Results From My 360 Evaluation From My Team | Ep.67 | Business Podcast
Summary
The results from my 360 evaluation are in.
Gia joins me to go over the feedback I received from all my team members. We asked everyone I work with three things:
- Four words to describe me.
- What I’m doing well.
- What I can improve on.
Gia explains what software she used to implement the evaluation, collect results and then we discuss all the results.
Listen in to hear what my team says about me.
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Brandon:
Hello, friends. Welcome to the show.
I’m your host, Brandon. See, White. And today my e a extraordinary Gia is joining us, and we are going to go over the results from the 360 survey that I did.
And you will explain exactly how she set it up. Exactly how you could do the exact same thing in just a matter of minutes.
So let’s not waste another second.
Let’s get to it.
Alright, Gia So we did a 360.
What do we call it? Evaluation that I like to do every year, which I actually don’t remember.
We did it last year, but maybe the year before, we should be in a better habit of that. But sometimes, you know, I get periodically, just do it.
But this year we are on target.
And can you tell everybody how we did it? Because a lot of people think that you’ve got to do this complicated software and all this crazy stuff.
We just see Google forms. I made a form with three questions on it, made responses to all of those questions mandatory and then send it out. And that was it. It took me maybe five minutes to put the whole thing together. It took longer to actually send the link to everybody than it did to make the survey.
Gia:
And we do effectively. Three questions, right?
Brandon:
Yes.
Brandon:
So the three questions the three questions that we do is I asked for people’s names.
Gia:
Make it clear the names are anonymous to Brandon, the names air for me in case there are any questions about any of the feedback. But Brandon doesn’t know who submits any of the answers.
Gia:
And then the first question is, What for words would you use to describe Brandon?
Gia:
And then the second question is in your interactions with Brandon. What did you do? Well, And then the third one is in New York with your in your interactions with Brandon.
Gia:
What can improve upon?
Gia:
Well, you, you and Evette told me that every day.
Brandon:
But let’s go over three results. So it’s very easy just to summarize Juliette at you.
Brandon:
You use Google forms. Did you hook the Google form up to a spreadsheet so that we have that for to compare?
Brandon:
I did, and the reason I did that was because if you just let Google forms, collect your answers for you.
Gia:
There’s no way to assign each answer to one person.
Gia:
There’s no continuity.
Gia:
All of it kind of shows up randomly.
Gia:
But if you collect your answers in a spreadsheet, it’ll show you.
Gia:
This is the person that answered this question, this question in this question.
Gia:
And you can look at the answers by a person as opposed to just random text industries, and I prefer being able to look at it that way.
Gia:
Just it makes more sense that way, and it is a ZZ as checking a box, right.
Gia:
It’s not any harder than that Thio to the Google Sheets.
Gia:
Yeah, I know you.
Gia:
I believe you opened the little setting skier.
Gia:
And then there is a selection right there for you that says, Save answers to Excel spreadsheet or thio Google sheets.
Brandon:
And just click on that you’re done so super easy to create this.
Brandon:
No excuse not to get feedback from your team, I think in the earlier podcast where I said that we were doing the 3 60 I told people that you have to be prepared to receive some criticism if you want to call it that.
Gia:
But it’s really the only way that you’re ever going to get better and at least understand Not what you if you want to call him Weaknesses are things you can improve upon and where you need to fill the gap.
Gia:
So So I have a drum roll.
Brandon:
I think I actually have a drum roll with this, uh, drum roll.
Brandon:
That’s not really a drummer.
Brandon:
That’s like the That’s the punchline noise.
Brandon:
Yeah, whatever.
Brandon:
We’ll go with it.
Brandon:
But what do we want?
Brandon:
Like, uh, what do I have this or anybody listening?
Brandon:
Who’s in the podcast?
Gia:
I use the podcaster pro and I have used See what we have.
Brandon:
I don’t know.
Brandon:
What can we like build up to this?
Brandon:
I’m not sure, but I know all these.
Brandon:
All these devices they’ll have, you know, like downloads and packages and stuff.
Brandon:
You can add to them with more sounds, don’t they?
Brandon:
They dio you don’t have a drum roll.
Brandon:
You can add a drum roll.
Gia:
You can go eso with that JIA.
Brandon:
Okay, let’s hear the results already.
Gia:
So a lot of the words The four words that people use to describe Brandon It was pretty pretty uniform across the board.
Brandon:
They’re pretty pretty, consistently received similarly by people who have very relationships with you.
Brandon:
So I’m interrupting you.
Brandon:
But for context, this is across the different business ventures that we have and A is everyone.
Gia:
So we didn’t just say, Hey, it’s just management or just engineers or just other people.
Gia:
We sent it out to everyone, right?
Gia:
Yes.
Brandon:
Okay.
Brandon:
I just wanted the listeners to have some contacts.
Brandon:
Sorry.
Brandon:
Go ahead.
Brandon:
Oh, yeah.
Gia:
No problem.
Brandon:
Okay, so we got a lot of driven, a lot of determined, ah, lot of disciplined.
Gia:
It was engaging, humble, passionate, strong, proactive, friendly problem solver.
Gia:
And then, you know, more friendly, proactive, friendly, proactive, wise, kind, smart.
Gia:
One that I liked was resourceful because I think that’s very accurate.
Gia:
But I only saw that one person mentioned that, but you are definitely a very resourceful person. So I think that it was interesting that somebody else picked up on that.
Gia:
What would that mean to you?
Brandon:
E think it kind of ties into problem solving in the sense that you know, if you have a problem, you’re not looking for ways to reinvent the wheel. You’re always looking for what of other people done How can I make this better? How can I adapt this to fit My needs is e Think it ties into working smarter, not harder in the same vein as being a good problem solver.
Gia:
That’s good, I guess.
Gia:
Here is smart, hardworking, wide knowledge.
Brandon:
Positive we got We got that with a lot to a lot of a lot of people said that you’re a positive person.
