For me, that behavior was maintaining a brief debrief journal after any main conferences, pitches, and so on.

As soon as the room clears, I take ten minutes to write down what I noticed, what I mentioned, how individuals reacted, and what shocked me; I simply seize the moments whereas they’re contemporary.

Over time, these pages develop into my private document of judgment: the place I learn a state of affairs properly, the place I misjudged tone, the place I missed a sign that others caught later. Trying again each few weeks reveals me patterns that I can’t see within the rush of labor. I begin to discover the conferences the place I discuss too quickly, the offers the place my intestine was proper however I waited too lengthy to behave, or the individuals whose early feedback all the time predict what’s going to occur subsequent.

Anybody can construct this simply by maintaining a pocket book or a digital file by your desk, setting a reminder proper after key interactions, and answering three easy questions:

1. What occurred?

2. What did I discover?

3. What would I do otherwise subsequent time?

Don’t flip it right into a diary or a efficiency overview; simply deal with it as a operating subject log, as a result of its worth comes from honesty and consistency. After a couple of months, you will notice your personal management in sluggish movement, which makes it simpler to refine the way you talk, the way you learn rooms, and the way you make calls below stress.

It’s a small apply that compounds since you are studying immediately from your self.

One behavior that has been essential to my success as an entrepreneur is treating readability as a non-negotiable every day apply. Earlier than I make choices, create content material, or work on shopper deliverables, I take a couple of minutes to realign with my priorities and desired outcomes — not only for the day, however for the larger imaginative and prescient I’m constructing. That behavior has stored me from chasing “shiny objects,” helped me scale a number of manufacturers with out burning out, and ensured that all the things I do strikes the enterprise ahead in a significant means.

For anybody who desires to undertake this behavior, begin with a easy every day ritual.

Earlier than you open your laptop computer, take 5 minutes to ask your self three questions:

1. What really issues immediately?

2. What can wait?

3. What would “completed properly” seem like?

Write down your solutions and act from that place of readability, not urgency. Over time, this behavior trains your thoughts to function with intention versus reactivity, and that shift alone can remodel the way in which you construct, lead, and stay.

Day by day, write down 10 concepts.

For two,500 days straight, I did some every day gym-like routine to work out my concept muscle. This doesn’t imply dreaming up options for our AI video engine. It’s all types of concepts: buyer hypotheses, artistic hacks for leveraging a micro advertising price range, and so on.

2,500 days x 10 concepts a day = 25,000 concepts written down in docs or on napkins. Most are unhealthy. Some are new options that catch hearth. However I by no means get to the purpose the place I can’t provide concepts to select from after we begin a brand new dash.

Why on daily basis? And why “muscle?” As a result of if you happen to skip the gymnasium for every week or two, your physique is much less ready for work if you return. Whenever you cease exercising the concept muscle, you’ll be out of form on the moments if you actually must be producing concepts. But when your concept muscle is properly skilled, your present roadmap doesn’t need to be the ultimate reply. You’ll all the time have uncooked materials to sift or mash into one thing promising.

Block area in your calendar and make an inventory on daily basis. Inform your self it will solely take 10 minutes. Don’t await an concept to be cooked sufficient to rely. There’s no high quality filter right here. If an concept passes by your head, it’s truthful sport. What makes this a routine relatively than random brainstorming is that you simply do it on daily basis, and that you simply attempt to generate a amount of concepts.

Listed below are some additional ideas for turning this right into a sustainable behavior:

You may select a spotlight forward of time. “10 methods to introduce individuals to utilizing our software in 30 seconds.” The main focus could possibly be chosen by the individual doing this routine, or by the group at a gathering or the bigger group: “That is our theme this week.” However it’s good to have variation between days.

Generally, make your record publicly, e.g., pitching concepts to your personal group or to different founders. Whenever you do that, you normally get your concepts rotated, but it surely’s positively price it total. And I’m much less fearful about having my concepts stolen now that I’ve had the expertise of sharing concepts and located it really works properly for drawing power towards you want a magnet and sharpening the concepts.

Save your lists. Mirror worlds shift the worth of concepts. That unhealthy concept you considered three months in the past abruptly turns into worthwhile.

The behavior rewires your mind. There’s a optimistic suggestions loop the place the better one thing turns into, the extra you do it.

The behavior I feel that almost all in the long run allowed me to scale was systematically delegating operational work.

It took me some time to determine this out. Like most entrepreneurs, initially I used to be fiercely pleased with being the man who figured all the things out and put out each hearth. However that doesn’t scale. I noticed later than I ought to have that working tougher doesn’t imply the enterprise grows sooner. It simply means you’re accelerating towards burnout.

What modified for me was consciously spending time each week asking what could possibly be delegated. I began dedicating one hour each Friday to sitting down and desirous about what I did that week that another person might do, if given a short or a template. Then I’d flip these into course of docs or Loom movies educating somebody do it.

