mistake I made was that I didn’t play it all out. After the event, I would go back to my room. And I would do what I did that morning for the next 3.

My mistake was that I chose to go into the introvert mode when clearly I am an extreme extrovert. I mean I talk to strangers on the street and in the grocery store.

I claimed my mistake just after that conference and from that point forward I have chosen to be the person I truly am when I go to an event. That person who talks to everyone and is not afraid of anything.

But think about what would have happened if I would have said, “I did my best to talk to people and no one wanted to talk to me!” where would I be today??

NOWHERE!!!!

Or even worse I might have told myself that I am introverted and that I don’t like groups. That would have CHANGED my entire life and business.

When we own our mistakes it allows us to grow.

So get out there and own your mistakes then use that mistakes as fertilizer to fuel your growth!!!

Why titles don’t matter to get the job done

Posted on March 17, 2023May 9, 2023 by eclipsedot_i

“positions and title means absolutely nothing. They’re just adornments; They don’t represent the substance of anybody. every person and job is worth as much as any other person and any other job.”

My professional career has been full of challenges, hard lessons, and TONS of accomplishments for which I give God all the glory. Without him, none of it would have been possible.

Today I want to share with you an important lesson I learned along the way that changed the way I think about what it means to be a leader.

From a young age, I knew that I was called to be a leader.

However, even though I kept applying for new opportunities with different companies, I needed help to land a leadership position.

I was qualified and did a great job at everything I was asked to do, heck even the managers and supervisors loved me, but I just couldn’t ever land the position with a leadership title.

That didn’t stop me though. I kept going after being a leader and moving up the ladder because I KNEW that’s where God wanted me to be.

Fort the longest time I thought God wanted me to be a leader in a business, working for somebody else. That meant that I needed to become a manager.

What I didn’t realize was that being a leader, and being a manager were two completely different things.

I give God the credit for always being there for me even when I mess up (and boy do I mess up!). He’s taken me down paths that I’m so grateful for. He’s the sole reason I have an amazing wife and a beautiful family.

Little did I know how God had actually been using me in leadership roles the whole time though.

Looking back I was a leader in every single position I that I ever held.

I just didn’t realize it at the time because it didn’t come with the title that I thought you had to have to be a leader.

This AHA moment really came to me when I stepped into a job with absolutely no authority. I was tasked to figure out how to get people from across the company to do what I needed. Like completing paper work and following rules that I didn’t put into place.

To top it off we were a nationwide company! So it wasn’t like I just pop in on every person and ask them to fill out this form. Oh yeah and while I’m here would you please just follow these extremely complicated rules?

It took me forever to figure out how to get what I needed. Mostly because by that time i figured out that I was a leader, it was a few years after I had taken over this new position.

This position was where I was shown that you don’t have to be in charge to be a TRUE leader.

I remember there was this one time I was in East Texas. And this guy jumped in a CDL rig and I knew he didn’t have a CDL.

When I calmly asked him WHAT THE HECK HE WAS DOING??????

He tells me his boss told him to do it, and that he’s going to listen to his boss, not me!

So I had a really nice conversation with the boss about why he needs a CDL and the boss turns around and tells me he doesn’t care about anything I’m saying. He is here to make money and get S#!& Done!

I was furious. I was so pissed off at the guy I wanted to scream. But that wouldn’t have gotten me very far. I had to figure out how to get them to change their thinking. They had to see what it was so important that they knew and followed the rules.

I had to figure out how to LEAD from the middle of the pack.

Over the past years, I have learned through putting myself out there, that you can change the world without the title.

Long story short, in that position I was able to impact the company and take them from being one for the worst in the nation to one of the best in the nation in less than ONE year.

This created a huge transition in my professional career. I went from ‘I got to have the title’ to ‘I don’t want the title!’

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not about denying the title, but knowing that you don’t need it to make a difference.

So many people get this idea wrong, that you need to be in a specific position like a manager, or have a specific title calling themselves leader, to make a difference.

News flash. YOU DON’T. And I’m living proof of that.

That’s what I want to get here. I used to be a guy nobody wanted to be around. Striving to be a leader, while acting like a boss.