Gia:
Decisive, strategic, multifaceted, impactful clever, well spoken, professional, energetic, which is definitely accurate.
Gia:
Determined.
Gia:
Then we got one answer from a very, very new member of one of the Brandon to white family of companies who says I only have met him once, so he didn’t have anything to put in the in the stocks.
Gia:
But then what would be a summary of like the top four if you if you the top four like if you had to pick four out of I mean a lot of them sound similar.
Gia:
I’m just curious, you know, if you picked for or that showed up the most, I would say determined, passionate, some version of smarter, intelligent and passionate I think we’re coming forth with Okay, well, I think they’re accurate.
Brandon:
What do you think?
Brandon:
I think they’re accurate, All right, So let’s hear some things that I can improve so that we don’t end on the improvement.
Brandon:
Got it.
Gia:
That’s called the sandwich right?
Gia:
You always say something positive.
Gia:
You give the criticism, you say something, the light full of classic okey dokey.
Gia:
So for things that you could improve upon, we had a couple of people say not applicable.
Gia:
We had a couple people say nothing.
Brandon:
One person said, I can’t say right now, which I’m not entirely positive, what that mean.
Gia:
Their new I hope or there’s like some finger flaw I haven’t discovered yet.
Brandon:
It’s the new person, but I’m not sure why.
Brandon:
Why is phrases can’t say right now.
Brandon:
It makes me believe that he had something, but he wasn’t comfortable saying it.
Brandon:
But I don’t know that that that’s ridiculous.
Gia:
In the world adults here it’s not high school, so I’m not really sure.
Gia:
But, um, some answers that were not not applicable.
Gia:
We’re find the sweet spot and avoid burnout.
Gia:
Stay more factual.
Gia:
Continued collaboration, give more warning, said it could soften his approach.
Brandon:
All right, so someone said that I could give Mawr warning with new projects.
Gia:
Yeah, so I think More warning when a new project is about to launch something more along the lines of, you know, just a little bit more of a heads up when things are coming down the pipeline so that things don’t sneak up on people.
Gia:
Uh but that that’s good feedback.
Gia:
I I acknowledge that I do that.
Gia:
I think that’s just a tree of entrepreneur.
Gia:
I’m not saying that I can’t get better.
Gia:
I don’t know.
Brandon:
What do you think about that?
Brandon:
You, You and I were together every day, almost all day.
Gia:
So from the person that that comes from, I think that that’s I think that that’s fair because this feedback is not coming from a person who’s really a main part of the decision making process.
Brandon:
When discussing new projects or somebody who’s, you know, in the meeting room when the customers are saying, Well, this is what we want, what kind of solution can you provide for that?
Brandon:
So this isn’t a person that’s gonna innately have any sort of knowledge of the environment surrounding the project, so things you know, things would sneak up on this person just because of the nature of the way we work with them.
Gia:
Well, we probably should.
Gia:
I think that that’s I think that’s a fair answer coming from this person.
Gia:
But we probably do need to fix it.
Gia:
We’re not fix it, but improve upon it because whether the person’s at the beginning of the chain or at the top of the chain or whatever you wanna call it, so I don’t know.
Gia:
You have to give me some suggestions on how we could even figure that out.
Gia:
But I think that’s fair.
Gia:
People don’t want to be caught off guard, and you know, I do come up with things and we just generally go try it.
Gia:
But, um, not everybody’s life is designed to receive that.
Gia:
But I think to your I think to your point.
Brandon:
It’s a very entrepreneurial characteristic.
Brandon:
There’s lots of ideas and they all come out assorted intervals and some things are easier to accomplish than other things.
Brandon:
So some things you can spit out an idea and we can have it done in three days and other things air a significantly larger undertaking and sometimes you don’t really know that until you start, so you know, it’s just I think that that’s kind of does tend to be the nature of the beast sometime.
Brandon:
But to your point again, I think there’s always room for improvement.
Brandon:
Okay, keep going.
Brandon:
I assume there’s more.
Brandon:
There are a couple more yah so super excited about it.
Brandon:
But keep going.
Gia:
So another person has said maybe a bit more feedback and advice for features more important to have in our applications so we can arrange our priorities better.
Gia:
Another person that’s that’s a software engineering.
Gia:
It is, Yeah, it’s fair.
Gia:
I mean, I I think I I don’t try and you know, this I I even Chenard from Patagonia said that he always manages by MBA management by absence, and I try not to be completely absent.
Gia:
But But I do want people to make decisions on their own and that by the same token it’s a double edged sword, right, because if I already have something in my head, so that’s probably fair and I think we think we actually heard that in the feedback with that group from that company, and I think we I think we actually I don’t want to say we fixed it, but I know We have a meeting today at two o’clock, too.
Brandon:
Try to or aimed to not fix it, but improved that by having a meeting where we actually solicit that.
Gia:
Yeah, I don’t think that’s it.
Brandon:
We’ll see if it if it works.
Gia:
But if you remember that discussion with those guys, that’s what we did.
Gia:
I think you you can look at your calendar, but it’s the two o’clock meeting, so we’ll see.
Brandon:
You know, she thought it is helpful.
Brandon:
Another person has said, I know he has a lot of business ventures in projects, so making time to catch up his heart.
Gia:
And I get that I to get a lot going on in life and put a lot of other things off or don’t devote enough time to things that I should And I told I totally understand, but probably not forgetting to catch up with those whom he needs to, as well as watching his other slack channel messages better.
Brandon:
Various.
Brandon:
I think I know who that is.
Brandon:
I think that as I mean, I think it’s fair feedback and I actually want to do better in 2021 at that.
Brandon:
I think I’ve already started do better at that, mainly because it’s on my list of things to improve.
Brandon:
By the same token, I think as an entrepreneur, CEO, whatever you wanna call me it?
Brandon:
Like when I get up in the morning, I gotta pick the three things or the one thing that has to be done.
Gia:
And I do have Ah, and you know this as much as probably the only other person that probably knows it as much as event.
Brandon:
But, you know, I don’t forget things ever.