I noticed that if you happen to make this a behavior, it snowballs. One hour each week, flip one thing into directions and delegate it. After about 6 months, I used to be spending much more time specializing in progress technique, GEO technique, and coaching gross sales leaders than operating to maintain forward of deadlines for shopper work. I used to be additionally writing far fewer emails as a result of I didn’t need to, and I had well-defined processes.

As an alternative, I’m now sketching progress methods for the following month and determining targets for various sorts of recruiting salespeople. This complete shift occurred in a matter of months.

If you wish to do this, the bottom line is to set time apart. Don’t simply take into consideration delegating work because it arises. Block out a particular hour every week. Even when you find yourself delegating only one new factor per week, the compounding impact is dramatic.

The behavior that has confirmed most vital to my entrepreneurial journey is approaching each information hole as a problem to beat relatively than a limitation. Whenever you’re constructing a enterprise, you continually encounter stuff you don’t know — and your response to these moments determines all the things.

Working my enterprise in Cheyenne has demanded expertise far past my MBA in Healthcare Administration. At some point I’m navigating state laws, the following I’m optimizing our web site search engine optimization or creating Instagram content material. The breakthrough got here after I changed, “I don’t understand how,” with, “I don’t understand how but.” That easy mindset shift transforms obstacles into alternatives.

Anybody can undertake this behavior by abandoning the notion that you simply want full information earlier than taking motion. Begin by embracing analysis, asking questions, watching tutorials, making errors, and attempting once more. Let curiosity develop into your aggressive edge and consistency your instructor.

Profitable entrepreneurs aren’t those that knew all the things in the beginning — they’re those keen to be taught what they didn’t know. That’s the key. Finally, you’ll look again and understand each drawback that when intimidated you really constructed the arrogance you now possess. When requested the way you figured all of it out, your reply will likely be refreshingly easy: “I by no means stopped studying.”

One behavior that’s been a complete game-changer for me is doing a weekly “power audit” each Sunday night — normally about half-hour. And to be sincere, it’s a easy behavior actually — I simply sit down and ask myself three questions concerning the previous week: What really managed to energise me? What ended up draining all my power? And are there any patterns which are beginning to emerge?

The thought for this weekly ritual really got here out of a very darkish time early on in my enterprise. I used to be caught on this cycle of claiming sure to only about each shopper, each talking gig, each networking occasion that got here my means. Don’t get me improper — I used to be busy as all get-out, however the issue was I used to be burning out, and quick. And the irony was that as a efficiency coach, I used to be principally modeling the very factor I used to be attempting to teach individuals NOT to do…I imply, I used to be only a mess. This weekly reflection compelled me to lastly get a grip on which actions had been really constructing my enterprise versus simply making me really feel like I used to be getting issues completed.

Over time, doing these weekly power audits has taught me that almost all of my highest affect work comes from working one-on-one with purchasers and operating these small group workshops — that’s the place the magic occurs. Alternatively, large networking occasions? Neglect about it. Rarely obtained any enterprise from them and simply left me wrung out. So I fully overhauled my enterprise mannequin based mostly on these insights — began turning down all these continuous networking alternatives and targeted on the stuff that works for me.

The behavior that’s been most vital to my success is a 24-hour restore rule: if one thing goes sideways with a shopper, associate, or teammate, I circle again inside at some point to shut the loop. I exploit a easy 3-part line — acknowledge the affect, take accountability, supply a concrete treatment — and I don’t await the right phrases. This turned tense moments into belief builders and lower repeat points on tasks in half; it’s the explanation purchasers carry me again.

Right here’s how anybody can adapt this rule:

Write your two-sentence restore line on a sticky notice, set a every day 10-minute “restore window” in your calendar, and monitor one metric (open loops closed inside 24 hours). I counsel beginning with low-stakes conditions, similar to late bill replies or missed assembly notes. The factor is that it’s simpler for the muscle to construct earlier than the large conversations.

You’ll really feel the distinction quick: fewer lingering frictions, clearer boundaries, and a repute for being regular below stress.

One behavior I developed that has been completely essential to my success is persistence — studying to maintain going even when rejection hits laborious. Psychologically, rejection seems like a private failure; it triggers doubt, frustration, and generally a deep urge to surrender. However over time, I noticed that these emotions are pure indicators, not cease indicators. I skilled myself to sit down with that discomfort, to separate my self-worth from the result, and to see rejection as suggestions relatively than judgment. This psychological shift helped me construct resilience and method challenges with calm dedication relatively than worry. For anybody eager to undertake this behavior, it’s about rewiring your mindset to embrace failure as a stepping stone and practising emotional curiosity relatively than avoidance. Persistence isn’t simply stubbornness — it’s emotional energy cultivated.