I had to change my thinking and actions. Changing them from wanting authority to getting people to do what’s right.

Once I made that shift in my mindset. Once I got rid of the title crap that I really wanted. I was blessed with leadership role after leadership role after leadership role.

Look at where we are today.

When I talk about Eclipse DOT or DOT Docs. it has always been and will always be WE did this.

It used to really bug me when we first got started. People would ask about the business and I would say something like, “Yep we sure have built something amazing here!”

Their response was, “We? Who are you working with?”

As a GREAT leader, it is your job to lift your team up, not to take credit for what they do. Give them praise. When they are there, and even more when they aren’t there.

One thing to remember is Titles don’t matter to get the job done. Take it from the guy who wanted all of them.

Now I can’t wait to give my title to a more deserving person to run our business!

Hungry for Pies?

Posted on February 24, 2023May 9, 2023 by eclipsedot_i

Today I would like to take you through the difference between macro leadership and micro-managing, and how they’ve been crucial in shaping my business.

I was going into town the other day with Jenna and the kids, and I had an epiphany.

Leadership is a lot like baking a pie. Let me explain.

On the way to Becca’s Chop Shop (huge shout to Becca!) for my son’s haircut, I was driving past the house of someone I knew. He is someone who would fall under the ‘I’ category in the Disc framework.

People from this category are really influential, but at the same time, not really driven.

This basically means they lack structure in their routine.

In my head I was thinking, ‘’Man I wish I could work with this guy, he is really great’’ but deep down I knew we just wouldn’t work out.

It’s been that way when it comes to working with anybody from that ‘I’ category for me.

The question I found myself asking is why is this the case?

As I was thinking I realized that ”Leadership is like baking a pie”.

Jenna turned over and saw me have this light bulb moment and asked me what I was smirking about.

I told her with a straight face ‘‘leadership is like baking a pie’’, and instantly it grabbed her attention.

Think about it.

What separates a successful business from a mediocre one, is the breakdown of macro-level leadership within it.

Now I am a BIG PICTURE leader. I love thinking big and opening a bunch of loops. That really gets me excited.

Makes my engine rev if you will!

What I need is to have a group of macro-leaders on my team who get the big picture, but who don’t necessarily have to be as excited as I am about it.

We just celebrated some holiday and there sure have been a lot of us stuffing our faces with delicious pies this season.

So, I am going to use this pie analogy to explain what macro leadership is.

Besides, who doesn’t love a good pie.

Macro leaders at each level are what create the levels of success the business will end up having.

‘‘Behind every great pie, is the leader who had the vision behind making it’’.

Print that on a t-shirt!

In all seriousness though, the big-picture leaders are the ones who are going to answer the question: What kind of pie are we going to make? Where is the business going?

This leader decides the kind of pie the team is going to work together to create.

Whether it’s an apple pie, a peach pie, or even a ‘mince-meat pie’, yes it’s a real thing, shout out to Grandma Greer for making the best mince pies EVER!!!

It’s important, in those moments, to have a leader that can and will decide the big picture stuff. They give the team a common vision to work towards and help to make sure that each team has what they need to succeed.

Generally, these are high ‘D’ individuals (if you refer to the DISC framework I talk about).

The first leader that follows in the chain of command, leads by making the crust. Or laying the foundation if you will.

Every great pie starts off with a great crust. This leader needs to know what kind of base the pie needs to have to take it to the next stage.

They take us from having a vision to executing the foundation. Whether that’s by making a graham cracker crust or picking dough.

It’s important to communicate the vision clearly with this leader. You then avoid a situation where the leader makes the wrong base for the wrong pie.

You wouldn’t want to eat a pumpkin pie with a doughy base now, would you?

Think about it can you build a skyscraper on the same foundation that you build a play hose on?

HECK NO!!!!!

So yes this Macro-Leader needs to know the whole vision in order to truly succeed.

The second leader in this chain of command is in charge of the filling. Again, it’s important that the big picture is communicated well here too.

They have a team who begins to create the elements of the pie.

They go even deeper to understand the small details behind making the pie great, even stuff like how the pie is going to be served.

The next set of leaders covers the topping. It’s crucial to take care of each element in the process in order to make the final product great.