Brandon:
I mean, you and I have talked about projects or talk to a person, and then things just got in the way, and then I just one day you just pick up like I never left off.
Brandon:
I think the challenge for me is Is that in my head I don’t see that gap as a If you remember, we had a student recently who was like, Well, you know, there was a gap there, and I was like, Well, I I never meant thio not do those meetings.
Brandon:
It just didn’t happen.
Brandon:
It didn’t mean that I wouldn’t do them, and then we came back.
Brandon:
But to me, I think the way in my head.
Brandon:
I don’t see the time gaps as indications that I’m not interested in doing something or that we’re not going to do something.
Brandon:
The time gaps just happened in what we do, uh, white ventures or whatever you wanna call it.
Brandon:
And then when it gets to it, we just call that person up that I think the challenge is is that person builds a story in their head, rightly so that either I’m not interested, don’t care or something else, you know?
Brandon:
And I probably could fix that with a simple email or text or something.
Gia:
I don’t know.
Gia:
What do you think?
Gia:
I’m not sure about this one.
Gia:
I think I think I can see that perspective.
Brandon:
I can see that side of it.
Brandon:
How you know, if you drop communication with a person, it would lead them to believe that you’re not interested, especially with just the human propensity for handling any form of rejection whatsoever.
Brandon:
That’s what that’s going to feel like.
Brandon:
And I get that I dio.
Brandon:
But at the same time, I do think that there is some responsibility on the other party to, you know, if they don’t want to be for gotten or if they don’t want to be put on the backburner or whatever.
Brandon:
There’s some responsibility on them to not let themselves get there.
Brandon:
You know, if you need someone’s attention, then demand someone’s attention.
Brandon:
You know, don’t sit around and wait for me to message you if I’m clearly off in the middle of other things.
Brandon:
If you need my attention, asked me for my attention and I will give it to you right now.
Brandon:
So I’m on the high hard.
Brandon:
I think I I agree.
Brandon:
I tend to agree with you that people need to take responsibility.
Brandon:
Haven’t said that.
Brandon:
I think my intensity, I don’t want to say, intimidates people, but creates a I don’t know if its intensity or I don’t know.
Brandon:
People have said that right assed part of those words.
Brandon:
The energy is so much that people like, Oh, I don’t wanna bother you it well, you know, if you don’t bother me, you don’t get it.
Brandon:
So it’s a it’s a Catch 22 but I think it’s something that I’ve become aware of over the years that you know, my my intensity can be overwhelming.
Brandon:
It’s not intended to be.
Brandon:
Yeah, and I think that it’s not It’s not and that’s the thing.
Brandon:
But that’s what I have definitely seen It happened.
Brandon:
I have definitely seen you talk to people and then just completely lose track of themselves because you just start doing your thing and you’re there.
Brandon:
And you were absolutely 1000% sure of absolutely everything that comes out of your mouth.
Brandon:
And they’re just, like, what?
Brandon:
What is even happening again anymore?
Brandon:
I don’t remember what we were talking.
Gia:
It doesn’t mean I’m right.
Gia:
But I am sure of the moment what comes out of my mouth sometimes.
Gia:
Okay.
Gia:
Are there any next one transparency of communication?
Gia:
Make sure that everyone knows what they need to know.
Gia:
And I thought that this was a very interesting answer, especially given who it came from because especially lately, I mean, we’ve always tried to be really good about that, but especially lately, we’re trying to really crack down on the separation of knowledge and the separation of a permissions and creating creating a hierarchy, thio all of our data storage and all of our file storage to make sure that no one person can go into the system and, you know, see all these things that they don’t need to see.
Brandon:
So I I was a bit film to see this one because we’ve been working really hard on this and I guess we’re not quite there yet.
Brandon:
I think that I don’t know who that is.
Brandon:
Actually, maybe I know, but it doesn’t matter.
Brandon:
It doesn’t necessarily matter.
Brandon:
It’s good feedback, but I think that’s an indication of teams growing right.
Brandon:
It’s this when you’re three people, you can share everything and be okay with it when the team grows, which I’m guessing it’s from that company.
Gia:
You’ve got to start to segment your data.
Gia:
You’ve got a segment HR, you’ve got a segment, your engineering, You’ve got a segment, your business operations.
Gia:
You’ve got a segment your finance from past experience that just can that can create a real problem.
Brandon:
If not a lawsuit or something else, it might not even be intentional.
Brandon:
In fact, it may not be this legal thing.
Brandon:
It just maybe, Hey, this person has permission to this folder and somebody hacked their account and now we have no gates to protect that.
Gia:
So there’s always going to be I I don’t know how to eliminate that, because you’re not going to keep an open.
Gia:
It’s not gonna be the same the whole time.
Gia:
When you start getting we generally don’t run big companies, right?
Gia:
We generally run under 50 people, but, you know, it’s a different.
Gia:
The biggest one that we had was the one from last year before it was sold.
Gia:
That was something to the tune of 20 people.
Brandon:
Yeah, you know, it was 20 and I think we had more than 20 with all the people, all the I don’t want to give away what it was.
Brandon:
But all the engineers, all the engineer, all the engineering and the people that were in the field, it started to get large and and by the time we left, it was it was probably I don’t want to say 50 but we generally run things under 50.
Brandon:
That’s just too.
Brandon:
That’s just how I’ve run companies and where they’ve either wound up as And it was really my sweet spot, right?
Brandon:
Doesn’t mean that I can’t do 100 or 200.
Brandon:
I just play in the smaller place.
Brandon:
But I think that that’s gonna be the case when you go from two or 3 to 5 to seven or and then 10 and then 15 and then, you know, over 25 it changes.
Brandon:
And then certainly you start reaching 50.
Brandon:
The dynamics change and that one company you’re referencing that we that we sold that company grew really fast.
Gia:
And and we did need to segment that stuff.
Gia:
And it was really important to do that for, ah, lot of not only the company reasons but for the what was your compliance.
