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Daymond John Wants You to Do Your ‘Homework’ – And We Agree!

, | July 28, 2016 | By

You’ve been struggling to improve your operation lately.

You know that something is wrong but can’t seem to put your finger on the problem. Something is missing, but it won’t show itself.

“There’s a seat still available here,” a woman directs you, interrupting your daydreaming.

You find the seat and escape to your thoughts again.

You’re attending the International Association of Venue Manager’s conference, VenueConnect 2016. Shark Tank’s Daymond John is the keynote speaker at this year’s event.

You cross your fingers, and you’re hoping to take away insight to bring home to your team.

You want to get over this slump of not knowing what to do. You’ve been asking yourself why your operation is struggling – without an answer.

You’re tired of it.

Several minutes later, Daymond John walks on the stage. He delivers a memorable speech that outlines his “Five Shark Points.”

He gets to the second point. “Homework: Study and know what has happened in the past and how it will affect you in the future. Know your industry inside out.”

“Is this the answer I’ve needed?” you ask yourself. “Have we been so consumed by the answers we’ve only identified that we missed the possibilities around us?”

At this moment, you realize that your team needs to explore how others are overcoming challenges while achieving success.

It’s time for your team to ‘do your homework.’

Daymond John Teaches VenueConnect Attendees

In Jason Hensel’s recent IAVM article “VC16: Keynote Daymond John’s Five Shark Points” he breaks down Daymond John’s keynote from this year.

Hensel’s article focuses on the Five Shark Points that Daymond John describes in his recent speech at VenueConnect 2016:

  1. Set a goal: “We become what we think about most of the time,” John said.
  2. Homework: Study and know what has happened in the past and how it will affect you in the future. Know your industry inside out.
  3. Amor: “Love what you do, but love your family more. Consider how you’re offering experiences at home,” John said.
  4. Remember you are the brand: Be aware that everything you do is available to everyone else in this social media age.
  5. Keep swimming: Never stop moving toward your goals.

After reading this article, we realized many of these points relate to you as an individual. They are how you, as a proactive leader, can apply this to your life.

But, we like to help operations. We strive to employ Proactive Operations.

So, we analyzed these points further. As a result, we distinguished that one point stands out for operations as a whole: Homework.

Our question: Are you doing your homework?

Proactive Operations Do Their Homework

Proactive leaders apply the Five Shark Points to their life – as leaders. But, proactive leaders go one step further and drill the value down to their operation.

You must expand the concept of ‘homework’ across your operation.

The deeper you drive yourself and your team to understand your operation, the more proactive you become.

Here’s what we mean:

  • Are you studying your operation and your industry?
  • Do you know the past and current state of your industry?
  • Do you ask the right questions to discover your operation’s strengths and weaknesses?
  • Is examining past events to improve your future operation a best practice amongst your departments?
  • Do you have access to the world’s greatest properties to share and learn what works and what does not?

What do all of these questions represent? The first aspect of Proactive Operations – Strategy.

Doing your homework helps you define, build, and execute the starting ‘point’ of your operation – your strategy.

Similar to John’s Five Shark Points for your life plan, your operational plan requires homework as well.

Connect with your industry to find out what others are doing. Isn’t that why associations like IAVM exist? Do you agree?

Here’s the thing; we often find ourselves caught up in the day-to-day that we forget the other operations around us are going through the same tribulations.

Ask questions like these below. Then, call a similar operation down the street or across the country and see how they’re doing it.

  1. Do you have enough resources? Do you have resources in the right place?
  2. Are you able to manage your departments? Can they communicate amongst themselves effectively?
  3. What methods are your different departments utilizing for communication?
  4. Do your teams execute scheduled tasks promptly?
  5. Can you provide documentation from five days ago or five years ago? Easily?
  6. How are you managing lost and found items on your property?
  7. Can you track & enforce accountability?
  8. Does your staff know what to do when specific issues or incidents arise?
  9. Do you ‘do your homework’ with reports and analytics? Do you scrutinize the data to improve and optimize your operation for the future?

Don’t know who to reach out to about possible solutions and better ways to get stuff done?

Do you need help getting your ‘homework’ done? Give us a call. We’d love to put you in contact with operations like yours!

Over to You

Homework opens doors and answers questions. It helps you explore and discover a strategy that fits your operation. It connects you with like minds to solve challenges faced by most operations.

It’s time to know your industry inside out. Are you ready?

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