Take a pumpkin pie, for example, I would argue that the most loved topping for it would be whipped cream. Replacing that would change the outcome entirely.

The fourth set of leaders are the ones baking this delicious dessert. They need to see the big picture as well because they will be setting the temperature, figuring out how long to keep it in the oven, and how it’s going to be served.

If they only see the crust and not the filling, how will they know what’s in the pie to know how long to cook it??????

Now we are nearly there!

The final set of leaders takes care of serving the pie. The final step is to cut it up and pass it out to be enjoyed. Maybe even serve a little ice cream with it if you really want to over-deliver!

Can you see the importance of communicating the big picture to each level of macro-leaders to ensure that the pie turns out great?

We go from an IDEA to EXECUTION – with a sweet finish – all through the help of macro-leaders.

Let’s take a real-life application of this illustration. www.DOTDocs.com (shameless plug I know) offers a platform that makes it so simple for businesses to track the compliance of their drivers and their entire DOT program.

It’s an organized dashboard that allows businesses to quickly get into compliance. When we say that we take the complexity out of compliance. We take the statement seriously.

But……

A salesperson who is not aware that our best clients run trucks in their business might end up pitching our platform to doctors who wouldn’t be able to use it. they might get excited about being able to track compliance.

Ok, I know no one gets excited about compliance, except for the experts here at Eclipse DOT. We quite literally eat, breathe, and live this stuff. And yes good thing for you it does get us excited!!!!

Anyways……

There is a huge DISCONNECT between the service the salesperson sold the doctor, and who it is built for.

Coming back to the pie analogy, if the macro-leader baking it thinks he’s baking a cheesecake and sets the oven at 325 degrees, for 45 mins but in reality, it’s actually an apple pie. The pie that will eventually come out of the oven would not be GREAT. It might be edible, it might not even be that.

But most definitely it will not be GREAT!

This is why communication across all levels is crucial. One team could compromise the entire operation.

So many people fail to get this point.

Leadership is about every person on the team succeeding. It’s not solely for just the big picture folks like me to run the entire operation.

In my opinion, you don’t have to have the title of a leader, supervisor, manager, or even foreman to act like one.

Coming back to the whole DISC framework and the friend’s house I passed by… I swear I wasn’t just ranting!

Ok, maybe I was! Just a little. lol

High ‘I’ people need macro-leaders to guide them on what to do because they are not super organized. But they are GREAT with people. That’s what makes them successful.

High-D people on the other hand keep bouncing around from one shiny object to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next…….

And this might stop them from getting the success they desire. They need to surround themselves with OUTSTANDING Macro-Leaders to help them accomplish the bigger picture.

You need to have macro-leaders who can bring balance to the team with their different strengths.

If you don’t have a big-picture guy or gal, go find one!

If you don’t have Macro-Leaders on your team to help you accomplish your big goals, then go find them.

You might consider hiring a mentor to coach you into being the leader your team needs.

Ultimately, it’s not about being a micromanager – whom everyone secretly despises – but being a MACRO-LEADER who can carry the team towards the BIG PICTURE.

The Bridge Law Explained

Posted on January 20, 2023May 9, 2023 by eclipsedot_i

“The truth is that I KNOW that DOT is not that exciting. But I have been called to make it more exciting! ”

DOT is not Exciting

You might not realize this but DOT is not that exciting of a topic.

I have never met anyone who has ever said, “DOT is the FUNNEST thing I have ever done!”

The truth is that I KNOW that DOT is not that exciting. But I have been called to make it more exciting!

Quite the calling right?

Ok, that’s not my only calling. But it is one of them. To take dry, boring, lame topics that have high importance and help make them more exciting to learn about.

If you have been following me for any amount of time you probably also know that I have a HUGE passion for business, my family, and God.

But today is all about DOT!

Yes, I am one crazy dude that actually likes talking, teaching, and learning about DOT.

And that right there is why you need our team in your corner. Simply because we are all crazy and have decided to become hopelessly devoted to the topics that we need to know about but maybe don’t want to take the time to become an expert in.

Recently I was heading to Denver, CO for a week of work and of course a little bit of fun too.

On the way up my phone rang, so I answered it.