Brandon:
So I think it’s good feedback.
Brandon:
I don’t you’re involved in all of this.
Brandon:
So it sounds like to me that we’re trying to do our best, but I have to think that yeah, and I think there’s there’s always gonna be a learning curve that comes with that Teoh segmenting data and figuring out what systems work for your specific team.
Brandon:
Because the systems we used for that team are so leaps and bounds outside of what we would ever possibly need for this team.
Brandon:
So we figured out how to make that work with the old team, and that was fantastic because that was what we needed for that.
Brandon:
But we have thio figure out our groove and figure out the rhythm with this team because people are different and people work differently.
Brandon:
And we have a different mission for for this company.
Brandon:
So I think that it’s OK that we haven’t completely tackled the learning curve yet.
Brandon:
All right, now, I just can’t.
Brandon:
Can’t think of anything already that one already could’ve short.
Brandon:
We have better explanation of things.
Brandon:
What do you think?
Brandon:
Uh, I think I do that on purpose.
Brandon:
So I managed by results, right?
Gia:
I don’t I don’t think when I tell you or say hey, here’s what we got to dio.
Gia:
I mean, if you ask me the steps, I’ll give you the steps.
Gia:
But I think in general I managed to results, and I’m not micromanage.
Gia:
And I’m not gonna tell someone unless I really feel strongly that we need to do X y Z or use X y z so that that that I’m going to say I am aware and I likely I’m not going to change to manage e.
Gia:
I think that I’ve I also think that I’ve known you longer than every single person on this list except one person.
Brandon:
So I think that one person and that I was gonna say Who?
Brandon:
This group?
Gia:
Yeah, I’ve known you longer than every single person on this lift except for her.
Brandon:
So I think that there’s also a little bit of you get to know a person.
Brandon:
You get in their heads and you have Ah, you can have a reasonable expectation of how they’re gonna react, and then you get a situation that not everybody else on this team may have.
Brandon:
So I think that that might also be a bit of ah, a bit of a benefit.
Brandon:
And I don’t mind the gray area because you definitely do manage from a goal oriented standpoint.
Brandon:
It’s just like, this is what we want.
Brandon:
I don’t care how you get there, get there, Please.
Brandon:
I think that’s why I think that’s what we dio.
Brandon:
I mean, we hire really smart people that are smarter than I am.
Brandon:
And how would I know?
Gia:
All that would be really tired explaining that that’s it.
Gia:
And then next we have could soften his approach, which I don’t really think that works.
Gia:
E I mean softened my approach.
Brandon:
I’ve tried to soften my approach over the years.
Brandon:
I mean, I’m, um I don’t know what to say.
Brandon:
I think that is a function of intensity.
Gia:
Passionate, and, I don’t know, no one said it on there, but I’m pretty Frank.
Gia:
And I think I don’t think people are sometimes used to the directness that Yeah, have that.
Gia:
Yeah.
Gia:
That’s why I can’t really get behind this one.
Brandon:
Because I appreciate that more than anything else in a person.
Brandon:
Hey, can’t stand wasting time beating around.
Brandon:
That would be really hard for me.
Gia:
I think that may just be I’m not saying that I’m not aware of it.
Gia:
I mean, I don’t know.
Gia:
We’ve been working together, what, six years?
Brandon:
I mean, I would go out on a limb and say that I think from six years ago, when we first met to start working together, that I probably soften the hate to say blow.
Brandon:
But that the delivery What do you think?
Brandon:
Yeah, I think that’s probably true.
Brandon:
E think you’re just a green?
Brandon:
You really think that’s true?
Brandon:
Or do you not think it’s true?
Brandon:
No, I think that’s probably true.
Gia:
And I think that that I think that for a very distinct reason, actually, I remember when we first started working together six years ago.
Brandon:
Ah, lot of the time when you would email me, it would be, you know, bullet points.
Gia:
Or it would be, you know, 123 And it would be very cut and dry reading an instruction like reading an instruction manual kind of to do list format.
Brandon:
Whereas you don’t really do that anymore.
Brandon:
You tend to use whole sentences now.
Brandon:
So I think that’s the very distinct reason that I agree that I would say that you softened your approach.
Gia:
Yeah, I think you, um, enjoy the full sentences better.
Brandon:
I do like the full sentences.
Gia:
Yes.
Gia:
So that’s the only thing I think that and that I, you know that may just come with a little age in another decade of of self awareness.
Gia:
And but some of it is my style.
Gia:
It is who I am, and I likely I’m not going to change that into the second significant place.
Gia:
But it’s fair feedback, if anything to be aware of that.
Brandon:
I think I definitely more aware of that.
Brandon:
I agree, and it’s definitely that’s one of those things you definitely have toe develop a feel for person to person the best style to manage each individual, a supposed thio, a blanket, a priority.
Gia:
I also think that I think when you’re younger, you may believe that.
Brandon:
And I don’t know if it’s genetic or it’s just society that everybody has toe like you, right?
Brandon:
You have to be likable.
Brandon:
And I think as you get older, I think you get really smart in your late thirties.
Brandon:
In your forties, you get even smarter.
Gia:
I don’t know about fifties yet.
Gia:
I assume that you even get magnitude smart.
Brandon:
But, you know, I’ve come toe realize like, Hey, not everybody’s gonna like me And you know what?
Brandon:
That’s okay.
Brandon:
It’s no different than picking your perfect customer.
Brandon:
Not everybody is your perfect customer.
Brandon:
There’s gonna because there’s gonna be people in your market who aren’t your customer and you’re just gonna have to accept that. And I think that’s, uh, I think people want Thio in general be liked, but I don’t crave that now.
Brandon:
Having said that, everybody on our team was picked with a very specific selection criteria that we select people with.
Brandon:
So anyway, I don’t want a believer that, but I am aware of that and I try to do my best.
Brandon:
But coming down you maybe it used to be at 11. And now maybe it’s that, like 9.75 But the likelihood that it goes down any further, I don’t know.
