So I’m sitting here at a surf camp in the middle of the jungle in Java. My arms are aching from this morning’s surf, my belly is full of the banana pancakes I had at breakfast and I’m hanging out with a super nice bunch of surfers from all over the planet.
In short, life is pretty damned good right now.
Days like these make me wanna press pause. Because seriously? This is as good as it gets.
The tide is too low to surf right now so we’re all kicking back and soaking this awesomeness in.
This trip has morphed into something different. It started as a 7-week consultancy and now it just feels like a way of life. I’m living out of a bag again and I freaking love it. Why ? Because one of my core desired feelings is free. And that, my friend, is exactly how I feel right now.
After an obligatory rest (thanks universe for those stitches in my toe) I’ve had some time to reflect on the last few months. I thought I’d share a few things that I’ve learnt from this crazy adventure.
Note: For those of you who’ve only just stumbled on my writing, I’ve just done a 4-month consultancy role building a stand-up paddle school in Far North Queensland.
Rad teamwork is everything!
I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredible teams… some big (running festivals), some medium (surf schools) and now this time, a small team. Here’s what I’ve realised. A team works or doesn’t work because of a few key things. Firstly, and most importantly, the dynamic between you. I’ve worked with people, who on paper, should have made an incredible team, but just didn’t click. To me, a good dynamic in a team outweighs everything else.
This time around I’ve been insanely lucky to work with someone who has exactly the same work ethic as me. So we’re worked hard… but we also have a lot of fun when we work. We laugh a LOT. And when I look back at the very best work I’ve done, it’s always been with people I wanna hang out with during & after work.
The next thing is working alongside people whose skills & experience are a good match to yours. I love working with people who are smarter than me. I’ve got to be honest though, and say that I didn’t use to. I used to really struggle with it, but now I see the value in surrounding myself with smart cookies.
The best teams are those where each person feels like they’ve got something to bring to the party. An area of expertise. This really builds trust within a team because you know when it’s your time to step up & deliver and when to sit back and let someone else shine.
Learn to identify douchebags
Haha, it’s kinda funny writing about douchebags straight after writing about rad teams, but hey, sometimes life throws us a curveball. This trip has thrown up a couple. Both very different, but both definitely fit into the douchebag category.
Unfortunately, unless you are working in a bubble, you’re going to have to deal with them. But the key is identifying them early and then being smart about how you interact with them. For me, it’s always about stepping up and raising your own game as opposed to wasting your time & energy on them. Run your own race and leave them behind.
Be open to what’s working & what’s not working
This is without a doubt the reason why this project has (and continues to be) a success. Rigidity in business is fatal. Staying open and flexible enough to tweak the direction if need be, and admit something isn’t working.
If you mapped out where the business started and where it’s at now, it would be a pretty screwy map. But the evolution of the concept and business strategy has been its biggest strength. We’ve gotten into a routine of stepping back from the day to day running of the business every few weeks and assessing where we’re at and where we need to go.
The key is knowing that you can (and absolutely should) make your own rules. It’s a whole heap smarter to make rules than plans. Rules act as a compass but still give you the freedom to change course if need be.
Find your niche & get laser focused
When I first came out here, there was another guy working on the project. He wanted the school to be everything for everyone. So there were about a zillion different programs available and we were supposedly going to do all of them really really well.
My initial reaction to that? Um….. that’s not going to happen. A classic case of over-promising and under-delivering.
So, once the team was a little more refined, we pulled it right back. We figured out what we wanted to be known for and we got laser focused on delivering that one thing insanely well.
Not only did it make life heaps easier for us, but we’ve gotten heaps better at what we do and that, in itself, has provided us with some incredible opportunities for the business.
Keep hustling
So here’s the thing… I’m all about working smarter not harder. But you’ve still gotta hustle. In fact, the willingness to hustle (and to keep hustling) is one thing that will stand you apart.
So many people quit when it gets hard. Or quit when any kind of fear shows up. But so long as you know you’re on the right track, sometimes you’ve just got to get your head down and do the work. This project has been no different. We’ve had so much fun, but we’ve also worked our asses off.
The awesome thing? When you love what you do, hustling is RAD.