The voice on the other end said, “Hey Dan, how’s it going?”

“Great, What’s up?” You know me directly and to the point. Lol

“We are thinking about buying this truck and we really wanted to make sure that it would work for what we need it to. It is a straight truck and we need to be able to haul 30K payload. What do you need to be able to tell me if this rig will work for us? We have been getting mixed answers from everyone we talk to.”

“Yeah, not a problem, you called the right guy! All I need is the spread measurements between the axles. Take a tape measure and measure from the center of the front axle to the middle of the rear axle. Then measure the distance between both axles.”

“I also need the tear weight, or in other words the empty weight. I’d prefer to have the truck full of fuel, but if I know how much fuel it has when it is weighed I can get close.”

Let me explain why I needed all this information to come up with what a truck can actually haul.

There is this little thing called the bridge law.

This law tells you how much a truck or truck and trailer can legally haul.

I know you’re probably thinking, Dan I thought that you could haul 80,000 pounds with any truck and trailer set up. And I thought that you could haul 52,000 pounds on any straight truck.

What do you mean there is an equation that I need to work through in order to see if I can actually hold that much weight? I almost failed math; how do you expect me to do this?

Let me tell you, I almost failed my freshman math class. I scrapped by with a D-. That might have been because I was more focused on the girls and not on the math (Jenna & I met in that class so I blame her, lol.).

The good news is that I have taken the time to break down the bridge law equation here so that you can see exactly how to do it for any Commercial Vehicle.

So let’s take a second and work through the bridge law equation for a straight truck so you can see how to do it and see it broken down step by step.

The things you need to know about the equation are:

W = Total Weight

L = Total Spacing Between Axle Group / Total Length Between All Axles

N = Number Of Axles

What you need to know about the truck:

L (Total Length Between All Axles) = 27.5 feet

N (Number Of Axles) = 3

Ok with that info let’s break down the equation. I’ll do my best to simplify it.

(L*N) 27.5×3 = 82.5

(N-1) 3-1 = 2

(LN / N-1) 82.5 / 2 = 41.25

(12N) 12 * 3 = 36

[(LN / N-1) + 12N] 41.25 + 36 = 77.25

[(LN / N-1) + 12N + 36] 77.25 + 36 = 113.25

500 * [(LN / N-1) + 12N + 36] 500 * 113.25 = 56,625

The total max gross weight could be 56,625 lbs. Max legal limit without oversize overweight permits is 52,000 lbs on interstate roads, in Colorado on highways you can weigh a total of 54,000 lbs

So for this truck, you would be good to go with the legal max weight limits.

With a tear weight of 27,200 lbs, the max load you could haul would be, 29,425 lbs on interstates, and 31,425 lbs in Colorado. (Colorado has different weight regulations for secondary [non-interstate] roads

Let’s work through the same equation but this time let’s shorten the overall spread (distance between all the axles)

New Truck Information:

L (Total Length Between All Axles) = 20 feet

N (Number Of Axles) = 3

Now let’s work the equation out.

(L*N) 20×3 = 60

(N-1) 3-1 = 2

(LN / N-1) 60 / 2 = 30

(12N) 12 * 3 = 36

[(LN / N-1) + 12N] 30 + 36 = 66

[(LN / N-1) + 12N + 36] 66 + 36 = 102

500 * [(LN / N-1) + 12N + 36] 500 * 102 = 51,000

This truck would be limited to a max weight of 51,000 lbs total max weight. That’s lower than the federal and state limits.

I know that this process is not extremely simple. And for that, I would like to apologize.

But here’s the thing. Know that you have this information and you can easily walk through the equation and you can see how much weight your vehicles can haul.

Is it less than the legal limits?

I sure hope this helps.

Have a GREAT day and don’t forget that we are offering a membership to Eclipse DOT so that you can get the EXPERTS on your side!

Serving Your Tribe!

Posted on July 2, 2022May 9, 2023 by eclipsedot_i

Today we are going to go deeper into how to serve your tribe, what a tribe is, and how to keep God in the center of all of it.

Let’s start with what a tribe is.

A long time ago, in lands across the world………

Just kidding.

When I think of tribes I think of the native Americans.