Brandon:
What do you think you think that’s gonna happen?
Brandon:
That’s why have you 15 to 20% then you could be in the middle and you can translate things exactly.
Brandon:
And I think obviously that’s part of being in a position where you manage people. If you’re going to soften your approach too much, no one is going to take you seriously and nothing is going to get done. Part of being an effective leader, I think, is being as direct as you’re comfortable being.
Gia:
All right, Next.
Brandon:
All right. We have two left for things you could improve upon. I’m saying the best ones left. This one says the lack of interactions. This is something that we could improve upon interact more. When he does it. He does it well. But because we’re a small team, communication is essential.
Gia:
I don’t think I’m good at always being social chances.
Brandon:
It was that a yes e.
Gia:
People laugh because things were true, right?
Brandon:
I don’t know.
Brandon:
I don’t think it’s true, I think, because I always chuckle when you point out because I know you, you tend to say it relatively frequently to people that you’re an introvert.
Gia:
And I think that that’s really funny, because I think that you love to talk, as evidenced by the how much fun you’ve been having doing the podcasts and doing the interviews and talking to all these new people and even doing the instructional Siri’s.
Gia:
So you would say I’m an introvert.
Gia:
I’m an introvert, but I think that I think that you enjoy socialization more than you give yourself credit for.
Gia:
So I don’t disagree with you.
Gia:
But when I mean by introvert and why I What should I say?
Brandon:
So it’s like a battery, right?
Brandon:
It’s in when I’m riding my bike and I’ve got 86%.
Brandon:
I’m probably gonna turn off, and I’m on a 70 mile bike ride to Santa Cruz or or Davenport.
Brandon:
I’m going to save my battery right or I’m riding my bike.
Brandon:
I’m going to save my energy on the way out.
Brandon:
I push it, but I don’t push it that hard because I know I’m gonna have a headwind. I’m gonna have to use a lot of energy on the way back. And then you’re trying to manage to zero, meaning your effort right And and how much you do that. So what I mean by introvert is I don’t disagree with you.
Brandon:
I like all the I like to talk. I like the attention, but it completely drains me.
Brandon:
So I’m exhausted.
Brandon:
I mean, at the end of the day, I’m exhausted from talking all the time.
Brandon:
I’m not saying that I don’t like it.
Brandon:
I mean, we even put that in the copy of the newsletter that we sell. Right? What’s the last line of like, Why would he do this? It’s because it says it right there. Brandon likes the attention, so I’m not going toe.
Brandon:
I’m not going to say that I don’t like that. But I think what I know about myself is this exhausting, Like at the end of day. It’s terrible for a bet, because I don’t want to talk to anybody. At the end of the day, I mean, because I’m tired, and that’s really the introvert.
Brandon:
What I mean by introverts.
Brandon:
So I think that I I get worn out from all the meetings.
Brandon:
Like I don’t get energy from it.
Brandon:
I don’t know.
Brandon:
Meetings, Countess Socialization.
Brandon:
I don’t think that counts against you.
Gia:
That that’s not socialization. That’s actually but for me, it’s I gotta talk. I got to participate. I gotta be on, right? I gotta be in front of people. And that just is exhausting for me.
Brandon:
You know, Yvette, she’s getting energy from people, right?
Brandon:
She’s getting stronger and and likes it, whereas I like it, But I’m getting exhausted from it, so I think I dio I’m not gonna I’m not gonna I’m not gonna lie that.
Brandon:
And what was that one piece of feedback It was avoid burnout or something.
Brandon:
What was that?
Brandon:
One of the Yeah, it waas find the sweet spot and avoid burnout.
Brandon:
Right?
Brandon:
So And you know this Like I’ve been I’ve been burned out, and I’ll have a tendency to do that because of how hard I go.
Brandon:
And I think as I’ve gotten older, I realized like you can’t run it down to zero If you keep running the battery down to zero every time and you try to recharge it.
Brandon:
Eventually, you can only recharge 92% right?
Brandon:
I mean yeah.
Gia:
And where people not laptop.
Gia:
So we can’t install new batteries.
Brandon:
Right?
Brandon:
Exactly.
Gia:
So you get you get these *** in your armor and then you can’t get your battery back to 100% and that, and that just gets worse.
Brandon:
It’s a downward spiral. So I’m acknowledging that I I do know that I would like to do more.
Brandon:
I’d like to talk, socialize, do water cooler stuff.
Brandon:
I call it right, but I will never be able to sustain that at the level that we do on top of exercising, right?
Brandon:
Like, how would I do that?
Brandon:
I don’t I don’t know e mean, especially because I think that for, you know, not everybody works with us on every project.
Brandon:
Some people are part of one project.
Brandon:
Some people are part of three projects.
Brandon:
You know, it’s and I think it’s harder for people that are not across are not.
Brandon:
They don’t have visibility across the entire spectrum toe.
Brandon:
Understand?
Brandon:
Well, when he’s not talking to me, what the hell does he do with the rest of his day?
Brandon:
And the answer is ah, whole lot.
Gia:
So, you know, some people on our team might not be privy to that information, and they might not see exactly how many things demand your attention in any given day.
Gia:
So it may feel like, you know, like Okay, well, we have a meeting once a week and then, you know, he just sits in his office and sends emails all day, and that’s not what happens.
Gia:
That is not what happens at all.
Gia:
I can’t I can’t imagine I’m happy that I did not have to live through the stage of technological advancement where you had to pay for your cell phone in minutes because I think I’d probably have a stroke if I had gotten to see what your phone bill would be like if we still pay for cell phones like that.
Gia:
Yes, he, like all those phone calls, wear me out.
Gia:
Having said that, we probably not.
Gia:
We need to acknowledge that if the people don’t have, I need to acknowledge you need to help is that if someone doesn’t have visibility across, how can we soften that for them?
Gia:
You know, that’s a management thing.
Gia:
I that the court issue is like I’m never I’ve already tried the other way and I’m just not going to be a zero at the end of every day.
