THE LIFESTYLE ENTREPRENEUR

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Repetition

Almost every leader I work with struggles with how frequently to communicate with their teams.

I know I always did.

As an early entrepreneur and leader of teams, I thought repeating myself once was probably more than enough. Anything more than that would surely insult everyone’s intelligence and also waste their time, right?

Not true - I had to learn the hard way what great leaders have known for years - if you want your people to really hear you, you must repeat yourself often.

How often? The marketing saying “you must repeat yourself 7 times before people hear you the first time” is a great rule of thumb. This quote can’t be directly attributed to anyone, but it proves true anecdotally. So much so that when I introduce this concept to my clients I tell them, “instead of getting annoyed that someone didn’t hear you the third time, get comfortable with the fact you need to say it four more times until they hear it”.

Another way to think about how much you need to repeat yourself that I often tell leaders - “Whenever you start seeing people’s eyes roll back in their heads, they’re finally starting to get it”.

You need to repeat yourself that much.

My early exposure to repetition

Although I made the repetition mistakes all young entrepreneurs make, I was exposed to great repetition early in my career as a Marine Lieutenant. The military has a standard mission preparation format that overindexes on repetition. Here’s a brief rundown:

• Warning order

• Initial plan

• Leaders reconnaissance

• Complete plan

• Operations order

• Sand table/ mockup rehearsal

• confirmation brief (subordinates brief back the plan to commanders)

• Full rehearsal

• Inspections

• Final brief

That’s the steps for EVERY MISSION. And shocker it involves repeating the plan…about 7 times or more before the actual mission is launched.

How to put repeating yourself in action

Here’s a few simple ways to ensure you repeat yourself more:

• Define your organization’s culture with your 2-4 Core Values that define how you should behave. These are a handful of rules that define how people act in your culture. Repeat them often, use them to attract the right people, and reward people in your organization for exhibiting them.

• Have a simple vision and plan that everyone can review regularly. I teach my clients to use a simple 2-page plan that encompasses the entirety of the business plan. It’s overly short and simple for good reason.

• Simplify - To get everyone on the same page, you must dumb everything down. I mean really dumb it down so it’s easy to follow everything.

• Create space for dialogue - Repetition isn’t just about a one-sided monologue. While that’s important, having a space for questions, feedback, and dialogue around plans is what makes people feel ownership.

How is this for

This concept doesn’t just apply to people leading professional organizations. It works for any groups of humans, like:

• Your children

• Your community groups like youth sports teams

• Your household helpers like au pairs, cleaners, handymen, etc

• Your family members

Good communication requires good repetition. Embrace it and see the magic.

Talk to you next week,

Mike