Here in the states our schools pretty much only associate native Americans with tribes. Or at least the schools I went to.

I want to change the way you think about it though.

Webster’s defines a tribe as a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest.

If we take that definition, we have lots of tribes in our lives.

I am a huge fan of Russell Brunson and Tony Robbins, so I am part of their tribe.

My family and church are also part of my tribe.

Not to mention everyone on our team at Eclipse DOT, DOT Docs.

What about everyone who reads our devotionals from God First Life, are they part of our tribe?

YOU BET THEY ARE!

In all actuality, I am involved with multiple tribes and am actually the leader of several tribes myself.

Just like you are. (can’t see it, try digging a little deeper)

NOW, let’s get into the real meat of this.

Are you ready??????

Ok, how do you serve your tribe?

There are tons of ways to serve people.

Jesus did it by performing miracles throughout his life. He also did this by washing the feet of his disciples.

Not to mention what he did on the cross was most definitely a service for all of us!

So how can you serve your tribe?

Let’s talk about the tribes I belong to and how I serve them. (Maybe that will spark some ideas for you.)

My Family: this tribe is by far one tribe that I am dedicated to and it is super easy to serve them.

A few ways that I serve are to provide the best life I can to them. I can do this by working hard, showing up when they have something special planned, going out of my way to help them, helping them to build their core values (not mine), giving them a firm foundation for life, and letting them fail occasionally so that they can learn. (Man, I should write a whole devotional about that, maybe I will…….)

Those are just a few ways that I can and do serve my immediate family.

But remember that my family is much larger than just my wife and kids.

It extends out to my parents and brother, my wife’s parents and brothers. Then it goes out to our parent’s parents, our parent’s siblings, and their kids. Then even further to my grandparent’s parents, my grandparent’s siblings, their kids, and their kid’s kids. It just keeps growing!

I think you get the picture.

We could stay busy simply serving our families. Especially if you have teenagers, lol!!

Another tribe that I serve is our Eclipse DOT and DOT Docs tribe.

These are our employees, their families, our customers & their families, potential customers and their families, vendors that we work with & their families, the groups we support and their families, and so much more!!

You might be asking why everyone’s family is included in who we serve.

Let me explain.

Let’s just say that you get that dreaded letter from the federal government stating that you are getting a DOT audit.

It might cause a little stress, am I right?

You know I’m right.

Then what happens to that stress?

You take it home with you, right? (Again, you know I’m right)

So by removing that stress from you our team and level of service are affecting our client’s family.

Our level of service to the people in those tribes is HUGE! That’s why we don’t take it lightly.

What about our communities? How can we serve them?

Well, there are easy ways of serving by going out and cleaning up or helping anyone in our community that is in need.

We see people all the time (especially around the holidays) go to soup kitchens to serve for a day. Or we see them take time to do a roadside clean-up once or twice a year.

There are other ways of serving our local community too.

One is to simply see a need and fill that need.

When you walk by a piece of trash, in the ditch, in a park, or outside your house. Pause and pick it up then throw it away.

Maybe when you see that someone is hungry you can give them a little cash to go buy lunch. What I have found is that the one who needs a little help the most are too “proud” or “scared” to ask for it. So don’t look for the beggar on the corner. Look deep into your community and see who really needs the help.

I could go on forever about serving your tribe, but I won’t.

The last thing I want to bring up about serving your tribe is……..

Think outside the box.

Most of us look for the “easy” solution. (Hey, I do EVERY day!!!)

But when it comes to service they have to be more creative. Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Go the extra mile and over deliver to every tribe that you belong to.

Time to take Action

It’s that time again. Time to take action!

So here’s what I want you to do.

First off identify the tribes that you belong to.

Go ahead I’ll wait, will you write them down, seriously I’m waiting………

Alright.

Now I want you to make a quick list of ways that you are serving them already.

What are you waiting for? go ahead and write them down. (if it helps set a timer for 2 minutes and write all that you can write until it goes off)

Done?

Perfect!!!!!

Ok now comes the hard part. For each tribe I want you to list one thing outside the box that you can do to serve that tribe even better.