Gia:
I did that and we sold that company because goodness zero at the end of the day wasn’t working.
Gia:
Well, in addition, Thio some other things But what I’m what’s so crazy about it is you have to tell the listener.
Gia:
Do working down to zero every day.
Gia:
You think like Oh, yeah, I’m raking in the money.
Brandon:
We’re making so much our cash flow statements look amazing.
Brandon:
It was so expensive to run a company that way to burn it down to zero.
Brandon:
Our burn rate for that company was obnoxious.
Brandon:
It was It was, ah, six plus figures.
Brandon:
It was a lot of money and it was expensive.
Brandon:
It was expensive all around, and it was expensive for everybody.
Brandon:
Truthfully, it wasn’t just Yeah, I’m just happened to be the introvert who doesn’t really get energy from all that.
Brandon:
So, you know, and we, you know, I ran into 20 and I’m not going to go there again.
Brandon:
So there’s some balance for me with making sure that people don’t feel left out and they don’t.
Gia:
But also, I think this is another thing that that I think we have done well.
Gia:
And you can tell me if we haven’t.
Gia:
I think I’m generally now when people meet me where they’re coming on the team, I tell them straight up, like I’m an introvert.
Gia:
I’m going to get tired.
Brandon:
I’m not going to show up to everything.
Brandon:
I expect you to make decisions I managed by results, not by micromanagement.
Brandon:
If you don’t hear from me, that doesn’t mean I don’t care.
Brandon:
It just means that you don’t hear from me.
Brandon:
I’m super intense.
Brandon:
I’m gonna You’re gonna be You’re going to be shocked sometimes that my bluntness and that’s who I am.
Brandon:
And I try to tell them up front so that whereas I think before they just experienced it and then they couldn’t figure out, you know, and I was misunderstood.
Brandon:
But I think I got away with a lot because of my passion.
Brandon:
And, you know, I’ve never I’ve never evil never doing something for some evil way.
Brandon:
But I was definitely misunderstood.
Brandon:
I don’t know e say that I say that I think in meetings when we talked to a new vendor.
Brandon:
Yeah.
Brandon:
No, I can’t adjust to that.
Brandon:
And I think that what you’re saying before about how we have to come up with a solution for that I think I already have the beginnings of an idea how, uh, we could begin to implement a better system to avoid people feeling that way.
Gia:
Well, maybe we will do another podcast, So write that down and think about it.
Gia:
But let’s onto your last one that you say that you said is fast, worst or the hardest.
Gia:
I don’t know.
Brandon:
It’s the best one. It’s I sandwich for you, a sandwich, the negative part.
Gia:
It’s a sandwich within a sandwich.
Brandon:
The last one is not applicable. Lots of moving parts just tends to lead to a little chaos sometimes. And that is not Brandon’s fault.
Gia:
Well, that was, uh, somebody being very nice, right? But it might not be my fault, but it is my responsibility. So I think that yeah, that’s you know, I think that’s in every startup that we’ve ever done.
Brandon:
It’s always controlled chaos, and I think that that’s the part of building business that I like.
Brandon:
I do like getting to the were making money part for sure.
Brandon:
I think there’s some things you can accelerate when you build a business.
Brandon:
And there’s other things that you just have to keep going. Right. This podcast is an example. Three good news is is that it did sell media companies so that I know eventually you you get you turn that corner. And most people quit too soon. But I think we’ve gotten there faster and we have improved.
Brandon:
So I think that was I think that’s all fair feedback.
Brandon:
I don’t see anything in there that I don’t acknowledge or take responsibility for. I think some of the things I definitely can do better at and some of them, for better or worse, will get improved, but only marginally, because they are at the core who I am.
Brandon:
So Okay, yeah, This is a good exercise.
Brandon:
So now you think you can improve Unless you got any of your own personal comments that you wanted Thio throw in there.
Brandon:
Did you take that survey?
Gia:
I don’t.
Brandon:
One of my one of those is my answer.
Gia:
Excellent.
Brandon:
Was it?
Brandon:
I address it?
Gia:
Yeah.
Gia:
It’s one of the ones we talked about.
Brandon:
I think that as far as all.
Brandon:
As far as all of the feedback is, the whole I can see that it’s mainly is mainly communication basis, mainly just people want more of your time, which is, I think, reasonable to want to have open channels of communication and to feel that those are available to them whenever they need them or want them.
Gia:
So I don’t I don’t think any of that is unfair.
Gia:
I don’t think any of that is really come and super out of left field.
Gia:
These were all things that we more or less knew about ahead of time.
Gia:
But it definitely does help to have you know, some actual words to put to the concepts.
Gia:
Well, I think there’s always gonna be some of that because I managed to the extreme of result, and I think that’s what I know you’re going to get because they’ll be insecure, that there’ll be some insecurities with people making bigger decisions that I trust him with, and I try.
Gia:
I expect people to make mistakes.
Gia:
I just want the mistakes to be not huge and I want to recover fast.
Gia:
But there’s no way that I could be making decisions all day like this, I’d be so worn out.
Gia:
And I think that’s one of the things that people are maybe not necessarily used.
Gia:
Teoh.
Brandon:
I don’t know that many people work in an environment where there’s, you know, they’re quote unquote superior is not that we run a you know that you run a ridiculously like, overly hierarchal system or anything like that.
Brandon:
But I think that people are typically not used thio their superiors, letting them make as many decisions as people get to make when they work for a White Ventures portfolio company s.
Brandon:
So I think that maybe that may lead to a little bit of the insecurity with, like, I want more communication.
Brandon:
Like I want more direction, more advice on what features we need because it’s not muscle memory for people.
Gia:
Yet Thio be like, Well, this is the reasonable logical course of action.
Gia:
So this is what we’re going to dio, you know, we can skip the unnecessary 25 minute phone call.
Gia:
All right, so what are we moving on to now?
Gia:
And your interactions?
Gia:
We’re talking about what you do.
Brandon:
Well, now first when we have is how many are we going to go through.