The behavior that has contributed probably the most to my success is a technique of reflection prior to creating a call. As a startup entrepreneur, I’d leap instantly from drawback to resolution: quick manufacturing as a behavior trains us this fashion. Nevertheless, this typically leads to leaping to resolve the improper drawback completely properly within the course of. This can be a behavior that I instantly corrected by imposing a rule upon myself: prior to creating a call, I sit down to write down what I really do know, what I’m assuming, and what I have no idea.

This apply prevents expensive errors, similar to producing a product in extra of what the shopper had not but finalized in design or buying from a provider on the idea of value relatively than dependability.

This can be a behavior that everybody can develop, beginning with 5 minutes a day. What did I do properly, what did I not do properly, and what would I do otherwise tomorrow? It’s not about doing all the things completely, as Marshall Bower reminds us, it’s about paying consideration.

In my expertise, the behavior that has had the most important affect on my success as an entrepreneur is constant reflection. For me, taking time every week to guage what labored, what didn’t, and the way I felt concerning the course of retains me grounded and aligned with my targets. It’s straightforward to get caught up in fixed execution, however with out common reflection, it turns into tough to see the place your power is definitely paying off.

I feel that reflection builds intentionality. It permits you to make choices based mostly on knowledge and self-awareness relatively than response or burnout. Every Friday, I spend about thirty minutes reviewing my week — taking a look at shopper outcomes, enterprise progress, and private well-being. I jot down small wins, establish recurring challenges, and description one space for enchancment. It’s a easy routine, but it surely helps me modify earlier than issues develop and retains the enterprise aligned with its values.

For somebody wanting to construct an analogous behavior, I’d recommend beginning small. Put aside even fifteen minutes on the finish of the week to ask your self three questions: What went properly? What wants consideration? What can I do otherwise subsequent week? In my view, this apply helps shift your mindset from reacting to main. Over time, reflection turns into much less about monitoring efficiency and extra about defending your function, which is what sustains success in the long term.

The only behavior that’s modified my life is treating on daily basis like a blue-collar workday, at the same time as a tech CEO. I constructed my firm from the bottom up the identical means I constructed my first landscaping enterprise…by exhibiting up early, maintaining guarantees, and measuring effort in outcomes, not hours.

Fancy instruments and technique matter, however consistency nonetheless beats brilliance. That self-discipline carried me from mowing lawns to operating a $30 million platform.

One factor that has been tremendous necessary for me in my business trip is to not get too caught up in the way in which you’ve all the time completed issues or a sure “id” you might need adopted in your enterprise.

Having the ability to adapt is crucial for having long-term success. When you care so much about your enterprise, it might get straightforward to get caught within the, “I’ve all the time completed it this fashion,” mentality.

However why? Why does it matter to you to remain the identical? Positive, it’s laborious to alter, however it’s essential over time.

Don’t be too treasured with what you’ve gotten. It could possibly be blocking one thing higher that’s on its means.

One behavior I’ve developed as an entrepreneur over time is giving equal (if no more) time to my household and hobbies as I do to my enterprise.

I do know it solely sounds straightforward, as a result of usually, your enterprise is in the back of your thoughts 24/7. However that’s the factor — this received’t change. The fixed stress doesn’t make you productive; it simply burns you out. Eager about your organization on a regular basis received’t offer you your subsequent breakthrough.

In reality, staying away from enterprise can generally assist us entrepreneurs make higher choices. This is called the Deliberation-With out-Consideration Impact, or put merely, an “Unintentional Stroke of Brilliance.”

Each day micro-reflection on my notes app.

Each evening — even on the chaotic days — I jot down 3 strains:

It sounds small, but it surely’s wild how this retains you aligned along with your imaginative and prescient and grounded in actuality. You cease reacting and begin deliberately constructing.

The one behavior I’ve developed as an entrepreneur is adaptability — not studying, not persistence, however strategic flexibility.

Whenever you hit the unpredictable wall of actuality that appears nothing like your Excel spreadsheets, persistence alone received’t prevent. What I’ve realized to do is: cease, analyze the state of affairs objectively, then pivot across the circumstances like guerrilla warfare.

The issue in entrepreneurship is that we frequently battle standard battles when actuality calls for guerrilla techniques.

I utilized this when our restaurant low cost app hit a lifeless finish. As an alternative of insisting on the unique mannequin, I pivoted inside weeks to a supply platform — however with a totally completely different method. No supply fleet possession, no heavy commissions crushing eating places, and no advertising burden on us. We merely offered the know-how, enabling eating places to handle their very own drivers and orders for a minimal charge of simply 2% per order.

This flexibility saved us from failure and created a sustainable mannequin that eating places really needed.

How others can undertake this behavior:

1. Schedule month-to-month “actuality checks” — evaluate your plan towards precise market suggestions

2. Construct “pivot factors” into your technique from day one

3. Research guerrilla warfare ideas — they apply completely to startups

4. When caught, ask: “What would work in the actual world?” not “How do I power my plan?”

Flexibility isn’t giving up — it’s profitable smarter.