Here is mine:

Tribes: Family, Eclipse DOT / DOT Docs, God First Life, Community

Family: Set a quitting time each day and NEVER work past that time. Set a time where I no longer answer work calls on my phone. Take them with me more on work trips. Do something special for each kid and Jenna.

Eclipse DOT / DOT Docs: Do everything I can to make each team member feel like they are family. (not the bad family, but the ones you truly want to spend around). Lead by example for our clients and team. Think of ways to serve our tribe. Ask them how we can serve them better.

God First Life: continue to bring devotionals to them weekly. Daily post scriptures on social media. NEVER stop talking about God First. Show my love for God in everything that I do. Bring more events to our area.

Local Community: Give back more! Continue to be a leader in 4-H. When I see someone in need don’t hesitate to help them.

Outside the box:

Family: Teach Nathen to drive a standard transmission. Support Billy with his falconry dreams. Be there for Brianna in her crafts and encourage her to continue to start TONS of projects. Guide Jacob to learn his true potential (that kid has got some MAJOR charisma). Take more walks with Jenna, slow down, and be PRESENT when I am with her.

Eclipse DOT / DOT Docs: Go the extra mile, even if it costs more.

God First Life: Write a book about keeping God First in every aspect of your life

Local Community: Be looking for the opportunity to serve, I know that God has HUGE plans for us. So I need to be ready to take ACTION when he calls.

How to be a REAL Winner in Leadership!

Posted on April 24, 2022 by eclipsedot_i

How many of you are self-labeled car guys or gals? I am sure the majority of you enjoy the hum of an engine as much as we do. And there is something to be said about the teamwork required to achieve that hum.

This teamwork goes all the way back to the designers. It takes a hand or rather hands, to design that vehicle, a team to build it, a team to keep it in tip-top shape, and even a team to drive it.

Over the weekend, I watched the opening race for the Formula1 season in Bahrain. It was obviously an action-packed event and so many spend time focusing and praising the drivers.

Crazy fact, in Formula1 there are 2 championship divisions.

The first is the one we all know and love, and the one most people who watch and care about automotive racing pay attention to. This is the Drivers Championship.

The second one is the one that no one pays attention to, and yet means the most. This is the Constructors Championship.

Okay… Let’s take a pause.

Why am I telling you about the structure of Formula 1 success? What does it have to do with us?

Bear with me, there is a method to my madness.

Identifying an Issue/ Seeing an Issue

The driver’s championship is no doubt a blast to follow, and it speaks volumes on the subject of the world’s most skilled driver at speeds most of us wouldn’t dare go.

But the constructor’s championship is something so many of us can look at, learn from, and apply to our lives. In fact, automotive racing is a beautiful metaphor for life, leadership, teamwork, and culture

Remember how we started by fantasizing about the hum of an engine? Well, that engine is not humming simply because a skilled driver sits behind the wheel. It is far more complex and complicated than that.

That engine was a concept. And then it was a prototype that took trial and error to produce. Trial and error produce frustration, as well have found out at some time or another.

What made this team able to push out a finished product before being discouraged on their trials and their errors is the culture and the environment in which they are working.

Formula 1 teams succeed when, and only when, the entire team is set on one singular goal. That goal is to be the fastest team in the pits, and the fastest car on the track. Encompassing them all around as the fastest race team on the track.

If every single time a car malfunctioned and blew on a driver, the development team had their butts chewed out by leadership, I doubt they would ever end up producing a perfect race car.

Think about it… The last time your boss “yelled’ at you…

How did you feel and want to react? I cannot say for certain, but my guess is that it left you feeling small, devalued, and frustrated.

Now, instead of being berated for a mistake, the leadership team sits with the constructors and identifies what happened, what caused that thing to happen, and how they can find an efficient and effective remedy for that issue.

That change of reaction from a leader has a butterfly effect on the team. Instead of causing a negative ripple, they cause a ripple of growth. Yes, it can be uncomfortable. But I have a saying from my father.

“Nothing worth doing is easy!” And every day I find it to be truer than it was the day before.

It is not easy to restructure your instinctual reaction to conflict or stress. But when you do so, it will begin to set off light bulbs in your employees and when you lead by example, people follow you much more willingly than if you ‘teach by preach’.