Brandon:
That’s why.
Gia:
Why don’t you pick?
Gia:
Yeah, I’m gonna pick a couple because nobody put any for this.
Brandon:
So we don’t have any. Just give.
Gia:
Right. So here we have a couple that are really short. I’ll go through the ones that are really short first.
Gia:
So one of the ones we have is moves things forward. Knowledge on subject matter, great at moving forward, handles conversations.
Gia:
Explains his point.
Gia:
Well, I like how he excuse me. I like his sense of humor and then somebody he could be a well, So I was on a podcast recently, and oh, I forget the lady.
Gia:
She was really nice lady.
Gia:
And she thought she said that I should be a stand up comedian.
Brandon:
And so I told you that that at dinner, and she said, There’s no way in hell that I could be a stand up comedian.
Brandon:
So I’m interested in your in your You see.
Brandon:
Look, look at this bit right here and you’re laughing.
Brandon:
I mean, it’s just that’s a that’s that’s a career change.
Brandon:
No, I’m not saying that.
Brandon:
We’re gonna I’m not saying that that’s gonna be like my new career thing.
Brandon:
I’m just saying that that maybe as a as a moonlight, I could I mean, you know, I like to try new things, So I’m casita.
Brandon:
Yeah, well, the new casita.
Brandon:
So do you think that that sense of humor is true?
Brandon:
Yeah.
Gia:
I think that the sense of humor is true.
Brandon:
I’m laughing mostly at the way that you said that if that responded to it because I found that funny, But yeah, I do.
Brandon:
I do think you have Ah, good and unique sense of humor.
Brandon:
The perspective that you take on things.
Gia:
Yes.
Gia:
Tell me about that.
Gia:
I’m gonna tell you that.
Brandon:
You so get me in trouble.
Gia:
I found I’m not gonna get you in trouble.
Gia:
I find it, I find it.
Brandon:
I mean, she was like, she was crying last night, laughing at something that I was talking about, like, Well, I don’t know.
Brandon:
I mean, here’s coming out of right.
Brandon:
So I don’t know, maybe she just doesn’t want me to make a career change, but anyway, it’s good to know that I didn’t have a sense of humor.
Brandon:
I think as well Is it also it is partially funny because we just spent about what, 28 minutes Talking about how talking to people and talking all day exhaust you and that’s all.
Brandon:
Stand up Comedy is just just just talking.
Gia:
Thio Claire, I’m not saying that I won’t be exhausted, but people laugh.
Gia:
Yeah, people last.
Gia:
That’s what her.
Brandon:
Alright.
Brandon:
Yeah.
Gia:
Alright.
Brandon:
So since Okay, so we got through that one we have Okay, I was communicates very well.
Gia:
Move things forward, did it? Making people feel like their work is appreciated Communicates clearly and effectively knowledge of subject matter.
Gia:
I like his sense of humor.
Gia:
Handling conversations explains this point. Okay, so we have Ah, just a couple of the longer ones.
Gia:
So one of the ones that I thought was very, very nice thing to say.
Gia:
Listen, toe all angles and options respects people’s opinions and cares about my personal and professional well being a success.
Gia:
That is a very nice thing to be able to say about someone.
Gia:
E o.
Gia:
Do you think that’s true?
Gia:
Yeah, I think that’s true.
Brandon:
I didn’t You are.
Gia:
You obviously don’t know which answer mine is. But my answer is more or less a shorter version of that I fan and I think that I think that the point that this person made in the beginning listens to all angles and options is is a very important thing to note because I think that for all entrepreneurs that’s being able to be open to other people’s ideas and other people, solutions to problems I think is gonna is a major key to success because you’re running your company and it’s your baby and your so stuck in your head about it, and you have a very clear idea of what you want for it.
Gia:
But, you know, you may have somebody else telling you there is an easier, faster, more efficient way to solve this problem, and you have to be open to that.
Gia:
You have toe be respectful of that E.
Gia:
I think I think I actually expect that from the people that work with us.
Gia:
I’m not gonna hire.
Gia:
I mean, there’s certain I don’t I can’t think of Maybe there’s one person that works for you that we that really does more task oriented stuff.
Gia:
But I think even with him, we he’s probably had a better way.
Gia:
I’ve heard about it, but it doesn’t mean that I’m pretty sure he probably does have a better way because when he used to work for me, he did.
Brandon:
He did.
Brandon:
That stuff is, is I expect that like I I think that that maybe people don’t listen to other people enough, which I think is ironic for me because I do occasionally interrupt people.
Brandon:
I try not to as much as I used to.
Brandon:
And it’s not a I don’t do it as a as ah, trying to be rude.
Brandon:
I think my mind run so fast that I’m already ahead.
Brandon:
I’m not saying I’m a mind reader and I’m not saying that I occasionally haven’t guessed wrong or someone’s going, but I do have it, whatever tendency to do that.
Brandon:
And But I do know I play the plays two and three and four plays ahead, but I dio I mean, it’s a very nice thing to say and I’m grateful for that the But I do expect it like if you’re going to show up and you want me, if I have to program you, then we hired the wrong person because independent thinking is definitely one of the key pillars in in hiring.
Brandon:
Yeah, I think it’s uncomfortable and I think it can be uncomfortable, especially in remote teams.
Brandon:
Right, because you’re on an island you don’t have.
Brandon:
I mean, we have slack, and I don’t know, we don’t really do video stuff like hang out stuff.
Brandon:
But the I think we used to with the one company, the Yeah, but I think it can be you’re on an island so that can that can be tough toe to figure that out.
Brandon:
But that’s a very nice thing to say.
Brandon:
Yeah.
Brandon:
Are you good at chess?
Brandon:
You said you you like to think I actually don’t.
Brandon:
I don’t even know how chest are feeling.
Brandon:
I’m not saying that I couldn’t I just can only do so many things.
Brandon:
Yeah, I mean, it’s just it’s your very strategy based person, and that’s like the strategy games.