Learning from our mistakes…

Nikki Lauda… a household name for you race fans. Nikki was a pioneer of Formula1 and arguably one of the best and most winning auto racing drivers of all time.

There are a multitude of quotes and statements from Mr. Lauda we could discuss, as Nikki was a fierce leader for his team. But the one that means the world to me is, “Really, you should always discuss the defeats because you can learn much more from failure than from success.”

Anytime we do something we believe to be worth celebrating, we do not hesitate to talk about it. But when we drop the ball, make a mistake, etc. we are so quick to turn our nose up at it and act as if we were unaware of it was not our mistake to own.

Basically, as human beings, we love to point the finger and play the blame game.

But that, ultimately, only does us more wrong. If we do not own our mistakes with the right attitude, we will not learn from them and that mistake will become not a mistake by error, but a mistake by neglect, and that is no mistake.

When we discuss our losses, we can find out why we lost, how we could have won, and what we will do next time around to ensure our success.

Working together…

“To make a decision you need to be in a perfect environment: you have to be motivated and surrounded by the right people.” -Nikki Lauda

As we discussed, the hum of a Formula1 engine requires teamwork to achieve. But the success of the racing team is something that requires even more teamwork, more communication, more flexibility.

This is the teamwork and the chemistry required to win a driver’s championship.

Let’s take Mercedes Benz. They were, at one time, a non-factor in the Formula1 world.

And then, at the beginning of the 2010s, they brought on Nikki Lauda to their board of directors and Toto Wolff to their racing team as the team manager and principal.

These were two guys with like-minded goals… To win Formula1 world championships.

These two then did a complete overhaul of the team. They found other like-minded individuals, who believed in inconsistency, communication, teamwork, hard work, and diligence. These folks are what we know to be the Mercedes Benz Petronas team and they have won the Constructors world championship every year since 2014.

That is almost a decade of dominance. And it is all due to the culture of teamwork and communication that was created by the leadership group.

The Plus of Great Culture…

The last Formula1 tidbit I will throw at you focuses on the superstars, the drivers. But it applies to everyone.

For those of you who watch racing, you will see the teams that succeed all take ownership of the process, even in areas where they are not chiefly responsible.

Take the drivers in these race cars. The winning teams and the winning drivers, like Mercedes Benz and Lewis Hamilton, when their car malfunctions, Lewis does not lose his cool with the mechanics and blames them for his loss of the race.

No, he ACTUALLY apologizes. Crazy, right?

Why would he apologize if he did not build the car or do something to cause the catastrophic failure?

Because he CARES. His success means his team’s success. And his teams’ failures also mean his failures. And a team that works together, wins together.

Okay… and?

So how can we apply the company culture that the winning teams in Formula1 racing use to our advantage? How can WE steal their formula, so to speak?

It is much easier than becoming a world-renowned racing driver or buying a multi-billion dollar corporation and starting your own team.

You can apply this to your own career!

Are you in a leadership role?

If so, what can you do to restructure your instinctual reaction to mistakes made by your employees?

How can you restructure the conversation following the error to be a conversation purposed to incite growth rather than self-loathing?

What about discussing failure?

Is there a way you can incorporate a celebration of success and an analytical discussion of team failures for your employees into a staff meeting of some kind to show them appreciation and give everyone opportunities to grow and be their best selves while representing your business?

Are you an employee?

When was the last time your race car broke down and you yelled at your mechanics? Is there a different way you can handle it next time? Perhaps even offering to be a part of the solution?

Obviously, there are so many cultural tips and tricks we can take from these guys. And it’s not just drivers – you will find that anyone that is at the top of their field, performing at a high level regularly will share a lot of these core values and techniques.

Leadership is really where it all starts. And it all starts with the leaders’ thoughts and beliefs.

So what can you do to help restructure your company culture and steal their Formula?

Written by: Samuel Martinez

CAREfrontation vs Confrontation

Posted on March 18, 2022 by eclipsedot_i

You might be thinking what heck is CAREfrontation?

Carefrontation is when you need to confront a situation, but you utilize your ability to care as you deal with the situation.

Not too long ago I was at a Jobsite and the company asked me if I would give them my opinion on someone to see if they were possibly using drugs.

As I approached the person I could see that they were visibly depressed. Their face was downcast, and their body expressions were easily readable as someone who was having a rough time.

Then to make it worse this new guy was walking over to chat with her and she had already seen me talking to the leadership of the company, so she KNEW that I was there to fire her. (Even though that was NOT the case)

Anyways…

As I walked up to her I approached her with the intention to see what was going with her and just get close enough to see if I could see any signs of possible drug use.

After about 5 minutes of talking to her, I was able to get her to open up. Then after that, I knew that she was not using drugs, but instead was going through a HUGE rough patch in her life.

She told me all about what was happening, and the truth is that I would have been depressed as well. She was handling a lot and none of it was easy.

I suggested that they do NOT send her home, but instead put her with someone else for the next few days that she could relate with and open up to. Someone who was trustworthy.

After about 3 days they called me back and said that she was a completely different person from when I had met her.

What great news!

You see I had two options when I approached her to see if she might have been using.

Option one: Be defensive and on guard so that it makes them on guard. Talk about nothing personal and don’t care about how they feel or what is going on in their life.

When we approach someone with this demeanor it automatically puts them on defense and makes them more likely to do something that they would regret later.

Also, it causes them to “clam” up and not say anything, because they don’t want it to be taken the wrong way.

I hate to say it, but this is the approach most managers take when it comes to dealing with situations.

They get up in the employee’s face and DEMAND an answer RIGHT NOW! (We have all had the boss before, shoot I have had several like that)

Option 2: when you approached any situation look for why what’s happening is happening. Try to find the answer instead of just looking for the solution.

Many times, we can’t solve a problem until we know what caused it in the first place.

I’m pretty mechanically minded (you can blame my dad for that, lol). So, let’s look at this as a car problem.

If someone came to you and said, “I don’t know what happened, but my car just stopped running and won’t start anymore!”

Does that really help you diagnose the issue?

NO!

But if they came to you and said, “I was driving down the road the other day, going about 120 mph in 3rd gear, the tachometer was up around 6,000RPM and then all of a sudden I heard this huge BAM under the hood, so I pulled over and then there was a ton of oil coming out of my exhaust.”

You see learning what lead up to the problem gives you a whole new feel of what actually happened and how to deal with it.

That’s why I approach every situation with CAREfrontation so that I can truly learn what is causing the problem. So that I can find the root of the issue and treat it instead of some superficial thing that wot really fix the whole issue.

Yes, it takes a little more time, but in the end, it makes a HUGE difference in how the situation is handled.

Here are a few keys that you can use to make sure that you always use carefrontation instead of confrontation in the future.

Key 1: As you approach the situation stop and say to yourself, what is the root of this issue?

By attempting to track down the root of the problem you will be more likely not to overreact because you are not looking for a band-aid solution you are truly attempting to solve the issue.

Remember the only way to truly heal sick oak trees is to treat the roots.

Key 2: Take time to talk before making any accusations.

Makin g accusations only cause hard feelings and people to “clam” up. Others, just like us, shut down when someone is trying to accuse us of something that we didn’t do or don’t understand.

So take a few moments to chat with everyone involved before you go straight into accusing someone of something that happened.

A great example is the other day we had a minor mishap with one of our accounts. We got in a hurry and pushed the wrong button, then all of a sudden our account was deleted!

I had 2 options. The first was to get upset and climb up the person who did its butt. Or I could simply smile, look at him and say, “well, how do we fix it?”

The second option is always the way to go.

I’m sure you’ve heard don’t cry over spilled milk. Why let the past bother you, stop analyzing it so hard, and start looking forward?

Key 3: This is probably the most important key to utilizing carefrontation. The third key is to always check your ego at the door.

What do you mean dan, I don’t have an EGO!

Guess what?

We ALL have egos.

If you really want to start utilizing this whole carefrontation thing you have to check your ego before you go up and talk to anyone about a situation or issue.

If you have an ego then they will let theirs show though. Then all of a sudden it escalates, and I think you know what happens next.

Next time you have a situation to deal with, try handling it with carefrontation. Take time to hear the real issue and find the root of the problem.

Category: Leadership

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