Brandon:
So I would have expected I would have made the assumption that you were a good chess player.
Brandon:
I tried to have invested that time in China.
Brandon:
Make money.
Gia:
That’s a better way to spend your time, in my opinion.
Gia:
All right, so the next one we have is a great ability to understand, issue and find a course of action time manage between planning and execution towards the result.
Brandon:
And I like this one a lot as well.
Brandon:
For the time management between planning and execution towards the result.
Brandon:
And that’s one of the things that gets on my nerves.
Gia:
More than anything else.
Gia:
I can’t stand talking about how you want to do something or how we should do something or different.
Brandon:
Theorized what?
Brandon:
We should use this project, this software to do it or we should do it this way.
Gia:
Because of that.
Brandon:
Just do it.
Gia:
It drives me nuts.
Gia:
You’re wasting all this time talking about how you could do it when you could just be doing it.
Gia:
I mean, yes, you need to create a basic framework.
Gia:
Thio, lay out.
Gia:
You know, we need to make sure we hit a B and C on the way to our to our finish line, but drives me crazy when we can’t stop talking about things and do them.
Gia:
I agree.
Gia:
Yeah, that’s definitely something that you do very well because we will get to that point.
Gia:
Well, the two hours deep in a phone call with the team or whatever and Brandon, you know what?
Gia:
That’s enough.
Brandon:
We’re just going to do it, and I think that that’s very important.
Gia:
Yeah.
Gia:
Go try it.
Brandon:
Right. Like, just go try it. Let’s see if it works. It’s not debated. We don’t even have any data yet because we didn’t try it. Just go try. You said that to me the other day, right? When we were talking about screen covers during the streak?
Brandon:
No, I thought we were talking about the new noise canceling headphones, the apple.
Gia:
And I was like, Oh, no, no.
Brandon:
We were talking about this new notes, this whole new, which I won’t go into.
Brandon:
But this whole new notes thing with the iPad, I was like, Oh, I’m just gonna get the ipad and try it. And you’re like, Oh, you’re just gonna there’s gonna try it.
Brandon:
And then, yeah, you know what I mean? Because we could talk about it all day long, And if we make it, I thought you were referencing the way too much research.
Brandon:
We put in a human way too much time.
Brandon:
I told you about that the other night you and I spent on I got the screen coverage right here.
Gia:
It’s actually pretty nice. And it was It was a good decision, but it was. How much did we like? This one was like nine bucks. How much time of two hours?
Brandon:
Two hours to come to this inclusion.
Brandon:
Like, What were we doing anyway?
Gia:
Anything new?
Gia:
I mean, anything new?
Brandon:
Another next thing.
Brandon:
Okay, this one, you will be able to tell the type of person that’s came from.
Gia:
Understands that. And software development. Not always. Things are not always going to go, is expected.
Gia:
So if you’re managing a software company, that’s a big one.
Gia:
It is not. Not this. I mean, that’s the case with most things in life. But people think that software is this magical thing, and it is magical when it works. But there’s a lot of moving parts, and it’s it’s going to likely take longer than you think.
Brandon:
So.
Brandon:
Well, that in creating the magic is a whole other. There’s a whole other beast.
Gia:
Another.
Brandon:
Yeah, that’s like a whole Siris of podcast.
Brandon:
Yeah, okay.
Gia:
And next one explains things well, responds and gets things done. Great work with him.
Gia:
The one after that is fixing things, establishing project blow, establishing a basis for communication, planning and getting things done.
Gia:
Wow, this person covered a lot.
Gia:
I haven’t read this whole answer before.
Gia:
I don’t realize it was that long. Can you just summarize it? Because these feel really long.
Brandon:
So I think the theme, um this message is that you are good at creating a plan and then executing on it.
Gia:
Yeah, I like plans.
Gia:
I like to execute on it.
Gia:
I mean, we we teach people how to build a business plan, right?
Brandon:
Yeah, right.
Brandon:
And then the last thing that we have the last piece of feedback is catching up.
Brandon:
After a long time of not talking, he listens and actually has implemented the ideas that I’ve had.
Gia:
Awesome.
Gia:
I think overall, it was a good experience. What do you think? I think I think so.
Brandon:
Yeah, I think I appreciate the honesty that we got. I was honestly, when we sent this out, I was expecting people toe pull their answers for the ways that you could improve our or for a lot more people to say, not applicable or something in that vein.
Gia:
If they did that, they would not have been the right people that we selected.
Gia:
So I was happy to see that we did not get too much of that.
Gia:
I thought that the notes on the things that you do well, where we’re very nice compliments and, yeah, I think based on everything I know about you, everything seems accurate.
Brandon:
Affair.
Gia:
Well, we have a few things that we can that I can improve on that you can help with.
Gia:
And it sounds like we’re on a good path, though, and I think that’s good news.
Gia:
But it certainly didn’t come after I didn’t it didn’t didn’t.
Gia:
Those things didn’t magically appear his took a few decades to get better at for sure.
Gia:
So do you think that we should do this with the whole team?
Brandon:
I think that it would be smart to do this with people in management positions.
Brandon:
I don’t know that we necessarily need to do this with the whole team.
Brandon:
At the very least, I think we should run the experiment with people in management positions before we ask people who are not in those positions to take part in this because those people well, no, I guess that’s not true.
Brandon:
I was going to say those people have a smaller number of people who feedback is directly applicable to them.
Brandon:
That’s that’s not true because everybody is a contributor to the overall company culture.
Brandon:
So Well, thank you for doing that.
Brandon:
And thanks for coming on today.
Gia:
And we’re explaining everything and I don’t know.
Gia:
I don’t know what what else we’re doing today, but we’ll get to it and thank you, friends, for tuning into the show.
Gia:
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate review.
Gia:
We want to hear from you and subscribe.
Gia:
So you don’t miss any of our weekly episodes until the next time.
Brandon:
Remember, you are just one business plan away.
Brandon:
I’m rooting for your success.
Brandon:
We’ll see you soon, E
